A lot of us who have been observing the Scandal from the beginning have been saying that rather than re-assign irreformable molesting priests to parishes, bishops should have been sending them off to monasteries for a life of prayer and solitude. But, in Oakland, California, it seems even that isn’t welcome among those who want to bring the whole Church down.
The Dominican priory, which also doubles as the provincial headquarters, is housing seven Dominicans who have had credible accusations of sexual abuse made against them. None of them has been convicted of a crime or is required to register as a sex offender. They have been living there quietly for some time. But not any more. The victims’ group SNAP (Surivivor’s Network of those Abused by Priests) began leafletting the neigborhorhood around the seminary six months ago, “warning” the neighbors about the 7 priests. That’s created a huge uproar, including demands the priests be moved out.
I don’t understand what these people want the Church to do. Okay, the neigbors are just simply advocates of NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard), but what’s the deal with SNAP and uber-plaintiff’s attorney Jeffrey Anderson?