PA--Victims tell Penn State: "Let go of Paterno's victories"
For immediate release: Wednesday, Jan. 14
Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 503 0003, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org )
Penn State officials are trying to get NCAA officials to “re-instate” all of Joe Paterno’s “wins.”
We respectfully beg Penn State officials and Joe Paterno fans to take a step back and a deep breath and focus, even for a few minutes, on the lifelong pain of the boys who were raped and sodomized by a high profile university coach. And in light of their suffering, we humbly suggest that continued lobbying to restore Paterno's "wins" and fight sanctions seems increasingly shallow, unnecessary and callous.
If the alleged goal is to allegedly "restore" the university's reputation, we suggest a more dignified and compassionate response of simply accepting the sanctions and rulings and moving ahead without more litigation and lobbying.
Joe Paterno’s legacy is supposedly about teaching boys how to be good men. When a good man does something wrong, he accepts the consequences and does everything in his power to make it right. Shouldn’t Paterno’s backers do this now?
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We were founded in 1988 and have 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, davidgclohessy@gmail.com, Barbara Dorris 314-503-0003, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org, Barbara Blaine 312-399-4747, bblaine@SNAPnetwork.org
Barbara Blaine, founder of SNAP, passed away on Sunday, September 24th, 2017. Her dying was sudden and completely unexpected. Words cannot express our sorrow nor are there words to express our gratitude for her relentless advocacy. She truly was a hero. There is an old saying, “well behaved women seldom make history”. Barbara made history and the world is a better place.
We have put together a tribute for Barbara Blaine to honor her memory. If you would like to contribute a memory, please send your favorite memory of Barbara to admin@snapnetwork.org
50 State AG Call for Grand Jury
Write a letter to the attorney general of your state. Demand, request, and beg them to impanel a grand jury.
Any investigation must be:
- independent of and separate from the church
- must have subpoena powers and ability to compel testimony under oath
Anything short of these criteria is a sham and whitewash.
In addition, write letters to the editor, make phone calls to politicians as they can apply pressure to keep them responsive to our demand. We need to make efforts to ensure that they follow up on what the state is doing to investigate these crimes.
The Attorneys General of forty states have inquired about the grand jury process in Pennsylvania. Let's get statewide investigations going in fifty states.
Note to Letter Writers
Use your own words and style of writing. Cut and paste from the templates as you wish. Include your experiences, whether as a survivor or as a member of the community. And relate your letter to the state you were abused in or state now living in.
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