Conferences Cincinnati, Ohio April 28, 2007

A Gathering for Justice SEXUAL ABUSE, SECRECY… AND HEALING

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 20:21:07 +0000

April 28, 2007
Cintas Center Xavier University Campus
Cincinnati, Ohio

The Greater Cincinnati Chapter of VOTF is sponsoring this regional conference to raise awareness and educate the community about sexual abuse in the church and what must be done to promote healing and justice for survivors; support priests of integrity; and shape structural change within the church.

The conference will be of interest to concerned individuals; pastoral staff and clergy; parents; educators; mental-health and social-services professionals; community volunteers and coaches; law enforcement personnel; and adult survivors of sexual abuse. It will address the ongoing protection of children and examine programs, legislation and institutional policies that can help break through the shroud of secrecy that has allowed sexual abuse to continue.

The program will include presentations by Thomas P. Doyle, A.W. Richard Sipe, and Patrick J. Wall—the three well-known authors of “Sex, Priests, and Secret Codes.” A survivor and his family will also share their experiences. There will also be community programs, mini-presentations, displays and information about sexual abuse and the secrecy that continues to shroud it.

For the Conference Program Schedule click here.
To register click here.
To make hotel reservations click here
To learn more about the authors click here.
To learn more about the book click here.

CONTACT: Christi Eisenberg, Cincinnati VOTF Coordinating Committee, 513.741.1629 or ceisenbergfuse.net

About the authors… Sex, Priests, and Secret Codes: The Catholic Church’s 2,000-Year Paper Trail of Sexual Abuse

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 20:19:21 +0000

Thomas P. Doyle is a Dominican priest with a doctorate in canon law and five master’s degrees. He sacrificed a rising career at the Vatican Embassy to become one of the most vocal supporters of victims of sexual abuse by the clergy. He is Voice of the Faithful’s first recipient of the “Priest of Integrity Award. A.W. Richard Sipe is a counselor and psychotherapist who spent 18 years serving the Church as a Benedictine monk. He has served as a consultant and expert witness in more than 200 cases of clerical sexual abuse and has written several renowned works on religious celibacy including his landmark study of sexuality and celibacy. Patrick J. Wall was a Benedictine monk and priest for 11 years, but renounced his vows in 1998 because he was disheartened by the abuse within the Church. Today, he is a respected theologian serving as senior legal consultant for a California law firm, advising hundreds of clerical sexual abuse cases across the United States.

About the book… Sex, Priests, and Secret Codes: The Catholic Church’s 2,000-Year Paper Trail of Sexual Abuse

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 20:17:45 +0000

Sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults by Catholic clergy burst onto the American scene in 1984. Revelations about such abuse since then have confirmed that this tragedy is not limited to the U.S. Catholic Church, nor is it a new phenomenon that grew out of so-called secularizing trends of the late twentieth century. Sex, Priests, and Secret Codes: The Catholic Church’s 2,000-Year Paper Trail of Sexual Abuse clearly demonstrates a deep-seated problem that spans the Church’s history. This collection of documents from official and unofficial sources begins its survey in 60 CE and concludes with the contemporary scandal. It reveals an institution that has tried to come to grips with this devastating internal problem from its earliest years. At times circumspect and at other times open and direct, Church leaders tried a variety of means to rein in the various violations of clerical celibacy. The sexual abuse crisis is not isolated from the questions of the celibate practice of all Catholic clergy and the moral questions that involve marriage and all human sexual behaviors. These are the main, yet unspoken, reasons why sexual abuse has been such an inflammatory and dangerous issue for the hierarchy. One foundation of their power and control rests on the celibacy of the clergy. That area of religious ideal and personal practice has heretofore been shrouded in secrecy and taboo, certainly for the laity. That is no longer the situation. For the first time, certainly since the Protestant Reformation, the sexual life and adjustment of bishops and priests is open for discussion by lay people. This is the task of the new century: Clergy and lay people need to talk together about sexuality and how it affects them all. The Church abuse scandal of the contemporary era, rather than seen as a new challenge, is actually the catalyst for a complex process that is forcing the official Church to redefine its ideology of sexuality, its responsibility to its members and its role in society. The problem of clerical sexual abuse is huge and international in scope. Co-author Thomas P. Doyle has interviewed somewhere around 2,000 victims of clerical sexual abuse in the U.S. alone. Co-author Sipe conducted a 25-year landmark study of sexuality and celibacy in the American priesthood. A former priest and monk, Patrick J. Wall currently serves as a consultant on a number of clerical sexual abuse cases in the U.S.

Accommodations for the conference:

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 20:15:18 +0000

Hotel reservations at Quality Hotel & Suites, 4747 Montgomery Rd. in Cincinnati are available for Friday April 27 and Saturday April 28. (Max =dbl occupancy), includes breakfast. You are encouraged to make reservations early as the hotel fills up quickly during the spring season. Also please note that reservations must be made directly with the hotel using this number: 513-351-6000 or qualityhotelandsuites.com/ For directions and map to the conference on the Web: mapquest.com

Program Details

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 20:13:13 +0000

A Gathering for Justice
SEXUAL ABUSE, SECRECY… AND HEALING

April 28, 2007
Cintas Center Xavier University Campus
Cincinnati, Ohio

PROGRAM

8:30 am: Sign in/ registration

9:00 am: Conference begins with welcome remarks and introduction of speakers.

9:15 am: A survivor and his family tell their story.

9:55-10:05 am: Break

Three authors of “Sex, Priests and Secret Codes” speak.

10:05 am: Patterns of Institutional Secrecy by Thomas P.Doyle

10:40 am: Financial Repercussions of Sexual Abuse by Patrick Wall

11:20 am: Identifying and Healing the Hurt by Richard Sipe

Noon-1:30 pm: Lunch break (on-site or off-site) Box lunches available in the reception area. Opportunity for networking and attending mini-presentations..

Afternoon

Session I:
1:30–2:10pm:

Legislative Issues: Thomas Doyle
Psychological Concerns of Treatment: Richard Sipe
The Role of Monetary Compensation in the Healing Process: Patrick Wall

2:10 pm: Break.

Session II:
2:25-3:10 pm: Talks by the authors will be repeated.

3:15-4:00 pm : Panel Discussion with Q&A

4-4:30pm: Now what? Action brainstorming.

4:30 pm: Closing Remarks and Evaluation

Conference Registration - Cincinnati, Ohio April 28, 2007

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 18:50:43 +0000

Please click here to download a registration form. Please print and return the completed registration form to:

Greater Cincinnati VOTF
c/o Dick Okenfuss
9132 Milcliff Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45231

Adobe Reader is required to view PDF files, please click here for a free download of Adobe Reader.

Questions? Contact us at 513-231-5271 or email at votfcincinnati@aol.com