Mt. Hood Rambles: Troutdale to Sandy

This blog is not done, but I lose my photos if I don't publish.  Please come back when I am done.  --Virginia





























Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Clergy Abuse Won't End Until Parishioners Step Up

Image
I was in Eastern and Southern Oregon walking through small, rural towns and on scenic trails to raise awareness about abuse when the news came about an abusive priest, Fr. Angel Armando Perez,  in Woodburn, Oregon.  The abuse was very recent and the child reported it, and his family supported him, and the police supported him, and the priest was arrested. The family support and the arrest frequently did not happen in the past. We’ve made progress, real progress.  The abuse happened, but at least most of the response to the abuse was appropriate.   I could not comment on what had happened when I was walking through towns and on trails in the distant parts of Oregon.  My internet access was intermittent, and I had my two teenagers to care for and a schedule to keep, and the two teenagers didn’t want to share the computer with me. When I returned home to Portland, I read Abuse Tracker and saw Randy Ellison's blog on the case.  Randy...
Read more

Louise Bauschard: A Life Dedicated to Breaking the Cycle of Abuse

Image
Background Information: Louis Bauschard: A Life Dedicated to Breaking the Cycle of Abuse Louise Baushcard started her adult life as a stay at home mother before going back to school during the flowering of the feminist movement in the 1960s and 70s.  She studied Social Work with an emphasis on Women’s Studies. Her studies and her mentors inspired her to open a Women’s Self Help Center in St. Louis, Missouri, in May 1976, to bring women together and empower them to create positive changes in their lives -- a noble goal that would soon be subsumed by specific problems of an overwhelming nature.  Within a short time, phone calls came in to the Center seeking help for physical abuse and sexual abuse, and the mission of the center transformed to that of a hotline for domestic violence and child sex abuse survivors. The problem of abuse, that has surely always been with us, was just coming out into the open in the 1970s.  Much secrecy, guilt and shame surrounds ...
Read more

Final Results of Survey on Clergy Abuse

Image
In 2007, inspired by several survivors of Catholic clergy abuse I constructed a survey of survivor wants of needs related to healing.  I received some positive support from survivors and advocates and an instructor of Social Work from PSU.  I approached SNAP, therapists, the instructor of Social Work,, the media, and several clergy abuse lawyers but received little help in distributing and publicizing the survey.  I had previously approached three Victim Assistants who worked for the Catholic Church and was essentially told to let professionals handle this.  I attempted to work with the local Voice of the Fruitful and was told that I was too angry and hurt and drove people away. I was hurt and angry.  I was baptized Catholic along with my young children in 2001.  After baptizing me, he proceeded to groom me and my 5 year old son although I have to stress that nothing bad ever happened.  My son sat on the priests lap for almost 2 hours one time, bu...
Read more