[Media Statement] Catholic Officials in St. Augustine Withheld Information from Florida AG

UNITED STATES
SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests)

February 5, 2021

When Florida’s Office of Statewide Prosecution released their report into clergy sexual abuse, we noted that investigations into the institutional Catholic Church routinely found that officials “actively worked to prevent parents and parishioners from learning about abusers.” A news article out of Jacksonville shockingly shows that abusers were being hidden even while the attorney general was actively investigating cases of cover-up.

According to the media report, Catholic officials in the Diocese of St. Augustine did not disclose allegations against several priests, including Fr. John Dux and Fr. D. Terrence Morgan. The latter was under investigation for “lewd and lascivious acts” at the time the state investigation was ongoing. We find it very concerning that Church leaders were not fully transparent with investigators in Florida, although we are not surprised. In our experience, Catholic officials have lied for decades about the extent of clergy abuse and cover-ups to parents and parishioners, why should state investigators be treated any differently?

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.