There are many good Catholic priests, sisters and nuns, especially Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister of Erie, Pennsylvania, speaking out on what has been the pervasive Catholic culture of institutional cover-up.
Sister explains,
It is clear now, in ways it was never clear before, how much damage is done to the church itself, ironically, by the kind of silence that makes it impossible for the church to admit its weaknesses, to deal with its questions. . http://www.joanchittister.org/
Something clicks inside a victim when they have had enough. Some timeshare companies employ the same tactics as the church. As timeshare members alleging fraud read through this, they will have no trouble seeing similarities. I advocate on behalf of timeshare members alleging fraud, alongside 44 Timeshare Advocacy Group TM advocates.
The Catholic scandal ultimately led me to timeshare advocacy. Turning anger over child abuse outward led me to CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates for children in foster care where I learned how to write court reports for Family Court. When timeshare members contact me, their complaints are often confusing and lengthy. I listen to their allegations, transcribe, and return to them their complaint in court report format. Other advocates answer questions that come up when members need to file regulatory complaints.
A life's journey can take many twists and turns. My life changed dramatically after a trip to Peshawbestown, Michigan to meet with tribal spiritual director and peacemaker Paul Raphael of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. Peacemaker Paul was one of nine male children who attended the Holy Childhood School of Jesus in Michigan where Indian boys were sexually abused by three School Sisters of Notre Dame nuns in the 1960s and '70s. I contacted him after reading a four part article about the abuse. By part four I was livid.
Unholy Childhood, June 29, 2008
https://www.northernexpress.com/news/feature/article-3760-unholy-childhood/
Grand Rapids Michigan investigative reporters met with
Sister Laura Jean Spaeth of the School Sisters of Notre Dame in Milwaukee. Sister
Spaeth was skeptical about the credibility so the reporters interviewed a total
of 80 former students to verify the abuse.
"My answer was if it was just one person, that would
be a legitimate argument -- but we interviewed 80 people and we heard a
consistently recurring story," Golder said. "And it was troubling to me that
the leaders of the order, sought to dismiss what we were saying based on the
other problems in their lives,...but it was clear to me, as people told the
same stories over and over, that it established a pattern that was factual."
In 2008 I was practicing for a pipe organ exam at the cathedral for an American Guild of Organists exam. Patrick Cooney was Bishop then. Stunned after speaking with Peacemaker Paul, I wrote Bishop Cooney a letter asking if I could arrange a meeting. Peacemaker Paul resisted saying, "How will that help us?" I said it wouldn't but it would help the Bishop because he cares and hearing directly from Peacemaker Paul could possibly help Bishop Cooney stop a potential abuser.
Wounded Souls July 8, 2008
https://www.northernexpress.com/news/feature/article-3251-wounded-souls/
"There have
been up to 400 reports nationally of sex abuse by nuns," said David Clohessy,
former national director and spokesman for SNAP, Survivor's Network of those
Abused by Priests. "The laws are written in Michigan to protect perpetrators
and those who are doing the cover-ups. There have been efforts in the Michigan
legislature over the past five years to get those laws changed, to be more
victim-friendly, but in each case the bishops and the bishop's conference spent
a lot of resources to get those laws defeated," Clohessy said.
wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Clohessy
After experiencing a timeshare bait and switch, I wrote to ARDA, The American Resort Development Association, explaining my concerns. I thought they would be grateful someone brought criminal actions to their attention. I did not hear from ARDA except for an auto-reply. Approximately 200 allegations of fraud have been sent to ARDA over two years - and no response. ARDA does not mediate disputes, but they have a code of ethics that is being violated, based on member reports.
According to Dr. Amy Grant, University of Central Florida, who presented at an ARDA World conference in 2017.
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