During my youth, I passed through the heavy doors of St. Theresa Parish hundreds of times after Mass. While most of those memories have vanished into an amalgam of childhood impressions, I do recall a specific encounter one Sunday with Fr. George Bredemann … I recall him looking down at us and me feeling uncomfortable. Mostly, I remember his eyes.

“It was only years later that I learned he was one of the most notorious of the priests who abused children in my home diocese of Phoenix, Arizona. Fr. George was eventually arrested, convicted, and jailed. Justice did not arrive because our bishop, Thomas O’Brien, stood with the survivors; in fact, he wrote a letter to the court asking for leniency in Fr. George’s sentencing. Justice was served because a Catholic parishioner saw what was happening and took action.”

By Nicole Sotelo, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this article.