OR--Victims urge ministers to shun church over abuse case
For immediate release: Friday, May 22
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, [email protected])
We urge Portland’s religious leaders to shun officials at a local church and we urge local law enforcement to charge those church officials with obstructing justice, evidence tampering, witness intimidation or other offenses because of how they dealt with a predatory pastor.
"This was a worst-case scenario when it comes to a church and a pastor not cooperating." That’s how Washington prosecutor Kevin Barton described officials at Bethel United Pentecostal Church in Hillsboro.
According to The Oregonian, in a recent child sex abuse case, the church's head pastor
- “declined to speak with police without a briefing on their investigation,”
- “then declined unless his insurance agent could be present” and
- revealed to police that he had known about the abuse of one boy, told him to document it in a letter (but the boy didn't speak English well and was incapable of writing a letter in English).
This pastor should be harshly punished. So should any other current or former Bethel United Pentecostal staffer who ignored or concealed child sex crimes by ex-youth minister Dylan Ritterman.
If that punishment can happen through the legal system, that’s ideal. We urge police and prosecutors to look long and hard at charging Bethel officials and prosecuting them vigorously.
If that punishment cannot happen through the legal system, we urge Portland’s religious community to publicly denounce Bethel staff and shun them. Ministers should not idly sit back while their colleagues – in any denomination – endanger kids, conceal crimes, rebuff police, and behave in ways that bring shame on people of faith.
When ministers do nothing while other ministers endanger kids, all churches become less safe.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 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]), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, [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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