Pa - Sex Abuse Victims Seek Help from Bishop

By David Clohessy
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
January 16, 2013

http://www.snapnetwork.org/pa_sex_abuse_victims_seek_help_from_bishop

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An accused predator priest, who quit his job in Philadelphia last week also worked in Pittsburgh. Now, a support group for clergy sex abuse victims wants Pittsburgh Catholic officials to “aggressively seek out others who may have been hurt by him.”

He is Fr. Michael Ledoux, a priest of the Franciscan order who for the past nine years has been working in an administrative role at Widener University in Chester, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia. Years before, Fr. Ledoux had been assigned to a parish in Derry, NH where he had been accused of abusing a young boy in the late 1980’s. The claim was found credible, a settlement was paid, and Fr. Ledoux’s supervisors pledged to keep him away from young people.

But until Philadelphia Inquirer raised questions about Fr. Ledoux last week, he was working as a Widener dean.

http://www.delconewsnetwork.com/articles/2013/01/07/news_of_delaware_county/news/doc50eaec000328a729024007.txt

Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, are asking Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik to seek out others who may have been hurt by Fr. Ledoux while he worked in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, and to do more than the “bare minimum.”

“Bishop Zubik has a duty to seek out those who have been hurt by this crediblyaccused priest,” said David Clohessy, SNAP Director. “So far, we’ve seen little if anything done by the Diocese of Pittsburgh to find more victims and help them heal, and this must change.”

SNAP recently learned that Fr. Ledoux also spent time working at a Pittsburgh area parish (St. Pamphilus, 948 Tropical Avenue, 412-531-8449), a Pittsburgh area school (Sierra Catholic High School in McKeesport. (412-751-2021) and Duquense University (412-396-6000).

According to his on-line profile, Fr. Ledoux “spent three years as an adjunct professor and online resource specialist for the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pa., where he earned a doctorate in educational leadership.”

SNAP is also calling on Zubik to use resources like the diocesan website to bring attention to the allegations against Fr. Ledoux.

“Bishop Zubik has many different options and resources available to him that can help him reach out the victims, such as pulpit announcements and parish bulletins,” said Clohessy. “There is no excuse for him to not use all of these resources in order to find and help other victims of sexual abuse.”

Fr. Ledoux is now reportedly living at a Franciscan facility in New York.