Holy Family Church hosting forum on clergy sex abuse Read more: Holy Family Church hosting forum on clergy sex abuse - Duxbury,

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By Kathryn Koch Wicked Local Duxbury

DUXBURY —

Around the country, 27 archdioceses have released the names of priests and other church personnel who have been charged with sexual abuse of a minor and whose guilt has been formally established.

The Archdiocese of Boston has not.

The Parish Pastoral Council of Holy Family Church wants to shine a brighter light on the archdiocese’s refusal to release these names.


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Council member Tom Murray said he and other members are determined to be proactive about addressing the challenges facing the local community. To do so, they are hosting a forum at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 8, in the parish center at 601 Tremont St.on the issue.

“We really want to put pressure on (Cardinal Sean O’Malley) to release these names,” he said.

He said he can’t understand why the names haven’t been released and wants to be part of the effort to get the Boston Archdiocese to release the names.

“We can’t put our heads in the sand,” he said.

Murray said the council would be remiss in staying silent because the primary goal of the church should be to protect the children and not let even one more be molested. He said Holy Family Church has taken steps to ensure that children are protected, including establishing a protocol for adults when they interact with children.

Speakers will include attorney Tom Nuttall, a local member of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council, and Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of www.bishopacccountability.org, a Massachusetts nonprofit corporation that documents the abuse crisis in the Catholic church on the Internet. Murray, who will serve as moderator, expects a spirited meeting.

A member of the church since 1994 and member of its pastoral council for two years, Murray said the catalyst for the forum, expected to be the first of several information and discussion sessions to be scheduled on topics related to the clergy abuse issue, was a letter from a parishioner.

Murray said all are welcome to attend the forum.
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