"Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests" (SNAP) and "One in Four"

The American "victims" group SNAP resembles our own "One in Four" in being the most prestigious, the best funded etc. The two groups are also similar in their denial of the reality of false allegations and their assumption that an accusation is all the proof that is required to damn a Catholic priest as a child abuser. Both have actively supported blatantly false allegations of child abuse against Catholic clergy.

Rory Connor
4 November 2008

(A) Diocese Finds Accusations False; Stands by Accused Priest

ROCKFORD, Illinois --The Rockford Diocese stood by the innocence of one of its priests during a news conference organized by the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

SNAP called a press conference Tuesday, June 17 [2008] on the edge of the Diocesan Administration Center to demand the removal of Msgr. Michael Kurz from ministry because of an alleged accusation made in a lawsuit filed against the Diocese of Pueblo Colorado, in mid-May.

Msgr. Kurz is the Judicial Vicar for the Diocesan Tribunal and has served that office since  1997.

The lawsuit filed on behalf of an unidentified "John Doe 21" in Pueblo , Colo. , by attorneys Alan Molk and Herman & Mermelstein, alleges that the Colorado diocese allowed events of abuse to happen such as those allegedly by a Father Kurz. "John Doe 21" is seeking monetary compensation for the alleged incidents.

Diocesan Director of Communication Penny Wiegert joined the press conference to address the media and correct misinformation being disseminated by SNAP.

Wiegert issued the following statement on behalf of Bishop Thomas G. Doran and the Rockford Diocese to area media and to the SNAP contingent, which consisted of three people.

"According to diocesan policy and procedures, which were established in 1987, the allegation (naming Msgr. Kurz) was immediately turned over to the Diocesan Review Board for investigation. Upon investigation by our Review Board, the allegations against Msgr.

Kurz were unanimously determined to be unfounded and false.  Because, according to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, we were not presented with a credible allegation, Msgr. Kurz was not removed from either his ministry in the Diocesan Administration Center or in residence at St. Rita Parish in Rockford, and he will not be removed.

"While we continually express sorrow for all victims of sexual abuse we must not allow baseless and erroneous allegations to perpetuate and defame the innocent.

"I am here today on behalf of the Rockford Diocese to inform you of the complete falsity of all claims. Times and dates in both lawsuits have been found to be false.

"1. Msgr. Kurz was not assigned to the parish stated in the lawsuit at the time the plantiff said the alleged abuse took place.

"2. Msgr. Kurz was not even an ordained priest at one of the times the plantiff stated he was abused by a Father Kurz.

"3. Plaintiff claims he was abused by a Father Kurz at a school that closed three years before Plaintiff claims he was abused there, and Monsignor Kurz was never even assigned to that school.

"The lawyer representing the plaintiff was informed that the complaint's allegations could not possibly be true. Instead of withdrawing the lawsuit, the plaintiff's lawyer filed an amended complaint alleging new dates and totally retracting the allegation that abuse had occurred at the school. But the allegations against Msgr. Kurz in the amended complaint are also false. Plaintiff claims abuse occurred in at least one year when Msgr. Kurz was not even ordained a priest, and at a parish to which Msgr. Kurz had not yet been assigned.

"While we pray that the plantiff, John Doe 21, eventually finds solace and reconciliation in the truth, as we have, we will not allow our innocent priest to be besmirched by lies and displaced memories and imagined facts," Wiegert said.

http://www.rockforddiocese.org/search/press_releases/false_accusations.htm

(B) Lawsuit Alleges Sex Abuse By Rockford Priest [USA]
MyStateline.Com Tuesday, Jun 17, 2008  by Dawn Alderman

Rockford, Illinois - A Rockford priest is accused of sexually abusing a boy decades ago while he was with a Colorado Diocese.

The alleged victim filed a lawsuit last month against Monsignor Michael Kurz and the Colorado Diocese. Now the Rockford Diocese is defending Kurz saying the allegations are false.

With the Rockford Catholic Diocese as a backdrop, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests or S.N.A.P announced the lawsuit against Kurz.

Kurz came to Rockford nearly a decade ago from Pueblo, Colorado where he was a priest at Christ the King Catholic Church. The lawsuit alleges that beginning in 1976 he began molesting a then 13-year old boy who was a parishioner at the church.

"He befriended the family of the victim and the parents knew that the victim was spending time with the priest and felt that it was an honor that the priest had singled out that child," says S.N.A.P President Barbara Blaine.

The lawsuit claims the alleged incidents took place on outings with Kurz and continued until the victim was in high school.  S.N.A.P members say they want Kurz to be removed pending an investigation into the claims.

"The truth will come out as the lawsuit runs it's course but in the meantime we need to protect the children and ensure that no more children are harmed," says Blaine.

In 1998, Kurz came to the Rockford Diocese taking over an administrative position overseeing tribunal cases. Kurz also is an associate priest at St. Rita's Church in Rockford where diocesan officials say he occasionally oversees masses.

"Up until this point he has done that in a stellar manner and we have absolutely no reason to believe otherwise," says Rockford Diocese Director of Communications Penny Wiegert.

Diocese officials say they will not remove Kurz from his position.   They say investigated the claims and found them to be "unfounded and false."  They say Kurz was not even assigned to the Colorado parish when the abuse allegedly took place. They also add that Kurz was not an ordained priest at one of the times the alleged victim said he was abused and say the school where some of the abuse was said to have take place closed three years before. .

At the end of the news conference, a representative of S.N.A.P confronted diocese officials about why they hadn't talked to the victim.

"You made a determination without even talking to the victim, right?" says Blaine.  Wiegert responds saying, "According to our policies, yes we have. We investigate those things. We'll be happy to talk to that person but as of yet they have chosen not to identify themselves."

The lawsuit also alleges that Kurz abused other minors at the Colorado church. Calls into Kurz Tuesday were not returned.

http://mystateline.com/content/fulltext/?cid=10481