Book Description

In 2008, the High Appellate Court of California re-addressed an unprecedented jury trial case of clergy sex abuse, which was filed, and won 5 years earlier in 2003 by Joey Piscitelli, a former Catholic clergy abuse victim in the San Francisco Bay Area. This non-fiction story reveals the lengths the Catholic clergy and hierarchy were capable of going through to shield a predator, during Piscitelli's school years, and the lengths they were capable of going through to fight a victim for the cause of saving face for mother church. The irony of the case is magnified by the fact that Piscitelli subsequently returned to his roots as a Pagan Witch. To add to the irony, the present day Pope Benedict, and the present day General Inquisitor, Cardinal William Levada, had kept the accused sex abuser as pastor in active ministry intentionally. The abusive cleric had access to children in San Francisco, throughout a vicious litigation, without regard for his accuser; and the added potential danger to children at his parish. It is estimated that the Catholic Church and the Salesian Order of priests spent several million dollars for the 5 year battle, and hired several law firms to represent the church and the accused sex abuser priest, Fr. Stephen Whelan. They had refused to compromise or settle the case. Although over ninety-nine percent of clergy abuse cases in the USA are settled out of court, the Catholic hierarchy and the Salesian Order had no intention of losing this case, nor settling a highly publicized case against a practicing Pagan Witch. Despite Piscitellis relentless public protests, press conferences, and letters sent to Cardinal Ratzinger - now Pope Benedict, and to the Inquisitor General - Cardinal Levada of San Francisco, to remove the accused priest from having access to children, his countless efforts went ignored. The Catholic church had never lost a court jury trial to an abused Witch in history, and this unprecedented battle was literally at the Inquisitor Generals' front door. But this was no ordinary case, and Piscitelli was not the typical abuse victim who was included in the ninety-nine percent of clergy abuse settlement victims, none of whom were admitted to be Witches. Piscitelli takes the reader through an autobiography of his early life as a devout Catholic, his transformation, the discovery of his past, and the traumatic journey through his abusive experiences in a Catholic school. He describes the aftermath of child sex abuse with a surprisingly different twist, and the multiple ironies that take place throughout his exposure to corrupt clergy, their protectors, and the ultimate war with the top officials of the Salesian order, and the modern day Office of the Inquisition. The story culminates with an unusual turn of events and conclusions, unlike any other story of clergy abuse, leaving the reader to ponder the after effects of clergy abuse; and induces questions as to the reality of Pagan Magick; and also what may actually occur when a practicing Witch goes to trial in the present day clergy abuse battle against the Roman Catholic church.