Vatican--Discipline reckless seminary heads, don't beg them, SNAP says
For immediate release: Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016
Statement by Judy Jones of St. Louis, SNAP Associate Midwest Director (+1 636-433-2511 home, SNAPjudy@gmail.com)
In a new document, the Vatican says bishops should be careful about accepting seminarians who've been rejected by other bishops, seminaries and dioceses. We’re glad for the new language. But given the tremendous and persistent priest shortage, we doubt a sentence or two in some new “guidelines” will make any difference at all.
http://catholiccourier.com/news/world-nation/vatican-updates-guidelines-for-educating-priests/
There is, however, a more effective approach. It’s called discipline.
Consider Joel A. Wright. He was rejected by 40 seminaries (according to his mom and one news account). He locked up now for 16 years. Why? Because he was caught trying to buy babies or toddlers to abuse.
http://www.10tv.com/article/mother-accused-seminary-student-hes-innocent
Imagine the shock that would roil the church hierarchy if Francis were to demote or discipline the bishop who sponsored Wright (Steubenville Ohio’s Jeffrey Montforton) or the 41st seminary director (Josephinum President Monsignor Christopher Schreck) who finally accepted him?
http://www.10news.com/news/seminary-student-to-be-sentenced-in-child-sex-case
http://www.10tv.com/article/group-protests-diocese-steubenville-handling-joel-wright-case
We submit this would go very far in deterring such recklessness in the future.
We suspect there are hundreds of men like Monforton and Schreck who Francis could and should punish for irresponsibly accepting repeated ‘rejects,’ be they seminarians or priest, despite clear “red flags” and the collective wisdom of dozens of his colleagues who turned them down.
Or, a Vatican official could just add a sentence or two to some church documents and we can all keep our fingers crossed.
If Vatican officials refuse to demote or discipline these two men, they should voluntarily step down from their posts.
The problem is not just troubled seminarians. Bishops must likewise be very cautious about taking priests already ordained into their diocese for another diocese. We see this happening over and over again despite either proof or admissions or strong red flags indicating sexual crimes or misdeeds.
Finally, while we urge Vatican officials to take effective action here, we also urge parishioners and the public to be especially careful around clerics who have moved across state or national borders without clear or compelling reasons.
(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 (+1 314-566-9790 cell, davidgclohessy@gmail.com), Barbara Dorris (+1 314-503-0003 cell, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org) , Barbara Blaine (+1 312-399-4747 cell, bblaine@snapnetwork.org)
50 State AG Call for Grand Jury
Write a letter to the attorney general of your state. Demand, request, and beg them to impanel a grand jury.
Any investigation must be:
- independent of and separate from the church
- must have subpoena powers and ability to compel testimony under oath
Anything short of these criteria is a sham and whitewash.
In addition, write letters to the editor, make phone calls to politicians as they can apply pressure to keep them responsive to our demand. We need to make efforts to ensure that they follow up on what the state is doing to investigate these crimes.
The Attorneys General of forty states have inquired about the grand jury process in Pennsylvania. Let's get statewide investigations going in fifty states.
Current list of active investigations, associated hotlines, websites, and email addresses
Survivors can use to report their experiences.
Note to Letter Writers
Use your own words and style of writing. Cut and paste from the templates as you wish. Include your experiences, whether as a survivor or as a member of the community. And relate your letter to the state you were abused in or state now living in.
Showing 1 comment
Sign in with