Archbishop Aymond Tiptoes Towards Zero Tolerance
Archbishop Greg Aymond of the scandal-ridden Archdiocese of New Orleans has adopted a harder stance towards priests credibly accused of abuse and is asking all of them to leave ministry permanently. This message is long overdue from the archbishop and needs to be backed up by action in both the church and secular society.
According to WWL TV, Archbishop Aymond and his colleagues in New Orleans are getting more aggressive with how they handle abusive priests following the Clark and Wattigny scandals of the past month. While we welcome any efforts to remove abusers from positions of power, we cannot help but wonder “why now?”
Apparently, Archbishop Aymond has allegedly been asking abusive priests in private to resign since 2018. Yet American prelates pledged to uphold zero tolerance all the way back in 2002, so this more aggressive stance is nearly two decades too late. Yet despite his tardiness in arriving to the right conclusion, we are glad that Aymond is taking these steps now and believe that this will help protect future children from abuse.
We hope that he will use all of his resources, canon lawyers, and influence with the Vatican and the CDF, to not just ask these abusive men to leave the priesthood, but force them out. But even more importantly, we hope that Archbishop Aymond’s newfound aggression will also signal his full cooperation with secular law enforcement. The best way to get abusive priests away from children is to put them in jail where they belong.
CONTACT: Kevin Bourgeois, SNAP New Orleans ([email protected], 504-376-5445), Zach Hiner, Executive Director (517-974-9009, [email protected])
(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
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