NEW YORK
National Catholic Reporter
Ben Feuerherd | May. 24, 2013
NEW YORK A group calling itself “Catholic Whistleblowers” celebrated its launch at a Manhattan news conference May 22.
The group’s message:
*Catholics who blow the whistle on the sexual abuse of minors in the church deserve a network they can turn to for support;
*A decade after the church issued “zero tolerance guidelines” for abuse, it is still mishandling these cases;
*The bishops who mishandle these cases must be held accountable.
Founding member Dominican Sr. Sally Butler of Brooklyn, N.Y., said the creation of a nationwide “whistleblower protection program” is necessary. “Clearly, the women and men who work for the church now fear reprisals for speaking out,” she said.
Attorney Marci A. Hamilton, the Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law at Cardozo Law School in Manhattan, said that she and her team of five law students have promised to defend any whistleblowers who come forward.
Hamilton, a children’s rights activist, said she sees the current sexual abuse crisis as a civil rights issue for children. “This boils down to the pursuit of truth,” she said
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