Abuse victims to leaflet outside church event

They’re upset about controversial Catholic official

Inviting Los Angeles Cardinal “rubs salt” into wounds, they say

SNAP feels that “Honoring a disgraced prelate encourages wrong-doing”

Victims also want Stockton’s bishop to post names of predators on church websites

And they reach out to others who were hurt by Irish serial predator facing extradition

Self help group urges anyone who ‘saw suspected or suffered clergy crimes’ to call police

WHAT
As parishioners enter/leave a church procession, clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters will hand out fliers to them. The leaflets urge church-goers to prod Stockton’s Catholic bishop to
-- stop inviting discredited church officials like Cardinal Roger Mahony into his diocese,
-- post on his website the names and whereabouts of current and former Stockton predator priests, and
-- aggressively reach out to anyone hurt by an Irish serial predator priest facing extradition.

The victims will also beg
--anyone who has information about pedophile priests to call secular officials, not church officials, and
--every Catholic to ask his/her loved ones if they were abused by priests, nuns, brothers, seminarians or bishops.

WHEN
Sunday, Dec. 5, at 2:00 p.m.

WHERE
Outside the Stockton Arena (on the Fremont Street side) in Stockton

WHO
Two-four victims of sexual abuse by clerics who belong a support group called SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org)

WHY
SNAP believes Stockton Bishop Stephen Blaire should not have given Cardinal Roger Mahony the honor of presiding at a large mass and procession this Sunday. Mahony has become one of the most widely criticized Catholic prelates in the US due to how he has handled clergy sex crimes and cover ups. Any time complicit church officials are rewarded or praised, SNAP says, it makes it harder for victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to come forward, expose wrongdoing, protect kids and start healing.

(On Friday, SNAP wrote Blaire urging him to rescind the invitation to Mahony. SNAP got no response.)

The group also believes Blaire should do what 24 other bishops have done, and post on his website the names, whereabouts and priestly status of child molesting clerics who are or have been in the diocese. (According to an independent Boston-based research organization, BishopAccountabilty.org, there are nine publicly accused Stockton diocesan child molesting clerics.)

SNAP notes that the actual number of alleged offender priests in Stockton is likely significantly higher because BishopAccountability.org lists only those clerics against whom allegations have been lodge in the public domain – in civil lawsuits, criminal prosecution or news accounts.

In 2002, Baltimore became the first US diocese to disclose names. A good current example is the Philadelphia archdiocese: http://archphila.org/protection/Updates/update_main.htm. Here is a list of all the dioceses that have disclosed names: http://www.bishop-accountability.org/AtAGlance/lists.htm

In August, Fr. Patrick Joseph McCabe was arrested in Alameda, CA for allegedly abusing six boys in Ireland. (According to an Irish government investigative report, McCabe also worked in the Stockton diocese.) In the last several weeks, four Eureka CA men have sued the church officials charging that McCabe molested them during the 1980s. He remains in custody and Irish authorities are trying to extradite him and put him on trial.

SNAP believes Blaire should use his “considerable resources” (diocesan staff, website, publications and parish bulletins) to aggressively seek out and help anyone else who may have been hurt by McCabe. The group also believes Blaire has a civic duty to help law enforcement by personally visiting churches where McCabe worked and begging anyone with information about his crimes to contact police.

http://www.modbee.com/2010/11/30/1452113/mahony-to-visit-stockton-sunday.html

CONTACT
Melanie Sakoda 925 708 6175, Tim Lennon 415 312 5820, Nancy Sloan 707 631 7654, Joelle Casteix 949 322 7434, David Clohessy 314 566 9790 cell, SNAPclohessy@aol.com