1992: As more survivors come forward - from 40 years of Porter's criminal career - Frank (who started it all) grows a halo.

DISCLAIMER:


There is no truth whatsoever to the rumor that Frank is under consideration for beatification - the first step in canonization (officially being pronounced a saint)..
The Catholic Church has not yet recognized the favor done for them by exposing child molesters in the
ranks of clerics.

 
 
Publicity & Performances

Why Frank's Brain?
Each tiny step in Frank's journey required decision-making. Two opposing sets of emotions caused constant turmoil. Fears of embarrassment, of not being believed, of social stigmatism, of causing his children to be taunted at school, of losing friendships, of losing work for his business, and the realization that nearly thirty years had passed were the ones that pushed Frank towards staying silent. But the desire to protect present-day children from James Porter was the prime incentive for Frank to investigate Porter and expose his crimes. True, there was a strong element of anger; someone drugged and raped by a trusted person has the absolute right to be angry. And the angry feelings and his horror and his desire for justice would only grow as he learned more and more about the scope of Porter's crimes and the consistent covering up of them by Catholic Church leaders. Still, his dominant and persuasive thought was the concern about what Porter was doing right now, today, at this moment. Frank decided to try his best to stay focused on what was most important. He decided (bit by bit, admittedly!) that being afraid was not a good role model for his children, and that those who would reject him for coming foward were not the type of people he cared to have value him. Protecting children was more important than anything else. (To some non-victims of sexual assault, this conclusion seems obvious. To some survivors of sexual crime, however, it truly is not so easy a choice to make.)

Why the furor of publicity? Publicity List
1) After nearly three years of encountering frustrating and depressing walls of silence, after work that included finding Porter, encouraging other victims and their parents to speak out,and making public speeches - all with little apparent progress - the eventual successes seemed like a dream to Frank. Throngs of people finally began to come forward, at long last confronting our newly-notorious child molester. Boys and girls abused as children by Mister-then-Father-then-Mister-again Porter between 1953 and 1987 (and after) spoke out. A school acquaintance when Porter was 18; boys who Porter sexually assaulted at Cathedral Camp when the perpetrator was a seminarian; dozens of boys and girls from Father Porter's first assignment as a Roman Catholic priest at my parish in North Attleboro, MA; more children from his next position in nearby Fall River; children from his final Massachusetts assignment in New Bedford; children from Porter's hometown of Revere; more from camping trips in New Hampshire; more from New Mexico and neighboring Texas communities when Father Porter was sent again for "treatment" and was let out by his therapists to help at short-handed parishes; more boys from Bemidji, Minnesota, where Porter was assigned at a parish after his 2 years at New Mexico's Foundation House; an Oakdale, Minnesota, neighbor of Porter 2 years before Porter would marry; two female babysitters of now-Mister Porter's children from 1980 and 1987; and strong rumors of more crimes even after his arrest in 1992.

2) Overwhelming evidence caught the attention of the press. Frank had tape recorded 4 phone conversations with Porter, where the ex-priest admitted molesting "quite a few children." Testimony from parents and victims showed that at least one bishop and many priests were told over and over of Porter's crimes. The bishop's 1963 handwritten note in Porter's personnel record at the Diocese of Fall River showed he knew of 30 boys having been molested in North Attleboro. Bishop Connolly's and the Church's solution each time? Keep transferring him.

 

 

 

 
 
   
Links, Downloads, Reaching Frank Page
 
National or International Publicity Featuring Frank Fitzpatrick
The breaking story BBC Radio CBS This Morning CNBC shows Forward for Echols
Good Morning America Judge for Yourself Jenny Jones Justice Files (Discovery) Larry King Live
Los Angeles Times National Public Radio Newsweek New York Times Oprah Winfrey
People magazine Prime-Time Live Rolling Stone Rolonda USA Today

1992, May 7, Thursday. WBZ-TV, Channel 4, in Boston, Massachusetts, reporter Joe Bergantino. The story breaks at last. Frank & other Porter survivors. Starting the six P.M. news, 11 minutes.

1992, May 8. Boston Globe. First of more than one hundred articles by this paper about the Porter case.

1992, May. Diane Sawyer interviews Frank and John Robitaille at FrankÕs house. See 7/2/92.

1992, May 18. NightTalk with Jane Whitney, "Conspiracy of Silence: Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church," Boston Channel 5 TV, full hour talk show.

1992, May 21. All Things Considered, "Sex abuse of youth by Catholic priests," National Public Radio. Interview of Frank by David Wright; briefly played Frank's instrumental music, "Legacy of the Priest," in background.

1992, December 4, Morning Edition, National Public Radio, "Priest sex crime case settled," Interview of Frank by David Wright

Publicity List or go to Top of Page

1992, June 1, Newsweek, "Sins of the father," pages 60-61.

1992, June 24, USA Today, "Catholic Church deals with scandal," pages 1A and 2A, with photo of Frank.

1992, June 7. Los Angeles Times lengthy article in "Lifestyle/Trends," "Views" section.

1992, June 23. Larry King Live. Frank appears on this CNN show.

Publicity List or go to Top of Page

1992, July 2. Prime-Time Live with Diane Sawyer does a half hour on the Porter case, focusing on Frank. Twenty-two Porter survivors from Massachusetts go public en masse. (The three Prime-Time shows on the Porter case also aired later in Australia.)

1992, July 23. Prime-Time Live with Diane Sawyer. Second extensive show on Porter case with Frank.

1992, July 20. Good Morning America, "Child Molestation Law Suit." Frank appears live. First time of three.

1992, December 4. Good Morning America, "Child Abuse Suit," ABC. Second appearance by Frank.

1993, December 7. Good Morning America, "Sentencing." Third live NYC appearance by Frank.

Publicity List or go to Top of Page

1992, July 27. People magazine article, "Sins of the Father," pages 28-33.

1992, December 28. People magazine. Brief follow up article.

1992, September 8. Jenny Jones Show. Taped this date; Jill Brevda, associate producer. Frank and four other Porter survivors on a panel for the full show. Played excerpts from audio and transcript of FrankÕs tape-recorded phone calls to Porter.

1992. CNBC-TV Talk Live with guest interviewer Jenny Jones.

1992, September 25. CNBC-TV, The Real Story, TV interview show.

1996, May. CNBC, a show that also featured Richard Kanka (father of Megan Kanka) and Kathleen Guilfoyle (mother of boy sexually assaulted by Father William OÕConnell)

Publicity List or go to Top of Page

1993-1999. Justice Files, Discovery Channel, "A Crime Never Forgotten," Discovery series 12328, episode 21. Every three months since 1993. Recent and upcoming airings, eastern standard times given: June 29, 1998, 11 p.m.; December 18, 1998, 11 p.m.; February 8, 1999, 11 p.m. Gives phone number of Frank's organization, Survivor Connections, at end of show.

1993. BBC Radio. Remote live interview of Frank at a Rhode Island audio studio. 1993, November 11.

Rolling Stone, "The Secret of St. Mary's," pages 48-54.

1993, December 6. CBS This Morning, live interview of Frank outside New Bedford court house.

1994, March. Rolonda television talk show.

Publicity List or go to Top of Page

1994, November 10, aired. Judge for Yourself television show, nationally syndicated out of Los Angeles. Appeared with former Miss America and incest survivor Marilyn Van Derbur, Dr. Roland Summit, and Attorney Lisa Bloom.

1995, October 23. Oprah Winfrey. The show was titled "Parish Forgives Priest for Sexual Misconduct," and was about Father Calicott of Chicago. The date of the show was incorrectly entered in Oprah's database as "90/23/95," instead of 10/23/95, so Frank's appearance must be documented by reference to his name.

1996. Frank writes the "Forward" for bestseller-author W.H. "Mike" Echols's latest non-fiction work, Brother Tony's Boys. Earlier, Mike had been the author of I Know My First Name is Steven, which became a television mini-series.

Publicity List or go to Top of Page