MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014
Statement by Frank Meuers of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 952-334-5180, frankameuers@gmail.com )
We’re grateful that a judge today ordered St. Paul Catholic officials to be deposed and turn over records about clerics who commit or conceal heinous crimes against kids.
The need for more disclosure by church figures has been clear for years. Many rightly believe that church officials have not, and are not, being held accountable for irresponsible deeds and crimes that other officials in other organizations would be.
For decades, our justice system has erred on the side of protecting church officials in these cases, sometimes treading lightly for fear of alienating a large institution. The results have been – and continue to be – disastrous.
We must, for the safety of children, err on the side of protecting those who are vulnerable, not those who seem powerful or popular.
St. Paul’s archbishop claimed that he and his disgraced top aide should not be deposed. We are glad these complicit clerics lost.
Their excuse was that they supposedly didn’t handle the case of this notorious predator priest, Fr. Thomas Adamson. Even if this is true, it’s irrelevant.
Many church officials have access to many records about many predator priests. Nearly all of these officials endanger kids by keeping this information secret. All of these officials could (like Jennifer Haselberger) protect kids by speaking up.
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