MISSISSIPPI
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For Immediate release Thursday, September 10
Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 503 0003, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org)
We are grateful for many things in the Jones County case involving a priest and a young boy.
We are grateful that the father of the young boy had the wisdom to call the police rather than contact church officials.
We are grateful that police immediately responded and arrested Father Jose Vazquez.
We are grateful that civil authorities will investigate further and attempt to bring other charges.
[WJTV]
We encourage anyone who has been harmed by Vazquez to come forward and begin to heal. We beg witnesses and whistleblowers to remember that charges are not a conviction. That church officials often hire high powered defense attorneys so that even if found guilty the priest will spend little time in jail and then once again pose a risk to children. So now more than ever it is imperative that anyone with information no matter how old or insignificant they feel it is to come forward and talk with civil authorities.
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