Two Diocese of Sacramento priests recently accused of child sexual abuse; SNAP urges public outreach

August 30, 2021

On August 17th and August 25th, the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento announced on its website that Fr. Daniel Madigan and Fr. Maurice O’Brien, both retired, had been accused of child sexual abuse and had their priestly faculties removed "pending the outcome of a formal investigation."

We applaud the Diocese for posting this information on their website, notifying law enforcement, and alerting parishioners in all the places where the clerics worked in Sacramento. However, we believe that the public should also be notified when new allegations are received.

The simple truth is that the majority of survivors are no longer active members of the Catholic Church, nor is Diocesan "News" a place where a victim looking for information about a perpetrator is likely to look.

We recommend that Bishop Jaime Soto make future announcements of new allegations to the media, and also include a section on their excellent list of "credibly accused" clergy for such accusations. We believe that any prelate who truly wants to help survivors heal and to protect today’s children would do nothing less.

CONTACT: Dorothy Small, SNAP Sacramento Area Leader, ([email protected], 530-908-3676 ), Melanie Sakoda, SNAP Survivor Support Coordinator ([email protected], 925-708-6175), Mike McDonnell, SNAP Communications Manager ([email protected], 267-261-0578), Zach Hiner, SNAP Executive Director ([email protected], 517-974-9009)

(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)

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Showing 2 comments

Christopher Lee commented 2022-01-28 19:27:12 -0600
Fr. Madigan as of January 28, 2022 has been cleared of ALL accusations made against him both from the civil authorities and the Sacramento Diocese and no further action will be taken against him. He will be reinstated to all his priestly functions.
The Diocese will make the formal announcement on Monday January 31 2022.
Christopher Lee attorney for Fr. Madigan
Michael McDonnell published this page in Official SNAP Media Statements 2021-08-30 10:16:16 -0500

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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.’

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