Media Release – Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Road to Recovery
September 24, 2015

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/AbuseTracker/road-to-recovery.org

Pope Francis’ comments in Washington, DC today about clergy sexual abuse were offensive toward victim/survivors

Victim/survivors have been re-abused by Pope Francis’ insensitive congratulatory message to the bishops of the United States today in Washington, DC

Victim/survivors will have the opportunity to get together on Thursday outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral to support one another and express disapproval of Pope Francis’ message to the US Bishops about clergy sexual abuse

What

A gathering of victim/survivors of clergy sexual abuse and their supporters in order to express disappointment in Pope Francis’ strange and dangerous address to the bishops of the United States in which he applauded the bishops for handling the clergy sexual abuse scandal with courage. Courageous is the last word the Pope should use to describe the bishops of the United States.

When

Thursday, September 24, 2015 from 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm

Where

On Fifth Avenue between 47th and 48th Streets in Manhattan. The NYPD has set up an area there where groups can gather to demonstrate. We must approach the area from the south only!

Who

Members of Road to Recovery, Inc. who are victim/survivors of clergy sexual, and any other victim/survivors who wish to gather for support, encouragement, and to express disapproval of Pope Francis’ statements to the United States bishops at St. Matthew’s Cathedral on September 23, 2015

Why

Pope Francis, instead of admonishing the bishops of the United States for their mishandling of clergy sexual abuse cases, congratulated them for their courage and applauded them for confronting the scandal. In St. Matthew’s Cathedral today were some of the worst offenders regarding clergy sexual abuse, and many at the Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception should never have been allowed to show their faces. Cardinal Theodore Mc Carrick was in Cuba with the Pope and all over Washington, DC today (and probably tomorrow). He should have been fired years ago. Cardinal Justin Rigali was there today. He was lambasted by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office for mishandling cases of clergy sexual abuse. He should have been fired years ago. And, Cardinal Roger Mahoney was there today after countless numbers of children were abused by clergy on his watch in Los Angeles.

The phone at Road to Recovery has been ringing off the hook since the Pope made his comments today, and the calls have been from victim/survivors who feel as if they have been re-abused all over again by the Church. Victim/survivors will gather together to support and console one another, and stand once again against the evil of child sexual abuse which Pope Francis seemingly has forgotten about.

Contact

Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D., Road to Recovery, Inc., Livingston, NJ 07039 – 862-368-2800