MISSOURI/MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Monday, August 11, 2014
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 566 9790, davidgclohessy@gmail.com )
“Find a suitable cover story. . . so that this thing does not blow up.” That’s what then-Bishop Robert Carlson wrote to his boss about a credibly accused predator priest.
That priest was finally removed from active ministry just a few months ago.
Carlson now heads the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The memo, written in 1985, was made public this morning in Minnesota.
It is yet another example – in Carlson’s own words – of his willingness to deceive the public and his own parishioners about child molesting clerics.
Let’s see how Carlson spins this one. Let’s see what possible excuse he offers to “explain away” such Machiavellian, self-serving and irresponsible advice from one professed spiritual figure to another.
Our guess is that he’ll ignore this, even though these are his words, in writing, while he was a bishop. (We hope St. Louis Catholics, citizens, and journalists won’t let him ignore it.) Will Carlson claim that 20+ years ago, he didn’t know lying was wrong?
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.