24382: Robert Benodin (info) The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Robert Benodin <r.benodin@worldnet.att.net>

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
SNAP Press Release
Giving Voice to Victims
For Immediate Release:
Friday, February 25, 2005
For more information:
David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP National Director 314 566-9790
Paul Kendrick of Portland Maine, VOTF 207 838-6985
Sex Abuse Victims Urge Haitian Government To Investigate Ex-Priest
He's Admitted Molesting "Many Boys" in US
Former Cleric Questioned in Recent Massive Jail Break
But Group Says Officials Should Also Look Into Possible Sex Crimes
A support group for clergy sex abuse victims is asking Haitian government
officials to broaden their investigation of a former Catholic priest to
include the possible sexual abuse of children. The ex-cleric was questioned
earlier this week about his alleged involvement in a jailbreak of some 500
prisoners.
The defrocked Indiana priest, Ron Voss, admitted in 1997: "My sins are too
numerous to detail, but the most grievous gather around the sexual abuse of
many adolescent boys, including some minors."
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/10984138.htm
Voss was interviewed earlier this week by Haitian Minister of Justice
Bernard Gousse in connection with an escape last Saturday by inmates at a
Port-au-Prince prison.
Voss has been director of Visitation House in Port-au-Prince for almost
fifteen years.
Visitation House provides lodging for visitors to Haiti. It is often the
base for volunteers from U.S. churches and other groups that work in Haiti's
slums or interior. Voss constructed a soccer field behind Visitation House
for use by area youth.
"Unsuspecting American tourists and Catholic volunteers have stayed with
Voss for years,' said David Clohessy, SNAP's national director. "But we're
equally concerned about the safety and welfare of especially vulnerable
Haitian children that Voss might have sexually assaulted.'
In a letter to Haitian Minister of Justice Gousse, Clohessy and another
activist urged that announcements about Voss' criminal behavior be made
public and that any possible victims or witnesses are urged to come forward.
"What are the odds that an admitted serial child molester is magically cured
of compulsive sexual urges simply because he moves overseas?" asked Paul
Kendrick of Portland Maine. Kendrick, the founder of Maine Voice of the
Faithful, has done volunteer work in Haiti. "We'd all love to believe such
miracles happen. But that would be playing Russian roulette with the
emotional, spiritual and physical safety of kids."
Both Clohessy and Kendrick stressed that they have no idea whether Voss was
involved in the jailbreak.
"In fact, we strongly urge government officials to do as we do in America -
assume Voss is innocent until proven guilty," said Clohessy. "Our request
has nothing to do with Voss' political activities. We just want to make sure
children are safe. If they have been hurt, we want them to get help."

A copy of the letter, sent today to Haitian officials via fax, is below:
February 25, 2005
M. Bernard Gousse
Minister of Justice and Public Safety
9 Ave. Charles Sumner
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
c/o Embassy of the Republic of Haiti - Washington, DC
Fax 202 745-7215
Dear Minister Gousse,
We urge you to begin an investigation into whether Haitian children may have
been sexually abused by Ron Voss, Director of Visitation House in Port au
Prince. Voss, a fomer Catholic priest, has admitted to sexually abusing
"many adolescent boys including some minors" while working as a priest in
Indiana.
Voss' move to Haiti resembles a pattern recently exposed by the Dallas
Morning News. That newspaper documented how accused priests frequently move
or are transferred overseas -- often to Third World countries where
under-funded law enforcement may be less vigorous and children in poverty
may be more vulnerable.
We urge you to publicize Voss' history of child abuse. Please publicly urge
anyone who has experienced sexual abuse by Voss to report the crimes to
public authorities. Please urge anyone who has witnessed or suspected that
Voss has abused children to report this to police and prosecutors
immediately.
In many Haitian families, there is only one parent. There is little or no
work. Thousands upon thousands of children roam the streets. It is estimated
that up to 10% of Haitian children are sold into slavery. Educational,
cultural and financial gaps are even more pronounced in Haiti, which make
abuse more likely and makes detecting and punishing offenders less likely.
Voss currently serves as the Director of the Parish Twinning Program of the
Americas' (PTPA) Visitation House in Port au Prince. He is a former
Vice-President of PTPA's Board of Directors. Visitation House is a place
where hundreds of Catholic parishioners have stayed when they pass through
or work in Port au Prince.
In Haiti, Voss has the same access to children as anyone else. In fact, he
is seen by some as a local hero of sorts. However, in a 1997 interview
conducted by The Indianapolis Star, Dr. Frederick Berlin of the Johns
Hopkins National Institute for the Study, Prevention, and Treatment of
Sexual Trauma stated that a man with Voss' history should "not be somewhere
else where vulnerable youngsters can be victimized by him. Kids are just as
important in Haiti as they are in a hometown of Indiana."
Thank you.
Paul Kendrick
Co-founder, Maine Voice of the Faithful
Portland, Maine
(207) 838-6985
David Clohessy
National Director, SNAP
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
St. Louis MO 63143
314 566 9790 cell, 314 645 5915