NY- Retired Cardinal to preside at special mass, SNAP responds
For immediate release: Tuesday, March 11, 2014
For more information: David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected])
Retired Cardinal to preside at special mass
Victims want him ousted from upcoming event
He hid child sex crimes but denies all wrongdoing
A support group for clergy sex abuse victims is urging New York's top Catholic official to stop his predecessor from saying a special mass this weekend featuring children's choirs.
This Saturday, retired New York Cardinal Edward Egan is to preside over a children's choir mass featuring 200 youngsters at St. Ignatius Loyola parish in Manhattan. Egan has been widely criticized for allegedly hiding clergy sex crimes during his long tenure in the Bridgeport diocese and the New York archdiocese.
Because of that, and because Egan continues to deny any wrongdoing, leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, want Cardinal Timothy Dolan to oust Egan from the upcoming event.
As recently as 2012, discussing the abuse and cover up crisis, Egan said “I don’t think we did anything wrong,” “I’m very proud of how this thing was handled,” “I believe the sex abuse thing was incredibly good,” “There really wasn’t much . . . hidden” and “I do think it’s time to get off this subject.”
“This isn't just a slap in the face to suffering victims and betrayed Catholics,” said Mary Caplan of Manhattan, SNAP's New York director. “It's rubbing salt into their wounds and telling other Catholic officials that 'no matter how much you endanger kids and protect predators, your Catholic colleagues will always honor you.'”
“Cardinal Timothy Dolan and the Jesuits at this parish are smart men. They must know this is a very hurtful move,” said David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP's director. “Dolan should make Egan stay home and insist that no other priest in the archdiocese gives Egan – or others who have covered up clergy child sexual crimes - any prominent role in church functions, least of all at an event featuring children.”
The event will be at Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, 980 Park Avenue at 84th Street (212-288-3588, www.stignatiusloyola.org). It's a parish run by the Jesuits, a Catholic religious order that SNAP says is “one of the worst” when it comes to the safety of kids and the healing of victims.
“Though it was short-lived and largely unenforced, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez at least had the decency to forbid his disgraced predecessor, Cardinal Roger Mahony, from doing public ministry,” said Clohessy. “New York archdiocese 's current top official Cardinal Timothy Dolan has as of yet shown no such decent judgment."
http://www.snapnetwork.org/ca_la_archbishop_reneges_on_mahony_discipline
Here is the exact wording and website link from last Sunday's parish bulletin:
Welcome Cardinal Egan! On Saturday, March 15th, the St. Ignatius Loyola Children’s Choir will be hosting the Pueri Cantores Children’s Choir Festival for 200+ choristers from the Tri-state area. The day’s festivities will culminate in singing at the 5:30 PM Mass. Edward Cardinal Egan will preside. The prelude, featuring participating choirs, begins at 5:00 PM.
http://www.stignatiusloyola.org/pdf/bulletins/1314/03092014SIL.pdf
The St. Ignatius pastor is Father George Witt ([email protected]). The associate pastors are Fr. William Bergen ([email protected]), Fr. Thomas Feely ([email protected]) and Fr. Ugo Nacciarone ([email protected])
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We’ve been around for 25 years and have more than 15,000 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 (314-862-7688 home,314-503-0003 cell, [email protected])
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
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