SNAP letter to Bp Morlino regarding Sinsinawa concert

Dear Bishop Morlino:

We are writing about a credibly accused child molester who was recently sued and lost his teaching job but will soon lead a concert in your diocese.

He’s Bradley T. Barrett and this Sunday, he’ll be at the Sinsinawa Mound (near Dubuque), which run by Dominican nuns. Barrett leads the Chorale Midwest and the Chorale Midwest Chamber Singers.

Last year, he was sued[apparently not criminally charged?] for molesting a boy in Missouri. That lawsuit is still pending. Administrators at the University of Northern Iowa (Barrett’s most recent employer) have fired him. And in Missouri in the last few months, others have come forward reporting abuse by Barrett as well.

You are responsible for the safety and well-being of every Catholic in your diocese. A simple Google search would have shown that there’s a current civil lawsuit, filed just last year, charging that Barrett repeatedly molested a Missouri boy. Given this fact, it’s stunningly careless for you to let any Catholic group bring Barrett into your diocese. [These people make great points but come across as complete idiots.  Why would Bishop Morlino care about the day to day operations in Sinsanawa]

We know the man who has courageously taken legal action to expose Barrett and protect other children. We know his attorneys[I'm $ure you do], who are very experienced in this field, having represented hundreds of child molestation victims.

Even after filing suit, Walker continues to take other steps to warn parents and protect kids.

For these reasons and others, this is a credible allegation. Any reasonable decision-maker would think long and hard before giving a position of respect and honor, not to mention greater access to kids, to Barrett.

Yet that’s precisely what some Catholic nuns in your diocese are doing. [These nuns also escort women to abortions clinics.]
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We strongly suspect that if the Dominican nuns were lobbying in Madison for the death penalty, abortion rights or gay marriage, you would not take a “hands off” approach. You would most certainly use all your influence and power to stop them.

So please don’t pretend to be uninvolved. Please use your considerable power to stop this reckless and callous move, and make sure that Brad Barrett is never invited back into your diocese. [Again, SNAP could be a great group that I might even support, but until they get off their high horse they will just continue to sound pretentious and overblown.  I'm not holding my breath...]

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Thank you. David Clohessy [aka God]
Executive Director, SNAP

SNAP press release