Awake Blog
We’re still in the process of moving blog posts over from our previous website.
In the meantime, please click here to read older posts.
Aimee Torres
“One person can make a huge difference in someone’s life just by speaking up.”
Kathy Ann Coll
“It was painful to discover that my Catholic Church does not recognize adult survivors as ‘victims.’ ”
Paige Eppenstein Anderson
“I decided to share my story because it’s not the typical story you hear about abuse in the Church.”
Carl Huber
“I believe in the power of storytelling as a means for people to feel validated, to feel heard, and it’s been a big part of my own healing.”
John Heffernan
“It’s a surprise that opening up about being a survivor has allowed me to love my family, friends, and community more deeply and to be loved more fully.”
Kathleen Klamka
“If I was the only victim I don’t think I could keep going. But I think of someone else’s story and that keeps me motivated.”
Patricia Ruppert
“I want other female survivors of adult abuse to know that they are not alone. I believe that knowing that I wasn’t alone in this type of abuse helped my healing process.”
Jim Richter
“When one victim-survivor can extend the hand of compassion and kindness to another, even when struggling with their own pain, that is grace to me.”
Emily Ransom
“[S]ometimes my relationship with the Church feels like a strained marriage… I absolutely do not want a divorce; I want healing in the most precious relationship I have.”
Valentino “Val” Borrelli
“My wish is to help the laity understand that abuse victims are not some delicate flowers that can’t handle life because of the abuse. We are valuable members of society and … we deserve the chance to be heard.”
Jennifer LaVoy
“If my story helps just one person realize the danger of clericalism and abuse of power, it’s worth it to me.”
Mike Hoffman
“To be able to share my story, which I kept secret for over 30 years, and still feel safe and loved was such a profound experience.”
Esther Harber
“That profound understanding that I am not alone takes a great deal of the shame away. ”
Zac Zepeda
“Years of therapy and support groups have shown me that to heal I must talk about the abuse.”
Deborah Rodriguez
“The greatest challenge I have had to endure as a survivor is shame. Because others forced me to keep silent about the abuse, I thought I was the one at fault, that I had done something wrong.”
Carol Longsdorf
“One of the most helpful things is working with a trauma therapist who has helped me understand why childhood trauma is so very difficult to uncover.”
Bill Kessenich
“Pope Francis says that the Church needs to be a ‘field hospital’ for the marginalized. I believe that we survivors of trauma have roles to play as doctors and nurses for the field hospital.”
Kathryn Walczyk
“Writing has been a catalyst to health. As a child I didn’t have language for what was happening to me.”
Michael Koplinka-Loehr
“Talking about these things in a place where you’re profoundly understood is a gift in the healing process.”