Victims of clergy abuse call for action against those accused in church lists

By Jacqueline Quynh
WWL TV
December 08, 2018

https://bit.ly/2EmEkuO

Victims and advocates say the church naming those credible accused of sexual abuse is not enough.

As more clergy accused of abuse are being named, victims say they're tired of hearing about names. They want action.

"At first glance, it seems like a really good thing, but then you look a little bit closer," Ashley Berry Allen said.

Berry is still working through the abuse she says happened at the hands of a priest when she attended Our Lady of Prompt Succor School in Westwego.

"But then you look a little bit closer and you see that these names are mostly coming from the 70s and 80s and back," she said.

Just a month ago, she shared with Eyewitness News her difficult story after the New Orleans Archdiocese released a list of clergy members with credible accusations against them. Her alleged abuser wasn't on the list and she says her case happened in the early 2000s. We contacted the Archdiocese then for comment, but it would not comment specifically on her case, only affirming it takes all accusations seriously and would add names as necessary following investigations.

"They could have released the names 5 years ago they could have released it 10 years, and they're only doing it now because they're forced to because they've been exposed by the grand jury in Pennsylvania," Tim Lennon said.

Lennon is a victim's advocate, and heads the Survivor's Network of Those Abused by Priests. He's critical of the new list.

"So, this disclosure again points to the necessity of timely transparency," he pointed out.

"It's the Catholics own version of rape culture," Berry claimed.

She feels frustrated that yet another list has come out where the individuals involved are facing little to no consequences.

"What I think it's important to do is to basically for the community to stop sort of letting the issue ebb and flow," Berry said.

She wants more church and community members to speak up and demand transparency, particularly as it comes to recent cases; that she says would show concrete resolve.

"And see more priests removed from the priesthood," she added.

Until more action is taken, Berry worries, releasing new names will change little within the church.

A written statement from Jesuit High School shared Friday acknowledged the abuse, expressed regret and assured the school would do everything to make sure abuse never happens again but did not detail now.