Archbishop Weakland letter on notorious abuser: ‘So far we have succeeded in preserving his reputation’
May 20, 2009
The Surivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) released documents rebutting retired Archbishop Rembert Weakland’s claim that “we all considered sexual abuse of minors as a moral evil, but had no understanding of its criminal nature.”
“He likes to position himself as a critic of the Vatican, the one bishop who stood up to challenge the system,” said SNAP Midwest Director Peter Isely. “He never once stood up against the system when it came to the molestation and rape of boys” in the case of the late Father Lawrence Murphy, who, according to a court document, molested up to 200 deaf children. At the time of Father Murphy’s death in 1998, Archbishop Weakland wrote in a letter that “so far, we have succeeded in preserving his reputation, and I hope we are able to do so in the future.”
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Further information:
- Sex-abuse victims group rebuffs Weakland’s naiveté claim (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
- Priest Abuse Victims Release New Allegations (WISN-TV)
- Archbishop Weakland: I didn’t know clerical abuse of children was a crime (CWN, May 19)
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