St. Louis Archdiocese Cancels Event to Pray for " Exoneration" of Priest Accused of Sex Abuse

By Sam Levin
Riverfront Times
July 16, 2013

http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2013/07/joseph_jiang_prayer_archdiocese_molestation.php


Yesterday, we published an update on the investigation into Father Xiu Hui "Joseph" Jiang, a St. Louis priest accused of molesting a teenage girl on multiple occasions. Notably, in what appears to be a first, prosecutors have subpoenaed Archbishop Robert Carlson in this criminal case.

Archdiocese officials declined to comment on the pending case, but victims' advocates have pointed us to one place where church officials made a very troubling statement about the accused priest: A meetup.com listing for an event at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis to pray for the "defense and exoneration of Fr. Joseph Jiang."

Organizers from Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) say they are outraged by the stated purpose of the event, which is offensive and hurtful to the victim and her family. But after Daily RFT reached out to the Archdiocese about this meet-up, church officials took down the website and canceled the event.