MARIETTA (OH)
The Marietta Times
By Brad Bauer, bbauer@mariettatimes.com
Victims of clergy sex abuse urged others to come forward at nearly a dozen southeast Ohio churches on Sunday, including St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Marietta.
As parishioners left churches, molestation victims and their families handed out flyers and leaflets detailing their stories of abuse. The literature also accuses Catholic churches in southeast Ohio of continuing to ignore reports of abuse.
“Victims should not be afraid to step out and voice their abuse — even if it has been many years since the abuse took place,” said Helen Schoeppner, of Marietta, a member of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “Stepping out can be a healing process and it exposes the molesters so that they can be taken out of the priesthood and no longer will be able to molest.”