Most likely you've heard through the grapevine that my brother, Fr. Norman Christian, died October 29, 2004.  The Archdiocese did not run his death notice in the paper, and my sister and I had nothing to do with his funeral arrangements, so I'm letting you know of his death myself.
 
Maybe some of you saw Bill McClellan's October 27 column in the Post.  A long story short, I learned about 16 years ago that Norman was a pedophile when Sue told me what he had told her and places he had been taking her years before.  She had since been avoiding him, and I didn't understand why.  I confronted him after that and he admitted his lifestyle to me.  He was angry with Sue for breaking his confidence in telling me about him.  I told him I was proud of her for having the courage to tell me, and it took her years to be able to do it.  I have spent the last 16 years trying to get Norman and the Church leaders to do the right thing for all sexual abuse victims and to protect against there being any more victims.  I have prayed for years for one of Norm's victims to have the courage to come forward and one finally did last year.
 
It's disguesting that the Church leaders continue to cover up their bad judgment and go on gambling with many more such priests that are still in service.  It's outrageous.  What they are doing is just plain wrong, and they need to be held accountable.  It goes against everything I ever learned growing up in a loving Catholic home and attending Catholic schools.
 
I am not mourning the loss of a brother, but I am mourning the loss of the Church I loved, trusted and looked to for comfort and guidance all my life. My faith in God is strong, but in the Church leaders, it's completely gone.  I have been and continue to pray that God will give us Church leaders that will correct the way the sex abuse scandal has been dealt with up until now.  Victims need to be treated with compassion, not as enemies.  Church leaders need to stop using loopholes to keep problem priests from being prosecuted, and to stop risking innocent children by allowing these "sick" priests to go on in service for the various parishes, claiming they are innocent because of their tactics.
 
Sixteen years of phone calls, letters and visits with Norman, bishops, etc., I've read and heard quite a few untruths from the Archdiocese. Their #1 concern has always been to protect the Church's money from future lawsuits.  Norman went to his death never apologizing to our family or any of his victims for what he had done.  Why?  He said it would open the door for more lawsuits for the archdiocese.  He couldn't do that to THEM1  They programmed him well in therapy.
 
Those of you who are still Catholic, pray for your Church and its leaders. Talk to your kids and watch your grandchildren.
 
Norman was given a burial as a priest in good standing.----- To me, it was the ultimate slap in the face to my family and to all his victims.  He NEVER expressed remorse to me for the pain he caused to so many children and their families.  Maybe the archdiocese had second thoughts about it since they didn't run his death notice nor did they announce funeral arrangements at any Church.  They only mentioned at his home parish, Our Lady of Sorrows, that he had died.  They didn't mention that he was laid out that same day with the funeral the next day and where.  More cover-up.    We didn't go.
 
Please keep us in your prayers.

Carol, Joe and family-