KCHS class of 1968 - a get-together

I just had my 40th class reunion at Knoxville Catholic High School in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was a wonderful experience. After 40 years, some of the pretensions that we all had have dropped away, and we find ourselves surprisingly more in tune with each other than we ever were 40 years ago.

I was happy to see so much happiness and genuine care among my classmates and friends. It has warmed my heart like nothing else in a long time.

I wish everyone could have this experience. Sadly, too many who went to KCHS have to contend with the damaging, devastating effects of clergy sexual abuse.

Many of my classmates know that I have worked with clergy sexual abuse victims. I had decided to be candid about it with them, since I also think frankness and candor are benefits of the 40 years after high school!

Many of them had the usual reaction that it happened to someone else and not to those who went to KCHS. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I only had to point to the yearbooks on display from our four years at Catholic. There are pictures of at least two serial child molesters in those pages. TWO pedophile priests that I am aware of, and there are most likely more.

Not pictured in the books are two other priest predators who were assigned to churches where our classmates came from to go to KCHS. All of us were exposed to these predators in some way and did not know it. Or are there classmates of mine and students from other classes who were abused by these priests?

I suspect the answer is yes given all that I do know about the clergy sexual abuse crisis in East Tennessee, a crisis yet to fully erupt, but one that some of us know to be horrific.

Thanks, class of 1968. I love all of you, and I fervently hope we will meet again before too many years go by. By then, I hope the entire Diocese of Knoxville is exposed for the cover-up and corruption that it has perpetrated on too many of the innocents.