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	Nsac to Catholics: Drop the Blindfolds, Get Educated NSAC February 11, 2011 http://nationalsurvivoradvocatescoalition.wordpress.com/editorials/ National Survivor Advocates Coalition Statement on the Arrest February 10, 2011 of 4 priests, including the head of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Office for Clergy and the Philadelphia Report Today’s events in Philadelphia cry out for all Catholics in the pews in Philadelphia no matter how shocked they may be by today’s arrests to drop their blindfolds and educate themselves about sexual abuse in the Church. Go to the primary source: the victims. Hear their stories. Listen to them. Act as Catholics should act: demand justice no matter where the journey to justice leads. NSAC calls on all Catholics and all men and women of goodwill to let these events and the Philadephia report spur them to act to protect just one child: their child, their grandchild, the child in the grocery store line ahead of them, a child that is born this day. The arrests in Philadelphia today and the grand jury report put the lie to Cardinal Justin Rigali’s and all of his United States Conference of Catholic Bishops colleagues matra that the clergy sexual abuse scandal is history. Indeed it is not. And indeed the Church has not been in the lead of reform. NSAC calls today for an end to the stonewalling and the beginning of truth telling by the Catholic Church regarding sexual abuse. Only the truth ends this terrible tradegy perpetrated on innocent children, the very people the Church should be protecting. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Philadelphia report says “Secretary for Clergy Lynn (who was arrested today) . . . treated victims as potential plaintiffs. Not only did they not receive apologies acknowledging their abuse, but many were bullied, intimidated, lied to, even investigated themselves,” the report said. It also accused Lynn of repeatedly failing to investigate abuse charges, reassigning abusive priests, and concealing their crimes from civil authorities and the Catholic laity. “It became apparent to the Grand Jurors that Msgr. Lynn was handling the cases precisely as his boss [Bevilacqua] wished,” The question that also cries out for an answer from Cardinal Justin Rigali whom Monsignor Lynn also advised and served: When Cardinal Rigali came to power in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia what were his instructions to Monsignor Lynn on handling clergy sexual abuse cases? Cardinal Rigali’s obligations are to the truth not the cover-up, to the victims not the abusers and their enablers, even if this includes himself. We express our concern to and for all victims in the Philadelphia Archdiocese and to all victims for whom today’s report will produce trauma. Our hearts and our support go out to them. We remind all Catholics and all men and women of goodwill that it is only through the noble courage of the survivors and the families of those who committed suicide that we have come to know the evil of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. For this, we are all in their everlasting debt. It is the truth and not the cover-up that will set us free. Justice Brandeis was right: sunlight is the best disinfectant. The National Survivor Advocates Coalition (NSAC) is an organization of in the pew Catholics formed to educate the public on sexual abuse and support survivors of sexual abuse and their families while advocating for changes in public policy and laws to protect children.
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