NEW YORK
Independent Recorder
By Alexander John
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) – “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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