Cardinal DiNardo Should Ask Abusive Conroe Priest to Plead Guilty
An allegedly abusive priest from Conroe County is due in court on Thursday for the next phase of his trial. We believe that church officials can and should spare his victims the pain of that trial and should encourage the priest to plead guilty instead.
Fr. Manuel LaRosa Lopez will be back in court on Thursday following his indictment in May on three counts of indecency with a child. He has now been charged with five counts from three separate victims. The incidents for the five counts occurred in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. There is also a fourth victim who went to the Archdiocese of Galveston/Houston in 1992 with an accusation, but this incident occurred outside of the window of the Statute of Limitations. If the church had been responsible at that time, they would have removed Fr. LaRosa Lopez from ministry, preventing the three victims in the criminal case from being sexually abused, changing their lives forever. Given this information, we feel that Cardinal Daniel DiNardo should use his power to help spare the pain and expense of a trial and encourage Fr. LaRosa Lopez to plead guilty.
Priests take a vow of obedience, so if Cardinal DiNardo demanded that Fr. LaRosa Lopez take this step, he would be required to do so. And the church continues to pay Fr. LaRosa Lopez’s expenses, including legal fees. If church officials in Houston really care about victims the way they claim to do publicly, they should be looking for ways to ensure Fr. LaRosa Lopez is kept away from children in the future and for survivors of his abuse to receive the validation they deserve.
For the concern of survivors and the protection of others in the future, Cardinal DiNardo should make this demand today.
CONTACT: Michael D. Norris, SNAP Houston ([email protected], 713-855-9178), Eduardo Lopez de Casas, SNAP Houston ([email protected], 832-641-6319), Zach Hiner, Executive Director ([email protected], 517-974-9009)
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director