The 58-year-old woman couldn’t bear to share the details of the sexual abuse she suffered as a child, but its effect on her came across loud and clear Monday in a Baltimore courtroom as she faced the leader of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
“Do you see me now?” she cried toward Archbishop William Lori, who was seated across the courtroom from her. “Do I matter to you now? I suffer from PTSD, from anxiety, from depression and panic attacks. I’m on disability. It will take me days to recover from talking today. I hope you’ve heard my truth and feel the pain I’ve struggled with.”
Her testimony as one of eight abuse survivors to speak Monday in the archdiocese’s bankruptcy case contributed to a chilling picture of children being tormented by Catholic clergy and a vivid portrait of the lives altered permanently by their experiences.
Victims recounted being abused in schools, in church rectories and at priests’ homes. Many remembered feeling confused about what happened to them and being told by their abusers — people they looked up to — to keep it to themselves. Survivors said the abuse led them to develop substance disorders, to lose their faith and ability to trust, to live in isolation.
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