BUFFALO (NY)
Buffalo News
August 12, 2019
By Kevin Koscielniak
At what point does a person say enough is enough and initiates something to make a change?
How far do you need to be pushed before you are angry enough to act?
But when it comes to the clergy sexual abuse scandal, has the entire Catholic community seriously asked themselves these questions? Have they consciously taken to heart what has happened to these children and adults, and what is continuing to happen? Do they have a full understanding of the trauma that Survivors have suffered and continue to deal with?
Do you want to know what I, and many survivors go thru? Well here it is. Childhood sexual abuse has lifelong effects. Adults who are survivors of childhood sexual abuse often feel “stuck.” Our efforts to build and manage our lives often seem fruitless, hollow and hopeless.
There is a persistent perception that we are somehow different from others. We feel like we are on the outside looking in, and we believe we just don’t belong.
What was done to me, and every survivor, is no different than being nailed to a cross and left there to die. The only difference for us is that we get to continue walking on this earth even though our souls, emotions and psychological well-being are dead and in a body bag.
Do you think that just because we are still moving, we are truly alive? It doesn’t work like that.
What happens to a survivor of sexual abuse affects the entire community. The ancillary damage is reprehensible. It’s not just the survivors who suffer. It is everyone who is tied to each survivor: family, friends, co-workers and acquaintances.
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