MISSOURI
Riverfront Times
By Jessica Lussenhop
Thu., Mar. 14 2013
Yesterday afternoon, the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel in Rome billowed white smoke, and the new pope emerged on the balcony in white robes: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires. His papal name will be Francis I.
David Clohessy, the executive director of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, is currently in Rome observing the conclave. In the weeks leading up to yesterday’s decision, the group has been very vocal about who they did not want to see become the new pontiff, their so-called “Dirty Dozen.” The list included St. Louis native Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
Daily RFT reached Clohessy by email to ask — what is SNAP’s position on Pope Francis?
SNAP’s “Dirty Dozen” were cardinals who at the very least expressed defensiveness in the media about child sex abuse scandals and at the worst allegedly participated in cover-ups. Read the full list here. The group also called for certain cardinals to be barred from the conclave for their roles in covering for pedophile priests — something the Vatican called the result of “negative prejudice.”
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