Weymouth Woman Named to New Job with Boston Archdiocese

By Lane Lambert
The Patriot Ledger
January 28, 2013

http://www.patriotledger.com/news/x1503809541/Weymouth-woman-named-to-new-joib-with-Boston-Archdioicese

Vivian Soper of Weymouth will be the new director of the Boston Archdiocese's Office of Pastoral Support and Outreach.

BRAINTREE —

The Boston Archdiocese has appointed a Weymouth woman to be the new director of the office that provides counseling to survivors of clergy sexual abuse and their families.

Vivian Soper will become director of the Office of Pastoral Support and Outreach in February. She’ll succeed the office’s longtime director Barbara Thorp.

The Archdiocese announced Soper’s appointment Monday afternoon.

Soper has been a Catholic Charities regional director since 2003, and has worked for the agency since 1986.

She’s the sister of Rev. Paul Soper, who’s pastor of St. Albert the Great parish in Weymouth and director of the Archciocese’s pastoral planning commission.

As director of the pastoral support office, Soper will oversee pastoral and outreach services the Archdiocese provides to clergy abuse victims and their families, as well as outreach to parishes where past abuse cases occurred.

Soper has social-work degrees from the University of Southern Maine and Boston University.

In a prepared statement from the Archdiocese she said pastoral help for abuse survivors and their families is “a cause near to my heart,” since she helped arrange psychological assessments and treatment for abuse victims during her years at Catholic Charities.



Contact: llambert@ledger.com