IL- Accused abusive cleric now on the job

Accused abusive cleric now on the job

Church admits charges against him are “credible”

But they let predator work in Pope’s home diocese

And he’s been put back to work twice since accusation

Religious order recently moved its headquarters to Chicago

SNAP releases list of 14 credibly accused clerics they oversee

WHAT

Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims will disclose that a credibly accused child molesting cleric now has a church job in the Pope’s home archdiocese.

They will also:

--reveal a list of 14 accused child molesting clerics who belong to a Catholic religious order which recently made Chicago its national headquarters,

--highlight three of the alleged sex offenders who worked in the Chicago area, and

--prod the religious order officials to house its alleged abusive employees in a treatment center.

They will also urge victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to contact law enforcement with any information or suspicions they have about clergy sex crimes and cover ups in this religious order.

WHEN

Thursday, Aug. 1 at 1:30 p.m.

WHERE

On the sidewalk outside the Claretians HQ, 205 W. Monroe Street (corner of Wells Street) in downtown Chicago

WHO

Three-four victims of clergy sex crimes who belong to an international support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, including the organization’s long time president

WHY

A cleric now works for the church in Buenos Aires, despite a child sex abuse allegation against him that his Chicago Catholic superiors admit is credible. The same church supervisors oversee at least 13 other proven, admitted and credibly accused clerics, three of whom worked in Chicago.

http://claret.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/[email protected]

their US headquarters here a year and a half ago.

Brother Richard Suttle now works for the Claretians on a “human rights project” in Buenos Aires - the archdiocese that was run by Pope Francis until just five months ago.

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/Claretians/Newsletters/2013_06_cmf_at_un.pdf

This is Suttle’s second church job and transfer to a developing nation since 2008, when the Claretians suspended Suttle, admitting that their investigation showed the child sex abuse allegation against him was credible.

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news13/2008_12_18_DioceseOfPhoenix_CommunityNotification_Richard_Suttle_1.htm

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/Claretians/Newsletters/2012_02_15_Claretians_East_Nigeria_Province_Newsletter.pdf

SNAP is releasing today a list of 13 other Claretians who are proven, admitted and credibly accused child molesting clerics, including three men - William Paiz, Thomas Paramo and Eusebio Pantoja - who least worked in Chicago. SNAP wants Claretian officials to put all their known and suspected sex offenders, starting with Suttle, into a remote treatment center far away from kids.

Last year, an investigation by the Chicago Tribune found 32 admitted, proven or credibly accused predator priests who have moved or been sent to other nations after allegations against them were reported. http://media.apps.chicagotribune.com/fugitives/priests.html

A 2004 investigation by the Dallas Morning News found more than 200 priests, accused of sexual abuse, who sought refuge in foreign countries. Nearly 100 cases involved clergy who escaped or were sent elsewhere to elude law enforcement.

SNAP suspects these overseas transfers of troubled clergy are increasing.

Two other Catholic religious orders – five in California yesterday and one in Milwaukee late last month (the Capuchins) have recently disclosed names or information about child molesting clerics.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-catholic-clergy-abuse-files-20130731,0,1598144.story

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2013/05_06/2013_06_26_Johnson_CapuchinsProtected.htm

SNAP contends that religious orders are even more irresponsible and less forthcoming about clergy sex crimes and cover ups than bishops are. Because they have must larger geographic jurisdictions, it’s easier for religious order superiors to transfer known and suspected offenders far away, often abroad.

Suttle’s alleged child sex crimes reportedly happened in 1982-83 at Sacred Heart elementary school in Prescott AZ (where he was a teacher, a coach and later, starting in 2006, a principal).

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news13/2008_12_18_DioceseOfPhoenix_CommunityNotification_Richard_Suttle_1.htm

According to an account written by Suttle in a church newsletter, he was born in Selmer TN, grew up in Charlotte NC, and joined the Claretians in 1979. He first worked in Prescott AZ (as a youth director and teacher), then in Cameroon (in schools), then Phoenix AZ (as a teacher, counselor, administrator, and coach at Bourgade Catholic High School for ten years, 1988-98), then San Antonio TX (as a counselor and administrator at St. Gerard Catholic High School), then Los Angeles CA, then to Vietnam (2002), then back to San Antonio, then back to Prescott AZ (as a school principal), then to Nigeria (as head of the Claret Secondary School in Nekede from 2010-2012).

Suttle denies any wrongdoing. His photo, along with roughly 15 articles about his case, can be found at BishopAccountability.org

In Feb. 2011, the Claretians moved their US national headquarters to Chicago. They have 105 clerics in Illinois, Georgia, New Jersey, Missouri, Texas, Arizona, California, Nigeria, Sudan and Equatorial Guinea. http://www.claretians.org/site/PageServer?pagename=clr_aboutclaretians_history

Contact –David Clohessy (314-566-9790, [email protected] ), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, [email protected] ), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688 home, 314-503-0003 cell, [email protected] )