Catholic Monk Comes Forward in Msgr. Harrison Case
We applaud Br. Justin Gilligan, not only for his courage to speak out and share publicly his experiences with Msgr. Craig Harrison, but also for his efforts to support the men – and their families – who have also come forward. His willingness to speak truth to power and stand up for other victims is inspiring. We hope that other survivors and whistleblowers will be encouraged by Br. Gilligan’s example and follow in his footsteps.
Each story that has come out about this situation so far has referenced Msgr. Harrison’s high status and support in his community. These stories have also featured incendiary, ad hominem attacks from Msgr. Harrison’s attorney. Yet in the face of these barriers, John Doe 1, Br. Gilligan and the other survivors in California have persisted in their efforts to share their truth and help protect children. We owe them a great debt of thanks.
We hope that, as these stories continue to mount, the Bakersfield community will start rallying around survivors instead of the accused priest. We believe that when this happens, more survivors will feel safe enough to come forward. When they do, we hope that they will make a report to AG Xavier Becerra’s clergy abuse investigation, along with their local police department.
CONTACT: Dan McNevin, SNAP Board Member ([email protected], 415-341-6417), Joey Piscitelli, SNAP California ([email protected], 925-262-3699) Melanie Sakoda, SNAP Survivor Support Coordinator, ([email protected], 925-708-6175), Esther Hatfield Miller, SNAP Los Angeles (562-673-9442, [email protected]), 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)