Another Priest Suspended in the Archdiocese of Detroit

SNAP
June 20, 2019

http://www.snapnetwork.org/another_priest_suspended_archdiocese_detroit_jun19

Another Detroit priest is accused of child sexual abuse. We call on officials at the Archdiocese of Detroit to do more than the bare minimum in their outreach.

Fr. Joseph “Jack” Baker has been suspended from ministry by the Archdiocese. However, instead of announcing this news at a press conference and including a direct, personal appeal to victims, witnesses, and whistleblowers, the Archdiocese opted for a terse news release and did not even include needed information in it.

Informed communities are safer communities and we believe that the Archdiocese should do its part in creating these communities by being open and honest about when and where Fr. Baker’s alleged crimes occurred, where Fr. Baker is now, and who is monitoring him.

Archbishop Allen Henry Vigneron should also personally visit each parish where Fr. Baker worked and actively seek out others with information about the allegations. At the very least, the Archbishop should make sure that there are pulpit announcements, bulletin notices and website notifications about Fr. Baker in every parish this weekend.

We encourage anyone who may have knowledge related to Fr. Baker to contact their local law enforcement and the state attorney general.

CONTACT: Jeanne Hunton, SNAP Michigan (586-804-3654, SNAPsemichigan@gmail.com), Zach Hiner, Executive Director (517-974-9009, zhiner@snapnetwork.org)

(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)