Oh - SNAP Blasts Bishop Murry’s Excuses on Br. Baker

By David Clohessy
SNAP
January 24, 2013

http://www.snapnetwork.org/oh_snap_blasts_bishop_murry_s_excuses_on_br_baker

According to WFMJ, Bishop George Murry claims that the diocese “may need review to see if it could have handled the situation better.” That’s absurd.

For more than three years, he and his top aides kept secret about multiple and credible child sex crime allegations against a serial child molesting cleric. They did this even though the predator walks free and had been sent to another state where he lived, for years, among unsuspecting neighbors and families. They did this despite a decade of promises to be “open and transparent” in child sex and cover up cases. And they did this – kept silence - for five months after paying settlements to 11 wounded victims. They never disclosed a single allegation or settlement involving Br. Baker. Baker’s victims warned parents, parishioners and the public about this dangerous cleric.

It’s hard to imagine how they could have handled this sordid matter any worse. It’s clear that Bishop Murray and his staff wanted to do what Catholic officials have done for years – keep everyone in the dark until the criminal and civil statutes of limitations expired, so they could protect themselves and their reputations.

Murry essentially is trying to blame everyone else: lawyers, Fransiscans and victims.

Murry’s disingenuous blaming his silence on “sensitive” settlement talks” is shameful. Virtually every victim wants his or her predator publicly exposed so that other kids are spared the horror of child sexual abuse. In thousands of cases across the world, Catholic officials have disclosed child sex abuse allegations first, then worked on settlement discussions.

Murry also claims he stayed silent and did nothing because he thought the Franciscans would send apology letters to JFK victims and alums. That’s baloney. For at least three years, he knew that such letters weren’t sent. Yet day after day, he deliberately kept parents, parishioner and the public in the dark about a serial predator.

Murry claims his staff participated in mediation to “promote healing.” We think their goal was to preserve secrecy, and prevent victims from exposing church corruption in open court.

We again call on every single current and former Catholic church or school employee who knew or suspected anything about Bakers crimes to come forward, to us, to therapists, or to police so the the truth can become known and so that kids can be protected and so that Baker can be prosecuted.

We beg every victim to reach out, get help, expose wrongdoing, safeguard others and start healing.