Vatican--SNAP: Pope’s inaction enables predator priest to strike again
For immediate release: Thursday, Dec. 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])
The recklessness of Vatican officials, including Pope Francis, has evidently enabled a predator priest to sexually assault more kids by just moving elsewhere. This increasingly well-documented trend – more and more child molesting clerics simply going abroad in search of fresh victims – is one of the most troubling and virtually unaddressed aspects of the church’s child sex abuse and cover up crisis. It’s also breathtakingly irresponsible.
The Associated Press reports that “a priest accused of sexually abusing deaf children in Italy wasn’t sanctioned by the Vatican and allegedly went on to abuse” kids in Argentina.
Fr. Nicola Corradi, Fr. Horacio Corbacho and three others have been arrested on charges of molesting at least eight children at a school for youths with hearing disabilities for years and years.
In 2008 and 2014, according to BishopAccountability.org, Vatican staff were told that Fr. Corradi and others accused of molesting children at a school for the deaf in Verona, where allegations of a ring of predators were also made.
We are grateful that secular officials in Mendoza have suspended classes at the school and forbidden faculty and staff from having contact with students. This caring action by government officials stands in stark contrast to the clearly callous actions of church officials.
The local archbishop’s office has expressed solidarity with the victims and said it is cooperating with authorities. We’re highly skeptical about this. If Archbishop Carlos Maria Franzini really wants to help law enforcement, he will use his vast resources to aggressively seek out others with information or suspicions about these alleged Mendoza predator priests and beg them to call law enforcement. If he cares, he’ll personally visit each church and school where these priests worked seeking out any wounded “lost sheep” and offering them comfort and support.
But we aren’t holding our breath. It’s painfully rare that any bishop does more than the absolute self-serving bare minimum in suspected clergy sex abuse and cover up cases.
Francis should publicly explain how his top aides apparently let this horror happen. He should defrock, demote, discipline and denounce the clerics who are responsible. And he should take immediate, public and effective steps to make sure the international transfer of proven, admitted and credibly accused clerics comes to an end.
No matter what secular or church officials do or don’t do, we urge every single person who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups in Catholic schools, churches or institutions to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling attorneys, and be comforted by calling support groups like ours. This is how kids will be safer, adults will recover, criminals will be prosecuted, cover ups will be deterred and the truth will surface.
(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])
Victim advocates: Pope told of priest arrested in Argentina
By Luis Andres Henao and Nicole Winfield | AP December 1 at 5:25 PM
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Advocates for clerical sex abuse victims expressed outrage Thursday that a priest accused of sexually abusing deaf children in Italy wasn’t sanctioned by the Vatican and allegedly went on to abuse children in Pope Francis’ native Argentina.
Argentine police arrested the priest, 82-year old Nicola Corradi, this week. Corradi, priest Horacio Corbacho, 55, and three other men are accused of abusing at least eight children at a school for youths with hearing disabilities in northwestern Mendoza province.
BishopAccountability.org, an online resource about clerical abuse, reported that Italian survivor groups told the Vatican . . .
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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