at the ages of 12 and 13 I was raped by
both my Catholic school principal who
which I reported to my priest upon doing
that the priest continued the rape took
it steps further for two years I
observed the abuse of these two
individuals for the first time I am able
to look at the mirror and realize I have
helped protect the kids who have yet to
be born those who are born and for other
victims to gather the strength and the
courage to be able to come for there's a
picture of me and father Joseph Bennett
who is my abuser um as you can see i'm
in my first communion outfit there he
had been raping and sodomizing me for
more than a year by the time that
picture was taking was taken um and it's
it's interesting I just met Bob today
it's interesting the similarities that
we have because I've been down the route
of therapy and psych meds and wanting
nothing more than to die and thinking
about suicide all the time because it's
a very depressing way to have to live to
to bury a secret that's so big and so
bad and you can't tell a soul because
you were threatened by your abuser that
if you were to tell you would go to help
and of course I believed him I looked up
to him like he was Jesus anybody who was
raised Catholic knows that you don't
disobey the nuns or the priests you
believe them that's who you go to
confession to this man gave me my first
communion he had he gave me put the Holy
Eucharist in my mouth the first time
this man was there when I was confirmed
this man married the older sister my
family he was in our home for Fay
dinner's he was a family front as well
as our parish priest and he returned the
friendship that my parents gave him in
the trust by raping and sodomizing their
daughter you never get over this you get
used to this it is a part of who I am it
is a part of a journey I have to take is
there closure in a sense I feel stronger
do I feel like it's over no it will
never be over for me every time I walk
down a grocery store aisle and I see the
soap I was supposed to clean myself with
every time I get a flashback every time
somebody says something to me that was
told to me by my priest my principal I
have to live that every day I have to
get used to this the only difference is
now they can't hide in the shadows
anymore