Wisconsin Public Radio: SNAP wants list from Diocese of La Crosse

We're here to help.....

In a recent interview with the La Crosse Tribune, Diocese of La Crosse attorney James Birnbaum said eleven priests had been accused of abuse since 2003. The accusers are adults who said they were abused more than 20 years ago. Birnbaum says the Diocese of La Crosse Clergy Child Sexual Abuse Review Board found that ten of those priests had either died or left the ministry, and they couldn't confirm one case.

John Pilmaier finds this troubling. He's the Wisconsin Director for SNAP, or Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. Pilmaier has sent an e-mail to La Crosse Bishop William Callahan urging the Diocese to release the total number of sexual abuse claims and names of priests accused of abuse. He says he just wants the Diocese to be open with information and level with people, "We don't know how many, who they are, if they are still priests, still in the ministry. The Diocese simply has not been open and transparent about which members of the Diocese have hurt children."

Pilmaier says if a priest is let go from the ministry due to an assault, they could get another job and the public would not know that person's history.

WPR

Monnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeey! 

10 dead priests, if only we could remove the statute of limitations we could really crack the bank open.... oh yeah, that's right.  SNAP wants to sue the diocese over dead priests and bishops.  That's their idea of "justice."

Milwaukee Journal Sentinal endorses Lassa-Pasch bill - cites "religious leaders" opposition

Past efforts to pass a child victims bill ran into opposition from religious leaders in Wisconsin and their insurers. Concerns that small churches, in particular, might have to go bankrupt and close their doors because of financial claims from past victims have some merit and deserve consideration.

But Pasch argued that closing doors has not been the experience in other states where such laws have been passed, California and Delaware. The Lassa-Pasch bill is modeled on those laws, and there is no reason to expect a different outcome here.  [Better worded legislation is what will convince me, not, nobody has used the loopholes yet - it will be fine]

And in the case of the Milwaukee Catholic Archdiocese, that boat has sailed. The archdiocese is already in a bankruptcy proceeding as a result of claims from victims of clergy abuse but has assured parishioners that church doors won't be closed as a result.  [Bankrupting the dioceses of Wisconsin is the goal here??  Why don't they take a look at Milwaukee's pastoral plan.  Parishes are already being consolidated.]

The partisan divide in Madison is deep and bitter, but the Child Victims Act is not a partisan measure. It's a measure aimed at helping past and future victims of abuse. Even though it is being introduced by two Democrats, all legislators should see beyond the divide and support this bill.  [Not discussed, how much money each victim should be awarded(not to mention where that money comes from), or the ongoing work that the Milwaukee Archdiocese is already doing with victims.  Nobody can undo the past, only to help victims with their grief and work to put safeguards in place so that it never happens again.  This bill doesn't put any safeguards in place, and it doesn't put predators behind bars.]

MJS

Nobody's quoting Jeff Anderson anymore which makes me think his motives have become a little too transparent.  His fake rallies do a disservice to victims really.  It makes it look staged - like there aren't really victims out there hurting, and treat Catholic Dioceses like cigarette companies adding arsenic to tobacco.  Do they want to take money away from our orphanage in Peru?  Those eeeeeevil bishops with all their monnnnnneeeeeey!  Excuse me, but bishops don't make money, we do, and then we give it to them to do good works(including healing of victims).  Victims do need funds for healing, but so do orphanages in Peru.

I would totally support this bill if it had something to do with criminal prosecution of abusers.  But it doesn't.  And it doesn't stop it from happening again.  What does it have to do with?  Say it with me:

Those eeeeeeeeevil bishops with all their monnnnnneeeeeey!