In his new memoir, Andrew Rannells reveals that when he was a teenager, a priest in the Catholic Church sexually assaulted him during confession.
Opening up about his experiences with a priest Rannells calls Father Dominic, the actor, 40, wrote that the priest, who was in his 60s, had taken a special interest in him. At the time, Rannells said he assumed it was related to his skills as a student.
Rannells, who is now openly gay, was still struggling with his sexuality at the time, and decided to “confess” to Father Dominic, because he had no one else to talk to.
“He seemed so strong, but so kind, and I was hopeful that he could save me from myself,” Rannells wrote.
The actor went on to explain that during the confessions at his school, priests were in very close contact with their confessors. Instead of the typical private room setup, “priests would set up two chairs close to each other in various darkened corners of the quad, turn on music at a low volume to muddle the sound of confessions, and then you would basically just get right up in a priests’ face and whisper your sins.”
After opening up to Father Dominic, Rannells wrote that the priest told him everything was “okay” and “hugged me tightly.”
“I felt safe and heard and understood. Then, with unexpected force, he kissed me. On the lips. He muscled his tongue into my mouth and held the back of my head still. Then he released me and made the sign of the cross on my forehead. He smiled,” Rannells wrote, adding that he “walked away, stunned.”
After that, Rannells tried to avoid the priest for the rest of the school year, but didn’t know what to say when his mother suggested they invite him, along with several of Rannells’ other teaches, to a graduation party at their home.
As Father Dominic left the party that day, Rannells wrote that the priest sexually assaulted him for a second time.
Afterwards, Rannells wrote that he made the decision to leave the Catholic Church.
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The Catholic Church has faced numerous reports of alleged abuse and coverups over the years.
Last August, a Pennsylvania grand jury published a report accusing over 300 Roman Catholic priests ofsexually abusing at least 1,000 children. Most recently, in February, news broke that Australian Cardinal George Pell, a former advisor to the Pope, was found guilty of sexually abusing two teenage boys, according tonews.com.au.
That month, Pope Francis held a four-day summit on preventing sexual abuse, the first-ever of its kind, reported theNew York Times.
Too Much Is Not Enoughis now available for purchase.
source: people.com
