MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Tuesday, Oct. 29 2013
Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com )
Archbishop John Neinstedt’s new abuse “task force” is a farce. We’ve felt so from the outset. Now it’s clear.
We call on members of that panel to end their complicity in this charade and resign in protest now.
Neinstedt claims his “task force” – headed by Fr. Reginald Whitt, a priest and lawyer who was hand-picked by Neinstedt – will somehow be “independent.” A new letter, however, has already been disproven this claim.
Last week, Neinstedt publicly said:
“The Task Force will have unprecedented authority to examine any and all issues associated with clergy sexual abuse.”
And last week, Whitt privately said:
“Access to these files will be within my control and limited only to what is necessary for the task force to be able to make an informed decision.”
So Catholic officials shout “independent move” in public while maintaining control in private.
We have seen the same pattern over and over again in diocese across the country and saw the same pattern at the national church level a decade ago.
In 2002, America’s bishops claimed they adopted a “tough” abuse policy. But as the limelight faded, Vatican officials quietly gutted much of it.
Time and time again, Catholic officials say almost anything to get themselves out of a jam. Then, as public attention begins to wane, they quietly backpedal. And soon it’s “business as usual” again.
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