Hundreds of Vatican cables are released
Group urges public to read new Wikileaks disclosures
SNAP: Documents “pull back the veil” surrounding “secretive institution”Almost 300 US State Department cables relating to the Vatican were released on Friday by Wikileaks. http://wikileaks.org/origin/33_0.html
Some of the information has been released previously.
The oldest documents are from 2001. The most recent one is a 1,976 word cable in February of last year about the Irish clergy sex abuse and cover up scandal. (That one has been reported on by mainstream news outlets).
More details:
--A 2005 cable - 1,361 words long - analyzes Pope Benedict’s decision to promote former San Francisco Archbishop Wiliam Levada to a high ranking Vatican post. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2005/05/05VATICAN480.html
--A 2005 cable says that Belgian Cardinal Godfried Danneels was a leading candidate to follow Pope John Paul II. (Last year, the clergy abuse scandal erupted in Belgium.)
http://wikileaks.org/cable/2005/04/05VATICAN466.html
--A 2003 document says “it is clear that (disgraced Boston Cardinal Bernard) Law still has strong support at the Vatican from many who believe he was treated as a scapegoat in the sex scandal.” It also says that Law’s replacement, now Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley, was initially denied a promotion to “spare” Law “ignominy.”
http://wikileaks.org/cable/2003/09/03VATICAN4461.html - See “Sole Red Hat for US”
A support group for clergy sex abuse victims is urging citizens and Catholics to read the reports because “it’s so rare to get really unbiased views of “the usually secretive, inner workings of this insular institution.”
Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, take no position on the ethics of Wikileaks’ disclosures. But the organization believes that since the documents are now available on line, the public should study them.
Barbara Blaine, founder of SNAP, passed away on Sunday, September 24th, 2017. Her dying was sudden and completely unexpected. Words cannot express our sorrow nor are there words to express our gratitude for her relentless advocacy. She truly was a hero. There is an old saying, “well behaved women seldom make history”. Barbara made history and the world is a better place.
We have put together a tribute for Barbara Blaine to honor her memory. If you would like to contribute a memory, please send your favorite memory of Barbara to admin@snapnetwork.org
50 State AG Call for Grand Jury
Write a letter to the attorney general of your state. Demand, request, and beg them to impanel a grand jury.
Any investigation must be:
- independent of and separate from the church
- must have subpoena powers and ability to compel testimony under oath
Anything short of these criteria is a sham and whitewash.
In addition, write letters to the editor, make phone calls to politicians as they can apply pressure to keep them responsive to our demand. We need to make efforts to ensure that they follow up on what the state is doing to investigate these crimes.
The Attorneys General of forty states have inquired about the grand jury process in Pennsylvania. Let's get statewide investigations going in fifty states.
Note to Letter Writers
Use your own words and style of writing. Cut and paste from the templates as you wish. Include your experiences, whether as a survivor or as a member of the community. And relate your letter to the state you were abused in or state now living in.
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