Reply #20: Per the Boston Herald, 4/14/2002, Ms. Desrosiers claims to have been abused at age 4 by a priest... [View All]

[VOX]

The idea of targeting a Hallmark card seemed as silly to me as it would any common-sense person. But I did a quick search in Lexis-Nexis and Factiva -- Ms. Desrosiers's name appears in numerous hits regarding the victimization of children by priests.

This would certainly explain her concern over seeming minutiae like the sentiment in a greeting card.

Unfortunately, I can't link to the two items below, as they're from a Factiva search. But anyone who has access to Factiva or Lexis-Nexis can search the subject.

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More allegations of abuse surface as sex abuse scandal grows
By ANN S. KIM
Associated Press Writer
702 words
16 March 2002
19:01 GMT
Associated Press Newswires
English
Copyright 2002. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - As the sex abuse scandal plaguing the Roman Catholic Church grows, more people who say they've been abused by priests in Maine are approaching a victim's advocacy group.

Cyndi Desrosiers, coordinator of the Maine chapter of the Survivor's Network of People Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said dozens of people, both victims and their family members, have contacted her in recent weeks.

Thirty-eight Mainers have gotten in touch with Desrosiers in the last month. They have named 15 Maine clergy members, including one nun, she said.

"I think that as more victims are seeing other victims come forward, they're getting the courage to come forward," Desrosiers said. "I think there's a real need for victims to feel validated."
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PRIEST SCANDAL; Experts: There's hope for victims
Stephanie Schorow
1077 words
14 April 2002

All Editions
008
English
© 2002 Boston Herald Library. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights reserved
Even if legal justice finally catches up with priests who have molested children, the damage they have wrought will not be easily remedied - but there is hope, experts and sex-abuse victims say.

Victims may spend years learning to trust other people, trying to regain a sense of control over their lives and dispelling feelings of shame and guilt, the experts say. Some will sink into permanent depression or turn to drinking or drug addiction.

Yet, say both therapists and survivors, many will not only survive but thrive, going on to live full lives and help other abuse sufferers along the way.
<snip>
Female victims often suffer from a sense of powerlessness, too, but they often turn their anger against themselves, while boys often act out. Cyndi Desrosiers, 37, an Augusta, Maine, resident, said she was abused at age 4 by a priest who told her she was bad and deserved this treatment. She believed him.

"He took me to a open grave and threatened to bury me alive if I told anyone," she said. So she grew up to be a perfectionist: "Unless I was perfect, I was proving him right."

Some survivors regain a sense of control by confronting perpetrators through legal action. Desrosiers, for example, believes she regained control when she faced her tormentor in a courtroom: "I could see I wasn't 4 or 5 any anymore and he had no power over me," she said.