MISSOURI
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Friday, April 22, 2016
Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 503 0003 cell, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org)
Another KC Catholic worker is accused of child sex crimes. Bishop James Johnston should visit the affected parish this weekend and beg victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to call police so the predator can be convicted and kept away from kids for a long time.
[KSHB]
James Burton, a custodian at St. Peter’s parish, is charged with molesting a child.
It’s ironic that just hours after another church “healing service,” more child sex crimes by a Catholic employee are disclosed. Bishop James Johnston is desperately trying to “turn the page” and “move forward” and imply that the diocese’s abuse and cover up is largely over. It’s not. And it’s disingenuous to pretend it is.
Church officials claim they this quiet at the request of law enforcement. We hope but doubt that’s true. But what matters now is whether they help police and prosecutors build a strong case. We beg them to use church bulletins, parish websites, pulpit announcements and other ways to aggressively seek out anyone who may have seen, suspected or suffered crimes by Burton or cover ups by colleagues.
We fear Bishop Johnston will act just like Bishop Finn, and sit passively back, letting the burden of keeping this predator away from kids fall on his victims and the police. That’s wrong. It’s tempting, but it’s irresponsible.
Here’s Bishop Johnston’s chance to chart a new course. We hope he will. But we’re not optimistic.
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 to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling law enforcement, get justice by calling attorneys, and be comforted 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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