TX- Catholic priest arrested; SNAP responds

For immediate release: Thursday, September 18, 2014

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 503 0003, SNAPdorris@gmail.com)

A priest has been arrested on “indecent exposure” charges. We hope San Antonio area Catholic officials will help police and prosecutors in this case by aggressively seeking out others who may have seen, suspected or suffered sexual crimes or misdeeds by Fr. Alberto Trevino.

He belongs to a Catholic religious order called Missionaries of the Holy Family. But San Antonio's archbishop also bears responsibility here. An archbishop is responsible for the safety of all Catholics in his archdiocese.

It's tempting, but wrong and complacent, to assume that this is Fr. Trevino's only sex crimes. He may well have committed even more hurtful crimes. The best way to find out is for Catholic officials to use parish bulletins, pulpit announcements and church websites to beg others with information or suspicions about Fr. Trevino to call police.

To the local church hierarchy, we plead: Don't be passive. Don't split hairs. Act responsibly and help law enforcement prosecute this case by using your massive resources to locate and help others who may have been hurt by Fr. Trevino.

To local Catholics, we plead: Ask your loved ones if they might have heard about or seen sexual misconduct by Fr. Trevino. If so, urge them to call police right away.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We’ve been around for 25 years and have more than 20,000 members. 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, [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected])

 


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