Clergy Abuse Victims Urged To Come Forward

November 03, 2014

By Rebekah Rae. CREATED Nov 2, 2014

OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) A former pastor who served at an Omaha church is accused of sexually abusing a minor. Two years after his death, the church announced a priest thousands trusted is accused of sex crimes.

"We treat it as a credible allegation," said Deacon Tim McNeil. Friday, the archdiocese announced Reverend Anthony Palmese may have sexually abused a child in Omaha 30 years ago. Palmese served as an associate pastor at Holy Ghost from 1984 to 1985.

"We want parents and parishioners and the public to know about these men," said David Clohessy. He's the director of the survivors network of those abused by priests, otherwise known as SNAP.

Sunday, he passed out fliers at Saint Cecilia church, warning catholic parishioners of possible predators. He fears more victims may be hiding. "Even though some of the crimes may have happened a long, long time ago, ...

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Donate Call for Grand Jury

Barbara Blaine, founder of SNAP, passed away on Sunday, September 24th, 2017. Her dying was sudden and completely unexpected. Words cannot express our sorrow nor are there words to express our gratitude for her relentless advocacy. She truly was a hero. There is an old saying, “well behaved women seldom make history”. Barbara made history and the world is a better place.

We have put together a tribute for Barbara Blaine to honor her memory. If you would like to contribute a memory, please send your favorite memory of Barbara to admin@snapnetwork.org

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50 State AG Call for Grand Jury

Write a letter to the attorney general of your state. Demand, request, and beg them to impanel a grand jury.

Any investigation must be:

independent of and separate from the church
must have subpoena powers and ability to compel testimony under oath

Anything short of these criteria is a sham and whitewash.

In addition, write letters to the editor, make phone calls to politicians as they can apply pressure to keep them responsive to our demand. We need to make efforts to ensure that they follow up on what the state is doing to investigate these crimes.

The Attorneys General of forty states have inquired about the grand jury process in Pennsylvania. Let's get statewide investigations going in fifty states.

Check here for an up-to-date list of active investigations as well as the associated hotlines, websites, and email addresses that survivors can use to report their experiences.

Note to Letter Writers

Use your own words and style of writing. Cut and paste from the templates as you wish. Include your experiences, whether as a survivor or as a member of the community. And relate your letter to the state you were abused in or state now living in.