Victims Blast Decision on Accused Predator Priest

SNAP
November 13, 2015

http://www.snapnetwork.org/nj_victims_blast_decision_on_accused_predator_priest

Three priests have ‘cleared’ a fellow priest of sexually abusing a child. What a sham.

[nj.com]

Few should have faith in these secretive, biased, internal Catholic church abuse processes. We certainly do not.

We hope every single person who may have seen, suspected or suffered abuse by Msgr. Raymond L. Cole or cover ups by Metuchen Bishop Paul Bootkoski will come forward, call police, expose wrongdoers, protect kids and start healing.

It’s crucial that people report what they know or suspect about abuse or cover ups to the independent professionals in law enforcement, not the self-serving bureaucrats in church offices.

It’s also crucial that New Jersey lawmakers reform or repeal the state’s archaic, predator-friendly statutes of limitations so that cases like this can be heard in the open, fair secular justice system.

Finally, we’re especially worried that Msgr. Cole will apparently work among Hispanic Catholics, where we believe kids are even more vulnerable to child molesters. We urge parents to be careful with their children and not allow them to be alone around Msgr. Cole.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 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)

Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, davidgclohessy@gmail.com, SNAPclohessy@aol.com), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org), Mark Crawford 732 632 7687, mecrawf@comcast.net)

N.J. priest cleared of '70s-era sex abuse claim by church tribunal

Print Email Mark Mueller | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com By Mark Mueller | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com on November 13, 2015 at 1:45 PM, updated November 13, 2015 at 2:10 PM

A Roman Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing a child in the 1970s has been found not guilty by a church tribunal, clearing the way for his return to ministry after a two-year suspension, Metuchen Bishop Paul Bootkoski announced Friday.

Msgr. Raymond L. Cole, 72, was removed as pastor of St. Joseph Church in Hillsborough in October 2013, when the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office alerted the diocese to the sexual abuse claim.

At the time, Bootkoski said canon law required . . .