MONTANA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
WHAT
Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters will urge the Great Falls/Billings Catholic bishop to
–do “aggressive outreach” to find others who may have seen, suspected or suffered crimes by a recently accused priest, and
–permanently post on his website the names, photos and whereabouts of all child molesting clerics who live or work (or have lived or worked) in his diocese.
They will also urge ALL current and former Montana Catholic employees to “come clean” about clergy sex crimes and cover ups by sharing everything they know and suspect with law enforcement officials (instead of assuming and hoping that the church hierarchy will handle such cases quietly and ‘in house.’)
WHEN
Thursday, Dec. 6th at 11:00 a.m.
WHERE
In front of St. Patrick’s Co-Cathedral 215 North 31st Street (corner of 3rd. Ave. N,) in Billings, MT
WHO
Two to three members of an international support group for victims of clergy abuse called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org)
WHY
Fr. Dennis Druggan was suspended in July because of allegations that he molested a child at St. Labre Indian School in Ashland, MT in the mid-1980s. But SNAP contends that the Great Falls-Billings Catholic diocese, and especially Bishop Michael Warfel has done little or nothing to tell his flock about the allegations, help police or prosecutors pursue Druggan or find and help others whomay have been hurt by him or have information about his crimes. (Druggan has denied the allegations.)
For a decade now, bishops have pledged to be “open and transparent” in clergy sex cases. And Pope Benedict has said that the church will “do everything possible” to help victims heal. So SNAP believes that Warfel has both a moral and civic duty to use his “vast resources” to try and find others who may have seen, suspected or suffered crimes by Druggan.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.