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).
IL - Cardinal George insults Catholics with spurious claim, SNAP responds
For immediate release: Friday, Oct. 4, 2013
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, [email protected])
Cardinal Francis George is being deliberately deceitful and insulting the intelligence of Chicago Catholic officials. He claims that he can’t stop a priest from counseling grieving adults and kids for a police department.
Specifically, through one of his public relations staffers, that he “has no authority to remove” Fr. Robert Stepek from his job in Burbank.
NJ - Trenton priest is suspended; SNAP responds
For immediate release: Thursday, Oct. 3
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, [email protected])
We firmly believe that Fr. Matthew Riedlinger is being suspended now only because these brave victims spoke up and because O'Connell fears that media attention will bring even more victims forward.
MN - Victims “not impressed” with Catholic official’s resignation
For immediate release: Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, [email protected])
The resignation of the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocesan vicar general is pure public relations. It’s a desperate move to reassure justifiably outraged Catholics. But it’s not real reform.
The problem starts at the top and is rampant throughout the archdiocesan hierarchy – a long-standing, deeply -rooted and on-going obsession with preserving the reputations of clerics, not the safety of kids.
VT, AL - Sex offender wins controversial ruling
He lived in Vermont and Birmingham suburb & won decision in New York
For immediate release: Friday, Oct. 4
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, [email protected])
A convicted sex offender who lived in Vermont has won a court ruling in New York that means he won't have to submit to a test to determine whether he's attracted to underage girls. He is David McLaurin.
Everyone, even pedophiles, deserves his humanity. But the humanity of a predator doesn't trump the humanity of innocent kids.
MN - Twin Cities priest scandal is “worst yet,” SNAP says
For immediate release: Friday, Oct. 4, 2013
Statement by Bob Schwiderski of Wayzata, Minnesota Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ([email protected], 952 471 3422)
A police report says that top officials at the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese withheld evidence of child porn and now the alleged sex offender can’t be criminally charged.
And for a decade, several archdiocesan staffers hid the alleged child porn from parents, parishioners and the public.
NY- Sex offender wins ruling on controversial test
For immediate release: Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, [email protected])
A convicted sex offender who lived in Vermont and Alabama has won a court ruling in New York that means he won't have to submit to a test to determine whether he's attracted to underage girls.
A Letter to Cardinal George regarding Fr. Robert Stepek
Cardinal Francis George
Archdiocese of Chicago
835 N Rush St
Chicago IL 60611
October 3, 2013
Dear Cardinal George:
We belong to a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our mission is to heal the wounded and protect the vulnerable.
MO - Child porn priest / diocese case settles
For immediate release: Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Statement by Barbara Dorris, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell, [email protected])
We hope this settlement comforts at least some of the many families who have suffered and are suffering because Bishop Robert Finn refused to call police, protect kids and monitor Fr. Shawn Ratigan.
Vatican overrules Cardinal George re predator priest
For immediate release: Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013
Statement by Barbara Blaine of Chicago, president of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (312-399-4747, [email protected])
A “permanently” suspended predator priest will be restored as “a priest in good standing” because Vatican bureaucrats have overruled Chicago church figures and claim that they can’t “find evidence strong enough to merit a judgment that (he) had sexually abused a minor.”
The cleric is Fr. Robert A. Stepek. Cardinal George should put him in a remote, secure treatment center immediately, so that kids will be safer. And every single Catholic church employee and church member - current and former – who saw, suspected or suffered crimes or misdeeds by Fr. Stepek should step forward.
MN- Church officials admit paying predators
For immediate release: Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013
Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell, [email protected])
Catholic officials with the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis admitted today to paying at least nine predator priests.
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