Patty Ruppert was trembling so badly she wasn’t sure she would get through her talk.

Standing in front of her fellow parishioners at the conclusion of an evening Mass in December, the faith formation director at Immaculate Heart of Mary revealed a painful secret few knew about her: she is a survivor of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

“I stand here to try to help others put a face to this horrible reality of abuse,” said Ruppert, who gave the same address at all the liturgies that weekend.

The church is more than clergy, hierarchy or stone buildings, she said, and faith is not rooted in a priest, bishop or anyone else.

“My faith,” she insisted, “is in Jesus Christ.”

When the 64-year-old lector and extraordinary minister of holy Communion finished her presentation, parishioners rose to their feet for an extended ovation. Many came up to her after Mass…