Sex abuse victim learns of Pope's role
Matt McCormick was in the seventh grade when Father Alvin Campbell gave him a ride home from a baseball game. As they were driving along country roads, Campbell put his hand on McCormick’s thigh and “just left it there.”
It was the first time the priest had touched him. During the next three years, McCormick says, the abuse would go much further.
That was 25 years ago. Just three months ago, he learned that Pope Benedict XVI played a role in keeping his abuser in the church when CNN told him about a letter signed by the pontiff – then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger – refusing to defrock the pedophile priest.
Walking around the 1,000-person Illinois farming town where he grew up, McCormick pointed out where he was molested: inside the church school, inside the rectory, and inside the church itself.
Before performing his duties as an altar server, McCormick and other boys were fondled by Campbell in a room just steps away from the altar.
“He thought it would be funny if we went out with erections under our gowns,” McCormick said.
Still, like other young victims of molestation, McCormick didn’t think of the priest as a monster.
“You don’t see him as a predator – you see him as a friend,” McCormick said, standing in the same church where he was abused. “You see him as somebody who supplies you with money, bicycles and games and trips ... His actions would be so slow and so subtle that by the time you realized what’s going on, you’re caught.”
Campbell would also discuss sexual topics with McCormick in the confessional. READ MORE
It was the first time the priest had touched him. During the next three years, McCormick says, the abuse would go much further.
That was 25 years ago. Just three months ago, he learned that Pope Benedict XVI played a role in keeping his abuser in the church when CNN told him about a letter signed by the pontiff – then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger – refusing to defrock the pedophile priest.
Walking around the 1,000-person Illinois farming town where he grew up, McCormick pointed out where he was molested: inside the church school, inside the rectory, and inside the church itself.
Before performing his duties as an altar server, McCormick and other boys were fondled by Campbell in a room just steps away from the altar.
“He thought it would be funny if we went out with erections under our gowns,” McCormick said.
Still, like other young victims of molestation, McCormick didn’t think of the priest as a monster.
“You don’t see him as a predator – you see him as a friend,” McCormick said, standing in the same church where he was abused. “You see him as somebody who supplies you with money, bicycles and games and trips ... His actions would be so slow and so subtle that by the time you realized what’s going on, you’re caught.”
Campbell would also discuss sexual topics with McCormick in the confessional. READ MORE
Comments
Post a Comment