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).
Priest named in the scathing 2018 Pennsylvania statewide grand jury report charged again; SNAP responds.
A Pittsburgh diocesan priest who was removed from ministry in 2003 and later publicly named as accused in a priest profile in the 2018 Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report was arrested yesterday for once again victimizing children. We are outraged at this situation and hope that he will finally be able to be held accountable for his crimes.
According to court documents, Paul Spisak, 77, was arrested yesterday after being allegedly caught taking pictures of minors using public bathrooms in a local store in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Spisak was charged with two felonies, Photograph/Film/Depict on Computer Sex Act - Knowingly or Permitting Child and SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN - POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY as well as a misdemeanor Invasion of Privacy - view, photograph, etc. person He is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on December 22, 2021.
Coptic Church Walks Back Its #MeToo Moment; SNAP Stands with Survivor
For immediate release: December 7, 2021
Less than two years ago the Coptic Orthodox Church experienced its #MeToo moment after a young activist survivor exposed a child-abusing cleric on social media. The priest was removed subsequently from ministry, and the Church reportedly “vowed to eradicate inappropriate behavior.”
Yet when that same survivor, Sally Zakhari, was recently invited to speak at a Coptic parish in Toronto, Pope Tawadros II inexplicably shut down her presentation, SNAP proudly stands with Sally and we have a message for Pope Tawadros: You cannot “eradicate” clergy sexual abuse if you are afraid to even allow people to talk about it.
We hope that the Pope’s ban will backfire and that “The Road to Discipleship: Rediscovering Christ through Trauma” will ultimately be heard. The intrepid Sally reports that the action is sparking a backlash from the Coptic community and that the search for a new venue for the talk is in progress.
SNAP knows from experience that the voices of survivors can and will lead the way to true change in recalcitrant churches. We think that day of reckoning is coming to the Coptic Church. #letherspeak #copticsurvivor #copticsurvivormovement
CONTACT: Melanie Sakoda, SNAP Survivor Support Coordinator/SNAP Orthodox Leader ([email protected], 925-708-6175), Michael McDonnell, SNAP Communications Director ([email protected], 267-261-0578), Zach Hiner, SNAP Executive Director ([email protected], 517-974-9009)
New Lawsuit Filed Against Known Abuser from Iowa, SNAP Applauds Victim for Coming Forward
For Immediate Release: December 7, 2021
A new lawsuit alleging abuse in the Archdiocese of Dubuque has been filed (Iowa District Court for Clinton County, Action #LACV047934). We applaud this brave survivor for coming forward. We hope that this news will encourage others who may have been abused in Dubuque or anywhere else in Iowa to come forward and make a report to law enforcement.
This civil action details a harrowing and sad story in which the victim was abused by multiple priests in Iowa, including one of the state’s most prolific perpetrators, Fr. William Wiebler. Due to that abuse, this survivor has already gone through the legal process with the Catholic Church once and his allegations against Fr. Wiebler were found to be credible. We have no doubt that the same determination will be made in this latest lawsuit, which accuses Fr. William Goltz of child sexual abuse. Fr. Goltz is already known to have assaulted at least three others and has a disturbing assignment history of his own.
Former Archdiocese of Philadelphia Catholic High School Theater Director Sentenced, SNAP Supports the Survivor
Former Archbishop Carroll High School theater director, Christopher Serpentine, was sentenced to three years of sex offender probation last week after pleading guilty to one count of intercourse or sexual contact with a female student, a third-degree felony. He entered the guilty plea prior to the start of his trial. Serpentine was charged in June 2019 with four counts of engaging in a sexual relationship with a student during the victim’s senior year in 2017. He had been employed at the Catholic school since 2014 and was previously an adjunct professor of theater at Delaware County Community College. Serpentine will be a registered sex offender under Megan’s Law for 25 years.
Abusive Priest from Cincinnati Pleads Guilty, SNAP Applauds the Brave Survivors
A Cincinnati priest who was facing nine counts of rape for his abuse of a boy between the years 1988 and 1991 today pleaded guilty to the charges against him. We are grateful to the police and prosecutors who shepherded this case forward and we are especially grateful to the brave survivors who came forward and shared their stories so that this dangerous man could be put in jail and kept away from children.
Catholic priest serving time for sexually abusing children convicted Monday of assaulting a woman; SNAP hopes more will follow her brave example
Fr. Urbano Vasquez was convicted on Monday, November 29, 2021, of sexually assaulting an adult female parishioner during confession in April of 2017. The Catholic priest is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for child sexual abuse. He was convicted in 2019 for sexually abusing two girls, one thirteen and the other nine. All three assaults occurred between 2015 and 2017, while the clergyman was working at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Washington D.C.
We applaud the courage of the woman who found the strength to come forward after she experienced horror during a sacred rite. SNAP knows from its work with adult survivors that they – like children -- suffer greatly from such betrayals by trusted clergymen. We even offer support specifically tailored to men and women who have been victimized by clergy. After all, in the Catholic tradition, all parishioners address the priest as “Father,” and he is in a position of authority over their spiritual lives.
SNAP mourns the loss of clergy sex abuse survivor and pioneer Phil Saviano
We are heartbroken at the loss of our dear friend, Phil Saviano, who passed away Sunday, November 28, 2021, at the home of his brother and caretaker Jim. A clergy sex abuse survivor and whistleblower who played an integral part in exposing sexual assaults against children by Roman Catholic priests in the Archdiocese of Boston, Phil was 69. There are not enough words to describe this terrible loss for both our movement and the world.
Phil’s story figured prominently in the 2015 film “Spotlight.” He was a key figure in bringing attention to the systemic abuse that led to the resignation of Boston’s Cardinal Bernard Law and forever changed the public perception of the Catholic clergy sex abuse scandal. With Phil's help, the Boston Globe’s 2002 series on cover-ups in the Archdiocese of Boston earned it the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2003. The movie based on the Globe's work, "Spotlight," won Academy Awards for best picture and best original screenplay in 2016. Actor Neal Huff played Phil in the movie.
A Jesuit priest who worked in North Carolina accused of child sexual abuse in a lawsuit; SNAP is grateful to the victim and for the Safe Child Act
The Catholic Diocese of Charlotte and a Jesuit priest have been named in a lawsuit filed under the Safe Child Act. The complaint accuses Fr. Francis P. Gillespie of sexually abusing a boy at an elementary school over the course of four years.
According to the lawsuit filed by Attorney Richard Serbin, the “plaintiff kept the abuse to himself initially because of Gillespie’s warning and feelings of helplessness and thereafter due to ongoing feelings of guilt, shame, and embarrassment.” We understand only too well how painful it is to confront the harm suffered as a young child and we are grateful to this young man for pursuing accountability and justice through the Safe Child Act. We hope that this lawsuit will lead others who may have been victimized by clergy, brothers, nuns, and church staffers to come forward, report their claim to law enforcement, and begin healing.
Brooklyn Catholic priest removed from ministry after "credible" allegations of child sex abuse: SNAP stands with the victims
More than a year after a New York City Catholic priest was accused of sexually abusing a child, the Brooklyn Diocese has finally removed the 86-year-old from ministry. According to a statement released by the Diocese, its panel of independent investigators found the allegations against Fr. Peter Mahoney to be "credible." Church officials also said that his name will now be included on the Diocese's list of accused clerics, although this update does not appear to be a priority for the Diocese as Fr. Mahoney was still missing at the time of this statement.
We loudly applaud the brave survivor who reported the abuse in October 2020, as well as the second victim who filed a lawsuit in April of 2021 under the Child Victims Act. The 2020 accusation took place between 1975 and 1978, while Rev. Mahoney was working at St. Martin of Tours in Brooklyn. We know that the average age for a child sex abuse victim to come forward is 52, so it is not surprising that this survivor is just speaking out now. We would expect many of the civil suits being filed as a result of New York's window legislation to include victims from the 1970s and 1980s.
San Francisco Archdiocese Quietly Puts Priest on Leave after Allegation of Abuse, SNAP Calls for More Transparency
In late October a parish priest from the Archdiocese of San Francisco was quietly put on leave by Catholic officials after they received an allegation of abuse. While we are grateful that Fr. David Ghiorso was immediately put on leave, as best we can tell, the information about this accusation was not shared with the wider community. We are now calling on Church leaders from San Francisco to be more transparent and forthcoming with parents and parishioners.
Fr. Ghiorso was accused of sexual abuse in a lawsuit filed in California thanks to the state's open civil window. In the letter sent to parishioners at St. Charles and St. Matthias churches, Catholic officials attempted to downplay the allegations against the cleric, saying that they dated back “30-40 years,” and that Fr. Ghiroso has had “39 years of faithful priestly ministry.” To us, this attempt at minimization only makes us more worried; if Fr. Ghiorso abused a child so early in his career, then there should be extra scrutiny given to every place he has worked. Those who abuse children seldom have just one victim.