Credibly Accused Predator Priest in Tewksbury Is “outed”

SNAP
October 23, 2014

http://www.snapnetwork.org/ma_drummer_outed

A Catholic priest who lives in Tewksbury has been “outed” today for the first time as a credibly accused child molester. We call on Massachusetts Catholic officials to warn parents, parishioners and the public about him.

In a joint announcement by a law firm and the St. Paul archdiocese, Fr. Donald Drummer is one of three priests whose names are being disclosed today for the first time as having “substantiated claims against (him) of sexually abusing a minor.” The revelations come as part of a settlement of a clergy sex abuse and cover up lawsuit announced last week (John Doe 1 vs. Fr. Thomas Adamson and the St. Paul archdiocese).

We applaud Doe for insisting that more names of predator priests are disclosed as a result of his courageous litigation.

[archspm.org]

Let there be no mistake about this new information: it’s being released because victims have filed lawsuits and insist on real safety measures, not just pay offs. It’s not a sign of reform by Catholic officials. It’s a sign that when victims are brave enough to step forward and smart enough to file lawsuits, more truth can be exposed and more kids can be protected.

We hope that anyone who may have seen, suspected or suffered crimes by Fr. Drummer – or any cleric – will find the courage to speak up, get help, expose wrongdoers, protect others and start healing.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)