INDIA/MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Statement by Verne Wagner of Duluth, Northeast MN (Duluth, MN & Superior, WI) SNAP director ( 218- 340-1277, lwagsmn@yahoo.com )
A credibly accused predatory Indian priest has lost another court ruling and is now one step closer to facing a trial in Minnesota. For the safety of children and the healing of victims, we hope he will be extradited soon.
Fr. Joseph Palanivel Jeyapaul is accused of molesting two girls. When child sex abuse allegations against him surfaced, he quickly returned to India, where he remains.
[ABC News]
Twice this year, United Nations panels have harshly criticized Vatican officials for their refusal to help law enforcement apprehend this dangerous cleric, Fr. Jeyapaul, who molested girls in the Crookston, MN diocese and worked at one event (maybe more) in the St. Paul Archdiocese.
We’ve long worried about the safety of girls in India near Fr. Jeyapaul, especially since his bishop put him in charge of overseeing schools, knowing full well that he was considered a fugitive from US criminal authorities.
Fr. Jeyapaul is one of an increasing number of accused predator priests who have been allowed to flee to other countries despite credible child sex abuse allegations or sometimes arrest warrants.
According to BishopAccountability.org, Minnesota Catholic officials “knew of rumors about inappropriate behavior by (Jeyapaul) in 8/04” but Fr. Jeyapaul “suddenly returned to India in 9/05.”
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