Bishop Richard Malone won't publish his home telephone number, but he allows full names of altar servers to be published on parish web sites.

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) Maine
www.snapnetwork.org

For immediate release:
Wednesday, October 25, 2006

CHILD PROTECTION ALERT

At least two of Maine's Catholic parishes continue to publish names and telephone numbers of altar
servers on parish web sites.

Personal information about minor children is available to sex predators

“Over and over again, Bishop Malone tells Catholics that the protection of children is his “first priority.” Yet, earlier this year, the bishop announced that mandatory background checks on hundreds of church workers and volunteers were not been completed in a timely manner. Now it’s discovered that the names and phone numbers of innocent minor children are posted on parish web sites. Bishop Malone won’t allow his own home telephone number to be published anywhere, yet, it’s ok with him that private information about children is posted on a website. With this information, a sexual predator could easily locate the child’s home address.”
Marie Tupper, Maine Coordinator, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

“Two years ago, I alerted officials of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland that names, photos and/or email addresses of Catholic school children were being published on Catholic school web sites. Now, I have discovered that the names and telephone numbers of more children (altar servers) are posted on at least two more parish web sites. When children's names and phone numbers are posted on web sites, the children are exposed to sexual predators, both within and outside the Church. It's ironic, though, that at the same time that Bishop Malone is refusing to allow SNAP to place an ad in the diocesan news magazine, one that is intended to help protect children and reach out to victims of clergy sexual abuse, further evidence arises that the bishop is not paying attention and doing everything he can to protect innocent children from child sex abuse.”
Michael Sweatt, Maine VOTF leader

"This is more proof that the church hierarchy has fixated on damage control, rather than on simple, proven steps to keep kids safe. There's still a long, long way to go before kids are truly protected in the Catholic community. The fault here lies squarely with the bishop, who clearly should be providing effective training for Catholics, instead of providing expensive contracts for defense lawyers and public relations professionals."
David Clohessy, Executive Director, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

For more information:
David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP Executive Director, 314 566 9790
Marie Tupper, Maine SNAP Coordinator, 207 633 4608
Michael Sweatt, VOTF Maine, 207 831 3791