NJ- Survivor released from confidentiality agreement, SNAP responds
For immediate release: Friday, June 06, 2014
Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314-503-0003, [email protected])
A New Jersey clergy sex abuse victim has essentially won his lawsuit which frees him from a church-imposed gag order. He is to be commended. We are grateful for this brave victim who has tirelessly worked to expose the truth and protect children.
And Catholic officials at Delbarton School should be ashamed of themselves.
William P. Wolfe was sexually abused by Fr. Timothy Brennan at Delbarton school. Brennan later plead guilty to child sexual abuse. Wolfe signed a confidentially agreement with the school, which prevented him from healing, exposing the truth and helping to prevent future abuse.
Confidentially agreements put children at risk. Victims are often manipulated into signing them when they are at one of their most vulnerable moments. We are glad Wolfe was released from his. And we are grateful Wolfe has reached out to other victims through his newspaper interview. We hope others gain courage from him and work to expose the truth and start healing, especially those who are suffering because of child sexual violence, officials' betrayals and awful gag orders.
Finally, we hope Delbarton officials withdraw their mean-spirited lawsuit against Wolfe's attorney Greg Gianforcaro.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We’ve been around for 25 years and have more than 18,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Mark Crawford (732-632-7687, [email protected])
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
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