MA- As new bishop takes over, Fall River diocese is sued

For immediate release: Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 503 0003, SNAPdorris@gmail.com)

On the very day a new bishop was installed in the Fall River Diocese, another civil child sex abuse and cover up lawsuit was filed against the diocese. It stems from the crimes of a now-deceased predator priest who is among the most notorious and prolific child molesting clerics in US history.

He is Fr. James Porter who reportedly assaulted more than 100 kids.

What an inspiration it would be if Fall River's new bishop started his tenure by personally going to every parish where Porter worked begging victims to step forward and get help. We doubt this will happen but it should. In the parable of the “Good shepherd,” Jesus urges us to abandon the flock and go out into the cold and dark to find and help one lost sheep. This is precisely what Fall River Bishop Edgar da Cunha should do right away. Could there possibly be anything more important for him to take immediately after taking over the reins of the diocese?

(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 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]


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