Like waves on the ocean, priest rape survivor memories ebb and flow, and sometimes it takes 50 years to file charges and a lawsuit.

*****
By Kay Ebeling
Spent last weekend at the sea and at one point ended up beating down ugly flashbacks, this damn story follows me everywhere I go. If anyone wonders why a 71 year old woman would file a lawsuit like Kay Goodnow did last Friday, about rape by a priest when she was 15 years old, more than 50 years ago, try going on a trip like I did last week and I'm 59 raped by a priest 54 years ago. I'm in Ensenada and I see a hotel where a horrible thing happened to me when I was still "in the life" so of course all of a sudden I remember the whole experience in one flash. Yes, priest rape as a child can still taint your life and your vacation, even 50 plus years later.

Kay Goodnow of Kansas City was already my hero because only last year at age 70 she filed a police report regarding Predator Priest Jack Baskett and his sexual assaults on her 50 years ago, and as a result his name went up on Bishop Accountability. Jack Baskett entered Goodnow’s life when she was 15 years old and raped her. Then he would drop back in as she became an adult, just long enough to confuse her and mess with her life again. She filed suit against the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph last week.

The Kansas City Star put the story up around 12:01 AM, “Lawsuit accuses priest of sexual abuse in 1952” and by 4:24 AM there were four vicious comments after the article, the first by someone who called themself, “sue the dead.” However, by the time they closed the comments, there were five screens, and in the end supporters outnumbered the stalkers. One of the last comments, posted by Vatican2Catholic copy and pasted an article by Sister Maureen Paul Turlish from National Catholic Reporter, October 28, 2005. (All 47 comments are copy and pasted at the end of this post for your reading pleasure.)

Serendipity took me to Ensenada, Mexico, last week and as I'm wandering the streets looking for the best pharmacy, I look up and there’s another trigger right in my face, the Ramshackle Hotel it could be called. You'd think it would be gentrified by now, but no, it’s the same run down slimy place it was in 1967, doors so crooked they could have been drawn by a child. Maybe that's the hotel’s marketing edge, slimy rundown rooms in Mexican beach town where you can get away with anything.

A guy brought me to that hotel on a date in 1967, I was 19, and it is one of the times that was so bad even I can’t remember details of what he did. I do remember lying in that hotel room among smells of semen and other, well, things. I had to stay behind while he went back out to the bars, as I was aching in strange places. So I stayed there in the hotel room with the fleas looking out the window at what is now a row of pharmacies where you can buy morphine pills for seven dollars a pop.

I was 19 in 1967 and my daughter is 19 now. Arggh the synchronicity, it doesn't stop, like the waves on the ocean, you always move forward and then a little bit back, a little bit forward, a little bit back.

At 19 with a brain like mine I should have been in college, or considering the times, with a soul like mine I should have been starting a family with a husband. Yet here I was flopping around Pasadena going on a date with someone with wrinkles who batters me. Looking back at it today, it was sexual assault, and I just took it, because of the compulsion.

The compulsion didn't come from God, it came from Father Horny. I’ve decided out of respect for his being dead since 1985 to drop the E at the end of his name and replace it with a Y. So my perp Father Thomas Barry Horne is now officially Father Horny.

People doubt if a rape by a Catholic priest in childhood can still have negative effects on a person at age 60, yeah it can.

MORE KAY GOODNOW STUFF

Kay Goodnow is a 71 year old lady who was raped by her Catholic priest at age 15, then he raped her repeatedly at different times during her life, into adulthood, a bizarre case of criminal manipulation. Today Kay works part time in retail and also spends hours forwarding news stories by email to her list of fellow priest rape survivors dealing with Sex Crimes in the Catholic Church.

Last week her lawyer got everything lined up and announced Kay Goodnow’s civil lawsuit.

Kay Goodnow made this statement:

So, why is a grandmother filing a suit? One reason is to dispel the notion that my claim (and the claims of countless others in this community) is precluded by the statute of limitations. That simply isn’t true for many reasons which include culpability because of the decades of cover up, and because of the issue of repressed memory and the length of time it takes for a victim to comprehend the damage done.

Kay Goodnow wants to use her lawsuit to bring out the truth. She stated:

The Bishops’ child protection act of 2002 is not being enforced. Sure, the diocese does Virtus, they do background checks on their staff and they suggest that children be trained to protect themselves.

How are the priests vetted? Who trains them in abuse issues? That, after all, is the reason the church is in crisis and the reason that the scandal has been covered up. They created the problem and they are responsible for resolving it.

The diocese would have the public believe that they are cooperating with local authorities, yet; none of the priests who have been accused have been prosecuted. It’s all window dressing. This diocese has never accepted accountability.

Sometimes it takes little old ladies coming forward, Kay Goodnow continues:

So, if it takes little old ladies coming forward, so it is. There are probably hundreds of other victims from my generation and it’s never too late for them to seek truth, justice, comfort and healing.

Kay took a lot of abuse in the Kansas City Star Comments section for “waiting 50 years” to file her suit. In her statement, Kay Goodnow said:

I will admit that I was slow to catch on to what happened to me; I was very slow to accept that I had actually been a victim. I believed for a very long time that that man loved me, and no one likes being played for a fool.

I know personally that it may take a lifetime for an individual to realize the extent of the damage done and to do something about it. I know, because I was slow. That’s why I’m here, to do something about it.

We need time to realize the extent of the damage done, sometimes it takes 40 or more years.

Now she feels free - Kay Goodnow continues:

I am now so glad that it happened to me. It took a long time, but I am free of the restrictions, threats and brainwashing that were used on me in that era. I further believe that age helps with this process called “healing,” because as I face my own future and time grows shorter, it becomes apparent that I have the right to think for myself, as do all human beings. I have accepted responsibility for my own spirituality. I am proud that I protected my children and grandchildren in my own way. I simply could not allow this to happen to them.

I was taught to believe that a priest or a nun is next to God and can do no wrong. Sexual abuse by persons who supposedly represent God results in rape of the soul. The tactics used by these predators is always linked to God in one form or another, even by those who tell their victims that “no one will ever believe you” or “if you tell, I will injure you and other members of your family.”

People are either for or against child abuse. I have never met anyone who said “I think abuse of children is a good thing.” Those who are for the protection of children and do nothing about it are enablers.

Until those who pretend to be the final arbiters of right and wrong accept responsibility, children remain imperiled. The authority of the church enables predators to walk amongst us freely. That must end. Enabling, aiding or abetting the abuse of children borders on the criminal. Catholics have the right to demand that their children are protected.

Enabling bishops have built and worship at the “Church of the Almighty Dollar.” They have placed greater importance on protecting known sex offenders than on protecting the children trusted to their care. They have chosen golden chalices and pieces of silver.

As a result, schools and churches are being closed and properties sold off. From their pulpits, they would have Catholics believe that their own victims caused the problem.

In my opinion, all Roman Catholics are being abused in one form or another.

********************

WE ALL HAVE TO DO SOMETHING
to make this happen for us:

Today in my email from three different major news groups I got this:

Scandal-Plagued Spitzer Stepping Down
New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer will resign effective
Monday over a prostitution scandal.

What the bishops did was ions worse than a New York governor going to a prostitute.

The media will respond this way to our story someday, when the criminal bishops are forced to step down.

The story of bishops forced to step down will show up in people’s emails three or four times from national news organizations like this one did about the Governor of New York, when the criminal bishops finally step down.

It can happen.

Onward . . .

HERE ARE THE COMMENTS FROM KANSAS CITY STAR READERS TO THE NEWS OF KAY GOODNOW'S LAWSUIT

These morons have gone completely off the deep end now.
• Posted by: sue the dead
• 3/7/2008 2:22 AM

This can't be proven or disproven since the priest died several years ago...if it happened, she waited too long to speak up. I certainly don't want part of my tithe going to this woman.
• Posted by:
• 3/7/2008 3:45 AM

Oh, come on now... "Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests." SNAP? Is it April Fool's already?
• Posted by: Reggie
• 3/7/2008 4:02 AM

What a crock! I'm beginnig to see it clearly now .... I think I was abused 50 years ago as an infant .... yes I see that evil face coming into view .... it's... it's ...it's ....Mickey Mouse! Damm that evil rodent - I'll sue him for every penny he owns!
• Posted by: LOL
• 3/7/2008 4:24 AM

I fully support Ms. Goodnow's attempt at some form of justice for the crimes committed against her. Hopefully the lawsuit will bring her some resolution, and she will be able to fully heal. I applaud your courage and am proud of you!!
• Posted by: Irene
• 3/7/2008 7:52 AM

My goodness. Here we have a woman who has finally had the courage to come forward and tell her painful story in a socially acceptable manner using the US court system to hear her case for better or worse, and all these negative comments spew forth, blaming and insinuating she is making things up. This is evidence that some people have their heads in the sand about the cruelty and lifelong devastation that a priest and its hierarchy can do to another human being when power is abused. So what is it that people have against her having her day in court? It seems to imply that those against it are unpatriotic to our justice system at best, and severely limited in one's scope in empathizing with a rape victim. It is this very attitude portrayed above that has allowed these criminal priests and bishops to continue to hurt innocent children and vulnerable adults, and will continue to allow them to hurt people. This attitude thrives when ignorance is the prevailing fog and dissipates when light and knowledge allows the evidence to come forth. Let the court system do what it is supposed to do, and may the negative commenters set aside their prejudices and allow some light to dissipate their fog.
• Posted by: ATman
• 3/7/2008 8:15 AM

What ever happened to the Statute of Limitations? This sort of stuff is total Bulls***. If someone has to wait this long, it appears not to have been that big a problemn to start with. Let it go. Someone is just out for money and a lame excuse to start with.
• Posted by: Squatee2663
• 3/7/2008 8:26 AM

Have to give Ms. Goodnow a lot of credit. The hurt never goes away. Walk in the victims shoes before you cast the first stone. Go to it Kay!!!!!I'm on your side.
• Posted by:
• 3/7/2008 8:50 AM

Katherine Goodnow is a courageous woman. The cruel comments of some in this forum are illustrative of why it takes sometimes an entire lifetime for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to come forward, if they ever come forward at all. Katherine has suffered enough, and she deserves our compassion and support.
• Posted by: Suzy Nauman
• 3/7/2008 8:54 AM

There should be a balance to the system for rape cases and there is not and people are abusing it. This whole attitude that everyone should have their say no matter how long it's been and even if they have absolutely no evidence whatsoever is ridiculous. The system has become completely skewed in the victim's favor. They can say whatever they want, whenever they want, and a defendent can do nothing. It's wrong & should be corrected. There are to many innocent people who's lives have been ruined, that are in prison, were in prison, or took plea deals to avoid prison but are marked for life because of these witch hunts, and to many "victims" getting rich at their expense.
• Posted by: fedup
• 3/7/2008 9:00 AM

Need evidence? That is what the court system is for. Either you are a patriot and have faith in the system or you don't. Isn't presupposing that someone is filing a claim without evidence indicates a rush to judgement and prejudicial? Katherine will have her day in court. This article is only reporting a portion of the whole story. The judge will have to see what's there. Sometimes the evidence is the wretched scar that no-one else can see, feel or have to live with. Even if there is a statute of limitations that will discard this case on legal issues, it still does not dismiss the truth of the matter.
• Posted by: ATman
• 3/7/2008 9:19 AM

Before 2002 when the Boston stories broke no one would have believed Ms. Goodnow's story. Since 2002 more than 4400 priests have been cited as pedophilies and ephebophiles, with convictions and credible accusations. They raped children and adolescents. To those naysayers, I say pay attention and expect more people to come forward with bizarre unbelievable stories. It's been gradual as the public finally begins to see THIS ALL REALLY HAPPENED, there was an edpidemic of sex crimes for 50 plus years as these deviants thrived by hiding behind their religious robes. I know it's hard to believe, but no one would come forward with a story like this, knowing there would be troglodytes posting hateful comments and slinging arrows at her, if it were not true. Go to bishopaccountability dot org and start from A to Z reading about one priest after another and the crimes. Then see if you don't believe Goodnow's story.
• Posted by: Kay Ebeling, Los Angeles
• 3/7/2008 9:20 AM

boy: ... no, no, no
priest: " . . . its that satanic p e n i s in your pants that i want to touch, little boy."
• Posted by:
• 3/7/2008 9:34 AM

As a Catholic priest who is also a victim of clergy sexual abuse, I applaud Katherine Goodnow for her courage in filing a lawsuit against her abuser. I was born in 1952, the year Kay was sexually abused by the priest. If I had known then what I know now...and all Catholics should be thinking the same thing!
• Posted by:
• 3/7/2008 10:21 AM

What a crock, how convenient the suspect is dead, so you can't prove one way or the other what this stinking liar is saying. Another money grubber want a few free bucks.
• Posted by:
• 3/7/2008 10:35 AM

Those that use words like "witch hunt" are only covering up the crimes of pedophiles. More power to those that speak out against child abuse and child molesters.
• Posted by: stop child abuse
• 3/7/2008 10:39 AM

I love all of these people who are pre-supposing that Ms. Goodnow is telling the truth. She's presented no evidence for any of them to base their statements on. I would say Ms. Goodnow is pretty smart, she knows that with the accused dead, the Diocese will be unable to defend their case, since they can't investigate the allegations by questinoning the supposed violator. So Ms. Goodnow and her attorney's know very well that the Diocese will have no choice but to try and settle this out of court and guaratee her and her attorney some money.
• Posted by:
• 3/7/2008 10:41 AM

Goodnow said Thursday that she didn?t come forward earlier partly because she was embarrassed
However,now that she hasn't saved enough money for retirement and needs a few bucks to get by on, it's okay to talk about it.
• Posted by:
• 3/7/2008 10:57 AM

"hard times flush the chumps"
So, why is it that a law suit of this nature is allowed? She's 71 years old. If I were attorney I'd take this one on without even blinking.
• Posted by: EEMcGill
• 3/7/2008 11:16 AM

If this truely happened, I am sorry for her, however, I also feel the that the pain that it inflects upon the Church, is also unfairly centered on the Deceased, since he can not defend himself. Also the fact that the accused is a Catholic Priest is why this whole article even maks the Paper, if it had been a Baptise Preacher or a Jewish Rabbi it would not be printed. I sick that we (Catholics) are the only ones that seem to get printed when a leader make a terriable mistake. I am not defending these crimes, I just want it to be fairly presented and not blown out of proportion because it was a Priest.
But also think it is unfair to the this particular priest since the gentleman passed away 13 years ago, but the Church will have to defend this latest charge anyway, which is money that could be spent on its intention or mission which is serving God's people.
• Posted by: Patrick
• 3/7/2008 12:04 PM

The person that said they did not want their tithes to go to the victim, you are SO right, quit giving to the catholic church! Let them sell their property to pay the MANY victims they have ignored. I believe and back Kay all the way. It took me 35 years to come forward because of the extreme guilt and shame involved. When I did come forward, I lost my entire family! They feel the same way a lot of people feel, priests don't lie. priests are celibate....HA! When are the sheeple going to wake up and see that priests are human, not some godly figure that does not do what other humans do. What would you do if this happened to your sister? Mother? Would you still call her a lier? Would you still turn your back on her? Would you? Kay, you GO GIRL!!!!!!!! I am with you all the way!!!!!
• Posted by: Nicki
• 3/7/2008 12:09 PM

I'm proud to say I have known Katherine Goodnow for a few years. She has spent a number of her adult years as an advocate for clergy abuse victims and is well-known and well-respected by leaders of the movement. Her reputation can stand on its own and my comments are not needed to try and persuade others of her good intentions. For those who have elected to make negative comments about Ms. Goodnow, I can say for certain, that none of you could walk in the shoes of this fiesty 71- year-old champion of clergy abuse victims. It's easy to condemn and criticize but it takes a tremendous amount of courage to take on dysfunctional, enabling Catholic Church hierarchy who still can not admit that sexual crimes against innocent children are wrong.
Mike Ference
• Posted by: Mike Ference
• 3/7/2008 12:10 PM

I will not judge this woman, that is to await her when she gets to the Pearly Gates and stands before Christ and must answer for her own Sins.
But I do question her intention of filing such a lawsuit 13years after the death of the Man accused.
I am not saying things within the Church have never happened, all Priest are just men, which makes them human and subject to the same human errors in judgement as the rest of the population. But thanks to the press he, along with several others, is no longer Innocient until proven gulity, but rather Guilty until he could beyond unsurmountable evidence prove himself Innocient. Thanks to all media this Priest/Man will now for ever be labled as Molestor/Monster and another slam against all Priest who have Faithfully served God and never once harmed another individual but sacrified and tried to serve their lives like Christ. God Bless our Priests and all who dedicate their lives to Christ and the Church.
• Posted by: 4th Degree Knight
• 3/7/2008 12:15 PM

As a practicing Catholic Priest for over 30 years, I've never molested any child, unless they've specifically asked me to.
• Posted by:
• 3/7/2008 12:31 PM

Patrick comments that this issue is only being published because it has to do with a Catholic priest. I suggest he do some homework and find out the exetent of this issue. A good place to start is at ####www.bishopaccountability.org/
Read a few of the grand jury reports to find out about the systematic criminal behavior of the bishops. Patric may then realize why so little is actually being reported, instead.
• Posted by: ATman
• 3/7/2008 1:10 PM

The diocesan spokesperson referred to Goodnow's alleged abuse as a "sin"; let me remind that spokesperson the sexual abuse is a very serious felony under state law, calling for prison sentences of upto 20 years. In Illinois Baskett would have been charged with aggravated sexual assault; ie. RAPE of a minor.
The reason this problem continues is the Church views this abuse as a moral problem rather than a crime,
• Posted by: Mike Fenske
• 3/7/2008 1:43 PM

Is there a problem with hearing the truth? The law allows this action to seek out the truth and the truth is; it happened in 1956, that fact no way diminishes the truth? I question the motives of those who criticize this womens brave effort at justice, without first having some knowledge as to the extent and prevalence of this type of behavior within the confines of Catholic doctrine and cannon law.
• Posted by: teddy
• 3/7/2008 3:01 PM

Kay Goodnow is one of the most courageous women I've ever met. The scars of sexual abuse last a life time. The repurcussions of the abuse are insidious. They manifest themselves in just about all aspects of an abused persons life. Ignorance of these facts is evident in the negativism expressed in many of the comments posted.
I don't and I hope Kay won't either, put any stock in the comments made by blowhards who rant, rave, speculate and ASSume they understand either Kay's pain or motivation. At 71 or 101 there comes a time when the truth must be spoken to set you free.
Rash judgement is the easy way out. It is all too easy to write a few words of criticism when you speak from ignorance. The more prudent thing to do would be to investigate the after affects of sexual abuse before casting aspersions. A better thing to do is to ask the impious hypocrites who sit under red hats why they let the abuse of children coninue unabated for so many years.
• Posted by: Vinnie
• 3/7/2008 3:29 PM

Vinnie wrote: Rash judgement is the easy way out.
You mean like you and all the other Goodnow supporters are doing. Rushing to judgement based soley on the word of one person, without any form of documented proof or even the ability to question the supposed abuser.
It's a two way street folks.
• Posted by: VinnieIsABlowHard
• 3/7/2008 3:46 PM

After all that's come out over the last decade, I'm amazed by the stupid, cynical, and downright mean comments, especially from so-called Christians. Bloody hypocrites!
It's idiots like them who've allowed these monsters to get away with it this long that will enable the next generation to repeat. What will they say when their own grandchildren come forward years from now? "Yeah, honey, we could've cleaned up the Church, but we were too busy mocking victims." For the kid's sake -- not yours -- I hope you never have to find out.
Anyway, you've done your jobs well. This fine woman had to wait till she was a grandmother herself before she came forward because of shameful jerks like you.
• Posted by: Jay
• 3/7/2008 4:05 PM

Posted by BlowHard:
"Rushing to judgement based soley on the word of one person, without any form of documented proof or even the ability to question the supposed abuser."
The question here is WHO is doing the ASSuming? How do you know that Vinnie has never questioned Mrs. Goodnow or the abuser, for that matter?
Mr. Blowhard, have you even looked at any of the hard data? Have you ever investigated the many settlements in your diocese, let alone in this globe? Have you read any of the grand jury reports that detail how many bishops knew that criminal actions were going on, yet chose to ignore he pleas of the children and their parents? Do you know how often pedophile priests were transfered by your bishop? Have you spoken with Mrs Goodnow? Have you spoken with any survivor, for that matter? Do you know how many priests and bishops have been accused in your diocese? Do you know where to get that data if anyone were to ask you? Would you be even willing to investigate the extent of this problem in your diocese, or anywhere else by seeking data from other than the Roman Catholic Church? Would you be willing to have Mrs. Goodnow or any survivor representative come and speak at your next church function?
If you answered no to any of the above questions, then I suggest you are living up to the fullest extent of your name.
• Posted by: ATman
• 3/7/2008 4:57 PM

www.bishop-accountability.org/abusetracker for daily verified coverage of the ongoing criminal cover up, and ongoing pedophile enabling, by the miters and red hats, costing the laity BILLIONS of DOLLARS, with no end in sight.
LAITY! WAKE UP! STOP DONATING UNTIL THE CURIA ENABLERS ARE REMOVED FROM THEIR OFFICES!
• Posted by: Benedict XVI th
• 3/7/2008 6:28 PM

I have had contact with Kay Goodnow. I salute her strength and courage in confronting an institution that has done much good and a great deal of harm. Coverups of abuse by priests, other clergy, and other professionals apparently serving others has occurred at the highest levels. Those who don't believe that are naive. No, I wasn't there in 1952 so I cannot say with certainty what happened but there are many common sense reaons to believe Kay. Filing that suit must have been one of the most hellish experiences of her life. Giving up the fantasy that she was truly loved by the priest surely broke her heart. Her account is coherent, consistent, and accompanied by the feelings that go along with such victimization. How awful to carry such a wound for so long. I hope others will stop attacking her and adding cruel insult to deep injury.
• Posted by: Suzanne
• 3/7/2008 7:07 PM

There was a lady named Kay
Who lived a way far away.
But she became a great friend
We both had souls to mend.
It was the scandal, Clergy Abuse
That had put our necks in a noose.
We helped each other to cut loose
And lessen the pain of that abuse.
• Posted by: vinnie
• 3/7/2008 7:42 PM

Those in leadership positions (priests, teachers, others) have long had immunity to social standards. It has taken great courage for Mrs. Gooodnow to come forward with this story, and I applaud her for doing so, and I implore the Catholic leadership to accept responsibility and to make amends -- even at this late date!!
• Posted by: Ron Komatz
• 3/7/2008 8:13 PM

Katherine Goodenow, I salute you. I can see no reason that a 71 year old women would complicate her life by making false allegations of sexual abuse. The idea of a priest being an abuser makes your situation even more understandable. I survived sexual abuse by a family member and kept it secret for decades. The first time that I did disclose the truth it was turned against me, which made me keep the dirty secret for more decades. Funnily enough, the family member has been preacher for years now, when he chooses to be, and is highly respected among family and community. When my mother dies, I will no longer have to associate with family members who know the truth but still choose to pretend it never happened. I wish I had your courage. Maybe when I reach the age of 71 I will. Stand proud and stand strong Ms. Goodenow. You have done a courageous thing.
• Posted by: Linda Pushor
• 3/7/2008 8:47 PM

I know Kay Goodnow as a woman of integrity and courage. I can assure you that she is not in it for the money as some imply. She is going to the trouble of a lawsuit for the same reason that most victims do. They want the abuse of children to stop and they want the institutional church to start caring about the harm caused to vulnerable children by clerics that misuse their power. Kay, like others wants the Bishops to stop the cover up and she wants the average Catholic to wake up and ensure that their bishops follow the teachings of Christ. She has earned a peaceful old age, but chooses to devote her life to protecting children. She deserves our admiration and respect. She certainly has mine!!!
• Posted by: Nancy from Toronto
• 3/7/2008 9:32 PM

www.bishop-accountability.org/abusetracker for daily verifed global coverage of the ongoing criminal cover up and pedophile enabling, buy the curia (less than 3,500) at 100% laity (more than 1.1 billion) expense (14 billion dollars globally and counting with no end in sight).
Laity! DO NO DONATE!
Benedict XVI th
Pontiff, Sinner & Surrounded By Ret Hat & Miter CROOKS!
• Posted by: Benedict XVI th
• 3/7/2008 11:16 PM

As both a Christian man and a survivor of sexual assault at the hands of a Catholic priest, I salute Ms. Goodnow for her courage - both in coming forward AND for her desire to keep other young people - within and outside the Catholic community - safe from the ravages of sexual assault. I challenge the Catholic community of her hometown - parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters - to DEMAND safety for the younger members of the community. I challenge them to demand that the Catholic hierarchy serve notice to every parish where her perpetrator has served in an attempt
to both survey the extent of the damage done by this sexual offender, and also to invite other victim/survivors to come forward for the healing they both need and deserve.
The demands of Christian community make this mandatory. The demands of Christian conscience can ask for no less.
If the good people of her hometown forsake this challenge, they will undoubtedly find themselves in the very same boat when they come to discover that one of their young loved-ones has suffered the same fate. That is, like many of us, they will find themselves alone, with no one in the Catholic community to support them for fear of "upsetting" a bunch of men who, time and again, prove unwilling to muster the faith needed to live out their own vocation to follow Jesus by protecting innocent children from rape and sodomy at the hands of one of their priests.
Thanks, Ms. Goodnow, for your willingness to speak out on behalf of children everywhere. You are a woman after Jesus' own heart!
• Posted by: Pete Saracino
• 3/8/2008 9:52 AM

Brave, brave, brave !!! Good luck !!!!
• Posted by: Claude H. Phlegm
• 3/8/2008 10:49 AM

Yes, it does take many years to come forward when you have been sexually abused by a catholic priest.Wishing Katherine all my best.
• Posted by: Lionel
• 3/8/2008 10:56 AM

I know from experience that standing up for truth, justice and YOURSELF against a powerful united front is dangerous and can be more traumatizing than the original abuse. Without courageous leaders like Kay who are willing to reveal nasty secrets and private horrors to help save others from similar abuse, nothing will change. She is one of most courageous woman I know. May she prevail!
• Posted by: Wendy from Toronto
• 3/8/2008 1:23 PM

Having now read the too-frequent, judgemental, bloody-minded comments that litter this feedback form, allow me to change my name from Wendy to...
• Posted by: Disgusted in Toronto
• 3/8/2008 1:32 PM

The Fourth Degree Knight, not posting under his real name, who equates the alleged rape of a young woman (or apparently any kind of pedophilic practice) with the normal behavior of priests as "just being human" or "making bad judgements" is apparently thinking like a clueless priest groupie (the bane of those who, in good faith, resort to the court system to get the justice that supposed exemplars of gospel living cannot model in the Catholic Church). I have known Katherine for several years. She is a mature, down-to-earth, responsible citizen, as opposed to some of the anonymous religious fanatics posting against her who are apparently child abuse enablers, and shame on them for it! Does anyone doubt for a moment the stories of Holocaust survivors or denigrate their truth-telling on the grounds that Nazi perpetrators are not about "to defend themselves"? Those criticizing Katherine Goodnow's decision to come forward for justice are no different from rabid supporters of Adolf Hitler, before or after the Second World War, and give the lie to their Christianity. The fact is that billions have been paid out by the Church, and that tells us a good deal about what really has occured and continues to be unearthed by those who have suffered.
• Posted by: D. Lewandowski Guerra
• 3/8/2008 1:43 PM

There are going to be a lot more cases coming forward like this one, thanks be to God, as Sister Maureen Paul Turlish predicted in her 2005 National Catholic Reporter article that appeared after the Philadelphia Grand Jury Report was published;
Issue Date: October 28, 2005
The crisis of credibility in Philadelphia

CLERGY SEX ABUSE SCANDAL IS LIKELY TO DEEPEN
By MAUREEN PAUL TURLISH
What happens now in Philadelphia given the archdiocese?s disingenuous response to the grand jury on clergy sexual abuse?

Two things will happen.

First, even further alienation of the Catholic community as a result of the archdiocese?s position.
Second, significant additional victims of clergy sexual abuse, particularly female and minority, will be empowered to come forward.

Because of entrenched clericalism in the conservative Philadelphia archdiocese, it considered no alternative but to respond as it did in its 76-page report just as, historically, it considered no alternative to protecting an institution at the expense of its children. If there were more reasoned voices around, they certainly were not listened to in Philadelphia before the archdiocese released its response to the grand jury report, any more than they had been listened to for decades.

We all know of sisters and priests who were transferred or fired from their ministries, removed from the ?clerical fast track,? as some would call it, or disciplined in some manner because they attempted to alert leadership to serious problems.
While it is true that the archdiocese has made strides since 2002 in creating programs in the areas mentioned by Cardinal Justin Rigali in the archdiocese?s response, that was a mandate about which the archdiocese had little choice. Evaluating the effectiveness of these programs, though, will take time but that is hardly the point.

I remember Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua being quoted on a CNN ?Newsnight? report covering some of the cardinals who returned from Rome and attended the annual Catholic University fundraiser in Philadelphia on April 26, 2002. He answered a reporter?s question by saying, ?We all are agreed that no priest guilty of even one act of sexual abuse of a minor will function in any ecclesial ministry or any capacity in our diocese.?
Various groups picketing outside the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul never saw any of the cardinals because they came on a bus and went in through the back. I know because I was among those picketing out front.

That was 2002.

We who were born, raised and educated in Philadelphia are aware of the recent removal of two priests from ministry, but not, apparently, because of the alleged abuse charges leveled against them for egregious behavior. No, according to Donna Farrell, spokeswoman for the archdiocese, the two ?have been the focus of extraordinary attention,? so they were removed.
Formal, documented warnings came to all the bishops in the United States as early as 1985, and in particular to Cardinal Bevilacqua. If the bishops chose not to address the issues up to that time, the Mouton-Doyle-Peterson Report, ?The Problem of Sexual Molestation by Roman Catholic Clergy,? that each one received that year spelled out exactly what would happen if they did not act responsibly.

They didn?t. It happened. And here we are.

The archdiocese released its list of credibly accused priests only when the grand jury released its report on Sept. 21. Does the archdiocese still decide what constitutes ?credible? before it alerts law enforcement authorities or do they leave that to the lay professionals as required by its own mandates?

Men who should have been removed from ministry and the priesthood have not been laicized and will never be criminally charged as they might have been in other jurisdictions. Would that Pennsylvania had, at the very least, the laws on felony sexual abuse that Maine and Alaska have on their books.

Instead, credibly accused priests were permitted to retire from active ministry while remaining priests to live a ?life of prayer and penance? in a retirement home.

Neither the Philadelphia archdiocese nor the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference has clearly stated its support for substantive changes in statutes of limitation for felony sexual abuse. Other dioceses and their state Catholic conferences have campaigned against extensions of time limits on statutes of limitations and fought to the death amendments to the statute of limitations that would permit victims to file civil suits against the institution that caused them so much pain.

In Philadelphia, sexual abuse crimes against children have statutes of limitation but parking tickets do not.
Go figure.

Until church leaders admit to the pervasive hubris, personal and systemic, which allowed sexually abusive priests to continue in their perfidy long after their crimes were known by church authorities, it will be difficult if not impossible to reestablish either the institution?s credibility or their own. Absent that, reconciliation and healing will not happen.

In the Jewish calendar we are now in the season of repentance and forgiveness. But before God can be invoked, sinners must ask forgiveness of those sinned against.

District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham?
She should be beatified, not vilified.

Maureen Paul Turlish is a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur and a member of Voice of the Faithful.
National Catholic Reporter, October 28, 2005

• Posted by: VATICAN2CATHOLIC
• 3/8/2008 2:17 PM

More power to those that fight to stop child abuse in all its forms. Shame on those that protect child molesters.
• Posted by: stop child abuse
• 3/8/2008 3:36 PM

Kay Goodnow is a pioneer and a beautiful woman who speaks truth..I believe it was Christ who was also persecuted by the "authorities" of his day for speaking truth.. he also was a pioneer..
Kay walks in the light!!
• Posted by: christine johnson, Maui, Hawaii
• 3/10/2008 2:45 PM

Hurrah for, Katherine! If people only knew what a psycological break through this is for her as an abuse victim!!! To stand up and speak out publicly against an autocratic organization like the Roman Catholic Church who controled and abused all its members through cruel fear tactics, took IMMENSE courage on her part. She has shown others it's possible to finally have enough self respect to say NO to a once powerful Church/Diocese/Bishop. The pope, and bishops can no longer aid and abet child preditors without the likelyhood of more exposure. When I look at my innocent little grandson and think of someone ruining his life for their sexual pleasure makes it difficult for this grand-ma to remember, "vengence is mine, sayeth the Lord"!!
Thanks again to Katherine and may she know a peace and a genuine power that she has never known before.
• Posted by: Peggy McCarthy
• 3/11/2008 11:33 AM

Onward through the fog, -- ke