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In Savannah, Survivor Of Clergy Sex Abuse Shares Story Of Resilience; Message Of Hope
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Over the past two decades, thousands of Catholic clergy worldwide have been accused as pedophiles. Last week, the Archdiocese of Atlanta and the Diocese of Savannah released the names of priests and seminarians under their respective authorities who have been "credibly" accused of sexually abusing minors dating back to the 1960s.
In most states, the statute of limitations on these cases has meant many accused priests have not faced criminal charges. But last month, a legal loophole led to former Savannah Diocese priest Wayland Brown pleading guilty to nine charges of criminal sexual conduct for abusing two boys in the 1970s and 1980s. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
One of those boys was Chris Templeton. Templeton was in eighth grade at St. James Catholic School in Savannah when the abuse began. Now 45, Templeton is sharing his story of resilience and his message of hope for other survivors of clergy sex abuse. On Second Thought host Virginia Prescott speaks with Chris Templeton and Mirtha Donastorg.
Templeton estimates Brown raped him more than 50 times in the span of nine months. For the next three decades, Templeton says he repressed memories of the abuse and, as a result, struggled to stay alive. And Templeton wasn't Brown's only victim at St. James. As CNN's Mirtha Donastorg reported, Brown also abused Allan Ranta, one of Templeton's St. James classmates.
Templeton and Donastorg joined "On Second Thought" with the story.
If you or someone you know has been abused, you can contact the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. You can also contact the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests (SNAP) Georgia representative Tim Lennon at 415-312-5820 and Savannah representative at 508-207-7418. If you are having thoughts about suicide, call 1-800-784-2433.
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