Abuse victims to leaflet Catholic church Sat 6/17 @ 3pm

(For Immediate Release June 16, 2023) 

Abuse victims to leaflet Catholic church

They ask parishioners to help prod KC bishop

‘He still refuses to disclose all molesters’ SNAP says

Group names 2 local predators ‘never outed here before’

They have been deemed ‘credibly accused’ of abuse elsewhere

Diocese won’t name two other priests, but paid their victims $377,000

WHAT

As parishioners leave mass, clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters will hand out fliers urging parishioners to insist that their bishop disclose the names of all predator priests who are or were in the KC MO diocese, including

--two who have never been publicly accused of abuse in the KC area before (but have been deemed ‘credibly accused’ abusers in other Catholic dioceses), and

--two who have been sued for molesting in KC MO (and cases settled for $277,000 and $60,000)

None of the four are on the KC MO diocese’s list of alleged predators even though it’s documented that they lived and/or worked in the KC MO diocese.

The leaflets also beg church-goers to ask their loved ones if they were hurt by any of the now 40+ publicly accused KC MO predator priests (according to a respected, online archive called BishopAccountability.org)

WHEN

Saturday, June 17 at 3:00 p.m.

WHERE

Outside the KC Catholic diocese’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 416. W. 12^th Street in downtown Kansas City MO

WHO

Three-four members of a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org), including a St. Louis man who is the organization’s former executive director (now Missouri volunteer director)

WHY

SNAP has found four more credibly accused child molesting clerics who live or lived in the KC MO diocese and should be - but are NOT - on the KC MO diocese’s list of alleged predators.

Two of them - Msgr. Martin Henry Froeschl and Fr. Alexander B. (“Sandy”) Sinclair – have been sued for molesting KC MO kids. Cases against them have settled for a total of $337,000. Yet they are NOT on the KC MO list.

Two others - Fr. James V. McCormick and Fr. Lawrence C. Schierhoff - are on church ‘credibly accused’ lists in other dioceses - in St. Louis, Jeff City and South Dakota) but NOT on the KC MO list.

(McCormick and Schierhoff are being ‘outed’ here for the first time. Both clerics are virtually unknown in KC MO. Previously, SNAP has urged KC MO church officials to add Froeschel and Sinclair.)

Over the past 2-3 years, SNAP has criticized KC MO Bishop James Johnston before for refusing to put all child molesting clerics (priests, nuns, bishops, seminarians, monks, brothers) on his diocesan ‘credibly accused’ list.

For the most part, Johnston has ignored SNAP’s requests, even though he chairs the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Youth Protection

https://www.usccb.org/committees/protection-children-young-people/committee#tab--committee-members

Bishops elsewhere have, however, responded to several such requests by SNAP, adding names of credibly accused child molesting clerics.

DETAILS

According to BishopAccountability.org, an authoritative and respected online archive of the church’s abuse crisis, there are 41 publicly accused KC MO predator priests, although the KC MO diocese lists only 38 such priests.

SNAP says Bishop Johnston should list, but refuses to list, more than 20 proven, admitted, or credibly accused child molesting clerics who are or were in his diocese.

https://www.bishop-accountability.org/dioceses/usa-mo-kansas-city-st-joseph/

https://kcsjcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/Substantiated.08012022.Hartwayupdate.PUBLISHED.pdf

CONTACT

David Clohessy, SNAP Leader Missouri (314-566-9790, [email protected])  Mike McDonnell, SNAP Communications Manager (267-261-0578 ([email protected])