My heart broke this week as I watched the coverage of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report and heard this on CNN:

And whenever she hears the word “God,” Carolyn said, flashbacks of abuse keep coming back.

“The word ‘God’ makes me think of him [her abuser],” she said. “I just feel like my whole life has been a lie.”

How could you blame her?

Close to Home

This time it’s personal. I was abused by a lay teacher at my Erie, Pa., high school. As a direct result of the grand jury investigation — and the response by Bishop Lawrence Persico to create a public disclosure list — I was able to have my abuser’s name added to that list. To date Erie is the only diocese in the nation to include laity on its list of alleged offenders.

And, last summer I published a book, Denial: Abuse, Addiction and a Life Derailed, a fictionalized work based on a true story of one of the 1,000+ victims included in the grand jury report.

What Would Jesus Do?

It is from this perspective that I published a blog post on Medium this morning, titled:

PA Grand Jury Report: WWJD

I hope you will read it and “clap” for the post on Medium to help increase its visibility.

Thank you.