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Most Rev. Richard G. Lennon
Apostolic Administrator of Boston
Boston, MA 02135-3193
June 10, 2003
Dear Bishop Lennon,
On behalf of the Board and membership of
Jane Doe Inc., the Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault
and Domestic Violence, we are writing regarding the critical
outreach and advocacy services needed by victims of clergy sexual
abuse. As you know, Jane Doe Inc. is a network of nearly sixty
statewide community-based domestic violence programs and rape crisis
centers that provide a wide-range of services to thousands of women,
men and children every year. Many of these programs have provided
counseling and other support services to victims of clergy sexual
abuse as well as to family members.
Over the past thirty years, these
community-based sexual assault programs in Massachusetts have
developed effective policies, developed training and prevention
curricula, and provided an expanding array of victim and community
services. Given our experience, we are deeply concerned that the
Archdiocese of Boston has not taken certain steps to provide an open,
fair and compassionate approach to assisting victims of clergy sexual
abuse in their healing and recovery.
Among our deepest concerns is the
reluctance of the Archdiocese to implement one of the central
recommendations of the Cardinal’s Commission for the Protection of
Children: the independent monitoring and handling of sex abuse cases.
The need for independence could not be
more clear. The current systems adopted by the Archdiocese have
already begun to recreate an insular system within the exclusive
control of the Archdiocese of Boston and its agents. Not surprisingly,
this system is fraught with conflicts of interest that undermine the
effectiveness of a system designed to protect the safety of children
today and abuse survivors of the past. Without such a change, the
Archdiocese of Boston will allow history to repeat itself by allowing
the admitted past mishandling of clergy abuse within the Archdiocese
to go on unbridled. The Archdiocese will remain a safe haven for sex
offenders and future generations of children, women and men of all
ages will remain at risk.
We urge the Archdiocese to support the
creation of and provide funding for an independent outreach and
advocacy program to conduct intake interviews, refer victims to
therapists and other community-based services, and evaluate victims’
claims. Given what is at stake and its long history of mishandling
sexual abuse by its clergy, it is essential that the Archdiocese
choose a different course. The courageous victims who come forward
deserve nothing less.
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