GENEVA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
Victims to leaflet outside cathedral
Two child molesting clerics worked in Switzerland
Group urges church members & staff to report abuse
SNAP: “Catholic officials should do more to protect kids”
WHAT
Holding signs and childhood photos, clergy sex abuse victims will hand out fliers to Catholic churchgoers and passers. The leaflets urge anyone with information about clergy sexual misdeeds to “start healing and protecting kids by calling law enforcement, exposing wrongdoers and speaking up.”
They will also urge Catholic Church officials to
– publicly disclose the names, whereabouts and work histories of proven, admitted and credibly accused child molesting clerics, and
– “actively seek out” anyone who “saw, suspected or suffered” clergy sex crimes or cover ups, especially a cleric who was convicted of molesting two children and spent a year on the job in Switzerland.
WHEN
Sunday, May 4
WHERE
On the sidewalk in front of Basilique Notre-Dame de Genève, Rue Argand 3, 1201 Genève
WHO
Three-four members of an international, US-based support group for clergy sex abuse victims called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, including a Chicago woman who is the organization’s founder and president (SNAPnetwork.org)
WHY
For the safety of children and the healing of victims, SNAP is prodding current and former Catholic Church employees and members who have seen, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes to speak up and report it to police. The group feels the Swiss church hierarchy continues to be irresponsible and secretive about this on-going scandal.
Their flier blasts Swiss church officials for not doing more to expose predators and protect kids. It was just three years ago that, for the first time, Swiss Catholic officials revealed any details about abuse in their dioceses.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.