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Catholic church reaches out to heal those impacted by past clergy abuse
By Jennifer Stockinger
A Brainerd Catholic church is reaching out to the community and to the survivors who were abused by clergy in hopes to help them heal.Father Tony Wroblewski of St. Francis Catholic Church said the Brainerd church is keeping with the theme of "A Year of Mercy" as declared by Pope Francis and have created a diverse group of parishioners to reflect on how the church, the Brainerd lakes Catholic community, can integrate the Pope's focus on the Catholic faith and to present actions taken, both within and without the Catholic church, to address the past abuse of young people by clergy. Wroblewski said the church wants to help victims, families and the community heal. The group, named the Mercy Task Force, is studying ways the Catholic community can promote atonement, healing and where fitting, forgiveness. Wroblewski said since the Minnesota Child Victims Act went into effect a number of lawsuits about abuse of young people by clergy have been filed. The act changed the statutes of limitations and gives child sexual abuse victims until May 25, 2016, to file civil lawsuits. Several civil lawsuits were filed in the Diocese of Duluth, which the Brainerd parish is affiliated with. The diocese released a report in December of 2013 that 17 former priests were accused of abuse, including The Rev. Kirby Blanchard, who was a pastor at various churches in Garrison, Deerwood, Pequot Lakes, Pine River and Brainerd; and The Rev. Leonard Colston, who served at St. Francis in 1980-81. More recently, a sexual abuse case was filed against Father Charles Gormly, who was at St. Francis in Brainerd in 1960-61, involving a female minor victim. The lawsuit alleges Gormly's abuse of the survivor resulted from the Diocese of Duluth's negligence and concealment of information about Gormly's sexually abusive past. Gormly died in 1968. Since 1992, the Diocese of Duluth has had a strict sexual misconduct policy in place. There are safeguards in place to make sure the Catholic churches and schools provide a safe environment for youth. Wroblewski said any adult involved in religious and school programs who will have contact with youth must go through safe environment training, have a background check done and if anyone has been convicted of a sexual conduct crime they will not be able to work with youth. Wroblewski said staff are taught to look for the warning signs of abuse and are trained how to respond, including reporting any incident. "We have these situations where many of us feel powerless on what to do," Wroblewski said. "We can't change what happened in the past. We deplore any kind of decisions that were made to move a problem priest from one place to another. So what do we do? That is how the Mercy Task Force came about. "How do we No. 1 atone for decisions of the past that were terrible even if we had nothing to do with those decisions; how do we as a church respond today to those who are hurting; and how can we be a part of the solution in dealing with abuse that happens, not just within the church which is a small fraction of the larger problems we face in society and family." Wroblewski said the church is searching for ways to atone the sins of the past, how the church can make amends and how to move forward. Wroblewski said the church cannot just say sorry once and move on. He said work needs to be done to try to heal the community and the victims who were abused. The task force has organized focused prayer, a variety of presentations, learning opportunities and scheduled the following gatherings open to the public: • Weekly Prayers of the Faithful at Mass specifically for those who are survivors of abuse. • Bishop Paul D. Sirba will appear at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at St. Francis Church for a time of atonement, prayer and dialogue regarding past sexual abuse by clergy. Professional sexual abuse advocates from the Crow Wing County Sexual Assault Services will be available for those who would like information and/or support. • Alison Feigh, director of the Jacob Wetterling Foundation, will present "When Faith Hurts" at 7 p.m., Dec. 11, at the Northland Arboretum. Professional sexual abuse advocates from the Crow Wing County Sexual Assault Services also will be available. • Another program is being considered to possibly happen during Lent in 2016. "The information that comes out disgusts us greatly," Wroblewski said of clergy abuse. "It's painful we know it is even more painful for those who've had to endure it, the survivors and their families. I would add that although the truth will hurt, the truth needs to be told so we can move forward with honesty and integrity. "A lot of parishioners have expressed anger regarding past abuse. I think a lot of it is a delayed reaction." Pat Altrichter, a Mercy Task Force member, said, "Our hope is that on Nov. 6, our community will come together to acknowledge the pain and suffering that occurs because of sexual abuse. The abuse from clergy is especially tragic, and many forms of abuse, in communities across the globe, is far too prevalent. We hope that this community prayer service will unite us in the process of healing for those who are suffering." Crow Wing County Assistant Attorney David Hermerding also sits on the task force as a community member. Hermerding said the mission of the task force is to help the church/the parishioners to heal from past child abuse. He said the events planned for the community will allow "the church to get back together and heal and will invite those who were disenfranchised because of some of the abuse to come back to the church. "We want to reach out to everyone in the community who might have been a victim of abuse. We will have folks from victim services at the events who will be available to those who want services." Contact: jennifer.stockinger@brainerddispatch.com
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