Blog
A reality check about bishops and “accountability”
Statement by David Clohessy Executive Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests,
Phone: (314) 566-9790, E-mail: [email protected]
I hate to see hopes raised and then dashed. So at the risk of being the skunk at the garden party, let me make two points about the possibility of “new” church “processes” that allegedly will “ensure accountability” by complicit bishops.
Another Missouri SNAP leader passes
For the third time in less than a year, Missouri SNAP has lost a dear, loyal and caring member. On Dec. 29, Kathy Woodard of St. Louis passed away. Her obituary ran in the Post-Dispatch on Jan. 11.
Honoring and remembering Trish McLelland
“If truth doesn't set you free, generosity of spirit will.”
― Katerina Stoykova Klemer
Trish McLelland has been set free. For decades, she exposed truth. And for her entire life, she personified generosity of spirit.
Already, this hero to our movement is deeply missed.
( Learn more about her here: http://www.dallasnews.com/obituary-headlines/20150107-trish-mclelland-68-who-built-database-of-abusive-clergy-dies.ece#commentsDiv )
Our guess: Bishops still hiding 1000s of US predator priests
Ever wonder how many more child molesting US clerics there are who have never been publicly exposed?
Consider this: On December 9, in one tiny diocese - Gallup, New Mexico - a court filing revealed in five names of “never before disclosed” credibly accused child molesting clerics.
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2014/11_12/2014_12_09_Mike_KOAT_new_named.htm
Rev. Stan Archie “exonerated?” Hardly.
Rev. Stan Archie of Kansas City is a prominent Kansas City pastor. He says a recent trial shows that he’s been “exonerated” of wrongdoing. But here’s the truth:
--He’s been sued twice.
--One was a young woman who said he sexually violated her when she was a girl.
http://www.kmbc.com/news/Sexual-misconduct-suit-names-Mo-education-board-chief/18273274
--The other was a woman who said he “sexually exploited” her as a church staffer by using his position as a pastoral counselor.”
http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article1161589.html#storylink=cpy
True Peace is the Result of Action, Not Public Relations
by Barbara Dorris & David Clohessy
A humble salute to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee for awarding the prize to Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai for promoting human rights for all children.
The committee’s decision to not give the award to odds-on favorite Pope Francis was the right and logical move. Both of this year's laureates' strong and decisive actions have led to dangerous physical attacks, yet each remains a voice for our most vulnerable populations. Their words are commensurate with their actions.
On the other hand, Pope Francis has yet to take any real action to protect children. Vatican committees and meetings don't protect children from abuse. Rebuffing United Nations panels does not safeguard the vulnerable or heal the wounded. Letting abusers and the clerics who cover up for them remain in positions of power tells Catholics that their children are not a top priority. And so we wait.
Kids can't consent! Get it right, reporters!
Two clergy sex abuse stories yesterday by television stations – one in Texas, the other in Indiana – made me want to crawl back into bed and stay there.
First, KHOU TV, the CBS affiliate in Houston, reported that a girl, “when she was 13. . . .began a sexual relationship” with her 37-year-old youth pastor, Derek Hutter. The station reported that she “had sex with Hutter over a dozen times” and “had been involved with the youth minister since she was 13-years-old.”
At least 400 in US say they were molested by nuns
Some 400 adults in the US report having been sexually violated as youngsters by at least 88 Catholic nuns.
That’s the estimate from BishopAccountability.org, a respected, neutral archive that tracks the church’s on-going clergy sex abuse and cover up crisis.
http://globalsistersreport.org/news/trends/trial-date-approaches-ursuline-sisters-12351
Bishop Finn pays tons to discredited "expert"
He made one of the most stunning and memorable courtroom blunders in US history. But thanks to the generosity of Kansas City Catholics, and the viciousness of Kansas City's bishop, a therapist is getting paid $800 an hour (a total of $55,000) to try to undermine the credibility of a man who says he was sexually abused by two priests.
Of all the mental health professionals in the land, Bishop Robert Finn and his lawyers picked this therapist as an "expert witness" in a clergy sex abuse and cover up trial that's happening now in Independence, Missouri.
One priest, 17 victims, 5 suicides
(In memory of James Chevedden, the victim of a suspicious death - which the Jesuits rushed to label a suicide - a few years after an alleged sexual assault by a Jesuit. This happened during the tenure of Fr. Thomas Smolich as head of the California Province.)
"How do you do it? How do you read about and respond to all that pain and corruption and betrayal, day after day?"
When I tell people what I do for a living, I often get some version of this question.
