Jim Handlin has catalogued the trauma of clergy sexual molestation that has 
enveloped the Catholic Church throughout the last 75 years of her history in 
the United States. This tale is unique. The collection of stories that Jim 
Handlin has tapped together into a mosaic of criminal conspiracy is told tile by 
tile from the perspective of the individual survivor. Each story holds the truth 
of the experience of both the devastating horror of sexual abuse, rape, and 
sodomy, as well as the responses that the survivor received (or did not 
receive) from church leaders. 

This book is, in effect, not only a chronicle of the expected difficulties 
encountered by sex crime victims (dealing with intimacy/sex and depression, for 
example), but also a coldly illustrated tabulation of broken family 
relationships, damaged trust in one’s parents and other authority figures, and lost 
faith in the church and, more importantly, even in God. Jim Handlin exposes the 
truth of the clergy molestation scandal with extreme sadness and tenderness.

The power of this communal story lay in the revelation of secrets that have 
been kept hidden by each individual for years; in some cases, decades. The 
brave men and women who unveil their pain, suffering, and shame in these pages 
have given us a generous gift. They have grafted flesh, tissue, and muscle to the 
masks of the thousands of survivors who have reported their abuse to law 
enforcement leaders and church leaders, and for too many, only to be turned away 
with sanctimonious derision and indifference toward the human condition.
 

Undaunted, survivors continue to overcome their pain and embarrassment to put 
a human face on their stories of shame and suffering, all the while shedding 
light on the evil each has experienced at the hands of trusted clergy. Their 
doing so benefits the Church with the singular gifts of charity of purpose and 
hope for the future.

Only by exposing these dark deeds can the church begin the necessary and 
arduous task of healing herself. Readers of Handlin’s history of the American 
church also must recognize that even though he only is able to share the 
experiences of eight survivors, the truths documented herein encapsulates and validates 
the stories of thousands of others who have been sexually molested in the 
same manner. Whether the abuse occurred one time, or several times a week for 
several years, the innocence that was shattered and the consequences brought 
about in the lives of the victims, their families, and their parish and school 
communities has been devastating.

In so many ways, the survivors of clergy sexual abuse have become the 
“wounded healers” of the church. The great Dutch teacher and pastoral care specialist 
Henri J. M. Nouwen notes: “When we honestly ask ourselves which persons in 
our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of 
giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and 
touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.”
 

This woundedness of shattered faith in humanity and,  yes, God (vis a vis 
Church as authority and as institution) demands this level of response. Almost 
all, if not all survivors, have experienced this loss of trust and faith in 
varying degrees.

The lack of understanding and poor response has shaped what has become, 
perhaps, a significant hallmark of many of us molested by a priest, nun, or a 
professed religious: speaking out courageously, a hundred times over if necessary, 
until our story is heard. Identifying the criminal sexual predator, especially 
those still in ministry today, not only nurtures the healing process; it also 
removes all potential risk to untold numbers of additional innocent children. 
The church will continue to be haunted by the evil of sacrificing the 
vulnerable and young for the gratification of church leaders with perverse appetites, 
but those who tell their stories and expose the truth today know that they 
have established a firm foundation for a renewed life and a recovering faith.

Jim Handlin’s documentation represents a decisive and damning moment in the 
history of the Roman Catholic Church. With the help of survivors, he reveals 
the total lack of desire of church leaders to confront and accept these 
atrocities as they occurred. Their stories expose the consequences and “fall-out” of 
the abuse of children and vulnerable adults beyond what one would expect. 
Handlin has, in fact, distilled and refined raw nuggets of painful truth as told 
by survivors of sexual molestation by spiritual leaders. Too many survivors 
have been left alone, treated as the “enemy” of God and the
Church rather than as a community of humble witnesses – teachers, if you
will – of the unbridled corruption of temporal and spiritual power in this
mournful era of the Catholic Church in America. Handlin has exposed the 
failed leadership of the church and the need to create a better, more
helpful, environment for survivors and family members. But few of us (or,
perhaps, none) have really been told that our courage in coming forward is
appreciated or even recognized by those who should have been our friends.
Consequently, many, who read these pages, will find the subject matter
intimidating, overwhelming, or even depressing. But I hope you will soon
understand that this book is fundamentally about strength and courage. 
Story telling demands a powerful, unique voice. Handlin and those who have
generously offered us this genuine gift of the heart have exposed the evil
of clergy sexual for what it truly is: the abuse of power and authority
within the Catholic Church. These “children,” and thousand more like
them, have chosen to survive and even thrive. Others, sadly, have chosen
surrender, lacking the fortitude and hope necessary for survival. But
by choosing to fight for healing, honesty, and prevention, in spite of all
we have endured, perhaps those unable to cope will be able to rediscover
their resolve and move forward.

In our dozens of SNAP self-help groups across the country, we often repeat 
one of our ground rules: “Take what you like, leave the rest. Cling to what you 
find helpful here, let the everything else go.” I urge you to do that with 
this book. Some chapters will resonate and touch you. Others may not. But 
collectively, there is much wisdom in the pages ahead for every reader.

Thank you for picking up this book. Thank you for taking the time to address 
this painful topic. I hope you will join with me, too, in thanking each of the 
contributors who so selflessly and bravely shared his or her own experiences, 
so that others might learn, heal and prevent future harm to innocent kids and 
vulnerable adults!

Barbara A. Blaine
President
Survivors Network of those Abuse by Priests (SNAP)