ILLINOIS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
Priest who was here last year is accused
Allegation comes from internal church memo
He’s the 7th Belleville priest “outed” this year for first time
Group will write their names on church headquarters sidewalk
Six of them are “credibly accused child molesters,” church admits
“Continuing secrecy violates Pope Francis’ latest promises,” group says
WHAT
Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters will
–disclose an internal US Bishop Conference memo – under the heading “WARNING” – that names a never-before-accused priest who worked in the Belleville diocese last year,
–write his name in chalk, and the names of six other recently-outed local predator priests, on the sidewalk outside the diocesan headquarters, and
–provide their photos and work histories.
They will also
— prod anyone who was hurt by the priests to speak up and get help, and
— prod Catholic officials in Belleville and St. Louis to “honor the recent promises by Pope Francis to end church secrecy on abuse” by “coming clean” with more information about the priests and aggressively seek out their victims.
WHEN
Thursday, Oct. 1 at 1:00 p.m.
WHERE
On the sidewalk outside the Belleville diocese HQ (“chancery office”), 222 South Third St. in Belleville, IL
WHO
Two-four individuals who belong to a support group called the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP)
WHY
1. SNAP has obtained an internal memo in which Catholic officials warn one another about a Belleville priest who engaged in what they call “inappropriate conduct” with parishioners and “similar inappropriate conduct in (his) previous assignments” outside the diocese.
As recently as last year, he was still working in southern Illinois until he was dismissed by church officials.
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.