Victims of Clergy Abuse Urged to Join Support Group, by Dana Clark Felty, Savannah Now, October 26, 2007

Victims of Clergy Abuse Urged to Join Support Group

By Dana Clark Felty
Savannah Now
October 26, 2007

http://new.savannahnow.com/node/383472

As her mother lay dying of ovarian cancer, 13-year-old Laura Latch's priest went to her family home and molested Laura.

"I was too afraid to tell my father what happened because I knew he was going through so much," she said of the abuse that occurred more than 30 years ago in New York.

Latch shared her story publicly for the first time Thursday during a news conference for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

Members of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, held a sidewalk press conference in front of St. James Catholic Church Thursday morning. The group included, from left, Blanch Bachmann, Robbie Bachmann, Mike Coode, Ann Brentwood, Hank Bachman and Laura Latch.
Photo by Carl Elmore

Group members gathered near St. James Catholic Church to encourage victims to come forward and to push the Catholic Diocese of Savannah to release the identities of suspected abusers.

Regional director Ann Brentwood said about a dozen local residents have contacted the group, saying they're victims of sexual abuse by priests and former priests in dioceses around the nation. Leaders also have spoken to victims in other denominations.

"Many people in the South tend to think (clergy abuse) isn't a problem here because there aren't as many Catholics in the South," Brentwood said. "But it is a problem."

Laura Latch said she was the victim of clergy abuse.
Photo by Carl Elmore

Brentwood said the group knows of no abuse by active clergy at St. James parish. However, they believe victims of former priests still might live in the area.

In 2003, former St. James priest Wayland Brown was sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexually abusing two adolescent brothers in 1974 while attending a seminary in Washington.

Brentwood called on Bishop J. Kevin Boland of the Diocese of Savannah and other U.S. dioceses to post on their Web sites "the names of all proven, admitted and credibly accused abusive church employees."

Spokeswoman Barbara King said the diocese does not keep such a list but has made new efforts in recent years to encourage victims to report abuse.

Those efforts include maintaining a lay advisory board composed of psychologists, psychiatrists, people in law enforcement and child advocates to review allegations of sexual abuse.

The diocese also regularly prints information in its newspaper, The Southern Cross, and in church pamphlets, urging parishioners to report abuse, she said. Employees are trained in how to identify abuse and how to protect children.

The diocese annually hires independent auditors to track its adherence to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, adopted by the U.S. Bishops in 2002. Past results have indicated 100 percent compliance, King said.

"Anything credible that turned out to be something taken to law enforcement, we would make it public," she said.

At the press conference, Latch emphasized the importance of victims meeting other victims.

"Your priest is supposed to be someone you can trust," she said. "I think this group will give me a chance to really understand that I'm not alone."

Latch said her abuser eventually was caught and convicted in a New York court, but he remained a priest until about five years ago.

"I've never received an apology and certainly not any money," she said. "I just hope this never happens to anyone else.