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Willamette Week journalist Anthony Effinger profiled Chuck Lovett, who grew up in a deeply Catholic family in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Effinger describes Lovett’s uncle’s home, which features two framed photographs: one of President John F. Kennedy and another of Bishop James Hogan of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.
Lovett first met Bishop Hogan when he was around 12 years old, during a visit to a seminary in nearby Loretto with other boys interested in life as clergy. There, in the seminary’s locker room, Father Francis McCaa molested him.
“While that was happening, Bishop Hogan was sitting there pleasuring himself,” Lovett says.
Now 63, Lovett has lived with the weight of that trauma for decades. In 2019, the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese offered him $10,000 for therapy, to be used within 10 years. Lovett proposed something unconventional: psilocybin therapy. After persistent advocacy, the Diocese agreed to cover $6,000 for a four-day visit to Oregon, where psilocybin mushrooms are legal for therapeutic use.
Lovett believes the experience helped him in ways traditional therapy never could. “It was a beautiful, warm experience,” he says. “It felt like the universe had me in its hands.”
Lovett’s experience is believed to be the first instance of the Catholic Church funding psilocybin therapy for a survivor of clergy abuse, Effinger reports. Lovett hopes his story will inspire others to explore similar treatment options.
A Difficult Path to Approval
Lovett’s request to use Church restitution funds for psilocybin therapy was not easily granted. The Diocese initially required a referral from a licensed therapist in Pennsylvania, where psilocybin remains illegal. After several failed attempts to secure one, Lovett sent a final message to the victim assistance coordinator:
“If I cannot get the proper endorsement from a licensed therapist in the state of Pennsylvania, as required by you and the Church, I am going to pay for everything myself and I will take my story public,” he wrote. “I did not choose to be sexually abused within the Catholic Church but I am choosing to receive this therapy to heal from it.”
Within 30 minutes, permission was granted. “Please know that this was a one-time exception made for Chuck,” said Jean Johnstone, victim assistance coordinator for the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. “We continue to support traditional counseling therapy as a first response when victims come forward to report their trauma/abuse.”
Finding Healing in Oregon
Lovett found facilitator Nitai Aleksiewicz in Eugene, Oregon. A licensed psilocybin guide, Aleksiewicz was raised in the Hare Krishna faith and later pursued trauma work after witnessing her father’s death in India. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she began using psilocybin herself and soon moved to Oregon, where she trained as a facilitator.
Before the retreat, Aleksiewicz prepared Lovett with four virtual sessions and insisted he secure post-trip therapy support in Pennsylvania. Lovett also started a monthly support group for adult male survivors of sexual abuse.
In Oregon, Aleksiewicz guided Lovett through two psilocybin journeys over five days. The first, a low dose, tested his emotional response. The second, a higher dose, triggered vivid memories of abuse.
“The second trip started out like the first, but I heard these voices saying, ‘Something’s wrong,’” Lovett recalls. He felt distress in his body where the abuse occurred. Aleksiewicz recognized the signs of trauma freeze and gently placed her hand on his. Over time, the experience shifted.
“A voice said, ‘It’s going to be all right,’” Lovett says. “And I saw myself as a feather, floating through the air. The weight was off my shoulders.”
A New Beginning
When Lovett returned home, his friends and coworkers noticed an immediate change. Colleagues at Gettysburg College, where he has worked for more than 30 years, said he seemed calmer and more centered. Years earlier, after an altercation with a coworker, Lovett had been required to take anger management classes. Now, he says, that anger is gone.
A month later, an old friend visited him and remarked, “As soon as I saw you in the backyard, I could tell you were a changed person.”
Lovett’s story is illustrative of both the potential of psilocybin-assisted therapy for trauma survivors and the institutional reluctance to embrace such treatments. For Oregon’s psilocybin service centers, many of which are struggling because of the high operational and licensing costs, Lovett’s experience, suggests Willamette Weekly’s Effinger, may also hint at a new path forward, if others are willing to follow his lead.
For Survivors of Catholic Church Sexual Abuse:
If you or someone you love has experienced sexual abuse within a religious or institutional setting, you are not alone. Learn about your legal rights and healing options at our Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Guide. You may also receive a free case review by completing the confidential, secure form below.
