MISSOURI
Missourinet
June 23, 2014 By Bob Priddy
A support organization for people abused by priests hopes resolution of an abuse case in Boonville last week encourages more people who’ve been harboring a secret to step forward.
A judge in Boonville has ruled that the statute of limitations had not run out on the man who was known as Father Jerry Howard, who is going to prison for 12 years for abusing three boys in the 1980s while serving as a priest in Boonville. Howard had left the state, which stopped the limitations clock from running. He was living in New Jersey when he was arrested.
Director David Clohessy of the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests says the judge’s ruling should encourage other prosecutors to go after priests and other abusers whose acts were done decades ago.
Clohessy continues to accuse the Catholic Church of delaying actions and concealing information, saying any progress the church has made has been “painfully” small. But he says the Catholic Church is not the only faith group with abuse problems. “Every faith group could and should do a better job…Many denominations have fewer restrictions on who may become clergy and those denominations tend to be more open to kicking out bad apples,” he says.
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