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	Bishop Asks Faithful to Pray for Victims, Survivors of Clergy Abuse By Laura Tillman Monitor April 14, 2010 http://www.themonitor.com/news/faithful-37474-abuse-pray.html BROWNSVILLE — Recently installed Bishop Daniel E. Flores wrote to the clergy and people of the Diocese of Brownsville on Friday to address the “disturbing” reports of sexual abuse involving priests that surfaced during Holy Week. “We should all continue to pray for each of the victims and the survivors,” Flores wrote. “As Catholics, we are also grieved by the grave injury the misconduct of priests has done to the Church.” A string of new child abuse scandals have hit the Catholic Church, including in Ireland, the United States, Germany and Malta. Flores said it is important to both reach out to victims and keep faith in local religious leaders. “It’s important not to lose sight of the good that goes on,” Flores said. “The abuses are few and very tragic, but I think we in the church have to look forward, to be honest and address this situation with a uniform policy.” That policy was clarified on Monday by the Vatican, which stated that “civil law concerning reporting of crimes to the appropriate authorities should always be followed.” The policy makes it clear for the first time that bishops and clerics worldwide should report such crimes to police if they are required to by law. The Vatican’s policy matches the policy worked out by U.S. bishops after an explosion of sex abuse cases became public in 2002. Since 2002, the Diocese of Brownsville has created an office for the assistance of abuse victims and prevention of child abuse, called Protecting God’s Children. The program’s victim assistance coordinator is former Child Protective Services employee Water Lukaszek. “We sensitize people to the issues of abuse so that when a child makes an outcry, our response is ‘I believe you and I will get you some help,’ ” Lukaszek said. Whenever a report of abuse is made, law enforcement is notified, Lukaszek said. Lukaszek says that in 2005 the diocese’s program began educating about 30,000 children each year with a program called Touching Safety. He says that once children learn about sexual abuse and the justice they are entitled to, many children step forward to tell authorities about cases of abuse by parents, relatives, and others. A report of abuse by a priest has not been made to the diocese in the last six years, Lucaszek said. Barbara Garcia Boehland, the San Antonio victims’ coordinator for the Survival Network of those Abused by Priests, says she receives calls on a monthly basis from victims who are afraid to make their reports to church officials. Boehland said her own son committed suicide after being raped by a priest. “When you’re raped, you think that person is waiting for you around the corner for the rest of your life,” Garcia Boehland said. Garcia Boehland encourages victims to go to law enforcement to prevent abusers from creating another victim. “A victim will call and say, ‘I think I’m the only one,’” Garcia Boehland said. “We’ll look at our records and say, ‘No, you’re not. There are 10 others.’” Flores says he is confident that the church is acting swiftly to protect children from abuse. “I want to encourage the faithful to be reminded that we do have policies to address abuse that are very strict and we enforce them,” Flores said. To reach SNAP, call 210-621-2177. To read Bishop Flores’ letter on child abuse, visit: themonitor.com
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