MO- Finn wants out of his contract with abuse victims
For immediate release: Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Statement by Mike Hunter of Kansas City, KC Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (913 634 6490, [email protected])
Embattled Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn wants out of a contract he signed six years ago with more than 40 local clergy sex abuse victims. Shame on him.
In a KC courtroom today, one of Finn's lawyers (David Frye) asked “But are we going to be in endless litigation on these non-monetary commitments forever?”
Frye and Finn should know that when they signed a contract with no expiration date, and then broke it, they would be held responsible. That's what contracts are for: to ensure that people act the way they should.
There's a simple way for Finn to prevent “endless litigation.” He should honor his word. He should do what he promised to do in the contract: call police quickly when abuse is suspected and train all his employees on abuse prevention. It's as simple as that.
Judge Round is right: nullifying the agreement, he said, “sends a bad message.” So does violating the agreement. And obeying the agreement protects children.
Ironically, like Finn, abuse victims don't want more litigation either. But we're willing to do whatever it takes to force this self-serving Catholic hierarchy to take simple, effective steps to stop child sex crimes and cover ups.
(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 18,000 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])
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
And, Mr Frye (small) receives how much per hour for these gems of legal insight?