Survivor Community News

Report on The Truth and Recognition Coalition from Steve Sheehan and former regional coordinator for SNAP Phil Saviano

This coalition came into existence on July 20, 2004 at a meeting of survivors and VOTF members and has continued to meet on a monthly basis. At that first meeting, a discussion of a draft proposal (prepared by Mary Scanlon) of a "truth and recognition" project resulted in the following actions adopted by consensus.

1. The Survivors and VOTF members present formed a coalition for the purpose of advancing a truth and recognition project. Membership in the coalition is open to all interested survivors, VOTF members and others who share the goals of the project.

2. It was decided that the initial phase of the project would consist of a pilot program conducted in the Massachusetts area and later expanded to other locales.

The Truth and Recognition Initiative aims to provide an historical record of the sexual abuse of young people by clergy of the Roman Catholic Church. The initiative would collect, through personal interviews, the stories of survivors. Such a record might document the abuse tragedy in order to promote understanding of what occurred.

At the very least, the project would honor the struggles of many survivors, but it has the potential to be far more than that. It could create an important teaching tool for public education and the protection of future generations of children.

The coalition is seeking additional members, including both supporters and survivors of clergy abuse. The coalition plans to meet, in its entirety, once each month and in working committees periodically each month, to develop the mission statement, goals, and procedures of this initiative. If interested, please contact one of the following: Steve Sheehan - sheehan1777@aol.com; Marge Bean - Margebean@cs.com; Mary Scanlon - buzzbayx@comcast.net

VOTF Christmas cards on sale - The Winchester, MA Area VOTF is again selling Christmas cards in packages of 12 for $12. There are four designs painted by artists in the VOTF group. All proceeds will benefit abuse survivors. The affiliate hopes to beat last year's sales - $4100! Please visit www.votfwinchester.org to view the cards, and print an order form. Contact Bob Morris at rmorrisvotf@aol.com if you have any questions.

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