Media Statements
We are SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. We are the largest, oldest and most active support group for women and men wounded by religious authority figures (priests, ministers, bishops, deacons, nuns and others).
***MEDIA RELEASE*** Abuse Survivors In Faith-based Care Publish Open Letter to New Zealand Prime Minister
25 October 2024
25 October 2024
Rt Hon Christopher Luxon
Prime Minister of New Zealand
Parliament Office
Wellington 6160
NEW ZEALAND
We write to you as the New Zealand chapter of the world’s largest support group for women and men abused by religious and institutional authorities.
- Censure church leaders, especially those of New Zealand’s Catholic Church, for failure to prevent the widespread sexual abuse of citizens as found by the Abuse in Care Inquiry.
- Review New Zealand’s diplomatic ties with The Holy See. No religious institution should be entitled to expect to hold a privileged position sanctioned by our nation’s legislation and diplomatic arrangements.
- Repeal the Roman Catholic Bishops Empowering Act 1997 which provides unreasonable financial, juridical, and administrative power to unaccountable church leaders.
- Introduce mandatory reporting of sexual abuse including mandatory reporting by ministers of religion; and introduce new offences into our nation’s Crimes Act 1961, namely: 1) concealing child abuse; and 2) failing to report child abuse.
- Ensure that any involvement by officials of religious institutions in dealing with sexual abuse complaints is transparent; and that the processes and records of these dealings can be accessed by the judicial system with the consent of survivors.
- Criminalise concerted efforts by persons in authority through joint planning to hide cases of sexual abuse, foil investigations into sexual abuse complaints, incentivise victims to remain silent, or prevent information relating to a sexual assault from becoming public such as by use of nondisclosure agreements or confidentiality clauses.
- Ensure the legal system is recognised as the most appropriate forum in which to deal with church leaders perpetrating abuse and covering up abuse.
- Support survivors in accessing the legal system, and provide the financial and legal support they need to pursue claims of sexual abuse against religious authorities, their agencies, and institutions.
- Remove fiscal benefits, charitable status, and taxation concessions from religious institutions that fail to adequately support survivors, or fail to actively prevent abuse, including those who fail to remove abusers.
- Stop taxpayers paying through our ACC for the consequences of sexual abuses within religious institutions, and ensure religious authorities accept responsibility for ongoing payments and care of survivors.
- Ensure the accountability of bishops and other senior leaders of religious institutions by establishing in law that the relationship between senior religious leaders and their ministers of religion is an employment relationship.
P.O. Box 40 812, Upper Hutt 5140, NEW ZEALAND
( +64 (0)22 3440496
Thank you.
Archdiocese of Los Angeles settles survivors’ lawsuits
For Immediate Release: October 16, 2024
Just today the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay $880 million to 1,353 victims of clergy sexual abuse who filed lawsuits in the civil window that closed in 2022. This is the largest settlement ever paid by the Church to date. Only a few lawsuits remain pending against the Archdiocese.
SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is grateful to the survivors who stood up for their rights and for all victims by filing civil actions. While the settlement agreed to today is for a record amount, we know that no amount of money can ever truly compensate these brave men and women for the damage they suffered as children. However, we hope that these monies will bring some measure of healing to those who came forward.
The Archdiocese is the largest in the United States, with over 4 million adherents who attend 300 churches.
“The LA Times reported that over 300 perpetrators have been accused in public records of sexually abusing children, yet SNAP’s list of abusers associated with the Archdiocese has over 500 names,” said SNAP Board of Directors Treasurer Dan McNevin. “We fear and believe there are many more survivors out there who have not yet come forward. It is incumbent on Archbishop José H. Gomez to find a way to bring those lost souls in from the cold.”
SNAP believes that this settlement is a good start, but that much work remains to be done. Parishioners and the public deserve the entire truth about who the accused were, as well as who enabled the perpetrators and covered up the crimes. We hope that as a part of the Archbishop’s atonement, that he pledges to release all clergy personnel files related to all these cases, updates his list of abusers, and announces enhanced safeguards to protect today’s children.
CONTACT: Dan McNevin, SNAP Board of Directors Treasurer ([email protected], 415-341-6417), Joey Piscitelli, SNAP Northern California ([email protected], 925-262-3699), Dorothy Small, SNAP Sacramento Area Leader, ([email protected], 530-908-3676), 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)
Catholic officials quietly admit priest is "credibly accused" molester
Apparently without notifying parents, parishioners or the public, Toledo Catholic officials quietly admitted this year that another of their priests molested at least one child.
On Bishop Daniel Thomas' website, evidently with no word to current or former church-goers or his one-time co-workers, the Bishop deemed at least one child sexual abuse allegation against Fr. Michael G. Madden to be "substantiated" and added his name to the list of "credibly accused" Toledo area clerics. We believe this posting was made within the last two weeks. Fr. Madden died in 2007, after working in the diocese for more than 40 years.
Toledo officials did not disclose how many abuse reports Fr. Madden faced. Nor did they reveal when his victims spoke up or what diocesan staffers did when that happened. Accordingly, it's unclear whether the priest was accused while he was alive and if so, whether law enforcement was contacted.
SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, cannot help but wonder how many other abusive clerics the Diocese might still be hiding, or which others the Diocese has acknowledged without public notification? The 2002 Dallas Charter promised parishioners and the public that Catholic bishops would be open and transparent about clergy sex crimes, but Bishop Thomas does not appear to be honoring this pledge.
Fr. Madden was at nearly a dozen churches throughout northwest Ohio during his career, which began in 1962. He worked at St. Rose Catholic Parish in Lima, St. Wendelin Parish in Fostoria, St. Michael Parish in Kelley’s Island, Mother of Sorrow Parish in Put-in-Bay, St. Thomas Aquinas and Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Martin and Bono, two parishes in Sandusky (Holy Angels Parish and Saints Peter and Paul Parish) and four parishes in Toledo (St. Patrick of Heatherdowns, Community of the Risen Christ, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish and St. Catherine Parish.
In addition, Fr. Madden worked at the St. Bernadine Home in Fremont, at Siena Heights College in Adrian, Michigan, at what was then the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo, and with Retrouvaille (a program for couples with troubled marriages).
A native of Sandusky and graduate of Central Catholic High School in Toledo, Fr. Madden attended Saint Meinrad Seminary College in Indiana, St. Mary's Seminary in Cincinnati, and Xavier University in Cincinnati.
We hope anyone who saw, suspected or suffered Fr. Madden's crimes will find some long overdue consolation in the fact that he's finally been publicly exposed as an abuser, even if this disclosure was apparently not done publicly. Despite the fact that Catholic officials have long claimed that they're now being transparent about their sex offending clerics, this does not seem to be what happened in Toledo this year.
We also hope that anyone who may have been hurt by Fr. Madden will find the strength to tell trusted sources like friends, family, therapists or support groups like ours.
CONTACT: Claudia Vercellotti, SNAP Toledo ([email protected], 419-345-9291), 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)
Federal judge denies request to open sealed records in Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s bankruptcy; SNAP is saddened by the decision
For Immediate Release: October 3, 2024
This week, a federal judge denied the Wisconsin Attorney General’s request to review the Milwaukee Archdiocese’s sealed bankruptcy records as part of an investigation into child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church . SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is saddened by this ruling, which in our view does not make the protection of children the priority.
Attorney General Josh Kaul argued in his request that the sealed claims meant that some abusers could have gotten away with their crimes, and that some survivors never got the justice they deserved. We agree wholeheartedly with AG Kaul, and we hope that, if he is able, he will appeal this short-sighted ruling.
In response to the decision, the attorney for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee said that, “Judge [G. Michael] reasserts the bankruptcy court’s finding at the time that because the abuse happened so long ago in the 1950s-70s, there are no longer any public safety concerns."
Sadly, it is simply not true that those who abuse boys and girls cease to become a threat as they age. In fact, child predators very rarely stop without outside intervention. This ruling may very well mean that today’s children could be harmed by some of these unidentified men and women.
The Archdiocesan attorney also asserted that a review of the records “would have been devastating to abuse survivors who see this case as closed, and want their claim kept under seal by the court.” We are incredulous that the Catholic Church purports to speak on behalf of those victimized. Most, if not all, only suffered life-long injuries because of decisions made by that entity.
In fact, in our experience, most survivors come forward because they do not want another child to experience what happened to them. We suspect that most, if not all, would welcome seeing their abusers held accountable for their crimes.
Vermont Catholic bishop filed for bankruptcy on Monday; SNAP concerned
For Immediate Release: October 2, 2024
On Monday, the Catholic bishop of Vermont filed for bankruptcy in the face of 31 lawsuits for child sexual abuse. SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is concerned that by employing this legal tactic, the Diocese will avoid accountability for past actions that resulted in life-long injuries to innocent boys and girls.
In fact, we suspect that the real motive behind the decision is to prevent disclosures about what happened to these brave survivors as children, as well as the knowledge that the Diocese could have prevented that harm in most, if not all, the cases. As the cherry on top for Bishop McDermott, a bankruptcy will also mean that the recoveries to the victims will be severely reduced.
Diocese of Rockville Centre reaches settlement with sexual abuse survivors; SNAP leaders weigh in
For Immediate Release: October 2, 2024
SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is grateful to the survivors who stood up for their rights and for all victims. We hope that this process will bring some measure of healing those who came forward.
The bankruptcy case was begun in 2020 and it has taken 4 years to reach an agreement. Rockville Centre initially only offered $200 million, which was rejected by the survivors. In 2004, the Diocese was among the 10 largest in the United States.
However, it is important to note that, while the settlement is justly deserved by those who have suffered decades in silence, no amount of money can make up for the lifetime of trauma that results from child sexual abuse. Moreover, in the grand scheme of things, the money is but a drop in the bucket given the great wealth of the Catholic Church. Still, we suspect that after all the time between the filing of their lawsuits and the conclusion of the bankruptcy, most will simply be happy that their claims are finally resolved and try to move forward.
New York SNAP Leader Mary McKenna puts it this way, “The amount of money each survivor will receive is always less than they deserve. The awards in the Rockville Centre bishop’s reconciliation program run by Cardinal Timothy Dolan were similar, and survivors got that money right away. Moreover, it was reported in Newsday yesterday that the Bay Shore school district settled with 5 victims: one received $4.5 million and the other 4 $3.5 million each!!! The Catholic Church got off easy!!! I just hope this little bit of money will help some survivors get what they need. But I can’t help but feel that overall the Catholic Church has failed victims once again.”
In one bright spot in the whole situation, Long Island SNAP Leader Janet Klinger noted that for years prior to the bankruptcy she fought for the release of a list of accused priests in the Diocese of Rockville Centre, but without success. However, the names were finally released in 2021 as part of the federal proceedings.
We hope that the Diocese will continue to update their list as new reports of abuse are made to them. However, we know that no institution can, or should, police itself. We hope that law enforcement and legislators in New York are looking long and hard to find new pathways to provide justice for survivors and to prevent more children from being harmed in the future. It seems to us that one critical step is to change the law to ensure that covering up and enabling abuse is itself prosecuted as a serious crime. Those who fail to protect innocent boys and girls, like the perpetrators, should also face time behind bars.
Survivors Respond To Catholic Church Leaders “Renew Apology In Royal Commission Response”
New Zealand’s Catholic Church leaders, Bishop Stephen Lowe, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference, and Rev. Tom Rouse, president of the Congregational Leaders Conference, have renewed what they called a “sincere and unconditional apology” for the tragedy of abuse in their church.
However, the abused in New Zealand’s Catholic Church remain without personal apologies while their complaints result in no admissions of wrongdoing, as Lowe and Rouse disregard their own safeguarding principles and procedures.
Another Catholic organization tries to deny Louisiana sexual abuse victims their day in court; SNAP reacts
For Immediate Release: September 26, 2024
In June, Louisiana’s Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a state law that allows child sexual abuse victims to sue for their assaults, despite an appeal by the Catholic Diocese of Lafayette. Yet last week, another Catholic organization challenged the constitutionality of the statute, this time in federal court. SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, hopes that this latest attempt to keep the perpetrators of child sexual crimes and their enablers concealed will again fail.
The new federal lawsuit was filed by the Dominican Sisters of Peace. The nuns are represented by Denechaud and Denechaud, a law firm that has represented Catholic institutions in Louisiana courts for more than a century. Another of the law firm’s clients is the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The Archdiocese has filed for bankruptcy in the wake of lawsuits filed under this statute. We hope that this legal maneuver, like the previous one, will also be denied.
When Louisiana’s legislature enacted the look-back window in 2021, eliminating the statutes of limitation that prevented survivor access to the courts, the Louisiana Catholic Bishops' Conference was the only institution that opposed the law’s passage. Without this legislation, countless child abusers will remain hidden, leaving today's boys and girls in harm's way. This does not just include Catholic clergy, brothers and sisters, but also religious leaders from other faiths, coaches, counselors, teachers, and others in positions of power and authority over children.
Moreover, the institutions that knew about and protected these dangerous men and women will have no incentive to change the policies and practices that allowed their cover-ups, which exposed countless innocent children to unnecessary harm.
SNAP letter to Jeff City bishop re: new lawsuit
9/19/24
Dear Bishop McKnight:
Once again, brave victims of predator priests are stepping forward, instead of continuing to suffer in shame, silence and self-blame. And once again, your response is bureaucratic and legalistic, instead of helpful and pastoral.
As you well know, you have repeatedly promised to be 'open and transparent' about abuses and cover ups. (In fact, 'transparency' about abuse is a requirement of the official US Bishops Conference national abuse policy.)
But it's been a week now since five brave survivors have accused four or five of your priests of child sex crimes and adult sexual misconduct in a court filing.
For the past seven days, despite your ‘transparency’ pledge, you have refused to revealed anything about these alleged predators, including
--which (if any) of the four or five clerics is alive and which are deceased
--which (if any) still works in a parish
--which (if any) works now for another Catholic entity
--where any or all of the still-living ones are now
--their last known whereabouts
--where they worked in your diocese
--when and where they were ordained
--whether any of them have been defrocked
--whether there have been earlier reports of abuse against any of all them
Do you believe that parents, parishioners, prosecutors, police and the public have no right to this information? If so, how does that square with your duty to be ‘open and transparent’ about abuse?
NC Supreme Court holds hearings on look-back window; survivors group wants justices to support the law
For Immediate Release: September 11, 2024
On September 18, 2024, the North Carolina Supreme Court will hold hearings concerning the constitutionality of the state's civil window for survivors of child sexual abuse. SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, urges the Supreme Court to uphold the look-back legislation.
The SAFE Child Act was unanimously adopted by state legislators on October 31, 2019. It allowed victims of child sexual abuse to file lawsuits in 2020 and 2021 against their perpetrators and the organizations who employed them.
Delayed disclosure of child sexual abuse is the rule. Some trauma-informed experts say more survivors disclose between the ages of 50-70 compared to any other age group. When archaic laws limiting victims’ access to the courts are overturned or even lifted for a time, communities are safer. Knowledge about who the hidden predators and their enablers are not only helps to safeguard today’s children, the exposure of perpetrator names can also be the first step to healing for those still suffering alone and in silence.
Many of those who initiated litigation in the state have waited for decades to expose their abusers, as well as the groups that protected them. We hope that the North Carolina Supreme Court will not dash their hope for justice and accountability. We also hope that the Court will take into account the value of innocent lives that might be spared the life-long consequences of child sexual abuse if they uphold the window.
CONTACT: Carol Yeager, North Carolina SNAP ([email protected]), Sue Bailey, North Carolina SNAP ([email protected], 315-657-3446), Charles Bailey, North Carolina SNAP ([email protected], 315-657-5073), Melanie Sakoda, Survivor Support Director ([email protected], 925-708-6175), 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 more than 35 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)