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	Breaking “the Silence” of Catholic Sex Abuse in Alaska Villages By Corey Allen-Young KTVA April 29, 2011 http://www.ktva.com/home/outbound-xml-feeds/Breaking--The-Silence-of-Catholic-Sex-Abuse-in-Alaska-Villages--120885319.html In our ongoing coverage of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, CBS 11 News brings you the story of decades of abuse by members of the Catholic Church in villages across Alaska. The molestation and fear endured by young Alaska Native boys and girls are finally being brought to light in a new documentary called "The Silence." The film speaks with adults who as young boys and girls growing up in villages on the western coast of Alaska were forced to commit sexual acts all in the name of God. It’s a terrifying tale of pain and suffering that the victims who call themselves survivors are glad to share so they and their communities can begin the process of healing. "He would ask if we wanted to touch his private area and he would say he would give us candy or give us a good prize," said victim Alberta Steve. It’s a real-life story of sexual abuse in Alaska. "Father Endal and Joseph Lundowski…they couldn't stop molesting me when they started,” said victim Benjamin Andrews. “It was almost an everyday thing.” Andrews said Father Endal told him that participating in such acts would make him “closer to God." Generations of children were molested in villages along the western coast at the hands of respected members of the Catholic Church “Father Poole would have me sit on his lap, straddling his legs and we would French kiss for hours,” recalled Elsie Boudreau. “He would tell me that he was my friend and that he was my brother, my father, and my lover.” Survivors like Elsie Boudreau have held the suffering inside for their entire lives. “I truly, truly believed that there was something wrong with me, to the core of my being,” said Boudreau. It’s a cycle of denial, fear, and pain that kept the now grown men and women from talking about their horrible secrets until a just a few years ago when they stepped forward together in a lawsuit. “Secrets that were enforced on threat of damnation of peril to your immortal soul and maybe, maybe there will be some relief for these long-suffering people,” said the group’s attorney Ken Roosa. Relief was a reason why "The Silence" wanted to share their stories. Because it’s such a small community, the abused impacted not only the victims, but also their relatives, said the film’s director Tom Curran. “It was heart-wrenching to be that close to it and you feel—it’s not just something you hear, you physically feel it,” he continued. The film “The Silence” is showing at the Bear Tooth Theatre this week and survivors of sexual abuse say it is a first step in not only making the community aware but also addressing a stigma that affects so many. "Please forgive me and the church for any hurt that has come to you from the church," Bishop Donald Kettler told one victim. “The healing couldn't start to happen until people started having honest dialogue of what happened,” said the film’s director. It’s a dialogue of truth that is slowly turning into healing. “It will take generations to heal, if that ever really does take place. We hope and pray it does but we recognize that we will have to work with people, the survivors, for decades,” said Robert Hannon, chancellor of the Fairbanks diocese. “I know deep in my being that there is absolutely nothing wrong with me. I did nothing wrong and that's the hope that I had for victims, for survivors to get to that point,” said Boudreau. “The Silence” was part of the PBS Frontline series will be shown in a special screening Thursday at the Bear Tooth Theater. The show is about 30 minutes long and beings at 8 p.m. After the screening there will be a discussion between the audience, victims and experts on the story and how the communities are moving forward. And moving forward is exactly what survivor Elsie Boudreau is doing. She has turned her nightmare of abuse into a positive as she works for the Alaska Native Justice Center in the Alaska CARE Program working with Alaska Native children who have been sexually and physically abused.
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