MISSISSIPPI
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Thursday, Dec. 12, 2013
David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com)
We are not encouraged by the appointment of Jackson’s new Catholic bishop. We know little about Joseph R. Kopacz. But he has been named as a defendant in clergy sex abuse suits or been accused of concealing those crimes (see case involving Father Albert M. Liberatore Jr., Father Carlos Urrutigoity, and Father Eric Ensey at BishopAccpoiuntaibllity.org)
Pennsylvania’s Catholic bishops have won two key battles in courts and the legislature that make it very hard for clergy sex abuse victims to seek justice. So it’s hard to find out what roles men like Kopacz have played in clergy sex cases. We hope he hasn’t protected predators and endangered kids. But we’re not optimistic.
The minute he takes over in Jackson, we urge Bishop-elect Kopacz to immediately confirm the whereabouts of two Jackson child molesting clerics and warn Catholics and citizens in two places about them:
–Brother William Leimbach, a credibly accused child molester whose last known home was in Burrillville, R.I, and
–Fr. Paul Madden, an admitted molester whose last known home was in Peru where he may still be working as a priest.
These predators belong behind bars or in remote treatment centers so they’ll be kept away from kids. We suspect that few who live or work near them know that they have molested kids.
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