LOUISIANA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Friday, Feb. 12, 2016
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, davidgclohessy@gmail.com)
Shame on Alexandria’s bishop for urging victims of a predator priest to call him instead of calling police. Child sex abuse is a crime. It should be reported to the independent, unbiased professionals in law enforcement, not to the biased, self-serving Catholic officials who, even now, work to keep a tight lid on clergy sex scandals.
Bishop Ronald Herzog knows this. Still, he insists – as Catholic officials have done for decades – on trying to handle this horror internally. Again, he should be ashamed of himself.
or the safety of kids, Herzog should put Fr. Antonio Jorge Velez in a remote, secure, independent treatment center.
He should use church bulletins, parish websites and pulpit announcements to aggressively seek out other victims, witnesses and whistleblowers. If Fr. Velez molested in Maryland, he very likely molested in Louisiana. Herzog has a moral and civic duty to try to find this out and prod people with information to call secular authorities.
No matter what the church hierarchy does or doesn’t do, every Louisiana Catholic church member and employee should beat the bushes, spread the word and ask their loved ones if they saw, suspected or suffered crimes by Fr. Velez or cover ups by his clerical colleagues. Anyone with information or suspicions about Fr. Velez should find the courage to call law enforcement, expose all wrongdoers, protect the vulnerable and start healing.
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