SD--Records on SD predator priest to be released
For immediate release: Thursday, Jan. 29
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, [email protected], [email protected])
South Dakota citizens and Catholics will learn much more about a predatory priest who worked in the state thanks to a court ruling issued yesterday.
A Minnesota judge has ordered two Catholic dioceses to turn over long-secret records about Fr. James Vincent Fitzgerald to attorneys who represent child sex abuse victims.
http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/01/28/sex-abuse-documents
In 2010, a civil lawsuit was filed against the Sioux City Iowa Diocese, Oblates & Sisters of the Divine Savior alleging that Fr. Fitzgerald sexually assaulted a boy and a girl in the 1960s at the Tekakwitha Indian Mission in Sisseton, SD. (In 2013 and 2014, Fr. Fitzgerald was named in other civil suits for allegedly molesting other kids in Minnesota, where he worked in three dioceses: Duluth, Crookston and New Ulm).
We are grateful to the brave Minnesota victim whose litigation led to yesterday’s decision. And we’re grateful to Ramsey County Judge John Guthmann for ruling for openness and against secrecy.
Kids are safest when parents, parishioners, police, prosecutors and the public know more about those who commit and conceal child sex crimes.
So we call on Sioux Falls Bishop Paul J. Swain to use his vast church resources to aggressively seek out anyone who may have seen, suspected or suffered Fr. Fitzgerald’s crimes. Parish bulletins, church websites, and pulpit announcements should be used to seek out anyone else who might have been sexually assaulted by this serial predator priest.
More information about Fr. Fitzgerald is available at BishopAccountability.org
(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, [email protected], Barbara Dorris 314-503-0003, [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
Showing 2 comments
I, like David, praise both Judge John Guthmann of Ramsey County and the brave Minnesota victim whose litigation led to yesterday’s decision. The judge and the victim have made the US a safer & better place.
David is also right in calling on Sioux Falls Bishop, Paul J Swain, to aggressively seek out anyone who may have seen, suspected or suffered Fr. Fitzgerald’s crimes. If the Bishop does this then he will also make the US a safer & better place.