Tag Archives: forgiveness

My Heroes Have Always Been Human

Posted on January 27, 2020 by Callen Harty

We live in a world in which no one can be a hero anymore. There is always something problematic about those who are admired by others. There is always a past, a mistake, a misstep of one sort or another, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged abus, adulation, adult survivor, championship, change, childhood sex abuse, culture, death, disappointment, fame, families, fault, forgiveness, healing, heroes, human, hurt, Kobe Bryant, love, misstep, mistake, offenses, penance, rape, redemption, sin, society, spiritual evolution, sports, stars, superstardom, victim, wealth | Leave a comment

Yes, This Is Who We Are

Posted on October 29, 2018 by Callen Harty

Aside from the ubiquitous thoughts and prayers, the refusal to consider any kind of gun control at all because it’s always too soon to talk about it, and the flags once again lowered to half-staff, there is another thing … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged African-American, American, anti-Semite, assassinations, Aurora, bombs, bridge, Christians, cisgender, Columbine, common ground, common sense gun laws, compassion, conscience, covert wars, death, disease, doctors, earth, empathy, enslaved, first responders, flags, forgiveness, Fort Hood, gays, genocide, gun control, half-staff, hate, history, Holocaust, Hondurans, immigrants, imprisonment, indigenous peoples, Ireland, Jews, Las Vegas, life savers, love, mass shooting, melting pot, men, Mexico, ministers, moral compass, murders, Muslims, nation, Native people, nurses, Oak Creek, pacifists, peacemakers, people of color, poor, potato famine, priests, privilege, promised land, Pulse Orlando, rabbis, random killings, republic, right-wing fanatic, Sandy Hook, shame, society, souls, starvation, Stoneman Douglas, straights, synagogue, The Tree of Life, thoughts and prayers, trans, Virginia Tech, volunteers, war, white people, white supremacist, women, worshippers | 2 Comments

Paths to Healing Keynote Speech

Posted on June 22, 2018 by Callen Harty

At this year’s Paths to Healing conference on male survivors of child sex assault I was the keynote speaker. This is the text of the speech I delivered today. Good morning. I’d like to start by thanking Chris Taylor, who … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged #MeToo, 9/11, A Single Bluebird, adult survivor, African-American, alcoholism, allies, altar boy, American Family Insurance, angels, anger issues, articles, arts, becoming, black man, blog, books, brotherhood, Canopy Center, casual sex, child sex abuse, child sex assault, childhoiod, Chris Taylor, class, collective spirit, color, come out, compassion, control, courage, creed, Dane County Rape Crisis Center, DEnim Day, depression, disabled, domestic abuse, drug abuse, emotions, empathy, Empty Playground, equality, essays, faith, Family Sexual Abuse Treatment, forgive, forgiveness, Friends of the State Street Family, gay man, gender, gender identity, harassment, Harvey Milk, hatred, healing, heart attack, Henry David Thoreau, Hmong, Ho-Chunk Nation, honest, hope, horror, human, human connection, human spirit, humanity, inner child, innocence, Invisible Boy, Irish-Catholic, Jesus, Journalism, journey, joy, justice, keynote speech, Latino, LGBT, Madison, male survivor, masculinity, memoir, meningitis, minority, monologues, mumps, Native American, neighbors, orientation, OutReach, Paradise, Paths to Healing, peace, perpetrator, person of color, personhood, plays, playwriting, poetry, positive energy, post traumatic stress disorder, power, promiscuity, prostitution, Proud Theater, queer, race, recovering alcoholic, reocvery, rights, scarlet fever, secrets, self-abuse, self-care, self-hatred, sex, sexual abuse, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, sexuality, shame, siblings, silence, social drinking, Solidarity with Child Abuse Victims/Survivors, sorrow, spirituality, State Capitol, straight, suffering, suicidal ideation, teach, therapy, threats, trans, trigger warning, truth, underserved communities, UNIDOS Against Domestic Violence, universal truths, Utopia, UW-EauClaire, victims, violence, Voices of Courage, Waylon Pahona, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, writer | Leave a comment

Bolton Refuge House Fall Gala Speech

Posted on November 4, 2017 by Callen Harty

I was invited by Bolton Refuge House to be their keynote speaker at their annual Fall Gala. Bolton is the oldest domestic violence shelter in the state and is located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. They also provide services for sexual … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged #MeToo, 9/11, A Single Bluebird, adult survivor, advocacy, alcoholism, allies, angels, anger issues, arts, assassinations, blog, Bolton Refuge House, Brian, Buffalo County, child sex abuse, childhood, coming out, compassion, control, cops and robbers, courage, cowboys and Indians, death, DEnim Day, domestic violence, domestic violence shelter, drug abuse, Eau Claire, Eau Claire County, education, emotions, Empty Playground, equality, Facebook, Fall Gala, fear, forgiveness, gay, gender, Harvey Milk, healing, heart attack, Henry David Thoreau, hope, human connection, human spirit, humanity, inner child, Invisible Boy, Irish-Catholic, Jackson County, Jesus, Journalism, justice, life, love, Madison, male survivor, masculinity, meaning, molested, monologue, opening night, Paradise, Pat Stein, peace, perpetrator, personhood, playwriting, poetry, positive energy, power, promiscuity, prostitution, Proud Theater, PTSD, queer, recovering alcoholic, recovery, rights, safety, self-abuse, self-care, self-hatred, sex, sexual assault, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, sexuality, shame, shelter, short stories, silence, southwestern Wisconsin, speech, spirituality, State Capitol, suicidal ideation, support groups, survivors, Tanya Potter, therapy, threats, trigger warning, truth, Utopia, UW-Eau Claire, victim, violence, Voices of Courage, Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, writer | Leave a comment

An Open Letter to Pope Francis on Funerals for Queer Children of God

Posted on October 23, 2017 by Callen Harty

Dear Pope Francis, Years ago I left the Catholic Church. There were several reasons, but one large part was because I could not reconcile my sexuality as a gay man with the official teachings of the Catholic Church. While I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Bible, bisexual, Bishop Morlino, Catholic Church, civil unions, deceased, Denver, Dignity, diocese, ecclesiastical funeral rites, forgiveness, funerals, gay, gay lifestyle, gay parishioners, God, grace, James Bartylla, Jesus, Judgment Day, lesbian, LGBT, Lord, love, Madison, marriage, Mass, Mass for the Dead, obituary, papcy, parish, partner, Pope Francis, priest, Protestant, queer, repentance, sacraments, salvation, sexuality, sinners, spirituality, Synod of the Family, transgender, Vatican, vicar general, welcoming space, Wisconsin | Leave a comment

Forgive the Shooter

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Callen Harty

On Sunday evening in the small Wisconsin town of Menasha a man apparently distraught over a recent breakup and argument with his former fiancée took two guns with him on his bike and went for a ride. On the middle … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged "eye for an eye", "hill of death", Adam Bentdahl, bridges, Christian, compassion, empathy, Erin Stoffel, faith, forgive, forgiveness, forgiving, guns, hate, hero, heroism, Jim Campbell, Jonathan Stoffel, life story, Little Lake Butte Des Mortes, love, Menasha, Old Testament, Olivia Stoffel, religion, retribution, selflessness, Sergio Daniel Valencia del Toro, shooter, Trestle Trail Bridge, violence, Wisconsin | 2 Comments

A Gift

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Callen Harty

Over the last several years I have spoken to a lot of groups about child sex abuse. Typically I relate my own survivor story and then open it up to questions and answers. I am not clinically trained or a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged abuser, alcohol & drug abuse, apology, child sex abuse, compassion, forgiveness, healing journey, human connection, pain, promiscuity, self-care, self-hatred, shame, suicide, survivor, trigger warning | 1 Comment

Voices of Courage Closing Remarks

Posted on April 26, 2014 by Callen Harty

I was invited to give the closing remarks at the Voices of Courage luncheon, an annual event honoring those working in the sexual assault field. The event is sponsored by the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Here is what I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged abuse, allies, celebrate, compassion, courage, forgiveness, human, humanity, inner strength, joy, love, peace, recovery, sexual assault, survival, therapy, uniqueness, victimhood, Voices of Courage, Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault (WCASA) | Leave a comment

Survivor Story

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Callen Harty

Trigger Warning: Parts of this blog post may be triggering. Please take care of yourself and seek out help if you can. A couple months ago I was invited to do a presentation at Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault’s “Sexual … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged abuse, advocates, alcoholism, anger, arts, child sex abuse, coming out, drug abuse, emotions, femininity, forgiveness, gender, gender roles, heart attack, homophobia, Invisible Boy, male survivor, masculinity, play, promiscuity, prostitution, PTSD, rape, self-abuse, self-blame, self-hatred, sex abuse, Sexual Assault Victim Advocacy School, sexuality, spirituality, suicide, survivor, therapy, victim, Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault (WCASA), writing | 9 Comments

Through the Darkness Lightly

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Callen Harty

After 24 years of sobriety my days of heavy drinking seem like a distant blur and somewhat unreal in certain ways. I spent about eleven years of my life in a pretty much constant drunken haze, self-medicating, hiding, creating masks. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged addictive personality, alcohol, alcoholism, child sex abuse, Child Victims Act, depression, drugs, drunk, empathy, faith, forgiveness, innocence, Jesus, lessons, male survivors, masks, molestation, paranoia, rape, self-medication, self-revelation, sexual abuse, sobriety, suicide, survival, thankfulness | Leave a comment

Choices

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Callen Harty

Maybe I’m naïve, but I honestly believe that people are essentially good. All of us have the capacity for good or evil actions, but I believe that at the core our essential beings are goodness. This does not mean that … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged choices, conservative, death, dialogue, evil, forgiveness, good, goodness, hatred, liberal, life, love, morals, politics | 3 Comments

Indictment

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Callen Harty

Today I attended a sentencing hearing for a former co-worker who had embezzled more than $120,000 from our company. I wanted to attend and speak after seeing in the newspaper that the District Attorney’s office did not intend to pursue any jail … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged African-American, Assistant District Attorney, class, conscience, crime, defendant, defense, diabetes, District Attorney, drug crimes, employees, empty pockets, evidence, felony, forgiveness, greed, heart condition, inequity of justice, jail, jobs, judge, judicial system, Latina, Latino, newspaper, perpetrator, persons of color, plea deal, prison, prison population, probation, prosecution, punishment, race, raises, recompense, repeat offender, restitution, sentencing hearing, single mother, soccer mom, statement, stole, Taycheedah, victim's assistance, victimless crime, victims, white-collar crime | Leave a comment