FLORIDA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Thursday, Feb. 5
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 )
For the safety of children, Tampa’s Catholic bishop must take action about a soon-to-be-freed predator priest.
Bishop Robert Lynch should visit every parish where Fr. Robert Schaeufele ever worked, imploring anyone with information or suspicions about the predator priest to call law enforcement.
Fr. Schaeufele is set to be freed from prison in about a week. Of the 20 publicly accused Tampa/St. Petersburg predator priests, Fr. Schaeufele is among the most prolific. He faces at least two dozen accusers.
Lynch’s predecessors and colleagues recruited, educated, ordained, hired, trained, transferred and shielded Fr. Schaeufele, repeatedly giving him access to hundreds of kids. So Lynch can’t wash his hands now and pretend to have no responsibility for or power over this child molester or this troubling situation.
Lynch can and should use pulpit announcements, church bulletins and parish websites to beg anyone who may have seen, suspected or suffered Fr. Schaeufele’s crimes to call police. He should send mailings to former church members and staff who may have spent time around Fr. Schaeufele, urging them to do the same. He should get out from behind his desk, shove his public relations staff aside, and personally hold a news conference pleading with parishioners and the public to step forward if they might, in any way, be able to help police and prosecutors file more charges against this dangerous man.
In short, Lynch should stop acting like a cold-hearted CEO and start acting like a compassionate shepherd.
Our hearts ache for Chris McCafferty and every single person who was hurt by Fr. Schaeufele. Our hearts also ache for every single child sex abuse victim in Florida who never saw their perpetrators jailed or exposed because of the state’s archaic, predator-friendly statute of limitations.
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