OHIO
The Columbus Dispatch
By JoAnne Viviano
The Columbus Dispatch • Tuesday February 9, 2016
An advocate for victims of sexual assault criticized the leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus on Tuesday for being “quiet and passive” about the recent arrest of a former seminarian on charges that he planned to travel to Mexico to rape infant and toddler girls.
Bishop Frederick Campbell should instead hold a public meeting to alert the community about the charges leveled against Joel A. Wright, who until late last month, was studying to be a priest at Pontifical College Josephinum on the Far North Side, said Judy Jones, Midwest associate director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. The network also wants Campbell to use the pulpit, church bulletins and church websites to encourage anyone who suspects Wright of crimes to contact police.
“This is too serious for Bishop Campbell to just sit back and do nothing,” Jones said at a Downtown news conference outside the diocese’s St. Joseph Cathedral. “He needs to aggressively reach out to anybody who had contact with Joel Wright, anyone who may have any information, any kind of knowledge, or anyone who has been harmed by him.”
Wright was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Homeland Security investigators in San Diego on Jan. 29 on charges of traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and to engage in sex with a child younger than 12. A Josephinum spokesman has said that Wright, 23, of Vermont, was expelled that day even before his arrest because he had left school without permission.
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.