MN--“Take Catholic officials’ passports”
Statement by Frank Meuers of Plymouth, Twin Cities SNAP leader, 952-334-5180
We’re glad the Ramsey County Attorney can no longer ignore the large amount of data that has been made available from victims, survivors, and Ms. Jennifer Haselberger, a former archdiocesan employee. It shows the blatant, repeated cover up of crimes by archdiocesan officials, way beyond just the Fr. Curtis Wehmeyer case.
The demand for justice has finally overridden the ploy of secrecy, and now charges have at last been filed. We now ask anyone with any information about abuse or cover up to come forward at once. Please help facilitate this movement from silence to openness.
We urge prosecutors to ask church officials for their passports so there’s no chance they can flee overseas.
We dispute the notion that Catholic officials “turned a blind eye” to abuse. They did worse. They deliberately and repeatedly put and kept kids in harm’s way by valuing their reputations and comfort and devaluing boys and girls. They engaged in active wrongdoing, not passive wrongdoing. These are smart men with smart lawyers and smart PR advisors. These were – and continue to be – cover ups, not “mistakes” or “failures.”
We hope that individual church officials will be charged. Dozens of current and former Catholic staffers planned and participated in the cover up. So in that sense, it’s an institutional crime. But individual Catholic officials intentionally made these selfish choices. So individuals should be held responsible too. That’s the only real way to deter cover ups in the Catholic church in the present and future.
It’s good that the persistent cries of so very many abused people of this archdiocese are being hear. It will be better, however, when more charges are filed against individual church staff and a guilty verdict is issued against them.
http://stmedia.startribune.com/documents/Archdiocese+of+Saint+Paul+and+Minneapolis+6.5.15.pdf
Choi called the archdiocese claim to monitor problem priests "a sham." So it the archdiocesan claim to “investigate” predator priests.
"We were falsely led to believe that the Archdiocese had an effective program in place" to monitor priests, Choi said. He’s one of tens of thousands who’ve been misled by Catholic officials.
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
Showing 2 comments
It’s good that you have emphasised that the archdiocese has committed cover-ups and not made mistakes or failures.
Another good point emphasised is the selfishness of Catholic officials.
They don’t need to be roller skating down the halls of the vatican with cardinal Bernard Law.
Global criminals. They must be stopped.