Recently arrested priest was here

• Recently arrested priest was here
• Accused cleric spent years in Columbus area
• He was charged in April with molesting a boy
• Group wants Catholic bishop to warn local parishes about him
• And they want church officials to do outreach about another priest
• Ousted in Ohio in 2011 & arrested in Canada, he faces an upcoming trial
• SNAP also asks if local diocese gives “secret payoffs” to pedophile priests

WHAT
Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters will urge Columbus' Catholic bishop to

-- tell parishioners and the public about an ex-Columbus priest/seminarian who was charged last month with molesting a Nebraska boy,

-- do “aggressive outreach” to anyone who may have been hurt by him, or by another ex-Columbus priest who faces a trial in October, and

--disclose whether local Catholic officials give or have given secret “pay outs” to pedophile priests (as was recently disclosed in Milwaukee)

WHEN
Wednesday, June 13th at 11 a.m.

WHERE
In front of Saint Joseph Cathedral , 212 East Broad Street, Columbus, OH

WHO
At St Louis couple who are leaders of a support group SNAP "Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests"

WHY
--1.SNAP has just learned that a priest who was recently arrested and charged with child sex crimes in Nebraska spent years in the Columbus area.

Fr. Frank Anthony Dvorak was educated at the Josephinum seminary in Worthington and was ordained in Columbus in 1970. The Josephinum attracts aspiring priests from all over the country, and some of them, as part of their studies, spend time in local parishes.

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2012/03_04/2012_04_29_StElizabethAnnSetonParish_FrFrank.htm

Until his arrest, Fr. Dvorak was pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish (402-493-2186, [email protected]) in Omaha. Before that, he worked at seven other Nebraska parishes.

SNAP strongly suspects that no one in the Columbus area knows about the charges against Dvorak. The group fears he may have molested local kids who may still be suffering in shame silence and self blame.

--2. In October, ex-Columbus priest  Phillip Jacobs goes on trial in Canada for allegedly abusing boys in late 1970s. (He allegedly molested four boys, including his 14 year old Ohio cousin). Jacobs, a Columbus native, worked in this area for almost 20 years (1974-1993) at two Columbus churches (St. Anthony’s 1975-79 and St. Philips 1979-81) and one Westerville church (St. Paul’s 1986-93). He also worked at the Josephinum. Jacobs was arrested by Canadian police 8/10 on "variety of sex offenses."

Among his local victims: Gahanna resident Doug Jacobs, now 49, and Westerville resident Tim Kreider, now 45.

For the sake of public safety, and to help law enforcement officials, SNAP wants Columbus Bishop Frederick Campbell to use local church websites and parish bulletins to seek out and help others who may have seen, suspected or suffered crimes by both Dvorak and Jacobs, so that prosecutors can more easily convict and imprison them.

--3. Last week, long-secret documents were disclosed showing that as recently as 2003, Milwaukee church officials secretly paid between $10,000 and $20,000 to “a handful” of pedophile priests. The New York Times reported that “pay outs to dismissed priests are not uncommon.”
 ( http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/31/us/cardinal-authorized-payments-to-abusers.html )

Because bishops have pledged to be “open and transparent” in clergy sex cases, SNAP believes Columbus area Catholics deserve to know whether local church officials are making or have made similar pay outs. The group is urging Bishop Campbell to disclose whether he is doing or has don such pay outs here.

Photos of and articles about Dvorak and Jacobs are at http://bishopaccountability.org/                             

Jacobs’ work history is at http://www.bishopaccountability.org/assign/Jacobs_Philip_J.htm

CONTACT

Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Associate Director, 636-433-2511, [email protected]

Steve Spaner , SNAP Leader, 314-994-5003., [email protected]