3 Springfield Priests Temporarily Removed Following Allegations of Sexual Abuse
Three priests from the Catholic Diocese of Springfield have been temporarily removed from their positions following allegations of abuse. We call on the Diocese to release the names of those clerics to the public and for church officials to do outreach to any victims who may still be suffering in silence
The Diocese also announced that, since July of last year, fourteen people have come forward to allege abuse at the hands of a priest, including the three recently removed from ministry. While this information is helpful and will hopefully encourage more survivors to come forward, what is not helpful is how cagey Catholic officials are being about the details.
Parents and parishioners in communities where abusive clergy have worked need to be informed if they are going to be able to protect the vulnerable and encourage those who have already been hurt to come forward and seek help. We call on Bishop Mitchell Rozanski to release these details to the public and personally visit every parish where each priest was employed in order to urge victims, witnesses, and whistleblowers to come forward and make a report to police.
CONTACT: Zach Hiner, SNAP Executive Director ([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)