The man who has been protesting sexual abuse outside the Vatican embassy in DC since 1997

By Victoria Sanchez
ABC7
August 27, 2018

https://wjla.com/news/local/man-protesting-sexual-abuse-vatican-embassy-1997

John Wojnowski was a daily fixture protesting in front of the Vatican embassy for two decades. Now the 75-year-old man makes the three- to four-hour trip to protest sexual abuse and cover-up just once or twice a week.

Wojnowski said he was molested by a priest in Italy when he was a 15-year-old boy. It was more than 30 years later and after he became a citizen, he wrote letters to bishops and the pope about his case. He did not hear back.

“They knew that I would write but I would be too ashamed to do anything else,” he said.

In 1997, he did do something else and made protesting his daily mission.

It used to take the former Prince George’s County resident an hour on public transportation to travel to the Vatican embassy. He now lives with his son in Baltimore. The long journey requires multiple buses, a train and metro ride. Depending on the public transportation schedule, it could take up to four hours.

On Monday, Wojnowski rolled a small, black cart with rolled up banners and carried a makeshift poll. The 75-year-old slowly walked up to the embassy lawn and started tying on the banner.

“I know I had a good location here,” he said with a laugh.

For more than 20 years, he has silently stood on the corner with his posters and banners pointed in the view of thousands of passing commuters.

After all this time, Wojnowski said nothing has changed with the church.

“They have a big problem,” he said.

Until it’s fixed, he said he will carry his posters up and down the sidewalk.

“As long as it takes to get justice,” Wojnowski said.