Church seeks 19 year old victim’s records

• Church seeks 19 year old victim’s records
• Catholic officials try new hardball tactic again
• It’s the 1^st time here & only 2nd time in SNAP’s history
• Predator priest, now allegedly “missing,” was convicted years before
• But archdiocese put him back into a parish & kept him on duty til 2002
• Now, archbishop wants thousands of pages of other “private” documents

WHAT

Holding signs and childhood pictures at a sidewalk news conference, SNAP leaders will disclose that

-- for the first time ever, St. Louis Catholic officials are now trying to force them to violate privacy of victims, witnesses, whistleblowers, police, prosecutors, journalists and others who seek SNAP’s consolation and help, and

-- for the second time ever, one of SNAP’s three professional staff has been subpoenaed and ordered to face questioning by church defense lawyers.

The case involves a 19 year old who was repeatedly sexually assaulted as a girl in 2000 by a priest who’d pled guilty to molesting a boy years earlier.

The victims will also

--pledge to do “everything possible” to protect the privacy of “every single man, woman and teenager who contacts us for help,” and

--blast St. Louis’ Archbishop Robert Carlson for using “extreme and mean-spirited legal maneuvers” to “deter others from getting help, calling police and protecting kids”

WHEN

TODAY, Wednesday, January 5, 1:00 p.m.

WHERE

Outside  St. Cronan’s Parish at 1203 South Boyle Avenue (corner of Swan Avenue) in Saint Louis

WHO

 Two-four clergy sex abuse victims who belong to a confidential support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org)

WHY

For the second time in recent weeks – and only the second time in the group’s 23 year existence, a SNAP staff member has been subpoenaed in a civil child sex abuse case against a predator Catholic priest and corrupt Catholic officials.

This time, it’s the St. Louis archdiocese seeking thousands of pages of records going back 23 years including the private communications of a 19 year old girl who was sexually assaulted by Fr. Joseph D. Ross.

Despite having pled guilty in 1988 to sexually assaulting an 11 year old boy, Ross was working in an inner city parish (St. Cronan’s) as recently as 2002.

Earlier this week, SNAP tried – but failed - to stop SNAP director David Clohessy from being deposed in a similar case in Kansas City involving Fr. Michael Tierney (who faces five civil child sex abuse lawsuits).

The group calls these moves “an unprecedented, bullying maneuver designed to protect child molesters and silence victims” and “a cruel attack" to violate the privacy of - and learn the names of - victims, witnesses, whistleblowers, journalists, police, prosecutors, donors and others” who seek SNAP’s help.

In both cases, SNAP blames the head of each diocese – Robert Finn and Robert Carlson. SNAP is not even a party to neither the Ross nor the Tierney lawsuits.

St. Louis attorney Bernie Huger represents the St. Louis archdiocese. KC attorney Brian Madden represents Tierney.

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2011/09_10/2011_10_24_Hahn_WomanSues.htm

CONTACT

Barbara Dorris 314-862-7688 or 314-503-0003 [email protected] , David Clohessy 566 9790, [email protected]