Former Catholic priest extradited back to California with 12 felony charges of lewd acts upon children; SNAP responds
We commend the efforts of the Rhode Island Fugitive Task Force, who took Christopher John Cunningham, 58, into custody. Cunningham is a former priest from Los Angeles County, California, who, according to the L.A. District Attorney, abused four boys from two parishes between 1995 and 2001. He was removed from active ministry in 2006 and faced civil suits in 2015. But sadly that did not prevent Cunningham from becoming a Clinical Psychologist in Newport, R.I., in 2013. The actions of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in just releasing what appears to be a predator known to them prove once again that the Catholic Church is more concerned about protecting themselves, the abusive Shepard, instead of the sheep.
We are outraged that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles did not turn Cunningham over to authorities when the first report of sexual abuse came forth. We are outraged but not shocked. We often see this same pattern in dioceses and religious orders. It is not uncommon for defrocked priests to continue onto another life; after all, most are highly educated and can easily slide into other roles.
However, this news also illustrates the power of survivor's voices, their courage to come forward to remove a predator from the general public and prevent him from ever hurting another child is enormous. Thank you to these brave men!
We demand that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles disclose where other clerics laicized for sexual abuse have relocated; the general public deserves to know if a perpetrator is working with their children. We also encourage any victim of Christopher John Cunningham to reach out to SNAP for resources at www.snapnetwork.org
CONTACT: Mike McDonnell, SNAP Communications Manager (267-261-0578), 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
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