Leaked Michigan police report points to Alabama Catholic Bishop covering up abuse; SNAP reacts
For immediate release: March 4, 2024
An Alabama blog, Birmingham Diocesan Watch, anonymously received a copy of a 2007 Flint, Michigan, police report earlier this year. The report indicated that Fr. Steven Raica of the Diocese of Lansing was told by an 8-year-old boy that the child had been brutally assaulted by Fr. Vincent Anthony DeLorenzo from May to June of 1978. The victim said that the assaults stopped after he talked with Fr. Raica. At the time of the victim’s disclosure, Fr. Raica was a deacon in Michigan. He is now Bishop Raica and leads the Diocese of Birmingham.
SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, has questions about what Bishop Raica did or did not do after he learned of Fr. DeLorenzo’s assaults on the victim. Michigan’s Child Protection Law, which was enacted in 1975, required clergy to report abuse to the civil authorities at the time of disclosure. The police did not have a report on the assaults prior to the victim’s 2007 disclosure.
Lansing SNAP Leader Nadja Tirrell wonders, “Why didn’t Bishop Raica tell law enforcement back in 1978 that a little boy accused Fr. DeLorenzo of sexual abuse? How many others could have been saved if he had reported these crimes?”
SNAP is asking the Michigan Attorney General’s office to investigate Bishop Raica’s apparent failure to make the required report. We also hope that anyone who may have seen, suspected, or suffered criminal behavior by any Catholic clergyman, brother, nun, staffer, or volunteer in Michigan or Alabama will come forward and make a report to law enforcement. We cannot expect to make the Church a safer place for today’s children if the secrets of the past remain hidden.
CONTACT: Nadja Tirrell, SNAP Leader Michigan, [email protected], 517-285-0631, Nancy Crabbs, SNAP Leader Michigan, 616-514-7973, Mike McDonnell, SNAP Executive Director ([email protected] 267-261-0578) Shaun Dougherty, SNAP Board President, (814-341-8386 [email protected])
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for more than 35 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