Anti-Abuse Group to Challenge Archdiocese at News Conference, The Courier-Journal, February 16, 2011

Anti-Abuse Group to Challenge Archdiocese at News Conference

The Courier-Journal
February 16, 2011

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110216/NEWS01/302160092/Anti-abuse-group-challenge-archdiocese-news-conference?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CHome

Colleen Powell, with S.N.A.P. (Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests), reads a statement outside of the Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville headquarters.

The Archdiocese of Louisville has admitted that a Louisville parish allowed a convicted rapist to serve on a volunteer board, violating church policies.

Bruce Ewing had been allowed to serve on a volunteer parish council of St. Therese Church in Germantown despite his 2007 conviction of third-degree rape, involving a teenage girl in the 1970s when he was a priest.

Ewing resigned from the council Tuesday, the archdiocese said. That came a day after his presence on the board was spotlighted in a pending lawsuit.

"All employees and volunteers who work with children in Catholic parishes and schools must undergo background checks and participate in training," said a statement released by the archdiocese Wednesday. "In Mr. Ewing's case, it was assumed that since he was not working with children, his volunteer service on the parish council was acceptable. Per our sexual abuse policies, this is not correct and will not continue."

Ewing's presence on the parish board — which the archdiocese described as a voluntary advisory committee — prompted a denunciation by a victim's advocacy group.

"It doesn't serve anybody well to keep doing the wrong things," said Colleen Powell of the Louisville chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests at a sidewalk press conference Wednesday morning outside the archdiocese's headquarters on College Street. "It totally undermines … my trust in their credibility."

Asked who decided to put Ewing on the council and whether anyone would be disciplined, archdiocesan spokeswoman Cecelia Price said she could not comment because "all of these issues concern pending litigation involving numerous individuals."

Powell and other SNAP members said they are holding Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz accountable.

"He should apologize for and explain this irresponsible move," said a statement from SNAP's Louisville and national leaders. "And … he should severely discipline those responsible."

Ewing's 2007 trial drew extensive publicity. His conviction involved a sexual relationship with a girl, beginning when she was 15. Ewing is serving five years' probation.