Media Statements

For immediate release: Monday, Oct. 11, 2021

Victims & advocates seek more time to sue

Groups ask governor to extend abuse deadline

Only six weeks to go until the civil ‘window’ closes

“Many predators remain hidden,” groups say

Eleven national organizations that deal with sexual abuse are asking New Jersey’s governor to extend a Nov. 30 deadline after which considerably fewer victims of sexual trauma will be able to sue those who hurt them.

In 2019, Governor Phil Murphy signed a measure that allows anyone who was sexually assaulted in New Jersey at any time by anyone to file a civil lawsuit against them and any institution that ignored or concealed the abuse until November 30, 2021. In recent years, 19 other states have adopted similar laws, often called ‘windows.’

Fr. David Huneck was charged today by the Whitley County Prosecutors Office with child seduction, sexual battery, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and furnishing alcohol to a minor. We are very grateful to the whistle-blower who alerted authorities, the two brave girls who came forward, and to the police and prosecutor for taking their reports seriously.

According to documents filed in Whitley Superior Court, the charges stem from two incidents that are said to have taken place at the home in Columbia City provided to Fr. Huneck by Saint Paul of the Cross Catholic Church. The investigation began on September 23, when an officer with the Columbia City Police Department began looking into a report of a possible sex crime made by a staffer at Fr. Huneck’s parish. The charges involve two teens that the priest met through his position at Bishop Dwenger High School in Fort Wayne, one being over the age of consent and the other still a minor.

Statement on Report of Clergy Abuse in France and Call for a US Presidential Commission to Investigate Child Sex Abuse from Coalition of Advocacy Groups

Fr. Gabriele Martinelli was cleared of abusing his authority as a more senior seminarian to force another seminarian into “carnal acts.” The former rector of the seminary, Rev. Enrico Radice, was also cleared of charges that he covered up the senior seminarian's abuse. Troublingly, the Vatican tribunal found evidence that Fr. Martinelli had engaged in the crime of the corruption of a minor, but it said that the statute of limitations had expired.

Fr. Martinelli was the seminarian at the St. Pius X youth seminary who determined who was assigned as altar boys at papal masses. Although the complaint against the senior seminarian was known to the Pope and other Church officials in 2013, no action was taken until 2019, when the accusations were covered by the Italian media. By that time, Fr. Martinelli had already been a priest for two years. 

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

(For Immediate Release October 5, 2021) 

We are in complete awe of the brave victims who came forward to share their tragic experiences with the commission, they join a huge network of survivors who are changing the world and protecting others from these atrocities.

Jean-Marc Sauve', president of the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE) submitted the report today in the Marceau Long auditorium in Paris. While we are encouraged to learn in this report that 22 alleged cases have been forwarded to prosecutors. Sadly, the majority have been time-barred from justice. We are simply stunned to learn that the report estimates 330,000 victims of child sex abuse within the Catholic Church in France over the past 70 years. Sauve' said estimates are based on research and include abuse committed by priests, other clerics, and laypersons involved with the church.

(For Immediate Release October 4, 2021) 

Independent Commission in France is set to release a report on child abuse in the Catholic Church: SNAP eagerly awaits the findings.

What most likely will be a scathing look into child abuse in the Catholic Church looks set to rattle France on Tuesday as the chair of the commission’s research, Jean-Marc Suave’, said the commission’s research uncovered 2,900 and 3,200 pedophile church members since 1950. At a minimum, there may possibly be 10,000 victims said Suave’.

The Bishops’ Conference of France launched the commission in 2018, following repeated sexual abuse scandals within the country. The 2,500-page report is the result of interviews with witnesses and the research of church, court, and police archives. It will offer estimates of the number of offenders and victims and detail “institutional and cultural” mechanisms that allowed offenders to stay in place, Sauvé said.

Marc Artzrouni, SNAP Europe stated when this commission began its work, “We must not be naive and we need to ask the obvious question: will one more report, particularly with no emphasis on accountability, really make a difference? Or will it just collect dust in the Pope's library, with nothing changing and the Church continuing to obfuscate, cover-up, and evade responsibility for its crimes? “

In our view, knowledge of past crimes is only valuable if it is translated into actions that will help prevent future sexual abuse and cover-ups. Additionally, we call on secular authorities and prosecutors in France, to recognize that cover-ups are the rule and a crime. Law enforcement can play a crucial role in protecting the vulnerable and comforting the abused when they aggressively investigate these old crimes. We urge Catholics to wake up and hold church officials accountable. Believe victims when they come forward, and never tell them to "get over it." This is NOT a thing of the past.

We challenge church officials to do more than just say they are being open and transparent, and actually start doing it. Those who have not already done so should post the names of all church workers who have been found guilty, who have admitted, or who have been accused of the sexual abuse of children. In the interest of public safety and for the healing of victims, these men should also reach out to all the communities where known predators worked and beg survivors to come forward and report to law enforcement.

(SNAP will be available for commentary upon the release of the report) 

(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) 

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] )  

In an episode of ‘Red Table Talk’- The Estefans, both Gloria Estefan and guest Claire Crowley revealed publicly the abuse they suffered at the hands of trusted figures. Estefan disclosed that she was sexually abused at age 9 by a male family member at his music school. Crowley talked about her experience of being abused by a priest.

Any child at any moment could be subject to sexual abuse, predators do not discriminate. We admire the courage of Gloria Estefan and Claire Crowley for sharing their personal story, it will help thousands of others feel they are not alone and maybe encouraging them to get the help and support they need.

Our network here at SNAP includes people from all walks of life who share a common bond of lifetime trauma from the effects of being abused sexually. Together, we work to heal, protect the vulnerable, and seek truth and justice. As we now know through the airwaves of media, the less fortunate, the wealthy, singers, athletes, professionals in all fields are among those that have held onto this pain as well.  Whether you are male, female, LGBTQ, blue-collar, or white-collar, our experiences and coping skills show the suffering. Sadly, many victims have been lost to suicide, overdose, and untreated medical issues.

Survivors and advocates from SNAP stand in solidarity with all survivors of sexual abuse and hope that they will have the chance at healing and the justice they deserve.

Monsignor Joseph C. McLoone, a well-liked parish priest who was assigned to St. Joseph’s Church in Downingtown, pleaded guilty on Thursday to stealing more than $30,000 in parish funds, although when he was arrested, the amount of money he was alleged to have stolen was closer to $100,000.  We cannot help but wonder if the Archdiocese was agreeable to this plea bargain because they did not want the details of the cleric's ongoing sexual misconduct aired in open court.

After a long meeting on Tuesday (September 28), the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) again failed to agree on the ground rules for a third-party investigation of the denomination’s handling of child sex abuse accusations. We call on the Executive Committee to stop dragging their feet on procedural steps and to stand up for protecting the boys and girls who attend their churches.

We applaud the SBC members' decision in June of 2021 to stop handling investigations internally, and we are dumbfounded that the Executive Committee will not waive attorney-client privilege as the denomination wants. These confidential exchanges are crucial to third-party investigators if the SBC wants a full and transparent look at how sexual abuse allegations have been handled in the past and, more importantly, to determine if there are predatory ministers or youth counselors still active today. The protection of young lives should be the priority, not the protection of the assets of the organization or the members of the Executive Committee.

The number of those on the Executive Committed who support waiving attorney-client privilege appears to be growing, and we are heartened by this development. Rather than use the privilege to continue to keep abusers and enablers hidden, the Committee should side with those who want a fully independent investigation that has full access to records and testimonies. This is the best way to better protect children within their denomination. Now it is time for the rest of the Executive Committee to see the light and to agree to move forward in a way that is transparent.

CONTACT: Mike McDonnell, SNAP Communications Manager ([email protected], 267-261-0578), Shaun Dougherty, SNAP President, [email protected], 814-341-8386, Zach Hiner, SNAP Executive Director (517-974-9009, [email protected]),