AUSTRALIA
SNAP Australia
WHAT
Holding signs and childhood photos at a footpath news conference, clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters will pass out leaflets to passersby seeking information about a controversial Catholic religious order. The fliers urge church officials to
— turn over all information about known and suspected child molesting clerics to secular authorities,
— post the names, photos and whereabouts of known and suspected sex offender clerics on church websites, and
— insist that accused abusers return to Australia to face justice.
Victims are also encouraging current and former members of the order to “come clean” and contact law enforcement officials “so that wrongdoers can be prosecuted, children can be protected and crimes and cover ups can be exposed and deterred.”
WHEN
Tuesday, December 4th at 2 p.m.
WHERE
Catholic Church Offices
Polding Centre,
133 Liverpool Street,
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia
WHO
4 or 5 members of an international support group called SNAP (the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priest) including an American woman who is the organisation’s president and founder
WHY
Many orders of the Catholic Church have harbored sex predators over many years. These orders include the Christian Brothers and Salesians of Don Bosco. Almost three in four clerics in Australia and New Zealand who belong to one Catholic religious order face child sex abuse allegations, according to testimony a few months ago by a respected psychologist before an inquiry launched by the parliament of Victoria. The Vatican -based order is called St John of God Brothers.
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