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  Kurtz Urged to Meet with Abuse Victims

By Peter Smith
The Courier-Journal [Louisville KY]
June 13, 2007

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070613/
NEWS01/706131136/1008

A leader of the Louisville chapter of a group that serves as an advocate for victims of sexual abuse called on the new archbishop to meet with people abused by priests and others connected with the church.

Vince Grenough, of Voice of the Faithful, said, "The Louisville archdiocese has done some very good things in regards to the sexual-abuse crisis, but there's still a lot of unfinished business."

He encouraged the Most Rev. Joseph Kurtz to meet with abuse victims at a place of their choosing and to add a lay victim of abuse to the archdiocese's board that reviews abuse complaints.

"I hope he's a good shepherd and that he pays special attention to the lost sheep, but I also remind him these are not sheep, they're human beings who have been deeply hurt," Grenough said.

Michael Turner, whose 2002 lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Louisville over sexual abuse by a priest sparked more than 250 similar suits, also said Kurtz needs to help victims heal.

"He needs to truly reach out," Turner said. While most of the plaintiffs settled with the archdiocese at a cost of nearly $30 million, he said he and other advocates have encountered hundreds of other people in the archdiocese who said they were abused but never sued.

"I'm not talking about handing out a bunch of money," but rather providing other help for those people, he said.

Ann Brentwood, southeastern coordinator of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a victims' advocacy group, was critical of Kurtz's tenure in Knoxville, Tenn.

She said photos of Anthony O'Connell, Kurtz's predecessor at Knoxville, were not removed after O'Connell's sexual abuse became known in 2002.

Peter Smith (502) 582-4469: psmith@courier-journal.com

 
 

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