PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
By Jim Remsen
Inquirer Faith Life Editor
Standing outside church headquarters yesterday, a group of victims of abuse by Catholic priests called on Cardinal Justin Rigali to lobby for legal changes and punish church officials who had any role in covering up clergy misconduct.
"All your hollow-sounding pledges to 'do better,' 'put children first,' 'learn from mistakes' will continue to ring hollow until you show by your deed that you mean business," stated a four-page letter written by Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests and Other Clergy, the national advocacy group known as SNAP.
The letter to Rigali was released at a sidewalk protest outside the archdiocese headquarters in Center City. The event followed a similar appeal for legal reforms that SNAP made Wednesday at the state Capitol in Harrisburg.
SNAP and other activists have been galvanized by the recent Philadelphia grand jury report documenting clergy abuse and official cover-ups in the archdiocese.