[News Advisory] Global survivors to Martin: Three cardinals should step down from WMOF

ECAGlobal.org
August 10, 2018

https://www.ecaglobal.org/global-survivors-to-martin-three-cardinals-should-step-down-from-wmof/

Global clergy abuse survivors and activists to Dublin archbishop: ask Pope to remove three cardinals linked to cover-up of clergy sex abuse from the WMOF.

ECA joins public demands that these Cardinals be investigated, not honored

Irish survivors deserve more respect from Papal visit, organization says

Organization appreciates Martin’s efforts to get clergy abuse on the Papal agenda

See: Open letter to Archbishop Martin available in:
https://www.ecaglobal.org/open-letter-to-archbishop-martin-from-eca/

Prominent clergy abuse survivors and human rights activists are delivering an open letter to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin today from a global organization focused on holding the Vatican accountable for ending clergy abuse. The activists are urging Martin to ask the Pope to take three decisive actions, including removing from the World Meeting of Families (WMOF) three cardinals facing serious questions about protecting brother bishops who have committed sexual abuse. The cardinals should be investigated, not honored, group says.

“We are astonished given the Pope’s recent vow to change the church’s culture of abuse and cover-up that these cardinals have not already voluntarily stepped down from their roles at the WMOF,” said Peter Isely, a founding member and spokesperson for the new group. “Their prominence at the conference disrespects the suffering of Irish survivors”.

The group is asking Martin to intensify his public efforts to make the clergy sexual abuse crisis a central focus in the upcoming Papal visit to his country.

The letter to Martin is being sponsored by the new international organization, Ending Clergy Abuse (ECAglobal.org). ECA is a global team of survivor leaders and activists that began with the vision and conception of internationally recognized survivor and activist Barbara Blaine. Blaine died before the first assembly of members gathered in Geneva in June to launch the organization (representing 15 countries from 4 continents).

The group urges Martin to request three actions by the Pope before his visit to Ireland. The Pope should:

1. Order that three cardinals facing serious questions and public outcry about protecting brother bishops who have committed sexual abuse be removed from their prominent speaking roles at the WMOF. They should be investigated instead. The three are Cardinal Óscar Maradiaga of Honduras and Cardinals Kevin Farrell and Donald Wuerl of the United States (see below).
2. Acknowledge and meet publicly with survivor leaders of Ireland during his visit.
3. Announce that the next WMOF will be dedicated to the impact and prevention of sexual violence, particularly clergy sexual violence, on families.

In the letter, ECA emphasizes the importance of Francis demonstrating that he will not tolerate anything or anyone connected to his trip that dismisses, silences, or undermines the Irish survivors’ experience of trauma and their ongoing struggle for justice. This is particularly important because the Pope is coming to Ireland for the World Meeting of Families (WMOF), which focuses on the importance of the family as the cornerstone of life, society and the church.

“No single force has devastated Catholic family life more than the rape and sexual assault of Catholic children worldwide by priests and the cover-up of those crimes by the Vatican and members of the hierarchy”, said Isely.
Concerning the three cardinals, the organization writes in their letter to Martin, “Any bishop who covers up for another bishop should not be trusted to safeguard Catholic families, much less preach to the world about the sacred and intrinsic dignity and meaning of family life”.

Concerning its request that the Pope meet with survivor leaders in Ireland, the group writes, “Private meetings with anonymous survivors are always welcome if conducted properly but they are no substitute for a public dialogue with survivor leaders from around the globe”.

In regards to their third recommendation, that the next WMOF be devoted to clergy sex abuse, the group writes, “Sexual violence is an epidemic in the modern world. The church cannot claim to address it unless it addresses the sexual violence that has been and is being perpetrated within its own global structural mechanisms. Such an honest and difficult conversation is perfectly placed in the next WMOF”.

ECA representatives from Germany, Belgium, United States and United Kingdom will travel to Ireland from Tuesday, August 21st until Monday, August 27th to join Irish survivors to compel action from the Catholic hierarchy to respond globally to this global problem.

ECA will be: (1) sharing a message from survivors around the world about the impact of clergy sexual abuse on families, (2) discussing the responsibility of the Pope, diplomats, and the current Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors for stopping the global abuse crisis, (3) demanding action from the Catholic hierarchy, and (4) responding as a global unified voice to the different activities around the WMOF and the Pope’s visit to Ireland.

ECA assembly members have traveled to 15 nations to address the clergy abuse crisis and recently gathered with officials of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations and with the Committee of the Rights of the Child to explore joint efforts of the international community.