MD--Victims blast 2 new Baltimore promotions

For immediate release: Monday, Dec. 5, 2016

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, 314 645 5915 home, [email protected])

We are disappointed that Pope Francis has promoted two Baltimore Catholic officials to become assistant bishops. We would be more optimistic had he chosen clerics from outside the archdiocese and especially had he elevated priests who’ve shown some leadership in ensuring the safety of children.

http://www.catholicreview.org/article/news/pope-francis-appoints-two-auxiliary-bishops-for-baltimore-monsignors-mark-brennan-and-adam-parker

We see no evidence that either Msgr. Adam J. Parker or Msgr. Mark E. Brennan have fought or spoken out about irresponsible moves by any Catholic official in any child sex abuse or cover up case in Baltimore or anywhere.

On the contrary, they’ve spent most of their careers in the Baltimore archdiocese which has had a very troubling record on children’s safety.

For instance, last year, we in SNAP released nine pages of never-before disclosed emails and letters between two archdiocesan headquarters staffers, a prosecutor and a victim.

They showed that 1) Msgr. Joseph A. Davies has been repeatedly accused of molesting children and 2) at least one church official believes he’s guilty. But Baltimore Archbishop William Lori and his staff refuse to disclose these facts to parents, parishioners or the public.

One letter, to a victim from a high-ranking church official, Msgr. Richard Woy (410-464-4000, [email protected]) says “I want to apologize for the abuse you suffered at the hands of Msgr. Davies.” Another letter by Msgr. Woy admits that the archdiocese “has received a number of child sex abuse allegations” against Msgr. Daviess.

The emails are to/from Alison J. D'Alessandro (410-547-5348, [email protected]) who deals with abuse victims for the archdiocese).

We asked Lori to “come clean” about Msgr. Daviess and “all other admitted, proven or credibly accused child molesting clerics.” 

As best we can tell, Lori ignored our request.

Also last year, an ex-employee, Annette Goodman, sued the Baltimore archdiocese. We suspect that she is telling the truth and that Catholic officials are trying to cover their behinds in a child sex abuse case.

http://www.wbaltv.com/news/former-librarian-sues-school-over-firing-after-sex-abuse-case/31774264

We urged top staff at Archbishop Curley High School and the Baltimore archdiocese to honor their pledges of “openness” in child sex cases and be more forthcoming about the child sex abuse accusations at the school and how they were handled.

We suspect that Goodman is actually being scapegoated. We urged Lori to discipline two Catholic officials who  called the alleged abuse "a relationship." (It's misleading and hurtful to call child sex crimes "a relationship." That implies equality and consent that cannot exist between an adult and a child, especially between a teacher and a student.)

Again, Lori ignored us.

In neither case, did either of the just-promoted priest express dismay, either publicly or privately, with the irresponsible actions and inaction of their boss.

Finally, Lori has repeatedly lobbied against a child sex abuse reform measure in the legislature that we believe is the very best way to safeguard kids and deter cover ups right now. Again, neither Parker nor Brennan stood up to Lori on this.

No matter what lawmakers or church officials do or don’t do, we urge every single person who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups in churches or institutions – especially in Maryland – to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling attorneys, and be comforted by calling support groups like ours. This is how kids will be safer, adults will recover, criminals will be prosecuted, cover ups will be deterred and the truth will surface.

(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])