Cardinal Dolan dodges question and attacks NYT & SNAP

June 04, 2012

Today, New York Cardinal Dolan attacked our group and again refused to address questions about the disturbing contradiction between what he said and what he did about secretly paying predator priests to quietly leave.

To reporters from WNYC, NY1 and the New York Post, Dolan reportedly said "The New York Times and SNAP have no credibility on this issue so it's not productive to try to address groundless & scurrilous charges by them."

It's sad that America's top Catholic official won't answer a simple question: how much money did he secretly pay to how many predator priests so they would quietly go away and be around unsuspecting families and co-workers, perhaps to assault more kids.

Bishops often attack the messenger when they're forced to defend the indefensible. It’s a despicable and desperate tactic.

Despite Dolan’s dodging, our credibility isn’t questioned here. It’s Dolan's credibility that’s the issue, because his emphatic denials conflict with solid evidence from a long-secret church document.

Read the story here...

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Showing 9 comments

David O'Regan commented 2012-06-05 09:35:48 -0500
Rather than deal with accept responsibility in his complicity protecting church name over protection of children Cardinal Dolan attacks SNAP Documents donât lie Cardinal Dolan. Apparently you are the one with no credibility whatsoever!
Patricia Sulecki commented 2012-06-04 21:48:39 -0500
Annette Nestler when I get back to Delaware, I hope that we could meet either in New Jersey or Delaware.I have emailed Beau Bidens office several times,asking Mr. Biden to help victims of clergy abuse,if he could help to abolish the Stattute of Limitation, so" once and for all" all victims voices can be heard in the court of Law" no matter how old the Priest is .As of right now’ I want to go face to face with the Priest who molested me,I try to stay focused on that day"being a reality.But what I want to see and I’m sure all victims want the same" for all the Priest" to go to jail for Molesting Children,then children will be safe. Anymore when I see a Priest" you have to ask yourself" is he or isn’t he" a Child Molester,how can we know for sure" can we take his word for it " when the Priest say’s he isn’t a Child Molester " I don’t think so" not anymore, that isn’t my fault that I can’t believe them.
Annette Kissell Nestler commented 2012-06-04 17:46:23 -0500
Thank you to John and Patiricia. It is wonderful to feel validated from other survivors and supporters. I am very disheartened to learn the realities of the church my grandmother so believed in. She would have put her last nichol in the collection plate believing. We have all been betrayed. Now when I look at my wedding picture all I can see is my father’s and mother’s caskets. The irony, I didn’t particularly want to get married in the church (though it was a beautiful day and the priest did a very nice job for us), but the priest insisted we be married in the church. I wanted to be married outdoors. I spoke to this priest (who married us, beforehand, and asked him if he knew the history of the church. I was in tears and said maybe I should see a lawyer. He said to me, "No the priest (who is connected with my parents death) is old and in a retirement facility, come see me. I sponsored my husband through RCIA, so we could have the full ceremony. All this while being pumped full of drugs to supress a fertiily condition. More time on the drugs to do the RCIA, more stress on my body and soul. The level of betrayal I feel, at the moment, is indescribeable and, yes, the Diocese of Camden, NJ knew all of this ten years ago.
Patricia Sulecki commented 2012-06-04 16:13:21 -0500
Annette Nestler ,I agree with you on everthing you have stated "but this Child Molestation is decades old " I’m sure these same Priest have been moved so many times from one parish to another’ I have checked online in De.where i went to Catholic School according to my graduation pamplet" the names on the list of Priest who have Molested Children at ST. Pauls School,in Wilmington,De just about every Priest that was station there" were child molesters “according to the papers in the Catholic Diocese list. This is awful,so painful to find out so many years later. I just hope someday that victims can have justice” to see all of The Child Molester ( Priest ) to be treated as a child molester ! & the Pope on down the line.
John M Shuster commented 2012-06-04 15:58:25 -0500
I think Dolan should give $20,000 to every survivor in the USA, just for starters.
David O'Regan commented 2012-06-04 13:26:00 -0500
Documents donât lie Cardinal Dolan. Apparently you are the one with no credibility whatsoever!
Annette Kissell Nestler commented 2012-06-04 13:23:54 -0500
Tellem’ like it is David. I have not a ounce of respect left for the Pope or any of his crew. They have had ten years to get this right. What did they do? They played victims/survivors advocacy groups and spent more money on PR stunts to fool the masses, than ever helping survivors and their families. We will continue to raise our voices, until ever last one of the masses is listening. Now, we find out Dolan has PAID predator priests to slip away. THIS IS AN ATROCITY!!! He paid them more (rewarding them for molesting children) than I was offered for counseling. My brother and I were orphaned by their insanity. Very, very ill people!!! Oh, To Dolan: What ever happened to Megan’s Law?

Annette Nestler-SNAP Southern New Jersey
609-247-2966
Patricia Sulecki commented 2012-06-04 12:34:56 -0500
Dolan and the Catholic Church (Pope) are treating all victims like we are the ones who are at fault"because we told the truth"the facts.Now they are sending the wrong message to all Child Molesters" BECOME A PRIEST "and get away with hurting Children but not only that "get rewarded for Molesting Children. “Add insult to injury” Our only hope to get justice " is to Abloish the Statute of Limitation .We can only hope for someday the law to be on the side of the victims.
David Clohessy published this page in Official SNAP Media Statements 2012-06-04 08:12:32 -0500

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