St. Dominic parishioners stood outside the church on Sunday, Feb. 27 in a vigil to help the church heal.

He said of the vigil, "It was a prayerful experience." He explained it was an information gathering project. "The Voice of the Faithful, a national organization, has a project called The Lost Sheep. They and SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) came to pray in the parish and to make an appeal to anyone who has experienced sexual abuse by teachers, clergy or priests, to speak out, so we can have everything come out to see the scope of the problem and to see where the church will go. We realize the damage done to those people [children who have been abused] and that it leads to breakdowns and suicide."

SNAP's healing model is that both survivors and the institution that hurt them must be healed. It focuses on helping individuals and changing the church that allowed the abuse. Monsignor Alesandro said in a printed statement, "The group of visitors who offered prayers outside of St. Dominic's Church two weekends ago hope to raise the consciousness of all people about the importance of reaching out to silent victimes of abuse. They have held similar prayer vigils in several other areas of Long Island.

"This is something that all persons of goodwill should do. Like Jesus, we should use every means to seek out and heal the 'lost sheep.' St. Dominic Parish has taken many steps to seek out and heal the 'lost sheep.' St. Dominic Parish has taken many steps in this area, including background checks on all employees and volunteers, brochures to parents to guide them in this area, and participation in the diocesan-sponsored VIRTUS program.

"The most important goal is to encourage young people to speak openly with their parents and vice versa. Open communications within families is the key. Counselors, schools, churches and other organizations that serve children and teens can also be very helpful in fostering a spirit of openness that will not only allow victims to seek help but also prevent such abuse in the first place," said the Monsignor.

Mr. Cieciuch explained the larger context in which the vigil took place. Besides dealing with a church divided, as St. Dominic's is today, he said, "A great thing is taking place across the nation. My personal view is that the church is going through a difficult time. We believe the Holy Spirit is operative and there will be a change and those in authority have to be accountable for actions that may have taken place during their administration in relation to those who fell under their authority. If you're the boss you have to make the decisions and at the same time accept the responsibility if they go wrong. I learned that in the military."

Mr. Cieciuch said he believes in Christian forgiveness but still believes that those in authority, when dealing with the coverup of sexual abuse should step aside. Mr. Cieciuch said, "The laity is a thinking body of the church. When things have been done to the laity, they can ask for accountability. The Bishop is asking for a Synod in 2007 and has been asking parishes about what the major issues are to discuss and the major issue is accountability."

He said, "We all love our church very much but realize there must be reform. The Monsignor has refused to meet with the parish in a large group. All we want is the truth."

"It's not a question of destroying it's a question of rebuilding. It has to be resolved so we can become a focused community. I love my church because it can embrace differences. Everyone is not thinking in lock step. It is a painful transition but we will survive," said Mr. Cieciuch.

On the question of will be an American Catholic Church, Mr. Cieciuch said, "It does exist in a National Catholic Conference of Bishops. There is a Polish National Catholic Church that was formed at the end of the 20th century." He said he recently met members of the Polish National Catholic Church and he asked them what are the differences between it and the Roman Catholic Church. "The priests said one was the vernacular liturgy; a married clergy, if they wish to do so; and the priest to face the congregation. Two of those things have happened here already," said Mr. Cieciuch.

He said he visited his sons who live in Telluride and attend St. Patrick's, a 100-year-old church. "A Deacon runs the church and is married. What's the big problem." He added the sacraments and the scripture still remain in spite of the changes.

Mr. Cieciuch said the vigil didn't threaten anything but that some took it as being against Monsignor Alesandro. He said that wasn't the concern, "It is because it is believed there are more incidents that happened in St. Dominic's. I think there are five or six priests [over the years] in the parish who have accusations against them. That's what comes out of the Suffolk Grand Jury report as well as the recent case of Michael Hands." [Mr. Hands was convicted of child abuse and in turn accused Monsignor Ribaudo of abusing him at Holy Trinity High School in Hicksville, when he was a teenager. Another priest, Father Huneke, has been accused by St. Dominic parishioner John Salverson and Andrew Cuomo. Father Huneke died in prison before his case came to trial.]

Mr. Cieciuch said, "This demonstration was an appeal to any one else who has exposure to abuse to come forward. We are not condemning anyone, but asking people to step forward. At the conclusion of the vigil the group said the 'Our Father' and everything dissipated in calmness and peace," he said.

Also attending the vigil was Pat Cuomo. His brother Andrew was one of the speakers at the Brookville Reformed Church on June 10, 2004, when Concerned Families of Saint Dominic welcomed those willing to look into the sexual abuse of young people by Catholic priests to come and share their concerns. Pat Cuomo too said the vigil was all-quiet, except for one incident. "A woman called us a lynch mob. She is a good woman, a lot of good people support him [Monsignor Alesandro]."

The Cuomo family is upset about the actions of Monsignor Alesandro. Two years ago, the Cuomo family first heard of the abuse of Mr. Cuomo's brother Andrew, now an attorney living in Dallas, Texas. Pat Cuomo said, "The abuse took place when Andrew was at Holy Family in Huntington, now known as St. Anthony's . John and Andrew's testimony is in the footnotes of the Suffolk County Grand Jury report. Andrew flew up to Oyster Bay for the meeting at the Old Brookville Church. He said he moved to Dallas out of shame. He was going through his own mental anguish and never came home. For years he went through mental trauma and bouts of alcoholism. When he came public with the story 10 to 11 months ago, he told us for the first time. It was an incredible experience. He was the Golden Boy. We are the first generation from Italy. He was the best we had," said Mr. Cuomo.

He said his brother Andrew "Reached out to Monsignor Alesandro who was in the chancellery at the time. It was chronicled in the grand jury report. Monsignor Alesandro was one of the three-man lawyer/priest group who intercepted children who said they were abused and discouraged them from doing anything. It was the job of the team to protect the church, to prevent law suits, from filing reports and to protect the priests. My brother talked to Monsignor Alesandro and then he [Andrew] just gave up."

He said, "My brother's a good guy. If my brother had gotten help, if Monsignor Alesandro had reached out to him as a young boy he wouldn't have lived through the trauma. Anyone who supports him [Monsignor Alesandro] has to think of the victims, the suicides and answer if they want him on a pass, not doing any kind of penance." He said the parishioners are mulling over more vigils and possibly marching to the rectory.