Texas Rangers Raid Diocesan Offices in Houston, SNAP Responds
We applaud Texas law enforcement officials for raiding the “secret archives” of the Houston Catholic archdiocese. All too often, police and prosecutors pursue child molesting clerics but ignore the church supervisors and co-workers who hide their crimes.
Today’s raid was in response to the handling of the Fr. Manual LaRosa-Lopez case by Houston church officials. Perhaps if Cardinal Daniel DiNardo had reported the allegations against Fr. LaRosa-Lopez to law enforcement when he first heard of them this raid would not have been necessary. We cannot help but wonder what will be revealed in these secret files, but are glad that the Montgomery County prosecutor’s office will now have new information to work from.
This case reminds us of that of Fr. Gerald Robinson in Toledo. Ohio police investigators arrested Fr. Robinson and asked diocesan staff for his personnel file. They were given three pages. Later, they executed two “no knock” search warrants on the diocese. They recovered hundreds and hundreds of pages of records, documents that had never been turned over to the police. Those hidden records led to Fr. Robinson's conviction.
Institutions cannot police themselves and it is only through strong action from law enforcement that the full truth of their scandals can be revealed. We applaud the move and hope that it will inspire others who saw, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes or cover ups in Texas to make a report to law enforcement officials immediately.
CONTACT: Michael D. Norris, SNAP Houston ([email protected], 713-855-9178)
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
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