Victims of sexual abuse often feel like there is no place for them to
turn.
It can be even worse if the abuser is someone that people look up
to, someone who is supposed to be a pillar of the community.
Allegations of abuse turn into a battle of credibility, and
unfortunately the victim's story is often viewed with skepticism.
Having
to relive the incident time and time again is too traumatic, and the
victim decides to live with the secret.
All too frequently, this type of scenario has been present in
Catholic Churches throughout the world.
The church has faced several
high-profile lawsuits where its priests have been accused of sexually abusing children.
Many of the lawsuits against the church concern the fact that the
priests were not removed from contact with children after credible
allegations of abuse were submitted.
Often, the priest was moved out of a
particular region to a different congregation, thereby allowing the
abusive behavior to continue in other locations.
As the problem became more widespread, more and more victims have
come forward with their stories of survival.
The church has widely
publicized its efforts at addressing the issue, and created policies
that require comprehensive investigations whenever an allegation has
been made.
Critics contend that the church is not doing enough to identify
priests who have been accused of sexual abuse.
The Diocese of Phoenix
has recently announced that it intends to list the names of clergymen or
church officials who have been the subject of credible sexual abuse
allegations on its newly designed website.
This is similar to the
approach taken by the Diocese of Tucson, which has already posted its
list.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) called on the
Phoenix Diocese to add the information to the website in a more rapid
fashion, believing that the delay could potentially put others at risk
of abuse.
The organization hopes that releasing this information will
help hold priests accountable for their actions.