CONNECTICUT
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014
Statement by Claudia Vercellotti of Toledo, Northern Ohio leader of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 419 345 9291, SNAPtoledo@aol.com )
For years, in Ohio, Leonard Blair succeeded in keeping child sex abuse victims from gaining the chance to expose predators in court. Now, in Connecticut, he is trying to revoke the chance that child sex abuse victims here have long had to expose predators in court. Like hundreds of others who care about vulnerable children and wounded adults, I sorely hope he doesn’t prevail. If he does, Connecticut may as well roll out the red carpet for those who would sexually assault youngsters.
I’m honored to be here today with men and women who are abuse victims and members of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org), including an Ohio woman who exposed clergy sex crimes and cover ups by Hartford’s archbishop when he headed the Toledo diocese for a decade (2003-2013).
Hartford’s Catholic archbishop wants the Connecticut Supreme Court to make it much harder for victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to protect children, inside and outside of the church. He wants the court to toss out a widely-praised 12 year old state law that gives victims more time to expose those who commit and conceal child sex crimes through civil litigation.
He also wants to have his cake and eat it too. He wants to claim he’s not coddling child molesters. But he wants to roll back Connecticut law so he can keep coddling child molesters. He wants to pretend he doesn’t protect predators any more. But he wants the law help him protect predators. He wants to say he cares about kids. But he wants courts to enable more pedophiles to hurt more kids.
Here’s who loses if Blair wins:
Innocent kids will lose, because more child molesters will hurt more kids.
Concerned parents will lose, because fewer of them will learn about adults who commit or conceal child sex crimes.
Wounded adults will lose, because fewer of them will get the healing and validation they need and deserve.
Catholics will lose, because their church will be more unsafe.
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