UT--Predator priest who worked in Utah is sentenced again
For immediate release: Sunday, May 1, 2016
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, 314 645 5915 home, [email protected])
On Friday, an already imprisoned serial predator priest who allegedly abused Utah boys was sentenced to 40 more years for hurting other kids in Michigan.
For the safety of kids and the healing of victims, we hope he stays behind bars for as long as possible. And we hope that Utah Catholic officials will spread this news and use church bulletins, pulpit announcements, and church websites to aggressively seek out others who he may have hurt. We believe that’s their moral and civic duty.
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news3/2002_06_04_Ross_RecordsShow_James_Rapp_5.htm
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news/2002_12_01_Sallah_ShameSin.htm
http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/04/29/pirest-james-rapp-sexual-abuse/83726260/
Church officials can’t recruit, educate, ordain, hire, train, transfer and shield child molesting clerics and then walk away when the predators are caught. They have an obligation to do everything possible to find and help every single victim. And they must do all they can to help police and prosecutors pursue other clerics who ignored or concealed the child molesters’ crimes.
We're grateful that Fr. James Francis Rapp was charged again, pled guilty to more child sex crimes.
Because of his crimes in Oklahoma, Fr. Rapp is already in prison. So it would have been easy for law enforcement to look the other way when more victims surfaced.
But Michigan’s attorney general filed more child sex charges against him for molesting kids at a Catholic high school in Jackson in the 1980s.
Besides his crimes in Oklahoma and Michigan, Rapp also reportedly assaulted two brothers - Ralph Colosimo and Charles Colosimo - at Memorial Catholic High School in Salt Lake City. We applaud the Colosimo brothers for having the courage and wisdom to step forward, protect others and seek justice.
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2003_07_12/2003_08_20_Griggs_VaticanOrders.htm
A five million dollar settlement was paid to his Oklahoma victim.
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2003_07_12/2003_08_20_Griggs_VaticanOrders.htm
If you saw, suspected or suffered any crimes or cover ups related to Fr. Rapp, it’s time to find the courage to speak up, so that the vulnerable can be protected, the wounded can be healed and the truth can be exposed and so that cover ups are deterred.
Besides Utah, Michigan and Oklahoma, Fr. Rapp worked in four other states: Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New York. Since for decades he was part of the Ohio-based Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, we strongly suspect he also spent time in Toledo area.
We strongly urge Catholic officials in each of those states – especially the head of the Salt Lake diocese, Monsignor Colin F. Bircumshaw, Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley, Toledo Bishop Daniel Thomas, Lansing Michigan Bishop Earl Boyea and others - to use their vast resources to aggressively reach out to anyone else who saw, suspected or suffered his crimes.
(NOTE –Salt Lake archdiocesan attorney Matthew F. McNulty helped defend Utah Catholic officials in a civil suit involving Rapp.)
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has 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])
Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director
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