MO - KC Catholic diocese admits 18 years of secrecy about predator
Kansas City Catholic officials are now admitting that they kept secret for 18 years about credible child sex abuse allegations against a local priest.
18 years of secrecy. That gives a predator many more opportunities to victimize children, destroy evidence, intimidate victims, threaten witnesses, discredit whistleblowers, fabricate alibis, and escape detection.
Shame on every single current and former church staffer, volunteer and member (and there were likely a dozen or more) who knew of or suspected Fr. Wegenek's crimes and stayed silent. How do they live with the realization that for years and years, they let a credibly accused child molester live and work among unsuspecting families and probably sexually assault more kids?
We hope every person who was hurt by Fr. Wegenek steps forward. We hope every person who saw, suspected or knew of Fr. Wegenek’s crimes will find the decency to speak up.
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 14 comments
When will it stop? When will our elected officials care more about innocent children than pompous, dysfunctional sex clowns who like to dress up in Barbie-doll-garb?
The time has come. Rome is nothing less than the red light district in Amsterdam or maybe worse, the child prostitution brothels of Thailand.
Mike Ference
When will it stop? When will our elected officials care more about innocent children than pompous, dysfunctional sex clowns who like to dress up in Barbie-doll-garb?
The time has come. Rome is nothing less than the red light district in Amsterdam or maybe worse, the child prostitution brothels of Thailand.
Mike Ference