Clergy Abuse Survivors Kicked Out of Church

No one knows whether James Kelly’s suicide last October in front of an NJ Transit train in Morristown, stemmed from the childhood sexual abuse he endured by a Mendham, priest or from other personal problems.

SNAP Press Release
Giving Voice to Victims

For Immediate Release:
June 8, 2007

For More Information:
Contact: Patricia Serrano, cell (201) 715-6510
Mark Crawford, cell (732) 632-7687
Mark Serrano (abused at St. Joseph’s Parish), cell (703) 727-4940

CLERGY ABUSE SURVIVORS KICKED OUT OF CHURCH

SITE OF MEMORIAL TO VICTIMS WAS ONLY PARISH IN U.S.
TO HOST VICTIMS SUPPORT GROUP

Mendham, NJ– Today the New Jersey chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (www.snapnetwork.org) was informed through a letter from Mendham, New Jersey pastor Monsignor Joseph Anginoli that after five years of hosting a support group for victims of clergy sexual abuse, many of whom were abused at the very same parish, the church is kicking them out for good.

While the letter, a copy of which is found below, stated that the reason for the removal was a lack of space because of new programs being offered at the church, advocates for clergy abuse survivors, including a local parishioner of 42 years, called foul.

Patricia Serrano, the Family Outreach Coordinator for SNAP New Jersey and the founder of a parish-based support group called Healing Our Survivors Together, explained, “Clergy sexual abuse ran rampant through my parish for ten years and silently claimed at least 25 known victims. In 2002, local parishioners welcomed us into their home to begin the healing process. It is sad that Bishop Serratelli and the current St. Joe’s pastor have not joined us on that healing journey and are now turning us away. Many of the survivors we have served in the past five years even sought us out as a step to reunite with the church. There is ample space for us to conduct our monthly support group meetings at St. Joe’s parish and parochial school. Inexplicably, we have been put out in the street and must begin the process of seeking a new home to meet and heal.”

Mark Crawford, the Co-Director of SNAP New Jersey, also commented: “Ironically it is this same parish that was transformed in 2002 from a serial child molester’s hunting ground to a healing center. If Bishop Serratelli truly supported survivors of clergy sexual abuse, this eviction notice would have never been served.”

In 2002 the parish was a central focus for the disclosure of the clergy sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church, as numerous victims of the former pastor, Father James T. Hanley, came forward and faced former Bishop Frank Rodimer in a first-ever confrontation between victims and a bishop. The meeting was the subject of news stories throughout the region. In 2004 the same abuse survivors united again to dedicate the “Millstone Memorial” located on the grounds of St. Joseph’s Parish in Mendham, New Jersey.

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Millstone Memorial

No one knows whether James Kelly’s suicide last October in front of an NJ Transit train in Morristown, stemmed from the childhood sexual abuse he endured by a Mendham, priest or from other personal problems.

Still, while gathered after his funeral on the grounds of St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church in Mendham – where the abuse occurred more than two decades ago – people who were abused by the same priest discussed naming their support group chapter after Kelly, a 37-year-old telecommunications salesman from Morristown who recently had been laid off.

“We were just kind of having an open table discussion,” recalled Bill Crane, who, like Kelly, was sexually abused by the former Rev. James Hanley. “And it dawned on me that something really needs to take place that is tangible, to bring to light the seriousness of what we endured as children, so it won’t be forgotten.”

Crane suggested erecting a small monument and received approval from the group and the church’s pastor, the Rev. Kenneth Lasch. When dedicated in April outside the church’s Pax Christi Center, the 400-pound basalt monument – shaped like a millstone – will evoke a biblical saying that is meaningful to Christians who were sexually abused as children.

In the passage, from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus addresses those who would harm children, saying, “It would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea.”

The monument apparently would be the only one to victims of the clergy sex abuse crisis in the country at a church, and Lasch said it could help victims feel the church will not forget what happened to them there.

“I’m very interested in the notion of having a tribute,” said Lasch, who has been praised by Hanley’s victims for an attitude they say is an antidote to negative experiences with many other clergy. “The millstone is symbolic of the burden they have carried because of sexual abuse. It also stands as a warning to anyone who would hurt children.”

The monument – sculpted by Mark McLean, a Portland, Ore., artist engaged by Crane – measures about 2 feet by 2 feet and seems more like a marker than a monument, Lasch said. Individual donations will cover the approximately $5,000 cost of the project, and a local landscaper has offered to prepare church grounds for the monument free of charge, Lasch said. For all the good feelings that talk of the monument has inspired among victims and their supporters at St. Joseph’s, a low-key debate has arisen over an inscription for an accompanying plaque.

Source: http://www.snapnetwork.org/snap_press_releases/2007_press_releases/060807_new_jersey_chapter_kicked_out.htm

SNAP Press Release
Giving Voice to Victims
June 8, 2007