CA - Los Angeles archbishop seeks national post
For immediate release: Monday, October 21, 2013
Statement by David Clohessy of SNAP, 314 566 9790, [email protected]
Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez is running for the presidency of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. We hope he fails.
http://ncronline.org/blogs/distinctly-catholic/nominees-announced-usccb
When hundreds of embarrassing pages about cover ups were disclosed in 2013 in Los Angeles, Gomez finally slapped the hand of his corrupt predecessor, Cardinal Roger Mahony, allegedly forbidding Mahony from public ministry. Then, after the public outcry subsided, Gomez essentially reneged and let Mahony resume his public role in the archdiocese.
And Gomez refused to discipline any other church official who had ignored, concealed or enabled heinous child sex crimes.
Gomez has continued to pay for high-priced lawyers to continue to fight victims in their quest for justice, including victims of Nicolas Aguilar Rivera, whose cases are going to trial next year.
In the past few months, he has spent thousands of dollars and used the pulpit to fight California SB 131, which would have given some victims of sexual abuse in California the right to use the civil justice system to seek justice and expose their perpetrator thereby protecting children.
When he headed a Texas archdiocese, Gomez’ record was no better than it’s been in LA.
For at least five times in as many years, we released names of credibly accused child molesting San Antonio Catholic clerics.
One was Fr. Donald J. Joyce. In a 2006 civil lawsuit filed in Massachusetts, Joyce is accused of “repeated explicit, lewd and lascivious behavior” against an 11 year old in 1977 at Sacred Heart Parish in Lowell MA (in the Boston Archdiocese). That suit was settled though amount of the settlement was not disclosed. Gomez who kept silent about the accusations and lawsuit and settlement involving Joyce.
Then, we publicly disclosed that between 1949-1992, Fr. Thomas Behnke worked at seven churches in the San Antonio archdiocese and that a $4.65 million settlement was made with six of his victims.
In 2009, we revealed that Fr. Charles H. Miller (who had recently worked in San Antonio) was “credibly accused” of “sexual misconduct” against a local teen in 1980. Also in 2009, we publicly disclosed that Br. Richard A. Suttle was living in a San Antonio parish despite having been suspended for allegedly molesting a child in the 1980s
In 2008, we disclosed that three former San Antonio priests have moved to foreign countries after having been credibly accused of molesting kids here (Michael Kenney, believed to be in Ireland, Jose Luis Sandoval, believed to be in Mexico, and Alfredo Prado, believed to be in Costa Rica).
In each of these cases it was SNAP, not Gomez or other church officials, who alerted the public to these predators.
Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688 home, 314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, [email protected])
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
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ARCH-BISHOP JOSE GOMEZ KNEELING DOWN IN FRONT OF GOVERNOR JERRY BROWN WITH JERRY BROWN’S ZIPPER ON HIS PANTS OPEN AND THE ARCH-BISHOP HAS HIS MOUTH ON GOVERNOR BROWN’S MALE SHAFT AND JERRY BROWN’S SUIT POCKETS ARE FILLED AND OVER-FLOWING WITH CASH DONATED BY THE ROMAN CATHOLICS HERE IN 2013.
ARCH-BISHOP GOMEZ SAYING I LOVE YOUR DICK-TATOR AND VETO POWERS IN REGARDS TO SB-131.