SNAP Press Event in Houma on Thursday
Victims charge Houma Catholic church is ‘reckless’ on abuse
Group says diocese ‘is still hiding at least 4 local perpetrators’
Other dioceses post their names & say the allegations are ‘credible’
SNAP: “But Houma officials refuse, leaving kids at risk & victims wounded”
Support group also alerts child victims to an unusual new legal opportunity
New law means that anyone molested at any time by anyone can now sue
‘By coming forward, the wounded can protect the vulnerable,’ survivors say
WHAT
Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims will
--write on a sidewalk the names of four publicly accused clerics who are or were in the Houma-Thibodaux diocese but are largely ‘under the radar’ and are still being hidden by local church officials, and
---urge anyone “with information or suspicions about known or possible abusers” to call police, not church staff, contact SNAP and “protect others and start healing.”
They will also urge Catholics to join with them in spreading awareness of an “unusual and ground-breaking child safety law” that “enables virtually any child sex abuse victim to sue, no matter how long ago the crime happened, so that the truth will be known about every bishop, priest, brother, nun, seminarian, or layperson who hurt kids.”
WHEN
Thursday, Oct. 10 at 11:15 a.m.
WHERE
On the sidewalk outside the Cathedral of St. Francis, 500 Goode St. in Houma (985-876-6904)
WHO
Two child sex abuse victims who belong to a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org), including a Missouri man who for 30 years was the organization’s national director
WHY
1) SNAP will explain an “unusual and groundbreaking” new state law that “enables virtually anyone who was abused as a kid by anyone at any time” to “expose wrongdoers by filing a civil lawsuit.” In June, that law was upheld as constitutional by the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Other states that have adopted similar measures, hundreds of victims have ‘outed’ scores of ‘long hidden abusive “coaches, teachers, pastors and preachers.” SNAP predicts the same will happen in Louisiana.
2) In 2019, Houma Catholic officials posted on their website a list of 14 ‘credibly accused’ abusive clerics. But they omitted at least four publicly accused perpetrators – all of whom a) are or were in the Houma diocese, b) have been declared ‘credibly accused’ abusers by other church officials and c) whose names are posted on church websites elsewhere. SNAP wonders if the diocese may “still hiding any other abusers’ names.”
They ‘still hidden’ accused perpetrators are:
Fr. James Preston Clement, who worked at St. Francis de Sales parish in Houma. In 2019, his name was put on the Baton Rouge diocese’s ‘credibly accused’ abusers’ list.
He also worked in these other Louisiana assignments: St. John the Baptist in Edgard, St. Joseph in Grosse Tete, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in St. Amant and St. Patrick’s in Baton Rouge.
Fr. Christopher (a.k.a. Cristoff) Joseph Springer, who worked at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary parish in Houma and reportedly abused as many as 30 children.
He’s on church ‘credibly accused’ abusers lists in four dioceses: New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Corpus Christi and Galveston-Houston.
He also spent time in Wisconsin and worked in Corpus Christi TX and these Louisiana towns: Baton Rouge, Plaquemine, Maringouin, New Roads, Jackson and Clinton.
Fr. Michael F. Hurley, who is on three church ‘credibly accused’ abusers lists (New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Phoenix) and worked at St. Frances DeSales in Houma (according to the New Orleans church records).
He also worked Chicago and in several Arizona towns.
Fr. Lawrence Hecker, who worked at St. Bernadette’s parish in Houma and is on church lists of the ‘credibly accused’ in two dioceses, New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
He has been diagnosed as a pedophile and currently faces criminal rape and kidnapping charges.
In 1999, Fr. Hecker admitted to his superiors that he had abused seven teenagers and an adult with a mental disability,
He also worked at Christ the King in Terrytown, Holy Family in Luling, St. Anthony in Luling, St. Francis Xavier in Metairie, St. Joseph in Gretna, St. Mary of False River in New Roads and several New Orleans locations (including Holy Rosary, Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Francis Cabrini).
(As best SNAP can tell, Fr. Hecker and Fr. Springer are still alive. Fr. Clement and Fr. Hurley are deceased.)
“If Houma Catholic officials are still hiding these child molesting clerics, who knows how many other church perpetrators are still out there, largely unknown to the public,” said David Clohessy of SNAP.
“Locking up abusive priests keeps kids safest,” he said. “But when that can’t happen, the second safest step is for church officials to promptly, publicly and fully disclose the identities of known and likely perpetrators.”
CONTACT: David Clohessy, SNAP Missouri ([email protected], 314-566-9790), Letitia Peyton, Louisiana SNAP ([email protected], 337-308-9120),Melanie Sakoda, SNAP Survivor Support Director ([email protected], 925-708-6175), Shaun Dougherty, SNAP Interim Executive Director ([email protected], 814-341-8386)
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for more than 35 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
