Clergy sex abuse victims seek German probe

They ask officials to investigate dioceses like Ireland has

Group especially wants new Munich controversy investigated

A low level church staffer said he 'took the heat' off of the Pope

Now, news accounts report he was 'pressured' to take the blame

“Don’t let bishops handle abuse ‘in house’” SNAP says to chancellor

WHAT
At sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims will disclose and discuss a letter they're writing to German officials urging a government investigation into

-likely cover ups by German Catholic dioceses regarding pedophile priests, and

-the controversial re-assignment of a predator priest while then-Cardinal Ratzinger (now the Pope) was his supervisor, and

-recent charges that a lower level church staffer was pressured into taking the blame for the decision, made on Ratzinger’s watch, to put that pedophile back into a parish.

They will also publicly
-- urge the Pope to create an easy-to-use international, on-line directory of proven, admitted and credibly accused child molesting clerics, and
-- urge anyone who saw, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes and cover ups to come forward, call police, expose predators, protect kids and start healing.

WHEN: Tuesday, April 27 at 1:00 p.m.

WHERE
On the sidewalk in front of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, 676 N. Michigan Ave (Entrance on Huron St.) in Chicago

WHO
Three to four members and supporters of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org), the world's largest and oldest support group for those abused in religious institutions, including the group’s president and founder

WHY
Last week, German officials began “round table” discussions with a variety of parties because of the roiling Catholic child sex abuse and cover up controversy that erupted in recent weeks as thousands of victims of pedophile priests began stepping forward. SNAP, however, opposes the “roundtable,” and instead wants Germany’s chancellor to do what the Irish government did: launch independent government-sponsored investigations into the cover up of clergy sex crimes. (The Irish report led to hundreds of Irish victims speaking up and sparked a wave of similar disclosures across Europe in the last two months.)

Two weeks ago, German news outlet Der Spiegel reported that a former Munich archdiocesan official was pressured to take responsibility for the reassignment of pedophile priest, Fr. Peter Hullermann, to take the “heat” off of Pope Benedict. (Benedict headed the Munich archdiocese when Hullermann was reassigned to another parish even after being notified that he had indeed sexually abused children.) http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,689761,00.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704448304575196482519443598.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_World

SNAP feels this is a very troubling allegation which directly implicates top Catholic officials in very recent deceit, which supports SNAP’s call for an independent investigation. If even now, high ranking church staffers are lying to protect one another from criticism, SNAP believes that bodes ill for any real internal church reform.

CONTACT
Barbara Blaine, [email protected], 312 399 4747
David Clohessy, [email protected], 314 566 9790
Barbara Dorris, [email protected], 314 503 0003