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).
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.
Boy Scouts of America employee facing child pornography charges; SNAP questions how this happened
Christopher Mendoza was fired by the Boy Scouts of America- Alamo Area Council (BSA-AAC) after he was arrested last week and charged with possession of child pornography and possession with intent to promote child pornography. Mendoza worked in the Council's outdoor programming department at the time of his arrest and had been employed since 2014 in various roles within the BSA-AAC. He was released on bond by the Bexar County, Texas, court.
It is baffling to us that the Boy Scouts of America claimed in response to the arrest that it has some of the “strongest protection policies" of any youth organization in the country. Mendoza apparently managed to evade the screening process and work for the BSA-AAC undetected for seven years. We find it hard to believe that this accused child pornographer was not engaging in this behavior during the entire course of his employment. This leads us to wonder if someone with knowledge of Mendoza's proclivities looked the other way, as well as how many others may have also slipped through the cracks.
Accusations against three Fall River Catholic priests are deemed "credible" - SNAP reacts
Frs. James Buckley, Edward Byington, and Richard Degagne have been added to the list of clergy "credibly accused" of sexual abuse maintained by the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts. According to the Diocese, Fr. Degagne had been suspended since 2019, and Frs. Buckley and Byington since 2020. Although all three priests have denied the allegations against them, we know that false accusations of child sexual abuse are extremely rare. We stand with the extremely brave victims who came forward and who have now finally been vindicated.
Fr. Buckley was ordained in 1959 and was already retired at the time of his suspension. He worked at three Fall River churches, St. Mary’s Cathedral, Sacred Heart, and Immaculate Conception, as well as St. Joan of Arc in Orleans, St. Augustine in Vineyard Haven, St. Margaret in Buzzards Bay, and Holy Redeemer in Chatham.
SNAP calls on Catholic religious order to publicize a list of accused members
Fr. Eckley Macklin has apparently been found to have a "credible" allegation of sexual abuse of a minor in the Diocese of Corpus Christi, according to information shared in a parish bulletin from a Catholic church in the Diocese of Cheyenne. The priest worked in that Diocese from 2003- 2015 in the parishes of St. Ann in Saratoga, St. Joseph in Lovell, St. Stephens Mission in St. Stephens, and St. Margaret in Riverton.
However, the Diocese of Corpus Christi has yet to include this information on its list of abusers, and the religious order to which Fr. Macklin belongs, the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT), has yet to release a list of accused members at all. SOLT is headquartered in Corpus Christi.
Accused Catholic Priest Back in Ministry; SNAP Calls Out the Diocese
For immediate release: December 13, 2021
Fr. Wilbroad Mwape was preaching again at St. Anthony of Padua in Greenville, South Carolina, on December 11, 2021, just four months after he was placed on temporary leave following an accusation of sexual exploitation by one of his parishioners. A civil lawsuit was filed on August 4, 2021, and the complaint said that this priest abused his position of power beginning while he was at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Orangeburg, and continuing when he was relocated to Greenville.
SNAP is calling out the Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina, for putting this clergyman back into a position where he may again abuse those seeking help and trusting in their spiritual “leader.” It is incredulous to us that just six months after Pope Francis changed Catholic Church law to criminalize the sexual abuse of adults by priests, this accused cleric is back in the pulpit, apparently without any announcement or explanation from the Diocese.
The new Vatican law, which became effective on December 8, 2021, also removes much of the discretion that long allowed bishops and religious superiors to ignore or cover up abuse, making clear those in positions of authority will be held responsible if they fail to properly investigate or sanction perpetrators.