Media Statements

For immediate release: August 8, 2024

UNRECONCILED, a one-man show written by Jay Sefton and Mark Basquill and performed by Jay, will be premiering in Belfast, Ireland, on August 9, 10, and 11. The production will take place at the Cultúrlann Theatre as part of the Féile an Phobail. Ticket details can be found here.

The play depicts the true story of an adolescent actor cast as Jesus in a school play directed by a priest. The story chronicles a survivor’s journey as he confronts his past and discovers the courage to use his voice and redefine what reconciliation means.

You can read more about the production here. Rave reviews from the American production can be found at this link as well as this one.

Our European Coordinator, Marc Artzrouni, will be representing SNAP at the premiere in Belfast. Following the show there will be a Question and Answer with Jay and Marc. 

CONTACT: Marc Artzrouni, SNAP Europe, ([email protected], +33 - 6 95 73 65 92), Mike McDonnell, SNAP Communications Director ([email protected], 267-261-0578), 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: August 7, 2024

Dozens of Missouri clerics were sued for child sexual abuse last month. But, apparently Bishop James V. Johnston did not ask a single staffer to see if any of those clerics are or were in his diocese. That seems astonishingly irresponsible to us. Yet it is sadly very typical of the callous and reckless way he and so many other Catholic officials treat serious reports of horrific crimes.

Even now, in his vague, terse announcement that Deacon Ralph Wehner has been suspended, Bishop Johnston refuses to clearly admit that this is the same man who reportedly molested a St. Louis boy at least three times.

Kansas City Catholics, especially those at Good Counsel Parish (where Deacon Wehner's been working) should be outraged. They should carefully ask their kids if the deacon ever did or said anything that made them uncomfortable, and report any suspicions or knowledge of wrongdoing- however slight - to law enforcement immediately.

CONTACT: David Clohessy, SNAP Missouri ([email protected], 314-566-9790), Mike McDonnell, SNAP Communications Director ([email protected], 267-261-0578), 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: August 5, 2024

During his brief tenure in Rhode Island, Bishop Richard Henning has done absolutely nothing to show that he will be any different or better on abuse than any US bishop anywhere. 

Bishop Henning has been in Rhode Island for a year, and we in the survivor community have heard nothing of substance from or about him regarding abusive priests or their victims.

We can assume he agrees with his predecessors and Rhode Island church lobbyists who have fought long and hard against reforming predator-friendly state laws. In fact, besides Rhode Island Catholic officials, the only group that opposed these legislative reforms has been insurance companies.

With church lobbyist, Rev. Bernard Healey, as his public voice in the State House urging legislators to block survivor-friendly bills, most child sexual abuse victims in Rhode Island are denied a chance to expose their perpetrators in court.  That, of course, leaves innocent children vulnerable to horrific crimes. 

For Immediate Release

Aotearoa New Zealand, 31 July 2024

No ‘Zero Appetite’ For Culture Of Abuse In New Zealand Catholic Church

Survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests demand more than Catholic Bishop of Palmerston North John Adams' faith-based assertions that he “believes there has been a culture change” in the Church. (Stuff, July 30)

Bishop Adams knows he has currently at least one priest in ministry under church investigation, contradicting his talk of “zero appetite for abuse”.

At least two Palmerston North senior clergyman accused of sexual assault, one of a child and one of a young man, are still in active ministry and being protected today by Bishop Adams.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) in Aotearo regards the Bishop's attempts at marketing a new and improved Catholic Church as mere spin.

For Immediate Release July 25, 2024

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Missouri volunteer director of SNAP, 314 566 9790, [email protected]

We commend these wounded survivors for their courageous efforts to protect kids by exposing clergy who commit and conceal heinous crimes against children.

We are very grateful to them because any information about clergy sex crimes and cover ups is an immense gift to parents, police, prosecutors, parents, parishioners and the public. Girls and boys are safer now because these victims are speaking up and filing suits.

We’re not surprised that dozens more victims are now finding the strength to step forward and seek justice. It’s long been obvious that hundreds of clergy abuse victims are still suffering in shame, silence and self-blame, numbing their deep pain through drugs, alcohol, agoraphobia, anorexia and other self-destructive behavior. It’s also long been obvious that child abuse victims come forward when they are able to remember, recognize and deal with it, and not before.

For Immediate Release July 24, 2024 

During this presidential campaign, we hope that both major political parties will commit to a crackdown on child sexual abuse. Governments and law enforcement have powerful tools if they choose to exercise them. 

We call on both political parties to take action to protect our communities, as well as to support those who have been grievously harmed by sexual abuse. We also call on them to make stronger laws and enforce them to keep our communities safe. Our politicians can learn from what went wrong in the past to improve their policies and actions that will keep children and the vulnerable safer. Each of our candidates for higher office should commit to this change, now. 

SNAP, in conjunction with KeepKidsSafe.org and others, a blueprint for federal reform was developed. We hope that both candidates will read and endorse the suggested changes. Together, we can make the future safer for today's children. 

CONTACT: Mike McDonnell, SNAP Communications Director ([email protected], 267-261-0578), Shaun Dougherty, PA Survivor & 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: July 18, 2024

Reports emerged this week that a Catholic priest, dubbed the "conscience of France," has been accused of sexually assaulting and harassing women -- and at least one under-aged girl -- for decades. SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, can only wonder if earlier complaints were ignored.

Henri-Antoine Groues, known as Abbé Pierre, was a Catholic priest who renounced wealth to campaign for the homeless and became one of France's most revered men before dying at age 94 in 2007. Yesterday, it was publicly revealed for the first time by Emmaüs International, founded by Abbé Pierre, that six women, and one child, had reported acts of sexual assault or harassment between the end of the 1970s and 2005. Emmaüs said that they believed the accusations and stood by the victims.

We cannot help but compare this to the earlier case of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, whose sexual abuse of adult men went ignored for decades until a boy came forward with similar claims. We know that in a book and a TV interview Abbé Pierre made oblique references to the vow of celibacy, indicating that he might have broken it. That would have been at least 17 years ago. While we believe that assaults on adults by trusted clergy result in great harm and should be addressed immediately, Church officials should also pay attention because some of those who prey on men and women will harm boys and girls as well.

For immediate release: July 15, 2024

The criminal case against an ex-Dubuque priest accused of multiple counts of child sexual abuse was dismissed today. There was no ruling on the accusations, just a decision that the case was beyond the criminal statute of limitations. SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is disappointed that once again an accused clergyman was able to avoid facing his accusers in court.

 Although Fr. Leo P. Riley had denied the charges and pleaded not guilty, we know that false accusations of child sexual abuse are rare, multiple false accusations are even rarer. We believe and stand with the brave survivors who came forward to accuse this cleric. Despite Fr. Riley’s attorney's claiming that there was “no evidence” that the clergyman committed these crimes, the truth is that the testimony of these courageous victims would have been evidence.

 Many secular reports and individual investigations across the globe have shown that the Catholic Church protected perpetrators over children. Far too many stories highlight how this religious institution knew of child sexual abuse by clergymen, but did not report the crimes to law enforcement or remove the offenders from ministry. Effectively, this allowed accused abusers to continue to work for years. Instead, Church officials moved accused offenders to other parishes, dioceses, and states, or even out of the country.

For immediate release: July 15, 2024

In 2018, then Pennsylvania State Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced the results of a grand jury investigation into sexual abuse within six diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the state. This report, revealing widespread assaults on children by clergy and cover-ups by Church officials, shocked the world. It also forced bishops from coast to coast into greater transparency, and inspired Attorney General’s across the country to open their own statewide investigations. The Grand Jury revelations of continuing, systemic cover-up in Pennsylvania, has since been duplicated in other states.

The report included a list of recommendations, among them, and perhaps most important, opening a "civil window,” which would give child sexual abuse victims a second chance to file lawsuits for damages against their perpetrators and those who enabled them. This “look back” legislation for now-adult victims of childhood sexual abuse, who are locked out of the courts by archaic, predator-friendly statutes of limitations, is central both to protecting children and to delivering justice. Similar windows in other states have not only brought many more survivors forward, but, more importantly, revealed “hidden perpetrators” who remain a threat to today’s youth.

Representative Mark Rozzi (D) and Representative Jim Gregory (R), both survivors of childhood sexual abuse, sponsored and passed the recommended window legislation. This took an almost three year, bi-partisan effort. In 2020, just when we believed we would see this initiative on the general election ballot, we were informed that because of an administrative error by the office of the Pennsylvania Secretary of State, this was an impossibility. Making matters worse, we also learned that the entire multi-year process would have to begin again from scratch.