PHILADELPHIA (PA)
PennLive
By Ivey DeJesus | idejesus@pennlive.com
on September 23, 2015
State Rep. Mark Rozzi was offered VIP tickets to attend papal events in Philadelphia this weekend.
Raised in the Catholic Church, the Berks County Democrat declined. Like many other survivors of clergy sex abuse, Rozzi finds the visit from Pope Francis and the reception extended painful and insulting.
“It’s so frustrating seeing everybody get so excited that the pope’s coming,” Rozzi said. “This is all we hear right now. What you hear is him talk about the fact that he wants to help this group or that group, but there is no mention of wanting to meet with victims.”
Rozzi, who was 13 when he and two other friends were sexually molested by priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese, has long been at odds with the church. One of the priest died in 1999, having never been prosecuted for the alleged crimes as a result of expired statute of limitation. Rozzi’s two childhood friends committed suicide.
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