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SAN ANTONIO • A press conference to announce and unveil the Archdiocese of San Antonio’s hosting of the “Mending the Hurt Quilt” took place August 20 in the chancery atrium.
The quilt was created by local children victimized by sexual abuse, members of the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office and the Alamo Children’s Advocacy Center (ACAC) staff, and is part of a year-long campaign to heighten public awareness of child abuse.
It will remain on display at the chancery through September and, at the conclusion of its tour in April 2005, will be auctioned off by sealed bid to raise funds for ACAC medical and counseling programs.
Dignitaries present for the chancery ceremonies included Archbishop Patrick F. Flores; Deacon Pat Rogers, director of communications for the archdiocese and executive director for Catholic Television of San Antonio (CTSA); Jordan McMorrough, editor of Today’s Catholic; Steve Martinez, associate coordinator for the Office of Victim Assistance and Safe Environment (VASE); Mark Carmona, executive director of the Alamo Children’s Advocacy Center; and Assistant District Attorney Noelle Argabright of the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office.
“The reason we are all here today,” said Rogers, standing before the colorful quilt, “is because we are co-sponsoring this stop along the way on behalf of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Today’s Catholic, Catholic Television of San Antonio and the Office of Victim Assistance and Safe Environment.”
Carmona noted that child abuse is a community wide problem cutting across all strata of our society, with close to 17,000 reported incidences of abuse in San Antonio in 2002 alone — a shocking average of 47 per day.
“This crisis shows no sign of abatement,” he said. “The Mending the Hurt Quilt tour is dedicated to the thousands of San Antonio victims, both children and adults, who have suffered through the pain and betrayal of child abuse.”
He noted the goals of those present were to honor the victims of abuse, better educate the public about the issues and strengthen the existing prevention and awareness programs.
“We want to personally recognize Archbishop Flores, renowned for his love of children. He’s been a leader in establishing protective and preventive policies of the church and in this archdiocese,” said Carmona, who noted that ACAC works with many Catholic groups throughout the archdiocese, including the Office of Victim Assistance and Safe Environment. He praised CTSA for periodically airing ACAC’s video, “The Healing Begins With You.”
Archbishop Flores shared his hope that the quilt would serve to enlighten people to the “horror” of the sexual violation of children and help prevent its continuing. “We’re supposed to be a civilized nation,” he said. “But are we?”
He noted one of the first jobs he was given when he became a priest 48 years ago was to help find placement for young unwed mothers and their babies. Some were as young as 13 and 14 years old, yet little was done to call to account the men who were the fathers of these girls’ babies.
This led to his helping found Seton Home nearly 30 years ago to assist these young unwed mothers and their infants.
The archbishop expressed gratitude on behalf of the archdiocese for being given the opportunity to display the quilt and aid in the awareness of child abuse.
“We hope that it will become an eye-opener, a spiritual up-lifter to many, many people who come in touch with it,” he said, adding, “You have a great mission, which is to restore dignity, trust and hope to children.”
Following the ceremonies, attendees were invited to pick up the August 20 issue of Today’s Catholic, which featured a story on the quilt and ACAC, and meet with representatives of the agencies involved.
This included Assistant District Attorney Noelle Argabright, who had initiated the project.
She noted the labor itself took approximately six months, after collecting the children’s crayon drawings a few months prior.
“It was pretty labor intensive,” she said, “but we had a lot of volunteers that made it go faster.”
Persons from Child Protective Services, law enforcement, the ACAC staff and the district attorney’s office helped cut out and piece together the quilt, with a volunteer from the district attorney’s office providing the appliqué work on the border of teddy bears and hearts. Argabright and her mother-in-law then pieced the quilt together, with a fellow church member of one of the district attorney’s staff performing the quilting.
“It would’ve been a much longer process if it hadn’t been for everybody pitching in, which is an example of how the center works,” Argabright noted. “So even the process in making the quilt is a representation of how the center functions to help children.” |