Media Statements

Finally, in a long-overdue move prompted by pressure from the public and parishioners, two Catholic dioceses in North Dakota have released lists of clergy accused of sexually abusing children.

The Diocese of Fargo and the Diocese of Bismarck both released lists of priests who have abused children. Unfortunately, both lists are lacking in critical detail and should be updated immediately if church leaders in these dioceses want to truly be open and honest with their parishioners.

A new lawsuit has been filed against a Jesuit-run school in San Jose. We are grateful to this survivor for coming forward and hope his example encourages others who may be suffering in silence to come forward and make a report to police.

We applaud these brave survivors who are bringing lawsuits against their abusers and the Diocese of Oakland. Thanks to them, more information about dangerous men is being made public that can help prevent future cases of abuse. Now we call on church officials in Oakland to publicize this information and encourage other victims, witnesses, and whistleblowers to come forward and make a report to police.

The U.S. Capitol will ring in the new year by flying a flag in honor of survivors of childhood sexual abuse. We are grateful for this display of support and are hopeful that legislators will follow it up by taking up legislation in 2020 that will protect children and prevent future cases of abuse.

Catholic officials in Charlotte, NC have finally followed in the footsteps of the vast majority of dioceses around the country and released a list of priests accused of abuse. Unfortunately, the list released today is incomplete and leaves off allegations related to other church staffers. We call on them to update this list immediately in order to provide a clearer and more complete look at abuse within the Diocese of Charlotte.

Dear Attorney General Raoul,

We are leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and the Archangel Foundation. We are writing to you to ask for an update on the progress of the investigation into cases of clerical sexual abuse in Illinois started by your predecessor, Lisa Madigan and that you and your team have continued.

A new investigation by the Washington Post has revealed that a disgraced cardinal and notorious sexual abuser was also an abuser of church finances, giving lavish gifts to church bureaucrats and friends.

A Connecticut legislator is taking church officials in New York to court over abuse he suffered as a child. We applaud this brave survivor for taking this step and providing a highly visible example of survivors standing up for the protection of children.

Yet another secular investigation into clergy abuse has uncovered more crimes than have been revealed by church officials. Most damning of all is the fact that at least twenty five priests that were found to be abusive were still working in active ministry in Michigan.

A report into allegations of abuse and financial impropriety against a disgraced West Virginia bishop has been released by the Washington Post. We applaud the journalists for the steadfast efforts to force the transparency that church officials have long promised but continuously fail to deliver.