TX- Notorious predator priest may be in Dallas

Notorious predator priest may be in Dallas

Until recently, he lived in Oak Lawn complex

Grand jury said he's “remorseful” & “brutal ex-priest"

Neighbors discovered he lied about his past & exposed him

Ex-cleric acted "creepy" & used pool to gain access to kids

Group to Catholic bishop: “Protect kids & warn your flock!”

Victims also want all child molesting clerics put on church websites

WHAT

As parishioners enter mass, clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters will hand out leaflets, alerting church-goers to a dangerous predatory ex-cleric who recently lived and may now still live in Dallas, unmonitored. They will also urge Catholics to:

- ask other parishioner if they saw, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes, and

- report any information or suspicions they may have to police (not to church officials).

They also want the Dallas Catholic bishop to

- reveal – once and for all – the names of every child molesting cleric who lives/works or lived/worked in this area, and

- post the predators' names, photos, whereabouts and work histories on church websites (as 30 other bishops across the US have done)

WHEN

Sunday, Feb. 9 at 11:45 a.m.

WHERE

Outside the The Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, 2215 Ross Ave (corner of N. Pearl St.) in Dallas TX

WHO

Five or six clergy sex abuse victims and supporters who belong to a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org)

WHY

A serial predator priest – deemed "brutal" by a Philadelphia grand jury – has lived (as recently as a few weeks ago) at Crescent View Apartments in the Oak Lawn area, where neighbors caught him acting suspiciously and "grooming" teens in a swimming pool.

He moved there in Oct. 2012, was publicly exposed just days ago, has just moved but may still live in Dallas.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140129_From_Philly_to_Dallas__ex-priest_a__brutal_abuser__without_remorse.html

Ex-priest James Brzyski—who has moved several times since being publicly "outed" as a sex offender with at least 17 alleged victims —aroused neighbors' suspicions after they observed him acting strangely around boys. To hide his past, Brzyski claimed that he was a retired Xerox dealer.

A 2005 Philadelphia grand jury report called him one of the worst predator priests in the Philadelphia archdiocese's history. 

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/reports/2005_09_21_Philly_GrandJury/Philly_05_06_Brzyski.pdf

Neighbors and victims are upset and scared that men like Brzyski live unmonitored and unfettered in unsuspecting communities. SNAP believes that Dallas church officials should have warned the community about him and that Philadelphia church officials should have helped police catch Brzyski at least put him in a secure facility where he without access to kids.

Catholic bishops in both places, SNAP says, now have a duty to “shout from the rooftops” and “use their vast resources to warn people about him,” through pulpit announcements, church bulletins and parish websites.”

"Philly Catholic officials recruited, educated, ordained, hired, supervised, trained and repeatedly protected Fr. James Brzyski for more than three decades, giving him access to vulnerable kids and unsuspecting parents," said David Ouellette of SNAP. "After determining the allegations against him were true, they protected themselves by defrocking him but did virtually nothing to warn parents about him. That's reckless and dangerous."

SNAP is reaching out to Catholics to tell them about Brzyski, applaud the brave Dallas neighbors who exposed him, and urge Catholic officials to take responsibility for child molesting clerics that they protected from prosecution. Brzyski is not a registered sex offender because, according to the grand jury report, Philadelphia Catholic officials hid evidence, silenced victims and protected priests like Brzyski from criminal prosecution. 

For the safety of kids, SNAP also wants Dallas Bishop Kevin Farrell to release the identities of all child molesting clerics (proven, admitted and credibly accused) who live/lived or work/wored in the Dallas area and post them permanently on his web page. Roughly 30 US bishops have taken this step over the past decade.  http://www.bishop-accountability.org/AtAGlance/lists.htm

According to a Boston-based independent research group called BishopAccoutnabilty.org, there are 20 publicly accused Dallas diocesan child molesting clerics. SNAP notes that the actual number of Dallas area pedophile priests is likely much higher because BishopAccountability.org lists only those clerics against whom allegations have been lodge in the public domain inn civil lawsuits, criminal prosecution or news accounts.

In 2002, Tucson and Baltimore became the first US dioceses to disclose predators' names. A good current example is the Philadelphia archdiocese:

http://archphila.org/protection/Updates/update_main.html 

CONTACT

David Clohessy (314 566 9790, [email protected]), Lisa Kendzior (817-773-5907,  [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314 503 0003, [email protected])