Rome--Pope allegedly sacks official for financial corruptions
For immediate release: Wednesday, Nov. 5
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, [email protected], [email protected])
Though he has demoted no bishop for hiding abuse, Pope Francis said today that he sacked a Catholic official for selling marriage annulments.
Some lay Catholics will be encouraged by this news. To us, it’s discouraging. It suggests that Frances cares more about financial reform that children’s safety.
Hundreds of bishops are hiding predators and endangering kids. One – Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City – has been criminally convicted of recently protecting Fr. Shawn Ratigan, a notorious serial predator priest who has also been criminally convicted. Yet Finn remains in office and Francis stays silent.
And hundreds of other bishops have done and are doing what Finn has done. But they haven’t been caught yet. And again, Francis stays silent.
Is an alleged $10,000 theft of greater concern to the Pope than the physical and emotional safety and well-being of thousands of children?
(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 18,000 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])