FORT SMITH (AR)
Arkansas Catholic
By Maryanne Meyerriecks
Fort Smith Correspondent
FORT SMITH — Father Greg Luyet, pastor of Immaculate Conception Church, stepped up to the pulpit the weekend of April 21-22 to speak out against child abuse, particularly sexual abuse of minors.
He was joined by ministers throughout the area, rallying together to challenge their congregations to protect children and inviting them to attend a Step Up, Speak Out Rally at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith the following Saturday.
Immaculate Conception parishioner Sam Sicard got the idea for “Step Up, Speak Out” while listening to news coverage of child sexual abuse accusations against former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky in 2011. After hearing statistics on the prevalence of child sexual abuse, he gathered together a group of community and church leaders, business people and others to plan a rally to raise awareness. They formed an organization under the auspices of the United Way and planned a media campaign using Facebook and other social media to network and educate people about violence against children.
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