BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Before Bishop Richard Malone meets with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Friday, survivors of sex abuse held a group conversation, saying the meeting is about more than the bishop.
Kevin Koscielniak is one of five clergy sex abuse survivors who founded Buffalo Survivors Group.
“We just had this happen to us and now we’re part of a club that we didn’t expect to be in, but we’re in it and now it’s about trying to help somebody else,” says Koscielniak. “If change is going to happen, it’s going to be a collaborative effort of not only survivors and advocates, it’s going to take the community.”
The group is hoping to use their voice to bring the community closer together by leading raw and honest conversations.
Tears were shed and laughs were shared as the five co-founders shared their stories to a packed room at St. Mary’s Catholic Church on Thursday.
The event was planned a month before the rumors that Bishop Malone’s resignation was ‘imminent,’ according to the group.
The group hopes to host more sessions in the near future, with the next one expected to be in January.
