New Lawsuit Filed Against Diocese of Allentown
Thanks to the great work done by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and his team, another survivor of clergy sexual abuse learned he was not alone and that the priest who abused him had been sheltered by his superiors. Now, that survivor is filing a lawsuit against that diocese and the parish where he was abused.
We applaud this brave survivor, Timothy McGettigan, for coming forward about his abuse at the hands of Rev. Joseph Grembocki and Rev. David A. Soderlund at St. Catharine of Siena in the Diocese of Allentown. We hope that this suit will not only help Timothy find healing and closure, but will also encourage others who have been suffering in silence to speak out.
An interesting side note to this case is that while Fr. Soderlund was identified in A.G. Shapiro’s report, Fr. Grembocki was not. While we have no firsthand information about the accusations against him, we know from statistics that false allegations of child sexual abuse are extremely rare.
Rev. Grembocki is the 52nd new priest to be accused of abuse following the report’s publication, representing a 17% increase in the total number of accused clerics in Pennsylvania (from 301 to 353). To us, this shows just how critical attorney general investigations are. Outside involvement from secular officials in Pennsylvania has been successful in not only bringing more survivors forward, but also in identifying abusers who have been hidden from public view and who may still represent a danger to children and vulnerable adults.
Every attorney general in the United States should be doing everything in their power to empanel a grand jury, set up hotlines, and find the hidden victims and abusers in their state. The approach clearly works, and now is the time for it to be used nationwide.
CONTACT: Dan McNevin, SNAP Board Member([email protected], 415-341-6417), Zach Hiner, SNAP Executive Director ([email protected], 517-974-9009)
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
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