05/12/2026
A message to the Fox Chase Boy Family:
I remain so very grateful for the love and support you have shown to our film and project. The experience of bringing this work out into the world has been life changing for me in ways I can’t yet fully describe.
On April 26th the Saint Cecilia’s parish bulletin announced the completion of a Memorial to Victims of Sexual Abuse. The stone memorial stands a few feet to the east of the front doors of St. Cecilia’s Church on Rhawn Street in Fox Chase, Philadelphia.
I’m writing simply to say that while it may seem like small potatoes given the massive scope and scale of the global clerical abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, this is a development I would never have imagined possible when we began working on Fox Chase Boy. There is something afoot here. I credit the community that grew around our film and performance along with the countless other individuals and organizations engaged in activism, work, and conversation related to the subject of s*xual exploitation, in the church and beyond. To me this represents a modest but meaningful victory in a narrative that has been overwhelmed at times by sorrow and loss.
Now there is a place to go. I don’t know Pastor Chris Walsh at Saint Cecilia’s but I do credit his personal commitment to establishing this memorial on church property. My understanding is that he pushed to create this memorial outside the auspices of the Philadelphia Archdiocese. I was informed by a friend who works at St. Cecilia’s that Pastor Walsh screened Fox Chase Boy for his staff about a year ago when it was first published by The Guardian.
My heart is with the families of the Fox Chase Boys who lost their lives. My hope is that this memorial might offer some small degree of respite to the community that remains my first home. I pray it will inspire more conversation, contemplation, open heartedness, and healing for anyone who may need it.
With Love,
G
(Pastor Walsh’s announcement is posted in the comments.)