Rome- Archbishop stripped of diplomatic immunity

For immediate release: Monday, August 25, 2014

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, davidgclohessy@gmail.com)

Now, after a page 1 New York Times story, Vatican officials have striped a former archbishop of his diplomatic immunity. We hope Josef Wesolowski is caught by police before he flees.  

It should not take embarrassing international headlines to force the Vatican to turn over a fugitive to law enforcement. Helping secular officials catch, charge and convict child molesting clerics routinely, not rarely, should be the norm.

There isn’t much progress when wrongdoers change only when caught.

(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, davidgclohessy@gmail.com), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, snapblaine@gmail.com ) Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com)