Confronting DVD Shown This Weekend
Maitland Mercury
A DVD about the impact of child sexual abuse will be shown in Morpeth this weekend with additional screenings planned for the Coalfields region. The DVD – Breaking the Silence: The Impact of Sexual Abuse by Church Personnel – presents the testimony of two Maitland residents Patricia Feenan and Bob O’Toole, in a confronting and unflinchingly honest account of their experiences. The DVD was produced by Insights – an arm of Zimmerman Services in the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle that was established in 2009 to explore the ongoing consequences of historic child sexual abuse in the diocese. Ms Feenan is the mother of Daniel Feenan, a victim of deceased priest James Fletcher, while Morpeth man Bob O’Toole was sexually abused by a Marist Brother while at school. They represent many more Hunter residents who are not yet able to tell their stories. “The DVD was produced to be used with facilitated groups. While there is nothing gratuitous or unnecessarily explicit in the film, it does have the potential to disturb, and Insights takes seriously its responsibility to exercise due diligence in caring for the members of the community it encounters,” healing and support co-ordinator for the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle Maureen O’Hearn said. Breaking the Silence will be shown at The Corcoran Centre, corner of James and George Streets, Morpeth, on Saturday from 9.30am and 11.30am.
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