"Innocence Betrayed - A Dad's Story of Clergy Misconduct" - An intriguing and heart-wrenching story of a pastor's manipulation, church administrators' betrayal and a man's hope of survival.
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"My people are destroyed for their lack of knowledge . . ." Hosea 4:6
Friend and fellow author, Linda Hiles has taken a quote from Ephesians and posted it not only in her book, "Arise, O Sleeper," but on her book site at www.lindahiles.com.
We relate to these powerful words below in our battle to spread the word of the deception of church leaders. Since publishing our book, many people have contacted us, and we've spoken to many unsuspecting future victims of clergy misconduct. Our book shows the pathway of how a pastor can turn his direction from one with Christ to a ministry of seduction, using the grooming process to do so.
Most people don't seem to fully understand how wrong it is for a pastor to even give a woman parishioner a wink, let alone talk to her using sexually suggestive language. Clergy members are supposed to be representatives of God--not trolling for a future mate or going after another man's mate or child while at church. People seem to be blinded by these false prophets who are truly not God's representatives and only out for their own gain--sexually and financially.
We ask others how they feel about these words as they relate to clergy sexual misconduct and abuse?
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of praying for all the saints."
We relate to these powerful words below in our battle to spread the word of the deception of church leaders. Since publishing our book, many people have contacted us, and we've spoken to many unsuspecting future victims of clergy misconduct. Our book shows the pathway of how a pastor can turn his direction from one with Christ to a ministry of seduction, using the grooming process to do so.
Most people don't seem to fully understand how wrong it is for a pastor to even give a woman parishioner a wink, let alone talk to her using sexually suggestive language. Clergy members are supposed to be representatives of God--not trolling for a future mate or going after another man's mate or child while at church. People seem to be blinded by these false prophets who are truly not God's representatives and only out for their own gain--sexually and financially.
We ask others how they feel about these words as they relate to clergy sexual misconduct and abuse?
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of praying for all the saints."
(Ephesians 6:10-18)
Helen and Curt
Helen and Curt
SNAP - Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
We have so much for which to thank Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
(SNAP). They are the nation's oldest and largest help group for those
who have suffered from misconduct and/or abuse by either priests,
ministers, or clergy in general.
They were there when I needed them the most many years ago when looking for someone to listen and not turn a deaf ear on my cries. Although I though they were only involved with abuse by Catholic clergy, I found them to be open to getting involved with the Protestant side of clergy misconduct. And now they even have a branch led by Christa Brown for the Baptist problems of clergy abuse.
SNAP has been very kind to have our book listed on their website. Please visit their web site at www.snapnetwork.org and scroll down to the section that reads "Books We Recommend" and click on that icon. Our book is the first book listed on that page. The website has valuable information throughout.
Again our many thanks to SNAP for making it possible for us and others to help raise awareness of the problem and to try and stomp out all forms of clergy abuse and misconduct!
Blessings,
Curt
They were there when I needed them the most many years ago when looking for someone to listen and not turn a deaf ear on my cries. Although I though they were only involved with abuse by Catholic clergy, I found them to be open to getting involved with the Protestant side of clergy misconduct. And now they even have a branch led by Christa Brown for the Baptist problems of clergy abuse.
SNAP has been very kind to have our book listed on their website. Please visit their web site at www.snapnetwork.org and scroll down to the section that reads "Books We Recommend" and click on that icon. Our book is the first book listed on that page. The website has valuable information throughout.
Again our many thanks to SNAP for making it possible for us and others to help raise awareness of the problem and to try and stomp out all forms of clergy abuse and misconduct!
Blessings,
Curt
Should Clergy Members be Fingerprinted like Teachers Are?
Should there be mandatory fingerprinting and background checks for clergy before they're allowed to become a minister and counsel church members? Would they be less likely to put their hands where they don't belong if they were fingerprinted? Or at least slow them down.
Teachers must go through background checks and fingerprinting. Teachers spend many hours with children. Catholic priests work closely with altar boys. Protestant Pastors take children on church retreats, have access to children through bible study classes, choir practices, as well as many other activities in and away from church. There are many opportunities for them to be alone with children and adults.
There's no doubt that churches are a perfect hideout for predators and pedophiles. No background checks many times and no fingerprinting.
The country's leaders are calling for change--we think that changes must be made in our churches.
Teachers must go through background checks and fingerprinting. Teachers spend many hours with children. Catholic priests work closely with altar boys. Protestant Pastors take children on church retreats, have access to children through bible study classes, choir practices, as well as many other activities in and away from church. There are many opportunities for them to be alone with children and adults.
There's no doubt that churches are a perfect hideout for predators and pedophiles. No background checks many times and no fingerprinting.
The country's leaders are calling for change--we think that changes must be made in our churches.
Interesting Article from the Chicago Sun Times
The following is a letter from Barbara Dorris of SNAP. Please visit the link for some very interesting comments--especially the one from Pope Benedict XVI th on January 25 and the comment from Anne from Texas two posts below the Pontiff's post
Dear Friends,
My answer to the blog is below:
When will we see change? When will all this stop? The Catholic Church continues to move their pedophile priests to other unsuspecting parishes, and the innocent children are abused, their lives forever changed reliving their nightmare of clergy abuse.
My co-author, Curt Szajnecki and I have written a book about the same thing happening in a Methodist church. We've put together a workbook to help sound the alarm that this is happening in all denominations and must stop. The innocents are suffering every day and the churches seem to only look at their own bottom line. Where are the caring and compassionate clergy we've been taught to trust and respect?
We all need to shout out that we're not going to take this any more and call for legislative changes where the churches have to be held responsible for their destructive decisions. There is no accountability, and the churches that hide the predators and move them to continue their heinous crimes should have their tax-exempt status revoked. Why not fingerprint all clergy, as they do with teachers? Without background checks on clergy and fingerprinting, pedophiles are allowed to infiltrate the churches. Then the cover-up begins.
We join the help groups that aid those abused by clergy, SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests), Advocate Web, and The Hope of Survivors to call for changes in our churches to hold clergy responsible for their actions and make our churches the safe havens they should be.
Helen Wisocki
Dear Friends,
This
is an article from the Chicago Sun Times describing how those involved
in the Father Daniel McCormack case, a priest convicted of child sexual
abuse and currently serving time in prison, have been promoted rather
than disciplined for the part they played in both allowing McCormack to
continue to function as a priest even after they had knowledge of his
abusive behavior and in the resulting cover-up.
Please add a comment on the blog and/or write a letter to the
editor. The archdiocese's behavior in this case is particularly
egregious and the archdiocese needs to be held accountable.
This is a good chance to express your feelings on this reckless
behavior and educate people that this is not an isolated incident.
My answer to the blog is below:
When will we see change? When will all this stop? The Catholic Church continues to move their pedophile priests to other unsuspecting parishes, and the innocent children are abused, their lives forever changed reliving their nightmare of clergy abuse.
My co-author, Curt Szajnecki and I have written a book about the same thing happening in a Methodist church. We've put together a workbook to help sound the alarm that this is happening in all denominations and must stop. The innocents are suffering every day and the churches seem to only look at their own bottom line. Where are the caring and compassionate clergy we've been taught to trust and respect?
We all need to shout out that we're not going to take this any more and call for legislative changes where the churches have to be held responsible for their destructive decisions. There is no accountability, and the churches that hide the predators and move them to continue their heinous crimes should have their tax-exempt status revoked. Why not fingerprint all clergy, as they do with teachers? Without background checks on clergy and fingerprinting, pedophiles are allowed to infiltrate the churches. Then the cover-up begins.
We join the help groups that aid those abused by clergy, SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests), Advocate Web, and The Hope of Survivors to call for changes in our churches to hold clergy responsible for their actions and make our churches the safe havens they should be.
Helen Wisocki
Ringing the Alarm for Liberty and Justice for all - Happy New Year in 2008
We're coming off a strong finish ending the year 2007, meeting so many wonderful people who are there to aid others in distress, especially Janet Patterson and David Clohessy from SNAP, Cindy Bolling from Advocate Web, and Samantha and Steve Nelson from The Hope of Survivors. You've played an important role in supporting and helping us sound the alarm on how to read the signs of clergy misconduct so that we will make people aware of what's happening in our churches today. We want to wish these groups continued success in 2008 as they reach out to help the victims of clergy misconduct/abuse. Wouldn't it be grand if this was the year that we stamp out all forms of clergy misconduct and abuse.
Thanks to Peggy Warren for inviting us to speak about our book and giving us the opportunity to announce our just-finished workbook. Peggy's website is www.educatingtoendabuse.com giving victims a voice to be heard. As a victim of clergy sexual abuse, Peggy's website is worth the look, as it is very informative and enlightening.
We've truly been blessed this year with the publishing of our book and now with our workbook complete and ready to go as an aid for current and former church members or anyone who finds themselves in the presence of clergy. It may be used as an aid to families of the affected victims of clergy misconduct. It will also help chairpersons and other members of church committees be aware of how multiple episodes of clergy misconduct may affect a family and extended family of a victim and encourage them to take action when clergy misconduct is suspected or brought to their attention.
The workbook is a tool to aid in reading and processing our book. They are designed to work together as a systematic problem-solving resource guide. It can be ordered from the home page of our website.
We're wishing everyone a happy, healthy New Year. May we put on the armor of the Lord and do what Jesus would do--spread the word of awareness to people that you love and care for.
Peace,
Helen and Curt
Thanks to Peggy Warren for inviting us to speak about our book and giving us the opportunity to announce our just-finished workbook. Peggy's website is www.educatingtoendabuse.com giving victims a voice to be heard. As a victim of clergy sexual abuse, Peggy's website is worth the look, as it is very informative and enlightening.
We've truly been blessed this year with the publishing of our book and now with our workbook complete and ready to go as an aid for current and former church members or anyone who finds themselves in the presence of clergy. It may be used as an aid to families of the affected victims of clergy misconduct. It will also help chairpersons and other members of church committees be aware of how multiple episodes of clergy misconduct may affect a family and extended family of a victim and encourage them to take action when clergy misconduct is suspected or brought to their attention.
The workbook is a tool to aid in reading and processing our book. They are designed to work together as a systematic problem-solving resource guide. It can be ordered from the home page of our website.
We're wishing everyone a happy, healthy New Year. May we put on the armor of the Lord and do what Jesus would do--spread the word of awareness to people that you love and care for.
Peace,
Helen and Curt
Merry Christmas
We hope that everyone enjoyed the celebration of the birth of Jesus.
As Christmas unfolded this year, it struck me that much of what we have
to offer in the book is like giving our gifts to others on Christmas.
We feel that our book is an honor to our Lord.
As we gift to others at Christmas, we hope that our book will reach out and protect the innocent from all forms of clergy misconduct. The gift we offer is to raise awareness not only at Christmas time but each and every day of the year. This is our prayer on the day our Christ child was born. Happy Holidays to all. May peace be with you.
Cheers,
Curt Szajnecki
As we gift to others at Christmas, we hope that our book will reach out and protect the innocent from all forms of clergy misconduct. The gift we offer is to raise awareness not only at Christmas time but each and every day of the year. This is our prayer on the day our Christ child was born. Happy Holidays to all. May peace be with you.
Cheers,
Curt Szajnecki
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
A wonderful Thanksgiving to everyone that have supported our efforts to
make all churches a safer place to worship. As I bow my head today, I
will give thanks to our Lord above for His will to be done, as we work
to spread the word of awareness to others. This will be the first
Thanksgiving in a long time that we are no longer alone in this world.
We have all the wonderful people that have helped us along the way.
Thank you all for your prayers and messages that you have left, and the many others that have spread the words of awareness that they have come in contact with.
Special thanks to the national and international support groups that have guided us along the way.
And lastly thanks to the Lord above for sending my co-author Helen my way, or I would still be alone in the dark.
Happy Thanksgiving to all, and may you rest in His loving arms with your loved ones today!!
Blessings,
Curt Szajnecki
Thank you all for your prayers and messages that you have left, and the many others that have spread the words of awareness that they have come in contact with.
Special thanks to the national and international support groups that have guided us along the way.
And lastly thanks to the Lord above for sending my co-author Helen my way, or I would still be alone in the dark.
Happy Thanksgiving to all, and may you rest in His loving arms with your loved ones today!!
Blessings,
Curt Szajnecki
Moving Forward
We're continuing to move forward and are putting together a "workbook," sharing our thoughts on watching for the "signs" of clergy misconduct and suggestions of where to go for help. What happened in our story can happen to anyone. We hope to make others aware of the possibility to help other families before it occurs.
We all need to be the protectors of our children's innocence. We need to look after vulnerable adults, too. Everyone needs to speak out!!
We're loving all the positive emails we're receiving. Keep them coming!
Blessings to Everyone,
Helen
We all need to be the protectors of our children's innocence. We need to look after vulnerable adults, too. Everyone needs to speak out!!
We're loving all the positive emails we're receiving. Keep them coming!
Blessings to Everyone,
Helen
We Know You're Reading the Book--Let Us Know What You Think!
To all of you who have received the book,
We're anxious to know what you think. Even if you've only read the first chapter. Please give us some feedback!
My first book signing is coming up next Thursday, October 25. I'll have to do it solo, as Curt's still in Michigan. But we plan on more signings in both Massachusetts and Michigan as soon as we possibly can.
Thanks to all the positive encouragement to our email account so far! We love to hear from you.
Please everyone, spread the word. We want to shine a light on what takes place in the dark corners of many churches. Those dark steeples on our book cover represent the church's non-action by the parishioners themselves. There was no response to the family's pleas for help. When you leave things up to the church administrators to take care of a family in need, this is a story of what can happen.
Since the book is fictional, no one needs to take it personally, but we encourage all to read the book, especially the church goers. It could possibly change your life.
The steeples need to be lit up and people need to be informed. And we all need to be protectors of our children's innocence. Do you agree?
Helen
We're anxious to know what you think. Even if you've only read the first chapter. Please give us some feedback!
My first book signing is coming up next Thursday, October 25. I'll have to do it solo, as Curt's still in Michigan. But we plan on more signings in both Massachusetts and Michigan as soon as we possibly can.
Thanks to all the positive encouragement to our email account so far! We love to hear from you.
Please everyone, spread the word. We want to shine a light on what takes place in the dark corners of many churches. Those dark steeples on our book cover represent the church's non-action by the parishioners themselves. There was no response to the family's pleas for help. When you leave things up to the church administrators to take care of a family in need, this is a story of what can happen.
Since the book is fictional, no one needs to take it personally, but we encourage all to read the book, especially the church goers. It could possibly change your life.
The steeples need to be lit up and people need to be informed. And we all need to be protectors of our children's innocence. Do you agree?
Helen
Tell Us What You Think!
Book orders are being filled, and we're anxious to know what you think!
Curt finally got his copies, and his mom told me yesterday that the cover alone will grab the reader's attention. She's having a little trouble with her eyesight, so she's asking Curt to read a little bit of the book to her every day. So far, she likes it! She told me how proud she was of us for finally getting our project out there for all to read.
It's been a very long journey, but so well worth it when we hold our masterpiece in our hands. We've truly been blessed. Curt keeps saying that God is guiding us. I think he knows what he's talking about!
Helen
Curt finally got his copies, and his mom told me yesterday that the cover alone will grab the reader's attention. She's having a little trouble with her eyesight, so she's asking Curt to read a little bit of the book to her every day. So far, she likes it! She told me how proud she was of us for finally getting our project out there for all to read.
It's been a very long journey, but so well worth it when we hold our masterpiece in our hands. We've truly been blessed. Curt keeps saying that God is guiding us. I think he knows what he's talking about!
Helen