"I wonder: but what does Jesus think. What does Mary think, when she sees that it is her own shepherds who betray their own little sheep?" the victim stated.
Another testimony was in the format of a short interview, in which a woman explained that she had been abused by a priest for 13 years, starting at the age of 15. She says she was economically dependent on the priest, who would beat her if she refused to have sex with him.
She said during the course of their "relationship" she became pregnant three times and was forced to have abortions by her abuser.
Today, she said, she feels like her life has been "destroyed" and she does not know "what the future holds." Her message for the bishops was to love others by willing their good.
A third testimony was given by a 53-year-old religious priest, who was abused by a priest as a teenager. He said that he was also hurt by the treatment he received from his bishop, who he said first did not respond to his letters, and later attacked him, when as an adult he went to speak with him about the abuse.
"I wanted someone to listen to me, to know who that man is, that priest and what he does. I forgive that priest from the heart, and the bishop. I thank God for the Church, I am grateful to be in the Church. I have many priest friends who have helped me," he said.
In another testimony, which was given in English, a man reflected on the loss of innocence and the pain inflicted on him and on his relationships because of priestly abuse.
He said that today he has found hope and healing, but that what he would ask for from the bishops is "leadership and vision and courage."
He referenced a moment when Cardinal Francis George, the archbishop-emeritus of Chicago who died in 2015, spoke about the difficulties of priests who have abused, as an example of right leadership.
From Asia, in the final testimony a person described being "sexually molested for a long time, over a hundred times," creating traumas and flashbacks across their life. The victim also stated that when they had approached provincials and major superiors about the abuse, they "practically covered every issue."
The victim concluded by requesting bishops "get their act clear" in answering the crisis of sexual abuse.
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Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.