Australia--Abuse case vs. Vatican’s #2 moves forward; SNAP responds

For immediate release: Wednesday, July 27

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis MO, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, 314 645 5915 home,[email protected])

Police have sent to prosecutors their investigation into the second most powerful Catholic official on earth. Eight brave individuals – most of them alleged child sex abuse victims - have given sworn statements. Three are courageously disclosing their names and giving credible interviews to a credible, mainstream news source in a new 30 minute program.

http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2016/s4508646.htm

One man says he hopes these developments will prompt others with information about Cardinal George Pell’s wrongdoing to come forward. We share that hope. Despite Pell’s power, it’s crucial that others with suspicions or knowledge of his wrongdoing find the strength to speak up to secular authorities, not church figures.

After a lengthy investigation, police have deemed eight accusers’ accounts are credible enough that they’re giving the evidence to prosecutors. That speaks volumes.

Pell refuses to be interviewed about the serious allegations. That too speaks volumes.

We commend the compassion and courage of Les Tyack, Lyndon Monument, Damian Dignan, Darreen Mooney, and forensic psychologist and former priest Terry Laidler who agreed to be interviewed for the program.

No matter what lawmakers or church officials do or don’t do, we urge every single person who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups in Catholic churches or institutions to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling law enforcement, get justice by calling attorneys, and be comforted by calling support groups like ours. This is how kids will be safer, adults will recover, criminals will be prosecuted, cover ups will be deterred and the truth will surface.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Blaine(312-399-4747, [email protected])