BUFFALO (NY)
WKBW
April 5, 2018
By Charlie Specht
Diocese investigating Fr. Joseph Rappl
“I just tried to be, you know, someone who was good and attended Mass and went to confession.”
It was after that confession decades ago that an 11-year-old altar boy in Lewiston says he was abused by a Diocese of Buffalo priest.
“I had asked to have a confession, and after the confession he sexually abused me,” said the man, who was identified Thursday as “John Doe” at a news conference in Buffalo, where he spoke by telephone to reporters.
The church was St. Peter in Lewiston. The priest: Father Joseph Rappl. That 11-year-old altar boy is 48 now. Even decades later, he is too ashamed to give his name.
“It’s very difficult to talk about,” he said. “I felt embarrassed. I felt ashamed. I didn’t know how people would respond. You know, it took this long for me to have the courage to come forward and speak about this.”
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