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	Asian Bishops to Talk about Abuse; SNAP Responds SNAP June 6, 2011 http://www.snapnetwork.org/snap_statements/2011_statements/060611_asian_bishops_to_talk_about_abuse_snap_responds.htm Statement by Joelle Casteix of Newport Beach, California, Western Regional Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (+1 949 322 7434, jcasteix@gmail.com) We are glad Asian bishops are addressing this crisis but we believe they need courage more than they need “mechanisms.” The crux of the crisis is the church hierarchy – a rigid, ancient, secretive, self-perpetuating monarchy in which no one is ever punished for ignoring or concealing child sex crimes. No doubt these bishops will discuss and recommend more policies, procedures and panels. But those are, at best, meaningless and at worst, distractions. All that is needed is for bishops to call law enforcement, suspend credibly accused clerics, and beg victims and witnesses to come forward to police and prosecutors. They also need to harshly discipline any church employee or member who keeps silent about child sex crimes. (SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We’ve been around for 23 years and have more than 10,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org) Contact - David Clohessy (+1-314-566-9790 cell, SNAPclohessy@aol.com), Barbara Blaine (+1-312-399-4747, SNAPblaine@gmail.com), Peter Isely (+1-414-429-7259, peterisely@yahoo.com), Barbara Dorris (+1-314-862-7688 home, +1-314-503-0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com) http://blog.beliefnet.com/news/2011/06/asian-bishops-say-abuse-isnt-just-a-problem-of-the-west.php Asian bishops say abuse isn’t just ‘a problem of the West’ June 6, 2011 By HISASHI YUKIMOTO - c. 2011 Religion News Service TOKYO (RNS/ENInews) Roman Catholic bishops from across Asia will hold a summit on “The Impact of Pedophilia” in the Catholic Church, saying abusive priests are not simply “a problem of the West.” The Federation of Roman Catholic Asian Bishops’ Conferences will host a seminar for bishops and clergy Nov. 14-19 at Assumption University in Bangkok, Thailand. “(I)t is an urgent task before us, especially the leaders of the church, to come together to devise some mechanisms to prevent future occurrences of child abuse by church men/women,” the bishops’ clergy office said. “Let us not be complacent that pedophilia is a problem of the West or the other continents of the world; it is equally prevalent in many countries of Asia,” the office said in an announcement on its website. On May 16, the Vatican gave all bishops conferences one year to formulate national policies on clerical sex abuse of minors. The Vatican’s chief prosecutor of abuse cases, Monsignor Charles J. Scicluna, will be on hand to help Asian bishops craft “specific guidelines.” The Asian bishops cited several factors that led to the summit, including “letters from different quarters of the church that pedophilia has already become a considerably serious problem in Asia.” The bishops said they wanted to address the problem “squarely and without delay” before it got “out of hand like it has done in the other countries of the world.” But “how many letters, I cannot tell you exactly,” the Rev. Lawrence Pinto, the office’s executive secretary, told ENInews. “In my casual talks with bishops and archbishops, they mention that it is becoming a problem. So the office of clergy decided to organize this seminar.” Read more: http://blog.beliefnet.com/news/2011/06/asian-bishops-say-abuse-isnt-just-a-problem-of-the-west.php#ixzz1OX4QjWrV
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