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The Franciscan Institute at St. Bonaventure University on Monday announced that it was calling off an academic conference scheduled for this week on the sexual abuse crisis facing the Roman Catholic Church. Some local victims of abuse and advocates for victims criticized the planned event because no victims were scheduled to speak.
The Reverend David B. Couturier, executive director of the Franciscan Institute at St. Bonaventure, said in a statement, "I listened to the victim. I heard his deep concerns and decided to follow his advice that the conference we had designed was not helpful here in this diocese at this time. So, I decided to cancel the event. I wish I could have rearranged the schedule, found new speakers, and provided for the new direction being advocated. But, with less than a week before the conference was to begin, it just wasn’t possible."
