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	Vigil to Be Held for Catholic Church Abuse Victims CBS 2 January 7, 2007 http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_007104242.html Los Angeles People who support the victims of clergy sexual abuse will hold vigils outside Roman Catholic cathedrals in Los Angeles and Orange Sunday morning. The vigil outside Our Lady of Angels Cathedral, located in downtown Los Angeles, begins at 9 a.m. The gathering at Holy Family Cathedral, located at 566 South Glassell St. in Orange, starts at 8:30 a.m. Vigils will be held in 52 other cities across the country. The event is organized by SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, to observe the fifth year since the Boston Globe broke the clergy abuse story. Those taking part will pass out fliers to parishioners entering or leaving mass. According to Mary Grant, western regional director of SNAP, the objective is to persuade church leaders to release more information about abusers and stop resisting legal efforts to uncover sabuse. SNAP would also like photos of abuse victims to be displayed in churches across the country. "Sadly, innocent kids and vulnerable adults are still at risk in the church," said Grant. Since the story broke, some 900 proven, admitted and credibly accused child-molesting clerics have been exposed and suspended across the United States, she said. "Although we've known for a long, long time about sex abuse in the church," said Joelle Casteix, southwest regional director SNAP, the Boston Globe's coverage marked the "first time the public's attention was focused on it." The public scrutiny enabled healing and accountability, she said. Grant says that Catholic church officials continue to use "hardball legal tactics" and "stonewalling" to prevent sex abuse from coming to light. "Church officials haven't changed their behavior." Tod Tamberg, a spokesperson for the archdiocese, said SNAP's focus was misguided and did not address sexual abuse in society as a whole. He said that SNAP has not acknowledged initiatives the church has taken to end sexual abuse -- within the church and elsewhere. "There are programs in place to protect children today and in the future, and to try as much as humanly possible to stop those who would do harm" inside or outside the church, Tamberg said. Tamberg said that the church has trained 40,000 people in sex abuse prevention -- including teaching kids how to identify potentially dangerous situations. Additionally, everyone affiliated with the church -- from part-time volunteers to priests -- must undergo criminal and background checks. February will mark the third anniversary since the archdiocese issued its "Report to the people of God," which details how the abuse happened and the names of those involved, he said. "What the church can say is that the church acted quickly when the scope of the situation became known following 2002," Tamberg said. The survivors meeting outside the downtown church will highlight what Pitcher calls three "egregious" cases of abuse, including: The Rev. Ryan Erickson, who committed suicide after he was interviewed by police about an unsolved double homicide in Hudson, Wis.; The suicides of five young men from small towns in Kansas who were sexually abused by the same priest; Eric Swearingen, who remains a priest at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in North Fresno even after he was accused by a former altar boy of sexual abuse. Grant has asked church employees who suspect or witness sexual abuse to step forward. She also urged parishioners to demand the identities of sexual predators.
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