Buffalo Abuse Victim: Bishop Lied to My Face

Gorlick reveals that he initially reached out to the diocese of Buffalo in March 2017 to inform them of years of sexual abuse by his pastor, Fr. Robert Yetter. He notes that the diocese tried to intimidate him, saying, "I was told in an ominous voice that, 'You can do whatever you want, but lawyers are going to do what lawyers are going to do.' This prevented me from providing more than just surface level details of my abuse."

Nearly a year later, in March 2018, a list of Buffalo priests publicly linked to sex allegations was released and Gorlick noticed Yetter was not mentioned on the list. After over two months, however, with no response, he sent a private and confidential email to Malone on May 28.

Malone met with him two days later, on May 30, since Gorlick was the executive dean of Dynamis WNY, a young adult ministry sanctioned by the diocese. In early 2018, Malone had personally laid hands over his head, charging him to spread the "joy of the Gospel" in parishes throughout the region through Dynamis.

In the May 30 meeting, Malone promised Gorlick that he was Yetter's only victim and nobody else had come forward. Documentation has revealed, however, that Malone was aware of two other victims claiming Yetter had abused them as well.

Gorlick's account of abuse by Yetter was publicly revealed in August 2018 in an award-winning special report by investigative reporter Charlie Specht for the Buffalo ABC affiliate, WKBW.

When the report aired, Gorlick was the first victim to publicly come forward and has become a victim advocate, helping to inspire diocesan whistleblower Siobhan O'Connor to come forward.

The diocese of Buffalo drew national attention in October after O'Connor was featured on CBS's 60 Minutes. After the diocese was served a federal subpoena in June, she remained in her position for two months copying "hundreds of documents" from "confidential files of the Diocese of Buffalo."

She credits Gorlick's WKBW interview with giving her the courage to come forward with evidence that Malone and the diocese withheld information from the U.S. attorney's office and may have been obstructing a federal investigation. On Monday, she was awarded the Whistleblower of the Year Award.

Gorlick commented, "Because of Bishop Malone's incredibly damaging handling of my and other abuse cases, Siobhan had to follow her conscience and act."

He further adds that while a sex abuse task force was established in January, "I have yet to hear from this Entity, the Hotline, Bishop Malone or any relevant Church Authority to follow up on my case or even just to see if I'm okay given all this anxiety I've been made to endure, despite my continued request for answers."

He closes his testimony holding Malone "personally responsible for any and all fallout endured as a result of being forced to publicly bring my name forward and correct the record to demand Justice," adding, "Bishop Malone has committed egregious crimes within the Moral and possibly Legal Statute of Limitations."