KANSAS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Thursday, June 23, 2016
For more information: David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, davidgclohessy@gmail.com), Barbra Graber (540-214-8874, mennonite@snapnetwork.org), Stephanie Krehbiel (734-678-2185, stephaniekrehbiel@gmail.com)
Five names added to list of sex-offending Mennonite church workers
Each admitted to sexual misconduct but none have been charged
Four live in Kansas; One, a Canadian, is a painter on cruise ships
Group demands that Mennonite Church USA end its practice of keeping secret files on clergy with sexual misconduct charges
A support group for survivors of sexual abuse is announcing the addition of five new names to their Mennonite Abuse Prevention (MAP) list. To be placed on the MAP list, offenders must have been named elsewhere through established media sources, internal institutional documents, court records, or any combination of the above.
http://www.snapnetwork.org/mennonite_map
SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, says that each of these five men admitted to sexual misconduct, one of them with a teen-aged girl. However, none have faced criminal charges. Four of them live in Kansas. The fifth, a Canadian, is a painter on cruise ships. Brief histories of these predators are set forth below. Documentation and photos can be found at the associated links.
However, MAP list researcher and SNAP Mennonite member Stephanie Krehbiel of Lawreence, Kansas added, “We’ve learned recently that the Mennonite Church USA keeps sealed files on pastors who have had charges of sexual misconduct against them. We’ve even learned about pastoral search committees who have hired pastors without being informed that the pastor in question has charges of sexual misconduct against him in previous jobs. This is unacceptable. Have we learned nothing from watching the Catholic church quietly move abusive priests from one diocese to another? We demand transparency about how the church keeps track of sexual misconduct charges against individuals.”
SNAP Mennonite leader Barbra Graber of Harrisonburg, Virginia, chimed in, “There’s absolutely no place in a faith community for sealed files concerning a church leader’s sexual misconduct.”
The survivors group called on Anabaptist/Mennonite officials to publicly release the names, photos, whereabouts and work histories of each and every abusive church worker.
David Clohessy, a Saint Louis, Missouri, man who is the long-time Executive Director for SNAP, also wanted to remind people that sexual predators are not just a danger within a religious group.
“Churches are quite often too quick to forgive, and when church officials keep the identity of men – or women — who abuse kids and vulnerable adults ‘in-house’ instead of reporting to the authorities, it’s not just members of the faith community who are endangered. Anyone, including members of the public, can be at risk. Wounded victims should not have to bear the burden of warning police, prosecutors, parents and parishioners!”
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