Judge Rules that Parish Cannot Be Trusted To Watch Over Accused Abusive Priest, SNAP Responds
An accused DC priest will remain in jail awaiting trial despite a Pennsylvania colleague's pleas on his behalf. We applaud the DC judge who denied this request.
According to reports, the attorney for Fr. Urbano Vazquez argued that he should be allowed to return to the “secluded parish outside of Pittsburgh where he had been staying” and said that Fr. Vazquez would be watched over by other priests living at the parish. The lawyer called one of these priests, Fr. Frank Yacobi, to so testify for the defense. Yet the judge assigned to the case ruled otherwise, harshly criticizing the request by saying “to release [Fr. Vazquez] now back in the supervision of colleagues who had been informed of such alleged behavior is troubling to me."
We applaud this move by D.C. Superior Court Judge Juliet McKenna. Given that church officials were allegedly notified of the accusations against Fr. Vazquez in 2015, it stands to reason that they are as incapable of watching over Fr. Vazquez now as they were in adequately responding to the allegations then.
The accusations were first reported to the DC parish in 2015, yet Fr. Vazquez was allowed to remain in his position – and abuse at least one other child as well as an adult parishioner. This is extremely disturbing after the promises made by the USCCB in 2002. We hope that law enforcement authorities in the district will investigate this case more deeply, particularly in terms of who knew what and when they knew it. We also hope that Cardinal Donald Wuerl and the Capuchin Order will explain how this happened and what steps they will take now to find other victims in the parishes where Fr. Vazquez worked.
CONTACT: Zach Hiner ([email protected], 517-974-9009)
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
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