MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Friday, September 26, 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 )
St. Paul Catholic officials are keeping predator priests on the job using the same discredited excuses the church hierarchy has trotted out for decades.
Many bishops ask “Where can I put my predator priests?” The rest of us ask “Why give any job to a proven predator?”
Many bishops think “one strike” means “we’ll move a predator priest if we have to.” The rest of us think “one strike” means a predator priest is fired and we’re dismayed to find out, time and time again, that they are not.
Many bishops, when a predator priest is caught, apparently think “when forced, we’ll move this predator, like I have always done, and pretend that a job in a hospital, college, cemetery, chaplaincy, or our headquarters will magically ‘cure’ him.”
The rest of us think “If a priest has violated the law, broken his vows, deceived his flock and hurt others, why is he entitled to have a job at all?”
A St. Paul archdiocesan staffer, Fr. Timothy Cloutier, claims a spot on a marriage tribunal has “little interaction” with parishioners.
That’s laughable. History, psychology and common sense show that predators use any title, position or information they may be given to find, befriend and ultimately exploit people who are struggling with personal issues like divorce.
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