NEWARK (NJ)
SNAP Network
July 28, 2020
The Archdiocese of Newark has revised their policies around assisting survivors with sexual abuse and made them significantly more restrictive, especially for survivors who are seeking truth and justice via the court system. We think that this change is a strikingly un-Christian move and call on Catholic officials in Newark to undo these new restrictions.
The recently updated guidelines appear to be a response to New Jersey’s Child Victims Act and are designed to punish those survivors who are using the opportunity provided by this law. These new guidelines now say that therapy services will be refused to any survivor who initiates a lawsuit, a vindictive move that will only further hurt the men and women who have already been abused by Catholic employees ordained, trained, and employed by the Archdiocese of Newark.
The simple fact is that victims of sexual violence need therapy through no fault of their own. They were abused by members of an institution that was supposed to care for them and are subjected to a lifetime of pain because of those actions. Now, the Archdiocese of Newark is twisting the knife, forcing survivors to choose between their therapy and their right to pursue justice for the crimes committed against them.
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