Massachusetts Man to Lead Clergy Abuse Victims Rally Outside Vatican on Halloween

Bernie McDaid, a man from Massachusetts, will be leading a rally outside the Vatican on Halloween. McDaid, who was an altar boy in his youth, joined a lawsuit against Cardinal Bernard Law and other officials of the Catholic Church in 2002. The suit alleged that McDaid and a number of other altar boys at St. James Church in Salem had been abused by the late Rev. Joseph Birmingham, a serial pedophile, in the late 1960s.

McDaid and Gary Bergeron, co-organizers of the rally, chose October 31^st “because of its powerful symbolism: It is the day when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to a church door in Germany, an event that helped trigger the Protestant Reformation.”

Victims from the United States, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, and other countries plan to gather for the rally in Rome for their own “Reformation Day.” The group of victims will hold a moment of silence this evening at 6:30 and will proclaim this the “Year of the Survivor.” The group’s intent is “to send a message of unity, hope and the need for change within the Catholic Church.”

– Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger

Source: The Salem News