Protest Group Makes Unusual Donation to Chicago Archdiocese

By Prescott Carlson in News on Jul 31, 2010 9:15PM

Frank Douglas, national director of Send the Bishops a Message, a group of "reform-minded Catholics" that want "meaningful action" taken against how the church handles sexual abuse scandals, made an unusual donation of $200 to the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago on Saturday. It wasn't the amount that was unusual as much as how it was given -- all in pennies.

Each of the pennies represented the "estimated 20,000 victims of sexual abuse by clergy in the U.S.," Douglas told the Chicago Tribune. And until the church steps up the accountability on sexual abuse, Douglas wants those pennies to keep coming, adding:

"Money is power. Just put a penny on the collection plate when it goes by. We'll use the power of the purse to send them a message."

Douglas, from Tucson, was in Chicago with about 250 others attending a Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) conference this weekend. One of the speakers at the conference is attorney Jeff Anderson, who received a favorable U.S. Supreme Court decision in June allowing a lawsuit to move forward against the Vatican, claiming that the Holy See is accountable for the sexual abuse by a former priest, who abused teens at a Catholic high school in Chicago.