David Clohessy, longtime former leader of the national Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, speaks with reporters outside the office of the statewide Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington. Photo by Alexandre Silberman/VTDigger
Nearly a year after Vermont law enforcement and Catholic leaders announced separate investigations into clergy misconduct, the national Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests is questioning why neither review has led to the public release of information.
“Every single day a predator’s name is hidden, children are at risk,” David Clohessy, the longtime former leader of the group, called SNAP, said Monday during a visit to the state.
“They should have put out a list years ago — it’s incredibly irresponsible to wait,” he added. “Although none of these guys may be in parishes anymore, one of them could be a coach at a soccer camp or tutoring at the library or providing piano lessons in his apartment.”
Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan joined other local and state leaders last September in announcing a task force of police and prosecutors to review the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington’s half-century-long history of church-wide misconduct.
At the same time, Vermont Catholic Bishop Christopher Coyne released accusers from nondisclosure agreements and formed a lay committee to review clergy personnel files. Once finished, the committee plans to publicly release the names of offenders in the state’s largest religious denomination.
But neither law enforcement nor church leaders have said anything more in the months since.
“It’s dangerous, plain and simple,” SNAP executive director Zach Hiner said in a statement. “Delays like this give those who commit or conceal child sex crimes ample opportunity to intimidate victims, threaten witnesses, discredit whistleblowers, destroy evidence, create alibis, flee abroad and ‘run out the clock’ on criminal and civil statutes of limitations.”
SNAP is asking the attorney general to immediately issue a preliminary report that discloses “the names of any living priests, nuns, seminarians, bishops or other church staff who have committed or concealed child sex crimes.”
The support group wants the church to release not only the same list but also each offender’s work history, photograph and whereabouts, and is urging Catholics to “donate elsewhere” until that happens.
“Nearby parents and prospective employers should be warned,” SNAP said in a statement.
David Clohessy said the delay in releasing the names of credibly accused priests is a public safety issue. Photo by Alexandre Silberman/VTDigger
Clohessy spoke with reporters Monday outside the diocese’s office in South Burlington, where Coyne and many of his staff were away. The bishop, in a statement, said the lay committee’s findings are “just about completed” and should be released before the end of August.
“While it was hoped that the report of the independent file review committee would have been published earlier this year, the Diocese of Burlington has provided the committee with the time needed to ensure a thorough and accurate accounting of credibly accused priests,” Coyne wrote.
The seven-member lay committee, for its part, released its own statement confirming it is “wrapping up its extensive investigation.”
“We set what turned out to be a totally unrealistic deadline for finishing,” it said of its hope to release a report earlier this year. “Once we saw the personnel files — some of them 1,000 pages or more — we knew it would take many more months.”
“Bishop Coyne did give two instructions or provisions,” the committee continued. “He said take as much time as the review committee needed to get it right. And he said his intention is to present our final report to the public as submitted to him with no changes. This is very important work and we need to get it right.”
Vermont Catholic Bishop Christopher Coyne. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
The diocese has yet to disclose the members of the lay committee, although it is said to include one survivor and one non-Catholic.
Former Burlington Free Press reporter and Vermont Press Association executive director Mike Donoghue confirmed his participation Monday as he listened to Clohessy speak. Asked about his role, Donoghue said, “I might answer when the report’s filed.”
Law enforcement leaders, for their part, said the attorney general’s office should speak for the task force. The attorney general’s office didn’t respond Monday to requests for comment, although Donovan has said in the past “we just don’t comment on ongoing investigations.”
SNAP wants the church to “aggressively seek out” more information through pulpit announcements, church websites and parish bulletins.
“It’s wrong to passively sit back and wait for the phone to ring, knowing there may be hundreds still out there struggling in silence, shame and self-blame,” it said in a statement.
The support group also is calling for the release of names of problematic clergy who weren’t under diocesan supervision but still worked in the state. It released names of eight such “credibly accused child molesting Catholic clerics,” along with information about where they were based and when they were in Vermont. (VTDigger is seeking to confirm that information before publishing it).
“It’s inexcusable to keep the secrecy,” Clohessy said.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Survivors group demands list of accused Vermont clergy. ‘Children are at risk’.