ILLINOIS
Patch
By SCOTT VIAU (Patch Staff)
December 29, 2015
OLIET, IL — With the burial of deceased Bishop Joseph Imesch Tuesday, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests is deploring the full honors that are being bestowed on him.
Geneva SNAP leader Kate Bochte said in a statement that the honors are an injustice to the sexual abuse victims.
“When we ignore wrongdoing, we encourage wrongdoing. And when Catholic officials, in 2015, keep treating their most disgraced complicit colleagues as heroes or saints, they encourage other church employees to ignore, conceal and enable child sex crimes and cover ups,” Bochte said in a statement.
According to the Joliet Diocese, Imesch’s “tenacity” gained him the respect of fellow bishops.
“He diligently attempted to have a pastoral letter on women approved by the Conference,” the Diocese said in a release on its website. “Though he was unsuccessful, he exemplified perseverance and great courage.”
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.