A Snappy Statement

UNITED STATES
Waiting for Godot to Leave

Kevin O’Brien

My readers complain a lot about SNAP – the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests – but here’s their press release on a situation in Pennsylvania and Paraguay that some of my friends and I have been following for a long time.

This press release, if anything, is restrained. The level of indignation could be much higher. I am posting it here because the final paragraph (which I have highlighted in bold) is especially accurate and sums up where things are at with the scandal.

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For immediate release: Monday, July 28, 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)

A controversial Catholic priest who has been accused of molesting boys in the US and had been second-in-command of a diocese in Paraguay has now allegedly been removed from ministry. [MY NOTE: Actually, the link here indicates that Fr. Urrutigoity has been removed as Vicar General of the diocese in Paraguay; it does not appear (from what I can tell with the help of Google Translator) that he has been removed from ministry.] If this is true, we are glad that this action has been taken but it should have happened months ago and he should never have been put back on the job, much less won a promotion.

Catholic officials let Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity move from Pennsylvania to the South American country even though a therapist recommended that Fr. Urrutigoity “be removed from active ministry; his faculties should be revoked; he should be asked to live privately,” because of “the credible allegation from (a victim)” and the priest’s “admitted practice of sleeping with boys and young men.” …

In a global institution, the real way to protect kids is to make sweeping reform, not to take individual half-measured steps, in case after case after case, and only when forced to do so by public pressure. That suggests a self-serving pre-occupation with public relations, not a genuine commitment to children’s safety.

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.