Last week Awake hosted an event that touched on the history of sexual abuse among Deaf Catholics and considered why Deaf people have faced an elevated risk of sexual abuse. Titled “Too Often Forgotten: Harm in the Deaf Catholic Community,” the conversation included two Deaf Catholic leaders, Laureen Lynch-Ryan and Maryann Barth.

Lynch-Ryan has served since 2009 as coordinator of Deaf Ministry for the Office of Deaf and Disability Ministry for the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., and is also a longtime advocate and counselor for Deaf women who have experienced sexual assault. Barth is a Deaf professional educator and counselor who works with high school students at the St. Rita School for the Deaf in Cincinnati, Ohio. She previously worked in the Deaf ministry program for the Diocese of Covington, in Kentucky, which closed due to budget cuts. Both Barth and Lynch-Ryan serve on the board of the Deaf Catholic Youth Initiative for the Americas (DCYIA), where they lead Encuentros, a camp for Spanish-speaking Deaf young adults in Central and Latin America. Last year, the women addressed the International Safeguarding Conference at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. A recording of last week’s event is available below.

A Painful History

The Courageous Conversation opened with the story of St. John’s School for the Deaf, a Catholic boarding school near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Fr. Lawrence Murphy served as chaplain and director from 1950 until 1974. A hearing man who was fluent in sign language, Murphy sexually abused 200 or more Deaf students at the school.

Some of his victims spoke up as early as the mid-1950s, telling other priests about the abuse. Later, in the 1970s, a group of St. John’s alumni began leafleting the Milwaukee area with “wanted” posters that included Murphy’s photo, and went to police and archdiocesan officials to disclose that they’d been abused. These were some of the very first group actions by sexual abuse survivors in the Catholic Church, but they did not succeed in bringing Murphy to account; officials dismissed the students’ allegations. Murphy remained in his role at St. John’s until 1974, when he departed on what was described as “sick leave.” He worked in parish ministry in northern Wisconsin, where he continued to abuse children. He remained a priest until his death in 1998.

Lynch-Ryan explained that the Murphy case in Milwaukee is considered a landmark case, but “it is not the only case. Similar abuse of Deaf people has happened all over the world,” in countries including Argentina, Chile, Canada, and Ireland, she said through a sign language interpreter.

The Role of “Dysfluency”

The alumni at St. John’s—who shared their story in a 2012 documentary, Mea Maxima Culpa—noticed that Murphy tended to choose victims whose parents could not sign, which limited parent-child communication.

Speaking with the help of a sign language interpreter, Barth shared that a majority of Deaf children are born to hearing parents, and less than 30 percent of those parents learn American Sign Language (ASL). “That leads to lack of communication with their children, which leads to language deprivation,” she added. This can put children behind academically, and in their mental and emotional development. “Their language may have gaps as a result of that language deprivation,” she said. “They can't make connections between the words that they know and make meaning, and that leads to dysfluency.”

The lack of communication with loved ones and the problem of dysfluency can make Deaf people vulnerable to grooming and abuse. The children at St. John’s were very eager to talk with Fr. Murphy because he was fluent in ASL, Barth said. “Children are always hungry for communication and connection. So if their parents did not sign, they actually had an opportunity to communicate with somebody in this priest.” A predator fluent in ASL can isolate victims from their families, she added. And language deprivation and dysfluency may limit a victim’s ability to understand and describe any abuse they experience.

Sexual abuse appears alarmingly common in the Deaf community, Barth said. More studies are needed, and there is a lack of research exploring the risk to Deaf people in Catholic settings. But a 2023 study found that approximately 50% of Deaf women had experienced some form of sexual violence, compared to 25% of hearing females. And 54% of Deaf men have experienced sexual abuse, compared to 10% of hearing men. These are likely low estimates, she noted, given the difficulties Deaf victims face in reporting sexual violence.

Supporting Deaf People in the Aftermath of Harm

The panelists touched on the many barriers Deaf people face in reporting that they have been abused. For example, they may not feel comfortable disclosing abuse to a hearing person who does not fully understand Deaf culture, Lynch-Ryan explained. Not all dioceses hire professional ASL interpreters, so the Deaf person may need to rely on a hearing family member to interpret. And because the Deaf community is small and news travels quickly, a victim-survivor may not trust a family member-interpreter to hold this painful information in confidence. “They may think, ‘Well, who can I trust?’” Lynch-Ryan said. Barth stressed the importance of using a trained professional ASL interpreter when possible, but noted that these professionals are not available everywhere. She also recommended that victim assistance coordinators keep a list of professional interpreters on hand, so they can move quickly if contacted by a Deaf victim-survivor.

Victim assistance coordinators may need to be creative to help Deaf people in the process of disclosing abuse, the panelists said. Someone with language dysfluency may not be able to write down what happened, and may need to use movement, role-playing, or props to communicate.

LET’S DISCUSS WHAT WE HEARD. JOIN US!

Don’t miss Part 2 of this Courageous Conversation, 7 pm Central this Thursday, May 1. Attendees will break into small groups on Zoom to discuss the ideas shared by the panelists in Part 1. To join us, please complete the registration for Part 2 and watch the Part 1 video recording. ASL interpreting is available. See you Thursday!

Vulnerable = “They Grabbed My Power”

Awake volunteer Christian Krokus, who moderated the conversation, asked the panelists to demonstrate the ASL sign for “vulnerable adult,” a term that is often used in the Catholic community to describe an adult abused by a Catholic leader. He suggested that this might offer new language to understand the abuse of adults.

In the past, Barth said, the Deaf community used the sign for “weak” to describe vulnerability, particularly in cases of domestic abuse and sexual assault But this led to conversations among Deaf people who felt the sign was not working. “Does experiencing abuse mean that we’re weak? No,” Barth said. As a result, a new sign for vulnerable emerged, one that means “they grabbed my power,” or “they took my power away.” Both Deaf and hearing communities can benefit from having such conversations about language, she said.

Extending an Invitation

As the event closed, both Lynch-Ryan and Barth emphasized that safe and inclusive faith communities start with hearing Catholics connecting with the Deaf people in their midst, and inviting them to take part in the life of the Church. “I would ask the Catholic Church to welcome those who are Deaf and find a way to communicate with them,” Lynch-Ryan said.

It’s important for Deaf and hearing Catholics to open their minds and hearts to one another, Barth added, and to “work together for the future of all people within our Church.”

—Erin O’Donnell, Editor

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Courageous Conversation: Confronting Sexual Abuse in the Deaf Catholic Community