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Apr 15, 2008 7:17 pm US/Central
Church Sex Abuse Victim Speaks About Pope Visit
Seema Mathur
DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
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Pope Benedict XVI arriving at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Pope Benedict XVI arrived in the United States Monday afternoon for a six-day visit. And he's already addressing a controversy facing the Catholic Church - the sex abuse scandal.
CBS 11 News talked with one Dallas man who is closely watching the Pope's visit.
As most Catholics in Dallas and across the country are celebrating the first visit to the U.S. by Pope Benedict the XVI there are also people like a Dallas man we spoke to, who doesn't want his identity revealed, who are haunted.
"It [the papal visit] just rips open the old wounds and it re-victimizes me," he explained.
Before even touching down on U.S. soil, the Pope's words on the plane are having an impact. He said he's 'deeply ashamed' of the clergy sex scandal that rocked the Catholic Church and went on to pledge that he would 'do what is possible so this cannot happen again in the future'.
The Dallas man who spoke with CBS 11 doesn't give much credence to the comments from the Pope. "Nothing more than words on a plane," he said. "The words are not credible."
His anger and pain started when he was 11-years-old; a time when he looked up to his priest. "Priests were supposed to be spiritual role models in the church."
The man says the priest at his Dallas church was a pedophile. He explained how his evenings often went. "At the conclusion of dinner [it was] back to the rectory. Quite often alcohol was involved and then heavy kissing, touching, petting and then oral sex."
He says confusion and guilt affected every aspect of his life from his health, to his relationship with God. "I never turned my back on God, but just a lot of emotion and confusion around my relationship, my religion."
Now at 40-years-old the man looks to therapy and the support of his family for healing.
The spokesperson for the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, Annette Gonzales Taylor, was in Washington Monday, but said the accused priest was removed from the ministry when they learned about the allegations in 2006. Gonzales Taylor also said the church has put several safety measures in place, including background checks to prevent future abuse.
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