CHICAGO (IL)
Renew America
Matt C. Abbott
December 11, 2004
I received the following e-mail from Gabrielle Azzaro of Cardiff, Calif.
"I am one of the survivors/victims who met recently with the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) to discuss what we could do together to educate, treat, and prevent sexual abuse by women religious. Those women sat and listened to five horror stories from survivors aged 30 to 82, and their response was to send us a letter that said pretty things, but was totally devoid of any type of true action.
"Although they told us that 'LCWR's function is to provide its members with resources, education and support,' they did not see fit to include the education that only survivors of this horror could give. They said they could not 'endorse any specific group of survivors, but would rather work with individuals.' We encouraged them to endorse any and all groups of survivors, but they prefer to keep their horrible, dirty secrets among themselves and the individual, rather than allow them to reach the public.