Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, SNAP Outreach Coordinator about today's Missouri Supreme Court decision that may free ex-priest James Beine
 

Beine's been accused of having child porn and committing sex crimes against public school kids and Catholic parishioners. It's now up to school and Catholic officials to aggressively reach out to others who Beine hurt and urge them to file criminal charges. That may be only way to keep children safe from him.
 
In December, the Missouri Supreme ruled that criminals who sexually abused kids prior to 1970 can be held accountable for their offenses. That decision means Beine can be prosecuted now for abuse he perpetrated years ago. We hope those victims will find the strength and courage to step forward and make sure Beine doesn't rape or sodomize another youngster.
 
No one can do more to safeguard kids at this point than Archbishop Raymond Burke. We beg him to publicly, emphatically and repeatedly implore anyone who witnessed or experienced crimes by Beine to contact law enforcement. We also beg him to make all of Beine's records available to prosecutors immediately.
 
The ball is now in Archbishop Burke's court. Will he do nothing and let a dangerous man go free, or will he take steps to protect children?
 
http://www.courts.mo.gov/Courts/PubOpinions