TORONTO (CANADA)
The Globe and Mail
January 4, 2019
By Zosia Bielski
Marianne Zettel’s devout Catholic mother told her she could trust a priest if she was in trouble.
Ms. Zettel was in trouble. Starting at the age of 9, she’d been sexually abused by a member of her extended family. Feeling overwhelming shame about the abusive encounters, the girl turned to the church, joining altar service.
“I wanted to redeem myself with God,” said Ms. Zettel, now 56. “I was so mixed up, guilt ridden and worried what God thought of me.”
During that time frame, two priests molested her, Ms. Zettel said. The abuse continued until she was 13 and left her with a painful question: Why would three adults do this to her?
Today, Ms. Zettel has found answers through an unlikely avenue: helping men who sexually offend. Ms. Zettel volunteers with Community Justice Initiatives (CJI), a Kitchener, Ont.-based organization that facilitates dialogue between victims and offenders – part of a delicate process known as restorative justice.
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