MAINE
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Friday, Jan. 16
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 566 9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com , davidgclohessy@gmail.com )
A man too dangerous to be a Catholic priest has been formally expelled by the Vatican. But no one seems to know where he is. Maine’s bishop must do more to protect children from him.
In 1999, Fr. John E. Harris was disciplined for launching a sexually explicit website. In 2003, after an accusation of nude swimming and boating with youths, he was suspended.
Now, finally, Catholic officials in Rome have finally defrocked Fr. Harris from the priesthood. Why has it taken, at best, a dozen years?
Maine’s bishop should now hold a news conference to warn parents, parishioners, police, prosecutors and the public about Harris. The only decent move would be to alert as many people as possible about his crimes.
It’s irresponsible for bishops to recruit, educate, ordain, hire, train, transfer and protect predators like Harris and then – when they’re finally exposed – cut them loose on society with little or no warning.
The Vatican doesn’t defrock priests willy-nilly. It’s a long process. It’s usually not done unless the cleric’s crimes are many or very well-documented. So once Rome has defrocked a priest, it’s very clear he is in fact guilty of molesting children.
We beg Maine Catholic officials to use their vast diocesan resources – parish bulletins, church web sites, and pulpit announcements – to protect kids and warn parents about a potentially dangerous child predator.
And we beg anyone who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes by Harris – or cover ups by his supervisors or his colleagues – to speak up, call police, protect others, expose wrongdoers and start healing.
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