Priest's Book Aims to Help Sexual Abuse Victims 3
London Free Press
Catholic priest Stevan Wlusek has seen first-hand the destructive force of sexual abuse. The rector at St. Peter’s Seminary in London spent several years working as the bishop’s delegate for sexual abuse allegations. Wlusek, 54, is tackling a tough topic with his new book, From Darkness into Transforming Light, which focuses on how Catholic teachings can be used as a resource to help the spiritual healing process for sexual abuse survivors. The book is aimed at priests, bishops and abuse victims themselves, said Wlusek, an associate professor of spirituality and pastoral theology. Though Wlusek says the Church often plays an important role in rebuilding victims’ shattered lives. “I found that there was something far deeper that they (survivors) were searching for that psychological service just couldn’t help,” he said. “And ultimately they were searching for a new and deeper relationship with God that had been greatly wounded because of their being abused by a priest, who was to them an image of God in their childhood.” Wlusek estimates that half of the sexual abuse victims he encountered stayed in the Church — but many were still deeply hurting. “There’s a sense of loneliness, a sense of yearning for that relationship to be rekindled again,” he said. Wlusek’s book addresses the challenges priests face while trying to regain the trust of abuse victims. One piece of advice he offers is for priests to trade in their traditional dress for more causal clothing when counselling abuse victims. “When they (victims) see the collar, often it brings back the memories of the trauma and the violence of the perpetrator,” he said. Sexual abuse victims have contacted Wlusek after reading his book, saying it gave them “a great deal of consultation and light for their journey, he said. Wlusek is speaking about his book Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. for the third annual A.P. Mahoney Library Lecture at St. Peter’s Seminary. Contact: dale.carruthers@sunmedia.ca
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