UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release, May 18, 2018
Statement by: Judy Jones, SNAP “Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests”, 636-433-2511,SNAPjudy@gmail.com
Pope Francis has responded to the brave clergy abuse victims of Chile. His harsh words to the Chilean Bishops are resonating loudly with other clergy abuse victims throughout the world.
[CBC News]
This behavior by bishops is not only a happening in Chile. The Catholic church hierarchy in all the dioceses throughout the world follow the same ego centered and callous behavior of enabling and covering up sex crimes against children. We are not aware of one single bishop who has lost his title, lost his job or been publicly denounced for protecting and shielding predators. Even Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City who was criminally convicted of child endangerment did not lose his job.
The historic abuse and coverups by over twenty bishops is well documented by Bishop Accountability: http://www.bishop-accountability.org/bishops/accused/
While we are encouraged by the resignation of the bishops in Chile we urge vigilance. We hope that the Pope will not only accept the resignations, but he will also remove their titles and assign them to jobs without prestige. Cardinal Law left his position of power after the clergy abuse scandal exploded in Boston but was given an even more powerful and prestigious job at the Vatican.
We hope that Pope Francis accepts the resignations of the Chilean Bishops, in keeping with his word to no longer be a “part of the problem” of child sex abuse and cover-up in the Catholic Church. The bishops can always find other employment. The victims of Chile’s abuse can never get their innocence back.
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.