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	Sexual Abuse Victims Rally outside Archdiocese of Baltimore Headquarters By Jessica Anderson Baltimore Sun January 12, 2011 http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-priest-abuse-protest-20110112,0,6166261.story Braving strong winds and holding signs that read "Protect Kids, Not Predators," several people rallied outside the Archdiocese of Baltimore headquarters Wednesday, imploring the church to take a more active role in aiding sexual abuse victims. Members of the advocacy group Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, gathered on the front steps of the archdiocese building on Cathedral Street to deliver a letter asking Archbishop Edwin O'Brien "to clearly alert Catholics and citizens" of the death of defrocked priest Laurence Brett, who faced numerous allegations of sex abuse in Baltimore and elsewhere. Brett "was one of the worst predators," said Frank Dingle of the Baltimore chapter of SNAP. "The church should've stepped forward." Brett, who worked as a teacher and chaplain at Calvert Hall College High School in Towson, died in Martinique on Christmas Eve at age 73. Dozens of his former students have come forward in the past 30 years with accusations of abuse. He had faced custodial child abuse and second-degree sexual offense charges in 1999, but those charges were eventually withdrawn. "We're here calling for more disclosure in what role the archdiocese played in the coverup with Brett," said Bob Russell, who is among those who say they were abused by Brett when they were students at Calvert Hall. The protesters also want the church to acknowledge the role of Wayne Ruth, who authorities said was a friend of Brett's who had helped him sell his house in Baltimore and who had visited him on St. Maarten. "We want the archbishop to publicly condemn Ruth," he said. Ruth had served as the head of fundraising for the restoration of the Basilica of the Assumption in Baltimore. Russell, who did not come forward about the abuse until he was an adult, said the church must also strive for "more aggressive outreach" to encourage victims to come forward. Tom Dembeck, 54, who said he, too, was one of Brett's victim while he attended Calvert Hall between 1971 and 1974, agreed. "If they put as much into healing as they put into covering up the past," Dembeck said, referring to the archdiocese, as he shook his head. "It has taken me years to realize what happened to me." Dembeck, who lives in Parkton, said it wasn't until he turned 47 that he came forward. "I absolutely broke down," he said, adding that he felt he had let down other abuse victims — until he realized there were many before him who also hadn't come forward. Although the archbishop did not personally accept the letter, spokesman Sean Caine said that the church is working to reach out to victims, calling it "an ongoing priority for the archdiocese." "We want to make sure people know our commitment to healing," and to contact the archdiocese if they were abused or are aware of victims, he said. But SNAP members are asking in the letter for the archbishop to "personally visit every parish, school, office and community where Brett worked to urge victims to come forward," as well as encouraging his Caribbean colleagues to do the same. "We want to create an atmosphere where people feel they can come forward," said Joelle Casteix, the western regional director of SNAP, who said she was abused by a teacher at her Catholic high school in California. "I realized I wasn't the only one. There are other victims," she said. Becky Ianni, Virginia SNAP director, who held her school picture from third grade — about the time when she said she was abused — said, "We as victims just don't want this to continue." Contact: jkanderson@baltsun.com
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