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	Catholic Church Battling Child Abuse 'Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests' Says That Reform Is Still Not a Reality By Bhumika Ghimire OhmyNews April 9, 2008 http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_class=3&no=382285&rel_no=1 April is noted as child abuse prevention month in Catholic parishes and dioceses in the United States. In a press release United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) said that resources in English and Spanish are available to assist the prevention efforts. 5,683,940 minors have been trained to protect themselves and spot signs of trouble and 1,844,681 have had their backgrounds checked and educated about proper way to interact with children and young adults in their care. Sister Mary Ann Walsh, director of media relations for the USCCB, said that they hope to prevent the repeat of the child abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic Church during early 2000s. After the indictment of John Geoghan, former Massachusetts priest on child rape charges in 1999, the issue of abuse within the Catholic Church gained widespread national attention. Many victims came forward alleging abuse by a priest when they were children. On Jan. 8, 2002, the Vatican said that all cases of abuse within the Church should be reported to Rome. It also issued guidelines on how to deal with abusive priests. While the public outcry was growing against the conduct of the priests alleged with abuse, reports on the history of the Catholic Church's attempts to hide abuse within and shuffling abusive priests around in different parishes added to the public's anger. Reports surfaced that Geoghan, who was later convicted of indecent assault and battery of a 10-year-old boy, was protect by Cardinal Law, Archbishop of Boston. Despite several complaints of molestation of children, the Cardinal did not report Geoghan to the authorities. He was also involved in covering up for Pail Shanley who was charged and later convicted of rape and indecent assault. Although Cardinal Law later apologized to the victims of Geoghan, it did little to help the Church. In September the Boston Archdiocese reached a settlement with Geoghan's victims for $10 million. In December, Cardinal Law resigned and moved to Rome where he was appointed archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore by late Pope John Paul. He is also member of several influential organizations in Rome and the Vatican. The abuse allegations were not limited to Massachusetts. Archdiocese in Portland, Washington, Orange Country California, Sacramento, Oakland, Los Angeles, Spokane, San Diego also had to pay millions of dollars in settlement to those abused by their priests. On June 12, 2002 The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, organized a high level meeting in Dallas, Texas to address the sex abuse scandal. But it failed to produce any positive outcome. The Dallas Morning News reported that among the bishops attending the meeting, two-thirds had shielded an abusive priest, ignoring to report the crime to authorities. While the Church is trying to put its past behind and begin emphasizing child safety, victims' rights organization "Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests" (SNAP) says that reform is still not a reality in the Catholic Church. Their Web site cites several recent incidents where priests accused of abuse were allowed to remain in their position. In one such incident in Fresno California, Father Swearingen was found guilty of molesting a boy but he is still active in the ministry. The group requested a meeting with Pope Benedict, when he visits the United Sates later this month but has not heard anything from church officials. On Tuesday, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone announced that during his US visit the Pope will address the abuse issue and will "seek to heal wounds" during an interview with AP. The report does not say whether the Pope will meet with any victims or victims' advocates.
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