By Bill Raack, KWMU
St. Louis – A St. Louis-based group of clergy abuse survivors is raising concerns over a new report about how the church has protected children.
Members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, think a national survey of bishops about church abuse is a flawed report.
It's slated for release Tuesday. SNAP spokesperson Barbara Dorris says the church did not investigate the abuse thoroughly enough.
"Of course they need to know what the bishops are saying but shouldn't they have talked to the prosecutors?" Dorris said. "This is a crime. Shouldn't they have talked to Votive and some of the other reform groups that are very involved in the church and want to stay part of the church and want things to change? I think they should have talked to them. I think they should have talked to survivors."
The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Wilton Gregory of Belleville, says that the report will show that the bishops have kept their word. He says they are protecting children and punishing the priests who molested them.