Tracy Kornet: I am a person of faith who has taken action against sexual abuse. You can too. | Opinion

By Tracy Kornet
Tennessean
November 26, 2018

https://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/2018/11/26/people-faith-must-stand-up-against-sexual-abuse-opinion/2068258002/

Parishioners attend Sunday Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Palm Desert, Calif., October 14, 2018. Monsignor Howard Lincoln addressed the sexual assault allegations against Peter McCormick, who was a priest at Sacred Heart from 1984 to 2000, during Mass. Photo by Zoë Meyers

Like many of you, I have a tender heart.

I was 11 when someone stole my little brother’s brand-new bike. He walked into our kitchen with tear-filled eyes, and I bolted like the Wicked Witch of the West on my 10-speed, flying through the neighborhood to retrieve Nate’s bike from the bad guys.

In my first TV news job, I would cry when I reported any story about child abuse. 

I have always had a deep belief in God and in the value of organized religion. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt how each of us is deeply loved as a child of God.

I was raised a “Charismatic Christian” and spent a whole lot of time in church, summers at Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s PTL Club, and almost every weekend with my best friend’s family, who is Jewish. I still call them my surrogate parents.

Even as horrific stories of abuse by priests surfaced through the years, my religious beliefs have never wavered. In fact, in 2004 I became Catholic. My family’s love for weekly mass and the traditions of the faith continue to inspire me.

I started teaching “Keeping Kids Safe” classes in the Catholic diocese in Dallas/Fort Worth. The country-wide training was mandated by law for anyone wanting to volunteer, teach or help in any capacity in Catholic schools or churches. 

Our curriculum included videos of actual perpetrators, sharing how they groomed kids and got away with molesting them. The course concluded with a list of specific policies we should demand of every school, camp or youth program to keep kids safe from sexual predators.

When I moved back to Nashville four years ago and learned about the Sexual Assault Center, I couldn’t believe such an organization existed.

• A place that provides counseling to women, men and children after rape whether they can afford it or not. 
• A place that will send a trained volunteer to meet a traumatized victim at the hospital, just to be there.  
• A place where, as of just last month, you can now get a forensic rape exam, along with legal help if you decide to press charges one day.

And this was all before the #MeToo movement opened this discussion to the masses.

I’ve been deeply entrenched in the Sexual Assault Center ever since, compelled to use my television platform to inform others about sexual assault, the rise in reports of male-on-male rape, and the tremendous change SAC has helped create in Nashville.

Which brings me to what makes me so very sad: people turning their backs on God, and on religion in general, in the wake of the sexual abuse and cover-up scandal. 

Instead of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, I encourage you to help change what’s broken. 

Demand a list of written policies that protect your kids from sexual assault in your church, temple or mosque; their schools, sports teams and dance studios. 

Call SAC and have one of us come to your book club, dad’s club, PTA meeting or faith service to facilitate a conversation.

Don’t give up on the church. Awareness is where change begins.

My tender heart has grown some muscle through the years. I don’t cry nearly as much as I used to. Taking action and fighting for others helps.

And my little brother’s bike? Just as it got dark, I spotted an adult walking it into his family’s garage. The man told me someone had ditched Nate’s bike at the end of his driveway. 

I peddled home like a mad woman to tell my brother my good news. 

We are not powerless, people. We are called to stand up for those who can’t. 

And that’s a truth. In every religion.