Houston Cardinal keeps suspension of accused priest quiet

He waits months before disclosing accusation against cleric

Self-help group urges other victims and witnesses to come forward

SNAP also wants name of credibly accused pedophile priests on church website

Victims also ask DiNardo to warn flock about ANOTHER predator now living in Houston

WHAT:
Holding signs at a sidewalk news conference, clergy molestation victims will criticize Houston’s bishop for waiting months to announce the suspension of a credibly accused pedophile priest.

They will also

• prod Houston’s top Catholic official to personally visit each parish where the accused priest worked and urge victims and witnesses to come forward and get help and call police, and
• post the names of all proven, admitted, and credibly accused abusive clergy on their diocesan website, and
• warn his flock (through church bulletins and the archdiocesan newspaper and pulpit announcements) about another credibly accused pedophile priest from Washington state who now lives in Houston

WHEN:
Tuesday, Jan. 15, 1:00 p.m.

WHERE:
Outside the Houston archdiocesan headquarters (“chancery office”), 1700 San Jacinto in Houston

WHO:
A clergy abuse victim who is the long time national director of a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org) (His brother is also an abusive priest)

WHY:
On Sunday, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo announced that two months earlier, he’d suspended Fr. Stephen Horn because of credible allegations of child sex abuse ion the 1980s and 1990s.

The delay gives Ford ample opportunity, SNAP says, to fabricate alibis, destroy evidence, intimidate victims, threaten witnesses, or even flee the country (as some pedophile priests have done.)

In the 1980s, Ronald Lane “Jean Paul” Fontenot, a notorious former Lafayette LA and Spokane WA priest, was convicted of child molestation. SNAP recently received information from a concerned Houston Catholic that Fontenot now lives in the Houston area. DiNardo should alert his flock to Fontenot’s presence, SNAP believes.

For the past six years, Fontenot has been a paralegal at the Coats Rose law firm. The firm allegedly recently fired him. Fontenot lives at 10263 S. Gessner Dr. 77071 (home # 713 272 6382/713 653 7392) http://snapnorthwest.org/spokane/suit_alleges_childhood_sexual.htm

CONTACT:
David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP National Director 314 566 9790 cell
Barbara Dorris of St.Louis, SNAP Outreach Coordinator 314 503 0003 cell