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	'Repentance, Hope' Bringing O'Malley to Lowell By Hiroko Sato Lowell Sun May 13, 2006 http://www.lowellsun.com/local/ci_3819528 LOWELL -- Nowhere in Greater Lowell did the clergy sex-abuse scandal hit home harder than at St. Michael Parish in Lowell's Centralville neighborhood. The late Rev. Joseph Birmingham is believed to have abused at least a dozen boys while he was assigned there in the 1970s. So it's no surprise that Cardinal Sean O'Malley is including the church as part of his 10-day pilgrimage of "repentance and hope" to parishes with painful histories of clergy sexual abuse. O'Malley's "Novena to the Holy Spirit" begins Ascension Thursday, May 25, with a Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston at 7:30 p.m. He will then visit nine parishes before concluding his tour on Pentecost Sunday, June 4, the end of the 50-day Easter season. O'Malley will lead a prayer service at St. Michael on Monday, May 29 at 7:30 p.m. The cardinal's visits have prompted mixed reactions among abuse survivors, according to Olan Horne of Lowell, one of those who say they were molested by Birmingham. Birmingham's victims have formed a support group called Survivors of Father Birmingham. Birmingham is also accused of molesting other boys during his assignments in Salem, Sudbury, Gloucester, and Lexington. Horne, who has been invited to speak at the Mass in Boston, said he is pleased by O'Malley's tour because abuse survivors have a lot to overcome emotionally and spiritually. "I'm glad to see he is recognizing it," Horne said. Horne pointed out, however, there are still 200 plaintiffs of lawsuits stemming from abuses by priests waiting for their cases to be resolved. Many survivors feel the Boston Archdiocese must first deal with these victims before anything else, Horne said. He noted some other survivors were insulted by O'Malley's scheduled visits to the parishes because they believe it's only the archdiocese's gesture to show that it's addressing the issue instead of looking at the root causes of the problems in the church systems. Despite his mixed feelings, Horne plans to speak at the Mass in Boston. "It's a great opportunity to still have my voice heard," Horne said. "It's still a great opportunity for people to see the survivors and the cardinal meeting face to face" -- a chance Horne said former Cardinal Bernard Law never provided. Horne said more than 100 people have contacted him over the years, claiming to have been abused by Birmingham, but most of them did not want to speak up because of personal reasons. The scale of the problem and the spiritual needs of the survivors are much greater than many people realize, Horne said. "Spirituality has been difficult for all of us," said Horne, who is no longer a regular at Mass. He said only "a few good priests" have tried to understand the problem, and O'Malley has done well. But Horne said he still has problems trusting the Catholic church as an organization. The Rev. Albert Capone, pastor at St. Michael's, was not available for comment yesterday. Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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