3. Wisconsin SNAP leaders, clergy cover up cases, prominent in historic request by victims around the world to International Criminal Court at The Hague

In September of 2011 victim/survivors of childhood sexual assault in the Roman , including survivors from Wisconsin, made history by coming together from around the globe and demanding that the Vatican be held accountable for the worldwide systematic rape and sexual assault of children.

Victim/survivors from the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) joined together with attorneys from the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and formally filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. The complaint requested that the court investigate and prosecute senior Vatican officials for crimes against humanity. Those officials include Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal , Cardinal , and Cardinal William Levada.

Watch news coverage of SNAP’s press conference at The Hague.

Read an interview with Peter Isely concerning the court filing with the ICC.

an in-depth article about SNAP leaders at the International Criminal Court Read SNAP Midwest Director Peter Isely The official court filing was accompanied by over 20,000 supporting in Milwaukee Magazine and watch documents which demonstrate that the four named Vatican officials a profile from ABC’s WISN TV. have overseen the widespread and systematic rape and sexual victimization of children across the world. Attorney Pamela Spees, with the Center for Constitutional Rights noted that “national jurisdictions can’t really get their arms around this…prosecuting individual instances of child molestation or sexual assault has not gotten at the larger systemic problem here”.

Peter Isely, SNAP’s Midwest Director, was at The Hague when the petition was formally filed with the International Criminal Court. Isely stated “This is a systematic, criminal scandal; it requires a systematic criminal remedy”. Isely added that “This violence is enabled by a private hierarchy with global reach. The remedy must involve secular prosecutors with global reach, that’s why we’re formally asking the ICC prosecutor to investigate and then prosecute even a few of the who are responsible for this continuing crisis”.

Isely traveled throughout Europe reaching out to fellow victim/survivors, encouraging them to come forward to receive assistance and support, and to let them know of the historic filing at the ICC. Isely also met with and counseled fellow survivors in Belgium, Ireland, France, and . He concluded his trip in Rome where he participated in a press conference with SNAP leaders and senior attorneys with the Center for Constitutional Rights. At the press event in Rome an impassioned appeal was made to anyone who might have information about criminal child sex crimes in the Catholic Church to come forward and report that information to the ICC. Attorney Vincent Warren stated “I wanted to make an appeal to anyone in the Vatican…a special plea for those who work in churches, or used to work in them, to come forward with the evidence”. Peter Isely asked that all evidence of child sex crimes be turned over to law enforcement, “Dioceses are compiling criminal evidence around the world and sending it to Rome. They say they have 4,000 cases and what are they doing with it? It should be handed over to law enforcement immediately. The pope could make the world safer for children with the stroke of a pen”.

SNAP leaders held a press conference in Milwaukee to Read church documents concerning inform the local community of the complaint filed with Lawrence Murphy here. the International Criminal Court. SNAP Milwaukee Read church documents concerning leader Mike Sneesby stated “These people are Franklyn Becker here. responsible, we feel, for not pulling these priests out of ministry…for not letting children be raped anymore…as we uncovered more and more information we’ve seen that the Vatican knew about this”.

The filing of over 20,000 documents with the International Criminal Court included criminal evidence from the archdiocese of Milwaukee. The court was presented with church documents detailing the criminal conduct of two of the archdioceses most notorious and prolific child sex predators, Fr. Lawrence Murphy, and Fr. Franklyn Becker.

Murphy is believed to have sexually assaulted over 200 deaf children at St. John’s School for the Deaf. Internal church documents reveal that Vatican officials including Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI was warned about Murphy’s sexual victimization of children in his care. Weakland had written two letters to Ratzinger which were not responded to. Eight months later Cardinal Bertone instructed Weakland to begin a secret canonical trial. That trial was halted when Murphy wrote to Ratzinger asking for leniency.

Vatican officials were also deeply involved in the case Watch footage of the Rome press of Franklyn Becker. Documents reveal that conference featuring SNAP Midwest Director archbishop Dolan waited nine months before taking Peter Isely. action against Becker, despite the fact that he was diagnosed as a pedophile. Cardinal Ratzinger, now Read coverage from SNAP’s press event in Pope Benedict XVI, waited one and a half years to Milwaukee announcing the court filing at the officially defrock Becker after he had been made ICC. aware of his assaults on children.

The ICC was also provided evidence of the shredding of church documents, including evidence of child sex assault reports, which took place in the archdiocese of Milwaukee and the diocese of Green Bay.