By Kathy Kane
The strangest thing happens when you are not even looking for an abusive priest – you end up finding him. What started from an obnoxious comment by a priest on the C4C facebook page created a series of events that led to the discovery of Fr. John Meyers’ new life in Tucson, Arizona. Meyers was found unsuitable for ministry in January 2019 by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for a credible and substantiated allegation of the sexual abuse of a minor.
Sometimes the way things fall into place can’t be explained although Jeremy Roebuck did a fantastic job chronicling the series of events in his article. Thank you to Carolyn Fortney who is a tireless advocate for children . Carolyn is a clergy abuse survivor and her eagle eye helped crack this case wide open. Maybe someday the Pennsylvania legislators will join the efforts to protect children by enacting very important SOL Window legislation. Until then it is amazing what a few women with a laptop can accomplish.
Click here to read: “From victim to vigilante: Clergy sex abuse survivor finds accused Philly priest online, working for charter school system in Arizona,” by Jeremy Roebuck, The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 23.
Excerpt: “This is a prime example of survivors working together to take the law into our own hands,” said Carolyn Fortney, the Harrisburg woman who uncovered Meyers’ new life in Tucson. “We’ll do what we have to do to protect children.”
Much like we heard this past week – Herod washing his hands of Jesus’s fate – so too does the Catholic Church wash its hands of sexual abusers. Take a weekend and Google the addresses of former priests – living at the Jersey Shore. In Sea Isle City – across from a playground. In Ocean City – steps from the Boardwalk and Arcade. In Orlando – the home of all things Disney. It was documented previously in the Philadelphia Inquirer in the case of James J. Brzyski. Now here we go again.
Nice work!
If Law Makers in PA got off there Rear Ends years ago and passed “Real” SOL Reform with a 2-year Retroactive Window Meyers would have NEVER had the opportunity to be in this position around children unchecked. The response from Ken Gavin is just more proof of The Archdioceses stance that the abuse of children is a Negotiable Topic. Great Work C4C!