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).
Catholic priest who was supposed to protect children charged with abuse; SNAP reacts
The former director of the Diocese of Arlington's Office of Child Protection and Safety has been indicted on charges of sexually assaulting a child. We are grateful to know that the Office of the Attorney General is still working on getting these criminals prosecuted and exposed.
United Methodists to contribute to the Boy Scout's bankruptcy plan
A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Tuesday pushed the confirmation hearing for the Boy Scouts of America's (BSA) Chapter 11 plan back a month, saying there are too many depositions to take and too many legal issues to sort out to start the hearing in January. According to Law360.com, Congregations affiliated with the United Methodist Church have agreed to contribute $30 million to a fund for victims who say they were molested as youngsters in the Boy Scouts of America, an attorney said Tuesday.
Representatives may claim that bankruptcy is a way to ensure that all victims receive a payout, but this a dodge. This is not about the cost of these cases but simply about keeping secrets as they are, a secret. We hope victims and their counsel join with us in voicing outrage over these legal tactics and demand the transparency these organizations promised so long ago.
Prosecutors moving forward in criminal case against defrocked Cardinal McCarrick
In the second pre-trial hearing held yesterday for Theodore McCarrick, a defrocked Catholic Cardinal and former ‘prince of the church’, a motion for transcript, audio, and video recordings of depositions related to the criminal charges against McCarrick was filed by the prosecution. McCarrick is the highest-ranking Catholic official in the United States to face criminal charges in the sexual abuse scandal that has plagued the Church for decades. While McCarrick was not present in the courtroom for proceedings on December 21, 2021, his defense attorney was there in representation. McCarrick faces three counts of indecent assault and battery. A notorious abuser, this latest trial is related to claims that McCarrick sexually assaulted a teenager during a 1974 wedding in Massachusetts. The former Cardinal pleaded not guilty to the charges this past September.
Defrocked Serial Abuser Finally Found Guilty After Evading Justice, SNAP Applauds Survivors and Prosecutors
For immediate release: December 21, 2021
A self-admitted pedophile and ex-priest from a Chicago-based Catholic group has finally been found guilty of some of the myriad crimes he committed against children. We are thrilled that this highly dangerous man will finally be taken off the streets and applaud the brave young women and their attorneys who helped ensure justice would be done in this case.
Richard Daschbach, a former priest from the Chicago-based Society of the Divine Word (SVD), was defrocked by Catholic officials years ago. But by washing their hands of Daschbach, Church leaders essentially set him free to abuse children without any supervision. Even though he was not technically a priest, Daschbach still presented himself as such and enjoyed a celebrity status on the island of East Timor where he has lived for decades, running an orphanage called Topu Honis Shelter Home.
Diocese of South Bend Goes on the Offensive Against Young Victims in Effort to Protect Abusive Coach
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, December 21, 2021
In an attempt to protect a man accused of abusing at least three girls he coached on his volleyball team, Catholic officials in South Bend are using the appalling tactic of trying to force the survivors to be named publicly. This is little more than an effort to scare the young women who have brought this suit forward and we hope that this brazen attempt at intimidation is thrown out by the judge.
These three women deserve praise and applause for reporting the grooming and harassment that they experienced at the hands of Justin Cochran, their former volleyball coach. If Church leaders truly cared about rooting out sexual abuse, they would be working with these women to ensure abusers and enablers are removed and that future students in their schools are protected. The fact that the Diocese of South Bend is choosing to react with intimidation, attempting to publicly expose these brave survivors, speaks volumes as to why sexual abuse remains such a significant problem within the Roman Catholic Church.
New report exposes systemic sexual abuse of children within the Spanish Catholic Church
(For Immediate Release December 20, 2021)
New report exposes systemic sexual abuse of children within the Spanish Catholic Church
The report provides details for each case: order/diocese, date, initials of perpetrators, etc. When this information is added to the many hundreds of cases previously documented by El Pais, the report paints a picture made all the more appalling by the fact that the Spanish Catholic Church refuses to investigate allegations of sexual abuse in its midst. Spanish Church officials apparently seek to deny that there is a problem, or at least attempt to minimize its scope. However, this has not prevented the Church from paying out over two million euros to victims in order to buy their silence.
Spain is the latest in a long list of countries (United States, France, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Australia) in which the systemic sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy has been uncovered - in this case by a newspaper. As is customary in these cases, the Pope has referred the dossier to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). The CDF, originally charged with defending the Church from heresy, was previously known as the Inquisition. We here at SNAP hope that the CDF will root out those who commit appalling crimes against children as vigorously as it combatted heretics during the Middle Ages.
CONTACT: Marc Artzrouni, SNAP Europe, ([email protected], +33 - 6 95 73 65 92) Mike McDonnell, SNAP Communications Manager, (267-261-0578, [email protected] ), Zach Hiner, SNAP Executive Director (517-974-9009, [email protected] ), Shaun Dougherty, SNAP Board President (814-341-8386, [email protected] )
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, is the world's oldest and largest support group for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
SNAP applauds the ongoing clergy abuse probe in Michigan as another Catholic priest is under investigation
(For Immediate Release September 20, 2021)
Fr. Bryan Medlin, a priest in the Catholic Diocese of Gaylord, is under investigation by the Office of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. According to the Michigan State Police, they are investigating reports of a Diocese of Gaylord clergy member who is accused of sending inappropriate text messages to high school students.
We applaud the ongoing investigation in Michigan for making children and communities safer, and for forcing institutions to be honest and accountable. This disturbing news is sadly not shocking to us, but it refutes the message we often hear from Catholic officials that their sex abuse scandal is a "thing of the past."
NOLA prosecutors present disturbing evidence during the arraignment of a former Jesuit who worked in California; SNAP urges immediate outreach to potential victims
More information was revealed yesterday in a New Orleans courtroom regarding the arrest of a former Catholic clergyman, Stephen Sauer. Jefferson Parish detectives disclosed that they had been able to identify five victims from the pictures the ex-Jesuit had taken of their driver's licenses. Sauer had nude photos of the sleeping men in sexual poses, and the victims confirmed to law enforcement that they had not consented to this activity. In addition, during the execution of the search warrant, deputies found sleeping aids, syringes, condoms, and other incriminating items. There was enough evidence to arrest Sauer on the spot. If the ex-Jesuit can post bail he will be required to be on house arrest.
Sauer worked at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles from 2008 to 2010 and at the University of San Francisco from 2013 to 2016. In the media statement we issued on Wednesday, we listed the charges filed against Sauer and a history of where he had worked during his career, urging outreach by all the organizations and institutions that had employed the former Catholic priest to alert any potential victims. Today, we commend the no doubt shocked and disturbed victims for cooperating with the investigation and renewing our call for outreach.
Former Jesuit priest charged with video voyeurism and sexual battery; SNAP fears that there are more victims
A former Jesuit priest, Stephen Sauer, was arrested on December 14, 2021, and charged with five counts of video voyeurism and one count of sexual battery. A spokesperson for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office said. “We do believe there may be more victims.” Anyone with additional information should contact JPSO’s Personal Violence Section at (504) 364-5300.
While it has not yet been disclosed whether or not the accusations arise from Sauer's work, we too fear that there may well be additional victims, either at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, where the former Jesuit worked from 2008-2012, or at the various other organizations with which he was associated. Sauer was the Executive Director of Arc of Greater New Orleans, which provides services to the mentally disabled of all ages until his arrest. The former priest was apparently also a co-founder and former board chairman of Hotel Hope, a New Orleans non-profit that provides shelter for homeless families. He also held various other positions that may have put him in contact with vulnerable populations.
Will Pope Francis meet the members of the Sauvé Commission on clerical sexual abuse in France?
Following the release of the Sauvé Report, which documented more than 300,000 cases of sexual abuse by clergy and lay workers over the last seven decades in France, the pope was supposed to meet members of the commission, including its president Jean-Marc Sauvé, on December 9th at the Vatican.
The postponement of the meeting coincided with eight members of the prestigious "Catholic Academy of France" writing a "rebuttal" that was critical of the Sauvé Report. The document, sent to the papal nuncio in France, questioned, among other things, the statistical methodology used to reach its staggeringly high number of victims. It has caused consternation, disbelief, and a wave of resignations from the Academy, including that of the president of the bishops' conference - the very body that commissioned the Sauvé Report in the first place.