Media Statements

For Immediate Release: January 18, 2025 

After four years of bankruptcy proceedings, the Diocese of Rockville Centre has agreed to settle the claims brought by 600 survivors of child sexual for approximately $323 million. Payments should begin later this year. SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, hopes that this process will bring some measure of healing to those who will receive compensation for the life-altering crimes they experienced.

PJ D'Amico, who is among those scheduled to receive restitution, noted the Diocese’s agreement to settle was " more like 'uncle' than 'do the right thing.'" Sadly, we cannot help but agree. As attorney Jeff Anderson observed, “Some survivors waiting on a settlement died before the case was resolved.”

In addition, there are many victims who have not come forward, and now will never be able to do so. One of the downsides of bankruptcy is that survivors who either do not remember their abuse or who are not ready to come forward by the bankruptcy bar date, but whose ordeals occurred before the bankruptcy was filed, are forever barred from filing a civil claim for damages. 

Of course, this is one of the attractions for Catholic Dioceses facing countless claims from those who were harmed because Church officials chose to protect predators instead of children. We hope that someday the federal law will be amended to ban this tactic being used by those who enable child sexual abuse.

Judge rules against Christian board school

Lawsuit is “unprecedented” says attorney

Sheriff’s department staffers are also named as defendants

For Immediate Release: January 16, 2025

A judge has ruled that a wrongful death lawsuit against a Christian boarding school in Missouri can move forward, rebuffing officials at the now-shuttered facility and local law enforcement who sought to have the case tossed out.

The 23 page decision was issued by U. S. District Judge Doug Harpool earlier this month.

In October 2023, Kathleen Britt sued staffers at Agape School in Stockton and the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office, charging that her son Jason died after having been brutally gang-raped and emotionally abused at Agape.

Several employees of the facility and the sheriff’s department either committed, suspected or knew about Jason’s abuse but ignored or concealed it, according to the suit.

Two Survivors File Formal Vos Estis Complaints to Vatican Against the Archbishop

“Archbishop Cordileone continues to practice his devious, deceptive, and dangerous concealment of known offenders. It’s time for survivors and the public to know the perils of predator priests in the community.” – Jeff Anderson

WHAT:
Tomorrow, at a sidewalk news conference, survivors and attorneys will blast the Archbishop of San Francisco for endangering kids by refusing to release a list of predator priests that have largely remained ‘under the radar’. Archbishop Cordileone said he’d release a list over three years ago, but he has yet to do so. At the event, they also will:

• Two new Vos Estis complaints, by survivors, to be lodged with the Vatican, naming Archbishop Cordileone for gross violations of the Vatican decree and the charter for the protection of children.
• Survivor Sandra O. will speak for the first time, detailing her reports to the Archdiocese, which had been ignored until recently. Other survivors will also share powerful statements about complaints to the Archbishop they have made to remove offenders – which been ignored.
• Announce recent removal of a San Francisco priest accused of sexual abuse and reveal details on the Archdiocese’s consistent pattern of permitting priests accused of abuse to remain in ministry.
• Demand Archbishop Cordileone immediately release the names of all the credibly accused offenders.

WHEN:
Monday, January 6 – 1:00 PM PST

WHERE:
Outside of Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption | 1111 Gough Street, San Francisco, CA 94109

LIVE STREAM: The press conference will be live-streamed via YouTube

For immediate release, Nationwide New Zealand, 2 January 2025

New Zealand’s Catholic bishops issued a Pastoral Letter on 17 November 2024 after the Prime Minister delivered his apology to victims and survivors of abuse in care. However, survivors of Catholic Church clergy and religious abuse are bewildered by the claims made in that Letter.

One of the striking differences between the public apology given by the Prime Minister and the bishops’ Letter is that the Prime Minister was clear when he distinguished between “us” “you,” and “them,” says the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Instead, the bishops’ Letter was addressed to church attendees and focused mainly on the bishops’ alleged response to abuse.

General comments such as “we have met with many survivors” lacked proof. “How many is ‘many’? Two or three?” asked Barbara Taylor, a survivor-support worker for SNAP Aotearoa.

SNAP’s New Zealand chapter is over-represented by survivors of Catholic clergy and religious abuse and none of them, most of whom are victims of clerical child sexual assault, were ever contacted by a Catholic bishop. SNAP received over 1000 contacts from victims and survivors in 2024. Not one ever mentioned being met with or listened to by a Catholic bishop. According to SNAP, even when survivors reached out to the bishops, they were either ignored or met with empty words at most.

Therefore, survivors question the bishops’ statements and ask if figures could be provided to back up their claims.

Instead, the bishops use their National Office for Professional Standards (NOPS) to receive complaints. However, the experiences shared by survivors who went to NOPS and then came to SNAP is that NOPS did not provide the support they hoped for. NOPS has even instructed lawyers to threaten survivors into silence or have their complaints dismissed, according to the survivors network.

SNAP asks: Where is the “ongoing commitment to meet with and listen to survivors”?

For immediate release: December 27, 2024

Roman Catholic priest Lawrence Hecker died yesterday, a little more than a week after he began serving a sentence of life imprisonment. We hope that Fr. Hecker's passing will bring some sorely needed and long overdue comfort and solace to the countless children he victimized over the course of his career. 

We also hope district attorneys in the state will find the means and the courage to prosecute at least some of the clerics who enabled Fr. Hecker's crimes. In the meantime, we urge anyone who may have been abused by Fr. Hecker, and who is still suffering alone and in silence, to seek help from therapists and support groups like ours and begin healing.

CONTACT:  Melanie Sakoda, SNAP Survivor Support Director ([email protected], 925-708-6175), Shaun Dougherty, SNAP Interim Executive Director ([email protected], 814-341-8386)

(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)

For immediate release: December 27, 2024

The Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph announced yesterday that a Deacon accused in a lawsuit of child sexual abuse has been returned to ministry. SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests has serious concerns about this development.

Bishop James Johnston lifted Deacon Ralph Wehner’s suspension on December 26, 2024, after his Independent Ombudsman found no additional corroboration for the August 1^st accusation, and the lawsuit in which the complaint was made was withdrawn. We are afraid that the Bishop is gambling with the safety of children in the Diocese. It is irresponsible to put an accused back on the job after a brief suspension and what appears to us to be a cursory investigation.

It does not seem that Bishop Johnston’s Ombudsman used parish bulletins and pulpit announcements to ask the faithful for any information they might have about the accusations. To us, it is both telling and disturbing that he did not offer one word of explanation as to what was done to look into these accusations, which described criminal behavior.

For immediate release: December 23, 2024

The new head of Seton Hall University in New Jersey, installed just last month, was called out in a 2019 internal investigation for not reporting accusations of sexual abuse. SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, urges complete transparency as to how this clergyman came to be selected for this powerful position despite those earlier findings, as well as repercussions for those who knew about the report and ignored it.

Monsignor Joseph Reilly started as a student at Seton Hall University 45 years ago. He became rector of the University’s College Seminary at St. Andrew’s Hall in 2002. Then, in 2012, he became rector and dean of Seton Hall’s Immaculate Conception Seminary (ICS), a high-ranking position where he oversaw the preparation of men for priesthood. The priest also had a seat on the University's Board of Trustees. 

Although the Monsignor was not himself accused of abuse, the investigation found that he knew about accusations of abuse on campus and did not report them as required, and also that he appeared to have been aware of the rumors about former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick since he worked for the Cardinal for a year in 1994.

In reaction to the investigation's findings, a "Responsive Action Plan" was developed, which said that any employee or board member “with knowledge of sexual misconduct claims involving ICS seminarians” could not continue to serve on any board or any leadership position if they had failed to report the conduct or take other actions required under the school’s sexual harassment policies. A special task force was formed to carry out disciplinary actions stemming from the report, and it recommended Monsignor Reilly's removal from Seton Hall boards and leadership. The priest left the Board of Trustees and then stepped down as dean of the seminary in 2022.

The complete investigative report was never made public, which apparently enabled Seton Hall to ignore its findings and the task force's recommendations. Less than three years after Monsignor Reilly was quietly sidelined, he was restored to active service, culminating in his elevation to the powerful position of University president.

For immediate release: December 23, 2024

Bishop Michael Barber of the Catholic Diocese of Oakland has been accused of shifting $106 million into the “Oakland Parochial Fund” (OPF) shortly before he filed for bankruptcy. His petition for reorganization in the wake of more than 300 lawsuits for child sexual abuse was filed on May 8, 2023.

According to NBC Bay Area, corporate records show that OPF was created in 2014 and is under the direct control of Bishop Barber. However, the fund went dormant in 2017 - until a few months before the alleged $106 million transfer. In their complaint, attorneys representing the survivors say the fund had no cash or investments of any kind before the transfer was received. 

In other words, this "fund" was nothing more than a corporate shell until shortly before the bankruptcy was filed. Now, that shell has $106 million in liquid assets that Bishop Barber claims is off limits to victims who have sued the Diocese, survivors complaining that priests and other employees of the Diocese sexually abused them when they were children. There are over 100 accused, and 330 victims.

MEDIA RELEASE
20 November 2024
For immediate release

A New Zealand Catholic bishop, John Adams of Palmerston North, has denied knowing his National Office for Professional Standards (NOPS) mishandled clerical and religious sexual abuse complaints.

Adams told the press last week, “I’m not aware of any cover-ups or any of the bishops conspiring to keep things hidden.”

SNAP is aware that as recent as April this year, Bishop Adams was sent files regarding the mishandling of clergy child sex abuse complaints. The files included:

1. Abandoned scopes of investigative work,
2. An independent review report upholding a complainant’s claim that investigative work remained outstanding,
3. A legal request to further investigate remaining areas identified in an independent review report,
4. Documentation from an independent law firm requiring the handling of complaints be clarified,
5. Eight other files supporting claims of mishandling abuse cases.

But Adams did not acknowledge any of the correspondence. However, NOPS confirmed the files were received.