PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013
Statement by Karen Polesir of Philadelphia SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 267-992-9463, karenpolesir@yahoo.com )
Prosecutors in Philadelphia will announce the arrest of a suspected predator priest at a news conference this morning.
“Discrimination!” “We’re being singled out.” “The DA doesn’t call a news conference to announce the arrest of a child molesting Lutheran pastor or Methodist minister.”
Apologists for Archbishop Charles Chaput and others in the corrupt archdiocesan hierarchy will no doubt make these claims.
Those complaints are, of course, disingenuous. For decades, many in the archdiocese have ignored, enabled and covered up child sex crimes. And little in the archdiocesan hierarchy has changed. So prosecutors are doing their duty when they continue to shine a light on that small band of secretive, self-serving individuals who keep putting their reputations and careers and colleagues ahead of the safety of children.
We applaud prosecutors who use their “bully pulpits” to expose individuals who commit and institutions that conceal heinous child sex crimes. That should happen more often. That’s smart law enforcement. That better protects kids.
It’s very hard to deter child sex crimes. It’s not hard, however, to deter cover ups. It takes two things: prosecuting and exposing those who cover up child sex crimes.
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