Media Statements

A Delaware Catholic priest who frequently traveled overseas has been arrested for possessing child pornography. We call on his superiors to ensure that parents and parishioners at every location at which the cleric worked are notified and that anyone with information about these crimes or any others are encouraged to come forward and report to the police.

I am a proud graduate of St. John Prep’s final graduating class of 1985. My high school alma mater closed, we were told, because not enough boys pursued higher education after graduation to become priests. At least that is what then-Archbishop Phillip Hannan stated to us and the public. But was that the only reason? Today, Archbishop Aymond named deceased Rev. Robert Cooper as the 73rd cleric to the ever growing list of credibly accused clergymen. Fr. Luis Fernandez and Fr. Joseph deWater were suspended from ministry pending further investigation. Cooper and Fernandez served with Aymond at St. John Prep in the mid-1970’s.

A disturbing case of child sexual abuse and cover-up in Tucson is drawing attention to the need to reform laws to ensure that cases of abuse are reported quickly so that children can be protected and authorities can intervene in abusive situations.

According to an investigation undertaken by Colorado’s attorney general, the Catholic Diocese of Pueblo was aware of an allegation of sexual abuse against one of its monsignors and yet chose not to report it to police until two weeks after the monsignor died. To us, this appears to be a brazen attempt to avoid scandal and punishment and we call on Pope Francis to intervene in this situation and immediately remove the prelate who allowed this to happen.

A year after their initial report into Catholic clergy abuse in Colorado, the attorney general’s office has released an updated report containing the names of even more abusers. We are grateful for the work done by the attorney general’s office and believe that it underscores the need for consistent and ongoing secular oversight into religious institutions.

Another priest from the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago has been removed from his position due to allegations of child sexual abuse. We are grateful to the brave victim who came forward and we hope they are getting the help and healing they need.

New York’s most sued Catholic diocese is facing a new lawsuit, this one coming from New York’s top law enforcement official. We are grateful for the efforts by the New York attorney general’s office and believe that secular intervention like this is key to preventing future cases of clergy abuse.

A man who is a high school teacher, soccer coach, and youth pastor has been arrested and charged with more than 400 counts of possession of child pornography. Now we call on church and school officials to ensure that parents, parishioners, and alumni are aware of the accusations and to encourage anyone who may have been hurt or witnessed wrongdoing to come forward.

A Catholic deacon from the Archdiocese of New Orleans who was suspended in August has been accused of raping a child and is being criminally investigated. The crime is alleged to have occurred twenty years ago and has stayed hidden until this year, making us fear that there are other victims still suffering in silence. We call on Archdiocesan officials to spread the news about these accusations throughout their borders so that others who may have been hurt will know they are not alone and can come forward to get help.

Two survivors of clergy abuse have created stringent new policies that will ensure both children and adults are better protected from cases of clergy abuse. We applaud these survivors for their efforts to close loopholes in current policies within the Catholic Church and urge every single bishop, archbishop, and cardinal in the United States to adopt these policies immediately.