SNAP and SILENTLAMBS at Saint Benedicts
The weather was perfect and the members of the Saint Benedicts Catholic Church in Evansville were cordial. On Sunday September 2, 2007 seven advocates from SNAP and Silentlambs arrived to leaflet to members of the Saint Benedicts Church. The reason was that recently it had been disclosed that there were at least eleven victims of a now deceased Priest that had been identified by the Bishop. The leaflets stated the following:
We are sorry to intrude. . . .
on your Sunday morning, but we are worried about vulnerable children, wounded victims, and your bishop’s delay and secrecy about child sex crimes.
We are. . .
women and men who have been sexually abused by clergy who belong to a confidential, iindependent support group. We are trying to recover from this trauma and to protect others from being abused in the future.
We want. . .
no one to suffer as we have suffered and still suffer. Our goal is to heal the wounded and protect the vulnerable.
We hope. . .
you will help us reach out to those who’ve been molested and may still be trapped in shame, confusion and self-blame.
- Gently ask your friends and family, and fellow parishioners if they were ever sexually abused.
- Track down former church members and staff who’ve left of moved. Ask them too.
- Let them know that if they disclose to you, you’ll believe and support them.
- Talk with your children about ‘safe touch’ and speaking up if someone’s touched/touching them.
- If you have suspicions about sexual misconduct, please call 911, not church officials.
We also hope. . .you will join us in prodding Bishop Gettelfinger to be more honest and forthcoming about all abusive priests, not just Msgr. Othmar Schroeder. The bishop should use his considerable resources (website, newspaper, parish bulletins) to beg victims and witnesses to call the police and seek independent help.
He should also release information about abuse allegations promptly, not keep secrets for years while others are vulnerable or suffering.
Jesus taught us to go out into the cold, dark and rain, to find and help the lost and wounded sheep. That’s what Bishop Gettelfinger should do.
Five years ago, at their Dallas meeting, America's Catholic bishops pledged greater openness about the sexual abuse of children by priests. Yet much of what we know of these horrific crimes still comes straight from criminal prosecutions, civil lawsuits and the news media. Your bishop should be more open. Please call him and tell him this.
SNAP - Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
David Clohessy 314 566 9790 cell, 312-409-2720, SNAPclohessy@aol.com, SNAPnetwork.org
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So the message was one of assistance and a kind word to Catholic Church members in Evansville, IN. The response was favorable with many thanking us for the flyers and wishing us a good day. A few stopped to visit with positive remarks and some voiced their opinions to media. Silentlambs noticed for the most part members were respectful and positive about the leaflet as well as supportive of victims coming forward. A few did have sour looks and one or two negative remarks were heard overall, but it was quiet different from the response when Silentlambs delivered a similar flyer to a Nashville Kingdom Hall and was ordered off the property. You can watch the media coverage of this at this link,
Compare this to the reaction of Catholics at this link,
EVANSVILLE MEDIA COVERAGE
Support Groups Speak Out on Church Abuse
September 2, 2007
story by: Jennifer Cahill
EVANSVILLE - A story gathering steam is the recent admission of Evansville Catholic Bishop Gerald Gettlefinger, that he withheld information of reports of sexual abuse by a deceased priest. Two groups supporting victims, and speaking out againsta abuse, handed out flyers at St. Benedict's Cathedral in Evansville Sunday morning.
The two groups were 'Silent Lambs' out of Paducah, KY and SNAP, the Survivors' Network of those Abused by Priests, from St. Louis, MO. They say their goal is to encourage victims to come forward and seek help.
The members of the groups are all victims themselves and they say it's through speaking out about the abuse that they've come to heal. They passed out flyers sunday in hopes more victims will seek help, and to let them know there are confidential support groups available.
SNAP's National Director, David Clohessy, told us Sunday, "Child sex abuse is like a cancer that just eats away at you quietly.. internally. The best way to deal with cancer or an infection is to deal with it head-on and expose it, and get it out into the light where healing is possible."
Bishop Gettlefinger came forward with the information of past sexual abuse around two weeks ago, and since then, several more victims have surfaced, making it the largest sexual abuse scandal the Evansville Diocese has seen.
Clohessy and other group members believe there are more victims out there, and they hope their actions Sunday will give victims the strength to come forward and seek help.
Clohessy also said he has problems with the way Bishop Gettlefinger handled the recent announcement about sexual abuse by Monsignor Othmar Schroeder.
Victims want church to stop hiding sex crimes
Sep 3, 2007 09:42 AM
Reporter: Marianne LylesNew Media Producer: Rachel Beavin
Sex abuse victims call on the Evansville Archdiocese to stop hiding church sex crimes.
Sunday, victims stood outside St. Benedict Cathedral handing out leaflets urging Bishop Gerald Gettelfinger to be more forthcoming about abusive priests.
This comes just weeks after the diocese announced Monsignor Othmar Schroeder abused several boys during his nearly 30 years at a Jasper church.
David Clohessy was abused for four years by a Missouri priest. He recovered from the abuse by directing the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, otherwise known as SNAP.
Clohessy helps other victims heal by encouraging them to come forward about the abuse.
Handing out leaflets at St. Benedict Cathedral, Clohessy is focusing on the Evansville Archdiocese, and the recent announcement of abuse by the deceased Monsignor Othmar Schroeder, who spent nearly 30 years at Holy Family Church in Jasper.
Clohessy says, "Bishop Gettelfinger has told the media beginning in 2002 that other priests have been accused of abuse who's names he's not disclosing. And we think the Catholics in Evansville and the public at large deserve to know who these dangerous men are."
Father Gary Hayes from St. Alphonsus in St. Joseph, Kentucky,says he has one question, "The question for me is why did it take eleven years for all of this to come out?"
Father Gary says being open is the only way to heal. He knows first hand, he was also abused by priests.
But the abuse goes beyond the Catholic Church, as a Jehovah's Witness sexual abuse group, Silent Lambs, joins the gathering.
William Bowen from the Silent Lambs, says the problem is huge in his community also, "We have seen cases as many as 60 Jehovah's Witness children have been molested because none of the them were considered credible witnesses to the person that was actually molesting them."
Most parishioners had nothing to say, but what they did say is that they hope outsiders don't let Monsignor Schroeder's abuse taint their church.
Parishioner, Mark Browning, has been patient, he says he understands Bishop Gettelfinger has a lot on his plate, "If all of us were wearing his moccasins that's not an easy position to be in. He wants to be fair to everybody and to be fair you need a lot of information."
14 News left a message for Bishop Gettelfinger at the archdiocese for a comment, but those calls were not returned.
Priest Abuse Fliers
Reported by: LaTonya Stephens
Sunday, Sep 2, 2007 @08:37pm CST
Victims of abuse are asking other victims to step out of the shadows and the Evansville diocese to acknowledge their responsibilities.
The Silent Lambs organization and Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests say recent revelations of molestation by a local priest is another example of the church's failure to protect the innocent.
They showed up Sunday at Saint Benedict's Cathedral handing out fliers encouraging members to support abuse victims and to push the catholic church to be honest about abusive priests.
David Clohessy says Bishop Ferald Gettelfinger's recent disclosure of abuse by now deceased Monsignor Othmar Schroeder prompted the action.
Clohessy says for 11 years Bishop Gettelfinger has known that Schroeder is a predator and yet kept silent.
He also says Gettelfinger admitted that there are others whose names he has not disclosed.
Those wanting to learn more about the SNAP victim's group can log onto www.snapnetwork.org.
Number of Allegations Rises Against Southern Indiana Priest
Church officials in Evansville say more than 10 people have come forward with allegations they were sexually abused by a southern Indiana priest decades ago.
Monsignor Othmar Schroeder died in 1988. But the abuses were brought up by Bishop Gerald Gettelfinger during sermons at a Jasper church two weeks ago. Since then, the Catholic Diocese of Evansville says the number of allegations has increased.
Schroeder was the founding pastor of the Holy Family Church in Jasper. He remained at the parish for 28 years until 1975, when he was transferred to Sacred Heart Church in nearby Schnellville.
David Clohessy is director of the Survivors Network of those Abuse by Priests. He says he expects the number of allegations of abuse to continue to grow.
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
September 1, 2007
More than 10 say late S. Indiana priest abused them
Bishop has asked that the man's picture be removed from the church he founded
By Ryan Lenz
Associated Press
EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Roman Catholic church officials said Friday that more than 10 people have come forward with allegations they were sexually abused by a Southern Indiana priest.
The Diocese of Evansville said the number of allegations against Monsignor Othmar Schroeder, who died in 1988, has continued to grow since Bishop Gerald Gettelfinger announced the abuse during sermons at a Jasper church two weekends ago.
Diocese spokesman Paul Leingang said the allegations were the most against one priest in the diocese's 64-year history, but he cited church confidentiality in not providing more specific numbers.
"The continual thing is the invitation for people who have been abused to come forward," Leingang said.
Schroeder, a once-admired priest, was the founding pastor of the Holy Family Church in Jasper, about 50 miles northeast of Evansville. He remained at the parish for 28 years.
The allegations in recent weeks have led the bishop to ask for Schroeder's picture to be removed from Holy Family and for the Knights of Columbus branch in Jasper to change the name of a memorial in his honor.
David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, said he expected the number of allegations of abuse at Schroeder's hands to grow.
"My hunch is that if 10 have come forward, there may well be dozens more still trapped in shame and confusion," Clohessy said. "Typically only the tip of the iceberg comes forward."
Clohessy, a victim of clergy sexual abuse, planned to protest Sunday outside Evansville's cathedral with fliers demanding church officials disclose details of "a pedophile priest's sex crimes" and urge others abused by clergy to come forward.
Gettelfinger has told diocese congregations in the past two weeks that he learned of the allegations as early as 1996, but that his commitment at the time was to offer counseling and protect victims' confidentiality.
The scope of the abuse, however, now appears "greater than we knew," the bishop said.
BishopAccount ability.org, a Massachusetts group that has amassed thousands of documents on abusive priests and their bishops, lists eight priests from the Evansville Diocese accused of misconduct, including two who have been convicted of possessing child pornography.
The number is the second highest in the state's five dioceses, falling behind the Archdiocese of Indianapolis with 16 priests, according to the organization's tally.
Thanks to all that supported this event and in the end hopefully more children will be protected from abuse.
silentlambs