006: The Habit of Abuse: A Journey of Healing, Activism, and Wholeness featuring Mary Dispenza
Description
During this episode of the Your Radical Truth Podcast, host Margaret Mary O'Connor welcomes a very special guest, Mary Dispenza. Mary is a survivor, activist, and author of the compelling memoir Split: A Child, a Priest, and the Catholic Church.
Together they explore Mary's journey of healing, activism, and the quest for wholeness after experiencing the unimaginable. Get ready to be inspired by her story on the path towards justice and understanding.
The Journey to Wholeness:
Mary's shares about her memoir, "SPLIT: A Child, A Priest, and the Catholic Church." In her book, Mary takes people into a world of horrifying scenes of child abuse and the fascinating novitiate experience. Through her courage and vulnerability, Mary takes us on a deeply personal and transformative journey.
The term "novitiate" refers to a specific period of time or a stage in the religious life of someone who is training to become a member of a religious order, such as a nun or a monk. During the novitiate, individuals undergo a period of intense spiritual formation, study, and discernment. It is a time of preparation and initiation into the religious community, where novices learn about the order's rules, practices, and way of life. The novitiate is typically characterized by a deep commitment to prayer, reflection, and personal growth as the individual discerns their vocation and decides whether to make a lifelong commitment to the religious order.
Mary shares her delicate and frightening process of accepting her sexuality as an essential step towards self-acceptance and authenticity. Mary shares how she joins forces with other survivors in a historic lawsuit against the Catholic Church. These pivotal moments mark her courageous stand against institutional secrecy and her pursuit of truth.