PA--Victims seek Scranton bishop’s help with ex-priest wanting parole
For immediate release: Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, 314 645 5915 home, [email protected]
A former priest who was convicted of child sex crimes in the Scranton diocese is up for parole. We hope he’s kept in prison. We call on Scranton’s top Catholic official, Bishop Joseph Bambera, to aggressively reach out to anyone who may have information or suspicions about his crimes.
And we hope this news prompts others who may have seen, suspected or suffered his crimes to call police so he might be charged with and convicted on other offenses and be kept away from kids even longer.
http://www.wayneindependent.com/article/20080814/NEWS/308149989
In March 2008, Steven Wolpert pled guilty to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, a felony, with an eight year old in 2006 and 2007 in Hawley Borough, PA. He was sentenced in June 2008 to nine to 18 years in prison.
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news13/2008_08_14_Dimler_ChildMolester_Steven_Wolpert_1.htm
Kids will be safest if Wolpert serves his entire sentence of 18 years behind bars.
Also, Wolpert testified in 2008 that he allowed kids to sleep naked with him. We fear he has more victims, so we urge anyone who may have knowledge of or suspicions about him to find the courage to come forward and contact law enforcement no matter how long ago it happened.
Wolpert worked at Mount St. Alphonsus Seminary in Esopus NY and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn NY (1987-2008) before he retired.
http://www.bishopaccountability.org/assign/Wolpert_Steven_J_c_ss_r.htm
As best we can tell, Wolpert never had a formal church assignment in the Scranton diocese. But he molested in the Scranton diocese and very likely used his status as a priest to ingratiate himself into eastern Pennsylvania families.
All too often, when child molesters are caught, their supervisors and colleagues clam up. But if kids are to be safer, everyone who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes must call law enforcement immediately. Those who hire or work with predators must do all they can to find others who have been assaulted and beg them to call law enforcement. This is especially true of Catholic bishops, who recruit, educate, ordain, hire, train and often transfer and cover up for predator priests. These bishops can’t wash their hands of these pedophiles just because they’ve been sent somewhere else or have moved somewhere else.
We hope that no one in the Catholic hierarchy in PA or NY ignored or concealed Wolpert’s crimes. But we also hope police and prosecutors have investigated or will closely investigate this possibility. We hope that officials Scranton Catholic officials will find the courage to do what’s right – search for and help anyone else who is in pain because of Wolpert.
No matter what lawmakers 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 – especially in New York – to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers 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])
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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