BURLINGTON (VT)
Burlington Free Press
August 6, 2019
By Elizabeth Murray
The report commissioned by Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington Bishop Christopher to examine personnel files of Vermont priests for reports of child sex abuse will be published before the end of the month, he said.
According to a statement issued by the appointed lay committee, the final draft of the report is expected to be approved this week and will then be provided to the diocese.
Statements by Coyne and the lay committee come amidst criticism from the international nonprofit support group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) for failing, up to this point, to publicly name the priests against whom abuse allegations have been substantiated. Last week, the Catholic Diocese of Manchester published a list of priests accused of sexually abusing children.
David Clohessy, a SNAP volunteer leader from Missouri, spoke to reporters outside the Diocese on Monday afternoon while holding a sign that showed the link to SNAP’s website, SNAPnetwork.org. He accused the Diocese of dragging its heels in releasing the report, thus further endangering children that may be exposed to the priests in the community.
“The main issue is that child molesters rarely stop,” Clohessy said. “So, while Bishop Coyne will puff out his chest and say, ‘None of these men are in active ministry,’ literally as we speak, one of them could be helping out at a summer camp as a soccer coach.
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