WATCH. SPREAD the WORD.

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I’ll be watching - SIPE; Sex, Lies, and the Priesthood (click here to schedule watch) on February 20th, and available through March 4th, 2021. I hope you will too. Richard would be the first to say - It’s the message, that is important to listen to, not the messanger - the message pulls on the heart-strings.

I lost a friend to suicide - I believe attributable to a priest’s abuse, and subsequent institution coverup. I don’t know for sure, my friend refused to accuse, even after realizing the abuse, and struggling with it’s affects - I suspect, it was my friend’s unrequited love.

Richard helped my friend, but, there must have been too much pain to reach a more seemingly, satisfactory conclusion. Richard helped spotlight the problem, and helped hundreds of abuse victims reach settlement - healing - where the abused likely felt some retribution for the seemingly unforgivable, horrendous crime of abuse by priests in power. UNBELIEVABLE.

Richard. Courage.

An excerpt from COURAGE AT THREE AM (FriesenPress.com) 2017, by Richard. A portion of the poem SURVIVOR’S LAMENT / DAILY COURAGE.

III

“I cry. I wail, even shriek at night - at three A.M.

when none but darkness is to hear me weep.

Betrayal real - re-imagined, re-lived - not fantasy.

Do you understand?

So many don’t.

Power rules. Power crushes. Power seems triumphant.

Fear can overtake me, fill empty soul with bleak remorse.

What could have been? For me? For you?.

Can’t let darkness conquer. Hang on until pink light.

Hang on, hang on, hang on …”