TEXAS
The Monitor
December 12,2004
Mack Harrison
The Monitor
Most religions promise justice in the next world. But what about justice in this one? The Catholic Church has helped accused rapists avoid prosecution all over the planet — even in the Rio Grande Valley.
I’m referring to The Dallas Morning News’ excellent investigative series on how Catholic Church workers can avoid facing sexual abuse charges by fleeing the country. The News reporting team spent a year tracking down priests accused of sexual abuse — including one clergyman charged with sexual assault in Pharr. They found that Catholic priests accused of sex crimes in one country often end up back in their native lands, still in the ministry.
That’s not a surprise to David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP; Web site: snapnetwork.org).
“The focus remains very heavily on damage control,” he told me in a phone interview. He said even in the wake of the church sex abuse scandals over the past few years, “there’s been a focus on policies and procedures and paperwork, but very little substantive change.”