The Pilot: America's oldest Catholic newspaper

People
Posted: 9/1/2010
As abuser seeks freedom, victim of Catholic school horror carries on
BALTIMORE (CNS) -- When Elizabeth Ann Murphy was growing up in South Baltimore, she loved sneaking into the choir loft at St. Mary, Star of the Sea. Hiding away in the quiet church, the youngster would sit still and stare at the tabernacle. "I always really had a strong sense of the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist," remembered Murphy, one of nine children whose family home was directly across the street from the parish. "I loved the church and I loved God." John A. Merzbacher nearly shattered that deeply held faith. Soon after Murphy began middle school at the Catholic Community School in 1972, Merzbacher raped her repeatedly. The English teacher, who kept a revolver in his Locust Point classroom, forced Murphy and other students to have sex with each other. He threatened to kill them and their parents if they told. "For so long, I felt such shame," said Murphy, a slender 49-year-old woman. "How could a person like me -- how could I go to Mass and love Jesus with this horrible secret? I felt like I couldn't approach the altar anymore." In 1995, Merzbacher was sentenced to four consecutive life terms for his crimes against Murphy. Prosecutors decided not to proceed with other cases against him, dropping more than 100 additional charges from 13 alleged victims. A federal appeal judge has said Merzbacher, 69, must be given the opportunity to accept a 10-year plea deal that the judge said should have been offered in 1994. If Merzbacher accepts, he will be released since he has already served 15 years in prison. The renewed publicity has reopened old wounds for Murphy. It's her Catholic faith that gives her strength and calls her to forgiveness. "Without the relationship I have with God," Murphy said, "there is no way I would be alive today."