Clergy sex victims seek others hurt by 2 predators

New church records show Vatican took 12 years to defrock one

Pope was involved in case & reportedly ignored requests for action

Priest then went on to abuse in other states, now lives unmonitored in MD

SNAP worries about him and another notorious pedophile who is a fugitive

Self help group is also upset over Vatican comments re ‘gossip’ and ‘conspiracy’

What:
Holding signs and childhood pictures, victims of child sexual abuse and their supporters will:
-- criticize Vatican officials for taking years to oust a serial predator priest who now lives in MD,
-- beg anyone with info about another predator MD priest, who’s on the lam, to call the FBI immediately,

They will also urge the church hierarchy to
-- better deal with priests who are sent or flee overseas, and
-- spend more time protecting kids from abuse & less time defending the Pope from perceived slights.

They will also prod anyone who saw, suspected or suffered crimes by 2 predator priests to call law enforcement officials, not church officials.

When:
Wednesday, April 7, 1:00 p.m.

Where
Outside of the Baltimore Catholic headquarters/chancery office, 320 Cathedral Street (corner of W. Pleasant St.)

Who:
Two-three men and women who are members and supporters of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org), the nation's largest and oldest support group for men and women who have been sexually abused in religious institutions

Why:
Controversy erupted two days ago over a fugitive predator priest, Fr. Joseph Jeyapaul who oversees dozens of Catholic schools in India while evading US criminal authorities on charges that he molested two Minnesota girls. The case is raising more questions about how the Vatican handles clergy sex crimes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/world/asia/07church.html?src=mv

And it’s causing SNAP to push for action against two former Maryland clerics, accused of child sexual abuse, one of whom is still apparently running from the law. One is Msgr. Robert C. Trupia, who has been in the news this week.

The other is Fr. Laurence Brett, who narrowly avoided escape from law enforcement 8 years ago.

Recently released, long-secret church records show that it took more than 12 years for the Vatican to defrock Trupia who abused kids in Arizona and California, and who most recently lives/lived in Maryland.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j0XEgWZijj_PC7XFBH7T_YaPM5XgD9ERKK901

SNAP wants Catholic officials to more aggressively reach out to anyone either man may have hurt in Maryland, using parish bulletins, websites and archdiocesan newspaper announcements.

Church officials knew that Trupia was a threat to kids and let him move from state to state, abusing kids in Tucson, Los Angeles and Orange County, CA. At least six lawsuits against Trupia were secretly settled in California and Arizona. http://www.bishop-accountability.org/ca-la/mahony-2002-06-a.htm

A notorious offender, Trupia was called "chicken hawk" by other priests who knew that he liked to take Arizona and California boys up to St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, CA and abuse them, under that pretense of accompanying them on a vocational weekend.

Because of numerous complaints of abuse, the Diocese of Tucson placed Trupia on leave in 1990 and began to defrock him. According to documents and news reports, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, took over the case, but "ignored the matter." http://www.yumasun.com/news/yuma-57469-church-documents.html

In the meantime, Trupia was sent to other dioceses, including Orange, CA, where he worked as a judicial vicar and allegedly abused more kids.

The secret documents show that in 2003, Trupia was living in a condo near Baltimore, "driving a leather-seated Mercedes-Benz with a rosary hanging from the rearview mirror." (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_church_abuse_arizona) when Tucson Bishop Moreno again begged the Vatican to laicize Trupia, claiming that they "had proof of civil crimes."

Trupia was not defrocked until 2004, when two lawsuits charged that Trupia molested boys in Yuma, AZ.

Trupia's last known address is in Maryland, where he apparently lives unmonitored. SNAP considers him still a threat to children.

Brett is perhaps Maryland’s most notorious predator priest. According to media reports, he allegedly bit one boy’s penis. The latest lawsuit against Brett was filed in Dec. 2008 alleging the abuse of a 13 year old boy in 1977.

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2008/11_12/2008_12_16_Tepfer_DioceseSued.htm

SNAP believes that church officials should work harder to help law enforcement track him down and prosecute him.

Brett’s work history: http://www.bishopaccountability.org/assign/Brett_Laurence_F_X.htm

Info on international movement of priests: http://www.bishop-accountability.org/international.htm

Contact:
Frank Dingle 410-744-2398, 443-996-8994 - [email protected]
Joe Corcoran 443-831-1811 - [email protected]
David Clohessy 314-566-9790 - [email protected]
Barbara Blaine 312-399-4747 - [email protected]