OR--Portland predator priest is guilty; Victims respond
For immediate release: Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 503 0003 cell, [email protected])
An Oregon priest is guilty of trying to lure a girl into his car. Now, Portland’s archbishop and other Catholic officials must aggressively seek out others who may have experienced or ignored or concealed his crimes. And we hope next month he’s locked up for as long as possible
http://www.columbian.com/news/2016/may/10/priest-guilty-of-trying-to-lure-girl/
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2014/03_04/2014_04_25_Achen_PriestAppears.htm
Fr. Michael T. Patrick left the US after being questioned by police about the accusation. We’re grateful law enforcement officials caught him in Los Angeles. He lives in Vancouver’s Image neighborhood, has worked in Oregon parishes since 1998 (most recently at St. Wenceslaus in Scappoose) and is originally from Sri Lanka.
Archbishop Alexander Sample should use parish bulletins, church websites and pulpit announcements to spread the word about Fr. Patrick and urge anyone with knowledge or fears of his crimes to call police or prosecutors.
Ironically, two months ago, Sample tried to minimize the church’s on-going clergy sex scandal, disingenuously calling it “a tragic chapter in the history of the Church in the United States.”
http://www.snapnetwork.org/or_victims_blast_portland_archbishop_over_spotlight_remarks
(Fr. Patrick is one of 89 publicly accused predator priests in the Portland archdiocese. His picture, and information about these abusive clerics, is at BishopAccountability.org)
No matter what the judge or church officials do or don’t do, we urge every single person who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups in Catholic churches or institutions to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling law enforcement, get justice by calling attorneys, and be comforted by calling support groups like ours. This is how kids will be safer, adults will recover, criminals will be prosecuted, cover ups will be deterred and the truth will surface.
(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])
Priest guilty of trying to lure girl
14-year-old said a strange man told her to get into his car
By Jessica Prokop, Columbian Courts Reporter, Published: May 10, 2016, 8:07 PM
A Catholic priest entered a guilty plea Friday, court records show, to trying to lure a 14-year-old girl into his car as she was walking home from school in Vancouver’s Image neighborhood.
Michael T. Patrick, 59, the former pastor of St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Scappoose, Ore., entered the plea in Clark County Superior Court to attempted luring but did not admit to the conduct. Patrick initially faced a charge of luring in connection with 2014 incident.
David Renshaw, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Portland, said Tuesday that Patrick is . . .
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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