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Northern Virginia religious bookstores feeling effects after Catholic sex abuse scandal

By Victoria Sanchez
ABC7
November 19, 2018

https://wjla.com/news/local/religious-bookstores-feelings-effects-of-catholic-sex-abuse-scandal

Northern Virginia religious bookstores feeling effects after Catholic sex abuse scandal.
Photo by Victoria Sanchez

[with video]

Some Northern Virginia religious bookstores are feeling the effects of the Catholic sexual abuse scandal in their bottom lines three months after the release of the scathing Pennsylvania grand jury report.

Meg Rydzewski opened the doors to Joyful Spirit Gifts in 2014. The Catholic store and church supply in Arlington provides things like candles to come local parishes and religious milestone items like baptismal and first communion clothing to families. In August, Rydzewski noticed a drop in customers and purchases.

The release of the Pennsylvania grand jury report uncovered decades of sexual abuse in the church involving roughly 300 priests. The news rattled the national Catholic community and Rydzewski’s small business 250 miles away.

“It was certainly unexpected for me and it was hard for me to understand that that’s what might be happening but as we moved through summer into September and into October, with the softer sales continuing, I kind of had to connect the dots,” she said.

Joyful Spirit Gifts isn’t the only business to feel the financial decline. Pauline Books and Media in Alexandria and Paschal Lamb in Fairfax both said the stores saw a decrease in customers over the past few months since the grand jury report release. An employee at Paschal Lamb said they are now seeing a gradual uptick in customers.

Last month, Rydzewski decided it was time to close her shop after serving the community for four and a half years.

“Despite the sadness I feel for it coming to an end, I personally am very hopeful for the future and I still feel the way I do about my faith. This has not shaken that at all,” she said.

The mother of two said it is the people she will miss most and the help she was able to provide. She recalled one story of a woman who walked into her store who was distressed over her job and home.

“I sold her a 65-cent plastic rosary and a little booklet on how to say the rosary. And she came back into the store about four months later and I said to her, ‘Are things any better?’ She looked at me. She was shocked that I remembered her, remembered the details that she shared with me. She told me everything had worked out. That she had prayed and everything had worked out for her. That she was in a much better situation,” said Rydzewski.

That’s what she hopes for her future and the church’s.

Joyful Spirit Gifts closes its doors on December 31. From now until December 1, everything is 30 percent off. At the beginning of the month, things will be marked down to 50 percent off. On December 15, items will be marked down to 80 percent off.




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