NY- Syracuse priest arrested on child porn charges
For immediate release: Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, [email protected])
We are grateful that Fr. Robert Ours has been arrested on child porn charges. Now, we hope his superiors in the Syracuse Catholic diocese aggressively seek out others who may have seen, suspected or suffered Fr. Ours' crimes and urge them to contact police and prosecutors immediately.
In cases like this, Catholic church employees and members have a simple choice. They can passively sit back, do nothing, and hope that police and prosecutors build a strong case, win a conviction, and put a dangerous cleric behind bars. Or they can actively seek out others with knowledge and suspicions that might help police and prosecutors build a strong case. We hope they will act responsibly and use their church bulletins, parish websites and pulpit announcements to break a centuries-old culture of silence in Catholicism about clergy sex crimes.
Specifically, we urge Syracuse's bishop to personally visit every parish where Fr. Ours worked, begging victims, witnesses and whistle blowers to contact law enforcement so that kids can be protected and justice can be done.
Finally, Fr. Ours is NOT a “former” priest or an “ex” priest. A priest becomes an ex-priest when the Vatican defrocks him and not before. This has not happened. So Fr. Ours is a Syracuse diocese priest, even if he is retired.
(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])
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