Published in the September 21, 2016 edition
LYNNFIELD – Poet, playwright and actor Michael Mack will perform “Conversations with My Molester: A Journey of Faith,” at Saint Maria Goretti Catholic Church, 112 Chestnut St., on Saturday, Sept. 24, at 6:30 p.m.
Mack’s spiritual autobiography recounts how a childhood trauma launched a 40-year search for healing – at first away from, and then back to, the Roman Catholic Church.
Directed by theater veteran Daniel Gidron, Mack’s lyric monologue premiered at Boston University’s Boston Playwrights Theatre at the 10-year anniversary of the clergy sexual abuse crisis in Boston. It subsequently played in nearby Roman Catholic churches before touring the northeast and netting a prize-winning run (Best Script award, Best Solo Play nomination) at New York City’s Midtown International Theatre Festival.
Following the show, the conversation will continue with the audience during a candid Q&A session featuring Mack and volunteer priests, including Fr. Rick Walsh, CSP, a Roman Catholic priest serving at the Paulist Center in downtown Boston.
Fr. Walsh agreed to be the face of the clergy with the hope that an empathic dialogue can help survivors find their way to their spiritual home – whether in the Catholic faith or outside it. “We have not forgotten,” said Fr. Walsh. “This is a story that needs to be told – and a story that needs to be heard.”
“We met in the summer of 2012 when I performed a single show at the Paulist Center of Boston. He didn’t know what to expect, and he was surprised and impressed by the play’s tone, which emphasizes reconciliation,” Mack said.
Mack explained, “The three-fold mission of the Paulist Fathers includes reconciliation and healing so he thought this production would fit perfectly for a longer run.”
The result was a four-week run (one show per weekend) in January 2013 – each with a post-show talkback that Mack and Walsh co-shared. “Wonderfully, those shows netted a feature article in The New York Times,” he said.
“The Paulist Fathers were the first religious community of priests created the United States – founded in NYC in 1858 by Isaac Hecker, and they have a very American look and feel, tending to be a bit more progressive and independent than traditional orders,” Mack said.
Mack graduated from the Writing Program at MIT. His poems and stories have aired on NPR and have twice been published in Best Catholic Writing (2005 & 2007), America (the national Catholic weekly), the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and the Beloit Poetry Journal. His awards include two Fellowships in Dramatic Writing from the Massachusetts Cultural Council (2005 & 2013) – the state’s most prestigious and competitive individual arts grant.
All are welcome. There is no charge; however, a free will offering will be accepted. For more information about the performance at Saint Maria Goretti Church contact Marie Lagman at: mlagman@ola-smg.org or 781-598-4313 ext. 218.
