Two of the eight claimants were students at St. Peter Claver Parish and School in West Baltimore. The first to testify was 12 when she said she started being stalked by a priest. She said she was ultimately raped by the cleric after numerous instances of lewd behavior. Her mother pulled her out of the parochial school. She said she later attempted suicide, which led to a monthslong stay in a state mental hospital.
Both former students of St. Peter Claver School disclosed that the abuse led to many years of alcohol and drug addiction. The second former student from that parish said she started doing drugs at age 13 after she was abused. Her mother worked for many years at the rectory. She said she was reluctant to hold her mother’s funeral at the parish due to the alleged sex crimes.
All eight detailed the lifelong impact of the abuse — ranging from not being able to trust others, post-traumatic stress disorder, and long periods of addiction. The second claimant, who attended Archbishop Curley High School in the 1980s, detailed how a religious brother introduced him to pornography during a visit to the school’s friary. The alleged victim had trouble forming relationships after his abuse, which he said ultimately led to a divorce in adulthood.
Later in the hearing, two other adult survivors disclosed that their siblings were also abused. The last claimant to testify said she and her twin sister were groomed by a priest at St. Joseph’s Monastery Parish in Baltimore, which adjoined their childhood home. The cleric befriended their family and would regularly visit the residence. Despite the abuse, the female claimant emphasized that she still believed in God: “I don’t blame God. I love God.”
Earlier in the hearing, the sixth claimant noted that his abuser had also established a close relationship with his family. He said the cleric abused him for five years and even followed him on assignment from his parish to his high school.
Following the hearing, Paul Zdunek, who chairs the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, a group of seven individuals who organized to represent all of the hundreds of claimants against the archdiocese, spoke with the press outside the courtroom. He stated that the archdiocese is “saying the right things. We hope they do the right things.”
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