MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Wednesday, Oct. 23, 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 )
Some Minnesota child molesting clerics get paid more than their non-offending peers, a new MinnPost story reveals.
There’s a simple explanation: blackmail.
Predator priests are often cunning and selfish and insist on more money. We believe that bishops comply out of fear. They are scared that unless they comply, predator priests may tell what they know and suspect about other wrongdoing in the church – sexual and financial. And bishops – more than anything else – desperately want to avoid being dragged into a public scandal.
There’s an old saying: “Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.” Bishops realize that priests know a lot about private misdeeds in their dioceses. This is especially true of predator priests. So if bishops “crack down” or threaten to “crack down” on predators, those predators can retaliate by disclosing wrongdoing by their peers or supervisors.
That’s why some predator priests get special treatment and “sweetheart deals.” That’s one reason why some get their tuition paid to return to school and get degrees in teaching or counseling (like Fr. Patrick O’Donnell in Seattle).
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