From the latest in San Diego—where a modern-day lynch mob has started to intimidate victims and their family members—click here
Author: Joelle Casteix
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NEWS: Abuse victims to bishop: ‘Stop the lynch mob’
NEWS: Abuse victims to bishop: ‘Stop the lynch mob’
Parishioners are confronting, intimidating family members of potential abuse victim
Hurt and confused Catholics are giving predators a “free pass,” SNAP says
You must help create a victim-safe environment in your churches, they demand
In response to what they are calling a “modern day lynch mob,” victims of sexual abuse are begging the San Diego bishops to educate parishioners on how respond appropriately when priests are accused of molesting kids.
Today, leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPNnetwork.org), are asking San Diego Bishop Robert Brom and the newly appointed co-adjudicator Bishop Cirilo Flores (who will assume Brom’s position when Brom retires next year) to reach out to parishioners at St. Joseph Catholic Church in downtown, some of whom have confronted and threatened family members of a young woman who accused a priest of sexual abuse.
The priest, Fr. Jose Davila, also know as “Fr. Alexis,” has admitted “something taking place” with the 20-year-old woman and has turned himself in to police. http://www.10news.com/news/30138281/detail.html
In response to the news, some members of the parish confronted the brother of the victim, after the victim’s mother did not show up for her usual prayer group. In press reports, the parishioners claim that they were going to “demand the truth” from the mother for “damaging the priest’s reputation.”
Leaders of SNAP were horrified to learn of the news. “It is terribly difficult for any victim of abuse to come forward,” said Joelle Casteix, SNAP Western Regional Director. “But when parishioners begin to form mobs and intimidate family members, ALL victims of sexual abuse, no matter the perpetrator, will be scared and shamed into silence. By hurting this woman and her family, parishioners are giving ALL predators a free pass.”
SNAP is also sending Brom the link to an online brochure, “What To Do If Your Priest Is Accused of Abuse,” that educates Catholics about what the group calls “safe, helpful and compassionate ways that people can support their priest.”
“Your parishioners are suffering. Because they are hurt and confused, they are lashing out … As best we can tell, not a single bishop on the planet has taught his flock about the compassionate and helpful ways to act when a priest is accused of molesting a child,” SNAP’s letter says. “We hope you’ll be the first.”
The letter also asks that the bishops personally visit the parish and “make a public announcement that the harassment and intimidation of victims, witnesses and whistleblowers will not be tolerated in the Diocese of San Diego.”
A copy of the letter is below. The brochure can be accessed at http://www.snapnetwork.org/links_homepage/when_priest_accused.htm
Contact:
Joelle Casteix of Newport Beach, CA, SNAP Western Regional Director jcasteix@gmail.com 949-322-7434
Barb Dorris of St. Louis, SNAP Outreach Director SNAPdorris@gmail.com 314-503-0003
David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP National Director SNAPclohessy@aol.com 314-566-9790
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SNAP – The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests P.O. Box 6416 Chicago, IL 60680 SNAPNetwork.orgJanuary 5, 2011
Most Reverend Robert Brom Most Reverend Cirilo Flores, co-adjudicator Diocese of San Diego 3888 Paducah Drive San Diego, CA 92117 858-490-8272 faxDear Bishop Brom and Bishop Flores,
We are victims of sexual abuse who are members of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPNetwork.org), the nation’s largest support group for men and women who were sexually abused in religious or institutional settings. We are writing you today to alert you a serious problem at St. Joseph’s in downtown San Diego that requires your immediate attention.
As you may know, Fr. Jose Davila has admitted to potential wrongdoing with a 20-year-old parishioner and has turned himself into the police. But what is even more disturbing is that a few of the parishioners at the parish have begun to confront and harass the victim’s family members, calling the victim names, intimidating the family members and scaring them into silence.
This is dangerous behavior. Not only are they causing a great amount of personal pain to an already hurt victim and her family, but they are also scaring ALL victims of sexual abuse into silence, no matter the perpetrator. No victim of abuse will ever feel safe coming forward to report if they know they will be greeted by a lynch mob.
Your parishioners are suffering. Because they are hurt and confused, they are lashing out. Instead of engaging in stall tactics and telling Catholics half-truths, now is the time to come clean, support victims and allow everyone to heal. Keeping your flock in the dark and allowing them to attack victims helps no one. Entire communities are destroyed when someone is sexually abused by a person in a position of trust. Now is the time for you to do the right thing.
If you genuinely want to prevent abuse and help victims, you should do all you can to create a more “victim-friendly” environment, which encourages – not discourages – the reporting of child sex crimes.
Despite hundreds of self-serving policies, programs, procedures and panels (and other public relations gestures) as best we can tell, not a single bishop on the planet has made an effort to teach his flock about the compassionate and helpful ways to act when a priest is accused of molesting a child. We hope you’ll be the first.
In light of this, we ask the following:
– Distribute the online brochure “What To Do When Your Priest is Accused of Abuse” to every parish in the diocese, including the lay leadership of St. Joseph,
– Personally visit the parish and reach out to potential victims and hurting Catholics, and
– Make a public announcement that the harassment and intimidation of victims, witnesses and whistleblowers will not be tolerated in the Diocese of San Diego.
We look forward to your immediate response and action in this matter. The online brochure may be found at http://www.snapnetwork.org/links_homepage/when_priest_accused.htm and is attached at the bottom of this message.
Sincerely,
Joelle Casteix of Newport Beach, CA, SNAP Western Regional Director SNAPCasteix@gmail.com 949-322-7434
Barb Dorris of St. Louis, SNAP Outreach Director SNAPdorris@gmail.com 314-503-0003
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Predators Are Telling Children “You Are Special.” Why Aren’t Our Communities?
You can read my latest post for the Ms Magazine Blog here.
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Where are the congressional hearings about the Archdiocese of Philadelphia?
The Penn State scandal has really upset me. Actually, it’s upset me far more than I would like to admit.
I’ll begin with what upset me the most—besides the obvious horrific and stomach-turning sex abuse and cover-up, and the fact that the man who admitted to abusing me and another girl still has his job at Adrian College (Please note that the following are MY views, and not the views of SNAP or any of the other wonderful organizations of which I am a part):
- In response to Penn State’s inaction and possible cover-up of the Sandusky matter, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D- Scranton) and Congressman Bobby Rush (D-Illinois) called for hearings in the Senate and the House regarding sex abuse and cover-up at the university. Other politicians may have also asked for hearings on both Penn State and the Citadel, but I stopped keeping track.
Why does this upset me?
- Grand juries in Philadelphia have issued TWO reports (three, if you include one that was not completed). These reports found DOZENS of men who had abused kids and numerous men who covered up for them. The first report in 2005 outlined the horrific histories of predator priests in Philadelphia, but the grand jury could not bring criminal charges, due to elapsed statutes of limitations. The 2011 report resulted in criminal indictments against three priests and a teacher for abuse and an indictment against a high-ranking official for child endangerment. The report also found 37 men in ministry who had allegations of abuse.
Hundreds of children were possibly abused across the state, yet not one politician called for congressional hearings. Are the church’s victims less important than Penn State’s?
What about the victims in:
- Orange County (where documents outlining two decades of abuse and cover-up by high-ranking church officials were made public),
- Los Angeles (where Cardinal Mahony’s culpability in abuse cases should go to trial),
- the Pacific Northwest (where dozens of Native American reservations and Alaska Native villages were intentional dumping grounds for child-molesting clerics),
- South Dakota (where hundreds of Native American children were ripped from their homes and sent to “orphanages” where they were abused, and recently church attorneys got a law passed denying these victims rights to expose their abuse), and
- Delaware (where the Child Victims’ Act outed dozens of perpetrators, some of whom were still working in schools)?
Where are the politicians? Why aren’t they calling for congressional hearings? I think that child sex abuse is a tad more important than steroid usage in professional baseball, and those hearings were endless.
President Obama even weighed in on the Penn State scandal. He told ESPN that our “first priority is protecting our kids.” If that is the case, then why didn’t he say anything when he met with the Pope? Or Cardinal Francis George? Why hasn’t he met with victims? He met with flood victims, water boarding victims, and survivors of a hotel bombing in India. Yet, not once has a president or any other national politician publicly asked for a meeting with survivors of the Catholic clergy sex abuse scandal.
I wonder why Missouri congressional leaders aren’t calling for a hearing about the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. If an organization in my district—an organization that cares for thousands of children and takes taxpayer dollars to fund services—was indicted for covering up child pornography and abuse just a few years after paying a huge financial settlement to victims and making a public promise to protect kids, I would be calling for national scrutiny. In fact, diocese lawyers are contending that child pornography may be covered under First Amendment protections. Yeah, really.
For years, I have been hearing complaints from Catholic apologists who claim that the sex abuse scandal in the church is an over-blown creation of the media. I contend that it is the exact opposite: it is a catastrophe that is eating our children and destroying communities. Yet on the national stage, our politicians are simply too scared to do the right thing, confront the men in pointy hats, and protect the children in their districts. And I am really angry about it.
Despite my anger and frustration, I do hope that there are congressional hearings about abuse and cover-up at Penn State and the Citadel. Those children deserve justice. They endured horrible pain, but because of their courage, they are heroes and have become voices for the silent. Perhaps they are paving the way for the clergy sex abuse victims. For that, I am grateful.
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Daily Pilot (Newport-Mesa, CA) Addresses Penn State and Abuse
Patrice Apodaca wrote a wonderful piece referencing me. It’s worth a read, especially in light of the Penn State scandal.
Here is the piece she wrote in Orange Coast in 2010.