As a Catholic wife and mother, with children who attended Catholic schools supervised by the RomanCatholic Diocese of Orange in Southern California, I am haunted daily by the fact that my children and thousands of other unsuspecting children andparents, trustedthe Diocese of Orange and its legal advisors to place the safety of ourchildren at their highest priority.I am just one mother in Orange County, California --think about all the other parents throughout the world who did exactly what I did. Some were not as lucky as my husband and I. Tragically, many parents must face the fact that their childrenweresexually abused by a trusted member of the clergy and were denied justice--all in the name of freedom of religion, pastoral privilege and separation of Church and State. This makes me physically ill!
We must publicly acknowledgethatcourageous victims of clergy sex abuse crimes,their families, attorneys and ethical journalists, continue to scream from mountain tops to ensure that the faithful in the pews and government legislators will someday open their eyes and ears to the truth--CORRECTIVE ACTION IS URGENT!It is horrific that Pope Benedict, Prefect for the Congregation of Faith Cardinal William Levada, Cardinal Roger Mahony, Bishop Tod Brown,Bishop Brom, Vatican officials and other religious leaders have made a choice to protect financial portfolios andabuse the U.S. bankruptcy process,versus walking their public relations talk.
The Associated Press reported on May 20, 2005, at http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/05/20/2_in_scandal_still_hold_church_posts/, "2 in Scandal Still Hold Church Posts", that "Two Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange officials who covered up for priests accused of molestation years ago remain in church positions -- one of them as a bishop, according to personnel files released as part of a clergy sex abuse settlement."
Thearticle was published over 5 years ago and yet, it is business as usual here in Orange County, California, and sadly, throughout the world.To make the scenario even more disturbing, the Diocese of Orange still employs the same attorneys and school administrators who also participated in failures to protect children from sex crimes and potential school zone violence, while retaliating againstWhistleblower employees who acted in accordance with the law, without accountability in a court of law.
Personally, no one can place thesole blame on Diocese of Orange Bishop Tod Brown, Pope Benedict and/orother religious leaders.However, based on the fact that it is business as usual in most religious institutions throughout the world, nochild, adult or employee is safe from the history of crimes that will continue to repeat, without IMMEDIATE federal government intervention.
On behalf of myself, my husband, our children, victims of sexcrimes, murder, their families, and the People of the United States of America, I am respectfully requesting that the U.S. Department of Justice thoroughly investigate the facts and issues state herein.I have used facts experienced in Orange County, California, based on my personal knowledge, belief and experience; and,could and would testify to the facts stated herein, under penalty of perjury, if given the opportunity.
Areasonable analysis, free of any and allpolitical, religious, financial, legal, government and/or judicial conflict ofinterest,will reveal that something is very wrong in our society. If corrective action is not taken, I have no doubt that civil rights of children, adults, families, employees and the faithful in the pews will be at serious risk.
As a potential SLAPP victim, please note that this is a public safety crisis that requires IMMEDIATE federal government intervention. Without justice, there will never be peace. Without peace, faith and our country's laws are empty.
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