Ellwood Priest Accused of Abusing Siblings, Diocese Ignored Reports by Victim, According to New Lawsuit
A just filed lawsuit claims that a man and his sister were sexually abused by an Elwood priest and that the sister's allegations were ignored by the Catholic Church when first reported in the 1990s. We applaud these brave survivors for coming forward and call for Diocesan officials to come clean about what happened when the abuse was first reported and why no action was taken.
According to the complaint, William Schneider and his sister were both abused by Fr. James Somma, who befriended the family in order to groom and molest the children in the 1960s. Fr. Somma has been accused of abuse many times and we believe that this news will likely bring other survivors out of the woodwork. We hope that anyone who was hurt by this cleric will come forward and make a report to the police.
An especially disturbing element of this lawsuit is that Catholic officials from the Diocese of Pittsburgh ignored the allegations brought by the sister when she reported her abuse to them in the 1990s. We can only imagine how many other children were hurt by Fr. Somma because of the shameful decision by Diocesan leaders to take no action. Those Catholic officials should be held accountable for their indifference to the suffering of victims and for their willingness to put other children in harm’s way.
We hope that anyone who had been hurt by Fr. Somma or any other priest from the Diocese of Pittsburgh will be inspired by this news to come forward, make a report to police and prosecutors, and start healing.
CONTACT: Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Regional Leader, (636-433-2511, [email protected]), Zach Hiner, SNAP 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