Honoring Rick Springer

The Awareness Center
April 24, 2013

http://theawarenesscenter.blogspot.com/2013/04/honoring-rick-springer.html

Honoring Rick Springer

Back in 1992, at the age of 55, Rick Springer joined forces with LinkUp, (which was originally called VOCAL - an acronym for Victims of Clergy Abuse Linkup) started speaking out as a Catholic survivors of clergy sexual abuse. 

 

According to the  Chicago Tribune article "Silence is Broken", Rick Springer was quoted as stating:  "I knew that what he (his offender) was doing was wrong". . . "But I couldn't tell my family, which was alcoholic dysfunctional. I told leaders of my church, who said the archbishop of Chicago would be informed.  At the time Springer was studying to become a priest.  "But nothing happened. I was told to leave the seminary because I was not a good candidate for priesthood. That's the way it stayed for 31 years."

 

Since 1992, Rick has become a strong activist for hundreds of other adults survivors of sex crimes, and has been co-leading a self-help group with the Chicago based group called LinkUp ever since.