BishopAccountability.org
	Apology to Abused 'Extremely Important': Priest By Terri Saunders Standard-Freeholder August 30, 2007 http://www.standard-freeholder.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=675123&catname=Local%20News&classif=News%20Live Cornwall — A personal apology from the perpetrator of sexual abuse is invaluable to the healing process for a victim, a priest told the Cornwall Public Inquiry today. "A personal apology is extremely important, if it's sincere," said Rev. Tom Doyle. "Of course, most men and women can tell right away if it's not sincere." Doyle said it's been his practice when counselling sexual abuse victims and their families to offer an apology for the abuse at the start of treatment. "Once we've established a level of trust, I get them alone and I apologize to them for what has happened to them at the hands of a priest and for the way they were treated by the church," said Doyle. "Many people have said, 'If only that happened at the beginning ...'" Doyle said victims and their families almost always have to come to terms with not only the abuse but the loss of their faith in the church, often due to the actions, or inactions, of church officials. "They said, 'When the bishop treated us like dirt, it took God away,'" said Doyle. "When I'm meeting with them, I try to relate to them on a human level as Christ would have done. That's the most important thing." The inquiry is continuing.
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