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	Kevin Kratsch of Oshkosh Joins Oprah Winfrey for Sexual Abuse Episodes By Patricia Wolff The Post-Crescent November 5, 2010 http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20101105/APC0101/11050517/Oshkosh-man-joins-Oprah-for-sex-abuse-episodes OSHKOSH — Kevin Kratsch volunteered to tell the world on the "Oprah" TV show the painful details of his sexual abuse at the hands of an Episcopalian priest in Plymouth for two reasons. "Number one, I wanted to help victims out there, and number two, I'm really (mad) at the Episcopal Church," he said. Kratsch, 56, of Oshkosh, will be one of 200 members of Oprah Winfrey's audience when the show airs today. All of them will hold photographs of themselves at the time of their abuse. In some cases the abuse occurred decades ago. In Kratsch's case, it was 40 years ago. Winfrey is taking on sexual abuse in a pair of shows she calls "two of the most phenomenal" she's ever done. Thousands of men volunteered to appear on the two-part show but only a couple hundred were invited to participate in today's show and on Nov. 12. Filmmaker Tyler Perry and a psychologist who works with male sexual abuse survivors are featured in the first show. In the second show, the men will be joined by spouses, partners and girlfriends to discuss the abuse's impact on their relationships. Winfrey, who has frequently discussed her own childhood sexual abuse, said she is proud of the November episodes and hopes they "can be an open door to freedom" for the abused men. Kratsch was a troubled 15-year-old when his mother placed him in the care of a Fond du Lac County priest in an effort to straighten him out. He had been expelled from Oshkosh High School. He spent two great weeks with the priest in Plymouth. But once the priest signed the papers naming him legal guardian of Kratsch, he said everything changed. "He beat the living hell out of me. By beating me he got me to the point of submission. The sexual abuse began next," Kratsch said. "Once that happens you either submit, run away or kill yourself." It was easier to submit. During this period, Kratsch said he was abused by a second priest, a friend of the first one. It happened on a vacation to Colorado. The abuse by the first priest lasted about a year during which Kratsch learned a strategy for avoiding the priest. When a steady stream of other boys began to visit the rectory, Kratsch found it easier to look the other way. "I just thought, 'Thank god he's leaving me alone.' Who would they believe anyway? A pillar of the community or a troubled kid?" he said. Later, Kratsch and the priest moved to New Orleans, where things got worse. He moved away once he reached the age of 18. He buried his memories of the abuse until a counselor dredged them up during a session in 1985. Kratsch had developed drinking and drug problems and was unable to develop healthy relationships. He finally was able to fall in love and marry but the marriage ended in divorce after 16 years. A second marriage lasted two years, he said. When scandals involving Catholic priests and sexual abuse of boys surfaced in the early 1990s, Kratsch tried to confront the Episcopalian priests who had abused him. He was unsuccessful in the attempt. He learned the first one had died just months earlier and the second one was in prison for assaulting three boys. Episcopal church authorities did not believe his claim of abuse. It is Kratsch's hope that by speaking out, other victims will come forward and the Episcopal Church will have to answer to him and those other victims. The impact of the abuse on Kratsch has been huge. He suffers from several psychiatric illnesses and is unable to work. He blames the abuse for his failed marriages, his inability to trust and his loss of faith in religion.
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