VT--Victims want VT bishop to do "aggressive outreach"

By David Clohessy
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
January 28, 2015

http://www.snapnetwork.org/vt_victims_want_vt_bishop_to_do_aggressive_outreach

We call on Vermont’s new Catholic bishop – holding his first public event in Vermont tonight - to use his widely-touted social media skills and his vast diocesan resources to seek out adults who were sexually abused as kids by clergy.

Coyne “plans to ask each pastor to check old parish census records and lists of current community members to see if some of the elderly dropped out due to an inability to get to church,” reports the Free Press.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/2015/01/23/bishop-plans-among-people/22246993/   

Why do Catholic officials never do this kind of outreach to find and help clergy sex abuse victims, most of whom never reveal their suffering and remain trapped, for life, in shame, silence, confusion and self–blame?

There are at least 15 publicly accused child molesting Vermont Catholic clerics (see BishopAccountability.org). History, psychology, common sense and our experience all strongly suggest that this fact mean there are dozens or even hundreds of boys and girls who were sexually assaulted in Vermont. We also strongly suspect that only a minority of these wounded individuals have gotten or are getting professional help. In the 25 years our group has been around, we’ve seen and heard from thousands of adult victims who are agoraphobic or in prison or homeless, who self-medicate with drugs, sex, liquor, or work, or who can’t imagine sharing their burdens with spouses or friends.

We’ve also seen hundreds of them finally break their silence when prodded to do so by an authority figure – secular or religious – or by friends and family.

We challenge Bishop Christophe Coyne to launch an aggressive outreach campaign like this and show that he takes the church’s on-going clergy sex abuse and cover up crisis – and Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep - seriously.