The man in the background above is Chris O'Leary of St. Louis. Chris is a survivor of sexual predation by a priest. The story he tells is tragic, shameful and shockingly cruel.
I came across Chris on Twitter, I've had some communication with him. Chris is in a hard place right now. Something you may not have considered is how hard this publicity is on the victims as it provokes the anxiety, memories, rage and PTSD associated with the events. Yet, it is also helping because it brings to the fore the absolute evil and the need for justice.
Chris is in a hard way, surviving from the abuse, cancer and the impact all of this has had on him. The treatment that he has received from the Archdiocese of St. Louis for a number of years is disgraceful. Friends, I believe this includes the years under Raymond Cardinal Burke. Let us not hide behind anything that may have perpetuated this. I am publishing below, Chris' story and his pleading for assistance on GoFundMe.
If you think you can help Chris, take that envelope you were going to give today to the parish and diocese that has raped and abused boys like Chris and then covered it up, and send it to him.
AT THE TIME OF THIS BLOGPOST, CHRIS HAS $540.00 BY FIVE PEOPLE IN FIVE MONTHS. Vox.
My name is Chris O'Leary and I'm a survivor of abuse by a Catholic priest.
And worse.
- The Second Scandal
Most recently, I told my story -- and described the plight of survivors -- to EWTN.
- Why Two States Might Begin a Probe Into Clergy Sex Abuse
In sum...
1. I've spent the past year -- coincidentally, EXACTLY a year -- fighting to force the Archdiocese of St. Louis to recognize the (continuing) plight of survivors like me. And to help us. Actually. This week my efforts were rewarded and my prayers were answered with the announcement that the Attorney General of Missouri is opening an investigation into the actions of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
2. The Archdiocese of St. Louis and the Catholic Church promise treatment for survivors of abuse by priests, but what I received was only torment; psychological abuse on top of my original sexual abuse. A year ago I did receive a settlement of $9,000 (net) from the Archdiocese, but I lived off of that settlement over the past year as I fought to help the other survivors who have contacted me and the others who I know are out there. And that money is now gone.
3. I was forced to settle for that small settlement, instead of going to trial, due to the (sadly successful) efforts of the Archdiocese of St. Louis to create a problem with the Statute Of Limitations by first Gaslighting me and then giving me the Run-Around. And I'm not the only survivor the Archdiocese of St. Louis did that to.
4. I was fighting Cancer (Malignant Melanoma) at the same time (2013-2016) I was fighting the Archdiocese of St. Louis -- which they knew due to the lawsuit I filed and the discovery process -- leaving me with $6,000 of unpaid medical debt to SLU hospital and my surgeon.
As a result, I'm broke.
Bankrupt.
When I last checked, I had $.40 to my name.
Yes, 40 cents.
Fighting the Archdiocese of St. Louis, forcing them to open their files to the Attorney General of Missouri, and financing that fight with my settlement, was worth it.
Completely.
But it's left me mentally and physically exhausted.
11 comments:
It would seem that ++Burke was involved in the St.Louis cover-up. If so, he should immediately inform the public what actually happened there & his involvement in it. If he remains silent (like the Vatican) the Catholics of St. Louis will make-up their own minds about it & that could not only be disastrous for ++Burke but also the CC laity who have shown such trust in him.
There is more on Cardinal Burke and his mishandling and covering up of abuse cases dating back to his time in LaCrosse, WI on bishop-accountability.com and it is disgraceful.
I'm from St. Louis; I know Cardinal Burke slightly. I admire what he has done on numerous fronts, not least in the tremendous efforts he has made on behalf of Catholic tradition, especially in connection with the Institute of Christ the King.
I also believe that full transparency and justice must be demanded of every bishop equally, even the ones we happen to like the most. A hundred good deeds cannot make up for one innocent life wrecked by failure to act when the chance is there to act by the shepherd.
From what I can make out, Fr. Valentine was removed from active ministry in 2002, two years before then-Archbp. Burke was appointed to St. Louis. Of course, that can't be the end of the story, since it is not clear just exactly how this case was handled by the Archdiocese during the five years of Burke's tenure (2004-08) - I am unclear why he was not laicized, or if there was an attempt to do so, or exactly how they interacted with O'Leary in that time frame, whether there was full reporting to local authorities, etc. But if indeed the Attorney General of Missouri is looking through the Archdiocese's records, I hope we can get a full accounting of how this case was handled, day by day, year by year, ordinary by ordinary.
Please note the link is .org Bishop-accountability.org
Considering that Burke's Dubia went no where and that 2 of the original signers have died...is it possible that the purpose of the Dubia was to weed out and identify the defenders of the Doctrine while at the same time pacifying their supporters among the traditional laity to make it seem that something was being done? Burke may or may not be part of the subterfuge and stall tactic, he may be a pawn, but we need to judge the situation by the outcome and the effects it produced.
The same applies for those who abused and who covered it up...I am not aware of any one stepping forward to admit their guilt and to show true contrition and humility. If that doesn't happen then I hope that the DOJ pursues RICO charges against the church in the US and the Vatican.
BC
This explains why Burke can't go further than the feeble "Dubia" - he knows that the heretical "powers that be have "kompromat" on him.
#VAnon
#InvestigateGustavoVera
I just wanted to make a suggestion to Chris. Think about doing Shipt or Schuncks shopping/delivery program. Those are good ways to make money and be able to work when you feel well and take time off when you aren't feeling well. Just something to think about. You and other survivors will be in my prayers.
Burke made Catholicism a living hell for one woman wh tied to inform him that the woman he approved to start a new Religious Order was in reality a transgender. No he never returned any reponses to her letters and when she finally wrote to the Papal Nuncio and it went back to Burke ,he made sure she was a persona non grata throughout the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin.The ultimate politician Burke knows how to look good and conservative while hiding abusers.
" His critics say Burke's ability to conceal the diocese's dirty laundry was abetted by Wisconsin's unique civil code, which makes it virtually impossible for someone to sue the church for the actions of an individual priest.
"He stands with his fellow bishops in Wisconsin as having had the ability to just rebuke and ignore our victims," says Jeff Anderson, an attorney in St. Paul, Minnesota, who specializes in clergy abuse cases. "He has a long history of making pastoral statements that they care, that they want to heal, that they want to help. They are very long on words, but very short on actions."
https://www.riverfronttimes.com/stlouis/immaculate-deception/Content?oid=2461663
Yes Burke is all the more disgusting because "gay ray" as he was known in his seminary days was supported heavily by Voris on church militant as having been the best candidate for the Papacy during the conclave.
Opus Dei connections anyone?
My understanding is that the woman was a hermaphrodite, someone born with male and female genitals. This is not a "trans" person. It is a medical rarity and a cross from God.
Well yes Vox if that was indeed the case.
In cases I have seen in the hospital, the condition was a result of intermarriage or taking birth control pills well into the first trimester of pregnancy.
If this was the woman's situation Burke owed the parishioner who wrote to him in concern, an explanation of there having been a medical condition rather than a choice for transgendering . He could have replied, at the very least, that he was aware of her situation for which she was not culpable for .
Instead, the parishioner asserts he never responded.
Sorry, but Burke did make a grievous error in white knighting for a transgender "nun":
https://www.traditioninaction.org/Questions/B988_Nun.html
Please don't make the mistake of the fake Traditional forum "Fish Eaters" who let themselves be "catfished" (pun intentional) by another transgender troll.
The LGBTQ abomination must be stamped out, not "pastorally accompanied"....
#romans11832
I can only name on one hand the bishops in whom I would have any amount of reasonable trust. None of those were mentioned in this combox.
The bishops or Cardinals we can trust are the ones going to bat for the faith right now. We know who they are, they don't talk in circles, no verbosity or meandering around things until nobody knows what they are talking about. Direct. Pointed. They use concrete language that means yes if they say yes and no if they say no.
Our list of good guys gets shorter and list of bad guys gets longer. It's important to know who is who. Frankly, I wonder that we aren't going to find out there is pretty much nobody on the good guy list, not enough to carry a church along anyway.
Read your bibles. Pray the Rosary.
In our house we are determined not to give support of any kind to an apostate sodomite church. Not one dime ever to Fr. Chester the Boy Molester.
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