Media Statements

A priest who was tapped this summer to lead a diocese in Minnesota has withdrawn from the position after being accused of abusing a child in the 1980s. This sad situation is a reminder of just how high alleged abusers can climb in the church and speaks to a critical need for a shift in how we respond to allegations of child sexual abuse.

An employee at a Catholic school in the Archdiocese of Houston has been arrested on child sexual assault charges. We now call on Catholic officials in Houston to do outreach to parents and parishioners and to update their list of the credibly accused to include this staffer and all other lay employees in Houston that have hurt children or vulnerable adults.

Dear Senator Murkowski:

We are leaders of SNAP, the Survivors’ Network of those Abused by Priests, an international non-profit organization that has spent the past thirty years advocating for survivors of clergy sexual abuse, working to prevent future cases of sexual violence, and exposing cases of institutional abuse. We are writing to you today regarding a concerning situation that involves your hometown and a serially abusive Catholic priest who was quietly sent there.

A former Franciscan brother whose sexual abuse of impoverished black children in Mississippi made national news last year has been arrested and charged in two states on multiple charges of child sex assault.  According to the AP, West was first charged in Appleton, Wisconsin last month and was extradited Wednesday to Mississippi where he faces additional charges. 

An investigation into Jerry Falwell Jr.’s tenure as president of Liberty University will be conducted by an outside agency, something we believe is necessary in order to get to the bottom of the scandals that have rocked the institution in recent weeks. Given that Falwell is a second-generation leader, there could well be overlaps with his father’s tenure that may require exploration and we hope that the investigators have been given leave to explore any and all abuses of power that have occurred at Liberty.

Archbishop Gregory P. Aymond named Fr. Henry Brian Highfill to the Archdiocese of New Orleans list of credibly accused priests on Tuesday, August 18, 2020. According to his work history, Fr. Highfill was at St. Frances de Sales parish in 1975, and in charge of the altar boys.

A former coach at a Catholic high school in Havelock, North Carolina, has been convicted on twelve counts of second degree child sexual exploitation. We now call on Diocesan officials to update their list of those “credibly” accused to include this teacher and all other lay employees or volunteers in the Diocese of Raleigh that have hurt children or vulnerable adults.

A teacher at a Catholic school in Camden, New Jersey, has been arrested for sexually abusing a student at least 60 times over the course of a year and a half. This is the 13^th arrest of a Catholic staffer this year, demonstrating an ongoing need for Church officials to better prevent cases of sexual abuse. It is also a reminder of the important role that secular law enforcement plays in prevention.

A mis-addressed email exposed the names of nearly 50 survivors who were taking part in a compensation program run by the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. Reports indicate that those victims were never notified that their identities had been exposed. 

A recently published study released by German religious orders is a baby step towards transparency, and nothing more.