NY- Victims blast Dolan’s secrecy

He hides child sex allegations for months

Three child molesting clerics worked at one parish

Group to Cardinal: “Go to parish, seek out victims”

SNAP doubts Dolan’s claim that deacon was ousted months ago

It also challenges him to say when he first learned of abuse from cops

WHAT

Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims will harshly criticize NYC’s Cardinal Tim Dolan for

-- hiding credible child sex abuse accusations against a deacon for months,

-- allegedly suspending the deacon months ago but doing it quietly, and

--asking parishioners with information to call church officials instead of law enforcement officials.

The will also

-- urge Dolan to personally visit the parish seeking out other victims, and

-- urge anyone who may have seen, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes in New York – by this cleric or others – to call police, protect kids and expose wrongdoing.

WHEN

Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013 at 1:30 p.m.

WHERE

On sidewalk outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral (5th Avenue entrance) in New York City

WHO

Three members of a clergy sex abuse victims’ support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org)

WHY

On Sunday, Cardinal Timothy Dolan ousted a deacon from his post because of substantiated child sex abuse allegations. But Dolan admits waiting months to do so. He won’t say when police gave information about the predator to the archdiocese. And in a letter to parishioners on Sunday and a news release yesterday, Dolan claims he suspended the deacon months ago but offers no proof of having done this.

SNAP believes parishioners, parents and the public deserve straight answers about this case from Dolan, especially in light of Dolan’s repeated pledges to be “open” about clergy child sex cases. They want him to hold an open meeting at the predator’s parish and take questions from the public.

Deacon Al Mazza is the third cleric at Holy Name of Mary church in Croton-on-Hudson to be credibly accused of child sex crimes. In his letter to parishioners, Dolan refused to name the other two. They are Fr.  Gennaro  L. “Jerry” Gentile and Fr. Kenneth A. Jesselli. Both were defrocked by the Vatican in 2005.

Dolan has a civic and moral duty, SNAP says, to “aggressively seek out others with information or suspicions” about all three men and “prod them to call police and prosecutors, so they might be convicted, imprisoned and kept away from kids.” Dolan makes no mention – either in his letter to parishioners nor in his news release – about criminal prosecution.

In fact, in what SNAP argues is a self-serving move, Dolan asks people with information to call a nun, a priest and a deacon, making no mention of law enforcement.

http://bishopaccountability.org/news/2002_03_27_Evans_TwistedJourney.htm

Gentile’s work history is here: http://www.bishopaccountability.org/assign/Gentile_Gennaro_L.htm

Jesselli’s work history is here: http://www.bishop-accountability.org/ny_newyork/directory_entries.htm

More on how Dolan is handling the Mazza case is here:

http://www.snapnetwork.org/ny_victims_blast_cardinal_dolan_over_child_sex_secrecy

http://www.snapnetwork.org/audacious_tim_dolan

CONTACT

Mary Caplan 917-439-4187, [email protected], Megan Peterson218-689-9049, [email protected], David Clohessy 314 566 9790, [email protected]