Church Wants to Help; Encourages Victims to Reach out to Survivor Hotline
By Krystal Paco
Lawsuits lodged against the Church may be on the rise, but calls to the Archdiocese of Agana's sexual abuse hotline number have come almost to a screeching halt. Deacon Len Stohr encourages victims to utilize the hotline number to get help from the Church. In the last week, he's received only one call from a clergy sex abuse survivor. That individual, he says, has yet to file suit. “I think people right now, do not trust the church, don't trust that they're going to have their best interests in mind. And I just want to ensure anyone whose listening that if you've been abused, we'd like to help you. We'd like to bring closure to the pain you've been suffering. And if there's a perpetrator out there that we can help to bring to justice and to get them away from other young people, that's the whole purpose of the hotline,” Stohr said. The Church also established a $1 million settlement fund for survivors. The fund will become operational once a third party is identified. The hotline number for survivors is 727-7373.
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