ILLINOIS
Holy Family Inclusive Catholic Community
What follows is a transcript of the statement I gave at the SNAP news conference that took place today, March 4, 2015, outside the Catholic Pastoral Center in Springfield.
My name is John Freml, and I’m a leader in the central Illinois chapter of Call To Action. The reason I’m here today – the reason why I wanted to assist David from SNAP – is to call for additional accountability from our diocese and from our bishop.
Now, Bishop Paprocki is a very smart man. He’s a civil lawyer and a canon lawyer, and he knows exactly what he’s doing. Don’t get me wrong – he’s done some good in our community, by establishing a legal service for low income people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford it.
However, we can’t forget that he is also the same man who – in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 2007 – said, and I quote, “the principal force behind (sex-abuse lawsuits) is none other than the devil.”
Really. So it’s the victims who are doing the work of the devil, not the priests who harm children, or the bishops who protect them? According to Bishop Paprocki, it’s the victims.
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