A protest is planned Tuesday afternoon outside the Seven Dolors Catholic Church in Manhattan which will include clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters.
The group called SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) say they’ll protest Salina Bishop Gerald Vincke’s refusal to release a full list of child molesting clerics. In March, Vincke posted a list of 14 credibly accused clerics who are or were in his diocese. The SNAP group says three credibly accused clerics were left off that list including Fr. Ronald Sam Gilardi, the late Fr. Thaddeus Posey and Fr. Donald McCarthy. The Salina Diocese in March also admitted mistakes had been made in four cases of clergy sexual abuse including against former Manhattan Priest Msgr. William Merchant, who died in 1975.
The group is urging the bishop to reveal the names of two credibly accused priests who are or were in his diocese. They also are urging him to come clean about any other predators who have been sent to his diocese and beg those with information or suspicions about abuse to contact the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
The protest will begin at 2:45 p.m. outside the church. It follows a separate protest also happening in Topeka. The Salina Diocese covers 31 counties in Kansas including the Manhattan area.
