Art & Argentina stories give me hope
Sometimes, I find hope in odd places, like the "international" of yesterday's New York Times.
On page one, there was a story about the hundreds of paintings that were stolen by Nazis and finally recovered decades later.
Inside, there was a story about records relating to Argentina's "Dirty War." Government officials have found a "trove of secret documents" that "provide rare insight" into "human rights abuses" that took place under Argentina's dictatorship from 1976 - 1983.
Given the extent of the harm and wrongdoing in both cases, it would be easy to read them and feel depressed about how often and how severely authority figures abuse their authority.
But somehow, my "take away" is more hopeful. Both stories reminded me of Martin Luther King quotes:
"No lie lives forever."
"The moral arc of the universe is long but it bends towards justice."
Both stories remind me that while evil often wins in the short term, good often prevails in the long term.
Church officials continue to win skirmishes. They get child sex abuse cases tossed out on technicalities. They deceive citizens and congregants, calling heinous child sex crimes "boundary issues" and "suspected misdeeds." They persuade themselves and their hand-picked lay panels that abuse isn't really abuse. They "explain away" their deliberate complicity, calling it "missteps" and "errors." They keep sex offenders on the job, claiming that the "restrictions" they allegedly put on cunning criminals can somehow stop them from acting on their deeply-rooted and overwhelming compulsion to sexually violate others.
But with every passing day, it becomes harder for them to hide the truth and get by with it.
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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