Cleric Won’t “ever Be a Priest Again?” We Doubt It.

SNAP
November 20, 2015

http://www.snapnetwork.org/ct_cleric_won_t_ever_be_a_priest_again_we_doubt_it

A prosecutor claims she’s been told that a Hartford priest will ‘never be a priest again.’ We doubt that’s true.

[journalinquirer.com]

Earlier this week Fr. Paul A. Gotta was convicted in a plea bargain of second-degree breach of peace. Next month, he faces firearms charges. He’s accused of molesting a child.

Now is no time for complacency. We’ve seen far too many other priests – both credibly accused of crimes and proven guilty of crimes – who’ve been kept in or returned to parishes. (Remember: the Catholic church continues to experience a severe shortage of priests and seminarians. The pressure to keep them in the job, no matter how egregious their wrongdoing may be, is tremendous.)

[snapnetwork.org]

We repeat what we said yesterday: Hartford Archbishop Leonard Blair should take Fr. Gotta’s passport so he can’t flee the country (as Fr. Augusto Cortez of the Rockville Centre diocese and dozens of other predator priests have done).

[snapnetwork.org]

[nytimes.com]

And we hope every single person who saw, suspected or suffered Fr. Gotta’s crimes will call police, protect others and expose wrongdoers.

(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), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org)

Former East Windsor priest’s plea deal may end his career

Posted: Friday, November 20, 2015 - By Alex Wood - Journal Inquirer

Although the sexual-assault case against the former administrator of East Windsor’s two Roman Catholic parishes ended this week with his conviction only of a misdemeanor not involving sexual misconduct, the conviction should end his career as a priest, a prosecutor says.

The Rev. Paul A. Gotta, who formerly served at . . .