OREGON
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Thursday, Oct. 2
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 566 9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com, davidgclohessy@gmail.com )
We are very disappointed that Portland police officials are withholding the name of a church where an accused child molester met his victim.
[KOIN]
Whether or not Joseph William Wehage had a formal leadership role at the church is irrelevant. It’s very possible that he assaulted others who attend or work at the church or their children.
Parents, parishioners and the public need and deserve more information, not less, about credibly accused child molesters. Withholding the church’s name smacks of the outdated deference that law enforcement officials once routinely gave to church officials but which, thankfully, has waned because of thousands of well-documented cases of clergy sex crimes and cover ups.
We urge Portland police officials to reconsider this timid and misguided decision.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We’ve been around for 25 years and have more than 18,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
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