INDIANA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Friday, April 8, 2016
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, 314 645 5915 home, davidgclohessy@gmail.com)
A suicide note strongly suggests that a high profile accused predator priest who worked at Notre Dame is guilty of child sex crimes.
[SNAP]
According to the Daily Mail Online, Father Virgilio Elizondo “left a chilling suicide note in which he claims he took his own life as ‘a final gift’ to anyone he ‘might have hurt.’” The publication says the note “appears to be a veiled admission of guilt.”
A child sex abuse and cover up lawsuit filed in San Antonio, where Fr. Elizondo also lived and worked, says Fr. Elizondo sexually assaulted a boy when the boy went to him to report abuse by another priest, Father Jesus Armando Dominguez, a fugitive from justice believed to be in Mexico.
We agree with Thomas J. Henry, the lawyer representing Fr. Elizondo’s alleged victim, who says Fr. Elizondo’s not is “self-serving and manipulative.” It’s also hurtful to victims, many of whom will almost certainly think “Why speak up? Predators always duck, dodge and deny, right up until the end, and many still think they’re innocent.”
No matter what lawmakers or church officials do or don’t do, we urge every single person who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups in Catholic churches or institutions – especially at Notre Dame – to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling journalists, get justice by calling attorneys, and get comfort by calling support groups like ours. This is how kids will be safer, adults will recover, criminals will be prosecuted, cover ups will be deterred and the truth will surface.
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