Child Rape Charges Filed Against Former Deacon in New Orleans
A grand jury in Louisiana has indicted a former deacon on charges of child rape. We applaud this decision and hope it will bring comfort and healing to his victims.
George Brignac, a former deacon in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, was still working in parishes as late as last year, despite church officials “removing him from ministry” in 1988. We fear that other children may have been hurt by him during the years that he was working around children despite ostensibly having had his ministerial faculties removed. Because of this, church officials in New Orleans must aggressively seek out any others who may have been hurt by him and encourage them to come forward and make a report to local law enforcement.
This case is yet another reminder that children are best protected by secular law enforcement officials, not church officials. We also believe that, had church officials lived up to their promise to be “open and honest” about cases of clergy abuse and posted a list of accused priests, nuns, deacons and other church staff earlier, the communities in which Brignac was working would have been better informed and better able to protect their children.
This is a great day for the survivors of clergy abuse in New Orleans. The SNAP New Orleans chapter hopes that other victims will see this as a sign of hope that justice is finally being served. If you are a survivor who is need of help, please contact SNAP at 504-376-5445 or [email protected] for support.
CONTACT: Richard Windmann, SNAP Louisiana ([email protected], 682-710-1965), Kevin Bourgeois, SNAP New Orleans ([email protected], 504-376-5445), Zach Hiner, Executive Director ([email protected], 517-974-9009)
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
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