Sex abuse victims blast NY archbishop

He “quietly and deceptively” lets serial pedophile resign

Harlem pastor gets to step aside instead of being ousted

At least ten men accuse prominent cleric of molesting them

Still, Dolan lets alleged predator write “self-pitying” letter to parish

Deceit leave some parishioners in doubt and kids at risk, group says

SNAP: “This is one of the most troubling cases we’ve seen in last 8 years”

WHAT:
As Catholic leave/enter mass, clergy sex abuse victims and their loved ones will hand out fliers blasting New York’s archbishop for acting “recklessly, deceptively and callously” by
--letting a prominent suspended serial predator priest voluntarily resign, and
--letting him send a “misleading, self-serving” letter to his flock.

The leaflets urge church-goers to contact the archbishop and insist that he
-- protect kids by clearly telling the truth about the accused pedophile and
-- aggressively seek out others who saw, suspected or suffered the priest’s crimes.

The victims are also prodding parishioners to
--ask their friends and loved ones if they were ever hurt by a Catholic cleric,
--if so, urge them to call police officials, not church officials.

WHEN:
Sunday, September 19, starting at 10:45 a.m.

WHERE:
Outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral, on 5th Ave, (NYC)

WHO:
Clergy sex abuse victims who belong to the world’s oldest and largest clergy victims group called SNAP - the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org)

WHY:
Months ago, SNAP contends, Archbishop Timothy Dolan should have clearly, publicly and permanently ousted a credibly accused serial pedophile priest from his Harlem parish. Instead, however, he kept silent and left parishioners in doubt. Two weeks ago, Dolan let the cleric quietly resign.

Last week, SNAP disclosed Dolan’s move, calling it “reckless, deceptive and hurtful.” SNAP also made public two deceptive letter to church-goers at St. Charles Borromeo. One was by Dolan. The other was from the pedophile priest, Msgr. Wallace A. Harris. Neither letter mentioned the words “child sex abuse allegation,” much less acknowledged that at least ten men have come forward reporting that Harris sexually assaulted them in the 1970s and 1980s.

Several of the men have talked with police and prosecutors about Harris’ crimes. None have filed civil lawsuits. Both facts, SNAP maintains, speak to their credibility and motives.

Harris was temporarily suspended in 2008 after a former police officer, Eric Crumbley, reported that Harris repeatedly molested him as a child.

Harris isn’t the only predator priest to have worked at St. Charles Borromeo. In 2003, Fr. Francis Xavier Nelson was convicted of molesting a 12 year old girl in Brooklyn.

According to the New York Times, “church officials supervising (Nelson) had been aware of the allegations in 1999 and considered them credible, but he was allowed to transfer from Brooklyn to the Archdiocese of New York.”
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news/2002_05_24_Wakin_PriestCharged.htm

According to BishopAccountability.org, Nelson “has since returned to his church in India, where he works in the bishop's office.”
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2010/03_04/2010_04_14_MercuryNews_SnapshotsOf.htm

St. Charles Borromeo is the home parish of New York Governor David Patterson. Harris was the event coordinator for Pope Benedict's Sunday afternoon Mass at Yankee Stadium earlier in 2008.

Copies of the letters from Dolan and Harris are available here:
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/ny_newyork/2010_08_28_Harris_MyDearParishioners.pdf
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/ny_newyork/2010_09_02_Dolan_MyBrothers.pdf

CONTACT:
Mary Caplan (917) 439-4187 [email protected], Glenn Echevarria (646) 763-4260 [email protected], David Clohessy (314) 566-9790 [email protected],