PA- Philly priest had abuse settlement in the past; SNAP responds
Shame on the Franciscans. They recruit, educate, ordain, hire, train, and transfer clerics, making them swear allegiance to the order for life. Then, when one of them molests, Catholic officials pretend to be powerless to stop him from working elsewhere. And in this case, Franciscans apparently lied to an abuse victim by claiming they’d keep this predator away from kids.
Now they claim, again, that Ledoux will be kept away from children. But if they broke their pledge once, why wouldn't they break it again?
How did the Franciscans react when a credible abuse allegation against Ledoux surfaced in Philly? By doing what Catholic officials have done for decades – quietly moving the offender to another church facility and telling no one.
And shame on Widener for doing poor background checks and being secretive about Ledoux’s exit from the school. Their irresponsible actions put kids at risk. And their claim that he never had unsupervised contact with kids is laughable. He was a trusted, high ranking school administrator. No one was ‘supervising’ him when he was around kids.
To read the story,
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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Looks like the Philly Inquirer needs the permission of the Zappala Crime Family and Donald Wuerl before they can report the facts in Allegheny County or the Pittsburgh Diocese?
Although, it should be noted that I, with the help of others, exposed Michael LeDoux weeks ago on several forums in the MOB Valley.
Michael LeDoux is now the second Franciscan cleric who served at Serra Catholic High School in the 80s and 90s to be credibly accused of sexually abusing innocent children, the other was Brother Kenneth Ghastin. A fellow colleague and I exposed Ghastin. It should be noted that after Ghastin’s case was settled with twin brothers in the Boston Archdiocese, sadly, one of the brothers would commit suicide.
Factor in the attempted murder of my son, and the suicide of the shooter. One can only surmise the extent that the Pittsburgh Diocese, Serra administrators, McKeesport elected officials, McKeesport Police and other law enforcement officers needed to do to make sure everything was covered up.
A fellow colleague and I reported on Ghastin’s abuse years ago. It should be noted that my colleague and I are not required to consult with the Zappala Crime Family or Donald Wuerl when reporting truthful information intended to protect innocent children and expose corrupt government officials and dirty cops.
Mike Ference
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20130104_Former_Widener_dean_had_abuse_settlement_in_the_past.html