MARYLAND
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2014
Ex head of MD center pleads guilty
Catholic priest stole from three sources
He headed facility for sexually troubled clerics
And he himself is accused of “inappropriate relationship”
A Catholic priest who headed the US’ largest facility for child molesting clergy has plead guilty to felony theft and is likely headed to prison.
He is Msgr. Edward Arsenault, who has also been a high ranking church official in the Manchester NH diocese. Until May, he had earned $170,000 as head of the St. Luke’s Institute in Suitland, Maryland.
A support group for clergy sex abuse victims questions whether Msgr. Arsenault may have also stolen from St. Luke’s and it notes that Msgr. Arsenault is also accused of an “inappropriate relationship,” according to New Hampshire church officials. In roughly 17 states, any sexual contact between a cleric and a congregant is a crime.
Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, are urging bishops in New Hampshire and Maryland to “aggressively seek out others who may have seen, suspected or suffered crimes or misdeeds by Msgr. Arsenault.” They believe that he might still be prosecuted for other crimes “but only if a sincere outreach effort is made, instead of the typical response by Catholic officials, which is doing little or virtually nothing.”
“We hope Catholic officials will be honest about Msgr. Arsenault’s alleged sexual misconduct,” said David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP’s director. “No matter how old the victim may be, it’s always very hurtful – and often illegal- when a powerful and allegedly celibate priest abuses his position and sexually exploits a parishioner.”
“This is yet another reminder that no institution can police itself and treat its own predators,” said Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, SNAP’s outreach director. “It’s inherently problematic and self-serving for Catholic officials to send Catholic offenders to a facility run by Catholic officials.”
Arsenault has not been defrocked, SNAP notes, stressing that he should still be referred to as “Msgr. Arsenault.”
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