Just “outed” Predator Priest Worked in VA

SNAP
August 11, 2016

http://www.snapnetwork.org/va_just_outed_predator_priest_worked_in_va

A priest accused of abusing in Virginia has been “outed” as an alleged predator in Pennsylvania this week. We call on Richmond Catholic officials and parishioners to aggressively reach out to anyone who may have been hurt by the cleric.

[ydr.com]

An investigation by the York PA Daily Record found that “(Fr.) John Bostwick III was accused in 1996 of abuse that allegedly took place from 1980-82. . . The Harrisburg diocese said it contacted the Diocese of Richmond (Va.), where Bostwick was in 1996, and he was removed from ministry.”

As best we in SNAP can tell, the allegations against Fr. Bostwick have never been publicly disclosed in Virginia and they were revealed only one other time, in 1996 in Louisiana:

[bishop-accountability.org]

So we firmly believe that Richmond Bishop Francis DiLorenzo, Harrisburg Bishop Ronald Gainer, Lafayette LA Bishop Douglas Deshotel are putting kids in harm’s way by continuing to hide the names and whereabouts of predator priests. So are other church employees and members in these three dioceses. Shame on them.

After decades of pledges by Catholic officials to be “open” about clergy sex abuse and cover up cases, they still being secretive. As a result, who knows how many unsuspecting families live near or individuals work with predator priests like Fr. Bostwick?

About 30 US dioceses post names of proven, admitted and credibly accused predator priests on their websites. DiLorenzo, however, refuses to take this simple, inexpensive, practical step to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded and expose the truth. Shame on every church employee who has been and remains complicit in this reckless secrecy.

We urge Richmond Catholics to donate elsewhere until their church officials stop hiding child molesting clerics.

No matter what 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 churches or institutions to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling law enforcement, get justice 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, davidgclohessy@gmail.com), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org)

15 priests accused of abuse had ties to Harrisburg diocese

FOR THE FIRST TIME, DETAILS EMERGE ABOUT 15 PRIESTS WITH TIES TO THE HARRISBURG DIOCESE WHO HAVE BEEN ACCUSED OF SEXUALLY ABUSING CHILDREN.

Brandie Kessler, bkessler@ydr.com

The Diocese of Harrisburg has acknowledged by name 15 priests who have been accused of sexually abusing children and who at one time worked in the diocese -- including one who served in Dallastown in 1989-90.

The Rev. Raymond Prybis was accused of abuse during his time at a Boston-area parish before he was transferred to York County, according to a personnel file released by the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in January 2015. The Harrisburg diocese said he did not have a credible allegation of abuse while at St. Joseph's in Dallastown.

A list of 15 priests, compiled by the York Daily Record, was provided to the diocese on June 14. On July 21, after multiple requests by the Daily Record, the diocese responded . . .