Survivor to Savior
The numbers are staggering.
According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, almost 7,000 priests are responsible for the sexual abuse of more than 19,000 children. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center estimates that one in four girls and one in six boys will be abused before they turn 18. In 80 percent of rape cases, the victim knew the attacker.
And, more than 40 years after his priest began molesting him, Jim Bartko, senior ambassador for advancement and alumni relations at the University of Oregon, is through being a statistic—he’s going public and is telling his story to help others.
Bartko was sexually abused by Father Steve Kiesle, a priest and basketball coach at St. Joseph Church in Pinole, California, between the ages of seven and 10. He is just one of more than 200 elementary and middle school-aged boys and girls—including Kiesle’s own future stepson and stepdaughter—the priest is alleged to have molested between the 1960s and the 1990s.
Kiesle married the mother of one of his victims in 1982, shortly after finishing three years’ probation for molesting six children, and then asked to leave the priesthood. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger—later known to the world as Pope Benedict XVI—was hesitant to let Kiesle leave the church, arguing that the Oakland Diocese should consider “the good of the Universal Church.” During the six years the Vatican deliberated Kiesle’s future, he returned to St. Joseph Church to volunteer as a youth minister. After the shamed priest was finally defrocked, he molested his stepdaughter in his vacation home, was convicted of that act, and eventually sentenced to state prison. He is now a registered sex offender in California.
Kiesle served six years in prison, and was then set free. Bartko, however, was trapped a different prison—his own mind—for more than 40 years.
He didn’t tell his wife or children about the abuse, and slept on a couch instead of a bed, feeling safer there. He suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, and drank to cope. In 2016, he entered the Sierra Tucson treatment center in Tucson, Arizona, and was finally able to open up to a counselor after keeping everything bottled up inside, lifting an enormous weight from his shoulders that he’d been carrying for four decades. His therapist gave him the tools to move forward and encouraged him to write his life story down to help process the trauma.
As Bartko rebuilds his life, he is dedicated to helping others rebuild theirs, too.
After Bartko received treatment, he was rehired by the University of Oregon; for which he had formerly worked for the UO athletics department. The university offered him counseling for PTSD, and helped him get back on his feet. Then, a lunch with two old friends, Jeff Todahl and Kristi Schneider, gave Bartko the spark he needed to find an outlet for his desire to help others.
90by30 is part of the Center for the Prevention of Abuse and Neglect in the College of Education. Established in 2012 by Associate Professor Todahl and co-director Phyllis Barkhurst, 90by30 aims to reduce child abuse and neglect in Lane County by 90 percent before 2030. Approximately 24,000 children in Lane County have experienced abuse or neglect—one in three youths. Of those, nearly half were under the age of six when victimized. The program is supported in part by donations, overseen by Schneider, director of development for the college.
“I know Kristi, she worked for me for six years, and I coached Jeff’s kids,” said Bartko. “When they started talking about the program at the COE, I thought, ‘These things tie my life together.’ These are two people I hugely respect, in a university that gave me all my opportunities, and a program that’s cutting edge that will educate the community and prevent child abuse.”
In partnership with 90by30, Bartko established the Jimmy Bartko Scholarship Fund, which will help students go into fields that help abuse survivors, such as counseling psychology and couples and family therapy.
The life story he wrote at the treatment facility provided the basis for Boy in the Mirror, a riveting autobiography that is equal parts gut-wrenching and inspiring.The book was praised by UO president Michael Schill and longtime benefactor Phil Knight, BBA ’59 (accounting).
“I applaud Jim Bartko on his courageous book,” said Schill. “He has shined a spotlight on child abuse and the ways this abuse can affect survivors. We must all strive to protect young people from the evil Jim experienced and overcame.”
“Jim Bartko has had an incredible journey,” added Knight. “We’re fortunate that he has chosen to share it with the world. As sad as it is on the surface, in the long run it is a triumph over adversity, and should be an inspiration to many.”
Boy in the Mirror will be released March 12, the same day Bartko and his attorney will address the Catholic Church and the Oakland Diocese about the allegations against Kiesle and the effect he had on the lives of those he abused. Bartko was selected to be the initial speaker on behalf of those abused by Kiesle, though a number of fellow survivors will also share their experiences at a later date.
By putting his life story down on the page for the world to see, Bartko is also putting himself in position to help people who are where he once was. All proceeds from book sales will go to the scholarship fund and 90by30.
“For 45 years I’d kept silent, and I’d seen people commit suicide, athletes and students with depression, mental health issues, PTSD,” Bartko said. “I can’t change not saying something 25 to 35 years ago, but, man, can I change something going forward. I’m going to use my platform to bring awareness and help others, and maybe one person, or 20, or 50 can realize it’s OK to talk about it to somebody.”
Todahl and Barkhurst echo Bartko’s sentiments, in the afterword of the book.
“It is an important moment when survivors break their silence to talk about their experiences, especially when it is done, as it is here, in part to support other survivors who may or may not have ever talked about what happened to them,” they wrote.
“They need to have a role model where they can understand it’s okay to talk, and we need to understand what they’re going through and say, ‘I’m here for you,’” said Bartko. “That’s all I ever needed, but no-one could do that for me because no-one knew what I was going through.”
On March 11, the Boy in the Mirror website launched that had information about the book, resources for those affected by sexual abuse, a history of the Catholic church cover-up, and more.
- Damian Foley, UO Communications