Message to bishops on clergy sex abuse

Los Angeles Times - November 11, 2008

A new Roman Catholic reform group called Monday for U.S. Catholic parishioners to withhold church donations Sunday to protest what it called the failure of religious leaders to protect children against clergy sexual abuse.

A leader of the organization Send the Bishops a Message said that holding back contributions will allow lay members to vent their frustration over a scandal that has spread to all 50 states and cost the Roman Catholic Church more than $2 billion in U.S. legal settlements. Parishioners are being urged to withhold their donations once a month after Sunday's kickoff.

"We're trying in a very small way to empower the laity to realize that they do have power to change this church," Frank Douglas, the group's national director, said outside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles.

Source: Los Angeles Times

This article appeared on page A - 5 of the San Francisco Chronicle

This article was found at:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/11/
MNPF1424EJ.DTL

Read the "Send the Bishops a Message" press release here:

http://www.sendthebishopsamessage.com/releases/release/
6433339/17524.htm