Fr. Hans Zollner Resigns from Pontifical Commission
According to reports, one of the Vatican’s top officials in charge of handling the ongoing clergy abuse crisis has abruptly resigned his post. To us, this is yet another signal that anyone waiting for change to come from within the Catholic Church itself will be waiting for a very long time.
In his resignation letter, Fr. Hans Zollner called out failures of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, specifically in the areas of “responsibility, compliance, accountability and transparency.” No one who has been following the abuse scandal within the Church would be surprised by this as these are the same failures that survivors and advocates have been calling out for decades. The fact that a priest within the Vatican itself is now recognizing those failures first hand is more of an example of Vatican officials’ slow learning curve than it is some shocking revelation.
Transparency in particular has been a key sticking point for years. The fact that the Pope’s recent motu proprio, Vos estis lux mundi, was allowed to expire without some sort of report into completed Vos estisinvestigations is but one example of how the “reforms” instituted by Pope Francis have fallen short of the mark. Fr. Zollner’s resignation just adds fuel to that fire.
Church officials will attempt to wave away Fr. Zollner’s resignation as some sort of political or administrative spat. The reality is, regardless of the motivations, the fact that this already-impotent Commission has now lost its remaining founding member deals a serious blow to attempts to take the Commission or its work seriously.
CONTACT: Mike McDonnell, SNAP Communications ([email protected], 267-261-0578) Zach Hiner, Executive Director ([email protected], 517-974-9009) Shaun Dougherty, SNAP Board President ([email protected], 814-341-8386)
(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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