Statement from NY Leader Janet Klinger on Bishop John McGann

We are members of a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. We exist for two reasons: To protect the vulnerable and to heal the wounded. We are here today for three reasons.

First, we are begging anyone with information or suspicions about crimes or cover ups by former Long Island Bishop John McGann to come forward.

McGann was sued this week by two brave women. We in SNAP strongly suspect there are others in and around Rockville Centre who saw, suspected or suffered McGann’s crimes and misdeeds. They should find the courage to speak up so that they can heal and so that others who ignored or hid McGann’s wrongdoing will be expose or punished.

Our message to victims: You CAN get better. But to do so, you must break your silence. Everyone recovers from the horror of abuse in different ways. But few recover alone. Reach out to trusted sources of help – police, prosecutors, therapists, loved ones or support groups like ours! Do it today.

Second, we are warning Long Island parents about two publicly accused child molesting clerics who were ‘outed’ for abuse elsewhere but also spent time here and may in fact still be here. They are Fr. Freddy Washington and Fr. Christopher Pliauplis. They’ve attracted public attention elsewhere but little or no attention in or around Long Island.

There’s more info on both men on our website, SNAPnetwork.org, and on BishopAccountability.org, a very reliable source.

Again, if you saw, suspected or suffered harm by these two, please call the police. Kids are safest when predators are jailed. And please call SNAP or therapists or loved ones, so you can get the support you need and deserve.

Finally, we are here to urge Rockville Centre John Barres to do what dozens of his brother bishops across the US have done – post on church websites the names of all clerics who are proven, admitted or ‘credibly accused’ abusers. This is neither difficult nor controversial. Two bishops did this in 2002. Over the next 16 years, dozens more took this step. A dozen more bishops have done it just this month.

It’s the quickest and easiest way a bishop can protect kids. There’s no reason to keep hiding the identities and whereabouts of potentially dangerous individuals.

Contact: Janet Klinger, NY Leader ([email protected],516-749-3798) Zach Hiner, Executive Director ([email protected], 517-974-9009)

(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)