Pete Saunders recently attended the Survivors Australia Inaugural Clergy Abuse Conference and found it to be a very enlightening and worth trip. Read below for some one of the topics covered.
CHURCH SEX ABUSE VICTIMS URGED TO BE MORE MILITANT
A prominent anti-clerical abuse advocate says Australia is decades behind the United States when it comes to dealing with the victims of sexual abuse.
Reverend Tom Doyle, a Catholic priest who is also a vocal critic of the Church, says Australian abuse victims should become more militant in taking on the Church through the courts and in the media. Reverend Doyle was in Sydney to attend Australia's first convention for the survivors of clergy abuse, which begins today.
"The bottom line with all of this is the horrendous spectacle of little boys and girls being raped and molested by Catholic priests - and members of other denominations - and getting away with it because their superiors, the leaders of those denominations, didn't favour the victims - they favoured the perpetrators," he said.
Reverend Doyle made his name when he warned the Catholic Church about the looming sexual abuse problem more than two decades ago. Since then, he has become an advocate for many of the victims. To read more of this comment, and to read other comments and information on the conference click here.
Watch the conference opening video below:
Care Leavers Association News Bulletin October 2010
New CLA Staff
We here at the CLA would like to announce new additions to the staff team. David Graham has now joined us as our National Director (replacing Victoria Hull, who left us at the end of June). David has over 15 years experience working in the health and social care field and was previously Assistant Director at Big Life Centres in Manchester. Thanks to new funding, we have also been able to add 2 new exciting project posts to the organisation. Clare Edge joins us as Young Person’s Project Worker and Deputy Director. Clare has extensive knowledge of the issues facing young people in care and leaving care. She previously worked for A National Voice. Clare will develop our work with young people leaving care and young care leavers aged 18 and over. Finally, Darren Coyne joins us as Networking Project Worker. Darren has extensive experience within community development work focussing on increasing the participation of various communities in society. In particular, he has worked on various projects with young people. Darren will focus on developing our local networks of care leavers, including our ‘Keep In Touch’ events. More information about the projects that both of them will be working on will be available shortly on the web site. All 3 join Vicky Halliwell who as Office Manager ensures the smooth operation of all projects. Individuals can be contacted via email on david.graham@careleavers.comclare.edge@careleavers.comdarren.coyne@careleavers.com and vicky.halliwell@careleavers.com and by telephone 0161 236 198
Its time for everybody to meet up!
Yes its National Gathering time which this year takes place in London on 13th November. It is going to be held at Sommers Town Community Association, 150 Ossulston Street, London, NW1 1EE - Google Maps. Its an informal affair and is a chance for care leavers from around the country to meet each other. And it also gives you a chance to meet the CLA Executive Committee and the staff team. We also hold the AGM at the end of the day which everybody is welcome to attend. The day starts at 1pm when the Exec and staff team will be having lunch. Its a “bring your own lunch” time and we will provide some drinks and snacks. The sessions then start at 2pm. We will be running 3 workshops in the afternoon which will focus on Care Leavers and the Criminal Justice System, Care Leavers in Education and The General Needs of Care Leavers. We hope to see as many of you there as possible to contribute to a lively debate. We will end the day with the CLA Annual General Meeting and then retire to a local cafe or bar to continue with the socialising. Everybody is welcome to attend all or any part of the day. Please tell other care leavers about the event. If you want any more information about the day or the venue do not hesitate to call the office 0161 236 1980
Chris Simpson Sponsored Swim
This week is National Care Leavers Week. To highlight that, and to raise money for the Care Leavers' Association so that we can do more to help care leavers, one of our Executive Committee members, Chris Simpson, is doing a sponsored swim this forthcoming Saturday. One or two of us from the CLA will be going down to Grantham to join him and to cheer him on. If you'd like to sponsor Chris then you can do so through the 'Justgiving' page that we have set up for this purpose.
Care Matters funding to be reduced by almost half over 4 years
Figures quoted in a letter from Communities Secretary Eric Pickles to local authority leaders reveals that by 2014/15 cash shared between councils under the Care Matters grant will have fallen to £28.2m - a cut of 48.6 per cent on this year's level of £54.9m. Cutting back the money to care services at a time when the number of young people entering the care system is rising could have a profoundly damaging effect on the lives of young people.
Keep an eye on your local authority
The recent government spending review will result in previous “ring fenced” budgets to local authorities being rolled into one large grant with each authority making the decisions on how the money is spent. This coupled with the reduction in the Care Matters grant given to local authorities could see a severe strain put on all services within the care system. We need you to be the eyes and ears of the CLA. Once your local authority has set a new budget please let us know if there are any cuts to care services. You can do this by email david.graham@careleavers.com or call 0161 236 1980
An attached discussion round the coffee table
Will McMahon, CLA Chair, has taken part in a BBC Radio Four programme discussing attachment issues in relation to children, including children in care. The programme was broadcast on Saturday 25th September. The programme is one of a four-part series called 'Bringing Up Britain', which focuses on modern parenting and is chaired by Mariella Frostrup. The series includes discussion of "the hard choices at the heart of the care system". You can listen to the programme by clicking here. You then just need to click the 'Listen Now' button
The Pope's Visit
As you know the Pope is visiting Britain in September. What’s this got to do with NAPAC? Answer. Over the years we have heard from lots of people who suffered child abuse at the hands of Catholic (and other) clergy.
I was brought up as a Roman Catholic and I remain a Christian. However, in common with many other Catholics and former Catholics I have some concerns about this visit and about the appalling record the Roman Catholic Church has in terms of addressing child abuse. Whatever the provisions now in place to make the Church a ‘safe’ place for children and vulnerable people, the past has seen some pretty appalling cover-ups. Worse still we know that not that long ago abusing priests were moved from one place to another following allegations of abuse. My heart goes out to the millions of good Catholics around the world who must be feeling terribly let down by their leaders but that is nothing compared to the pain I feel for the millions of people around the world who suffered abuse. They have to live with that everyday and for the rest of their lives.
I do not mind the Pope coming to my country but given all that has happened I hope he is prepared to meet with survivors of abuse. And I don’t mean a carefully stage-managed event where those people are not allowed to speak to him in private. He needs to hear some home truths. If he is genuine, indeed I would say if he is a Christian, then he will meet survivors and demonstrate by his subsequent actions that he takes this matter seriously.
There is a pressure group formed which opposes the visit and I do have some sympathy for their actions. Indeed, much of what they say is legitimate and sound. I know some of them personally and I want to work alongside them, not necessarily to prevent the Pope’s visit but to ensure that it is a productive visit and not just one big photo-opportunity or publicity stunt.
The opportunity to converse with the head of a Congregation numbering a billion is not one that we at NAPAC want to pass up. Not because we want to hob-nob with ‘The Pope’ but because we want to give him the opportunity to put into action the many words that have poured forth from the Vatican and some Catholic dioceses over past months.
To us words are important, but without action they become hollow and meaningless. The action we would like to see includes the Church divesting itself of some of it’s assets and turning them in to resources to help survivors. I am not talking about personal payouts necessarily though many survivors deserve as much but I would like to see the Catholic Church (and other religious institutions) turn their words into action. It is harder for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle! Watch this space!
Pete Saunders
5th May 2010
The Archbishop's Apology : 23rd April 2010
Was the Archbishop's apology enough?
Here's the reaction from Pete Saunders, NAPAC CEO:
Supreme Court Ruling: 21st April 2010
Should child abusers be given the right to appeal to have their names removed from the Sex Offenders Register?
Here's the reaction from Pete Saunders, NAPAC CEO:
Precious Film
The film 'Precious' directed by Lee Daniels and based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire has been released at selected cinemas across the UK.
Set in 1987, it is the story of Claireece "Precious" Jones (Gabourey Sidibe), a sixteen-year-old girl born into a life no one would choose. She's pregnant for the second time by her absent father; at home, she must wait hand and foot on her mother (Mo'Nique), a poisonously angry woman who abuses her emotionally and physically. School is a place of chaos, and Precious has reached the ninth grade with good marks and an awful secret: she can neither read nor write. Precious is offered the chance to transfer to an alternative school, Each One/Teach One. In the literacy workshop taught by the patient yet firm Ms. Rain (Paula Patton), Precious begins a journey that will lead her from darkness, pain and powerlessness to light, love and self-determination.
As the film deals with issues of severe abuse and neglect it has been suggested that cinemas showing this very powerful film provide some kind of support for patrons affected by what they see in the film. We are pleased to announce that Premier PR online and Icon Film Distribution would like to show their support to NAPAC and have provided us with a trailer for the movie.
To view the trailer please go to the NAPAC home page and click on the 'Survivors' tab at the top of the page.
