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In overseeing the Diocese of Worcester's new Office
of Healing and Prevention, Patricia O'Leary Engdahl '85
calls on her training in both law and ministry.
By Phyllis Hanlon
 Many people create a five-year plan by which they design
their ideal personal and professional future. Patricia O'Leary
Engdahl '85, however, prefers to rely on divine intervention.
Her strong faith and openness to all opportunities have led
to a plethora of interesting situations. Engdahl's current
position as director of the Office for Healing and Prevention
represents the evolution and culmination of her education,
upbringing and experience.
Engdahl majored in political science as an undergraduate
student at Holy Cross and participated in many religious
and social-action activities on campus. “I was involved
with ministry through the Chaplains' Office,” she
says. “The most significant event was a class I took
with David O'Brien on Catholicism and American society.
In that class, for the first time, I was introduced to Catholic
social teaching and the role of the Church in social, political
and economic issues in the life of our country.” This
convergence of politics and religion became the compass that
would steer her path. “I saw how the life of the Church
and my own life can meet as far as career and vocation,” she
says.
After graduation, Engdahl, armed with her social convictions,
entered law school to pursue her dream. “Initially I
went to law school—and people laughed at this—to
help people,” she says. “If I knew the legal system,
that would give me the advantage to help people.” After
graduating from Suffolk University, she worked for the district
attorney's office in Worcester before accepting a post
as a criminal defense and family law attorney with the private
law firm Donahue, Rauscher, McGrail and Tupper. These positions
displaced her naiveté as she came in contact with
a wide mix of individuals and found that rectifying social
ills involved much more than she had expected. “Things
weren't black and white anymore. I began to understand
how different things come into play and how people's
lives play out,” she says.
Engdahl next worked for the Worcester Housing Authority
and the Henry Willis Center where she continued to advocate
for the disadvantaged and follow her religious convictions.
As a grant writer and fund development officer for an agency
that served the disadvantaged and communities of color, she
witnessed firsthand the relationship between Catholic social
teaching and economic status and racial background.
While her work at the Willis Center was fulfilling, Engdahl
still felt the pull toward something more, so she enrolled
in the master's program in pastoral ministry at Boston
College. “I had been feeling this call to more ministry,
to take it the next step further,” she says. Providence
intervened and in August 2001, she became director of the
Office of Social Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation.
This position meshed the legal system with the church and
its social and economic teachings—a match made in heaven,
according to Engdahl. In her capacity as director, she worked
with a group of 12 priests and members of an interfaith coalition
of religious leaders to address the problem of the lack of
affordable housing in the area.
The crisis in the Church regarding clergy abuse presented
yet another opportunity for Engdahl to share her legal expertise
and help those in need. “The diocese had been working
on updating its sexual abuse policy of minors. Within the
context of that, they were coming into ideas of how the Church
could perform greater outreach to parishes and victims,” she
says. From this seed, the Office of Healing and Prevention
was born. Appointed director of this office, Engdahl visits
parishes and informs the Church communities what steps are
being taken in response to growing reports of clergy abuse. “One
purpose of this office is to let people know what we and
the bishop are doing about the crisis, including what services
we provide to victims, so people are not solely relying on
what they see in the paper,” she says. “My biggest
vision is to give people hope that our church and the victims
of abuse can heal from all this.”
The position also includes legal/administrative duties.
Engdahl and her staff now perform regular Criminal Offender
Record Information (CORI) checks of all diocesan employees
and volunteers who work with children. She also became involved
in the newly instituted mandated reporter training program,
a familiar initiative from her days in the district attorney's
office.
To enhance programs currently in existence, Engdahl has
identified a child assault prevention program to be offered
in religious education programs and Catholic schools. “The
idea is to teach kids how to be safe,” she says. Noting
that abuse takes place in many different venues, not only
within the confines of the Church, she is proud that her
office and the diocese are taking an active role to stem
this community-wide problem. She says, “My goals are
to create safe environments and safety in church so parents
feel safe sending their children to church activities.”
Engdahl's children—two daughters, aged 7 and 9,
and a 27-year old stepdaughter— provide an intense personal
motivation to resolving the issues of today. She hopes the
Church will have a positive role in their development and
is taking steps to make that a reality. As a mother, she
also feels a stronger connection to the people of the diocese. “People
interact with me differently because I know where they are
coming from,” she says. With the support of her family,
Engdahl feels blessed to be involved in a ministry aimed
at promoting healing and preventing abuse. “This is
not some political issue that you can get caught up in and
jump on the bandwagon. This is the core of people's
lives and my life,” she says. “That's why
the work is so important.”
Engdahl admits that the road ahead is long and most probably
strewn with pitfalls. “This [crisis] didn't happen
overnight, and it'll take time to restore trust. Knowing
that, we need to work together as we all try to do what we
can to bring about change.” She values her presence
at the chancery and the opportunity to participate in the
decision-making process at this critical time in the Church's
history. In addition, she treasures her continuing relationship
with O'Brien, whose Holy Cross class helped shape her
destiny. O'Brien generously extended the resources of
the College when Engdahl served in her previous capacity,
and he continues to share his thoughts and support with her
now. “Years ago he was my professor, and now he is an
advisor and a friend,” Engdahl says. One might say that
Engdahl's new position is a continuation of her campus
ministry, but on a much larger scale.
Phyllis Hanlon is a free-lance writer from Charlton, Mass.
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