Working Group Reports
Survivor Support Working Groups

(Ed. Note: In this issue, we have decided to group all exclusively survivor-related work, events and letters together. VOTF affiliates around the country also note the work each is doing on behalf of and with survivors - these have been left within their reports and appear in Voices, Voices Everywhere!)

St. Ignatius of Loyola Church, Chestnut Hill, MA
Steve Sheehan reports that on 1/28, Barbara Thorp of the Office of Healing and Assistance Ministry of the Archdiocese of Boston addressed the VOTF affiliate at St. Ignatius of Loyola Church in Chestnut Hill, MA. Ms. Thorp discussed the mission and functions of her office in securing and financing therapy for those abused. She also noted the distress to her office as well as to survivors over the recent announcement that lawyers for the archdiocese would now subpoena therapists' records on survivors engaged in litigation against a perpetrator or the archdiocese. Ms. Thorp stopped short of saying that survivors entering her program would be forewarned of such an eventuality. The loss of assured confidentiality has caused many survivors to feel revictimized.

St. Gerard Magella VOTF Parish Voice, Canton, MA
On Friday, 2/21, the Parish Voice of St. Gerard Magella hosted "Celtic Night in Canton," a benefit for members of the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests (S.N.A.P.) in their church hall. Bill Gately, the New England co-coordinator for the Network was present for an evening of song and step dancing, storytelling and art exhibits. Participants and entertainers included the O'Shea-Chaplin Academy of Irish Dance, Joe Keane, Mairin Keady, and the Aisling Gallery. In his report of this event, Steve Sheehan noted, "This writer's usual streak of luck prevailed and he went home with green and white balloons defined, as he usually is, by being filled with hot air." Steve also congratulated John Hynes for a well-done and innovative fundraising effort

NH-VOTF letter of support to survivors on release of documents
Merrimack, NH (February 25, 2003) - The Survivor Support Working Group of New Hampshire Voice of the Faithful (NH-VOTF) is mindful of the possible impact on survivors of the release of the 9,000 documents by the New Hampshire Attorney General's office on Monday, March 3. In anticipation of that event, Carolyn Disco, the group's chairperson, wishes to publish a Voice of the Faithful letter restating our support for survivors in their healing journey. "We wish to be present to survivors in whatever ways are helpful to them, publicly acknowledging our solidarity and support," Disco said.

The documents will reveal the actions that led the state to investigate a criminal indictment of the Diocese of Manchester. The settlement between the church and the attorney general avoided a likely conviction on child endangerment charges through the release of these documents. "All New Hampshire Catholics will now know the truth that survivors have lived with for decades. Let us allow ourselves to be horrified and reach out where we failed to do so before," Disco concluded.

The following letter was written by Mary Scanlon Calcaterra, former chair and continuing worker for the Survivor Support Working Group.

Dear Survivors,

This letter is meant to convey our unconditional support to you and your families as you advance in your personal healing journey. We are inspired by your courage. We are deeply grateful for your generosity despite your profound personal loss as you reach out, not only to each other, but to us all. You help us to understand your experience and assist us in facing the sorrow, anger, and shame that has become our experience in the Church.

We express our deep remorse at the mental and physical violation you have suffered. We know that words cannot erase the injury and insult to your human dignity. We are outraged at the betrayal by those who lead the Church, especially those designated to care for our young. We are filled with shame at the inadequacy of our Church's apologetic response to the offenses against you.

We are sorry if our silence has increased your pain and suffering. We are sorry for our ignorance, our failing to act in a timely manner on accumulating evidence of widespread abuse, and our perceived willingness to believe that particular incidents of sexual abuse were exceptions. We know that whether innocent child, youth, or vulnerable adult, you were defenseless in the face of a powerful person and institution. We attest that the abuse of children by priests and the cover-up by Church leadership are not only sinful acts but also criminal offenses.

To you, the survivors of sexual abuse by priests, we pledge: ·
To listen to you. ·
To seek ways to help you. ·
To support recovery services for you and your families.
To advocate for criminal prosecution for the perpetrators of abuse and those who obstructed justice in the pursuit of these crimes.
To work for reform of civil laws and Church institutions that have contributed to the offenses against you.
NOT to interfere with your spiritual journey, but to nurture your individual quest as you seek solace.
In all these things, we stand in solidarity with you.

(Inger Weik from Minneapolis, MN is a frequent visitor to VOTF National. Her story reignites yours and mine in its contagious energy. We place it here because "What can we do?" remains such a weighty question for Catholics - Inger and her fellow Catholics, not unlike thousands of others, asked that question. This is their answer. What was your first response to this crisis? What did you do? We want to know and urge you to write to VOTF at leaderpub@votf.org.)

I call the group from Mary Mother of the Church our "MN Wellesley group" because they began in the same vein - just a few meeting after Mass last summer/ fall saying, "This situation in the Church is bothering me; is it bothering you?" Discussion after discussion followed. Several are members of Voice of the Faithful and I do see an affiliate forming after the work involved with the healing service is complete.

This small group wrote a letter to Archbishop Harry Flynn in September asking him the basic questions and he did not respond. Jim Zappa is the pastor of Mary Mother and he hand-carried the letter to Abp. Flynn, a letter with almost 1,000 parishioner signatures. These were obtained quickly after masses one Sunday. The group had only a few people with clipboards at each mass and felt they could have obtained everyone's signature with more members present but it was a last minute idea.

Another letter was sent almost two months later. In December, Archbishop Flynn responded with a scathing, condescending letter. This was the worse possible action he could have taken but we see it over and over again. Now the group is on fire!! Meetings were planned and commitment focused once again on healing and the survivors. At one of these meetings, a new parishioner, a victim "who had found her home" that Sunday when they were asking for signatures, came forward and the healing service began to take shape.

The service is scheduled for the first Sunday of Lent, March 9, 2003 at 4:00 PM @ Mary Mother of the Church in Burnsville, MN with a meal to follow the service - the entire church is backing the EVENT!!! Flyers with a bulletin attachment article have been sent to every parish in the diocese. Last Sunday after just a few flyers had been circulated seven people from different parishes came to mass at Mary Mother of the Church asking for information. The pastor has invited priests as well as nuns. I personally invited 11 priests. Two will be out of town but would have come - three have changed plans in order to be able to attend in addition to the other six.

Initially we did not know what the turnout was going to be but we did not care. We were doing this for the survivors/ victims and because we had to do something. We had waited for the clergy (Abp. Flynn) to do something and when he did not, we, the Body, moved. Now it appears the service will be standing room only.

The service will not include a mass. We are learning that this service is for the victims and many are not even comfortable in a church. Also, the priest is in control at mass - at our service everyone is equal. We will have prayer, music and apology. For those who want to participate, a lay person, a nun and a priest work as a team with "public" apology with individual victims as well as the general apology from the entire congregation. This will be followed by dinner.

I have been praying to find the right home in Minneapolis as the first Voice of the Faithful affiliate. There are many caring and active parishes but the clergy here are very quick to apply labels. The Holy Spirit brought this to me in the most remarkable way. I read an editorial in the local newspaper from one of the Mary Mother of the Church members and decided to call her. She and the group had many questions about VOTF and now feel very connected to it through me. I hope to return to Boston for the March Council meeting.

Inger Weik

VOTF is sponsoring a Lenten Vigil Watch at the Chancery beginning on Ash Wednesday. The idea is to have 2 people from every parish or Parish Voice stand in vigil for the 40 days of Lent from 12-3pm. The purpose is two-fold: one, to acknowledge the damage that has been done to our church; and second, to honor Steve Lynch, a survivor of clergy sexual abuse, who stood watch ALONE for 40 days and nights on the cathedral steps during last year's Lenten Season. If you are interested in signing up for a day, please contact Andrea Johnson (Survivors Support working group in Wellesley) at 781-237-2417.

Protecting Our Children
Reported by Mary Lanigan

At the February 22nd meeting of VOTF's Representative Council, Kathy Mullaney introduced the POC membership, its mission and goals. Marilyn Donlan then described the Massachusetts Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Partnership and the April 5th Conference* that Protecting Our Children is facilitating. Marilyn, who with David Crane represents us on the Partnership, identified the Massachusetts Citizens for Children as lead agency and Jetta Bernier, Executive Director (a speaker at the POC break-out session on July 20, 2002) as designer of a proposal accepted for funding by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Seven private and four public agencies, Voice of the Faithful, and the MA Chapter of Survivors, Parents, and Partners make up the statewide Partnership. The MCSAPP Conference * will present child sexual abuse PREVENTION programs of proven effectiveness to representatives (parents, community leaders, educators, professionals, concerned adults) of communities from across the state that are potential pilot sites. The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC), a member of the Partnership, will evaluate the pilot programs.

Most current programs are designed either to teach children how to protect themselves against sexual predators, or to teach adults the signs to look for once a child has been abused. In contrast, the CDC project challenges the Partnership to implement strategies that PREVENT child sexual abuse before it happens and shift the burden from children to adults and to the community as a whole. The goals are as follows:

Marilyn concluded with a heartfelt wish that such community-based child sexual abuse prevention programs had been in force to save two of her students who, she has since learned, were sexually abused as children. She urged VOTF members to join POC both in preparation for and attendance at the MCSAPP Conference.

* Conference announcements and registration forms were distributed at the February Council meeting. They were published in the February In the Vineyard and are also available at the Protecting Our Children link.

The keynote speaker for the MCSAPP April 5th Conference is Dr. Vincent Felitti of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Kaiser Permanente in California. He was a principal investigator with the seminal Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study, conducted in conjunction with CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Dr. Felitti will describe the findings of the ACE study and its implications for prevention.