MEDIA ADVISORY FOR: Friday, March 4, 2005

Sex Abuse Victims Call For Boycott of Catholic Religious Order

They Also Want Moratorium on "Importing Abusive Priests" Into Oakland

At Least Seven Admitted & Suspected Molesters Living Near School

SNAP Want Names of Predatory Clerics To Be Made Public

But Oakland's Bishop Supports Keeping Their Identities Secret

WHAT:
Holding signs at a sidewalk news conference, clergy molestation victims and local residents will urge:

-- Catholics here and across the nation to stop donating to a religious order,

-- local Catholic leaders to stop bringing to proven, admitted and suspected molester-priests in a quiet residential Oakland neighborhood near two schools, and

-- Oakland officials to hold an open public hearing about the situation

WHEN:
Friday, March 4, 10:30 a.m.

WHERE:
Outside the Dominican Priory (aka St. Albert's), 5877 Birch Court (off College) in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland

WHO:
Several nearby worried residents and clergy molestation victims who are members of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (a support group), including the group's national director from St. Louis

WHY:
Over the past few years, at least seven known, admitted or credibly accused abusive Catholic clerics have quietly moved into two church-run housing centers in Oakland's Rockridge neighborhood. They belong to a religious order known as the Dominicans.

The Dominicans kept the presence of the potentially dangerous men secret, until church insiders leaked information to SNAP, which has since exposed this reckeless behavior and pushed for more honesty, safety and responsiveness from Catholic officials, to no avail.

Despite repeated requests from concerned neighbors and SNAP members, both the head of the Dominicans (Fr. Roberto Corral) and Oakland's Catholic diocese (Bishop Allen Vigneron) refuse to name the molesters. At a meeting yesterday with victims, Vigneron reiterated that he does NOT favor publicly identifying the molesters. This leaves area families vulnerable to shrewd predators. (The sex offenders leave the facilities often. One of them, against the prohibitions of the Dominicans, visted Thailand recently.)

Given these concerns, SNAP is launching a nationwide boycott, urging Catholics to NOT donate to the Dominicans. They also want church officials to agree to a six month moratorium on importing more molesters here. And SNAP is encouraging Oakland officials to hold an open community forum about the two pedophile priest centers, so that neighbors can be better informed of the risks they are facing.

CONTACT:
Terrie Light of Hayward, SNAP Northwestern Regional Director 510 517 3338
Danny McNevin of Emeryville, Bay Area SNAP Director 415 341 6417
David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP National Director 314 566 9790 cell