PA--Complicit judge resigns from Catholic school; Victims respond
For immediate release: Monday, March 7, 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])
A judge who worked with Altoona Catholic officials to hide a predator priest has resigned from the board of a Catholic school.
Cambria County Judge Patrick T. Kiniry has stepped down from Bishop McCort’s trustees board, in the wake of a grand jury report that shows he collaborated with Altoona-Johnstown church officials to keep silent about the repeated and horrific child sex crimes by Fr. Frances McCaa.
Kiniry’s claim that those were different times” rings hollow. He was a prosecutor. He knows now and knew then how crimes should be handled. Shame on him.
“Back then, the diocese moved the problem, that is just how it was,” Kiniry reportedly told state investigators. That’s baloney. Catholic officials did indeed “move the problem,” but often only with the reckless complicity of timid, self-serving public officials like Kiniry.
Because of Kiniry’s irresponsible secrecy, hundreds of families of veterans were put at risk, because Msgr. McCaa was quietly sent to work for years in a VA hospital in West Virginia.
Even if one gives Kiniry every possible benefit of the doubt about Msgr. McCaa, how does the judge justify years of continued secrecy after the church’s horrific child sex abuse and cover up scandal blew up in 2002? Surely at that point he clearly knew he had behaved improperly. But we see no signs that he lifted a finger, even once, to protect kids in West Virginia or Pennsylvania from a serial child predator.
We hope Kiniry will face severe consequences for his decades of callous and hurtful behavior.
(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])
Judge Kiniry resigns from Bishop McCort board
By David Hurst - [email protected] 14 hrs ago - The Tribune-Democrat
A Cambria County judge – and former prosecutor – has resigned from Bishop McCort’s trustees board, chairman Mark Pasquerilla said Sunday, March 6, 2016. Fellow trustees accepted Patrick T. Kiniry’s resignation, “effective immediately,” Pasquerilla said – and just days after a state Attorney General’s Office report portrayed current and former local law enforcement leaders – including Kiniry in one 1985 case – as alleged conspirators in efforts to keep child sexual abuse scandals under wraps.
A Cambria County judge – and former prosecutor – has . . .
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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