BOSTON, Oct. 1 — Some come with poetry they have written or pictures they have drawn to capture the pain and stabbing sense of betrayal they felt when a priest they respected raped them.
Some disintegrate in tears as they try to tell their stories. Men becoming vulnerable boys again, especially because they are telling their stories to a representative of the church, designated by the Archdiocese of Boston to listen to victims of clergy sexual abuse.
For six months, that person has been Barbara S. Thorp, a longtime employee of the archdiocese, who was appointed this spring to head the church's Ministry for Healing and Assistance. It is Ms. Thorp's job to meet with people who say they were abused by priests, determine if they need therapy, help them find treatment if necessary, and arrange for the archdiocese to pay the bill.
Amid the anguish of the abuse scandal, which exploded here in January, Ms. Thorp has had slow going. Many abuse victims are reluctant to visit a representative of the church.
Indeed, Ms. Thorp said, she was doing interviews today for the first time since she started her new position in April because she hoped that publicity would encourage more victims to come to see her.
"We know there are many more people who have not come," Ms. Thorp said.
About 150 have visited the ministry since late January, she said, when it was run by a nun. But hundreds more have made accusations of sexual abuse in that time and, their lawyers say, have not wanted to talk to the church.
The appointment of Ms. Thorp, the first layperson to head the ministry, was considered a significant step toward making some victims feel more comfortable. The other major change came in May, when the ministry was moved from the chancery grounds to a secular office building in Newton, just west of Boston.
"Some couldn't even imagine being in the same room with someone in clerical clothes," said Ms. Thorp, who led the archdiocese's Pro-Life Activities office for 17 years. "We had to really reach out and meet people in a place where they felt more safety and welcome."
By the accounts of most victims' advocates and some victims, Ms. Thorp, 51, and the two social workers who assist her, have been approachable and empathetic, and have arranged to pay for therapy for six months at the outset, often with the victim's current therapist. Bills for therapy, including some inpatient treatment and drug rehabilitation, have so far totaled more than $100,000, she said.
Ms. Thorp allows victims to bring relatives, friends or social workers to
meetings and has sometimes met them at a
Bernie McDaid, 46, who said he was abused by the Rev. Joseph Birmingham when he was 11, said he felt more comfortable talking with Ms. Thorp than with Sister Rita McCarthy, who was still running the ministry when Mr. McDaid came forward in March.
"When I talked to Sister Rita, she was a nun: I didn't want to go into detail," Mr. McDaid said. "I can talk very freely with Barbara. And you can pick your own therapist or go with a list of whatever they recommend, so there's no pressure."
But victims and their advocates say they still object to some aspects of the process, especially the passing on to other archdiocesan officials, including lawyers, of information that victims provide to the ministry.
Roderick MacLeish Jr., a lawyer for clients suing the church over abuse, has written to the archdiocese asking that "what you say to a social worker in a moment of crisis is not something that goes to an archdiocesan lawyer."
Ms. Thorp replied that "we are a part of the archdiocese and if someone has brought information to us about a priest, we do need to communicate to the delegate who investigates priests" for the archdiocese. Victims are also told that their accusations will be relayed to the state attorney general's office. She said she honored victims' requests for their names to be withheld from accusations.
Victims' advocates also would prefer if the functions of the ministry were performed by someone not connected with the church.
"The church is doing a very valuable thing, but it's an awkward dynamic," said Diane Nealon, a social worker hired by Mr. MacLeish's law firm to counsel victims. "The abuser is paying for treatment. The abused feels indebted to the abuser. I feel it should be separate so the abused doesn't feel indebted."
Ms. Thorp said she felt the archdiocese should continue to run the office because "the church has an obligation to hear the stories, no matter how dark and depressing they are."
Ms. Thorp said her role was to help apologize to the victims and tell them the archdiocese is there for them.
"This is a betrayal of an order that all of us are just really having a great deal of trouble with because it seems like this was just a sacred trust that was betrayed," she said. "It's heartbreaking but very very humbling to know the sense of betrayal that they've experienced and what it takes for them to have even a little tiny bit of trust to come and speak to a representative of the church."
She added, "There's a prayer that we say as Catholics before we receive the eucharist: `Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.' I have that prayer very much in my heart. I really feel that every individual that I am meeting with is Christ coming in the door."