Germany- UN panel critical of Vatican’s handling of child sex abuse scandal, cites German priest
For immediate release: Friday, May 23, 2014
Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314-503-0003, [email protected])
Today a United Nations committee severely criticized top Catholic officials for continually endangering children and specifically cited the case of a German priest who was, just a few years ago, allowed to stay on the job in ministry despite a criminal child sex abuse conviction.
http://ccrjustice.org/files/CAT_C_VAT_CO_1_17271_E.pdf
The Geneva-based Committee Against Torture expressed deep concern about cases where “clergy accused or convicted by civil authorities of such [sexual abuse] offenses were transferred to other dioceses and institutions where they remained in contact with minors . . . and in some cases committed abuse in subsequent placements.”
The panel cited the case of Fr. Peter Kramer, who even after being convicted of sexually abusing two boys, was allowed to stay in ministry. Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller even went so far as to hide Kramer’s crimes from parishioners. Fr. Kramer went on to abuse more children and be successfully convicted again.
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/UN/CRC/2014_01_11_BA_Submission_to_Committee.htm
When bishops and other top Catholic officials cover-up crimes and enable predators, they endanger children. They should be disciplined by the highest officials in the church and potentially by civil authorities.
This is just one case of many in which the Catholic hierarchy recently protected a predator instead of protecting children.
We call on Pope Francis to harshly punish any Catholic official who hides or enables child sexual violence, in the present or past, and we urge parishioners to remain vigilant and always report known or suspected abuse to secular authorities.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We’ve been around for 25 years and have more than 18,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [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
Showing 3 comments
And th, “heaven forbid”, should they, or anyone else for that matter, punish these grown men. One would almost think that they believe these heinous crimes “ok” and to punish these adults who have no right to harm ANYONE, these same men (and in some cases, women) who harm these innocents. I would think you’d have to wonder about the sanity of all of them, after awhile? I am wondering, particularly in light of the following in the Bible (the teachings of which they supposedly, ascribe): Matthew 18:6, Mark 9:42, and Luke 17:2. Considering Christ’s own advice in these verses, I’d think that the abetting, enabling bishops and clerical perpetrators everywhere, would rather submit themselves to secular penalties for these crimes, and rather than plead “diplomatic immunity” (which in fact lets all the world know that they are guilty) choose to cooperate with secular authorities in all the countries where there are catholic dioseses, because the punishment they may incur will likely not be the death penalty that Christ has advised would be best.