PA--New federal indictment of Philly priest on child porn
For immediate release: Friday, Feb. 27
Statement by Karen Polesir, Philly SNAP leader, 267 992 9463, [email protected]
A new federal indictment says a Philly priest tried to lure a child into sex and distributed and possessed child pornography.
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-c-feds-indict-west-chester-priest-20150227-story.html
He’s the 135th Philly priest to be publicly accused of child sex crimes. (See BishopAccountability.org)
Archbishop Charles Chaput should get busy. Starting this weekend, he should go to every parish where Fr. Mark. D. Haynes worked, begging victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to step forward and call police.
Why?
Because that’s what will help ensure Fr. Haynes is kept away from kids the longest.
Because that’s what Chaput owes his flock.
Because that’s how Chaput will find others who have been hurt and are still suffering.
Because that’s how Catholic officials will begin to reverse centuries of secrecy, deceit, recklessness, callousness and inaction about child sex crimes and cover ups.
Because that’s how Chaput will begin to earn the trust he says he wants to restore among parishioners.
Because with Pope Francis heading to Philadelphia in a few months, Chaput has a tremendous opportunity, through this kind of courageous and compassionate outreach, to show bishops across the globe the proper and effective way to respond when allegations of child sex crimes surface.
What a refreshing and reassuring move this would be. Imagine how thrilled and grateful Philly Catholics would be to see their spiritual leader forging a new path and going beyond the bare minimum.
Sending a terse, carefully-crafted, lawyer-vetted four or five sentence media statement sends a weak and depressing signal to the Philly flock. Sending the archbishop himself to parishes, in person, to beg anyone with information or suspicions about Fr. Haynes to call 911, would send a strong and encouraging signal to the Philly flock, especially to the hundreds (perhaps thousands) who have been sexually violated by priests, nuns, seminarians, brothers and other Catholic employees.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We were founded in 1988 and have 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, [email protected], Barbara Dorris 314-503-0003, [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
Showing 2 comments
These suggestions which SNAP always ask bishops/archbishops to carry out are not complex, you don’t have to be particularly righteous to carry them out and they aren’t expensive. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist, a saint or a millionaire to implement these simple, practical and inexpensive suggestions. Archbishop Charles Chaput should not forget that he was once a vulnerable child as well.