News Story of the Day
Criminal investigation to be launched into St. Paul’s School
By Danny McDonald, Boston Globe, JULY 13, 2017
Following new reports of sexual misconduct at St. Paul’s School, authorities in New Hampshire Thursday announced a criminal investigation into the elite boarding school.
New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon J. MacDonald’s office, Concord police, and New Hampshire State Police will conduct the investigation, authorities said in a statement released Thursday night.
The investigation will initially focus on whether the school engaged in conduct that endangered the welfare of a child, the attorney general’s office said in the statement. That office will also investigate whether the school violated a law that prohibits obstructing criminal investigations.
Cardinal 'knew about priest's conviction'
By Megan Neil, July 13, 2017, Australian Associated Press
Australia's first Catholic cardinal suspended a priest who exposed himself to children but the man later returned to parish work and allegedly abused a boy, documents before a royal commission reveal.
APNewsBreak: Priest who abused child still working with kids
By Michael Tarm, July 11, 2017, Washington Post
CHICAGO — The Claretians Roman Catholic order has settled a lawsuit from a man sexually abused as a 6-year-old by a teenager who later became a prominent priest in Chicago, confirming in the settlement obtained by The Associated Press that the longtime cleric recently left the priesthood.
He sues the church to comfort the afflicted
By Milan Simonich, July 9, 2017, Santa Fe New Mexican
Happenstance can change lives. In rare cases, it can even lessen human suffering that’s been unrelenting for 30 or 40 years.
New Mexico is home to one such story. It involves attorney Brad Hall and 68 of his clients. All of these clients initially identified themselves in court documents as John Doe. But they were not faceless people, not to Hall and eventually not to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.
BACK IN AUSTRALIA, NUMBER THREE IN THE VATICAN ACCUSED OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
AFP, July 10, 2017, Sherbrooke Times
Cardinal George Pell, number three on the Vatican, arrived Monday in Australia, where it must be heard in two weeks on suspicion of sexual assault.
Pope Francis has granted leave to the head of finance for the Holy see to enable him to ensure its defense.
The prelate 76-year-old was charged in late June for ‘ crimes of sexual assault, old “, without any precision on the facts alleged or the ages of the alleged victims. It is convened on 26 July before the court of Melbourne for a preliminary hearing.
The Catholic Church in Mexico did not bring to justice pedophile priests, and this is their justification
By: Sergio Rincon, Univision Noticias, July 8, 2017
Mexican authorities investigate Cardinal Norberto Rivera for not denouncing acts of pederasty. The spokesman of the Mexican Archdiocese argued that before 2014 the law did not force them to denounce these facts, added that the Pope had finally punished the priests.
The central prosecutor says that Rivera, the highest ranking official of the institution in Mexico, knew that there were abusive priests but did not report violations to minors before Mexican authorities, so none of these religious were ever prosecuted and to date it is unknown how many Are and continue to be free. His only action before these sexual crimes was to initiate an internal judgment whose sentence and punishment gave the Pope of turn.
Man claims monk sexually abused him more than 100 times as a kid
LINDEN -- A New Jersey man who attended the now-shuttered St. Elizabeth of Hungary School more than four decades ago has anonymously stepped forward and accused a Benedictine monk of abusing him on more than 100 occasions as a teenager.
In a lawsuit filed Friday morning, a plaintiff identified as John Doe III alleges he was sexually abused on numerous occasions by the Rev. Timothy Brennan between 1968 and 1971 while a student at St. Elizabeth's School.
LET THE BISHOPS BE JUDGED: THE DEPARTURE OF TWO CARDINALS LEAVES THE FRANCIS PAPACY AT A CROSSROADS
By 05 July 2017 | by Jason Berry, The Tablet
Cardinal George Pell’s return to Australia to face criminal charges has dealt a severe blow to Pope Francis’ reform agenda, making him the third consecutive Pope to find himself in a swamp over the long, aching crisis of clergy sex abuse.
Regardless of the allegations that he now faces, Pell’s record in Australia on sex abuse cases, particularly his approval of bare-knuckle legal counter-attacks on victims, should have disqualified him from a Vatican post. Yet Francis not only chose him to lead the clean-up of the Vatican’s murky finances but also asked him to join his circle of nine cardinal-advisers without regard for that past.
Woman accuses Columbus pastor of sexual abuse
By J.T. Fellows, July 5, 2017, WTVM
COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM) – We take a closer look at accusations of sexual abuse against a Columbus pastor as a woman recently filed a lawsuit claiming Lewis Clemons molested her as a teenager.
The SNAP story you have been waiting for
By Joelle Castiex, July 4, 2017, The Worthy Adversary
I have remained quiet on the subject of the changes in SNAP, the Survivors Network.
This is because I have been very deeply involved in the recent transition in leadership, our refocus and change in messaging, and the shift from an organization with two founders in power to an organization with a working board, a managing director, and a core of passionate volunteers getting things done.
But after yet another recent article where, once again, the script was that the organization is facing an “uncertain future,” I have decided that it is time to shift the narrative and allow SNAP to own its story.
Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director