National Bishops Group Should Censure Nienstedt, SNAP Says

SNAP
June 10, 2014

http://www.snapnetwork.org/mn_national_bishops_group_should_censure_nienstedt_snap_says

America's bishops meet tomorrow in New Orleans. We urge officers and members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to censure - or at least harshly denounce - current and former Twin Cities bishops for the ongoing horrific cover up scandal there, especially Archbishop John Nienstedt, retired Archbishop Harry Flynn, and Archbishop Robert Carlson (who now heads the St. Louis archdiocese).

In recent depositions

--Flynn claimed he couldn’t recall details about predator priests 132 times,

--Carlson claimed he didn’t remember 193 times, and

--Nienstedt admitted that he never took any action against those who enabled child sex crimes and he doesn’t believe he should.

These revelations, under oath, speak volumes about how top Catholic officials are still dealing with the child sexual abuse scandal – through continued cover-ups and deceit.

Every promise made over the last 12 years by every US Catholic official - about children’s safety, and openness, transparency, and “zero tolerance” - rings hollow when prelates gather, year after year, and stay silent about their complicit colleagues.

Bishops who conceal child sex crimes are virtually never punished, either in the church or in the secular courts. So at a bare minimum, they should be denounced in public, especially by their colleagues, if there's ever going to be a chance at real reform of the church hierarchy.

At recent USCCB meetings, every single bishop kept quiet after Bishop Robert Finn was convicted of hiding child sex crimes. We beg America’s bishops to find some courage tomorrow and not make the same mistake by ignoring the on-going crimes and cover ups by Nienstedt, Flynn, Carlson and others who are protecting or have protected Twin Cities predator priests and are endangering or have endangered Twin Cities children.