A woman who was molested by a nun is teaming up with a priest convicted of sexual misconduct to create a resource center for victims of sexual abuse.
Susan Pavlak and Gil Gustafson are raising funds with hopes of buying the chancery building of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported. The building has been assessed at about $6 million and is on the market as part of the archdiocese’s bankruptcy proceedings.
They say the building would house the Gilead Project, which they describe as an effort to prevent abuse and help victims and people of faith heal. Programming would include training for churches and clergy or child-protection professionals and research grants.
“The Gilead Project, and thus the center as an instrument of the project, is really aimed at transformation of individuals and systems so that we can have a safe and healthy society,” said Gustafson, who was convicted in the 1980s for sexual misconduct involving a minor.
The local chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests has criticized Gustafson’s involvement and has called on others to withhold donations.
“His motivation might be as pure as the driven snow, but it sounds awfully suspect to me,” said Frank Meuers, leader of the southern Minnesota chapter of SNAP. “I don’t think at this point there’s any clarity at all as to what exactly they’re setting up. And it’s been unclear what role he’s going to take. … Most people I know would never go into a facility that is run by a former abuser.”
Gustafson, who has been out of active ministry since 2002, said he always has accepted responsibility for his actions and has “worked very hard for 30 years” to address his past actions.
“My motive to be involved is to make amends,” he said.
Pavlak, who was molested by a former nun when she was a teen, said Gustafson won’t have a management position or direct involvement with victims.
Pavlak and Gustafson had both done previous work with groups focused on sex abuse. The Associated Press typically does not identify victims of sexual abuse, but Pavlak has been public about her work.
The two met at a Minnesota chapter of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers conference, and they connected years later while participating in a Minnesota Department of Corrections restorative justice program, designed to promote victim healing and offender accountability. In 2012, they joined to launch Uncommon Conversations, a project that included panel discussions on how the sex abuse crisis affected the Catholic community.