The Sacramento Diocese is facing possible bankruptcy after a staggering number of lawsuits were filed alleging sexual abuse by Catholic priests. The alleged events go back decades.

Dorothy Small is a survivor, an advocate, and, through it all, still an ardent practicing Catholic.

“The most important asset in the institution are its people,” Small says. “I’m for God and I am for what it stands for. But even God is being abused. Because they represent God himself. And that doesn’t work.”

Small, who herself is a survivor of abuse at the hands of a clergy member, now volunteers her time as an advocate with the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, to help those who are just finding the courage to come forward. 

“If they have to liquidate assets, so be it,” says Small of the various Dioceses being hit with multiple lawsuits. “But provide immediate protection…