MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release Thursday, October 16, 2014
For more info: Barbara Dorris ( 314 503 0003, SNAPdorris@gmail.com ), David Clohessy ( 314 566 9790, davidgclohessy@gmail.com )
A hearing will be held tomorrow in a St. Paul courtroom in a clergy sex abuse and cover-up case that revolves around the question of whether a priest can refuse to answer questions about alleged childhood sexual abuse by asserting the priest-penitent privilege.
It will be held in Ramsey County District Court (Room 1470) before Judge John B. Van de North, J. The accused priest is Fr. Thomas Stitts. One of the clerics who is refusing to answer questions is Fr. Richard “Dick” Rice, a Jesuit.
“Time and time again we’ve seen Catholic officials abuse various ‘privileges’ to protect their colleagues while endangering kids,” said David Clohessy of SNAPO, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “Not everything one priest tells another is ‘off-limits’ in clergy sex abuse and cover up cases. Sometimes, the physical safety of children trumps the beliefs of two powerful adults. ”
In 2013, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis was sued relating to allegations that Fr. Stitts sexually abused a Minneapolis man.
The archdiocese was alleged to have known of Stitts’ sexual of abuse of children as early as 1970, but allegedly took no action to discipline him or to prevent further abuse by him.
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