Christmas party, healing teams part of outreach to sex abuse victims

Published: 2003-11-14

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In the San Francisco Archdiocese, Barbara Elordi is planning a Christmas party for people who were sexually abused as minors by priests. In the Diocese of Brooklyn, N.Y., Dominican Sister Ellen Finn is organizing healing teams to help victims of clergy sex abuse overcome their traumas. Through media ads, Web sites, hot lines and parish announcements, Elordi and Sister Finn, along with other diocesan officials across the country, are getting the word out about a wide range of services and programs available to victims. The U.S. bishops' "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" tells dioceses to offer programs such as counseling, spiritual assistance, support groups and other services mutually agreed upon by victims and church officials. A Christmas party by mutual agreement? It brings some lightness to what is a heavy situation, said Elordi, San Francisco archdiocesan pastoral outreach coordinator. "We must be friends, be pastoral." The path to church services is often rough terrain for victims, as many are still hesitant to trust the institution they felt betrayed them, said victims and diocesan officials interviewed by Catholic News Service. Important to success is overcoming mistrust and involving victims in the development of programs, they said.

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