UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Monday, Dec. 5, 2016
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, 314 645 5915 home, davidgclohessy@gmail.com)
For the second time in days, Vatican officials have been caught endangering kids by putting or keeping credibly accused child molesters on the job, this time in Newark, New Jersey. In this alarming case, Newark’s abuse panel – made up mostly of lay people – and perhaps a dozen or more current and former Newark priests are implicated too, because they knew about glaring recklessness and kept silent about it.
[NJ.com]
(The other case involve Italian priests who molested hearing-impaired kids, were reported to the Vatican a few years ago, but have since moved to South America where they’ve kept working and have repeated their crimes.)
[WTOP]
Fr. Kevin Gugliotta was arrested in October on child pornography charges. But today, a news report reveals that 13 years earlier, in 2003, he’d been accused of child sex crimes, suspected (under a lie) but put back in ministry because Vatican officials insisted he be put back. Why? Because he wasn’t yet a priest when he allegedly assaulted the child.
Shame on every Catholic employee or volunteer, in Rome and Newark, who was a decision-maker in this travesty.
Shame on every one of the dozens more, in Rome and Newark, who, over 14 years, learned about this credible child sex report and the Vatican’s irresponsible, secret decision, and did nothing about it.
We call on Pope Francis to demote or at least discipline the Vatican bureaucrats who in any way played any role in this stunningly hurtful secrecy and selfishness. We call on Newark’s Cardinal Joseph Tobin to do the same in his corrupt archdiocese.
Newark archdiocesan PR man Jim Goodness claims that he and his Newark Catholic colleagues could do nothing “canonically” about Fr. Gugliotta. What absurdity. Absolutely nothing prevented them from simply disclosing that this predator priest had been accused of abuse. Absolutely nothing prevented them from fighting the Vatican decision. Absolutely nothing prevented them from resigning in protest and speaking out. Absolutely nothing prevented them from telling law enforcement about the abuse report against Fr. Gugliotta.
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.