Man whose claim sparked Buffalo clergy abuse scandal wants to forgive priest

BUFFALO (NY)
Buffalo News

Oct. 4, 2019

By Jay Tokasz

Michael F. Whalen Jr. wants to sit down with the Rev. Norbert F. Orsolits someday and forgive the priest he says molested him when he was an impressionable boy in need of a role model.

“You know, I’ve carried the pain that he caused me for 40 years. For the rest of his days, I want him to wonder why one survivor forgave him,” said Whalen, a former U.S. Army private who lives in South Buffalo.

“It’s because of my faith. Something he didn’t believe in. He used his as a weapon to hurt kids. Me, I want him to know that I forgive him. That’s what our religion, what our faith, what our church is supposed to be,” Whalen said.

It was Whalen’s public accusation against Orsolits that set off a Buffalo Diocese clergy sexual abuse scandal, which now includes the identification of more than 100 Buffalo area priests who were credibly accused of abuse, ongoing federal and state investigations into whether diocese officials tried to cover up abuses and more than 165 lawsuits against the diocese. On Thursday, the Vatican directed Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio to investigate the Buffalo Diocese through an “apostolic visitation.”

Within hours of Whalen’s new conference on Feb. 27, 2018, outside the diocese’s Main Street headquarters, Orsolits admitted to The Buffalo News that he had molested “probably dozens” of boys decades ago.

Whalen, 54, has come a long way from that news conference. He’s now at ease talking about a secret that had kept him in silent shame for decades. He’s developed a network of new friends who share a common bond as survivors of abuse, but who talk regularly on all manner of subjects. He said he’s grown closer to his family, including three grandchildren, with a fourth due in November.

Whalen also has developed a passion for the Child Advocacy Center, which provides a variety of services for children and families affected by child sexual abuse or severe physical abuse.

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