Statement Regarding Future Plans of
Ad Hoc Committee on Sex Abuse

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Statement from Barbara Blaine
SNAP Founder and President
Contact: 312 399 4747

November 17, 2004

RE: self-audits

Self-audits is an oxymoron. No doctor tells a cancer patient, after one decent check up, 'OK, from now on you can do annual self x-rays at home.'

We need to be strengthening oversight, not weakening, oversight. This is premature and reckless backsliding. That bishops are even talking about cutting back on these already weak audits is disturbing.

The abuse and cover up has gone on for decades. It's frightening that anyone can be so naieve as to believe generations of secrecy and duplicity can magically be reversed overnight.

RE: collecting info year to year

Collecting data is easy, but changing behavior is hard. The former has just begun, the latter has has barely begun.

Whatever data is collected, it won't address the cause of the crisis -- complicit bishops.

More numbers about predatory priests won't help hold bishops accountable for the crimes they enabled and covered up.

It's more focus on the symptoms, not on the underlying disease.

RE: recommendation that "zero tolerance"is maintained

While we're grateful that Archbishop Flynn's committee keeping this bare minimum standard, a lot can happen between now and June.

It's hard to be enthusiastic about temporarily defeating yet one more effort to weaken the promises bishops reluctantly and belatedly made back in 2002.