The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany faces hundreds of cases of sexual abuse in connection with members of its clergy. Colleen Garbarini, is among hundreds of survivors who are suing the church.
Garbarini, who filed an individual suit against the church, says the abuse began when she was between the ages of 6 and 7 years old, sometime in the late 1970s.
“And, actually, the grooming started on the playground of St. Paul the Apostle’s School, the person who abused me was brother Clement Murphy, he worked for Notre Dame Bishop Gibbons, which is a school right around the corner from St. Paul’s,” Garbarini said.
She says Murphy would bring a lawn chair and candy to the Schenectady school’s playground at lunch time, handing treats out while children – mostly girls – sat on his lap.
Garbarini explains that as an oldest child with many siblings, she was desperate for attention and was pleased when she got it.
“And then, you know, I began to trust him, I began to love him. He said I was special, he did all of those things that we kind of hear about, unfortunately,” Garbarini said.
After a while, Murphy began inviting Garbarini to his residence after school. She says this rectory is where the “more intense” abuse took place.
“I’m not sure if it was his office or a room of his apartment, I don’t even know exactly. But it was a relatively small room, with a closet because I remember being put in the closet at times because he didn’t want anyone to know that I was there,” Garbarini said.
Garbarini is one of hundreds of plaintiffs who allege they are victims of sexual abuse at the hands of clergy members in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany.
Last week, the Diocese agreed to an $8 million settlement with another survivor, days ahead of a set trial date.
In a statement released by the church that same day, the Diocese said it “does not dispute that abuse occurred and our offer to walk with survivors remains.”
Cynthia LaFave is one of the attorneys’ representing a group of survivors who are seeking recompense for their abuse.
LaFave said that last week’s settlement sets an important precedent.
“This settlement shows that the Diocese knows what the value of these cases is, and that means that when they start looking at what is the lump-sum settlement going to be to all of these survivors and there is something about 425 of these survivors,” LaFave said. “What’s that going to mean as far as how much is going to be allocated to these survivors for what they’ve gone through.”
Before they agreed to settle, she says the Dioceses denied that the abuse happened.
For the victims, LaFave said the aftermath is long lasting. “What they have gone through has lasted their entire lifetime. This is, this is terrible what they have gone through and its worth a tremendous amount in terms of emotions and grief and them feeling guilty and all kinds of other things, but the only way we can ”
Garbarini, who says she was abused over the course of about a year and a half, and was at one point raped, says the abuse has had ramifications on her wellbeing that have lasted throughout her entire adult life.
“When I react to different things in today, I’m really reacting from a place of 1979 or 1980. I’m triggered back to that time and fear takes over or anger takes over or something takes over and I react and then I’m like wow that reaction didn’t really match what is happening today,” Garbarini said.
In the midst of multiple pending lawsuits, the Roman Catholic Diocese appointed a new Bishop – Mark O’Connell – on Monday. At a press conference in Albany the same day, O’Connell, who received a degree in Canon Law at a university in Rome, said he will work to begin healing with the survivors.
“I want it to be dealt with. I want to comfort those who need comfort,” O’Connell said.
But for Garbarini, the new Bishop’s promise rings hollow.
“I don’t believe words because there has not been transparency for many, many, many decades, probably even hundreds of years as part of the Catholic Church,” Garbarini said.
