MO--Victims blast KC bishop over more "healing" events

April 08, 2016
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. Official SNAP Media Statements
  4. MO--Victims blast KC bishop over more "healing" events
For immediate release: Friday, April 8, 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]) 
KC Catholic officials keep holding self-serving “healing” events when they should be focused on protecting vulnerable kids, not winning back upset parishioners. (There's one set for April 21.)
Their priorities are backwards.
Such services are nothing more than public relations. They don't protect a single child, expose a single predator, punish a single concealer or deter a single cover up.
Notice the slogan or tag line for this program: "Healing our Parishes Through Emphathy." That's their goal: restoring parishioners faith in church officials. Not stopping abuse. Not helping victims. "Healing parishes." 
Instead, Bishop James Johnston should take tangible steps so that the church no longer will need to hold such events. The goal should be no more victims.
For example, 30 US bishops have posted names of predator priests on their websites. That both protects the vulnerable, heals the wounded and deters the cover ups. That’s what Bishop Johnston should do.
Victims can heal from clergy sex crimes with or without bishops' words. Kids, however, cannot protect themselves from predator priests without bishops' actions. Johnston should warn parents, parishioners, police, prosecutors and the public about two priests who molested in Kansas City are still priests now but live out West, unsupervised, among unsuspecting families. They are
--Fr. Thomas Cronin of Nevada, who is reportedly involved with a homeless women's shelter despite a civil lawsuit in Kansas City (now settled) that charges him with sexually violating a young woman.
–-Bishop Joseph Hart of Wyoming who, as a priest in KC, molested at least six boys. (They have sued and those suits have settled.)
Johnston should take immediate steps to alert police, prosecutors, parishioners, parents and the public about Cronin and Hart. These two predator priests could be assaulting kids and young people today. They could be in Kansas City today or this weekend, visiting old parishioners and hurting their kids.
With real outreach by Johnston, Cronin and Hart might even be prosecuted, convicted and imprisoned, sparing others decades of devastating pain.
Presumably, Bishop Robert Finn’s resignation was intended to bring healing to Kansas City Catholics and victims. But wounded adults can heal themselves, with or without action by bishops. Innocent kids and vulnerable adults, however, cannot protect themselves from predators without action by bishops.
Johnston should put announcements in every parish bulletin at the first opportunity, begging those who saw, suspected or suffered crimes by Cronin or Hart to step forward and call police.
No matter what church officials do or don’t do, we urge every single person who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups in Catholic churches or institutions to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling journalists, get justice by calling attorneys, and get comfort 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]), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, [email protected])

Showing 1 comment

Donate Report Abuse to your AG

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

Share Your Story Get Help Now Locations
SNAPNetwork
Donate

SNAP Network is a GuideStar Gold Participant

PO Box 16376, Chicago, IL 60616, United States

SNAP © 2018. All Rights Reserved.

NationBuilder Theme by Nation Digital