Media Statements
We are SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. We are the largest, oldest and most active support group for women and men wounded by religious authority figures (priests, ministers, bishops, deacons, nuns and others).
PA--Victims say "Lawmakers should let judges do their jobs"
For immediate release, June 14, 2016
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790,314 645 5915 home, [email protected])
It is the job of judges to decide if those laws pass constitutional muster. Pennsylvania legislatures must put the safety of kids first, above all other considerations.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has 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 (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, [email protected])
Guam--Fourth victim comes forward to say Archbishop Apuron molested him, Victims respond
For immediate release, June 15, 2016
Statement by Joelle Casteix of Newport Beach, CA, Western Regional Director of SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPNetwork.org) ([email protected], 949-322-7434 cell)
RI--Five “under the radar” who abused elsewhere but spent time in RI
FACT SHEET: Five “under the radar” who abused elsewhere but spent time in RI
--Fr. Joseph Rocha OP, ordained: 1966
He appears on the most recent list of "new" priests added to Boston attorney Mitchell Garabedian's website. Rocha worked quite a few years in the Providence diocese and even held a diocesan post (on the diocesan tribunal). There's been no publicity about him since 2001 when a small article mentioned he had been arrested, but it didn't mention that he was a priest.
He worked in Providence and Warwick. His assignment history:
http://www.bishopaccountability.org/assign/Rocha_Joseph_J_OP_.htm
His status as an accused cleric was first made public by Boston attorney Mitchell Garabedian in March 2016:
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news5/2016_03_28_Garabedian_List.htm
VA--Victims beg Catholic officials for “more honesty & outreach”
For immediate release: Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Statement by Becky Ianni, Virginia Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (703-801-6044,[email protected])
A Catholic priest who worked in Virginia has been accused of abusing a male child in another state in 1990. Members of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, are grateful to the brave victim who spoke up, but they are disappointed in the response of Catholic officials in the Diocese of Arlington.
https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/pastor-placed-on-administrative-leave/index.aspx
MN--Disgraced archbishop is on seminary board; Victims respond
For immediate release: Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790,314 645 5915 home, [email protected])
Disgraced Archbishop John Neinstedt of Minnesota, accused of both committing and concealing clergy sexual misconduct, is apparently still on the board of a prominent Catholic seminary in Rome. That’s disgraceful and reckless, especially because he allegedly sexually exploited several seminarians himself.
IA--Bishop admits abuse; Victims push for more
For immediate release: Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790,314 645 5915 home, [email protected])
Sioux City Catholic officials are admitting, for the first time, that Fr. Peter B. Murhpy has been credibly accused of molesting a child. We are grateful for this belated move, made at the request of a brave victim, and hope it will bring comfort to others who were hurt by this cleric. We also hope that Bishop Walter Nickless will be more forthcoming about other predator priests who have lived or worked in his diocese.
http://www.catholicglobe.org/?p=7218
Guam--Pope Names New Administrator After Archbishop Accused of Abuse, Victims Respond
For immediate release, June 6, 2016
Statement by Joelle Casteix of Newport Beach, CA, Western Regional Director of SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, (SNAPNetwork.org http://snapnetwork.org/) ([email protected], 949-322-7434 cell)
We are encouraged that the Vatican has taken this first step. Archbishop Anthony Sablan Apuron is now a twice-accused predator archbishop—who has also been accused of intimidating victims, bullying Catholics, and manipulating church rules regarding abuse to protect himself.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/pope-names-guam-administrator-bishop-accused-abuse-39637009
But this is only a first step.
We urge the new administrator Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai to engage in a complete and independent investigation of the allegations against Apuron and act upon the findings swiftly and appropriately.
Rome--Victims’ group has further concerns re pope’s new abuse policy
For immediate release: Sunday, June 5, 2016
Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 503 0003cell, [email protected])
Originally, Francis proposed
--making the cover up of child sex crimes an actual crime in church policy. Now, instead, he’s not. (According to the AP, “Francis appears to have backed off” and according to Kurt Martens, professor of canon law at The Catholic University of America, "There is nothing breaking here” and “what is significant about the new law is that it makes no mention of the proposal for the tribunal, which would have treated negligence as a crime and prosecuted it as such.)
http://www.citizen.com/news/2016-06-06/Nation/Pope_scraps_abuse_tribunal_for_negligent_bishops.html
Rome--Victims "very skeptical" of new Vatican abuse policy
For immediate release: Saturday, June 4
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, 314 645 5915 home, [email protected])
Instead of just sacking bad bishops, or turning over abuse records to law enforcement, the Vatican is setting up yet another untested, internal church “process” to purportedly deal with bishops who ignore or conceal child sex crimes. We’re extraordinarily skeptical.
MN--Victims urge “more honesty & outreach” in predator priest case
For immediate release: Friday, June 3, 2016
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790,314 645 5915 home, [email protected])
Minnesota Catholic officials are writing parishioners saying their parish is being sued because of child sex crimes by Fr. Stanley Bourassa in the 1960s.
While we don’t know the specifics of this case, here’s what we DO know: Catholic officials should be more honest about these horrific cases. They should use parish bulletins, church websites and pulpit announcements to beg every single individual with information or suspicions about abuse in Catholic entities to step forward and get help from independent sources, and report what they know or fear to the independent professionals in law enforcement, not the biased amateurs in church offices.