(Pic-o-me at protest talking to media )
http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/dfwatheisttalk/vwp?.dir=/Catholic+Bishops+Protest&.src=gr&.dnm=P6130289.jpg&.view=t&.done=http%3a//photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/dfwatheisttalk/lst%3f%26.dir=/Catholic%2bBishops%2bProtest%26.src=gr%26.view=t
http://www.dallasnews.com/religion/bishops/stories/061402dnmetbishopprotesters.383ddfce.html
Protesters maintain low expectations for conference
06/14/2002
By WALT ZWIRKO / Dallas Web Staff
A small group of protesters maintained a vigil Friday morning across the street from the Fairmont Hotel, where U.S. Catholic bishops are meeting to consider new policies to deal with abusive priests.
"I still think it's just a bunch of smoke and mirrors," said Doug Blumenthal, who said he was here to support a childhood friend who had been molested by a Dallas priest in the 1980s.
He said there is only one thing that will convince him the bishops are sincere about clearing the air: "Go get all the priests that molested the kids. Put them in jail in the general population and let them get a taste of their own medicine for a while."
Mindy Galland has a personal stake in what the bishops decide to do. She said her husband, Kristopher, was abused by a priest in the Dallas Diocese.
"We cannot expect them to police themselves," Ms. Galland said, but she noted that any decisions made by the bishops would be invalid unless the Vatican endorses their plan of action.
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"I just don't see a mass exodus like that from the different parishes," she said.
"It's kind of hard to be passive," said Bill Betzen of Dallas, who marched up and down the official protest area across from the Fairmont carrying one of the largest signs on a 6-foot pole: "Grace in Truth, Not in Secrecy."
Mr. Betzen is a former child abuse investigator and served as administrator for counseling services in the Dallas Diocese when abuses by former priest Rudy Kos were first revealed.
"They never consulted with me, even though I'm a child abuse expert," he said.
Mr. Betzen said he was bitterly disappointed by Dallas Bishop Charles Grahmann's inaction in the Kos case. "He allowed that man to molest kids for 11 more months after that diagnosis was made, and that's inexcusable."
The bishops have made "nice statements" before, Mr. Betzen said, but more is necessary. "We need to see body language where responsibility is accepted and they follow it."
Ms. Galland said the legal system might provide some salvation for victims of clergy abuse. "We need to legislate those guys into a corner," she said, adding that nothing short of wholesale change is required.
"They need to chop the tree down and let it grow again," she said.
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Edited by - Elsewhere on 14 June 2002 19:55:38