UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
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For immediate release: Tuesday, Oct. 1
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 566 9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com )
It’s official – on April 27, Pope John Paul II becomes a saint.
And it’s hurtful.
It sends precisely the most harmful signal to Catholic employees across the globe – that no matter how much you endanger kids, you’ll be honored by and in the church.
It rubs even more salt into the still-fresh and already-deep wounds of millions of betrayed Catholics and thousands of suffering victims.
Under him, the US bishops’ grudging, belated and weak abuse policy was delayed and further weakened allowing predators to remain in ministry and offering no consequences to those that enabled and shielded them.
Under him, repeated warnings and reports about child sex crimes and misdeeds by the Legion of Christ founder Father Marcel Maciel were repeatedly ignored, keeping children needlessly at risk.
At a bare minimum, Pope Francis should put this canonization on hold, giving victims, witnesses and whistleblowers more time to reveal the truth about Pope John Paul II’s papacy.
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