"I mean, how can I show up in church?" Jean asked. And I got taken."īut new evidence of a widespread coverup paints a picture of a corrupt institution, feeding injustice and abusing power. "There are bad priests, bad teachers, bad plumbers. Jean struggled then, but resolved her concern when she realized offenders come from every walk of life. Worsley wasn't prosecuted because the statute of limitations had passed. James Worsley landed on Jean Fisher's desk. The Boise police investigation of the Rev. In 1993, a family priest - who performed Terry's wedding, taught Jean and Nate in college, and helped in Nate's conversion - was accused of molesting a boy in his parish. The current scandal has a sorrowful resonance for the Brennan clan. "What does a priest do? He goes to the rub of your faith and says, 'You're going to hell with me,' or 'We're both committing a sin,' or 'This will be our secret,' or 'You want to embarrass your family?' or 'You think your family's going to believe you over me, the parish priest?'" Other offenders say, 'Your mother's gonna think it's your fault,' or, 'You're the one that wanted it you like it.' "I know what that priest has done in order to get that child to do what he wanted him to do. Among her prosecutions have been a school principal, a teacher and a church choir volunteer. Since 1992, she has been a prosecutor in Ada County's child abuse unit, which she has headed for four years. The scandal has been toughest on Jean, because of the work she does. "We go, but man, a lot of it is out of habit." "This has affected the whole family," said Marty Brennan, the patriarch, who still makes it to the pews Sundays with his wife, Martha. "We talk about the inequity of it, and the arrogance of the leadership." "We get together and pray together and shout together, but it has an angrier tone," said Jean's sister, Terry Armbruster. Fisher's husband, Nate, was so moved by the gatherings, he became a Catholic.īut the talks have taken on a sadness in recent months, as the family struggles to reconcile church teachings with the church's hidden practice of shielding child abusers. Sunday nights' extended family dinners once were a forum to challenge conventional notions, wrestle with the mystery of faith, strengthen belief. Two great-aunts were nuns two great-uncles were priests. Jean's aunt Margaret, a retired nun, was mother superior of her order. When Jean Fisher's sons ask, "Mommy, when are we going back to church?" she doesn't have a satisfying answer.Ībsent a family crisis prompted by the child-abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, 8-year-old Nate would be studying for his First Communion.īut the Fishers aren't going to church, painfully excising a vital part of their lives because Jean, the sixth of seven children, prosecutes child abusers for a living. Other artists including Bobby Womack, and Sylvester used them on sessions, but after a few more years of the same the trio disbanded, never having achieved the success they and Stevenson tried so hard to obtain.Scandal Tears at Faithful Catholics Job Religious Beliefs Create Dilemma, by Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman, During 1977, they had a few singles that nested in the nose-bleed section of the charts: "Don't Take Away Your Love," and a medley "Since I Fell for You/I'm Falling in Love," but no major busters. A second London release What Have You Done for Love, met a similar fate. What's on Your Mind received quite a bit of promotion and acclaim that, unfortunately, didn't transform into sales. In 1976, they signed with London Records. The lack of recording success though, didn't douse HJS' flame they continued traveling, doing the plum gigs. Another 20th Century album, 1975's Power in Your Love, disappeared so fast that most people can't recall its title. Although a solid album, it just didn't get a decent push. They played the sweet gigs throughout Europe and recorded Incredible on 20th Century Fox in 1973, but the only thing incredible about it was the speed it reached cutout bins at discount record stores. He created a snazzy nightclub act for them that rivaled the Supremes. Mickey Stevenson had a great vision for HJS and groomed them to play the top, plush clubs. James studied ballet and tap dancing, while Smith had a gospel background. Hodges played the clarinet in a local band, then attended college and earned a B.A. All Detroit natives, Pat Hodges, Denita James, and Jessica Smith were handpicked by Stevenson, though they each took different routes to get there. Hodges, James & Smith (HJS) was the brainstorm of producer/writer William "Mickey" Stevenson, Motown's A&R Director during their glory years.
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