MILWAUKEE (WI)
Fox 6
June 18, 2013, by Katie DeLong and Beverly Taylor
MILWAUKEE (WITI) — SNAP — the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests is responding to the voluntary release of an audit by the Midwest Province of Capuchin Franciscans (which includes Wisconsin) — naming 23 of 46 friars alleged to have raped or sexually assaulted children.
According to SNAP, this audit was conducted by a three-member team hired by the Capuchins — including a priest who is a well-known critic of how the church has responded to sexual abuse.
The auditors reviewed files held by the Province, as well as the manner in which the Province responded to incidents and reports of inappropriate sexual behavior and sexual abuse in the past.
In a statement, SNAP says: “The Capuchins are to be commended for this earnest effort to bring transparency to this dark and deceitful corner of their organization and history.”
Peter Isley — a spokesman for SNAP reviewed the findings of the audit the day of its release.
“It has a lot of personal significance. I was sexually assaulted by a Capuchin priest when I was 13 and 14 at their high school boarding seminary which they still operate, St. Lawrence Seminary,” Isley said.
In its statement, SNAP refers to a case involving Fr. Jude Hahn — a recently deceased priest who served as a faculty member at St. Lawrence for three decades, appointed the Freshman dorm supervisor, and co-pastor of Holy Cross, a parish operated by the Capuchins for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
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