For immediate release:
Monday, March 3, 2008

SNAP asks Bishop Sisk to disclose more information about earlier complaints of sexual misconduct against Bishop Paul Moore

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell)

We commend Bishop Sisk for acknowledging that Bishop Paul Moore, his widely-respected predecessor, sexually exploited a young man. We call on Sisk,  however, to disclose more information about earlier complaints of sexual misconduct against Moore.

Honor Moore's New Yorker profile of her father is very moving and it sounds as though Bishop Moore and the young man she calls "Andrew Verver" had a caring relationship. But regardless of how others may depict or define it, it is always unhealthy and abusive when a powerful clergyman or woman has any kind of sex with a congregant or would-be congregant. The power imbalance is just too great.
 
Some ministers have sexual relationships with peers, colleagues or even consenting strangers. That's different. But ministers can never initiate or have sex with anyone who seeks spiritual guidance.
 
All of his achievements do not obscure a sad truth: Moore abused his power and exploited a younger man who came to him for spiritual help. That's tragic.
 
We hope that others who may have been hurt by Moore come forward and get help.  
 

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the nation’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We’ve been around for 17 years and have more than 7,000 members across the country. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Contact
David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, 314-645-5915 home), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688), Mary Grant (626-419-2930), Mark Serrano (703-727-4940)