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	Advertisement Urges Boycott of Catholic Fund Group Not Satisfied with Response to Sex Abuse Scandal By Tom Beyerlein tbeyerlein@DaytonDailyNews.com Dayton Daily News March 17, 2006 http://www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/localnews/daily/0317priest.html Dayton - The reform group Voice of the Faithful is urging area Catholics to boycott a fund associated with Cincinnati Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk because of his handling of the priest child sex abuse scandal. In a paid advertisement in Thursday's Dayton Daily News, the group called on Catholics to make direct contributions to Catholic charities instead of supporting the Archdiocesan Annual Fund, formerly the Archbishop's Fund, which is one of the archdiocese's main fundraising campaigns. The ad includes a note for Catholics to leave in the collection basket reading: "I will not give directly to the 2006 Archdiocesan Fund because I have not seen adequate accountability by Archbishop Pilarczyk and the hierarchy of the Catholic Church regarding the clergy sex abuse crisis." The group criticized Pilarczyk and other Ohio bishops for lobbying against proposed legislation that would provide a "look-back window" of time for purported victims to sue dioceses for sex abuse by priests in the distant past. The law passed the Ohio Senate unanimously, but got stuck in the House Judiciary Committee amid bishops' lobbying. "By being adversarial, bishops make victims the enemy," the ad says. Dan Andriacco, spokesman for the Cincinnati archdiocese, defended the bishops' stand on the "look-back window," saying the church would have to use money given for other purposes to defend against lawsuits. Andriacco said the fund has been suffering in recent years because of the priest sex abuse scandal — the 2005 campaign totaled $3.5 million, down 20 percent from 2004. The drop in contributions prompted the name change and a new policy that the fund no longer supports archdiocesan offices, only Catholic charities, clergy and educational institutions. The list of beneficiaries is available at www.catholiccincinnati.org. Contact Tom Beyerlein at 225-2264.
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