Letter to Bishop Baker of Birmingham, AL
Service record for Cuthbert Bender, OSB
SNAP, the largest clergy abuse advocacy group, begins
chapter in Alabama
One clergy abuse victim and a lawyer representing a
victim will reveal Alabama abuse connections
Clergy
sex abuse victims urge release of names and info on all molesting clergy
Group
urges other victims to come forward and call police
Birmingham diocesan officials are asked to cross-reference with other states and inform about pedophile priests assigned in Alabama
SNAP
urges community to reach out to victims
WHAT:
At a sidewalk press conference, clergy sex abuse victims
will publicly urge Alabama church officials to
- post
on their website the names of all proven, admitted and credibly accused abusive
church employees,
- alert
the public that Cullman, Alabama, Benedictines had child-molesting priests
assigned in multiple states
- prod
anyone who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes by clerics to come
forward, call police and get help
WHEN: Friday, October 19, 2:00 p.m.
WHERE: Sidewalk in front of the Cathedral of St. Paul, 2120 3rd Avenue North, Birmingham, AL (corner of 22nd Street
North and 3rd Avenue North).
WHO: The SNAP Southeast Director, along
with clergy sex abuse victims who are members of a support group called SNAP,
the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP network.org)
WHY: Roughly
fifteen Catholic bishops in the US have voluntarily disclosed the identities of
proven, admitted, and credibly accused predator priests on their websites or in
their diocesan newspapers. They include Baltimore, (the first) Toledo,
Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Delaware and Maine (the most recent). To protect the
vulnerable and heal the wounded, SNAP wants Alabama church officials to do
likewise.
As Southeast Director Ann Brentwood will be in establish a chapter of SNAP in the diocese of Birmingham. In a letter to delivered to Bishop Baker, SNAP will outline its requests on behalf of victims of clergy abuse.
A man abused by an Alabama-based priest and a lawyer representing a man abused in Mississippi by another Alabama-based priest will reveal the common link of their abusers.
According to BishopAccountability.org, (http://bishop-accountability.org/member/psearch.jsp)
the diocese of Birmingham has had 3 credibly accused priests. SNAP wants total transparency about all
abusive clergy and church employees.
SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the nations largest and oldest support group for men and women who were molested by religious figures of any denomination. (SNAPnetwork.org)
CONTACT:
Ann Brentwood, SNAP Southeast regional director,
865-607-6119 wochangi@aol.com
Mike Coode, Middle Tennessee SNAP director, 615-364-2334, mikeintn@bellsouth.net
David Clohessy, National Director of SNAP, 314-566-9790, snapclohessy@aol.com
Website: www.snapnetwork.org