CALIFORNIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
New accused cleric exposed in LA
When “outed” in AZ, he was sent overseas
He’s now still on the job in Pope’s home country
SNAP to archbishop: “You must demand his return”
“Reach out to all possible victims,” support group begs
What: Holding signs and photos of themselves at a sidewalk press conference, victims of sexual abuse will:
–Expose a credibly accused cleric who recently lived and worked in LA,
–Show how he lived with families with kids, and
–Explain how he was sent overseas when he was publicly accused of child sex crimes in Arizona.
They will also urge Catholic officials (in the LA archdiocese & in a religious order) to:
–Demand that the cleric immediately return to the United States
–Aggressively seek out others in LA who saw, suspected or suffered his crimes, and
–Announce the accusations against him in parish bulletins and on the archdiocesan website.
Where: Outside of the offices of the Lay Mission-Helpers Association
3435 Wilshire Blvd. (at Normandie), Suite 1940, Los Angeles
When: Friday, May 2 at 11 am
Who: 5-6 victims of sexual abuse who are members of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPNetwork.org), the nation’s largest support group for men and women abused as kids in religious or institutional settings. They will be joined by a St. Louis man who the organization’s long-time executive director.
Why: Members of SNAP recently learned that a credibly accused cleric lived and worked with vulnerable missionary families in Los Angeles.
Brother Richard Suttle, a member of the Claretian Missionary order, was accused in 2008 of sexually abusing a child in the Phoenix Diocese in the 1980s. Church officials said the allegations were credible. When SNAP exposed this allegation in 2013, Claretian officials admitted that they sent Suttle to Argentina. They say the cleric is being monitored and has been “removed from any ministry with children.”
But he is still on the job, SNAP says, with a Claretian UN team. Now living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he’s almost certainly among vulnerable and unsuspecting families who know nothing of the accusations against him.
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