CONNECTICUT
The Hartford Courant
By Kristin Stoller
HARTFORD — For years, Marie Collins thought it was her fault.
Shortly after her 13th birthday in Ireland in 1960, Collins became ill and was admitted to a Dublin children’s hospital. She said her mother was pleased to find out that a hospital chaplain, a Catholic priest, had taken a special interest in her.
But soon, Collins said, that interest turned to abuse, as the priest subjected her to “indecent” photographs and touches.
“I had gone in [to the hospital] a very confident, happy child,” she said. “When I came out, I was a very different child.”
Collins spoke Saturday morning at the 2015 National Assembly of the Voice of the Faithful, a Massachusetts-based group formed after the priest sex abuse scandal broke more than 10 years ago.
The group is dedicated to supporting victims of abuse, and also says it supports priests of integrity and structural change within the church.
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