BALTIMORE — For some victims, naming names in the report of predator priests vindicates their claims of abuse.
“Getting a voice now with the attorney general and this report is soothing,” said Teresa Lancaster, “It really is… to let people know I’m not a crackpot. I have no reason to make this stuff up.”
But for others, the hard-fought victory leaves little to celebrate.
“I’m feeling very, very sad, because who in the hell wouldn’t want to be excited about this horrible stuff that’s going to be in these papers," asked Jean Hargadon Wehner, “Who is going to be excited about that?”
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests or SNAP had hoped the report would highlight the church hierarchy, which turned its back on victim's claims, but it did so with a black magic marker.
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“This is the church leadership that’s been redacted. Right here. This is it. All of it,” said Maryland SNAP Director David Lorenz, “Look at what’s here on church leadership that was involved in this cover up. We don’t know anything.”
Whether Maryland changes the statute of limitations on potential civil suits remains to be seen, but that is just another step in the journey of those targeted by supposed figures of faith.
“They’re out there and we’re here to speak and speak truth and never stop, because we deal with this every day,” said Kurt Ruprecht, “It is our life sentence.”
