Norbert Krapf reads from "Catholic Boy Blues: A Poet’s Journal of Healing," and C.M. Morgan reads from "Altar(ed) Girl: One Woman’s True Story of Confronting Clergy Sexual Abuse"

Two authors share their experiences of clergy abuse--and their journeys to healing.

Norbert Krapf, former poet laureate of Indiana, and C.M. Morgan of Minneapolis will discuss their new books, which grapple with the issues of child abuse by members of the clergy.

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“Norbert Krapf shares the truth with unique clarity, empathy, and honest grace. The poet that he has always been, even when he was a boy betrayed by a priest, speaks directly to the heart.”--Michael D’Antonio, author of Mortal Sins, Sex, Crime, and the Era of Catholic Scandal

Catholic Boy Blues is a true story by an acclaimed author who has weathered the long-term effects that child abuse has had on his life and the life of his family. Although Norbert’s abuse came from the hands of a priest, he is fully aware that such abuse comes from many different segments of society and has not written this book as an indictment of the Catholic Church.

The poems in Catholic Boy Blues came to Krapf in four voices: the boy; the man he became; Mr. Blues, an elderly mentor and agent of healing; and the priest. Krapf’s book traces the arc from childhood sexual abuse in the 1950s to a vision of healing at the end.

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Norbert Krapf is Emeritus Professor of English at Long Island University. he published six collections of poetry, three with Indiana University Press, a prose memoir about childhood, and a jazz and poetry CD and served as Indiana Poet Laureate from 2008 to 2010.

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In Altar(ed) Girl: One Woman’s True Story of Confronting Clergy Sexual Abuse, C.M. Morgan recounts the forty-year journey of recovering from childhood clergy sexual abuse. From traveling to another state and having a face-to-face conversation with her perpetrator, to enduring five long years of litigation against the church, C.M. spiraled through the tears, fears, and struggles shared by almost all survivors of sexual abuse.

Feeling spiritually lost and emotionally worn out, C.M. found her soul and her long-lost self during her six-month hiatus traveling throughout Australia. Finding and embracing forgiveness proved, once again, that our history is not our destiny. Through the power of love and guidance from friends and complete strangers, she celebrates her victories, while realizing the power of confronting the demons and trusting oneself.

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This event is co-sponsored by Minnesota SNAP and by Prevent Child Abuse MN. Minnesota SNAP is a communication tool for sexual abuse survivors, their loving family members, and supporters; find them online at www.mnsnap.wordpress.com. Prevent Child Abuse MN has been working for more than 30 years to end child abuse and neglect in Minnesota. They partner to build environments where children and families thrive. Learn more at www.pcamn.org.