Remembering Katie O'Reilly Rogers

1/30/2020

"what if and what if and what if / teetertotter in my brain"
-- Rich Yurman, from his poem "Sleep", from his book More!

On January 10, 2020, friend and fellow traveler Katie O'Reilly Rogers passed away. Katie had been battling brain cancer for nearly nine years, and throughout her ordeal she maintained and exhibited great courage and her quick sense of humor. As some may recall, Katie was the gifted and noted landscape architect from Santa Barbara who designed the Garden of Forgiveness for SafeNet / Instruments of Peace, and created the beautiful and inspiring conceptual drawing that was presented to Mission Santa Barbara in 2009 with the hope that the project would be embraced and approved by the Franciscans. Though the project was never adopted, none of us will ever forget the impassioned presentation she made that day to the friars.
I join many others in offering warm thoughts of comfort and peace to Katie's family.
Services for Katie are scheduled for Saturday, February 1, 11 a.m. at Mission Santa Barbara.

Author

A Room With A Pew is a thought-provoking column on clergy abuse and the healing process. Its content reflects the observations, opinions and experiences of Paul Fericano, a former student who attended Saint Anthony’s Seminary in Santa Barbara in the sixties, and a survivor of clergy sexual abuse. Fericano co-founded SafeNet in 2003, and returned to Santa Barbara that same year to assist the community in recovery. As a poet, satirist and author, he is actively engaged in advocacy, social justice and reconciliation efforts. He supports and encourages those who have been harmed by the Catholic church to explore the healing process, pursue justice with compassion, and to reclaim their past. He is the editor and co-founder of Yossarian Universal News Service (YU News Service), the nation's first parody news syndicate established in 1980. His spiritual practice includes challenging himself to look for humor in the shadows.

Memories of Better Days Persist
Many St. Anthony's students have contacted me, and one asked about the barbershop, where he had sought refuge one day after his offender beat him. Read story.
by PAUL FERICANO
TUES., APRIL 1, 2014
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No Matter How High the Hedge Grows
The Solidarity Project memorial for clergy abuse survivors at Mission Santa Barbara was vandalized for a second time by a person employed by the Franciscans.
Read story.
by PAUL FERICANO
WED., MARCH 5, 2014
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Mario (Walter) Cimmarrusti, OFM: 1931 - 2013
The Worst of What We Lived
My offender, a notorious Catholic priest and Franciscan friar who abused many boys at St. Anthony's Seminary, died on November 23, 2013.
Read story.
by PAUL FERICANO
THURS., FEBRUARY 13, 2014
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The Roots of Pastoral Response
Pastoral response is the kind of outreach by the church that is absolutely essential to the healing process.
Read story.
by PAUL FERICANO
WED., FEBRUARY 5, 2014
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Looking for Francis in the Franciscans
Among survivors of clergy abuse, what puzzles, angers, and disappoints many is the shortage of moral courage among the friars in general.
Read story.
by PAUL FERICANO
WED., JANUARY 8, 2014
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From Survival to Forgiveness
In 1965 when I was 14 I was sexually abused at St. Anthony’s, a Catholic minor seminary in Santa Barbara operated by the Franciscan religious order.
Read story.
by PAUL FERICANO
THURS., DECEMBER 5, 2013

Remembering Katie O'Reilly Rogers

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