MI--Archbishop should help prosecutors with school abuse case

By David Clohessy
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
December 9, 2015

http://www.snapnetwork.org/mi_archbishop_should_help_prosecutors_with_school_abuse_case

A criminal prosecution of a Catholic youth minister and school employee is proceeding and Detroit’s archbishop should aggressively seek out others with information or suspicions about the alleged predator.

Joseph Sturza, a former director of admissions at Austin Catholic High School in Ray Township, and a former youth minister at St. Isidore Catholic Church in Macomb Township, is charged with four felony counts of sex offenses against a child.

http://www.candgnews.com/news/child-sex-abuse-case-heading-back-court-88677

Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron will likely hide behind his desk, his lawyers and his public relations team and do nothing. That’s irresponsible. As shepherd of the Detroit area flock, Vigneron has a civic and moral duty to help law enforcement learn as much as possible about the truth of these allegations. That means using pulpit announcements, church bulletins and parish websites to beg victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to call police and prosecutors. That’s what a caring shepherd or responsible citizen would do.

If Vignernon refuses to take these quick, simple and inexpensive steps to protect kids and help prosecutors, other Catholic officials at Austin Catholic High School, St. Isidore Catholic Church and the archdiocese should show courage and compassion and do outreach like this.

We hope that every single person who saw, suspected crimes by Sturza or cover ups by his colleagues will find the courage to step forward, get help, expose wrongdoers, protect kids and start healing.

(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, davidgclohessy@gmail.com, SNAPclohessy@aol.com), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, bblaine@snapnetwork.org)

Child sex abuse case heading back to court

By Thomas Franz -  December 9, 2015

MACOMB TOWNSHIP — The case of a former employee at a local catholic high school is returning to the Macomb County Circuit Court.

Joseph Sturza, a former director of admissions at Austin Catholic High School in Ray Township, and a former youth minister at St. Isidore Catholic Church in Macomb Township, is charged with four felony counts: child sexual abuse activity, accosting a child for immoral purposes, and two counts of using a computer to communicate with a minor in order to commit a crime.

The case was originally bound over to circuit court on July 8, but was  . . . 

Read full article here