ARIZONA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Wednesday, Feb. 11
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 just “outed” predator priest who reportedly molested at least one child in Minnesota is now living in Phoenix, according to Catholic officials.
[St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese]
We strongly urge Phoenix Catholic officials to aggressively warn parents, police, prosecutors and the public about John Robert Murphy. We urge Phoenix Bishop Thomas Olmstead to use parish bulletins, church websites and pulpit announcements to reach out to anyone in Arizona who may have seen, suspected or suffered Murphy’s crimes.
It’s possible he molested a child just last night. And it’s possible that he could be prosecuted, convicted and kept away from kids.
Murphy has allegedly been “permanently removed from ministry.” But that doesn’t absolve Catholic officials from helping to protect others from him. Bishops recruited, ordained, hired, trained, supervised and shielded predators like Murphy. So they have an obligation to safeguard vulnerable kids from him even now.
We hope anyone with information or suspicions about Murphy will call police, expose wrongdoers, protect others, and deter cover ups. Silence and inaction only helps those who commit and conceal child sex crimes.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.