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Say Sorry Book Reviews
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“ Customer review on 30/06/2009
Ann Thompson first came to my attention when she started contributing to the CathNews discussion board in Australia which I helped administer. Her story, and the ways in which she told it upset some people to the point where there was a steady flow of complaints from a minority wanting to have Ann barred from contributing to the discussion board. Privately I sought the feelings of the community at large, and also the management of CathNews, as to how we might handle the situation. After much consultation we decided to give Ann as much freedom as possible in order to relate her story. The CathNews Discussion Board eventually spawned Catholica (www.catholica.com.au) and in this community we have endeavoured to continue our encouragement of Ann. From the at times barely articulate woman we first encountered six or seven years ago, Ann has blossomed into an articulate and strong advocate for the victims of child sexual abuse. It is almost as great a thrill for many of us in the Catholica community who have followed Ann's story from the beginning of her appearance on the internet to see her story now picked up by a major publisher in Penguin New Zealand. Ann's story is tragic not only for the abuse but for the fact that she was deprived of any significant education. It is testimony to her personal growth that despite many educational and social handicaps she has sought out the people who could help her tell her story. While, in so many ways, her story is tragic and harrowing, it is also a story of great hope and poignancy. Ann has emerged as a person of great strength in personal character and is fearless today in standing up for the victims of sexual and other forms of abuse. I commend Fiona Craig for her editing of Ann's story and also thank Fr Tom Doyle for the powerful appendix he provides to Ann's story. |
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“ Customer review on 18/08/2009
Ann's story is a great example of "Hope Over Experience." Like Brian Coyne, I, too, first met Ann on the Cathnews Discussion Board toward the beginning of the Priest/Pedophilia Crisis in 2002, where several, but not all, of the members of the Cathnews Discussion Board tried to intimidate her into silence, because they were so embarrassed over theunspeakable stories of molestation, rape and sodomy in their Church.
Her friends were few, but the few that she had stuck by her and encouraged her to get out her story.
For Ann to have gotten her story out, against all odds and educational handicaps, is a testament to her courage and fortitude.
Fr. Tom Doyle has been an authority and an astute observer of the Priest Pedophilia Crisis for decades before it exploded into a world-wide crisis. For Fr. Tom to have endorsed Ann's book, only leads to the legitimacy of her story, and his endorsement should finally silence Ann's critics.
Will the Church ever say, "Sorry!" I rather doubt it! But will her story be heard? I believe that it will not only be shouted from the rooftops but bounced from communication satellites in outer-space! This book is but a start! Jeannie |
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