MINNESOTA
National Catholic Repoter
Luke Hansen | Jul. 19, 2017
WEST ST. PAUL, MINN.
In this interview, Susan Pavlak, a lifelong resident of St. Paul, Minnesota, describes being sexually abused by her high school religion teacher, a former nun, beginning in 1970. The abuse, according to Pavlak, happened on several occasions over four years. The alleged perpetrator, whom Pavlak has chosen not to identify by name in this interview, has never been charged in a criminal court; and Pavlak has never sought damages from any party in a civil court.
Pavlak has sought reconciliation and restitution outside of the legal system. In 2001, in the presence of an official of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Pavlak met with the person she said abused her, she explained, in order to “restore right relationship with her.” In 2002, Pavlak utilized a non-adversarial process to settle with the archdiocese, which agreed to reimburse her high school tuition.
Pavlak, a retired operations manager, has collaborated with Gilbert Gustafson, a perpetrator of child sexual abuse, on the project Uncommon Conversation, which seeks healing and reconciliation among survivors, perpetrators and others involved in child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. Gustafson was ordained a priest in 1977, pleaded guilty to the sexual abuse of a minor in 1983, served four and a half months in jail, and was permanently removed from active priestly ministry in 2002. This interview with Pavlak, edited for length and clarity, took place in West St. Paul, Minnesota.
NCR: What was your early experience as a Catholic?
Pavlak: My family’s life was centered on faith, family and security. My grandfather and father were police officers, and my father ended his career as the federal marshal for the district of Minnesota.
My family was very involved in parish life. My folks chaired the capital campaign for our parish.
I attended Catholic grade school and high school. My experience was pretty uniformly good, except for the occasional evil nun. In my day, you could still get hit in Catholic school. We had Mass every day. Today I go to Mass every week, and I am an active member of my community.
What happened during your junior year of high school?
The student council leaders were asked to arrive a week or two before school started and give a little speech for the incoming faculty. Afterward a teacher came up to me and introduced herself as a religion teacher and student council liaison. I also learned from her that she recently left a religious order and was living in community with two former sisters and a sister on leave. That was my first introduction to my perpetrator.
I had just turned 16. She was, I believe, 25.
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