SYRACUSE, NY (WRVO) – A message of forgiveness is coming from two victims of the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. The two men want to propose an alternative to the anger and bitterness the scandal has wrought.
Both 42-year old Dan Paden, who was born and raised in Johnson City in the Southern Tier, and 58-year old Matt FitzGibbons of Fayetteville, remember being abused as a young child by a parish priest. And they say the way they have come to terms with the abuse is by forgiving their abusers. It’s a message not often heard from victims of clergy abuse, and FitzGibbons believes they are not alone.
“What needs to happen for evil to win is for good people to be silent,” he said. “And Dan and I decided we can’t be silent, and how do we get love out there in the conversation once again.”