Remember the Survivors.com

Press Conference – November 9

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Release of 13 names of pedophiles by the Diocese of Nashville deeply impacts East Tennessee

Victims asked for 16 years for honesty about what has happened in what is now the Diocese of Knoxville

SNAP of East Tennessee rebuke Bishop Stika and his predecessor Archbishop Kurtz

Bishops Stika and Kurtz refused to find out the truth and share with citizens of East TN

"Independent investigation, abolish statutes of limitation," leaders request

What: Press conference with Susan Vance, a leader of the Tennessee chapter of SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests).

When: Friday, November 9, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. EST

Where: Public sidewalk in front of the Chancery office of the Diocese of Knoxville, 805 S Northshore Dr, Knoxville, TN 37919

Why: Since the release of names of 13 pedophile priests by the Diocese of Nashville on Friday, November 2nd, there are more questions than answers.

For 16 years, victims and their advocates have requested a cross-referencing by all three Catholic dioceses to let the citizens know who these accused priests are and where and when accused pedophile priests had been assigned across Tennessee. In particular, Susan Vance as East Tennessee advocate for victims of clergy abuse has requested the state-wide church cooperation. Stika and Kurtz refused.

Is any Catholic diocese qualified to police itself in these matters? SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) says, “Absolutely not.”

Should the personnel or secret archive files of the three Tennessee Catholic dioceses be turned over to the Attorney General, District Attorney, and/or Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Should there be a 3rd party investigation begun to get to the whole truth? Survivors and their advocates unanimously promote this as the next step in getting to the truth in Tennessee.

When did the Church know these priests had offended? Why did they not remove them immediately? Did the Church protect these priests from prosecution by waiting out the statutes of limitations? Did the Church turn these pedophile priests loose on the population with no thought for the safety of children? SNAP will ask Bishop Stika to support the abolition of all statutes of limitation on child sexual abuse.

Interstate trafficking of pedophile priests to Kentucky, Arkansas, and Georgia? There is evidence buried in the assignment records of these 13 priests which will suggest this. (See the records of Joseph Reilly, Paul Haas and Walter Emala.) Does this not suggest the need for law enforcement scrutiny of the Church records across the state?

Contact:

Susan Vance

Leader - SNAP of Tennessee

865-748-3518

susan8324@gmail.com

More information at www.rememberthesurvivors.com

www.snapnetwork.org