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	Clergy Abuse Victims Cry Foul By Todd Ruger Quad-City Times [Iowa] Downloaded June 20, 2005 Three men who met with the Catholic Diocese of Davenport on behalf of victims of sexual abuse by its priests called the response from church leaders "a slap in the face." The men said they presented to the diocese — at the first of several regular meetings required as part of a $9 million settlement with 37 claimants — a list of things that they and other victims would like to see the diocese do to promote healing and prevent future abuse. "When I went into this meeting, I was very optimistic," said Mike Hitch of Oklahoma, whose lawsuit against the diocese was part of the settlement, as was the case with the other victim representatives at the meeting. "The letter we got back is: 'That's not going to happen.' " The diocese said in a written statement that it "seriously considered the conversation with the victims," but "the new demands by the victims go far beyond any of the terms in the contract (settlement)." A copy of the response from the diocese provided to the Quad-City Times details reasons why it nixed other suggestions. For example, it will not actively seek out and contact possible victims because health-care professionals have advised the diocese it runs the risk of revictimizing them. But Hitch — along with Greg Schildgen of Texas and Terry Webb of New York — said the main message they received in the written response after the meeting was: "We're welcome to come talk to them ... but nothing will come of it." Holding the meeting, which was attended by Bishop William Franklin and members of the diocese Review Board, was one of 15 non-monetary terms in the $9 million settlement. "All of the non-monetary terms have been met by the diocese," the reply to the victim representatives states. "The Review Board feels it is not appropriate to readdress these terms by responding to your list of action items and recommendations." Webb said the victims' suggestions, such as giving new victims a timeline for a response to their allegations or publicly naming all priests who have credible allegations of sexual abuse against them, speak to restoring the church's reputation in the wake of the nationwide scandal. "It seems they want to stop short of restoring it," he said. "That should be the position of the church: 'Do the right thing.' " Schildgen characterized the victims' requests as "not outrageous." Among them, they said, the diocese: n Should actively lobby the state Legislature to remove the statute of limitations in child abuse cases. n Appeal the Vatican's decision not to remove the Rev. Francis Bass from the priesthood despite Franklin's request it do so and ask victims for additional testimony against Bass to be sent in with the appeal letter. n Release the names and files of all priests who have faced allegations in the past 50 years. "We knew it would be difficult to respond on some of those things," Schildgen said. "This whole thing is money," he added. "If they reach out to victims, they're afraid they're going to get sued again. "It was a slap in the face." The diocese said changing state law is outside the framework of the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops charter to protect young people. "There is nothing we can do or say to satisfy all victims who have their own individual needs," the diocese response states. "The needs of some victims are oftentimes opposed to the needs of other victims." The diocese also said it hopes all parties will live up to a non-monetary provision of the settlement stating that parties "will refrain from making disparaging remarks or from engaging in acts or conduct which brings disparagement on the other parties."
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