BishopAccountability.org
 
  Victims of Abuse Call on Church to Name Names

By Matthew Van Dusen
NorthJersey.com
January 8, 2007

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dn
FlZUVFeXk3MDUzOTUzJnlyaXJ5N2Y3MTdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Mg==

Newark -- Victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests gathered Sunday at Newark's Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart to mark the fifth anniversary of reports exposing accused clergy and to ask for the release of more names.

"Secrecy is still the priority, more than protecting the flock," sexual abuse victim Mark Crawford said.

Crawford and nine other members of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and Voice of the Faithful, a group founded during the clergy scandal in Boston in 2002, handed out fliers to churchgoers and held candles to remember abuse victims who committed suicide.

The event in Newark was one of 54 vigils nationwide calling attention to what SNAP believes are secretive church practices that expose children to risk.

In a statement, SNAP called on Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark to follow the example of Bishop Michal Saltarelli of Wilmington, Del., and release the names of "all credibly accused diocesan priests." The statement cited a study by John Jay College of Criminal Justice that found about 150 members of the clergy in five New Jersey dioceses were credibly accused of abusing minors from 1950 to 2002.

The statement continued, "Who are they? Where are they and what are they doing?"

James Goodness, a spokesman for the Newark Archdiocese, said the current policy is to release names of priests who had been removed from service at the end of a canonical process. The archdiocese also informs the parishes where the priest has served.

"We are making names of people public," Goodness said.

He added that many of the priests who have been accused over the years are dead.

But for Lou and Pat Serrano, who were at Sunday's vigil, the church's failure to take a more active role in notifying communities allows men like admitted-child molester and former priest James T. Hanley to live under the radar. The Serranos' son, Mark, said Hanley abused him at a parish in Mendham from the age of 9.

The Serrano family found Hanley last year living in Paterson.

The few churchgoers that the group encountered on Sunday politely listened to the SNAP members.

Kate Leahy, a 27-year-old lawyer from Newark, said she had been a Jesuit volunteer in Boston in 2002, when the scandal first broke. She noted there were far fewer protesters now than there had been.

She said she supported the victims but doesn't know enough about SNAP to form a judgment.

Another man, who did not give his name, said, "They have a right to their cause and opinion, but we have to remember, [abuse] affects all sectors of society."

 
 

Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.