美国国家公共电台 NPR More Than 400 Have Called Pennsylvania's Hotline Since Clergy Sex Abuse Report

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The phone lines at the state attorney general's office in Pennsylvania have not stopped ringing. Hotline numbers have surged with calls in the aftermath of a scathing¹ grand jury report which describes decades of child sex abuse and a massive cover-up by the Catholic Church. As Bobby Allyn of member station WHYY reports, officials are scrambling² to keep up with hundreds of new tips that are coming through on a clergy³ abuse hotline.

BOBBY ALLYN, BYLINE⁴: Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro was wrapping up his live-streamed address in Harrisburg last week. It was on the release of a grand jury report detailing how more than 300 Pennsylvania priests abused over a thousand victims in the Catholic Church since the 1940s. And he made a call-out.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING⁵)

JOSH SHAPIRO: If you are listening to this news conference and you know of sexual abuse being committed by a priest or a member of clergy against yourself or anyone else, please call us.

ALLYN: More than 400 calls have come in in the weeks since the report was made public. Joe Grace is a spokesman for Shapiro. He says state officials are pulling investigators⁶ from other departments to handle the deluge⁷.

JOE GRACE: We've deployed⁸ agents from our child predator⁹ section and brought them over to answer and respond to these calls that are coming into the hotline.

ALLYN: Melanie Sakoda with the Survivors¹¹ Network of Those Abused by Priests says the group's own national hotline has also seen a surge in calls since the report was released.

MELANIE SAKODA: Were we prepared for it? No. We have been caught a little bit short-handed.

ALLYN: Sakoda says some are concerned Catholics looking for ways to help. Others are survivors of sexual assault who have questions.

SAKODA: My abuser's on the list. You know, what should I do? Or, they're saying my abuser isn't on the list. What should I do?

ALLYN: Laws in Pennsylvania bar anyone over the age of 30 from filing a civil lawsuit¹² against a child sex abuser. And a criminal case involving child sex abuse must be started before the victim is 50 years old. According to University of Pennsylvania law professor Marci Hamilton, those are some of the most outdated¹³ child abuse laws in the country. Her advocacy group called Child USA has found that the average age of someone coming forward with child abuse is 52.

MARCI HAMILTON: For the state of Pennsylvania to be stuck on an age limit on being able to press charges is unusual at this point and puts them definitely in the minority.

ALLYN: But for some of those calling in, justice in the court system is not the only end goal. Hamilton says talking to someone about the abuse can be cathartic¹⁴ and can help a survivor¹⁰ move on. But she says the experience can cut the other way, too.

HAMILTON: Well, now they have to make a decision. Do I tell my wife? Do I tell my children? Do I now talk to the media like the other survivors are doing?

ALLYN: State investigators, Hamilton says, may be limited in their ability to help someone process these kinds of traumatic questions.

HAMILTON: So it is a very difficult thing to decide to do. And it can be extremely stressful. And it can bring on some of the demons¹⁵ that have visited them because of the abuse.

ALLYN: Joe Grace with the Pennsylvania attorney general's office says cases generated from the 2-year-old clergy abuse hotline helped shape the nearly 900 pages of grand jury findings. And investigators are listening to all the new calls of horrific abuse.

GRACE: They're recording facts. And then decisions will be made and are being made to investigate further where it is appropriate.

ALLYN: Meanwhile, supporters of child abuse victims are lobbying state lawmakers to pass new legislation in Pennsylvania that would allow victims more time to seek justice.

Bobby Allyn, NPR News, Philadelphia.

(SOUNDBITE OF RHIANNON BANNENBERG'S "TO FINALLY BE SEEN")

1 scathing   

adj.（言词、文章）严厉的，尖刻的；不留情的adv.严厉地，尖刻地v.伤害，损害（尤指使之枯萎）( scathe的现在分词)

参考例句：

• a scathing attack on the new management 针对新的管理层的猛烈抨击
• Her speech was a scathing indictment of the government's record on crime. 她的演讲强烈指责了政府在犯罪问题上的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

6 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 deluge   

n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥

参考例句：

• This little stream can become a deluge when it rains heavily.雨大的时候，这条小溪能变作洪流。
• I got caught in the deluge on the way home.我在回家的路上遇到倾盆大雨。

8 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

9 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

10 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

11 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

12 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

13 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

14 cathartic   

adj.宣泄情绪的；n.泻剂

参考例句：

• His laughter was cathartic,an animal yelp that brought tears to his eyes.他哈哈大笑以宣泄情绪，声音如野兽般尖厉，眼泪都笑出来了。
• The drug had a cathartic effect.这药有导泻的作用。

15 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》