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Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
| September
8, 2004
Bishop
Robert H. Brom
Dear Bishop Robert H. Brom: We were very disappointed to receive Mr. Valdivia’s August 20 letter, regarding our request to speak at the Annual Conference for Church Ministers on September 25, 2004. It has been our hope and intention that together, the Diocese of San Diego and SNAP could help educate your church ministers and cooperate in unison to make sure that no child is ever abused again in Catholic Churches in San Diego. We were especially saddened by Mr. Valdivia’s statement that any organized activity on behalf of SNAP would be considered an infringement on the rights of the conference’s attendees. Our only request was to be able to tell our stories so that conference participants may be better prepared to deal with allegations of abuse when they arise, better prepared to deal compassionately with victims of sexual abuse, and better prepared to end the cycle of abuse that may possibly still exist in your diocese. We are asking again to be allowed to address the conference attendees. In the meantime, today, we are sending a letter to pastors and ministers at every parish in your diocese to let them know that we will be there on September 25th outside of the conference and would love the opportunity to speak with them. We took the liberty of forwarding all of our correspondence with you and the diocese, so that they will know that we requested nothing more than to be able to tell our stories. We also gave them a four-step plan to help ensure that the cycle of abuse is broken in their individual parishes. Finally, we let them know that our participation outside of the conference is in no way an attempt to “infringe upon their rights.” It is instead a means to provide them necessary tools in order to practice their faith with compassion and complete information. We at SNAP sincerely hope that you will change your mind and allow us a forum inside the conference to reach out to help protect the children in the Diocese of San Diego. Sincerely,
Jaime
Romo
Mary
Grant
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