Walk For Truth Planned For Good Friday

ORLEANS – A community walk will be held on Good Friday in support of people affected by “coercive, high-control religious environments.”

 The Community Walk for Truth will take place April 3 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Rock Harbor parking lot.
 “Our community has always valued compassion and care for our neighbors,” Orleans resident Daneen Law said in a press release. “This walk is an opportunity to stand together peacefully in support of truth and healing, and to remind those who have been harmed that they are not alone.”

 Reached by phone Monday, Law said she is one of about a dozen concerned residents who have gathered to organize the walk. While the release does not specifically address any group or organization by name, she said organizers were inspired to host the event out of concern over allegations raised over the years against the Community of Jesus, whose compound sits on Rock Harbor.

 Last July, Oliver Ortolani, a former Community member, filed suit in U.S. District Court against the Community and two other organizations, Arts Empowering Life Inc. and Performing Arts Building Foundation Inc., alleging that he and other children in the Community were subject to unpaid child labor and trafficking through their involvement in helping build the Community’s performing arts center in Brewster.

 “We want to show that the community is paying attention, and that it’s not OK,” said Anne Buchs, another walk organizer. “We have serious concerns, and we’re there to protect the children and stand for truth and accountability.”

 Growing up in Truro, Law said she had heard rumors about the Community over the years, but never paid them much mind.

“I thought ‘You know what? I know these people live and work in the community. They seem to mind their own business. They’ve got a beautiful property there. You can sometimes identify the members in town basically by the way they dress. But basically my position was they don’t bother me, I don’t bother them.’”

But her position changed after her book group read a memoir by a former Community member, Carrie Buddington, detailing her experiences in the Community. Specifically, she said she and others were saddened and alarmed by stories of children in the Community being mistreated.

“I was really thinking with a mother’s heart,” she said. “I’ve raised four of my own children. I’m a grandmother of two. I thought ‘These poor kids. They have no voice. They have no choice.’”

The Community has consistently denied the allegations brought forth in the suit. In November, the defendants filed their own suit in U.S. District Court against Oliver’s parents, David and Ellen Ortolani, alleging that they orchestrated the work program at the center of their son’s suit.

“How profoundly sad it is that certain individuals, who hold themselves out as interested in ‘truth’ would, on a holy day of all days, once again devote themselves to inciting hate, in this case by effectively harassing a religious community,” Jeffrey Robbins, the attorney representing the Community in the lawsuits, said of the walk in an email Monday. “The threats that members of the Community of Jesus have been forced to endure are in no small measure the result of these individuals. All one can say is that it is a shame.”

But Buchs said the April 3 walk is not rooted in hate, but peace. Participants will walk the Rock Harbor parking lot in a loop in support of individuals, “especially children, who live with practices such as humiliation rituals, family separation, and forced labor, and who feel unable to speak openly," according to the release.

“There’s no anger,” she said. “It’s about protecting and standing for the truth. We want to send messages of support if there are those who are still on the inside that it’s safe out here, and we have resources for you and you matter.”

Former members have spoken out about their experiences within the Community since the filing of Oliver Ortolani’s suit last summer. But Buchs said there is greater concern building in town around the allegations that have come to light through the litigation.

“It’s all alleged, but with the stories and the stories and the stories, how can it be denied? I think it’s time that people beyond those who have been abused stand up and represent those who have been harmed,” Bucks said.

 “Again, I’m not a survivor, but I also feel like I’ve heard enough stories,” Law added. “And we all remember the Me Too movement. We all lived through that, and good thing we did and it’s a good thing those people were held accountable. I would like to see something happen here where these people are held accountable for the physical and mental abuse that these children have endured for so many years.”

 Beyond the walk, Law said she and other residents plan to stay engaged in their support for religious victims and survivors.

“I trust that we’re not going to let our foot off the gas pedal at this point. I think we’ve gotten too much momentum, and we want to see this through.”

Participants of all abilities are invited to attend the walk, and “those who prefer not to walk are encouraged to bring a chair and take part,” according to the release.