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 Camden Boosts Compensation Program, but Survivors Still Aren’t Getting What they Deserve
Several months after being accused of underreporting their assets, the Catholic Diocese of Camden has now boosted the amount of compensation it is offering to survivors. Put simply, church officials from Camden are vacillating between greed and dishonesty when they should be opening their hands and diocesan coffers for the victims that the diocese has created.
Time and time again, church officials have been exposed for misusing bankruptcy court and hiding assets improperly, so we are glad that survivors in Camden are at least getting better compensation than was originally announced. At the same time, multiple different attempts have been made to determine the lifetime cost of abuse that society bears as the result of sexual abuse, and estimates show that the cost is nearly $900,000. That burden is felt by taxpayers, not wrongdoers and enablers, and as far as we are concerned, it is that latter group that should be paying for the years of therapy, medical treatments, and other life problems that were created by the abuse. The $163,000 per victim the diocese claims to be offering is but a down payment on the suffering already endured.
Catholic priest from Pennsylvania charged with attempted sexual assault and other serious offenses involving minors
Fr. Gregory Loughney was arrested on October 22, 2021, on charges that he contacted and arranged to meet with what he thought was a 15 year old boy using the online dating app Tinder. The Catholic clergyman was arraigned the following day. While we are grateful that law enforcement conducted this sting and have charged Fr. Loughney, we are concerned that he may have also assaulted real children, and that there may even be victims in the parishes where he worked. We feel it is incumbent upon the Diocese of Scranton to announce this arrest in every place that Fr. Loughney was assigned either as a cleric or a seminarian, and to beg anyone who may have experienced, witnessed, or suspected abuse to contact law enforcement.
Pennsylvania priest pleads ‘no contest’ to sexually assaulting a child, SNAP responds
Today, Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced that Fr. Andrew Kawecki pleaded no contest to sexually assaulting an altar boy in 2004. The victim was 11 years old at the time and the abuse continued until the boy was 14. The priest used his position of power to abuse within his parish at St. Cyril and Methodius Church in Fairchance, Pennsylvania.
Despite consistent rhetoric from Church officials that the sexual abuse scandal is a thing of the past, by our count an average of two Catholic clerics or staffers are charged each month with crimes against children or targeted adults. In Pennsylvania, Fr. Kawecki was identified following the release of the Grand Jury on Clergy Sexual Abuse in 2018 and was charged in August 2020. To date, the Office of Attorney General in Pennsylvania (OAG) has fielded over 2,000 tips regarding clergy and institutional abuse, and it was information received through this hotline that led to Fr. Kawecki's prosecution. This case shows the importance of secular investigations that provide opportunities for survivors to tell their stories and listen, hear, and act in response to those outcries.
A fourth delay in the start of Fr. Geoff Drew in Hamilton County Ohio; SNAP responds
The trial of Fr. Geoff Drew, a Cincinnati priest, has been delayed for a fourth time according to his defense attorney. The trial was set to begin Monday, October 25th. The priest, 59, has been housed at the Hamilton County Justice Center in lieu of a $5 million bond and could face life in prison if convicted. According to a report by Fox-19 news, the latest delay is at the request of Hamilton County prosecutors and a new item on the court docket shows the hearing still scheduled for Monday as a ‘plea or trial setting.’
In August 2019, less than a month after being placed on leave, the Cincinnati-area Fr. Drew was indicted on nine counts of rape. The clergyman, who was the former head of St. Ignatius Loyola Parish, is accused of abusing a young boy while he was employed as the Music Minister at St. Jude School in Cincinnati. Our hearts ache for the victim in this case and we hope that he is not discouraged by this recent news.
Two Lincoln Diocese priests will be placed back into ministry after being removed while sexual misconduct allegations were investigated; SNAP reacts
The Catholic Diocese of Lincoln in Nebraska will be reassigning two priests who were the subjects of investigations into sexual misconduct. According to the statements released by the Diocese, both Fr. Scott Courtney and Fr. Thomas Dunavan will now have limitations in place in their new postings. We remain concerned about the safety of parishioners and the public.
Fr. Courtney had been placed on leave in September 2018. A woman accused the clergyman of sexual misconduct during an August meeting with the Diocesan council. She also reported the incident to the police. Fr. Dunavan was accused of "sexual misconduct/grooming" of either a child or a young adult and was removed from ministry in 2019. That allegation was also reported to law enforcement.
Survivors of childhood sexual abuse in Maine can now seek justice
The state of Maine is now safer for children because of a law that went into effect on October 18, 2021, that will help expose dangerous child predators. Adults of all ages who were abused as children will now be able to file lawsuits for child sex abuse, even if their claim was expired under the prior law. This change opens the courthouse doors to victims who, until now, were denied justice. It also means that at least some child molesters - and any colleagues or supervisors who helped them hide their crimes - can no longer hide from the eyes of the public.
We understand that no amount of money can make up for a lost childhood. But when survivors are allowed to use the tried-and-true civil justice system to name their abusers, obtain secret records, exposing cover-ups, and provide valuable evidence to law enforcement, today's children are safer, and victims can begin to heal. Similar laws in California, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware have helped to publicize the names of hundreds of perpetrators, and thousands of pages of evidence of abuse have exposed cover-ups and in some cases even led to criminal prosecutions.
SNAP extremely frustrated that Catholic sexual abuse does not appear to be on the agenda for President Biden's meeting with the Pope
VA school district failed to report an accusation of sexual assault, moved abuser; SNAP responds
We are stunned by the apparent callousness of the Loudoun County Public School District for failing to report alleged sexual assaults. Moreover, the District apparently compounded their mistake by allowing the accused perpetrator to transfer to another school, where he is alleged to have assaulted another student in the exact same manner.
We hope that these failures are thoroughly investigated and that charges are pursued against the responsible parties where possible. There is absolutely no excuse for keeping silent about child sex abuse reports, or for exposing additional children to possible assaults.
Sadly, those who ignore or conceal child sex crimes, or who endanger additional young lives, are rarely prosecuted. We hope this case is timely enough to make criminal charges possible. If not, we hope the state of Virginia or the federal government will continue changing the laws in the future. Mandatory reporters are often children's first line of defense, and failure to report and endangering additional children should not be taken lightly.
We echo the thoughts of Virginia State SNAP Leader Becky Ianni who said, 'How can parents protect their children if they don’t know there is danger?'
CONTACT: Mike McDonnell, SNAP Communications Manager,( [email protected], 267-261-0578) Becky Ianni, SNAP Virginia State Leader ([email protected], 703-801-6044), Zach Hiner, SNAP Executive Director ([email protected], 517-974-9009)
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Second victim speaks out publicly in the case of Fr. David Huneck; SNAP applauds her bravery
Yesterday the second victim of Fr. David Huneck also spoke out publicly. We admire the bravery and courage it took for her to come forward. We hope that these two teens know that in reporting what they experienced with Fr. Huneck, they may have helped to save others from a similar fate. Hopefully, both of these brave survivors are getting all the help they need to heal. We are confident that others will hear them and also find the strength to disclose their own suffering to family, friends, law enforcement, or groups like ours.
It can be extremely difficult for survivors to come forward and talk about their abuse, especially if their perpetrator is a trusted religious authority figure. It is even more difficult to come forward at a young age. The average age for a survivor to disclose their abuse is 52.
In a statement to WANE-15 news outlet in Indiana, the second survivor said “this road has not been easy. I have been on a roller coaster of emotions. I am hurt, embarrassed, confused, and sad to have lost a trusted role model. Most importantly, I am relieved to finally be speaking up. I am ready to be a light to all girls affected by abuse. I want to help, just like I have been helped. I want victims to know that there is a light, even though it may not seem like it now.”
We feel it is important for all victims who have suffered through the horror of abuse to know that these feelings are completely understandable, and we empathize with them. Those who have suffered sexual assault by trusted figures in their life, especially at the hands of clergy, suffer from many challenges that can last a lifetime. Some survivors even refer to such assaults as ‘soul murder.’ The most important part of the journey and the biggest first step is speaking out. The two girls in this case are ahead of the curve by many years and we know their story will inspire others.
CONTACT: Mike McDonnell, SNAP Communications Manager, (267-261-0578, [email protected]) Zach Hiner, SNAP Executive Director (517-974-9009, [email protected]), Melanie Sakoda, Survivor Support Coordinator (925-708-6175, [email protected]) Shaun Dougherty, SNAP Board President, (814-341-8386, [email protected])
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is www.snapnetwork.org)
SNAP echoes advocacy group concerns about how a Philadelphia priest ended up in Tennessee, where he was accused of sexual assault
Catholics4Change, an advocacy group that serves as a forum for those with concerns regarding Church accountability, issued a statement yesterday about a priest who was ordained by and who worked in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, but who was quietly allowed to move to the Diocese of Nashville where he was accused of sexual assault. We echo Catholics4Change's concerns about what the cleric was doing in another state, and why the Tennessee allegations were not shared with parishioners in the Archdiocese.
Fr Kevin McGoldrick was ordained for the Archdiocese in 2003, but his known assignment history there is spotty. An article in Catholic Philly indicated that the clergyman was assigned as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in South Philadelphia in 2008. Catholics4Change reported he was also associated with the Theology of the Body Institute in Downingtown. We wonder exactly where Fr. McGoldrick was during the 10 years between his ordination and 2013, when he was transferred to Nashville? Catholics4Change also observed that Fr. McGoldrick was approved by Archbishop Chaput for an assignment in Nashville when there was a shortage of priests in the Archdiocese and that there was no announcement of the Tennessee allegations against Fr. McGoldrick in Philadelphia. To us, these are all red flags suggesting that Fr. McGoldrick was a problem before he even arrived in Nashville.