SNAP calls for bishop to resign, list names of priests accused of abuse

Channel 12 TV
March 10, 2020

http://www.news12.com/story/41877557/snap-calls-for-bishop-to-resign-list-names-of-priests-accused-of-abuse

Members of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, are renewing calls for Bishop John Barres to resign and for him to release the names of all of the priests credibly accused of abuse.

The group is speaking out after a priest was sentenced to one to two years for indecent assault in Pennsylvania.

Barres was the bishop who appointed the priest to the parish where the abuse took place. That priest was removed from his prior parish after abuse allegations there.

Attorney Mitch Garabedian has represented hundreds of survivors of sexual abuse by priests over the years.

"There's no reason that Bishop Barres should not have just gone to the police when he first learned of these accusations instead of practicing a cover-up," said Garabedian.

A spokesperson for the Diocese of Rockville Centre said the documents produced by the Allentown Diocese showed that law enforcement found the initial report against the priest to be unfounded. The spokesperson said the Diocese of Allentown conducted its own investigation that concluded that the report was unsubstantiated.