Chile- Where's investigation into Chile priest baby stealing?
For immediate release: Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 503 0003,SNAPdorris@gmail.com)
A Chilean priest who Catholic officials say stole babies from their mothers (claiming that the infants were dead) says he'll return from Spain to face criminal charges if they are filed against him. We believe Father Alex Vigueras is lying.
We also think this Chilean priest is lying when he says he was trying to stop abortions. We believe he was motivated by greed. Evidence in Spain suggests that priests and nuns there stole babies from mothers for financial gain.
We suspect this was true in Chile too.
Catholic officials in either Spain or Chile should insist that this abusive priest live in a treatment center until he is quickly defrocked and harshly denounced by the church hierarchy.
We hope that every single person who has seen, suspected or suffered crimes or misdeeds by Fr.Gerardo Joannon or his church colleagues or supervisors will contact law enforcement, get help, expose wrongdoers, and start healing.
Finally, why aren't officials – both secular and religious – calling for an independent inquiry into these horrific actions? It's just irresponsible to let Catholic officials investigate Catholic clerics for alleged crimes.
(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 25years 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 (314-862-7688 home, 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 1 comment