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Pedophile Priest Adopts Rural Family

by Kay Ebeling

In 15 years of trying to write this story inevitably it turns into a listing: first this happened then this happened then this happened. That's in part because there is so much that happens in the story, but it's also due to how difficult I'm finding it is to write your own story.

So here is a short list of what is going to be in the story:

1930s Chicago ambitious law student works at Hardings Restaurant in the Loop where he meets the former art student now waitress thanks to the Depression who becomes his wife. He's an ardent Catholic, her family are atheist activists from Poland, but she promises to raise the kids in the Catholic church, anything to land this catch. A law student husband was a big accomplishment for a girl in 1930s Chicago.

In 1949, they now have three children, three girls age 11, six, and a newborn, me, Kathryn. Family moves from Chicago to the rural area along Route 20 on the way to Elgin. The young criminal lawyer invests in 20 acres of farmland surrounded by woods. The house on the land may have been a mansion. It was huge. It had a balloon and a tower. It was in the woods between Bartlett and the country club. We saw sheep on the other side of our fence.

Family became active in the new little Catholic church in Bartlett, where Father Thomas Berry Horne, the pastor who came with the new church from Chicago singled them out quickly as friends. Dad became an usher, mom played the organ during Mass, and priest made visits to the family home several times a week. Dad traveled a lot for work, mom was bored and alone on 20 acres with a newborn and two older girls.

Father Horne was soon diddling the mom and the six year old. Eleven year old was painfully humiliated at being ignored by the pedophile priest and kept running away from home, for reasons no one understood. Mom carried on shamefully with the priest, but it was rural Illinois cloistered in wealth, plus she was an atheist at heart, and grew up in the Roaring Twenties.

Father Horne lost interest in Patsy, as she grew older and by the time she was 10, he had dumped the plumping awkward little girl in favor of Kathy who had just turned five.

Kathy was an enthusiastic participant with the pedophile priest. Out there on the ground in the woods he lit fires in her with the cloudy Illinois sunshine in the trees behind him. After Father Horne's visits Kathy would run around the house panting with excitement, out of control energy. On other occasions when mom was practicing her organ music for the upcoming Sunday Mass, little Kathy would go off to the rectory behind the church with Father Horne, playing with him on his little mattress on the floor in his room. There was wine. There was some strange thing we smoked in a pipe. Kathy could hear her mother's organ music coming from the church, the discordant clang of her hitting the wrong keys as she practiced a Mozart sonata.

My family was a pedophile priest's dream come true: wealth, reverent Catholic dad who was never home, atheist mom who was bored and neglected her kids, plus we weren't just rural we were out in the woods. But then we upset his applecart so to speak. My dad ever the real estate investor sold the house in the woods and we built a beautiful new home from scratch, right in the town of Bartlett (now Village of Bartlett in the middle of a mass of suburbs, but then a sleepy town about 8 square blocks with a train station and...)

The brand new house was a bike ride away from the church and soon little Kathy was showing up at all times of day, panting with excitement as she knocked on the rectory door, chasing around looking for Father Horne because she wanted to do it some more. Father Horne would be embarrassed when she'd track him down. A couple times he acted like they hardly knew each other. Kathy was getting confused.

But ever enthused about all the things the pedophile priest had showed her, Kathy started to tell it to the world. She'd babble about sexy things she did with Father Horne at the dinner table embarrassing her parents and their guests. She talked about it at school, at church. One time she even took a few kids from the neighborhood in Bartlett up to a tree house where she led them in self-touching techniques, showed them all how to masturbate, not even knowing that's what it was called. She had a tree house full of boys and girls touching themselves all just because she was so excited about what the priest had shown her and she wanted to share it with all her friends so they could feel all that excitement too.

People were starting to talk.

So one day Kathy and her dad piled into the 1953 Plymouth, an exciting day, Kathy got to go all the way to Chicago with her dad and nobody else. They went to a cathedral like building. Kathy was taken into a big dark room with large office furniture, high ceilings, and wall-length windows, but it was dark - Chicago skies. Out of the dark came the face of a man, the bishops they called him, and he looked down at the little girl and spoke with a brogue. "You've been doing a great deal of talking about you and Father Horne haven't you, my dear?" Kathy nodded. Cardinal Stritch then put his face down very close to hers and said in a very stern voice but it still lilted in an almost melodic way. "Sometimes even if something is true, you shouldn't repeat it to anybody. Sometimes it's better not to tell the truth, to tell a small lie, if the small lie helps to protect the greater good." Kathy knew what he was talking about and she kept her mouth shut. She never mentioned what the priest did to her again, for 40 years.

In 1979, 25 year later, little Kathy was now Kay and living in Texas. One thing led to another and she had a degree in Journalism from UT Austin and landed the job of a lifetime. NASA created a position for her in the public affairs office at LBJ space center in Houston. Kay was sharp. She handled news media queries and wrote press releases for the astronauts and the space shuttle.

A couple of reporters were grilling her one day, saying, come on, you know there's a lot of danger with the tiles the way they are now on the shuttle. Don't they need to be redesigned? Kay, in her early 30s now, was very adept at adopting personae, and now she turned, stared the reporter straight in the eye, and adopted the persona of Cardinal Stritch in that Chicago archdioceses office in 1955. She took on the expression of the cardinal's face, even the melodic lilt of his voice, as she affirmed to the reporter, "There's not a problem with the space shuttle tiles anymore. Those stories of how a small hole could cause the whole shuttle to burn up on re-entry are totally exaggerated." She was a 30 year old dressed for success young upstart chick to the reporter, but inside her head she saw herself totally as Cardinal Stritch.

That job did not last three years. Once stories started to get back to her bosses about the way she pursued astronauts at parties and the pilot types and flight engineers who stayed around them, NASA officials probably all the way to Washington were saying get her out of there. She pursued them with a compulsion she could not understand. They were like men connected to God...

Another reason she couldn't keep the job at NASA was the 15 page security form they gave to her to fill out. But see, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Little Kathy and Dad came home from their day trip to Chicago and the family suddenly had even more money than it had before. Plus dad had a new job in corporate law so we had to move to California. The brand new beautiful house in Bartlett went up for sale and we drove out Highway 66 and bought a home in San Marino, south of Pasadena. We just all of a sudden had so much more money but no one talked a lot about where it came from or why my dad changed his job so quickly.

Somewhere along the way we stopped going to church at all.

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(Read more of Kay's story as well as her investigative journalism on her blog linked below.)

Sexual predator "Father" Berry Horne having a gay 'ol time. If you know anyone who was assaulted by this man or have any other information about him, please contact Kay Ebeling. Her email address is linked below. Thank you.

 

 

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With Deep Gratitude, We Thank Our Supporters!!!
Your stories, ideas, information, encouragement and donations make this web site possible. Thank you!

If you support our efforts and this cause, would you please consider donating a couple of dollars so that we may continue to expose the truth, stand with survivors, and help protect children. Please either send your donation to Companions in Hope, P.O. Box 638, Geneva, IL 60134 or use the safe and easy credit card method by clicking on the link below. No donation is too small and every donation is greatly appreciated. Many, many thanks to you.

 

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"At age 5, 1954, 'the Bishop' (Chicago's Cardinal Stritch) stood over me and said I had to 'stop babbling' about what the priest did to me. It took me 40 years to talk about it again. Today, I babble."

Kay Ebeling's Blog

Kay Ebeling's Blogger Profile

A Listing of Kay Ebeling's City Buzz Examiner Articles

Contact Kay Ebeling

Watch it Now!

 

 

Kay's YouTube Introduction Video

One of Kay's Interviews with a Survivor

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In Memory of Nathan Halbach
(1987-2009)

 

 

New York Times article published on November 30, 2009

Man Who Spoke About His Father Being a Priest Dies at 22

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN

Nathan Halbach, who decided to speak out as he was terminally ill with brain cancer about how it felt to grow up knowing that his absentee father was a Roman Catholic priest, died at home in Missouri on Friday (November 27th). He was 22.

Mr. Halbach said he knew there were other children like him who had been fathered and abandoned by priests, but it was such a taboo too talk about it that he wanted to give them a voice.

In an interview this summer at his home in O'Fallon, he said of his father: "He and my mom had a relationship and they were in love at the time, and they had me out of that relationship, but I never received any of that love at an age I could remember it. I have so few memories of him, I've met him so few times, it's just not been what I had hoped for."

His father, the Rev. Henry Willenborg, was suspended from his position as a parish priest in Ashland, Wis., after an article in The New York Times in October revealed his liaisons with women. He was removed by BIshop Peter Christensen of the Diocese of Superior, who said he acted after reading that the priest had urged Mr. Halbach's mother to have an abortion, and that another woman who said she had a relationship with Father Willenborg said she was a minor at the time.

Father WIllenborg, a Franciscan priest, could not be reached for comment. He said in September that he knew his son was terminally ill.

The relationship between Pat Bond, Mr. Halbach's mother, and Father Willenborg began 26 years ago. The Franciscans sent Father Willenborg to a center that treated priests for sexual and alcohol addictions and returned him to ministry.

The Franciscans gave Mr. Halbach's mother child support in an agreement that required her to keep silent. She and Mr. Halbach decided to break the confidentiality after the Franciscans declined to reimburse them for some expenses for a trip to New York City for cancer treatment.

The Franciscans have said they covered more than they were required to by law. They have said they will cover the expenses for Mr. Halbach's funeral.

(Read the original New York Times article here.)

Watch it Now!

 

 

An in-depth report on this story aired on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 program.
Click on the link below to watch this segment.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/11/secret.father/index.html

To help pay for Nathan's medical expenses, a fund was set up:

Nathan John Paul Cancer Fund
3023 HWY K, Ste 561
O'Fallon, MO 63366

As well, a web site was set up to help pay for Nathan's medical expenses:
nathanhalbachcancerfund.com

Pat Bond, Nathan's mother, can be contacted at:
pat@gmail.com

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When Will Congress Order Catholic Bishops to Answer for the Thousands of Catholic Clergy/Nun Child Rape/Murder Crimes and the Well-Documented Concerted Cover-Up of those Crimes???

Party Crashers Called Before Congress

Companions in Hope understands the dangers and seriousness of uninvited guests "crashing" a State dinner at the White House. However, we believe our nation's priorities are glaringly out-of-whack when Michaele Salahi (shown above with President Obama) and her husband Tareq are called before Congress to answer for their presence at a party while Catholic bishops who have participated in a massive and well-documented scandal involving the rapes of thousands of children are not only not compelled to testify as to their knowledge or involvement in the crimes but still enjoy special access to high ranking members of Congress to lobby on the health care debate.

Please contact your elected representatives and urge them to call for Congressional Hearings on the Child Sexual Assault Scandal in the Roman Catholic Church.

Don't be Fooled!!!

The Scandal Continues Today in Courtrooms and Legislative Floors and Offices Across the Nation!!!

'Men of the Cloth' do NOT deserve a Free Pass from Justice in the United States of America!

Hold Sitting American Roman Catholic Bishops Accountable for their roles in the 50+ Years of Grave Harm (including death) Caused to Thousands of American Children.

Dallas Morning News Database of the Complicity of Catholic Bishops in Child Rapes

Bishop-Accountability.org

Read other Survivor accounts on our Treasures page. Many accounts reveal the actions of bishops who placed the interests of the institutional church over the safety of children or the well-being of those victimized. Despite the high-priced efforts of American bishops to act like they've learned their lesson, the tactics used for decades are still being used today. As a result, innocent children remain at risk of being sexually tortured and survivors are left to deal with their pain on their own.

 

Equal Protection Of The Law,
So They Say

n. the right of all persons to have the same access to the law and courts and to be treated equally by the law and courts, both in procedures and in the substance of the law. It is akin to the right to due process of law, but in particular applies to equal treatment as an element of fundamental fairness.

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CATHOLIC MONARCHY - CROSSWALK CD
Raising Awareness of Priestly and Government-Sponsored Sexual Abuse

"Crosswalk is a compilation CD featuring 21 Chicago bands who each re-composed in their own style a Catholic hymn. Proceeds from the CD will go towards the production of a documentary film that examines priestly sexual abuse and its connection to the lesser-known phenomenon of government-sponsored sexual abuse.

The hope of this compilation is to bring awareness to the needs of these victims so they may acquire justice and realize healing."

Read more about this important project and purchase the Crosswalk CD at
www.catholicmonarchy.com .

These CDs would make great Christmas gifts while also helping a great cause!

For other Christmas/Holiday gift Ideas, See our Books and DVDs listings.
A few suggestions.....

OR....

Make a donation in honor of your gift-giving recipient to one of the advocacy groups listed on our
Directory of Organizations and Web Sites page

Or to:

Companions in Hope (PayPal link in the left column of this page)

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Please forward the link to this page to your friends, family, favorite network, television or radio personality and, most importantly, your elected representatives. For those who have suffered, Break the Silence now!!!

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Disclaimer: Companions in Hope posts written and videotaped material relating to abuse, assault and corruption for the purposes of education and awareness so that the truth may be exposed, justice may be done, and the vulnerable of our society may be protected from harm.

We do not necessarily agree with or accept as fact the contents of everything we reprint from other sources. Our visitors can make their own judgments, draw their own conclusions, and form their own opinions. No responsibility or liability, therefore, shall attach itself to us, our web site, or our twitter page.

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Companions in Hope
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mail@companionsinhope.com

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