OH - Child sex victim speaks

He says he was abused by teacher

Alleged perpetrator is still on the job

Man reported abuse to prosecutor & bishop

Bishop says he investigated but did so secretly

But Catholic prelate claims “No evidence” was found

SNAP: “A second person also reported misdeeds” against deacon to us

Group wants alleged wrongdoer suspended from his teaching post

WHAT:

Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, a Youngstown man will disclose that he

-- was allegedly molested as a child by a Cardinal Mooney teacher who is now a deacon and who is still working in the diocese, 

-- has repeatedly reported the offenses to Youngstown’s bishop, and

-- has also tried to contact law enforcement about the cleric/teacher

Two SNAP leaders will

-- read aloud and provide copies of an anonymous letter from another person reporting similar crimes by the teacher/deacon, and

-- prod current and former Catholic employees to speak up about the accused cleric

Both individuals will urge Youngstown Catholic bishop to make public all allegations of sexual abuse that he has received, those that have been removed, and  all accused clerics that have been reported to law enforcement. 

Afterwards, the three will 

-- hand out fliers to Catholics arriving for the 12:10 mass at the Cathedral, and

-- hand deliver a letter to the bishop urging him to suspend the cleric/teacher and aggressively seek out anyone else who may have seen, suspected or suffered his crimes.

WHEN:

Wednesday, August 28, at 11:30 a.m.

WHERE:

On the sidewalk outside St. Columba Cathedral and chancery office 144 West Wood St. (corner of Elm St ) in Youngstown (330.744.5233)

WHO:

The Youngstown victim, Jerry Arnal, and a St. Louis woman, Judy Jones, who is the associate Midwest director of a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

WHY:

In the mid-to-late 1970s, when he was roughly 13 years old, Jerry Arnal says he was repeatedly molested by a teacher at Cardinal Mooney high school.

In 1987, Arnal reported the alleged abuse to Sister Jane Marie Kudlacz who was principal of Mooney at that time.

Now, Arnal is speaking out, in detail, for the first time, about not only the purported crimes but also about what he says is the “secretive and hurtful way” Youngstown Catholic officials are responding to him.

And SNAP leaders will read aloud and provide copies of an anonymous letter the group received in March 2013 from another person reporting wrongdoing by the teacher/deacon. 

In an October 2011 email, Bishop George Murry wrote Arnal that “Your case was investigated by a professional investigator who could find no evidence to support your claim.”

But SNAP maintains that Murry should have suspended the accused cleric, turned the investigation over to police investigators, and publicly released his name calling for anyone with information to go to the police. The group also wants Murry to make public the names of all accused clerics/employees, alive or dead, in the diocese.

Arnal will also provide copies of recent emails he sent to and received from Bishop Murray and another church official, Nancy Yuhasz.

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2011/05_06/2011_05_02_YoungstownVindicator_ParishionersAsked.htm

CONTACT:

Judy Jones 314-974-5003 cell, [email protected], David Clohessy, 314-566-9790 cell, [email protected]