PA--Convicted predator priest is hiring public relations firm before sentencing

For immediate release: Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those abused by Priests (314 566 9790, [email protected])

A convicted predator priest is apparently hiring a public relations firm in advance of his sentencing. We hope his bishop prevents him from doing this or that no firm accepts his offer. And we hope the IRS and other authorities investigate whether the cleric is breaking laws or misleading donors to his non-profit.

http://everything-pr.com/child-molesting-priest-seeks-to-hire-a-pr-agency/75923/

Father Joseph D. Maurizio of the Altoona-Johnstown diocese will learn his punishment in February. We hope it’s a harsh one that will keep him away from kids for years to come.

But between now and then, he hopes to hire spin doctors who can help him duck and dodge and deny responsibility for his heinous crimes. We hope he fails.

His boss, Bishop Mark Bartchak, has a dismal record on kids’ safety. Just a few months ago, authorities began investigating a seminary in the Altoona-Johnstown diocese. That probe “may be part of a larger investigation of child molestation over nearly three decades involving more than 20 priests in the Altoona-Johnstown Roman Catholic Diocese,” according to one news source. (One of those clerics is Brother Stephen Baker, who molested nearly 100 children.)

http://www.snapnetwork.org/pa_victims_applaud_ag_probe_of_monastery

Bartchak should forbid Fr. Maurizio from hiring a PR firm. If Maurizio defies him, Bartchak should publicly denounce Fr. Maurizio. Regardless, the bishop should use his vast resources to reach out to other victims, witnesses and whistleblowers who may have seen, suspected or suffered Fr. Maurizio’s crimes. 

We hope anyone with knowledge or suspicions about crimes by Fr. Maurizio or cover ups by his clerical colleagues will call law enforcement, get independent help, expose church wrongdoers and protect vulnerable children.

(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], [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, [email protected])

Child Molesting Priest Seeks To Hire A PR Agency

2015-12-22 by Jason Tannahill of EverythingPR

Everything-PR has exclusively learned that Father Joseph D. Maurizio, a priest in Federal Prison for child sexual abuse charges has contacted a number of public relations firms seeking an agency willing to work the media to assist him in getting out of jail, or receiving a lenient sentence.

The Pennsylvania-based 70 year old was found guilty of “having sex with three boys at a Honduran orphanage that he supported through his nonprofit foundation, transferring money outside the United States to fund his illicit activities and having pornographic photos of children.”

Earlier this month, The Associated Press reported that  . . .

Read full article here


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