One of the more prominent victims of sexual abuse by a priest, Patrick McSorley, has apparently killed himself this week.
I think the best summary of this situation is what Andrew Sullivan had to say about it, “some scars never heal“. No, some never do, you either learn to live with them, or they kill you. Unfortunately for Patrick, the scars got the best of him.
I was just listening to the latest In The Trenches podcast. It’s normally a techie podcast but today Kevin had a nice interview with David Newberger, who spent quite a bit of time dealing with health issues that the doctor’s couldn’t diagnose. Turns out he was suffering from Conversion Disorder, which is where he developed…
I was having a discussion with my wife tonight about giving blood and all the eligibility requirements that the Red Cross has added to keep the blood supply disease-free when we realized, that I can’t give blood. I hadn’t ever realized that before. I’ve not been a regular donater of blood by any stretch, because…
Pin I get it. The people who write these laws live in a world where kids all have a loving family who cares about them and want only to protect them from the evil that exists “out there.” They will provide whatever help and information their kids need, and there’s no need for them to navigate the wildness of the internet. But we make information available to kids online because that’s not their reality. They don’t have supportive parents, they get kicked out for being gay, they are being abused at home, they are dealing with mental health issues their parents refuse to acknowledge, and they are often alone in trying to get help.
Those kids need an open internet.
A comment left on that last post reminded me of another important reality. Healing from childhood abuse takes time, there’s no doubt about that, but the other thing is, it’s never too late to start! There’s plenty of times I look at my life, at the age of 35, and wish I hadn’t wasted so…
Pin I’ve had some recent opportunities to sit down and have coffee with some people who have worked in child abuse prevention and treatment and do fundraising for those efforts. I’ve already been creating some blog posts out of things that came up during those conversations because they were that good. Still, there was one particular…
Pin I have understood this for a long time. I can write here without having to see anyone react immediately when they read it. I can see their reaction when I tell someone about being abused in person. I can watch their facial expressions and body language. I can see every bit of their discomfort, and their signs of dismissal cut me. If you don’t think telling someone in person that you need their help isn’t scary, I can only assume that is because you’ve never done it.
So when you see someone share something on social media about their mental health, and your response is to wonder why they didn’t just talk to you about it, remember how much harder that is. Maybe they aren’t ready yet, or you just haven’t done enough to earn that trust. Consider how many people in your life may be dealing with very difficult things they just haven’t told anyone about yet.
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This sad event on the heels of the Vatican’s pronouncement that Americans are being too hard on these priests. The Church says since they can no longer keep an eye on abusers once they’ve been forced to leave the priesthood that children are safer if priests are allowed to remain despite being abusers.
YOu know, my tax money goes to fund SEVERAL very nice facilities where these abusive priests can rot.
I’m just disgusted.