Court to hear arguments on pedophile priest
The issue: whether to release secret church records
Victims say "parents and public need & deserve to know facts"
Clergy sex abuse group wants predators' names publicly disclosed
In recently-settled lawsuit, church admits there are 15 accused priests
But national data base lists only 7 alleged child molesting Memphis clerics
Spinning large “roulette” wheel, group claims church ‘gambles’ with kids' safety'
For public safety, diocese must disclose abusers' names and whereabouts, SNAP says

WHAT
At a sidewalk news conference, spinning a large, cardboard  "roulette" wheel, clergy sex abuse victims will accuse Memphis Catholic officials of "gambling’ with kids’ safety" and urge them to
    -- disclose the names and whereabouts of additional 8 accused pedophile priests who are working or have worked in the diocese, and
    -- stop blocking the public release of documents about these child molesting clergy in court.
They’ll also prod anyone who saw, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes, by any predator priest, to come forward, get help and call police.

WHEN
Thursday, April 2, immediately after 10:30 hearing.

WHERE
On the steps of the Courthouse, 140 Adams in downtown Memphis

WHO
A sexual abuse victim who heads the Memphis chapter of a national support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org)

Hopefully today's decision by Judge McPherson will allow disclosure of more information  facilitating understanding, justice, and healing, for more victims and there families. We believe unsealing the files addresses transparency which the Diocese has promised.

Recently a civil child sex abuse and cover up lawsuit against Fr. Juan Carlos Duran and two Catholic institutions was settled for $2 million. In that case, Memphis diocesan officials admitted that 15 priests who work or worked here have been accused of child molestation.

However, BishopAccountability.org, an independent national data base of predator priests maintained by Catholic lay people, only lists seven accused Memphis Catholic clerics.

SNAP believes that Memphis citizens and Catholics need and deserve to know who and where these potentially dangerous priests are. It’s especially important, the group feels, that church authorities at least disclose the identities of the 8 whose names are not yet publicly known.

Roughly 14 US bishops (from Baltimore to Milwaukee to Toledo to Philadelphia) have posted the names of pedophile priests on their diocesan websites. SNAP wants the Memphis diocese to do likewise.

Defendants in the Duran case include the Memphis diocese and a religious order called the Dominicans.

The Duran settlement with the diocese was announced Feb. 16  before Circuit Court Judge Charles O. McPherson. SNAP believes that this settlement shows that Catholic officials were terrified that proof of their complicity and duplicity would have been disclosed had this case gone forward. Almost always, the group feels, when legal technicalities are overcome and a clergy sex abuse case is near trial, the church hierarchy will pay lots to avoid having to face tough questions under oath in open court about their role in enabling or ignoring child sex crimes.

Hopefully today's decision by Judge McPherson will allow disclosure of more information facilitating understanding, justice, and healing, for more victims and there families.

CONTACT
David Brown 901 569 4500, Ann Brentwood 865 984 7092, David Clohessy 314 566 9790

Monsignor Richard Sticka will be installed as the new bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee.  Here is some information about how Richard Sticka dealt with clergy sexual abuse in the past. 

SNAP statement on new Knoxville Bishop. 

SNAP calls for ouster of Monsignor (2005 article)

SNAP press release from 2005 in its entirety. 

The diocese of Memphis found "credible" evidence that Paul St. Charles is a pedophile. The diocese of Nashville coddles St. Charles like some kind of icon. Apparently, abusing children means little to Bishop Choby and the priests of the Nashville diocese. They let the people think that St. Charles has been "vindicated" even when fellow bishop, Bishop Steib of Memphis, says St. Charles is guilty. What brotherly support from Bishop Choby to Bishop Steib!!! And, Paul St. Charles has lived in "retirement" in Nashville for more years than he was an active priest pedophile. Who has he abused in Nashville? Do you trust the clergy in Nashville to have protected your children over the years? Oops! Here are links to Caleb Hannan's recent stories about Paul St. Charles, the pedophile par excellence.

Accused pedophile Paul St. Charles lost his priesthood. But that didn't stop Nashville's bishop from giving him an award

 Rest up, Your Catholic Priest Abuse Story Fatigue may Soon be put to the Test

Nothing Sacred - from the Memphis News Magazine.

Link to the information in PDF format 

Link to the information in Word format

A new lawsuit has been filed against Paul St. Charles in the Shelby County Circuit court.

08/26/08 - Article from Memphis Commercial Appeal - Suit accuses retired priest of abuse

Press release for Memphis Press conference, Monday, August 25, 2008

On Sunday, April 13, 2008, SNAP will hold a vigil and press conference.  Victims of abuse will ask that all bishops be defrocked who have been abusers. 

Click here for press release from SNAP 

Click here to see a video from YouTube of the rally. 

Anthony J. O'Connell, the disgraced first bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee, admitted abuse.  Click here for information on O'Connell.

Click here for a video update as of 04/14/2008 about the taking down of O'Connell's picture at Knoxville Catholic High School.   

Many thanks to BishopAccountability.org for the table below 

• Alabama

Information of press conference in Birmingham, AL Friday, October 19th.

Press release and letter to Bishop Baker are located here. 

Service record for Cuthbert Bender, OSB is located here.

 

• Letter to Bishop Wilton Gregory sent 09/09/2005.
• Assignment record for Joseph Reilly (note Georgia assignment)
  

CANCELLED FOR OCTOBER 15th

TO BE RESCHEDULED (see below)

The press conference scheduled by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) for Monday at 11:00 a.m. in Nashville has been cancelled.

Due to an emergency (sudden death of a family friend), David Clohessy, National Director of SNAP, will be unable to attend as previously scheduled.

A concurrent concern is that the press will be engaged as well in the funeral of Charles Giacosa, priest of the diocese of Nashville.

Thank you for your understanding.  We will be rescheduling this press conference for later in October.

Susan Vance
State director of SNAP of Tennessee

865-748-3518

**************************

Catholic bishop publicly honors pedophile ex-priest
Clergy sex abuse victims slam his ‘deceit’ and ‘recklessness’
Serial predator is being defrocked but Nashville officials keep this secret
Molester's career shows he had access to kids in Nashville, Knoxville, & Memphis
Lawsuits settled with Memphis diocese; more cases of child sex abuse pending against him
SNAP urges church employees to help reach out to others who are “still suffering in shame & silence”
"Insensitivity" by Bishop and High School rubs salt into wounds of victims, support group says
It also deters others who've been hurt from coming forward, exposing predators, and getting help, they fear

WHAT:
At a sidewalk press conference, clergy sex abuse victims will urge Catholic church officials in Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville to
- tell the truth about a suspended predator priest who faces several lawsuits and is being defrocked.
- warn parishioners and the public - through diocesan websites and parish bulletins – about him, and
- apologize for publicly honoring him even after child molestation lawsuits against him were settled and others were filed

WHEN:
Monday, October 15, 11:00 a.m. CST

WHERE:
Outside the Catholic Center, 2400 21st Ave S, Nashville, TN

View Larger Map

WHO:
Several clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters including the National Director of SNAP, David Clohessy, who are members of a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP network.org)

WHY:
Fr. Paul St. Charles, a Nashville native and resident, was suspended from active ministry and sued in Memphis for molesting boys. In July 2007, several lawsuits against him were settled. (Other child sex abuse lawsuits against him are still pending). In 2004, Memphis Bishop Terry Steib asked the Vatican to begin defrocking St. Charles, because a church panel deemed the allegations against St. Charles "credible."

http://www.fatherryan.org/alumni/goldengrads07/inductees/index.htm

http://www.rememberthesurvivors.com/stcharlespaul.htm
http://www.memphisdailynews.com/Editorial/StoryLead.aspx?id=98610

See Commentary below

However, even after St. Charles was suspended and sued, Nashville Bishop Choby publicly honored St. Charles at a ceremony at Ryan High School in June. St. Charles continues to be given the title of "Father." Many Catholics in Nashville believe that St. Charles has been "vindicated," yet the church hierarchy refuses to correct this error despite promises of transparency.

Such insensitivitity and recklessness, SNAP believes, hurts those already wounded and puts kids at risk of more abuse. They want church officials to apologize for and explain their hurtful actions and take concrete steps to alert families about St. Charles’ status and crimes.

CONTACT:
Mike Coode, Middle Tennessee SNAP director, 615-364-2334
Susan Vance, Tennessee SNAP director, 865-748-3518
Ann Brentwood, SNAP Southeast regional director, 865-607-6119
David Clohessy, National Director of SNAP, 314-566-9790

Click here to go to the Tip of the Iceberg Rally information
 

PRESS RELEASE FOR TIP OF THE ICEBERG RALLY AND PRESS CONFERENCE ON 09/29/2007 

Catholic bishop publicly honors pedophile ex-priest

Clergy sex abuse victims slam his ‘deceit’ and ‘recklessness’

Serial predator is being defrocked but Nashville officials keep this secret

Molesters’ career shows he had access to kids in three dioceses: Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis

Lawsuits settled with Memphis diocese; more cases of child sex abuse pending against ex-priest

SNAP urges church employees to help reach out to others who are “still suffering in shame & silence”

"Insensitivity" by Choby and Ryan High School rubs salt into wounds of victims, support group says

It also deters others who've been hurt from coming forward, exposing predators, and getting help, they fear

WHAT:
At a sidewalk press conference, clergy sex abuse victims will urge Catholic church officials in Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville to
- tell the truth about a predator priest who is credibly accused by the diocese of Memphis and is being removed from the priesthood.  The people have been told that he has been “vindicated.”  As of now, cases against him continue to climb. 
- apologize for their lack of action to correct the public perception that St. Charles has been vindicated
- warn parishioners and the public - through diocesan websites and parish bulletins – about him, and
- apologize for publicly honoring him even after child molestation lawsuits against him were settled and others are being filed

WHEN:
12:30 p.m., Saturday, September 29th

WHERE:
On the sidewalk in front of the Cathedral of the Incarnation, 2015 W End Ave, Nashville, TN

WHO:
Several clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters who are members of a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org)

WHY:
Nashville native and resident Paul St. Charles was sued in Memphis for molesting boys. In July 2007, some lawsuits were settled (but other civil lawsuits against him remain pending). In 2004, the diocesan review board advised Bishop Terry Steib to request that the Vatican defrock St. Charles.  Steib did so because the allegations against St. Charles were deemed "credible."

http://www.rememberthesurvivors.com/stcharlespaul.htm

http://www.memphisdailynews.com/Editorial/StoryLead.aspx?id=98610

Worse, even after he was suspended and is being defrocked, Bishop Choby publicly honored St. Charles at the Golden Grad ceremony at Ryan High School in June. St. Charles continues to be given the title of "Father." The people of Nashville believe that St. Charles has been "vindicated." The bishop and priests deliberately refuse to correct this error despite promises of transparency.

The service record of Paul St. Charles crosses each Tennessee Diocese.

http://www.rememberthesurvivors.com/servicestcharles.htm

Such insensitivitity and recklessness, SNAP believes, hurts those already wounded and puts kids at risk of more abuse. They want church officials to apologize for and explain their hurtful actions and take concrete steps to alert families about St. Charles’ status and crimes.

CONTACT:
Susan Vance, SNAP of Tennessee state director, snap101@comcast.net, 865-748-3518
Ann Brentwood, SNAP Southeast director, 865-697-6119
David Clohessy, National Director of SNAP, 314 566 9790

June 12, 2007:  Bishop Joseph Kurtz, bishop of Knoxville, has been appointed archbishop of Louisville, KY.  SNAP of Tennessee responds to this announcment as follows.
***************************

As archbishop of Louisville, Bishop Kurtz will still be in a position to know the problems across the entire state of Tennessee as well as Kentucky.  Victims of Clergy abuse are hopeful that he will handle his future duties with more compassion than he has done so far in the diocese of Knoxville.  We hope Bishop Kurtz will do a better job of listening to the pleas of victims in the following areas: 

1.  Naming the names of perpetrating priests across the diocese of Knoxville.  To date the people of the diocese of Knoxville are unaware of the large numbers of molesting priests and the hundreds of their victims across East Tennessee.  Kurtz has consistently answered our requests with a “Not-in my backyard attitude” as he shuffles responsibility off to Nashville, claiming “we weren’t a diocese then.”  This is painful to victims and is deceitful to the people in the pews who are expecting truth and transparency.  Such callous disregard for the feeling of victims is painful and wrong.  See presentation at about the deceit of the diocese of Knoxville by clicking here.   Message to Bishop Kurtz:  Tell us the names. 

2.  Bishop Kurtz will not be able to side-step his responsibilities as he did in Knoxville.  He will not be able to say, “We only go back to 1988.”  He has trained the entire diocese of Knoxville to think that nothing happened here before we became our own diocese in 1988, yet the Catholic community of Knoxville only underwent a name change from “diocese of Nashville” to “diocese of Knoxville.”  The pain of victims is real and pre-dates the 1988 timeline.  The abuse that occurred here happened by Catholic clergy and is very real and very present to the victims.  Message to Bishop Kurtz:  Tell us the extent of the abuse and when and where it occurred.  

3.  Kurtz came to Knoxville after pedophile bishop, Anthony J. O’Connell.  Bishop Kurtz has allowed and encouraged the churches and schools to keep O’Connell’s pictures on display.  The message sent to victims of abuse by refusing the simple request to take down a molesters picture sent a clear message to victims that if O'Connell remained honored their abuse was of no matter (concern) to the Bishop.  Message to Bishop Kurtz:  Correct this insensitivity before you go.  Take down O’Connell’s pictures. 

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Ann Brentwood, Southeast Coordinator of SNAP , 865-984-7092
Susan  Vance, SNAP of Tennessee, 865-748-3518

• Speech by Father Robert Hoatson.  This is a must-read for anyone who comes to this site.
  
• Index to the right has links to pages by name of clergy.
  
• In the spotlight lately . . .
  
  •  Edward J. McKeown 09/06/2006  Lawsuit filed by McKeown victim.  Accuses diocese of knowing and not protecting innocent young people. 
  • Daniel Dupree    Lawsuit filed in Memphis on 09/14/06 against the Diocese of Memphis concerning sexual abuse by Dan Dupree.
  • Joseph Nguyen  Lawsuit filed in Memphis on 09/14/06 against the Diocese of Memphis concerning sexual abuse by Joseph Nguyen
  • Harry E. Monroe  
  • Richard Mickey
  • James W. Murphy
  • Frank Richards
• The Secret 18
• Memphis --- Wheel of Deceit
• Coming soon!  Knoxville -- the "not-so-perfect" perfect diocese
• OpEd section by Mike Wegs

WHO ARE THE ABUSIVE CLERGY IN TENNESSEE?  ALL THREE OF THE DIOCESES KNOW. DO YOU?

Except for a few bishops across the United States, most bishops will not truly protect the people by letting us know the who-when-where of abusive clergy in their dioceses.

Click here for the questions from the John Jay Study released on February 27, 2004.  This is a voluntary self survey relying on the honesty of each diocese and the reliability of the records of each diocese. 

Here is the response of the diocese of Knoxville when requested to tell us the names of abusive priests who could have harmed our children.  The answer is in the form of a response to a letter to the editor in the March 7, 2004, East Tennessee CatholicIf this outrages you as much as it does us, do something about it.

Greg Bullough has a reasoned approach to the release of names.  Read what Greg has to say.Click here.

• Welcome statement from the National SNAP organization.  (Click back button to return here.)
• Mission statement from the National SNAP organization.  (Click back button to return here.)
• The SNAP point of view (Q&A with David Clohessy)  (Click back button to return here.)
• Survivor's Wisdom by Barbara Blaine, founder of SNAP.  (Click back button to return here.)
  
• Response to a letter.  It tells what we are all about.
• Special site with flash presentations.  ClergyAbuseInfo.com
• Information on the John Jay Study.  Click here.
• Who are the abusive clergy in Tennessee?  Click here.
  
• News Updates from across Tennessee.  Click here.
• Press Releases from SNAP of Tennessee. Click here.
  

James W. Murphy, William Kantner, Joseph Reilly, and Richard Mickey.
Press conference coverage in Memphis 12-16-05
Letter to the officials of Tennesee dioceses
Letters about four priests that victims are asking to be investigated/reinvestigated.

Op-Ed section by Michael Wegs, a survivor of clergy sexual abuse.  Mike's perpetrator, Anthony J. O'Connell was the first bishop of Knoxville.  Mike will be writing op-ed articles on various topics of interest to the survivor community.  Click here and check out the many topics that Mike has made available to date.

Click on a section of Tennessee.  Information will be posted by region.  If an area is under alert, it will be noted below by this icon.  Click here for Support Group Information statewide.

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