Media Statements

We're heartsick over these legal attacks and the chilling impact these church officials are having and will have on vulnerable and hurting victims, witnesses and whistleblowers. They are crippling our work to protect the vulnerable and heal the wounded, and rubbing even more salt into the already deep and still fresh wounds of hundreds of child sex abuse victims and thousands of betrayed Catholics.

Late last week, a Little Rock Circuit Judge Wendell Griffin (6th Judicial District) ruled that a clergy sexual abuse case will not be dismissed and can proceed toward trial.

Clergy sex abuse victims want a Catholic priest who was the alleged lover of a serial pedophile banned from a five day retreat he is set to lead next week in Yakima, Washington.

We’re here for three reasons – to help protect the vulnerable, help heal the wounded, and help deter future child sex crimes and cover ups.

We’re helping protecting the vulnerable by warning parents, parishioners and the public about a credibly accused child molesting church employee: James Moritz.

We applaud this brave woman for coming forward and taking legal action against her alleged abuser, Pastor Kendall Graham. Putting child sex abuse accusations into the justice system is the best way to prevent children being hurt.

We don’t know much about newly-appointed Oregon Bishop Liam Cary. But we’re encouraged almost every time the Vatican promotes a priest rather than a chancery office staffer to higher positions. And we’re encouraged when men who have spent some adult years outside of the priesthood are elevated, because we believe it’s likely such men are slightly less caught up in an unhealthy, secretive, rigid clerical culture that dominates the Catholic hierarchy.

We are repulsed and saddened by this story. For a five-year-old child to be put through this kind of torture is especially egregious, and we shudder to think what other children have been victimized by Thomas McConnell. 

Twice in the last decade, 14 prosecutors have pressured Albany’s Catholic bishop to act more responsibly in child sex abuse cases. It’s disturbing that even now, a veteran church official who has repeatedly pledged to “reform” must be prodded to do what’s right for children’s safety. This should be very alarming to Albany area citizens and Catholics. 

We applaud Winona Catholic officials for taking the simple but responsible step of warning parents about a dangerous serial predator. The church hierarchy rarely does this. 

We are saddened that Rev. Slocum was able to escape with only probation. Children are safer when predators are behind bars, and for a felony conviction involving the abuse and concealment of a child we believe that this sentence is little more than a slap on the wrist. This sentence effectively allows Fr. Slocum to use his demonstrated cunning and deceptive ways to meet, groom, and abuse another child.