Geneva- Victims to leaflet outside cathedral
Victims to leaflet outside cathedral
Two child molesting clerics worked in Switzerland
Group urges church members & staff to report abuse
SNAP: “Catholic officials should do more to protect kids”
WHAT
Holding signs and childhood photos, clergy sex abuse victims will hand out fliers to Catholic churchgoers and passers. The leaflets urge anyone with information about clergy sexual misdeeds to “start healing and protecting kids by calling law enforcement, exposing wrongdoers and speaking up.”
They will also urge Catholic Church officials to
– publicly disclose the names, whereabouts and work histories of proven, admitted and credibly accused child molesting clerics, and
– “actively seek out” anyone who “saw, suspected or suffered” clergy sex crimes or cover ups, especially a cleric who was convicted of molesting two children and spent a year on the job in Switzerland.
WHEN
Sunday, May 4
WHERE
On the sidewalk in front of Basilique Notre-Dame de Genève, Rue Argand 3, 1201 Genève
WHO
Three-four members of an international, US-based support group for clergy sex abuse victims called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, including a Chicago woman who is the organization’s founder and president (SNAPnetwork.org)
WHY
For the safety of children and the healing of victims, SNAP is prodding current and former Catholic Church employees and members who have seen, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes to speak up and report it to police. The group feels the Swiss church hierarchy continues to be irresponsible and secretive about this on-going scandal.
Their flier blasts Swiss church officials for not doing more to expose predators and protect kids. It was just three years ago that, for the first time, Swiss Catholic officials revealed any details about abuse in their dioceses.
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_news/catholic_church_reveals_scale_of_sex_abuse.html?cid=31149684
SNAP is especially concerned about Swiss adults who may have been hurt as kids by two clerics, and who may still be suffering in “shame, silence and self blame.” The clerics are:
–- Marist Brother Colgan Taylor who worked for a year in Fribourg, Switzerland and was convicted and jailed on child sex charges in Australia (according to the Sydney Morning Herald and an Australian victims group called Broken Rites (http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/11/29/1038386298686.html, http://brokenrites.org.au/drupal/node/238, [email protected]), and
--Fr. Gregor Mueller, an admitted child molester who resigned in 2010 from the Chur diocese where he was still working (in Schuelbelbach) despite multiple abuse allegations (according to the Associated Press and the Swiss daily Blick). Mueller also worked in the Basel diocese, in Mehrerau and in Birnau Germany.
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2010/03_04/2010_04_14_MercuryNews_SnapshotsOf.htm
This month in Geneva, Vatican officials are being questioned at a periodic review by the United Nations Committee Against Torture.
In February, after a similar hearing in Geneva before a different UN panel (the Committee on the Rights of the Child), church officials were harshly criticized for ignoring and enabling sexual violence against children.
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CRC/Shared%20Documents/VAT/CRC_C_VAT_CO_2_16302_E.pdf
CONTACT
In Geneva----Barbara Blaine, European cell +39 366 1160224, U.S. cell +1 312 399 4747, [email protected], Nicky Davis, European cell +39 388 9068750,[email protected], Megan Peterson, U.S. cell 218-689-9049, [email protected]
In the US----David Clohessy (in Missouri) +1 314 645 5915 home, +1 314 566 9790 cell, [email protected] or Barbara Dorris (in Missouri) +1 314 503 0003 cell, [email protected] or the SNAP office in Chicago at +1 312 455 1499, [email protected]g or [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