Diane walked back into the sacristy asking if we could help a male friend she has known a long time. We ask what the man’s story is and she proceeds to tell us he is a class 2 registered sex offender that served 8 years in prison. He is having trouble finding a place to live after serving his sentence and the parole officer is struggling to help him. She has known him a long time and her father, a well known coach in East Rochester, has been helping him over many years. I’ve always found Diane to have a good head for troubling situations and trusted what she was telling me about the authenticity of this man. She went on to describe the situation and how the medical community seemed to make him more vulnerable in their treatment of his depression. He evidently had a pornography problem and began creating his own content that led him into criminal behavior.

If there was a man suited to represent what the ministry of St Michael’s FPI is trying to prevent, this was him. I later texted Diane asking for his contact information and he agreed to meet. In the meantime she sent me the news article which detailed the activity that sent him to prison in the first place. As is the case for these situations, my big question is always, “how did you go from well respected normal family man to ending up in prison?” I needed to ask him directly.

After reading the article she sent me, my heart was in shreds for all the young girls affected by his crime. I thought of the children of Fatima as our blessed Mother showed them what hell looked like. Why would they need to see that and how bad must it have looked? I thought there was no way this man can be sane or normal but the text came back, “Hi Deacon Mike, I’d be glad to meet up with you.” I was committed to getting an answer to my question and so I went. As I sat in my car at the park waiting for him to arrive , my sister-in-law called and asked what I was up to. I said, “this is going to be the strangest response you’ll ever get…I’m at a park waiting to meet up with a convicted sex offender” After a brief pause, she agreed, “that certainly changes the course of our conversation.” I explained the scenario and the man showed up as we finished our call.

I stepped out of my truck and shook hands with Glen Siembor, now in his fifties, fit and smiling as he greeted me warmly. The next hour and a half walk around the village of Fairport would encourage me, conflict me and sadden me as he retold his story for the who- knows-how-many time again. He was glad to do so, not out of pride, but a deep humility in recognizing the depths of what he did, the time he served and the difficulties he now faces as a paroled sex offender. Most of all he is humbled by his belief in the love of Christ for him and the joy that brings him despite all the difficulties.

I was able to ask my big question and the story flowed from him with an eagerness to uncover an addiction he suffered from and the need to warn others of the destruction it causes. He emphasized that pornography is a sin and something way too many people are availing themselves of in and out of the church. He almost had an aversion to call it an addiction as if that would let someone off the hook in the responsibility to eliminate it from their lives. I had to remind him that due to the physical neurological changes it induces in the brain, prolonged exposure can make it increasingly more difficult to avoid.

Considering human trafficking is a 50 billion dollar industry in the US alone, more than all professional sports put together, there is tremendous marketing pressure to keep people hooked on porn.

Glen wants to be in groups of men to call them out on the laxity in which this issue is addressed and remind everyone of its evil and mortal consequences to our souls. The love of Christ gives him strength and a desire to save people not just from a prison sentence in this life but the possibility of an eternal one. To willfully view porn is in fact equally as bad as a person who creates his own to watch. With the increasing percentages of men AND women viewing pornography, many are flirting with disaster in relationships and the very health of their souls.

There is a healthcare component to this which is another reason why St Michael’s FPI is dedicated to bringing back Catholic directed healthcare into our region. Patients need to be cared for spiritually, in truth, to what is making them ill. A soul sickness secular medicine fails to address and New York State seems to want to obstruct in the care of.

Glen went on to tell me that at one point, he reached out for help to overcome the addiction he was suffering from but no one wanted to address it. The reason? They are mandatory reporters and if they took him on, he would not be able to tell them the details of his problem. Instead they treated him for depression and ignored discussing the source of his anguish. As it stands, the viewing of pornography is not listed in the DSM5 (diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th edition) as an addictive activity. So he could not be properly treated for it.

In fact, the medications he was put on were KNOWN to cause an increase in sexual arousal. Not only that, but a social worker recommended to the doctor his dose be doubled, for which he did! This sent Glen into a free fall and explains why his behaviors were getting more strange as identified by one of the girls that worked at his store. He was out of control which ultimately brought the suspicion which finally ended the ordeal by his subsequent arrest.

He does not use these facts to explain away his crime or his responsibility. He allowed pornography to take a foot hold in his life and for that he claims complete responsibility. As is the case for many people in his circumstances, the acceptance of a little sin in their lives, starts them on a path that surprises them in the end when it finally crashes around them. Then they ask my big question of themselves, “How did I go from an innocent child with tremendous potential, to this disfigured and soul sick man?”

St Michael’s FPI is committed to address these illnesses through a group called Sursum Corda (meaning lift up your heart) where men witness to each other, discuss the issues and pray. We are men seeking virtue, the antidote to all things evil, and evangelize our world through healing and reparation. Join us as we restore healthcare through Catholic ethical and religious directives serving the physically and soulfully sick of our community. Restore Health and Wellness clinic is under construction to be opened in the fall, but we need your help. Please consider donating to the equipment and operating needs as we compile them.

We are also committed to fighting human trafficking as one of the greatest ill effects of our failing in the virtue of chastity. If this is something you want to contribute to, our Bakhita Fund is ready to help all organizations struggling to fund their latest initiatives and greatest needs.

Thank you for your support as we strive for excellence through virtue and pray for Glen as his journey in reparation continues. He is looking for a place to live at the moment and is happy to speak to anyone on this topic. May the divine mercy of God produce much fruit in him as the weeks and months progress. St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us.