KENTUCKY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 503 0003, SNAPdorris@gmail.com )
A Louisville priest has been charged with child sex crimes stemming from allegations by a second victim. We hope church officials take this more seriously than they apparently did after the first allegations were reported.
We are also grateful to the brave victims who have come forward and are giving courage to others to do the same thing.
Fr. Joseph Hemmerle was first accused of abuse in 2001, after a man came forward and told the archdiocese of Louisville. The archdiocese put Fr. Hemmerle back in ministry, falsely claiming police had cleared him. These alleged internal church investigations often exonerate priests who are later civilly sued or criminally charged with child sex crimes.
Ironically, if there’s one prelate in the US who should get this right, it’s Louisville Archbishop Joseph Kurtz. He’ the head of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. His archdiocese has faced more than 250 abuse and cover up lawsuits and has at least 63 proven, admitted and credibly accused child molesting clerics. But Kurtz and his staff put back on the job a priest who’s now been arrested and has had 12 or 13 more years to assault kids.
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