SCOTLAND
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Friday August 23, 2013
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 566 9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com )
Shame on the bishops of Scotland, who reportedly let one corrupt colleague block a so-called church “investigation” into child sex crimes and cover ups.
If O’Brien opposed this move, Scotland’s bishops should have proceeded without him. Or they should have publicly exposed O’Brien as an obstructionist.
To make this disclosure now is nothing more than posturing by Scotland’s bishops.
Let’s be clear: no institution that has shielded predators and hurt children should investigate itself. Independent, professional secular agencies should be investigating – and prosecuting – the complicity Catholic hierarchy.
But even a poor, internal “investigation” is sometimes better than none at all. And if any one church official stands in the way of shedding even a little light on this crisis, his peers and supervisors should immediately, harshly, and publicly denounce him.
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