IL-A second disgraced Illinois Catholic bishop passed away

For immediate release: Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those abused by Priests (314 566 9790, [email protected])

A second disgraced bishop from Joliet has passed away. We hope Catholic officials will show compassion to abuse victims and betrayed Catholics by avoiding a funeral service with full honors. Restraint would be appropriate unless the church hierarchy wants to deepen already deep wounds.

http://www.sj-r.com/news/20160101/former-springfield-bishop-ryan-dies-at-85-

Bishop Daniel Ryan was a Joliet native who headed the Springfield Catholic Diocese for 15 years. His serious wrongdoing is already being ignored and minimized. Springfield’s current bishop, Thomas Paprocki, issued a statement about Ryan that makes no mention of his sexual misdeeds.

A 2006 report said Ryan "engaged in sexual misconduct with adults and used his authority to conceal this misconduct." Thanks in part to brave abuse victims, it’s also clear that Ryan hid child sex crimes by clergy.

Paprocki has long kept silent about clergy sex crimes, misdeeds and cover ups.

In 2013, for instance, Paprocki removed from his diocesan website a report on clergy sexual misconduct (and financial misdeeds) in the diocese by ex-U.S. attorney J. William Roberts and any hint that Bishop Daniel Ryan “engaged in illicit sex or otherwise did anything improper” which Roberts’ report had found?

Days ago, former Joliet Bishop Joseph Imesch passed away.

http://www.snapnetwork.org/il_joliet_bishop_passes_away_clergy_abuse_victims_react

These two prelates, like nearly all of their US colleagues, deserve little or no praise. They protected predators. They endangered innocent children. They kept crimes hidden from police. Praising them now might bring a small bit of joy to a few of their relatives. But it will heap more pain onto many who have suffered enough.  

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 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], [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, [email protected])

Former Springfield Bishop Ryan dies at 85

Steven Spearie, Jan. 1, 2016 

Most Reverend Daniel Ryan, who served as bishop of the Springfield Catholic Diocese for 15 years but abruptly resigned in 1999, died Thursday in Naperville. He was 85.

Ryan died at Sunrise of Naperville North, an assisted living facility, said a source in the Springfield diocese who didn't want to go on the record. Ryan, who was bishop emeritus of the diocese, had been under hospice care.

His death was confirmed by several sources, including by Marlene Mulford, a spokeswoman for the Springfield diocese.

An independent investigative report in 2006 stated that Ryan  . . .

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