Victim of priest abuse now an advocate for others (VIDEO)

For nearly two decades the world has been publicly exposed to an unsettling embroilment within the Catholic Church regarding the sexual abuse of parishioners by their priests.

Around the same time these scandals were unraveling worldwide in the early 2000s, Maricopa resident and foster parent Joseph Baca acknowledged he, too, was a long-time victim of abuse by Rev. Clament A. Hageman at his childhood parish in Winslow in the 1960s and ‘70s.

Since then, he has become a foster parent and has written a book about his experiences, “Constant Reminder.”

Baca recalled pleas he made to his parents and authority figures were deemed fictitious – the wandering imagination of an attention-seeking, adolescent boy.

“My parents were loyal to their faith, they would die for their church,” Baca said. “These priests back then were put on a pedestal, and that’s how they got away with a lot of that stuff.”

Baca said he was forced to endure the abuse because of the complicity of his community. Like so many victims of sexual crimes, he lashed out and began to numb himself with drugs and alcohol. He learned to bury his memories of abuse.

Years later, Baca became a railroad employee and, after struggling with alcoholism for many years, he cleaned up and stepped in to take care of several of his grandchildren suffering from a broken home. This gesture would forever change him.

In the process of becoming a foster parent, Baca had to go through training that included watching a video with scenes depicting an abusive household. When he saw that video, his experiences came rushing back to him.

He reconciled his memories of abuse and the complicity of his mother and how she would legitimize certain actions of Hageman.

Aside from Baca, Hageman was accused of raping or molesting more than 50 children. And, though he died long before he could be tried, the diocese of Gallup, New Mexico, recognized Hageman’s and other priests’ actions, issuing an official apology in 2005. That, however, is still too little too late for Baca.

“Half my friends [also victims of abuse] are dead,” Baca said. “The others are drunks back in Winslow, or are so drugged out they don’t even know what day it is.”

Baca and others were awarded a cash settlement for the ordeal, and now, in his retirement, he advocates on behalf of victims of priest abuse, helping them gain restitution and, more importantly, recognition from the Catholic Church.

Baca and his wife Shawna eventually got their foster-care license and are now the proud adopted parents of four of their grandchildren and an unrelated child whom they adopted through foster care.

With so much going on, there is little time for hatred or anger in Joe’s life today. In fact, he feels almost no resentment toward Hageman at all.

“I forgave him a long time ago,” Baca said. “I just want to know, ‘Why?’”

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This story appears in the March issue of InMaricopa.