Vinnie says he shared his experience because ‘I feel I shouldn’t be an unseen statistic’
All names and identifying details have been changed.
Participants have given us permission to share their experiences.
Vinnie’s Catholic family were befriended by a priest who went on to sexually abuse Vinnie.
He did not speak to anyone about being abused until many years later.
Vinnie grew up in a large family in the 1960s and 70s. His parents were religiously devout and he was an altar boy.
One of the priests from the church, Father Smith, befriended Vinnie’s family. He would take Vinnie to his home, which was in the church buildings, to watch television. The priest gave Vinnie alcohol to drink.
Vinnie was about nine or 10 years old, and he can’t remember all the details of the abuse. ‘I have been blocking it out of my life but it’s still always there’ he says. He knows there was touching and oral sex. He is not sure if Father Smith raped him but he remembers the priest being on top of him.
On one occasion the priest came to the family home to babysit and he sexually abused Vinnie there. He told Vinnie ‘It’s our little secret’.
Vinnie managed to stop the abuse after a couple of years. Although he was only about 11, he says ‘I felt old enough to stand up to him’. He didn’t tell anyone about the abuse at the time. ‘I can’t explain why but I didn’t want anyone to know about it’ he says.
When he was in his mid-20s, Vinnie approached the Catholic church and reported the abuse by Father Smith. He says ‘They fobbed me off … I find it hard to believe the church didn’t know it was going on. It must have been quite obvious to other priests he was taking me into his room alone for an hour or two’.
Vinnie is transgender. He is happy with himself – ‘It’s who I am’ he says, but he wonders if it is a result of being abused.
He stopped being a Catholic as soon as he was old enough to be independent. He has two children and is very vigilant and protective of them.
Vinnie feels strongly that it is important for children to be protected and for organisations like the Catholic church to take responsibility.
He says he came to the Truth Project because he wants his experience to be on the record and to be acknowledged. ‘I am pleased to have got it off my chest and hope it will make a difference.’