MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015

Statement by Verne Wagner of Duluth, SNAP director Northern Minnesota (218-340-1277, lwagsmn@yahoo.com)

Shame on Duluth Bishop Paul Sirba and his public relations staff. Yesterday, they made one of the least compassionate and helpful statements we’ve ever seen from Catholic officials.

[Duluth News Tribune]

Challenged on why Sirba still keeps the identities of predator priests hidden, Sirba’s lawyer said “It’s in the context of those litigation matters that issues of what will and will not be publicly released at any given time need to be addressed.”

Then adding insult to injury, she claims that newly released secret church documents “don’t tell a story of negligence by the Diocese of Duluth.”

Ironically, her comments were included in a newspaper story headlined “Duluth bishops were warned about sex abuse, documents show.” One of those documents is…