BishopAccountability.org
	Two Groups Oppose Steubenville Bishop’s Election Bid NSAC November 11, 2010 http://www.nsacoalition.org/ Next week, some 200 Catholic bishops gather in Baltimore for their annual meeting. Among other officers, they’ll choose a chairman for their “Committee on Child and Youth Protection.” A Chicago-based support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and a Dayton-based Catholic lay group called NSAC, the National Survivors Advocacy Coalition, are urging the prelates to NOT vote for Steubenville Bishop R. Daniel Conlon. It’s a contest between Conlon and Amarillo’s Bishop Patrick J. Zurek. “In this election, bishops have a chance to make relevant Pope Benedict’s call that ‘everything possible’ be done to resolve the church’s largest crisis in 500 years,” said Kris Ward of NSAC. “It doesn’t take much research to see the dark record that Bishop Conlon has regarding the abuse crisis. His elevation to the chair of the this committee sends the absolute wrong signal.” “Conlon has been reckless with predators and callous toward victims,” said Judy Block Jones of SNAP, who grew up in the Steubenville diocese. “Putting him in charge of this committee would send a very depressing and chilling message to victims and Catholics alike.” “On the enlightened self interest side of the ledger, this election would strangle at birth any fledging attempts that the bishops believe they have made at real understanding of the sexual abuse crisis by priests and nuns and the treatment and needs of victims,” Ward said. “Fraternal correction has been sadly missing from the bishops’ conference agendas. This election could be a ‘carpe diem’ moment for the bishops. We urgently ask them not to disappoint Catholic people and all men and women of goodwill – again.” A copy of the letter, being sent today by e mail, is below: Dear Bishop: We strongly urge you to ‘NOT’ elect Reverend R. Daniel Conlon, Bishop of Steubenville, to head the USCCB committee on “Child and Youth Protection.” Yours is a clear choice between a colleague who hasn’t been widely criticized for mishandling child sex abuse and cover up cases (Zurek) and one who has been (Conlon). Here are some of our reasons: –Conlon removed Fr. Gary Zalenski from his parish duties over three years ago for credible allegations of sexually abusing a child. We have urged him to put Zalenski into a protected treatment center, yet he is still walking around free. –Conlon, to this day, is secretive about Zalenski’s clerical status, though we know he is being defrocked. –In 2006, SNAP hand delivered letters to Conlon from victims who were sexually abused by Steubenville predator priests. Conlon has NEVER responded to any one of them. –Several victims have asked for help with paying for their therapy, yet Conlon ignores their pleas, even though their therapy was being paid for before he became the bishop of Steubenville. –Conlon’s track record, while he was assigned to child protection in the Cincinnati Archdiocese, was to hide records, treat victims so badly it made them feel re-abused, and covering up crimes against kids. We believe that Bishop Conlon still treats victims with extreme disrespect, still quietly moves priests who have complaints against them to new assignments in unsuspecting communities, and does very little to protect kids. Judy Block Jones SNAP Midwest Associate Director Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests 636-433-2511/ snapjudy@g.mail.com Kristine Ward NSAC chair, National Survivor Advocates Coalition 937-272-0308/ KristineWard@hotmail.com
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