NEW YORK (NY)
Catholic New York – Archdiocese of New York
September 9, 2020
By Christie L. Chicoine
A contingent of young adult Catholics gathered for Mass and to share communion and camaraderie among one another Friday evening of Labor Day weekend at Most Holy Redeemer Church in Manhattan’s East Village.
The Sept. 4 gathering was the inaugural event of Goretti Group New York at Most Holy Redeemer, geared to those aged 18-42, singles or married. The first Manhattan chapter at Most Holy Redeemer will continue to meet on the first Friday of each month there.
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Father Jeffry Dillon, a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn, served as celebrant and homilist of the 7 p.m. Mass Sept. 4. A survivor of clerical sexual abuse as a child, Father Dillon was the featured speaker of the evening’s talk, which included a question-and-answer session.
An NYPD police officer from 1967 to 1975, he was ordained a priest in 1981 and is presently the pastor of Our Lady of Light parish in St. Albans, Queens.
Father Dillon, in his talk, said, “For all those people in the pews who have not experienced sexual abuse, they’re victims also, they’re survivors also. They also have to deal with this. And they have a right to answers.”
While recognizing these realities, he said he was not condemning the Church.
Throughout the talk, Father Dillon quelled common misperceptions about victims of abuse. “Most victims,” he said, “don’t come forward because they don’t want to relive the pain.”
He recalled that when he first told his story to someone, the response was: “When did it happen? How did it happen? Where did it happen?”
To that line of questioning, Father Dillon shared that he replied: “Who cares? It happened.”
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