| The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests SNAP Press Release Clergy sex abuse victims urge national panel to intervene Jeff City bishop violates Catholic abuse policy, group says He keeps silent for weeks about priest accused of sex crime And he apparently still hasn’t notified law enforcement of allegations SNAP seeks involvement of national lay ‘oversight board’ to protect kids Just suspended, the priest worked at 13 churches in nine Missouri counties He’s the third accused mid-Missouri priest to be exposed in last six months Support group is concerned because church staff continues “being secretive” WHAT The Jeff City bishop is violating national church policy on abuse adopted in 2002, victims say. The victims will also beg WHEN WHERE WHO WHY Seifner worked at 13 churches in 7 counties, including Callaway (Mokane), Cooper (Pilot Grove, Clear Creek and Clifton City), Cole (Jefferson City and Wardsville), Osage (Chamois, Westphalia, Bonnot’s Mill and Loose Creek), Montgomery (Rhineland) Gasconade (Morrison) and Marion (Palmyra). He was ordained in 1992 and had most recently been pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Loose Creek and St. Louis Church in Bonnots Mill. SNAP feels Gaydos should have promptly told the police and the public about the allegations against Seifner, not just a few dozen parishioners at two tiny churches. The group believes Gaydos should personally visit each community where Seifner worked, and beg everyone to call law enforcement if they saw, suspected or suffered misdeeds by Seifner. He should do the same, SNAP thinks, about two other recently ‘outed’ predator priests. SNAP is writing St. Louis’ archbishop, as the highest ranking Catholic official in Missouri to prod Gaydos to give police information about Seifner and apologize for and explain his delays and secrecy. The organization is also writing to the National Review Board, a lay oversight panel, urging it to investigate the matter and censure or discipline Gaydos. In September, SNAP urged Gaydos to warn mid-Missourians about another predator priest, Fr. Kenneth J. Roberts, a nationally-known author and predator priest who lived in the Jefferson City Diocese. That same month, the Illinois Supreme Court tossed out a civil case against Roberts because of the statute of limitations. Since Roberts faced allegations of hurting kids in Texas, St. Louis and Belleville IL, SNAP suspects that Roberts hurt others in Missouri who are still suffering in silence, confusion and self-blame. Gaydos ignored the group’s request. In August, SNAP disclosed that Fr. Jerry Howard (a.k.a. Carmine Sita) pled guilty to molesting a New Jersey boy in the 1980s. Catholic officials let him change his name and quietly sent him to Boonville, without warning parishioners, where Howard sexually assaulted several boys. In each case, SNAP is convinced Gaydos acted tardily and secretively. http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2010/01_02/2010_01_08_Tritz_CatholicPriest.htm http://newstribune.com/articles/2010/01/08/news_local/nt357local02priest10.txt CONTACT | |
![]() Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests www.snapnetwork.org |