n Aug. 17, 2021, in a prepared statement regarding the healing process for the victims of clergy sexual abuse scandal, Buffalo Bishop Michael Fisher acknowledged that the church “must go to whatever length is required to demonstrate genuine remorse.”
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SNAP Supporter & Donor Profile: The Truth Will Prevail: Susan Vance
This profile was written by Patrick Price, Fundraising and Development Manager of SNAP, to honor our courageous and dedicated supporters and donors.
Former Catholic nun and school teacher, now wife and mother of two, Susan Vance has served as a dedicated and outspoken advocate and supporter of those who have been sexually abused by priests and bishops for almost 20 years. Her work began in 2002 when the Boston clergy sexual abuse scandal was reported and got critical attention from media and the public. While working as a school teacher, Susan realized that the situation in Knoxville, Tennessee, was as dire as that in Boston. Anthony J. O’Connell, previously a bishop in Tennessee, but reassigned as a bishop in Palm Beach, Florida, was accused of sexual abuse against two teenaged seminarians while he was head of the Hannibal, Missouri, Seminary. To make matters worse, the local Family Life Center in Oak Ridge had been named after Bishop O’Connell in 1998 when he left for Palm Beach.
Another Voice: Buffalo bishop must show true remorse to victims of abuse
The question unanswered by Fisher is what specific steps the Catholic church needs to take to demonstrate “genuine remorse.” Our bishop offered no options, ideas or solutions in his statement as to how he wants to demonstrate genuine remorse for the church’s role in this abuse.
Opinion- Washington Post-Maryland can help victims of child sex abuse -
Letter to Editor published in Washington Post today: Opinion: Maryland can help victims of child sex abuse
Yesterday at 7:54 p.m. EDT
The Sept. 5 Politics & the Nation article “McCarrick pleads not guilty to child sex abuse charges” reported that ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick got his day in court related to three counts of child sex abuse.
In contrast, child sex abuse survivors in Maryland often don’t get their day in civil court because of stringent statute-of-limitation laws. In fact, the laws even restrict a child survivor from getting access (due process) to records that could help build a criminal case. Maryland’s Hidden Predator Act is intended to provide more justice for survivors of child sex abuse by removing the statute of limitation, providing a two-year lookback period and repealing the statute-of-repose designation that was inserted to thwart cases.
Since 2018, one-third of states have passed laws extending the civil statute of limitations and establishing a lookback window for child sexual abuse claims. We at Maryland Catholics for Action hope our General Assembly will commit to passage of the bill and give survivors of child sex abuse the justice and healing they deserve.
Susan Kerin, Rockville
The writer is director of Maryland Catholics for Action.
SNAP Supporter & Donor Profile: Learning to Trust Your Gut: David Lorenz
This profile was written by Patrick Price, Fundraising and Development Manager of SNAP, to honor our courageous and dedicated supporters and donors.
David’s journey through self-healing and self-acceptance was, as he says, “evolutionary, not revolutionary.” So, for him, the feelings of guilt and self-recrimination associated with his sexual abuse by Catholic church authorities took a long time to process and heal. At the age of sixteen, David was sexually abused by his guidance counselor at his all-boys Catholic high school in Kentucky during prayer meetings and other events the counselor held at his home. Though his abuser was transferred by the church to a variety of schools, David struggled for many years to admit that he had been abused and struggled with his feelings of shame and loneliness.
The BSA Must Release A Full Accounting of the Perversion Files
For at least 57 years, from 1947 to 2004, the Boy Scouts of America kept “Ineligible Volunteer Files” – better known as “Perversion Files” – on sexual predators in their midst. The BSA LLC released some of these files in 2012, pursuant to an order from the Oregon Supreme Court. In January 2013 the Los Angeles Times published a database of 5,431 “Perversion Files” – a few of which are duplications.
IDENTIFYING AS A SURVIVOR And Not as a Victim of Abuse
The below-linked article, "IDENTIFYING AS A SURVIVOR And Not as a Victim of Abuse," was written by Bailey Brown, a recent journalism graduate of Texas State University who now works for the Burleson County Tribune.
In this, Bailey's latest piece to be shared on our website, she interviews SNAP Leader Patricia Cahill. We think that you will find it powerful and informative. The article starts on page 7 of this link.
We are grateful to Bailey for covering this important topic and for allowing us to host her articles. You can read Bailey’s other pieces here and here.
Shake it Off
This blog was written by Adults Sexually Abused by Priests (ASAP)
There is a saying that you are what you eat. I believe that to be true. Some people are sensitive to certain food groups. Some even to the point where consuming certain foods could put their life in danger. We may feel that we are our bodies and therefore we know them well, but do we really? Our bodies can be our friends or they can betray us.
Time in a Bottle
This blog was written by Adults Sexually Abused by Priests (ASAP)
This past week, Pope Francis discussed harsher penalties for those priests and lay persons who groom and use pornography in order to sexually abuse children. He also expanded upon this to include those who abuse vulnerable adults. However, the term “vulnerable adult” has always tended to mean one who is physically or mentally incapable of resisting or giving consent due to disabilities. This has expanded from a basic definition of one who lacks any sort of reason.
Research Study Title: Women Sexual Assault Survivors’ Attitudes and Experiences Survey Researcher(s): Charlotte Strauss Swanson, M.S.W., University of Tennessee Knoxville
We are a research team in the Department of Psychology at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. We are conducting a study on women sexual assault survivors’ attitudes and experiences. This online research survey will ask you to answer questions about your feelings, thoughts, and experiences you may have had as a sexual assault survivor, participation in various types of activities, mental health, and demographics. We invite you to participate in this survey to help us better understand the lives of women, including the impact of assault on psychological health.
Department of Psychology, Austin Peay Bldg
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN 37996-0900
Hot and Cold
This blog was written by Adults Sexually Abused by Priests (ASAP)
The first thing I want to share this week is that we found out that my two-year-old grandson is autistic.
