MONDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2010
KLMNO
Woman who says she was abused by priest helps others
Burke resident urges parents to talk to kids about molestation
BY DEREK KRAVITZ As a 10-year-old girl, red-haired
BeckyIannisaidshethoughtMon-
signorWilliamT.Reinecke,anew- ly ordained pastor at the Ianni family’s Alexandria church, was gentle and warm. Families vaca- tioned with him, kids loved him and female parishioners thought he was handsome. In the late 1960s, Reinecke gave the Iannis their first color television. Then, she said, themolestation
started in the basement of Ianni’s home and in the vestry of the church. Shewouldn’t speak about the abuse fordecades. “I didn’t tell anyone what hap-
pened,” she said. “I was basically toldthat I’dgo tohell if Idid.” Now 53 and living in Burke,
Iannihas become a spokeswoman for those who say they’ve been sexually abused by clergy in the Washingtonarea. On Sunday, she stood outside
the Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle, near M Street and
ConnecticutAvenueNW, handing out fliers that urge people to talk to their children about sexual abuse. A Washington Post analysis of
priests accused of abuse in the Washington area identified 31 such priests, seven of whom are dead. Reinecke was one of those identified. After beginninghis career at St.
Mary,Reinecke served at parishes in Annandale, Arlington County and Falls Church. For 13 years, he was chief executive officer, second to the bishop in charge of the Arlington Diocese’s 56 parishes and about quarter of a million parishioners. In 1992, a former altar boy con-
frontedReineckeafteraMass.The man, a mental health counselor, gave Reinecke his business card and urged him to resign and get help. Two days later, the priest, then
53, checked into a retreat house in Berryville, Va., west of Loudoun County. Long suffering from de- pression,Reinecke took a shotgun that he had bought inWarrenton and walked into a field, where he shothimself. After his death, the mental
health counselor and another male parishioner came forward
COURTLAND MILLOY milloy from B1
Then she sawa remote- controlled helicopter. And her eyes lighted up again. “I rode in one,” she said. Four years ago, onNov. 16, her
father was headed for work at the Acme-Delco-Riegelwood Fire and Rescue Station when he heard a tornado warning on his fire dispatch radio. Michael Browne went back to
get Cheyenne and other family members—he and her mother had separated—to take everybody to the fire station for safety. As he was carrying his daughter to the car, the tornado appeared out of nowhere.He tried to make it to a ravine for cover. But, as Cheyenne recalled, “we
just started flying, like Superman.” Browne died after being pummeled by debris. Cheyenne was critically injured when a tree limb fell on her face, crushing her jaw. She briefly regained consciousness while being airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in ChapelHill. That’s where the fascination
with whirlybirds comes from. But instead of getting one, she
decided to buy some candles and glassware as gifts for others. Linda Browne, her
grandmother, described Cheyenne as precocious yet well mannered, wise beyond her years. She praised Charles County school officials for providing special assistance to the family. But having a tutor who could work with Cheyenne at home would be most welcomed.
with abuse allegations involving Reinecke, saying the priest had fondledandsexually abusedthem during overnight trips to Wil- liamsburg inthe late 1960s. Ianni came forward in 2006
after having flashbacks when she came across a photo of Reinecke. “I toldmyhusband,andthenI told a therapist, and it became easier andeasier to talk about,” she said. TheArlingtonDiocesanReview
Board investigated Ianni’s allega- tion and deemed it “credible” un- der the church’s sexual miscon- duct and child abuse policy. She received a cash settlement and an officialapologyin2008. Ianni said the apology came after 18months of bureaucratic wrangling among churchofficials. “I became so disillusioned,” she
said. “I realizedI couldn’tbeapart of a church that wouldn’t deal appropriatelywith these victims.” Ianni devotesmuch of her time
to a support group, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP. The Virginia chapter of the 9,000-member in- ternational organization counts several abuse victims among its volunteers. Ianni saidshenolonger consid-
ersherself apracticingCatholic.
kravitzd@washpost.com
EZ SU
He said he saw a semi-aquatic rodent, so let’s just leave it at that
F
rankly, I don’t knowwhat to think about the beaver—if there evenis a beaver.
“I sawthe beaver againtoday,”
I’ll say toMyLovelyWife. She’ll just smile atme, as if thinking to herself: “Poor dear.He’s seeing beavers again.” You see, she’snever seenthe
beaver.Nor hasmy
daughter.My dog doesn’tnotice himeither, eventhough it’s onourwalks to- gether that I sometimes see the semi-aquatic rodent. I first sawhimlast year, ina
creek along a paved andwell- traveled pathnot far fromour house.Hewas inthewater, pad- dling under a small, arched bridge. I felt like Iwas intheYu-
kon.Behold themighty beaver! I wanted himto slap his big, flat tail against thewater, but he just kept swimming. Iwas alonewith the dog, andwhenI got home, the dogwouldn’t backme up. Ayearwent
by.Thenabout a
month ago, I sawhimagain. “I sawthe beaver,” I reported
whenI got home. “That’snice,”mywife said. “I
wish I could see the beaver.” Lastweek, Inoticed that some
treesnear the creek had been gnawed.Onewas felled com- pletely, leaving a stump that looked like it had beenrun through a pencil sharpener. I might spendmost ofmy day sit- ting at a desk staring at a comput- er screen, but I knowbeaver leav- ingswhenI see them. “Did you see the trees?” I asked
mywife thenext time she got back fromwalking the dog. “The beaver trees?” “No,” she said,with the sad
voice of someonewondering how difficult it is to have a person committed. Afewdays later, I sawthe bea-
ver himself.We think of beavers as industrious—zealous, even. We don’t say, “Busy as a raccoon.” But this is one lazy beaver.Unless he’sworking ona lodge some- where else and just comes tomy neighborhood to chewa fewtrees and unwind, he’s about as busy as a professorwith tenure.He’s a stealth beaver. Perhaps he comes bearing
COURTLAND MILLOY/THE WASHINGTON POST
Cheyenne Browne, wearing her father’s helmet, with Deputy Sheriff Clarence Black, who helped her during an event for needy children.
The family might be eligible
for support through theNational Fallen Firefighters Foundation, headquartered in Emmitsburg, Md. At issue is whetherMichael Browne died “in the line of duty” because he was reporting to work before his shift had officially begun, and then went back to save his family upon hearing that the tornado was about to strike. The decision is up to the
Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, which funds the foundation. Meanwhile, Linda Browne is
making ends meet by working two jobs—as a telephone operator for a salvage company and by cleaning up a medical office after hours. She is especially grateful to the
Charles County Sheriff ’s Office for helping to ease her financial
burden during the holidays, along with the county businesses and residents that support such an awe-inspiring community outreach program. Of course, the real hero is
Cheyenne, who took a bold step last year toward overcoming a fear of tornadoes by dressing up forHalloween as Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz.” On the first anniversary of her
father’s death, Cheyenne joined Riegelwood officials in honoring him and presenting awards to other emergency responders who had demonstrated heroism and valor. “If I had a firetruck and a helicopter, I would rescue Barbie from a Rapunzel castle,” she said. No surprise that she wants to
be a firefighter, too, someday.
milloyc@washpost.com
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some sort ofmessage:Take time to stop and smell the trees, then eat
them.Maybe he thinks Ineed more roughage inmy diet. The onlyway I’ll knowfor sure
is if he starts talking tome.But if he does, you better believe I’m keeping it tomyself.
Choosing sides AreadernamedM.A.Wright
askedwhether Iwould address customer service—specifically, the lack of same. “Maybe if you write a columnaddressing this matter,”M.A.wrote, “wewill ex- perience a returnto true custom- er service.” I doubt it, but here goes:Cus-
tomer service stinks.We know this because it’s surprisingwhen- ever a transactiongoeswell. The latest example of customer
disservice that I’venoticed is the strangeway some checkout clerks can’t be bothered to push the items you’ve just bought toward
you.This happened tome the other day at aCVS. I used a credit card to buy someRicola throat drops and a box ofKleenex (I’m feeling better, thanks).The clerk askedwhetherwanted a bag, and whenI saidno, he just handedme my
receipt.My itemswere still next to him. Was it a hardship forme to
reach across the counter for them?Not really.But countme among thosewho think I
JOHN KELLY/THE WASHINGTON POST
Possible evidence that a beaver sighting was not part of an overactive imagination: handiwork on Sligo Creek in Silver Spring.
shouldn’t have
to.And yet,more andmore these days, I’mnoticing clerks playing keepsieswithmy stuff, as if itwas somehowbe- neath their dignity to give it to me. For the benefit of cash-register
jockeys:Drawanimaginary line across themiddle of your counter. At the end of our transaction, pushmy stuff ontomy side of that line.Otherwise, I’mgoing to have to start buying everything online.
Children’sHospital We’re threeweeks into our
eight-week campaignforChil- dren’
sHospital.That’swhat? Thirty-eight percent?We’re about 13 percent of theway toward our $400,000 goal.Let’s see ifwe can make up the slack. If you’ve been meaning to donate but haven’t gottenaround to it, please do so today. Tomake your tax-deductible
donation, send a check ormoney order (payable to “Children’sHos- pital”) toWashingtonPostCam- paign,
P.O.Box 17390,Baltimore, Md.
21297-1390.To donate online with a credit card, go towashing-
tonpost.com/childrenshospital or call 301-565-8501.
kellyj@washpost.com
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