FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RCF has determined that an effective means of educating the public about a given situation
is the post card campaign. In our efforts to remove Bishop Daniel Ryan of Springfield, IL,
we printed tens of thousands of cards and distributed them to our members
to send throughout the country. It was a highly successful campaign, and
we plan to use this method again as the need arises.)

RCF Launches Post Card Campaign in the Diocese of Springfield

RCF Ryan Post Card

Roman Catholic Faithful, in a continuing campaign to remove the Bishop of Springfield, Illinois from his see, has instituted a post card campaign to detail the lack of authoritative action which RCF describes as a "tolerance of abusive power."

Tens of thousands of the 4" x 6" color cards have been printed for distribution to RCF members, and Stephen G. Brady, president of the organization, has asked all RCF members to use the cards freely and often, both in correspondence with religious officials as well as in secular activities. "We want folks to use these cards wherever they can to spread the word throughout the nation that faithful Catholics are no longer tolerating the failure of the Church hierarchy to live by Catholic principles and be truthful to its flock, in word and in action, in matters of faith and morals."

The card's cover is a color photograph of three RCF members in front of the Springfield cathedral, holding a banner which reads:

A Disgrace To the Catholic Church!
Bishop Daniel L. Ryan of Springfield, IL
...Soliciting Sex From Priests!
...Paying teenage boys for sex!

RCF members have displayed this banner in front of the Cathedral, the home church of the Springfield bishop, on several occasions, including during area church services.

The back of the card details further information:

Roman Catholic Faithful, Inc., P.O. Box 109, Petersburg, IL 62675 / (217)632-5920
http://www.rcf.org Picture taken in Springfield, IL / 6th & Lawrence / April 1999

Vatican officials, as well as Cardinal George of Chicago, have known for some time that Bishop Daniel Ryan has a history of homosexual acts with minors. Yet these same officials continue to allow Ryan to remain Bishop of Springfield. As a baptized Catholic, I object to this complacency, tolerance of abusive power, and perversion in the episcopacy.

"We've already sent cards to hundreds of area bishops and media outlets throughout the country, and a great amount of interest is being generated by a number of news people and other members of the media," said Brady in a recent statement. "We want our members to use these cards and, especially, to send one or more of them to the American Papal Nuncio. He needs to hear a strong and decisive response from faithful Catholics to the Church's lack of action in correcting this scandal."

RCF plans to send a packet of cards to every member on its subscriber list, and requests that anyone who does not plan on using them send them back to RCF as soon as possible. "These cards are going very quickly, and we want to have enough to fill the high demand we're already experiencing," Brady said. Brady is also requesting that members, if able, contribute toward the costs of producing and mailing these cards, which are rapidly becoming one of the most successful tools in disseminating information about the campaign.

In closing, Brady noted a recent communication he received from one of RCF's supporters and priest-advisors:

"'A major reason the Church in the United States is in the state it is today is that a terrible evil has hidden behind a facade of human weakness and uses that weakness to manipulate and achieve its ends. Those who hold office in the Church have failed to exercise their service of authority and have given this evil time and space to grow and mature. Misplaced and foolish charity has allowed real evil to root itself deep in the heart of the Church. Intellectual pride instead of humility and a model of church based on power rather than love have cost us dearly. This false compassion which has allowed the evil to continue has a terrible cost and that bill has been paid by the innocent and the faithful. Only God knows the number of bishops who have transferred pedophiles to prevent "scandal". We have hidden these things for years as if they didn't exist and told ourselves it was for the good of the church. At that point we became the enemies of truth and so the true enemies of the church.'"

For more information, contact Stephen Brady.

Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo
Papal Nuncio
3339 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington D.C. 20008

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