OREGON
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 566 9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com )
Msgr. Peter Leslie Smith is the new auxiliary of the Portland Catholic archdiocese. We are disappointed by this choice.
Smith is a civil and a canon lawyer. In our view, the church hierarchy needs fewer lawyers, not more lawyers. Kids and victims need prelates who are trained to deal with this horrific, on-going crisis from a pastoral perspective, not a legal perspective.
He is also the vice chair of the presbyteral council, the vicar general and moderator of the Curia – all high ranking posts. So we strongly suspect that he knows of or suspects clergy child sex crimes and cover ups that he’s not helping to uncover.
We are encouraged when rank-and-file priests, not consummate church insiders, are promoted. That’s the way to bring real change.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.