Originally published February 23, 2022 by Women of Grace, EWTN.
Republished by Ruth Institute April 29, 2022.
In this episode of the Ruth Institute Podcast, we are delighted to listen in to Johnette Williams show, Women of Grace on EWTN.
Faith Hakesley, author of the book, Glimmers of Grace: Moments of Peace and Healing Following Sexual Abuse and associate of the Ruth Institute shares with us her journey to healing she embarked on following the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her priest.
Hakesley tells us that because her attacker was a priest her path to healing had particular obstacles.
She explains that religious faith is often an important tool in the healing process of a victim but that in the special cases where the abuser is a representative of faith, such as a priest, the victim feels betrayed by the faith and the religious structure involved. There is a difficulty in keeping the faith because the abuse is no longer only sexual but is also spiritual, an intensifier of the pain.
Though this abuse left her a wounded Faith, her name and her religious belief, a nobler hope was born by the wonders of God’s grace.
Hakesley briefly touches on how seemingly innocent signs of grooming she experienced suddenly led to an attack that lasted for some considerable time. In this dark place of pain and agony, she began to hate God.
And everything unraveled when her brother died unexpectedly and she found herself in the office of a bereavement counselor. In the very first meeting, a glimmer of grace shone, and she found the courage to speak up of the abuse she had suffered. Now carrying the cross of two separate traumas, she tells her parents and begins the arduous process of healing.
Friends, please continue listening to hear the beautiful story that Faith Hakesley tells, a story that there is hope and healing after sexual abuse.
About the Ruth Institute
The Ruth Institute is a global non-profit organization, leading an international interfaith coalition to defend the family and build a civilization of love.
Jennifer Roback Morse has a Ph.D. in economics and has taught at Yale and George Mason University. She is the author of The Sexual State and Love and Economics – It Takes a Family to Raise a Village.
To schedule an interview with Dr. Morse, contact media@ruthinstitute.org.
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