PA- Victims condemn Pittsburgh bishop for “11 yrs of secrecy”
For immediate release: Monday, Aug. 18, 2014
Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 503 0003, SNAPdorris@gmail.com)
For 11 years, Pittsburgh Catholic officials hid the fact that Fr. James P. Carroll is a credibly accused child molester. Yesterday, they finally “came clean” about his crimes. But Pittsburgh church staff said nothing about their callous cover up.
We strongly suspect that Fr. Carroll has spent the past decade living among unsuspecting neighbors who see him as a charming, safe, “grandfatherly” figure. We hope he hasn't assaulted more kids over these 11 years.
No matter how Catholic officials try to spin it, this is irresponsible and inexcusable. It's a clear violation of the promises made by Catholic officials – in Pittsburgh and at the national level – to be “open” about clergy sex crimes. Even worse, Pittsburgh Catholic officials, by keeping silent about a potentially dangerous cleric, may have enabled him to hurt more kids.
Two months ago, we disclosed (at a news conference) that Fr. Carroll was a credibly accused child molester.
At that time, back in June, like they have done for years and still do, Pittsburgh Catholic officials said nothing.
Bishop David Zubik's PR man claims that in 2003, he and his well-educated staff “considered child sexual abuse as a 'moral defect,' as it did with alcoholism, rather than a disease,” (according to the Tribune Review). That is insulting baloney.
In 2003, Zubik and other top Pittsburgh Catholic officials knew child sex abuse was a crime. They knew it was apt to be repeated. They knew that citizens have a duty to help police catch criminals. They knew that if they told the truth about Fr. Carroll, more victims might step forward and file charges and Fr. Carroll might be convicted and imprisoned. But they chose – for more than a decade – to stay silent and endanger kids.
Shame on every single current and former Pittsburgh diocesan staffer who knew about the allegations against Fr. Carroll and chose to protect him, not children.
And now, we beg every single person who saw, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes and cover ups in Pittsburgh to call police, expose predators, protect kids and start healing.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We’ve been around for 25 years 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 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Judy Jones 636-433-2511, SNAP[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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Wright came from the diocese of Worchester a short 48 miles from Boston. Wright’s personal secretary was Donald “The Lavender Don” Wuerl who was said to resemble one of Wright’s many sexual victims.
Wuerl’s personal secretary, Father James Torquato was credibly accused of sexually assaulting, but everything was covered up. The personal secretary is responsible for satisfying the sexual pleasures of the bishop and to be groomed for becoming a bishop so all the secrets will continue to be covered up.
Zubik was the personal secretary for Cardinal Bevilacqua. Some of Bevilacqua’s relatives believe he was murdered so he wouldn’t be able to testify before the Philadelphia Grand Jury. Bevilacqua covered up for dysfunctional sex freaks throughout the Philadelphia Archdiocese. There’s no reason to think he didn’t do the same think in the Pittsburgh Dicoese.
Cardinal Law who was forced to resign in disgrace because of all the dysfunctional sex freaks he covered up for in the Boston Archdiocese would visit Archabbot Douglas Nowicki at St. Vincent College & Seminary in Latrobe, PA before his departure to Rome.
Nowicki was the secretary of education under Bevilacqua and Wuerl and would have been privy to all the cover-ups during their tenure.
Several clerics from the Boston area have been credibly accused of sexually abusing children in the Pittsburgh Diocese while stationed at schools. It’s almost as if Pittsburgh was a dumping ground for these perverts. And, maybe the Boston area was a dumping ground for sex abusers from the Pittsburgh Diocese.
Sadly, Allegheny County DA Stephen Zappala sits on the board of the US Bishops Conference that oversees clergy sex abuse. No doubt for his connections to the Sicilian mob and the Zappala Crime Family/Terrorist Group. I don’t even have to suggest where his loyalty lies.
Wait it gets worse, his old man, Stephen Sr. sits on Zubiks diocesan board in the Piitsburgh Diocese that reviews clergy sex abuse cases. In other words, Zubik, Wuerl and Bevilacqua had/have law enforcement in their pocketbook.
The only thing the Zappala Crime Family/Terrorist Group cares about is money. We all know their reputation washed down the Wylie street gutters with the blood of the Volpe brothers.