Mar 2017
The evening breath stirs,
as I struggle to cast off
the sins of today.
I cringe when recalling past Vespers.
Your voice – joy to me once,
resounds a heinous incantation.
Chanting, “The hand of God is reaching out” –
You groped, slowly stroking me up and down.
I give in, my body fully physically responding….
Always afterward, I determined I was to blame.
You offered tears, absolution, and admonishments.
All I must do was keep this secret – you warned.
Now as I seek redemption
for my tortured soul,
I fear these torments continue for other boys.
as I struggle to cast off
the sins of today.
I cringe when recalling past Vespers.
Your voice – joy to me once,
resounds a heinous incantation.
Chanting, “The hand of God is reaching out” –
You groped, slowly stroking me up and down.
I give in, my body fully physically responding….
Always afterward, I determined I was to blame.
You offered tears, absolution, and admonishments.
All I must do was keep this secret – you warned.
Now as I seek redemption
for my tortured soul,
I fear these torments continue for other boys.
Vespers - a religious pray service in the evening. Vespers, also called Evening Prayer, takes place as dusk begins to fall. Evening Prayer gives thanks for the day just past and makes an evening sacrifice of praise to God
Absolution - a remission of sin or of the punishment for sin, made by a priest in the sacrament of penance on the ground of authority received from Christ.
Admonishment - to reprove or scold, especially in a mild and good-willed manner.
Cases of ****** abuse (particularly of children) and subsequent cover-ups committed by Catholic priests, and members of Roman Catholic orders have led to numerous allegations, investigations, trials and convictions. The abused include boys as young as 3 years old, with the majority between the ages of 11 and 14. Accusations began to receive wide publicity in the late 1980s. Many of these involve cases in which a priest was accused of abuse for decades; such allegations were frequently made by adults or older youths years after the abuse occurred. Cases have also been brought against members of the Catholic hierarchy who covered up *** abuse allegations and moved abusive priests to other parishes, where the pattern continued.
Absolution - a remission of sin or of the punishment for sin, made by a priest in the sacrament of penance on the ground of authority received from Christ.
Admonishment - to reprove or scold, especially in a mild and good-willed manner.
Cases of ****** abuse (particularly of children) and subsequent cover-ups committed by Catholic priests, and members of Roman Catholic orders have led to numerous allegations, investigations, trials and convictions. The abused include boys as young as 3 years old, with the majority between the ages of 11 and 14. Accusations began to receive wide publicity in the late 1980s. Many of these involve cases in which a priest was accused of abuse for decades; such allegations were frequently made by adults or older youths years after the abuse occurred. Cases have also been brought against members of the Catholic hierarchy who covered up *** abuse allegations and moved abusive priests to other parishes, where the pattern continued.
