OREGON
The Garden of Roses: Stories of Abuse and Healing
Virginia Jones
I was in Eastern and Southern Oregon walking through small, rural towns and on scenic trails to raise awareness about abuse when the news came about an abusive priest, Fr. Angel Armando Perez, in Woodburn, Oregon. The abuse was very recent and the child reported it, and his family supported him, and the police supported him, and the priest was arrested.
The family support and the arrest frequently did not happen in the past.
We’ve made progress, real progress. The abuse happened, but at least most of the response to the abuse was appropriate.
I could not comment on what had happened when I was walking through towns and on trails in the distant parts of Oregon. My internet access was intermittent, and I had my two teenagers to care for and a schedule to keep, and the two teenagers didn’t want to share the computer with me.
When I returned home to Portland, I read Abuse Tracker and saw Randy Ellison’s blog on the case. Randy is the Board President of the child sex abuse survivor advocacy group, Oregon Abuse Advocates and Survivors in Service (OAASIS). Randy reported in his blog that a group of parishioners showed up to support the priest in court
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