THIS PAGE IS DEDICATED TO MY BROTHER PAUL WHO LOST HIS BATTLE WITH LIFE AT THE AGE OF 37. "WHERE IS MY GUARDIAN ANGEL? . . . This story is not about enticing hatred or anger or retribution. It is simply a visual and narrative reflection of the truth without illusion or embellishment of my personal story as an adult survivor of child sexual, physical, mental and spiritual abuse by a Catholic pries
t and nuns. This story is just as much about the extreme consequences of entrenched clericalism within an archaic monolithic religious institution. A religious institution whose papal hierarchy and some of its devotees have steadfastly resisted to acknowledge and address the culture of abuse and the obvious truth about the catastrophic effects of forced celibacy on its clergy. I was systematically abused by a Priest and terrorized by nuns from the Sisters of Mercy Order. The abuse only ceased when I left the school at the end of Grade Six. However, the Priest continued contact with my family by visiting the family home. He terrorized and yelled at my mother for her perceived 'failures' as a Catholic and was relentless in pursuing and persecuting my siblings for not attending mass every Sunday. The last time I saw him he was standing in our lounge-room. He was berating my mother and had specifically come to the house tell me that I had bought the Devil into the family home. . . I was twenty five. My story is outlined in more detail in 'Milestones' below under
💜"My Story: Where is My Guardian Angel?"
(Warning: Trigger alert for abuse survivors)
“Where is my Guardian Angel?”
Copyright © 2012 Mary Elizabeth Rutledge. All Rights Reserved.
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