UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
Posted by Becky Plumly Ianni on March 13, 2012
We’re heartsick over these legal attacks and the chilling impact these church officials are having and will have on vulnerable and hurting victims, witnesses and whistleblowers. They are crippling our work to protect the vulnerable and heal the wounded, and rubbing even more salt into the already deep and still fresh wounds of hundreds of child sex abuse victims and thousands of betrayed Catholics.
And we’re scared for victims of domestic violence, rape and other sex crimes who, thanks to Catholic officials, must now worry that accused or admitted sex offenders will try to get their private emails in completely unrelated civil lawsuits involving litigants they’ve never meet in places they’ve never been.
We call on Catholic church employees and members – from Cardinal Tim Dolan on down – to publicly denounce and stop these mean-spirited and intimidating attacks. Until America’s bishops forcefully condemn and stop using these brutal tactics, parishioners and the public will believe what Mr. Donahue maintains: that bishops “have come together collectively” to “better toughen up.”
These hardball legal maneuvers by church officials make it harder for citizens to report known and suspected crimes and harder for police and prosecutors to arrest and convict criminals. They make it tougher for suffering victims to get the help they so desperately need and deserve. And they violate Constitutionally-protected freedoms of speech and association and privacy.
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