Vos Estis Lux Mundi complaint against Archbishop Kurtz and Bishop Stika. Click here.
Documentary: Truth-teller...or Sociopath?
Link to part 1 of the documentary which aired June 1, 2022
Documents filed with the court in the John Doe v. the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville and Bishop Richard F. Stika
Summary of the Weekend of Standing for Survivors
Knoxville priests seek help from Rome - DENIED
The Pillar (PillarCatholic.com) reports on the effort of eleven priests of the Diocese of Knoxville to get help from Rome. Click here.
Seminarian from another diocese visiting in Knoxville was assaulted by Wojciech Sobczuk - parallels to John Doe lawsuit are startling!
Pastor of St. Mary's in Gatlinburg indicted, arrested for sexual assault
Lawsuit: Doe v. Diocese of Knoxville and A.V. Punnackal
Link to press release from SNAP of Tennessee - April 22, 2022. Click here.
January 7th article in the Mountain Press.
April 22 - Article in the Knoxville News Sentinel written by Liam Adams of the Nashville Tennessean
Vos Estis complaint against Bishop Richard Stika, March 24, 2022
Click here to read/download the Vos Estis Lux Mundi filed against Bishop Richard Stika, Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee.
What you can do: Print out the first 4 pages of the Vos Estis. Write your own letter asking for repercussions for these abusive actions of Bishop Richard Stika and other bishops who do not protect their diocesan parishioners especially children and young people. Send to the papal nuncio and/or to the head of the Congregation for Bishops in Rome. Addresses below:
Head of the Congregation for Bishops: Cardinal Marc Armand Ouellet, P.S.S., Congregation for Bishops Palazzo della Congregazioni, 00193 Roma, Piazza Pio XII, 10
Apostolic Nuncio for the USA: Archbishop Christophe Louis Yves Georges Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio 3339 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W, Washington, DC 20008-3687
The Metropolitan Archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky is new to the job - installation March 30, 2022 - Archbishop Fabre needs to hear from you too as he is Stika's direct boss:
Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre , Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Louisville, 3940 Poplar Level Road, Louisville, KY 40213-1463
Lawsuit filed in Knox County Circuit Court against the Diocese of Knoxville and Bishop Richard Stika
Click here for to download the complaint filed on 02-22-2022
WHEN THEY REPORT:
The two stories that tell it all about the treatment of victims of clergy sexual abuse by the Catholic church in Tennessee
The two stories that tell it all about the treatment of victims of clergy sexual abuse by the Catholic church in Tennessee
Michael Boyd - abused as a child by Bishop Anthony J. O'Connell and Father Xavier Mankel
Celeste Arnone - sexually exploited as an adult by Father Michael Sweeney, Harriman
Father Sweeney sent out a defamatory letter to Celeste Arnone. He never had to retract. Stika did not act pastorally and make Father Sweeney do the right thing.
Lawsuit filed by Celeste Arnone vs the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville and Father Michael Sweeney.
20th Anniversary of the resignation of Bishop Anthony J. O'Connell
Overview of the events of March 8, 2002. Click here.
Note the way the Jefferson City diocese lists Bp. Anthony O'Connell. After so much pain caused by O'Connell, this is all that we see. Click here.
August 26, 2018 - Bishop Stika takes a stand. Will he follow up?
Bishop Richard Stika of the Diocese of Knoxville under fire for numerous allegations
The Catholic publication, The Pillar, has released a series of online articles about Bishop Richard Stika and the diocese of Knoxville. Click below to become informed on what is going on.
1. Stika facing likely 'Vos estis' Vatican investigation April 23, 2021
2. Stika accepted deacon accused of misconduct; Knoxville priests criticize 'pattern' of leadership April 29, 2021
3. Knoxville bishop replaced investigator in seminarian probe May 17, 2021
4. Bishop Stika wants 'the whole story' ahead of Vatican investigation May 22, 2021
5. Vatican Verdict looms for Knoxville Bishop - September 23, 2021
Big Trouble in Little Knoxville: Misconduct cases bring systemic, cultural weaknesses into sharp focus
Catholic Herald Article about the scandal in the Diocese of Knoxville. Click here. Big Trouble for Little Knoxville by Christopher Altieri
Lawsuit filed against the Diocese of Nashville and St. Rose of Lima Parish in Murfreesboro for child sex abuse
Bishop Mark Spalding and the Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee are in the crosshairs in a horrific child rape case stemming from St. Rose of Lima Parish in Murfreesboro, TN, a short distance the Nashville.
The case of Jane Doe vs the Diocese of Nashville and St. Rose of LIma Parish in Murfreesboro was filed Monday September 27, 2021. Read the complaint here. Read the press statement from the law firm of Janet, Janet, & Suggs in Baltimore, Maryland here.
Statement from SNAP network to be posted here soon.
Complaint to National Review Board and the USCCB - August 11, 2021 -- Updated on September 20, 2021
SNAP of Tennessee sent in a complaint to the National Review Board of the USCCB in hopes of getting a response from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Here are the complaints and responses beginning in January 2020.
1. Complaint sent on January 14, 2020.
Click here to read the complaint sent September 20, 2021.
Click here to read the complaint sent August 11, 2021: This is the response that was received.
Complaint sent to the chair of the National Review Board of the USCCB on August 11, 2021.
Addressing the following issues
1. Violations of Article 3 of the Dallas Charter of 2002 regarding silencing of victims.
2. Illegal use of the Internal Revenue Service to falsify yearly USCCB compliance audits as well as other financial reporting.
3. Improper and potentially illegal staffing of Diocesan Review Boards.
Since 2003, SNAP of Tennessee has requested that all three dioceses of Tennessee get together and reveal all the pedophile priests. They finally did so in 2018-2019 when it became expedient to do so. There was never any concern to do this for victims. The hierarchy decided it was to their advantage..
In 2010, after studying records and cross-referencing assignments, I had a press conference on April 9, 2010 and asked Bishop Stika to release the "Dangerous 11." Stika demanded that I reveal the names. He knew it was not my job to do so and only the church had the records and final proof to do so.
• Knoxville TN – On 11/2/18, the Diocese of Knoxville issued a statement commmenting on the Diocese of Nashville's list of accused priests, because before 1988, the territory of the Knoxville diocese was part of the Nashville diocese. In the statement, two accused Knoxville priests were discussed briefly. We cached a copy of the 11/2/18 statement. We cached a copy of the list as it appeared on 3/6/20. By that date, the Knoxville list had been expanded to include accusaed priests who had worked in the Knoxville diocesan territory when those counties were still part of the Nashville dioese. The 2/28/20 Memphis report had provided a similar section for Western Tennessee. See map showing the separation of the Memphis diocese from Nashville in 1971, and the separation of the Knoxville diocese in 1988. In the expanded Knoxville list, the following accused priests were added as of 3/6/2.
Complaints sent to the Vatican on behalf of Michael Boyd and Celeste Arnone
Vos Estis complaint filed on behalf of Michael Boyd. Letter received from Rome June 14, 2021.
Vos Estis complaint filed on behalf of Celeste Arnone Letter received from Rome July 3, 2021.
List of recipients of the Vos Estis complaints for Celeste Arnone and Michael Boyd.
May 2021: The following Vos Estis Lux Mundi complaint has been filed with the Vatican. All three dioceses of Tennessee have violated the Dallas Charter Article 3 which silences the victims of abuse against their wishes. Michael Boyd was made to sign a settlement with a non disparaging agreement. The Catholic diocese of Knoxville violated
June 2021 - The follwowing Vos Estis Lux Mundi complaint has been filed with the Vatican. Bishop Richard F. Stika and Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz are the subjects of this complaint fi
A complaint from the SNAP of Tennessee leader, Susan Vance, will be sent to the Vatican regarding the violations of the Dallas Charter of 2002 Article 3. More will be posted regarding these violations.
Complaint to the National Review Board made on January 14, 2020.
Response by Dr. Francesco Cesareo, Chairman of the National Review Board
Complaint/letter to Bishop Timothy Doherty.
No reponse from the bishops. The only person to have enough respect to answer was Dr. Cesareo. The hierarchy is not transparent. Their nonresponse is the usual way they handle anything.
May 2021: Read the document and see the pattern that has been emerging since Bishop Anthony J. O'Connell resigned after admitting being a pedophile. The Diocese of Knoxville and its people have been lied to from the beginning of the diocese on September 8, 1988. High-ranking officials in the church knew or should have known that O'Connell was abusing boys at St. Thomas Aquinas Preparatory Seminary (high school seminary). STAS was O'Connell's first assignment as a priest and he rose to be its rector (principal) until he was appointed the first bishop of Knoxville. Among those who touted O'Connell was Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston. Click here to see Cardinal Law's history as a priest and high-ranking prelate. Click here to see the many yearbook pictures of Law visiting the boys he sent to STAS to become priests from his diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, MO, in the archdiocese of St. Louis.
List of Tennessee credibly accused priests. Click here. The links have pertinent information about these priests of Tennessee. Some of them were assigned from other places to dioceses of Tennessee.
The tearing down of a victim of abuse - the violation of Article 3 of the Dallas Charter of 2002 ..... and so much more
How the Diocese of Knoxville is tearing down a victim - the Michael Boyd Story - what is happening now
COMPLAINT AGAINST THE CHURCH: Bishop Stika and the Diocese of Knoxville placed a non disclosure agreement (NDA) in the settlement that they presented to Michael Boyd's lawyers. This is against article 3 of the Dallas Charter of 2002. A complaint has been filed with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and with the Vatican.
Read and download the complaint of January 14, 2020 to Francesco Cesareo, chairperson of the National Review Board.
Read the March 4, 2020 response letter from Francesco Cesareo.
Read the October 3, 2020 complaint to the National Review Board
Read the August 20, 2021 complaint to the National Review Board sent to Suzanne Healy
Read the August 26, 2021 letter of Suzanne Healy, chairperson of the National Review Board
Read the September 20, 2021 complaint addressed specifically to Archbishop Gomez and Bishop James "Vann" Johnston
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PRESS STATEMENT LIES: Packet of information containing the lies and deception of Bishop Richard Stika and the Diocese of Knoxville contained in their press releases in the Michael Boyd Case.
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TIMELINE AND FACEBOOK MESSAGES: Packet of information containing the timeline of events surrounding the reporting of Michael Boyd's abuse to Bishop Richard Stika and the Diocese of Knoxville.
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PRESS RELEASES AND STATEMENTS REABUSE THE VICTIM:
In three different press releases and/or statements, the Diocese of Knoxville has lied.
Click here to read and download the press statement of July 19, 2019. Click here to read the statement of September 17, 2019 about the firing of William Lovelace.
Click here to read and download the December 31, 2019 press release from Stika and the diocese.
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MEDIA ARTICLES
Chattanooga Times Free Press - January 16, 2020 - Documents contradict Knoxville diocese's timeline of knowing about sexual abuse allegations against priests and teacher
Chattanooga Times Free Press - January 17, 2020 - Knoxville Diocese is silencing sexual abuse victims, breaking church rules on settlements, according to survivors group's complaint letter
AP article - January 17, 2020 - Man
says diocese knew about accusations months before acting
July 18, 2019 - Lawsuit filed in Knoxville. Former bishop and a monsignor named as well as 3 others.
Click here for copy of the lawsuit filed against the Diocese of Knoxville on July 18, 2019.
Diocese of Knoxville buries the information about William Lovelace. Did not send out media release but left it to individual parishes to disseminate. Here is the release from the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. Click here.
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Click here for assignments of Monsignor Xavier Mankel. Click here to read the lengthy articles about Mankel including all of the assignments that are noted there. The Official Catholic Directory does not have a complete compilation of information that is located in the priest's personnel record in the diocesan office. This magazine gives detailed information. Click here.
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DIOCESE LEAVES ACCUSED TEACHER IN SCHOOL: Michael Boyd reported William Michael Lovelace on August 29, 2018. Lovelace was removed when this statement was issued. Click here. This was issued September 17, 2019, over a year after Boyd reported him.
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Links to media coverage:
Knoxville News Sentinel - 07222019
Use this link to search for credibly accused priests across the United States: https://projects.propublica.org/credibly-accused/
Catholic Church takes billions in PPP loans - while sitting on billions in reserve
For tie time being, I am posting two of the links to investigative reporting on this issue from Michael Rezendes and Reese Dunklin of the AP.
AP story by Michael Rezendes and Reese Dunklin
From US News and World Report.
SNAP of Tennessee compiled information on the 3 dioceses of Tennessee and their participation in the first PPP program.
Click here for the Excel Spreadsheet with comprehensive information
Click here for a small summary in PDF format. If you want more information you will need to look at the Excel spreadsheet above.
CLICK HERE FOR A PUBLIC GOVERNMENT WEBSITE WHERE YOU CAN DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH ACROSS THE COUNTRY:
SNAP of Tennessee files complaint against the 3 dioceses in Tennessee; case has national implications
Sexual exploitation of adults by clergy: YES, it exists! Lawsuit now in Diocese of Knoxville
Link to the lawsuit Celeste Arnone vs the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville and Father Michael Sweeney. Click here.
Diocese of Memphis releases its list of credibly accused priests; victims point to omissions from list
February 28, 2020: The Diocese of Memphis has released its credibly accused list of pedophile priests and priests credibly accused of sexual exploitation of adults. The list is very inadequate. See the press release of SNAP of Tennessee issued 02-28-2020. Click here.
Two dioceses have broken off from the parent diocese of Nashville.: Memphis in 1971 and Knoxville in 1988. Both of these diocese had pedophiles for first bishops: Carroll T. Dozier of Memphis (pictured on the left) and Anthony J. O'Connell of Knoxville. Dozier is buried with much honor at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Memphis. Bishop David Talley now has the task of removing the body of this credibly accused pedophile.
Exposing the Lies - Kmiec, Rudisill and the Cover-up: Click here for the compilation of information on the Kmiec, Connor, and Rudisill Cover-up. Article in the Nashville Tennessean. Kathleen Lisle Rankin will tell of her abuse by Father James Arthur Rudisill and the cover-up by the Diocese of Nashville. Click here for the SNAP of Tennessee revelations which prove that Bishop Edward Kmiec knowingly protected the pedophile and how the diocese of Nashville and Buffalo, NY, tried to deceive the public.
Letters between Warren Tucker and Bishop Richard Stika. Click here.
Anthony J. O'Connell, first bishop of Knoxville, was an admitted pedophile. Click here .
Tracing the O'Connell cover-up by guilty Church hierarchy. - Coming soon.
Recent press releases: Click here for a list of recent press releases from SNAP of Tennessee
Sexual exploitation of adult women and men: Studies show that sexual abuse of children by clergy is one of several crimes being kept secret by the Catholic church. More will be told about the sexual exploitation of adults, both women and men. More . . .
Tennessee needs 3rd party investigations of all three Catholic dioceses
Letter to officials - Susan Vance Click here.
Letter to officials - Ron Deal Click here.
SNAP conference - Abuse of Adults by Clergy
Get Stephen de Weger's thesis by clicking here.
Packet given out to participants in SNAP workshop on abuse of adults by clergy. Click here to download.
Website of Stephen de Weger. www.CatholicMeToo.com
A free e-book is available here for reading on your tablet or laptop or for download and print. It is an e-book of articles taken from different sources which pertain to recent developments regarding Sexual Exploitation of Adults by clergy. Feel free to share.
Nashville: 11/09/2018 -- Walter Emala, James A. Kemper, and James Pratt are not on the list of accused priests from the diocese of Nashville. SNAP of Tennessee had sent a letter to Bishop Mark Spalding on November 1, 2018 to ask that 6 more names be added to the list. The Diocese put these two from the list. There are still more to be looked at.
Four of the 16 priests were assigned to other states. These are James A. Kemper, Walter Emala, Paul Haas, Joseph L. Reilly, and Anthony G. Stredny
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Why is Kenneth Gansmann, OFM who was at St. Vincent's in Nashville, not listed on the Nashville Pedophile priest list?
Deliberate mistakes by Diocese of Nashville:
James A Kemper - the entry on the website of the diocese of Nashville is incorrect. They list Kemper as being on active duty until 1964 when, in fact, the diocese lists him in the Official Catholic Directory as "on duty outside the diocese" for many years. He apparently was incardinated into the diocese of Memphis in 1971 and appears on the Memphis OCD pages for 1972 and 1973. Did he become a priest of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe or did he remain a Tennessee priest just on duty outside the diocese? Which diocese has his secret canonical file? Kemper is listed on the pedophile list for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.
Kenneth Gansmann, OFM - In 2014, Nashville admitted this priest was assigned for years in the diocese of Nashville. They did not report this in the recent release of names. Gansmann appeared on the pedophile list of another diocese thus prompting the admission in 2014.
Diocese of Nashville releases names of 16 priests accused of abusing minors
Father Edward James Cleary. Born April 18, 1914; ordained; May 18, 1940; died Nov. 10, 1997.
Father James William Murphy Jr. Born Sept. 12, 1922; ordained April 3, 1948 in Memphis; died Oct. 11, 2016.
Father James Arthur Rudisill. Born May 16, 1926; ordained May 19, 1951; retired Feb. 10, 1995; died Feb. 8, 2008.
Father Edward Albert Walenga. Born Nov., 2, 1926; ordained May 30, 1953; died Nov. 27, 1983.
Father Roger R. Lott, O.S.B. Ordained in 1954; removed from duty and placed in a restricted setting by his order in 1996; died May 22, 2011.
Msgr. William Floyd Davis. Born Aug. 17, 1929; ordained May 26, 1956; incardinated in the Diocese of Memphis 1972; died Oct. 26, 2011.
Joseph L. Reilly. Born Dec. 16, 1928; ordained May 26, 1956; dismissed from the priesthood of the Diocese of Nashville 1965; died March 9, 1981.(Joseph Reilly is NOT dead. The diocese retracted this on 11-08-2018 stating that Reilly had erroneously been listed by them as dead.)
Paul Frederick Haas. Born Dec. 14, 1933; ordained May 23, 1959; dismissed from the priesthood of the Diocese of Nashville May 24, 1977; died June 7, 1979.
Paul Wiley St. Charles. Born June 23, 1939; ordained May 21, 1966; Incardinated into the Diocese of Memphis; dismissed from the priesthood of the Diocese of Memphis 2004; died Dec. 27, 2009.
William Claude Casey. Born Jan. 4, 1934; ordained May 2, 1969; incardinated in the Diocese of Knoxville Sept. 8, 1988; dismissed from the priesthood of the Diocese of Knoxville 2010; currently incarcerated.
Edward Joseph McKeown. Born March 18, 1944; ordained Jan. 31, 1970; dismissed from the priesthood of the Diocese of Nashville March 1, 1989; currently incarcerated.
Ronald W. Dickman. Born July 13, 1944; ordained June 5, 1971; dismissed from the priesthood of the Diocese of Nashville 1991.
Franklin T. Richards. Born March 18, 1947; ordained Jan. 26, 1973; dismissed from the priesthood of the Diocese of Nashville March 1, 1989.
Nashville information you should know.
Click here for PDF #1 Click here for webpage version of PDF #1. Deception from Diocese of Nashville about "former priests."
Click here for PDF#2 Click here for webpage version of PDF #2. Deceptioin from Diocese of Nashville about assignments of Joseph L. Reilly
Click here for PDF #3 Click here for webpage version of PDF #3. Deception from the Diocese of Nashville about assignments of Paul F. Haas.
Click here for PDF #4 Click here for webpage version of PDF#4. Walter Emala - pedophile that Nashville won't own.
Click here for PDF #5 Click here for webpage version of PDF #5. Deliberate deceits by Nashville on the list of 13.
.See this file for information on Knoxville deception. Click here for downloadable PDF version. Click here for webpage version. Deception of Bishops Stika and Kurtz (and involvement of Father Vann Johnston) in release of names of abusive priests.
Nashville reveals interstate trafficking of pedophile priests in 11/02/2018 release of 13 namesNovember 5, 2018:
The diocese of Nashville tried to bury the awful truth about interstate trafficking of pedophiles in their Friday, November 2, release of the names of 13 pedophile priests. Studies by SNAP of Tennessee gave indicated that Georgia, Kentucky and Arkansas were sent pedophile priests from the diocese of Nashville. Where the bishops in these diocese complicit in letting pedophile priests serve in their dioceses? Did the bishops in these areas of Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee send Tennessee their pedophile priest/priests in a kind of sick exchange program? See the PDF files below or click on the links and decide for yourself about this illegal trafficking of pedophiles.
Deceptions by the diocese of Nashville found in the article: Diocese publishes names of priests accused of abusing minors Click for internal link to this article.
13 FORMER priests???- Deception #1. Download PDF File page 1.
Assignments of Joseph Reilly - Trafficking of this pedophile to Georgia. Download PDF file page 2.
Assignments of Paul F. Haas - Trafficking of this pedophile to Arkansas and Kentucky. Download PDF file page 3.
Statistics for the three Tennessee Catholic Dioceses in the Metropolitan See of Louisville, KY
Keep the secrets . . . get promoted
About Joseph E. Kurtz - written as Kurtz left Knoxville to become Archbishop of Louisville.
About James Vann Johnston - written as Johnston left Knoxville to become Bishop
About Richard Stika - written when made bishop of Knoxville
Unfinished Business: People should demand full disclosure from the bishops where these two priests have abused. Edward McKeown has died never having been held accountable for his crimes against children while he was a priest. Frank Richards has been free to abuse and never held accountable. He is free today. Since March 1, 1989, both were "let go" by the Church to freely abuse. Make your voice known. Stop the cover-up.
Information on Edward J. McKeown
Information on Franklin (Frank) T. Richards
Diocese of Knoxville, end the cover-up: Read about the Dangerous 11 and the refusal of the Diocese of Knoxville to report this to the people.
Tennessee abusive priests who were assigned to other dioceses: I has long been known that the church moved priests from one diocese to another in an attempt to cover up their crimes. These are some of the priests in Tennessee who have been assigned to other dioceses in order to cover-up the fact that they molested children. These are just a few. Demand the entire list from the Church. Click on the name to see more. This list is not complete.
Father James A. Kemper
Father Anthony Stredny
Document release in Diocese of Memphis, TN
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.
Rest up, Your Catholic Priest Abuse Story Fatigue may Soon be put to the Test
Shame on Bishop Choby! Shame on Father Ryan High School!
PAUL ST. CHARLES IS NOT VINDICATED! WHAT IS BISHOP CHOBY DOING HONORING A CHILD MOLESTER!The people of the diocese of Nashville and the state of Tennessee are completely duped by Bishop Choby and the priests of the diocese of Nashville. Bishop J. Terry Steib announced that Paul St. Charles is "credibly accused " of molesting teen boys. Bishop Steib has petitioned Rome to "defrock" Paul St. Charles. Yet, Bishop Choby gives a public award to this credibly accused priest and refuses to tell the people that he is an abuser. This is no way to be "transparent" about clergy sexual abuse.
Bishop Choby, you owe all victims of clergy abuse an apology. Tell the people the truth. Tell them that Paul St. Charles is NOT vindicated. Tell them that there are court cases in process right now. Tell them that Paul St. Charles is being defrocked.
Is this in the great tradition of Father Ryan High School? To give honors to child molesters? If Bishop Choby and the priests of the diocese had done their jobs, the good people of Father Ryan would have known that Paul St. Charles is credibly accused. They would know that this an outrage to all victims of clergy sexual abuse.
WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED ABOUT THE "GOLDEN GRAD" AWARD FOR PAUL ST. CHARLES?
We know that the Golden Grad award at Father Ryan is just about living 50 years past your graduation day. We know that it is not some personal tribute award. Therefore, the Golden Grad award should have been given to Paul St. Charles "in absentia." No public award should have been given. The bishop and the alumni association at Father Ryan could have easily made this point to Paul St. Charles. They could have said, "The award is in the mail." Instead, they allowed a child molester to appear in public and shake the hand of the bishop. The bishop has never raised a hand to set the record straight about the abuse of children and teens at the hands of Paul St. Charles. We have no pictures of victims of clergy abuse receiving an affable handshake from the bishop.
We call upon Bishop Choby for a formal apology. We call on Bishop Steib to stand up for his decision and demand that the people be told the truth. We call upon Bishop Steib to stand up and tell the people of the diocese of Knoxville that Paul St. Charles was assigned in their diocese as well. We call upon all priests to be on the side of truth and tell their respective churches about the credible allegations of Paul St. Charles.
Click here to see the disgraceful "Golden Grad" awards given to a child molester.
See Paul St. Charles on the front row. Do these Golden Grads know the truth? Did anyone bother to tell them that their classmate, Paul St. Charles has multiple abuse victims? Did anyone bother to let a victim speak to them to tell them why this is so heinous? Did anyone bother to think of the victims? Is this the way clergy abuse victims can expect to be treated across the state of Tennessee?
Cases against Memphis priests settled
| No. | Date settled | Docket # | Plaintiff | Priest |
|
1
|
June 19, 2007
|
CT-004851-06, Div. 6 |
Jane Doe #1
|
Joseph Nguyen
|
|
2
|
June 19, 2007
|
CT-005076-06, Div. 6
|
Jane Doe #2
|
Joseph Nguyen
|
|
3
|
June 19, 2007
|
CT-005886-06, Div. 6
|
Jane Doe #3
|
Joseph Nguyen
|
|
4
|
July 17, 2007
|
CT-004692-05, Div. 5 |
1 Victim
|
Paul St. Charles
|
|
5
|
July 17, 2007
|
CT-005869-05, Div. 8
|
1 Victim
|
Paul St. Charles
|
|
6
|
July 26, 2007
|
CT-004275-04, Div. 9
|
2 Victims
|
Richard Mickey
|
|
7
|
August 14, 2007
|
CT-006172-06, Div. 3
|
1 Victim
|
Paul St. Charles
|
SNAP of Tennessee responds to appointment of Kurtz as archbishop
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.
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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
5th Anniversary of Resignation of Anthony J. O'Connell, 1st bishop of Knoxville
Letter sent to pastors of parishes and principals of Catholic schools on March 6, 2007
Letter to be deliverd to Bishop Joseph Kurtz on the 5th anniversary of the resignation of Anthony J. O'Connell
On March 28, 2003, we met with Bishop Kurtz and expressed our concerns about the lack of facts among the people of the diocese concerning the abuse by Anthony J. O'Connell. Here is a copy of that letter.
Press release for press conference in Knoxville on March 8, 2007.
O'Connell stated in the press that he had abuse "one maybe two" teenage boys. Read the expose by the St. Louis Dispatch that will show that to have been totally false.
Background information on O'Connell's pictures being left on display in churches and schools.
Article 1 Place of Honor for a Pedophile
Article 2 Victims write about taking name off St. Mary's Oak Ridge family life center.
Article 3
Article 4
Information for West Palm Beach
Article 1 Scandal still settling in West Palm Beach - National Catholic Reporter
Article 2 New Bishop faces old problem
Florida information
SNAP Press Conference in Miami -- Click here for press relesse.
Letter sent to Bishop J.C. Favalora -- Click here.
SNAP of Tennessee website
- 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 . . .
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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
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- The Secret 18
- Memphis --- Wheel of Deceit
- Coming soon! Knoxville -- the "not-so-perfect" perfect diocese
- OpEd section by Mike Wegs
Memphis Wheel of Corruption
Click here for the web version of the Memphis Wheel of Corruption.
Click here for the Flash version of the Memphis Wheel of Corruption.
Click here for the Executable version of the Memphis Wheel of Corruption. This will download to your computer.
The Cover-up in Tennessee
SNAP of Tennessee
- 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.
Tell us the names. Tell us where they are. Who is safe until you do? Why are we still having to ask for this?!
Each diocese has the list. We are not allowed to see it.
Each diocese has a secret group of abusers who are being hidden. We are kept in the dark.
Each diocese knows the truth. We are never told.
Each diocese hides their pedophiles. Kids are not safe. We cannot sleep at night.
Clergy sex offenders don't make it to the state's sex offender list. We ask that our officials find a way to correct this.
We demand that our children, teens and vulnerable adults be protected. We deserve at least that much truth from the diocese.
Letter from SNAP of Tennessee to Administrator of the Diocese of Nashville. Click here (Word). Click here. (HTML)
Letter from Mike Coode, Coordinator of SNAP of Nashville, to Paul St. Charles. Click here.
Statement from survivors of David Kelley. Click here (Word). Click here (HTML).
Ohio Supreme Court to hear appeal from David Kelley's victims. Click here.
Information concerning press conference in Memphis, December 16th
Notes for press conference 011206
Click here to download letter to Bishop Joseph Kurtz.