Media Statements

Another case of child sexual abuse has hit the Bay Area Catholic community. We call on San Francisco’s Archbishop to reverse his refusal to be transparent with the people of Northern California and we hope that this latest story will bring more pressure from parishioners and the public.

A day after one of the nation’s largest catholic dioceses declared bankruptcy, one of New Jersey’s has followed suit. We believe that this movie is more about protecting church secrets than it is about a lack of assets and we hope that parishioners and the public will demand better of their church leaders.

Thursday October 1st was a sad day for the Catholic Church.

A Louisiana pastor has been removed from his post after he reported himself to Catholic officials for sexually abusing a child in 2013. We call on Archdiocesan leaders in New Orleans to do immediate outreach so that parishioners are aware of the abuse and other victims are encouraged to come forward.

A report out of New York State is drawing attention to the hundreds of victims of sexual violence who have been unable to take advantage of the Child Victims Act. We hope that this story will encourage other attorneys to step into the arena and use their training and expertise to give voice to the voiceless and help prevent future cases of sexual violence.

Another Catholic diocese in New York is choosing to declare bankruptcy. This is a move designed less to protect assets and more to protect secrets and prevent the public from getting the full truth about the scope of clergy abuse within its borders.

A Catholic priest who spent time in Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois was arrested today on charges related to sexually abusing a minor. This is the latest example of how empowering survivors to come forward and make a report to law enforcement can help protect other children and get dangerous abusers off the street. We applaud the work done by the Michigan attorney general and her team and hope this news encourages others to come forward and make their own reports.

Yet another Catholic university has been awarded a grant to host a conference related to the clergy sex abuse scandal. We hope that in the two years they have to plan this conference that the organizers will ensure that it centers on the voices of survivors and focuses on prevention.

State legislators in Michigan have introduced a reform bill aimed at changing the state’s archaic statute of limitations laws so that more survivors will be empowered to come forward, name their abuser, and protect other children and communities. We applaud this effort and hope it receives the bi-partisan support it needs to succeed.

Two religious order brothers who worked at a New Orleans high school in the 1980s have been accused of molesting a student in a recently filed lawsuit. Both have been previously convicted of child molestation for unrelated conduct in St. Tammany Parish. We applaud these brave victims for coming forward and hope that their example inspires others who may have been hurt to come forward and start healing.