NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
POSTED BY DAVID CLOHESSY ON MAY 22, 2013
Victims blast church “star chamber”
Group seeks end to secret abuse panel
SNAP: “Newark Catholic board should resign”
And replacements’ names should be made public
Parishioners should be able to vote on them, victims say
A support group for clergy sex abuse victims is urging members of a Newark Catholic church abuse panel to resign and speak out against their archbishop’s handling of clergy sex abuse cases. They also want the names of current and future board members to be made public and parishioners to have a voice in picking new board members.
Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, are urging Catholics who belong to the Newark archdiocesan “review board” to “step down, speak out and become part of the solution, not part of the problem.” They have sent a letter today to the board members, via Newark Archbishop John Myers, who personally appointed each of them, and other archdiocesan staff.
“These are likely well-intentioned people whose qualifications and reputations are being used by Archbishop Myers to justify reckless, callous and possibly illegal moves that protect predator priests and endanger vulnerable kids,” said Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, SNAP’s outreach director. “For their own sakes, and the safety of Newark area families, they should step aside and join with victims, witnesses and whistleblowers who are working to expose corruption in the church.”
SNAP says that the case of Fr. Michael Fugee and other predator priests show that “there is something dreadfully wrong with how (Myers) handles abuse cases.”
Every Catholic diocese in the US is required to have a “review board” which purportedly “advises” each bishop about clergy sex abuse reports. In most dioceses, their names are public. But Myers refuses to identify who they are in Newark.
“Keeping board members’ identities secret deters abuse victims from reporting clergy sex crimes,” said Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, SNAP’s outreach director. “Why would I walk into a room of people to disclose horrific childhood trauma to people who might include my boss, my ex-husband, my next door neighbor or five defense lawyers? That’s just crazy.”
In dioceses in California, Iowa and elsewhere, SNAP says, review board members have quit in frustration or concern because their views were not heeded or information was withheld from them.
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