MO--New clerics are asked to disinvite Finn
New clerics are asked to disinvite Finn
SNAP: “Or Finn should withdraw from ordinations”
Bishop’s role “hurts victims & Catholics,” group says
At least 2 KC priests are raising objections within hierarchy
Victims to Pope: “Pick a priest, not a bureaucrat” to head diocese permanently
WHAT
Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters will
-- blast Bishop Robert Finn’s plan to preside at two upcoming church ceremonies and
-- disclose that two or three KC priests are objecting to Finn’s role in those events.
For the sake of healing and prevention, the victims will also urge
-- eight men who will become deacons next month to disinvite Finn,
-- Finn himself to voluntarily step aside from the events, and
-- Pope Francis to name a parish priest, “not a headquarters bureaucrat” to permanently head the diocese.
WHEN
Wednesday, April 29 at 2:30 p.m.
WHERE
Outside the KC Catholic diocesan chancery office/headquarters, 20 W. 9th Street in downtown Kansas City
WHO
Two-three-four members of a self-help group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org), including a St. Louis woman who is the organization’s long time outreach director
WHY
This week, it was disclosed that convicted Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn, despite his recent resignation, plans to preside over two ordination ceremonies for new deacons next month in Kansas City.
http://www.hayspost.com/2015/04/28/despite-resignation-kc-bishop-to-preside-over-ordinations/
http://www.kctv5.com/story/28918664/resigned-bishop-finn-to-preside-over-ordinations-in-may
A former chancery (diocesan headquarters) employee has revealed to SNAP that at least two Kansas City Missouri priests have urged top church officials to stop this from happening. The priests drove recently to meet with and express their concerns to Missouri’s highest ranking Catholic official, Archbishop Robert Carlson of St. Louis.
SNAP supports their effort and opposes Finn’s continued active presence in Kansas City as “a distraction, detraction and disgrace” that will “dominate and mar these two events while rubbing salt into the already deep and still fresh wounds of hundreds of struggling abuse victims and thousands of betrayed Catholics.”
The group fears some may protest the ordinations, set for May 16 and May 28.
SNAP is urging the eight men who are set to become deacons in May to ask Finn to step aside and let someone else preside at the ceremonies. If they don’t, SNAP is urging Finn himself to agree to step aside. (There are roughly 446 active and retired bishops in the US who replace Finn at the ordinations, the group notes.) And SNAP is urging more parishioners and priests to “publicly denounce this unwise and unhealthy move.”
Kansas City’s next permanent bishop, SNAP says, should be “a parish priest with no chancery office or church headquarters.” They are urging Pope Francis to select a cleric “who has focused on service, not self-promotion or ladder-climbing or career-building.”
Two high ranking church officials – Pope Francis’ chief US aide, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano (the “papal nuncio to the US in Washington DC) and Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet (the head of the Congregation for Bishops in Rome) – approved Finn’s leadership role in the ordinations.
http://kcur.org/post/archbishop-joseph-naumann-looks-heal-raise-funds-kansas-city-st-joseph-diocese
(To a large degree, under church law and practice, every diocese is considered autonomous. But in some respects, three Missouri bishops – in what are called “suffragan dioceses”- answer to the archbishop of St. Louis who is considered the “metropolitan bishop” for the state.)
CONTACT
Barbara Dorris 314 503 0003 cell, [email protected] or David Clohessy 314 566 9790, [email protected] or [email protected]
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
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