OH--Steubenville predator priest passes; Victims respond
For immediate release: Monday, Feb. 15, 2016
Statement by Judy Jones, Midwest Associate Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priest 636-433-2511, [email protected]
Steubenville Catholic officials kept silent for weeks about the passing of an accused predator priest and made no mention of his alleged crimes in the very short obituary published in the diocesan newspaper.
In 1985, Fr. Carl Anthony Peltz was a priest in the Steubenville diocese and was accused of forcing a 12 year old to drink whiskey and raping him.
In 1991, Fr. Peltz was sent to a treatment center for predator priests called the Vianney Renewal Center in Dittmer Missouri (just outside St. Louis).
In 1993, diocesan officials reached a $25,000 settlement with the alleged victim.
In 1997, Fr. Peltz was transferred to the Kalamazoo Diocese where he worked as recently as 2009 in at least eight towns (Parchment, Delton, Lacey, Berrien Springs, Decatur, Buchanan, Portage and Niles).
www.BishopAccountability.org
According to Fr. Peltz's obituary, he died on Dec. 26 last year, yet Steubenville Bishop Jeffrey Montforton waited to make this public until Feb 11 (at the bottom of page 11 in a 12 page publication). The priest was buried in Michigan.
http://www.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/fr-carl-f-peltz.110175
We hope anyone who has seen, suspected or suffered Fr. Peltz’ crimes, or cover ups by his church colleagues or supervisors, will call police, expose wrongdoers, protect kids and start healing.
And we hope that, in the future, Steubenville church officials will be more honest with police, prosecutors, parents, parishioners and the public about accused child molesting clerics.
According to the Official Catholic Directory, Fr. Peltz was also assigned to work in Virginia (Norfolk in the Richmond diocese), Montana (Ft. Shaw and Cascade in the Great Falls-Billings diocese), Missouri (Manchester and Glencoe in the St. Louis archdiocese) and as a Navy chaplain in Iceland).
In Ohio, he worked in Lore City, Seneca Lake, Steubenville, Amsterdam and Marietta (all in the Steubenville diocese).
A photo of Fr. Peltz is available at BishopAccountability.org
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747,[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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