MN- Archdiocese allowed more time to file abuse records, victims respond
For immediate release: Thursday, March 27, 2014
Statement by Frank Meuers of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (952-334-5180, [email protected])
Twin Cities archdiocese has been granted more time to produce thousands of pages of sexual abuse records. We are disappointed that the archdiocese has been allowed to delay.
http://www.startribune.com/local/252697371.html
This type of behavior has been pointed out and highlighted by victim organizations for years now, and we predicted that the Twin Cities would behave no differently and they aren’t.
The need for more disclosure by church figures has been clear for years. Many rightly believe that church officials have not, and are not, being held accountable for irresponsible deeds and crimes that other officials in other organizations would be.
For decades, our justice system has erred on the side of protecting church officials in these cases, sometimes treading lightly for fear of alienating a large institution. The results have been – and continue to be – disastrous.
The archdiocese spends an enormous amount of funds on lawyers who continue to file delays of all sorts, knowing as all attorneys do, that the longer you can string things out, the more likely that the atmosphere, and or decisions that follow, will be more favorable to your case.
We commend the court for still requiring the archdiocese to turn over documents, but ask the people to be aware of this situation as it develops, and to see what action the Archdiocese will take to once again not really open the door and let the light in.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We’ve been around for 25 years and have more than 15,000 members. 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 website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688 home, 314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Bob Schwiderski of Wayzata (952-471-3422, [email protected]), Frank Meuers of Plymouth (952-334-5180,[email protected])
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
Showing 3 comments
I look forward to the day, when our own President’s character and integrity and courage are such that the President will publicly ask the pope and the catholic hierarchy to comply with demands of the decent people of the world, to IMMEDIATELY HELP, not hinder, putting an end to these egregious, heinous crimes against humanity. To my way of thinking, pope francis’ criticism of how the U.S. is handling the subject of gay marriage, is just an incredibly RUDE criticism of Americans (and our president and country) in light of the fact that the pope or perhaps the reporters in the media, both, have intimidated (read, thus actually “attacked” via intimidation) Americans and catholic Americans in particular by being first in their meeting, to criticize our legal system and dissemble non-catholic and catholic world leaders, alike, from criticizing the pope and catholic heirarchy for allowing this horrible scourge of catholic clergy CHILD SEXUAL RAPE AND ABUSE to not only exist, but to continue unabated, for all practical purposes, for over a quarter of a century in recent history. THAT IS TOO LONG! I truly long for other world leaders and our president, to have the courage to say to the pope and all catholic priests and enabling laity: NO MORE EXCUSES!