Open Letter to Catholic Employees
Dear Catholic Priests, Deacons, Brothers, Nuns and other Employees,
Soon, according to Church policy, you will be a 'mandatory reporter,' required to tell your supervisors about any information or suspicions you have about known or suspected child sex crimes, the abuse of adults by clergy, or cover ups.
We are writing today to urge you, please do not wait until this policy takes effect on June 1. Speak up now. Every day a single perpetrator is protected – through actions or inaction – the vulnerable are in harm's way.
We also beg you, rather than just report to the Church, call secular authorities as well. If you have knowledge about sex crimes against children or vulnerable adults, reporting to law enforcement is the right thing to do. Why rely on just one entity to investigate, when you also can contact the independent professionals in law enforcement?
As Pope Francis said yesterday, you now have 'whistle blower' protection. It is safer than ever for you to speak up.
So please, if you have any knowledge of these horrific crimes, act now.
Tell your supervisor. But also tell police, prosecutors, the attorney general, the FBI - any secular authority who can investigate. It does not matter how old or vague or seemingly insignificant your knowledge or suspicions might be. Speak up. Save a child or a vulnerable adult.
Need guidance or moral support? Call us. We will honor and protect your privacy. But do not delay: someone’s life may hang in the balance.
With great hope,
Survivors and Advocates from SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
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