KY--Louisville archbishop should help in child porn case
For immediate release: Wednesday, June 3
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, [email protected])
A teacher and coach at a Louisville Catholic school is accused of possessing child pornography. We challenge Archbishop Joseph Kurtz to aggressively seek out others who may have seen, suspected or suffered this man’s crimes and help law enforcement more effectively prosecute him.
http://www.lex18.com/story/29225717/louisville-high-school-teacher-faces-federal-child-porn-charges
Patrick Newman, 33, was charged with engaging in unlawful online communications with a 13-year-old boy and with having child pornography.
Kurtz’ public relations staffer claims that “the Archdiocese will cooperate with the authorities." That’s not enough. Catholic officials should take the initiative to aggressively reach out to others who may have knowledge or suspicions about Newman and insist that they call law enforcement.
When Catholic officials say they’ll “cooperate with authorities,” that just means they’ll responds if they’re subpoenaed. Again, that’s not enough. Kurtz has dozens of church bulletins, parish websites, mailing lists and pulpit announcements that he could and should use to prod victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to call police and prosecutors.
We hope Kurtz will show real courage, take decisive action, and break from the Catholic hierarchy’s destructive patterns of secrecy and inaction.
(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]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, [email protected]), Colleen Powell 502 479 0246, Cal Pfeiffer 502 396 7178, [email protected]
Louisville High School Teacher Faces Federal Child Porn Charges
A Louisville high school teacher accused of engaging in a sexually explicit online relationship with a young teen boy faces federal charges.
Federal prosecutors charged Patrick Newman, 33, with engaging in unlawful online communications with a 13-year-old boy, along with possession of child pornography. Newman teaches at Trinity High School and serves as an assistant football coach.
According to a press release sent out by . . .
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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