CA- Pastor deemed guilty of abuse by jury gets a new post, SNAP responds
For immediate release: Friday, July 11, 2014
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, [email protected])
A California priest, found guilty of child sexual abuse by a jury, is being promoted. We are deeply concerned about this move and urge Catholic officials to reconsider.
Fr. Eric Swearingen is the new pastor of a Catholic church in Visalia. He will oversee four parishes and a school. This is a dreadfully irresponsible decision.
No one knows more about the child sex abuse charges against Fr. Swearingen than the 12 impartial jurors who listened to days of evidence and testimony. By a 9-3 margin, they voted that it was "more than likely" that he molested a boy. So parents can choose to believe a charming accused child molester or his boss. Or they can choose to believe unbiased citizens who looked closely at all the facts.
You can choose to be prudent and keep your kids away from Fr. Swearingen. Or you can choose to be reckless.
Because Fr. Swearingen is charismatic and eloquent, we worry that parents will not be vigilant about protecting their children around him. We beg parents to exercise caution.
We urge Fresno Catholic officials to reverse this dangerous decision and tell parishioners about the allegations against Swearingen and the jury's decision. We also urge parishioners to be compassionate and support victims instead of predators.
We hope anyone who was hurt by Fr. Swearingen or any other Catholic official will find the courage to come forward, call police and start healing.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We’ve been around for 25 years and have more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected])
Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director
Showing 3 comments
Great info!
These are the guys you are dealing with!!