OK Catholic official promoted to KS; SNAP responds
We’re disappointed that Msgr. Edward Weisenburger has been promoted. For the past 16 years, he has been a high-ranking official (vicar general) in an archdiocese (Oklahoma City) with a disturbing record with children’s safety.
Oklahoma City’s archbishop tapped Weisenburger for the vicar general spot. In that role, Weisenburger was surely intimately involved in virtually all cases of clergy sexual misconduct.
Barely a year ago, Weisenburger kept silent for at least a month, and likely much longer, about credible child sex abuse allegations against Fr. Steven D. Cude. (A civil lawsuit against Cude was filed by attorney Shad Withers).That’s a violation of the promises that all US bishops made a decade ago to be “open and transparent” in clergy sex cases.
Furthermore, we see no evidence that Weisenburger or his Oklahoma City colleagues did anything substantive to reach out to others hurt by Fr. Thomas Benke, who worked there for at least eight years and molested several boys. Ditto with Fr. Dave Imming, Fr. Daniel Keohane, or Fr. Robert L. Foster, all of whom are accused of sexually assaulting kids.
We hope that as Salina’s bishop, Weisenburger will quickly and clearly reach out to anyone who may have been hurt by including Fr. Finian Meis, Fr. Ron Gilardi and Fr. Robert Reif (all of whom are or were Salina priests and all of whom have been publicly and credibly accused of child sex crimes).
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/usccb/natureandscope/dioceses/salinaks.htm
We hope the new bishop will beg anyone with information or suspicions about child sex crimes to call police immediately. And we hope he will do what 25 of his brother bishops have belatedly and begrudgingly done – post on his website, for the safety of kids, the names of all proven, admitted and credibly accused child molesting clerics.
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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