News Story of the Day
Churches are discriminating against job seekers for being sex abuse victims — and it’s legal
By TOM BOGGIONI, Raw Story, April 15, 2016
Faced with what appears to be an epidemic of child sex abuse cases, U.S. churches have taken to asking prospective employees if they have ever been sexually assaulted based on the belief that a childhood attack may result in the victim becoming an potential abuser.
Writing at the Daily Beast, activist and journalist Zack Kopplin notes the rising tide of churches requesting the sexual history of job applicants as a condition of employment — including porn-viewing habits.
In Our Opinion: Statute of limitations for molesters is intolerable
TheDailyStar.com, April 14, 2016
“Statutes of limitations,” according to Lawyers.com, “are laws that set time limits on how long you have to file a ‘civil’ lawsuit, like a personal injury lawsuit, or how long the state has to prosecute someone for committing a crime.”
As far as we are concerned, the New York state Legislature doesn’t know a statute of limitations from the Statue of Liberty.
Two lawsuits accuse No. 2 leader at St. John's Abbey of abuse
By Staff and wire reports, APRIL 12, 2016, StarTribune
Two lawsuits accuse the former prior of St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minn., of abusing two former prep school students in the 1970s and early 1980s.
The lawsuits come after the abbey and its review board earlier this year cleared the Rev. Tom Andert, saying the allegations were unsubstantiated. Andert’s name has never been on the abbey’s list of those with credible allegations against them of the abuse of minors.
Sex-abuse bill lobbying in Catholic churches is over the top
By Bill White, April 9, 2016, The Morning Call
The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, part of the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese, is seen in Altoona, Pa. Two Catholic bishops who led a small Pennsylvania diocese helped cover up the sexual abuse of hundreds of children by more than 50 priests and other religious leaders over a 40-year period, according to a grand jury report.
We were dismayed to find this letter inserted in our church bulletin this past Sunday," wrote a local Catholic who contacted me last week about a letter from Allentown Diocese Bishop John Barres.
Barres' letter outlined the diocese's child sex-abuse prevention efforts — and then lobbied against state legislation that would change the statutes of limitations for such cases, asking parishioners to contact their legislators about its "detrimental effects."
EXCLUSIVE: The final insult - 'child molester' Catholic priest who committed suicide to evade justice said it was a 'gift' to his victims – after a life 'serving others'
8 April 2016,
- Father Virgilio Elizondo, 80, shot himself in the head after he was accused of molesting a young boy
- Notre Dame professor was leading Catholic intellectual but faced ruin before he shot himself in the head at San Antonio, Texas, home
- Now his suicide note is revealed and shows how he admitted being 'a sinner' but said: 'I have lived a life dedicated to serving others'
- Lawyer for the victim tells Daily Mail Online: 'Giving up your life is not a gift to any abused child, it's just a manipulation'
Mahony conferring confirmations at Saint Kateri
Sex abuse and molestation charges have rocked the Catholic Church for decades. Amid the allegations, one man whose career was tarnished by the scandals was retired L.A. Cardinal Roger Mahony.
On April 29, Mahony will confer the sacrament of confirmation to the teen class at Saint Kateri Catholic Church, and many parishioners and community members are outraged.
Jesus wept: There were 12 reported incidents of Christian pastors molesting kids — in just the last month
TOM BOGGIONI, 02 APR 2016, RawStory.com
The arrest of a Christian school principal in Port Angeles, Washington for sexually assaulting two pre-teen girls brings to light, once again, what appears to be an epidemic of sexual predators in Christian churches and schools.
According to the Crimes Against Children Research Center, 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys is a victim of child sexual abuse. The exact number of actual sexual assaults is unknown since many victims never speak up or, in some cases like Florida, the sexual assault is hushed up.
French diocese offices searched in pedophile priest case: source
By AFP Staff, March 30, 2016, news.yahoo.com
Lyon (AFP) - French investigators searched the offices of the diocese of Lyon on Wednesday over the alleged cover-up of a paedophile priest, a source close to the probe said.
The diocese said in a statement that the Archbishop of Lyon, Philippe Barbarin, who is under fire over his handling of the affair, "has said repeatedly that he is prepared to cooperate openly with the investigation".
The search of the offices is linked to the prosecution of Bernard Preynat, a priest who has admitted sexually abusing scouts that he was supervising in the Lyon area of central France more than 25 years ago.
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