Last fall, in my capacity as chair of the Independent Task Force on the Response to Sexual Abuse within the Diocese of Springfield, I wrote an op-ed providing an overview of the work the task force was undertaking with emphasis on the stakeholder input that we would be seeking.
I write now to affirm that the task force has been actively engaged and has made excellent progress in our data collection endeavor and in other phases of our work.
First, as we announced at a press conference on Jan. 8, we engaged the services of Stop It Now!, an independent professional organization in Northampton, to conduct focus groups with survivors of clergy sexual abuse. Obviously, there is no more important group from whom we need input than the men and women who have been sexually victimized by priests and other diocesan employees. We expect to receive the report from Stop It Now! on or about March 31, and it will certainly be an important element of our final report.