MAINE
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013
David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 566 9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com )
The elevation of Boston’s Bishop Robert Deeley to head Maine’s Catholic archdiocese is yet another in a string of disappointing promotions made in recent months. (Others include new Hartford Bishop Leonard Blair, El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz, Bridgeport Bishop Frank Caggiano and Dubuque Archbishop Michael Jackels.)
Deeley admits working closely with then-Cardinal Josef Ratzinger at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which oversees – and hides – clergy sex crimes from across the globe. We suspect Deeley knows of hundreds of credibly accused child molesting Catholic clerics and we doubt if he’s reported even one to law enforcement.
He was also a high ranking official in the Boston archdiocese which enjoys – unjustly, we feel – a reputation of being somewhat better than other dioceses regarding children’s safety. During Deeley’s time there, the archdiocese was found twice to be violating the US church abuse policy by refusing to provide sufficient abuse prevention training. This is a particularly egregious violation because the mandated abuse provision is one of the few worthwhile parts of the national policy.
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