CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
Victims want law enforcement to “step up”
Group urges more action by police & prosecutors
“Use bully pulpit to beg others to come forward,” SNAP says
And victims want a bishop ousted from board of a boys’ home
“Others who concealed abuse must be disciplined too,” they say
That’s never happens & that’s why cover ups continue, SNAP contends
WHAT
Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters will urge Chicago law enforcement officials to
–aggressively and publicly beg those with knowledge or suspicions of clergy sex crimes to step forward,
–launch grand jury investigations into the ongoing church abuse & cover up scandal, and
–be more resourceful about bringing ANY kind of charge against complicit officials.
The group will also urge the Chicago Catholic hierarchy to
–remove a “complicit” bishop from the board of a local boys home, and
–prevent future cover ups by punishing other “enablers” – the church staffers who ignored or hid evidence or warnings of clergy sex crimes, especially those clerics whose names appear in the just-released, long-secret church abuse records.
WHEN
TODAY, Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 1:45 p.m.
WHERE
On the sidewalk outside the Holy Name Cathedral, North State Street at Superior Street, Chicago IL
WHO
Five-six adults who belong to a self-help group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org). Some were molested as kids; others are concerned Catholics.
WHY
Yesterday, long-secret Chicago archdiocesan records about clerics who committed and concealed child sex crimes were disclosed, Now, using that information, SNAP is urging local law enforcement officials to redouble their efforts to vpursue the wrongdoers. Specifically, the group wants secular authorities to launch formal investigations and use their “bully pulpits” to “aggressively beg victims, witnesses, and whistleblowers to come forward, especially current and former Catholic employees.”
According to BishopAccountability.org, there are 121 publicly accused Chicago archdiocesan predator priests. Six thousand pages have just been released about 30 of them. Of those 30, 14 are still alive. And only a handful of Chicago child molesting clerics have been criminally prosecuted, while no one who “ignored or hid” their crimes ever have.
SNAP believes that can, and should, change.
“Archaic laws are don’t help, but we suspect the real reason is a lack of political will by prosecutors,” said SNAP’s David Clohessy. “Often, ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way.’”
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