One of the hard earned and painful lessons which the family of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee learned in its struggle with the clergy sexual abuse crisis is how insidiously it tears at the fabric of the relationships within that family; and yet, how strong that fabric can be when a family finally stands up to the abuse and confronts it. This is a lesson other families can learn from us.

Another of the lessons we learned is that the cause of the abuse is hidden in the psyche of the abuser. Even if the perpetrator attempts to shift the blame to the victim, the victim is not at fault for the attack. The victim is just that - a victim - of the weakness or illness of the one abusing them. And we are certain there are more lessons to be learned.

It takes courage, however, to face all of the pain surrounding the fear that a family member might be abusing another be that a child, a spouse, a partner, or an aging parent. These fears often paralyze us, preventing us from acting. They often keep us from admitting that this kind of thing can happen within our family as it can happen in any family. And the family that refuses to face that fact only enables the violence to continue.

We forget that we are not alone in facing this. That those trained to lend support are not there to judge the moral fabric of the family, only to help that family to overcome the struggles they are facing with dignity and strength.

It is with this in mind, having hopefully learned from our mistakes, that we present this web page for you. We pray that it will support you in the steps you need to take.

Respectfully
Yours in Christ,
Father Charles Keefe