IL- Victims praise Archbishop for abuse comments
For immediate release: Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Statement by Barbara Blaine of Chicago, President of SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (312 399 4747, [email protected])
We applaud Archbishop Blase Cupich for saying, at Parish Leadership Day at Marist High School, that “People are leaving (the church). A lot of people left because of the abuse crisis.”
(See YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ2hwxSeF8Y&feature=youtu.be)
Catholic officials often minimize the impact of the abuse and cover-up crisis on church attendance. We are grateful any time a Catholic figure talks honestly about this on-going scandal.
It would be more accurate, of course, to say that parishioners leave because of the cover-up, rather than the abuse. Most parishioners understand that there are child predators in every occupation or institution. What outrages and frustrates them the most, surveys show, is that bishops often ignore, minimize, hide and enable these horrific crimes against children and help the predators while endangering the kids.
“Yes, they may have been hurt,” Cupich goes on to say about Catholics who leave. We hope he will also acknowledge that many times, people actually feel driven out of the church by deceitful, arrogant and callous clerics, including the church officials who have concealed and still conceal heinous crimes against children.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We were founded in 1988 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, [email protected], Barbara Dorris 314-503-0003, [email protected], Barbara Blaine 312-399-4747, [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
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