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	Group Asks Church to Help Other Potential Victims Come Forward By Rob Low Fox 4 November 13, 2009 http://www.fox4kc.com/news/wdaf-story-mohler-church-snap-111309,0,7964463.story INDEPENDENCE, MO - Activists representing people who have been abused by clergy members traveled to the metro area on Friday to ask the Community of Christ Church to help bring other potential victims of a family accused of multiple counts of child rape. Three members of the Mohler family were lay ministers of the Independence-based church. SNAP, the Survivors' Network of those Abused by Priests, says that the church can do much to help other potential victims, and the church says that's a mission that they share. "(Abusers) tend to use God as a way to get to their victims," said SNAP regional director Judy Jones, who traveled with the group from their St. Louis headquarters on Friday. "Victims are very afraid to come forward, a lot of times they've been threatened that they'll be sent to hell." SNAP is asking the church to use it's resources to reach out to victims. "Use your website, use your church newspaper or bulletins and reach out to any victims and plead with them to go to law enforcement," said Jones. Community of Christ church representative Linda Booth says her church is already doing what SNAP suggests, saying that information packets have been sent to all of it's churches, including the three where the Mohler men attended. She says that churches are being advised to talk about the allegations, and notify members that coming forward is the right thing to do. "There is a concern that people will look to the church because they were volunteers and say that the church is not doing what the church should be doing," said Booth. "We have that same cause (as SNAP) in the Community of Christ and that's always to protect our children and our youth." The Community of Christ church suspended the status of the three suspects who were lay ministers, and says that none of them ever worked with youth groups. Church leaders have also been contacted to provide ministry to the Mohler men now in custody. Adam Walker, a survivor of clergy abuse, says that he wants victims to know that it's never too late to come forward. "I just want to make sure that those victims that have come forward know that they're not alone, that there's millions of other survivors out there," said Walker. "Unfortunately a lot of abuse victims never find the courage to come forward and they suffer their whole life."
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