MICHIGAN
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016
Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 503 0003 cell, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org)
A Central Michigan University investigation has found that a priest “engaged in sexual harassment” of a teenager who he had counseled and hired.
[MLive]
The cleric is Father Denis Heames. His boss, Saginaw Bishop Joseph Cistone, refuses to disclose Fr. Heames’ whereabouts.
Fr. Heames was removed from St. Mary’s University Parish, after a brave Central Michigan University student, Megan Winans, accused him of sexually exploiting her.
Shame on Fr. Heames for claiming his abuse of Winans was “a relationship between two adults.” And shame on Cistone for letting this deliberately self-serving and hurtful inaccuracy stand unchallenged. These are well-educated men. They know that no Catholic, especially not a teenager, can genuinely ‘consent’ to sex with a man who she’s been led to believe, since birth, is God’s representative on earth and who can forgive her sins and help her achieve eternal life, and a man whose bishop holds him out publicly as being a safe, celibate shepherd.
And shame on Fr. Heames for questioning if “someone is exploiting the system in order to harass another individual.” Again, this is self-serving. It’s an attack on a victim. It’s designed to deter others who have been hurt by Fr. Heames from speaking up like Winans has.
Let me repeat what SNAP director David Clohessy said about this case a few weeks ago: A Saginaw priest is being sued for sexually exploiting a college student. We applaud her courage while we deplore the secrecy of Saginaw’s bishop.
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