Phil Saviano Wiki
Phil Saviano Biography
Who was Phil Saviano ?
Phil Saviano, a clergy s*xual abuse survivor and whistleblower who played a pivotal role in exposing decades of predatory assault by Roman Catholic priests in the United States, has died. He was 69 years old.
Saviano’s story featured prominently in the 2015 Oscar-winning film “Spotlight” about The Boston Globe investigation that revealed how dozens of priests s*xually abused children and got away with covering up by church leaders.
How old was Phil Saviano ?
He was 69 year old.
Phil Saviano Death
Mr. Saviano died on Sunday in Douglas, Mass., at the home of his brother, Jim. He was 69.
He died Sunday after a battle with gallbladder cancer, said his brother and his caretaker, Jim Saviano.
In late October, Phil Saviano announced on his Facebook page that he was beginning hospice care at his brother’s home in Douglas, Massachusetts, where he died.
“Things have been tough in the last few weeks,” he wrote, asking his fans to “listen to Judy Collins singing ‘Bird On A Wire’ and think of me.”wikipedia
Saviano played a central role in lighting up the scandal, which led to the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston and church settlements with hundreds of victims. The Globe’s 2002 series earned him the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2003, and “Spotlight” won Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. Actor Neal Huff played Saviano in the film.
“My gift to the world was not being afraid to speak up,” Saviano said in mid-November in a brief telephone interview with The Associated Press.
Born on June 23, 1952, Saviano recalled going to confession as a child at St. Denis Church in little East Douglas, Massachusetts, in the 1960s and whispering his transgressions through a screen to the Reverend David Holley. . The priest, he said, violated that sacred trust and forced the 11-year-old girl to perform s*xual acts. Holley died in a New Mexico prison in 2008 while serving a 275-year sentence for s*xually abusing eight children.
Robert Shaw Jr
Robert Shaw Jr., the attorney who represented Shanley in a criminal appeal case, told the Associated Press that he understands the community’s emotional reaction.
“I am confident that the police will ensure that the community feels safe, and I have every expectation that they will fulfill their obligation and be sure that Paul Shanley also remains safe,” Shaw said, according to AP. Shanley declined to answer reporters’ questions, according to the Globe.
Middles*x District Attorney’s Office Marian T. Ryan opposed Shanley’s release, but two forensic psychologists said he did not qualify as a s*xually dangerous person despite his Level 3 status, the Globe said.
Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represented dozens of men who say they have been abused by Shanley, told the AP that the assessment was incomplete because it did not include direct interviews with Shanley.
Brother Jim Saviano told the AP
“When we were children, priests never did anything wrong. You didn’t question them, just like the police, ”Brother Jim Saviano told the AP. “There were many barriers put in his way intentionally and otherwise by institutions and generational thinking. That didn’t stop him. That’s a certain kind of bravery that was unique. ”
Saviano, who describes himself as a “recovering Catholic,” established the New England chapter of the Network of Survivors of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, an organization that works to expose specific accusations of s*xual abuse by clergy.
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His faith in the church was shattered, Saviano instead relied on politicians and prosecutors to bring offenders to justice.
“We trust the legislators and prosecutors to solve this problem,” he told reporters in 2002.
Investigation
“Phil was an essential source during Team Spotlight’s reports on the cover-up of s*xual abuse in the Catholic Church, providing other critical sources, investigative materials and the names of several accused priests,” said Mike Rezendes, a member of the Globe team. who exposed the scandal and a current AP investigative reporter.
“He also shared his own heartbreaking story of abuse, giving us the iron determination we needed to reveal this horrible story,” Rezendes said. “During our reports, and for the last 20 years, I got to know Phil well and I have never met anyone so brave, compassionate or intelligent.”
Saviano earned degrees in zoology and communications from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and Boston University and began working in hospital public relations. Later, he moved into entertainment industry advertising and concert promotion, working closely with Collins, a longtime friend and confidant, as well as Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Torme, and other artists.
Father Holley forced me and two of my friends
In 1991, he became seriously ill with AIDS and the following year he went public with his child abuse, becoming one of the first survivors to come forward.
“Father Holley forced me and two of my friends to have repeated s*xual contact with him,” Saviano said in an interview with the Globe, the first of many that would lead not only to criminal charges against the disgraced clergyman, but also to Widespread prosecutions of others as the enormity of the scandal became apparent.
In the early 2000s, Saviano spent 10 hours a day talking on the phone with victims and journalists. He was an outspoken critic of the Vatican’s reluctance to deal decisively with the aftermath of the scandal. In 2008, when Pope Benedict XVI hinted to US bishops during a visit that they had mishandled the church’s response, Saviano questioned the pontiff’s decision to follow his remarks with Masses in New York and Washington.
“If I was really serious about the subject, that Mass would not be celebrated in New York. It would take place here in Boston, ”he said.
Family
In 2009, suffering from kidney failure and unable to find a compatible donor among family or friends, he found a donor after SNAP spread the word in an email nationwide to 8,000 survivors of clergy s*xual abuse.
The abuse that came to light as a result of Saviano’s work caused Cardinal Law, Boston’s highest-ranking ecclesiastic, to resign. Globe reports showed that Law was aware of child molesters in the priesthood, but he covered up their crimes and was unable to stop them, instead transferring them from parish to parish without alerting parents or police.
When the archbishop died in Rome in 2017, Saviano bluntly asked, “How is he going to explain this when he comes face to face with his creator?”
Victim
In 2019, at the Vatican for an abuse prevention summit convened by Pope Francis, Saviano said he told the summit organizers to release the names of abusive priests around the world along with their case files. .
“Do it to usher in a new era of transparency. Do it to break the code of silence. Do it out of respect for these men’s victims, and do it to help prevent these idiots from abusing more children, ”he said.
Although there was an advantage in much of his life, Saviano enjoyed traveling a lot and developed a soft spot for indigenous art. In 1999, he launched an e-commerce website, Viva Oaxaca Folk Art, which showcases handmade decorative pieces that he purchased on trips to southern Mexico and resells them to collectors across the United States.
He is survived by three brothers, Jim Saviano of Douglas; John Saviano of Douglas; and Victor Saviano from Boston; two nieces; and two nephews. A funeral mass was scheduled for Friday at St. Denis Church in East Douglas.
Source: https://wikisoon.com/
