"Where I think the Church in our archdiocese and across the world is failing is how we deal with victims who are adults who have been abused," Barthel said.
"With a child, it's always very clear-cut that it's illegal, and it's immoral, and it's wrong. With an adult, in not every state is it illegal for a priest to have sexual relations with an adult."
His former religious order, the Oblates of the Blessed Virgin Mary, have declined to name Montanaro as a sexual abuser. Barthel worries that he remains a risk to women.
"It seems that his religious community that he was a part of has a moral obligation, an ethical obligation, to make that public for the good of society, not just for the good of the Church, but for the good of society."
By the time Barthel had mustered the courage to go to the police with her abuse story, she missed the statute of limitations by less than a month.
"In my case, the only way that it was able to be made public was by my voice, and that doesn't seem right to me...If there's no criminal charges, then the person's name will never be made public, unless the Church does the right thing and makes it public," she said.
Barthel emphasized the importance of victim-survivors supporting each other.
"Walking with a victim of abuse, any type of abuse, is not for the faint of heart. There's lots of challenges that go along with that, and having good boundaries for someone who's been abused is very important," she advised.
In addition to the speakers, the Restorative Justice and Reconciliation Conference is also set to include "healing circles," in which participants sit at round tables and speak, one at a time, on a prompt offered by a moderator.
Often times, Barthel said, the leader will ask a single question, such as "What has been the effect of clergy sexual abuse on your life?" and each participant will answer without interruption or discussion.
Barthel said the wide range of participants, all in different stages of healing, make the experience of healing circles, for her, "actually very powerful and very beautiful."
"We're all together in our pain, but we can be together in our healing as well," she commented.
Barthel said beyond the networks of friends and supporters who have helped her along her journey of healing, a huge part of her recovery- in her words, 90%- has been accomplished through time spent in Adoration.
"The large majority of my healing, especially the deep spiritual healing that I needed...the deepest healing has just come from sitting with Jesus in adoration, in the silence, and having conversations with Him, just in my heart, heart-to-heart with Him," she said.
"Mostly just sitting in the silence and letting the power of the Eucharist and His presence in the Eucharist heal and transform my wounded heart."
Jonah McKeown is a staff writer and podcast producer for Catholic News Agency. He holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and has worked as a writer, as a producer for public radio, and as a videographer. He is based in St. Louis.