KENTUCKY
Cincinnati Post
By Bob Driehaus
Post staff reporter
The leader of a national support group for victims of clergy sexual abuse praised Covington Bishop Roger Foys in a letter for his handling of the diocese's crisis, including the pending settlement of a class-action lawsuit against the diocese.
Sue Archibald, director of The Linkup, based in the Louisville suburb of Pewee Valley, confirmed Friday that her group expressed appreciation for the way Foys went about the difficult job of trying to make amends for 50 years of sexual abuse at the hands of priests and other employees of the diocese.
"I wanted to really acknowledge the fact that he went the extra mile for the survivors in that settlement," she said.
"One of the things that impressed me the most with Bishop Foys' approach was his willingness to meet with the survivors while the legal process was going on. I know that lawyers generally advise clergy not to communicate with victims during the process, but he believed it was the right thing to do and he did it. And some of the survivors mentioned that it meant a lot to them."
She declined to share a copy of the letter because she considered it a private communication.
The Linkup was established in 1991, several years before the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal erupted nationally, with a mission to expose the abuse and offer healing for victims.