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	Belleville Bishop Apologizes for Priest Abuse Associated Press, carried in WTHI September 10, 2008 http://www.wthitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8982164&nav=menu593_2 BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) - The Roman Catholic bishop of Belleville is apologizing for the sexual abuse scandal that has plagued the church for several years. In a letter to parishioners, Bishop Edward Braxton wrote he is joining with his fellow bishops to express sorrow to those who have suffered because of the actions of priests. Braxton wrote the one-page letter dated September 5 to priests to be read at Mass. It is his first public comment since a jury awarded $5 million to a former altar boy sexually abused by a Belleville priest. The award resulted from a 2002 lawsuit brought by James Wisniewski of Champaign, who said he was sexually abused by the Rev. Raymond Kownacki for five years beginning when he was 13. Barbara Dorris, a director of the St. Louis-based Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) said Braxton's words are meaningless unless matched by his deeds.
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