Australian Priest to be Extradited to UK for Abuse, by Dan Mcnevin, Zach Hiner, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (November 09, 2019)

Australian Priest to be Extradited to UK for Abuse

By Dan Mcnevin, Zach Hiner
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
November 09, 2019

https://bit.ly/2K9Ip6P

We applaud the court's decision to extradite Fr. Denis Alexander for the harm he has caused. Too often priests abuse and then flee to other countries to avoid justice. The worldwide shuffling of abusive priests will not end until secular authorities step in using the full power of their offices - arrests, subpoenas and the like, to stamp out this problem.

The excuse that the abuser is "old" is disingenuous. Pedophiles are dangerous whenever they are in society at whatever age. In California, a 90 year old ex-priest, Hernan Toro, is in jail after he sexually molested two minors when he was 87.

Just as important, the victims of Fr. Alexander deserve justice and the acknowledgement that this extradition represents. Too often, victims of sexual violence are denied their day in court. We are grateful that this will not happen in this case.

Australia and the United Kingdom both have well documented, sad, destructive histories of Catholic priest abuse. We call on the leaders in both countries to encourage their secular law enforcement authorities to continue to fight for cases like Fr. Alexander's so that the full extent of the problem and its damage can be addressed.

Contact: dmcnevin@aol.com