Tune into Out-FM on Tues., Jan. 10, 2023 from 8:00-9:00pm, on 99.5 FM WBAI/NY or listen at https://www.wbai.org/listen-live/
See below for sound file of program.
Center is the notorious Pope Benedict. Counterclockwise are Eduardo Casas, Mary Dispenza, and Mike McDonnell.
For centuries the Catholic Clergy has had sexual abuse scandals, but only in the last 30 years have they risen to international attention. One of the first breakthroughs was the exposure of Cardinal Law's coverup of clergy sex-abuse of children in the Boston Archdiocese in 2002 by the Boston Globe. Since then, there has been a flood of reports of child sex abuse cases and other related abuse by the clergy at all levels of the Catholic Church. One of the prominent activist organizations leading the fight is SNAP, the survivor network of those abused by priests. After 20 years of revelations, it's clear: For the Catholic Church, the situation in Boston was not an exception, but the norm.
One of the major actors in this scandal was Pope Benedict (the former Cardinal Ratzinger), who recently died. His acolytes claim he was a reformer in the scandal, but really he did everything possible to shift blame and demonize the gay community. In recent months the Maryland Attorney General has compiled a 456-page report detailing charges against 156 clergy affecting more than 600 students. In Kansas the Bureau of Investigation spoke to 156 survivors and combed tens of thousands of pages of reports. In San Francisco 312 clergy men are accused of misconduct and the Archdiocese there refuses to release its own list.
Joining us to discuss Pope Benedict's role and the conduct of the three most recent popes in the scandal and the Church's anti-LGBT campaigns are three members of SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests-Nuns), all of whom were abused by clergy at young ages. They are:
Eduardo Lopez de Casas worked in two different parishes in the Galveston-Houston Archdiocese for over 15 years. As a music director at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Houston, Texas, he became aware that his boss, Father John Keller, had been accused of sexual abuse in the early 2000s. Father Keller was removed when the Galveston-Houston list of accused priests was released; shortly thereafter, another priest was removed from the same congregation. After speaking publicly about the history of abuse in his parish, Eduardo was told that his position no longer existed. To add insult to injury, he was denied unemployment benefits because the church is a “non-profit.” Eduardo Lopez de Casas is a 45-year-old survivor of sexual abuse and currently serves on the National Board of SNAP, serving as a liaison to the Spanish-speaking community and their particular issues.
Mary Dispenza (she, her) is a former Catholic nun, educator, and National Distinguished Principal. She is an activist for LGBTQIA+ rights, an international speaker and writer. She is a survivor of sexual assault at age seven by the parish priest and abuse by a nun when she was a postulant. Mary is the National SNAP leader and contact for those abused by nuns. She is the author of the award-winning memoir: SPLIT - A Child, A Priest, and the Catholic Church. Mary believes that our individual and collective stories have the power to change us. Mary lives with her wife in Bellevue, Washington.
Mike McDonnell is a husband, father, and National Communication Director for SNAP. He is a Certified Peer Specialist licensed in Pennsylvania. Mike is a survivor of clergy abuse at the hands of two priests in 1981 out of Norristown, Pa when he was 13 years old. Mike has worked in Human Services in Addiction and Mental Health Services and has been active in SNAP since 2006; he assumed a full-time position in 2020 as Communication Director.
Out-FM's John Riley hosts the segment.