When we think about our society's failing to hold people accountable for their wrongdoing, Wall Street greedheads almost always come to mind. However, we're reading that Catholic bishops are getting more aggressive in fighting a group representing the victims of abuse by Catholic clergy. The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) has been subpoenaed repeatedly by lawyers representing the Catholic Church in a Missouri abuse case, as part of an ongoing effort by the Church hierarchy to silence the victim advocacy group. The bishops have been joined in their drive to shut down sex abuse claims against the Church by a Rethuglican front group, the so-called "Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights," whose leader "Sweaty Bill" Donohue uttered this statement:
“The bishops have come together collectively. I can’t give you the names, but there’s a growing consensus on the part of the bishops that they had better toughen up and go out and buy some good lawyers to get tough. We don’t need altar boys.”Sweaty Bill better get the bishops to approve that last sentence: they may have to shell out some settlement money, but damned if these bishops want to give up their recreational sexytime.
2 comments:
This vicious attack on SNAP/victims tells us only one thing.
To all victims who have been sexually abused by clerics, your voices are strong, powerful, and being heard...!..
The church officials can't shut us up. They can't shove all the victims back under their control of silence.
The can of worms has been opened, and that is only because very brave victims of clergy sex abuse are speaking up, coming forward, contacting the police, exposing the truth, and trying their hardest to not allow another child to be given the life sentence of harm which they were dealt.
For those who wish to help ...On our website - SNAPnetwork.org - are simple suggestions for helping victims beat back this assault against them by top Catholic officials. Please check it out. Thanks.
Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Associate Director, USA, 636-433-2511
"Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests" and all clergy.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world's oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims.
SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 12,000 members. Despite the word "priest" in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers and increasingly, victims who were assaulted in a wide range of institutional settings like summer camps, athletic programs, Boy Scouts, etc. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
You said it all -- keep up the good fight!
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