NEW MEXICO/ARIZONA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Tuesday, Sept. 3
Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com )
Shame on Gallup’s Catholic bishop for seeking bankruptcy protection.
It’s a selfish cop-out when Catholic institutions misuse the Chapter 11 process to protect their secrets and deny child sex abuse victims a chance to expose predators in court. Make no mistake about it: that’s the real motivation here. It’s a lack of courage, not a lack of funds. It’s to protect reputations, not assets.
When bishops seek bankruptcy protection, all lawsuits, depositions, discovery and trials come to a screeching halt. The court plays no role in exposing wrongdoers or preventing wrongdoing. It just divides up money. So Catholics and citizens learn nothing about who is committing and concealing clergy child sex crimes.
This isn’t about protecting church money. It’s about protecting the power and reputations of powerful church officials who desperately want to keep their complicity in child sex cases under wraps.
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