Happy B-day to BA!
There is one place - one and only one place - to consistently get accurate and detailed information and perspective on the continuing clergy abuse and cover up crisis both here and across the globe.
It's BishopAccountability.org
And this month, it celebrates 20 years of outstanding work in this crucial arena.
It's been my honor, privilege, and joy to know and work with this small but amazing handful of paid (poorly paid to be honest) staffers and dedicated volunteers. Their hard, accurate and thorough work over these two decades has been instrumental in helping all of us in SNAP, literally every day, as we protect kids, comfort victims, expose secrets and deter cover ups.
The BA.org team has also been extraordinarily helpful to journalists, police, prosecutors, legislators, Catholics, researchers, authors, attorneys general and of course survivors and their loved ones.
They often also disclose and denounce disturbing developments in the on-going crisis, including events, decisions and appointments that reveal how little is changing in the church crisis in the Catholic hierarchy.
But they need your help to keep going.
Here's how you can pitch in.
Donate. And do it today. It’s tax-deductible. (P.O. Box 541375, Waltham, MA 02454-1375 or online: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/bishopaccountability)
Ask others to donate. Cast the net widely. One need not be a Catholic or a survivor to understand why an exhaustive on-line archive that sheds light on this complex crisis is valuable. So ask ANYone you know to join you in writing a check. ("I know you want kids to be safe. One important way to keep them safe is to publicly expose adults who commit or conceal abuse, especially in institutional contexts. So I'm contributing today to BA and I really hope you'll do likewise.")
Search for and send them any photos of publicly accused child molesting Catholic clerics (both online and in any old paper files, newspapers, Catholic publications you may have).
Send then links to anything written about clergy abuse, on blogs, in church publications, in secular news sources.
Follow BA on social media. This takes literally seconds to do.
Mention or refer to BA in any social media content, whether it's a tweet, a Facebook post, a letter to the editor of a newspaper or in online comments.
Create an email signature line and mention or encourage donations to BA. (Click here to see how to do this. It's quick AND simple!) If you already have an email signature line, add a sentence or two about BA. (This is even simpler. Click here)
Give BA staff feedback on their outstanding website. If you have suggestions on how it might be improved in any way, write to write to staff@bishop-accountability.org
Urge journalists to seek out comments, quotes and perspective from BA staffers.
In addition to a contribution today, please consider a regular monthly, automatic donation (online: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/bishopaccountability)