MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By Ruben Rosario
rrosario@pioneerpress.com

Linette Gavin was not surprised when she heard the news that criminal charges were filed this month against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for failing to protect children from pedophiles in their midst.

The charges were “long overdue and probably the only way to bring a catalyst for change,” said Gavin, 57, a married mother of two who was raised Catholic. “Their lack of transparency over the past decades put a lot of children in harm’s way, including myself.”

Gavin is not a victim of clergy sexual abuse. But she has a related story to tell, one that involves surviving a brutal abduction and rape, an attempted suicide and a scary bout with breast cancer. Yet, one lingering emotional scar is what she strongly feels, in hindsight, was neglect and betrayal by church officials in her parish…