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).
MO - SNAP to Bishop: Stop denying child porn
Now that Fr. Ratigan has pled guilty to child porn, Bishop Finn should drop his legal maneuver claiming the photos are not child porn.
MO - Catholic priest pleads guilty to child porn; SNAP responds
We hope Fr Shawn Ratigan’s guilty plea today will help deeply wounded families recover more quickly. While trials can be cathartic, they can sometimes cause more trauma for survivors and families.
MO- SNAP: Prosecutor & schools should say where predator worked
We are grateful that Donald Ingerson has been charged with child sex crimes and that Ferguson-Florissant school officials admit he worked there. But it’s time that the St. Louis County prosecutor, and other school districts, disclose where else this admitted child predator worked.
MO - Bishop & his lawyer say Fr. Ratigan pix are not child porn
In a recent court filing, lawyers for KC Catholic Bishop Robert Finn make the stunningly callous and outrageous claim that photos taken by Fr. Shawn Ratigan are not child porn.
MO - SNAP responds to possible priest guilty plea
If Fr. Ratigan pleads guilty, several suffering families will be spared the trauma of a trial. We ache for every single child, mom, dad, and sibling who is in pain because of Fr. Ratigan’s crimes and Catholic officials’ complicity.
PA - Philly priest arrested; SNAP responds
Another Philly priest has apparently been arrested on child sex charges. We are grateful to the brave individual who reported these horrendous crimes to law enforcement. Kids are safest when victims go directly to secular authorities, not church figures. Every person who saw, suspected or suffered misdeeds by this priest should do likewise.
MO - Sex abuse victims head to MO Supreme Court
Clergy sex abuse victims are asking the Missouri Supreme Court to block or limit demands by Kansas City Catholic officials for potentially hundreds or thousands of pages of their self help group’s records. And they’re picking up support from widely disparate sources.
MN - Victims blast supreme court ruling on secrecy
Our hearts ache for Jim Keenan. He fought a six-year-long heroic battle to expose predators warn parents, and protect kids. But somehow, the privacy of wrongdoer seems to trump the safety of children.
PA - Msgr. Lynn sentenced, SNAP responds
We are grateful that Msgr. Lynn was not able to escape with the minimum sentence for his years of concealing heinous crimes against children. But cover ups would be better deterred had he gotten the maximum penalty, and justice would have been better served.
WV - Bransfield claims proof of false allegations, SNAP responds
It’s deceitful and insulting for Bishop Bransfield to claim he has “tangible proof” that the allegations against him are false. Bransfield has no sworn affidavits, notarized statements or even signed letters. He has two Catholic men who haven't faced real scrutiny or questioning and who say he never molested them.