PA: Survivors’ group applauds the release of a redacted version of the grand jury report
For immediate release Friday, July 27, 2018
Statement by Tim Lennon, Volunteer President of the Board of Directors of SNAP, the Survivors Network (415-312-5820, [email protected])
We are extremely grateful that the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania will make a redacted version of the grand jury report public next month. Hopefully, the judges will ultimately decide to allow the entire report to see the light of day.
In the meantime, survivors know without seeing a page of the report, quoting from the letter of the Attorney General Josh Shapiro to Pope Francis, that it will show “widespread sexual abuse of children and a systematic coverup by leaders of the Catholic Church.”
Those of us who have worked with SNAP for years know that it is not easy to go up against the Catholic Church, with its great power and wealth. We are thankful to the attorney general for working so hard to have the bulk of the grand jury report released. Once again, the rule of law has prevailed, at least for the most part, over opposition from within the Church.
We are also delighted that many survivors who shared their truths with the grand jurors, and who feared that this difficult and painful experience was going to be for nothing, will finally see their horrific experiences made public. We hope that exposing the lengths to which these six dioceses went to protect predatory priests, as well as the great suffering that the victims endured as a result, will go a long way toward preventing this from ever happening again in Pennsylvania.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, is the world's oldest and largest support group for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has a network of more than 25,000 survivors and supporters. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Contact - Tim Lennon (415-312-5820, [email protected]); Judy Jones (636-433-2511, [email protected]), Becky Ianni (703-801-6044,[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