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SURVIVORS QUILT ON DISPLAY JUNE 15-17
Sex abuse victims to hold vigil during U.S. Bishops meeting.
June 8, 2006
A young Vinnie Daniels will be among more than 150
childhood photos featured on a Survivors Quilt being displayed
at a 48 hour vigil sponsored by A Coalititon for Truth,
a coalititon of clerical sexual abuse survivors and their
supporters. The vigil begins on Thursday, June 15th at 2:00pm
near the downtown Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel and will
coincide with a meeting of 300 U.S. Catholic Bishops being
held there.
According to one coalition spokesperson (after obtaining the
list of topics to be discussed at the upcoming Bishops
conference), "we understand that the crime of soul murder
committed against thousands of children and the cover-up of
these horrible crimes by church officials is not on their
agenda. Maybe they think they've done enough."
This is of particular importance to local survivors,
especially those that are among the 500-plus plaintiffs that
have ongoing civil lawsuits filed against the Roman Catholic
Archdiocese of Los Angeles, whose cases have been on hold for
3 and-a-half years. Mary Grant, west coast regional
director for Survivors Network of those Abused by
Priests says, "because Cardinal Roger Mahony heads the
nation's largest diocese and postures as a reformer, SNAP
believes that he has a special duty to take some tangible
steps to heal the wounded and protect the vulnerable." Grant
recently appeared with Daniels on a Many Moods special,
"The Tapestry of Torment," which K.C.A.A. plans to rebroadcast
on June 10th, in advance of this special vigil event.
The coalition is asking Mahony to place all proven, known and
credibly accused pedophile clergy into secure secular and
remote treatment and housing centers. They are also
specifically asking the L.A.Cardinal to voluntarily allow
victims to tell their stories at parishes where they were
hurt. "We will express our concerns through speak outs, song
and chalk drawings. We will vigil outside the Cathedral,
across from the Hotel, and in Pershing Square at 5th & Olive
across from the Biltmore. We believe it would be healing for
Catholics and victims to view the Survivors Quilt together,
and we'd like Mahony to release a room at the Hotel where the
Bishops are meeting, for this purpose."
The quilt, assembled by Erin Brady, victim of Fr. Joe
Alzugaray, includes more than 150 photos of children abused by
Los Angeles clergy. The public is encouraged to attend. It is
hoped that if you can't devote the entire 48 hours, that you
can spend at least a few eye-opening hours, especially if
you're a concerned Catholic or are concerned about public
safety issues where it comes to children. The address to the
Cathedral of our Lady of the Angels is 555 West Temple
Street in Los Angeles.
For more information, please contact Pat Herrera Duran
at (310) 831-5202, or you may e-mail her
here. If you
live in the "714" area, feel free to call Mary Pitcher
at (714) 222-4789.
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