City man working on documentary on clergy sex abuse

LOWELL — Gary Bergeron publicly spoke about being sexually abused by the Rev. Joseph E. Birmingham, a former priest at St. Michael’s in Lowell, for the first time in 2002.

Since then, Bergeron has continued to be outspoken about the abuse he suffered as a child during a three-year period in the 1970s, and the need for the Catholic church and society to address the issue of clergy sexual abuse.

Bergeron, of Lowell, has written a book about his struggles called “Don’t Call Me a Victim: Faith, Hope & Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church,” in 2005. He has also co-founded a group called Survivors Voice to help adult survivors of child sexual abuse speak out. His latest project is a yet-to-be titled documentary about his life as a clergy sex-abuse survivor that he is working on at Lowell Telecommunications Corp.

The Sun recently caught up with Bergeron, 51, to find out what he hopes comes from his documentary he expects to show first in October, and how he thinks the Catholic Church is doing to address clergy sexual abuse.

Q: Why did you first decide to speak out about being abused by a priest?

A: When I found out my dad had been abused by Joe Birmingham, he told my brother and I that we suffered from the sin of his silence. I immediately thought about my son, who was 3. I decided that night that there was no way this was going to happen

Q: How did speaking publicly about your story help you?

A: The value in it was understanding who I was. I was not a guy who needed to be running away all the time. I was not the guy who had to go from one relationship to another relationship. I was a family man. I was somebody who was not afraid to speak truth to power. I started to listen to my inner voice as opposed to everyone else’s voice. If I had not started talking about it, I probably wouldn’t be alive today.

Q: How did hearing others before you speak publicly about being abused help you?

A: I remember the first time I listened to a survivor speak. It was at the East End Club in Lowell. His name was Bernie McDaid and his story was also about Birmingham. The parallels were just mind-blowing. I knew I was not alone. I knew at least one guy I could relate to. It changed my life.

Q: What prompted you to make a documentary about your story?

A: About six months ago I got an email from someone the general public in Lowell would know very well and who said he was abused by Birmingham. He was reaching out for the first time. We met face to face to talk about it. The next day he sent me an email saying that he felt the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders and he felt an inch taller. I knew it was time to get back to work.

Q: How is your documentary different than the other videos and books about clergy sexual abuse already released?

A: I tell the story based on my experiences, rather than someone talking about the sinking of the Titanic who was not there. I was there. I lived it and I am living it. That is a different viewpoint than what is out there.

Q: What type of reaction do you hope the documentary prompts?

A: If I can help a survivor in any place in the world, it is my way of giving back to society. Survivors need to understand there is a difference between being a victim and a survivor, but you need to take that step. Being sexually abused is not a death sentence. There is hope. There is self worth. There is an empowerment when you make a decision to define who you are.

Q: Are there are other types of action you hope the film spurs?

A: It is an issue society needs to have the courage to engage. It is time for American political leaders to talk about this issue.

Q: Why don’t you think there has been the type of public political dialogue you are seeking?

A: I think organized religion is the third rail of politics. Nobody wants to touch the third rail. My role is to hopefully educate society and help them realize this is not about God, religion, or Catholicism. It is about the sexual abuse of children and the cover-up.

Q: Has there been any success in other countries sparking dialogue about the issue of clergy sex abuse?

A: Three weeks ago the organization I co-founded, Survivors Voice, which now has a chapter in Europe, went to address the United Nations in Geneva about the issue. The exchange lasted for four hours. We can discuss this halfway across the world, yet we can’t get our political leaders here to look at the issue.

Q: Has the Catholic Church made any progress in addressing clergy sexual abuse?

A: The highest ranking Catholic official in the U.S., Cardinal Timothy Dolan in New York, said that nobody has done a better job addressing this than the Catholic Church and that is the good news. And yet, a few years ago, when he was the archbishop of Milwaukee, he moved $57 million into a trust fund for the perpetual care of the dead. He wanted to protect the money from clergy abuse litigation. How any one can do that and then still say nobody has handled this issue better than the Catholic church is beyond me. I can’t call that progress.

Follow Moran on Twitter @lylemoran.