One of the most powerful tools in healing from childhood sexual abuse is for a survivor to have the opportunity to share their story and truly be heard. Many survivors of early trauma at the hands of Catholic Church Priests went unheard or unbelieved for decades. Several Pennsylvania Grand Jury investigations and media discussions surrounding the findings were one of the first opportunities for many local survivors to recognize the extent of their own abuse fully. It also served to help survivors realize that they were not alone. Jay Sefton was one of these individuals. He experienced childhood sexual abuse by his family’s parish priest, and he is now working to share his story while also empowering others to heal from theirs. Sefton is an actor, playwright, and Licensed Mental Health Counselor living in Easthampton, Massachusetts. He is the co-author and performer of UNRECONCILED, an autobiographical story of an adolescent actor cast as Jesus in a school play directed by a parish priest. I had the opportunity to see the play performed live. I listened to the discussion afterward, which included the former Boston Globe Editor Marty Baron, who empowered his Spotlight team to pursue the story of the church’s conspiracy to cover up the abuse. The play was amazing and there is a project to help bring it to a much bigger audience. Jay is a licensed mental health counselor and I believe his journey will be an inspiration for many.

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