News Story of the Day
Officials: Child abuse allegations swamping state investigators
By JOHN FINNERTY, Apr 20, 2018, The Herald
HARRISBURG — Advocates and county officials await a promised action plan from Auditor General Eugene DePasquale for fixing the state’s struggling child protection system.
Susan Woods, a spokesperson for the auditor general, said those recommendations are expected in mid-May.
The system is challenged by the state’s push to make sure abuse doesn’t get ignored in the wake of the molestation scandal that put former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky in prison.
Aisha Sultan: Priest sex abuse survivor says trauma lingers
By Aisha Sultan, April 20, 2018, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Chris O’Leary started to sweat in church as he moved up the line of parents and kids waiting for a turn at the confessional. When they got to the head of the line, O’Leary was crying and trying not to pass out.
O’Leary’s panic attack hit as his son made his first confession.
He wasn’t sure why, but he wondered if it had something to do with hazy memories from his childhood confessions. Three years later, in 2005, his daughter made her first confession. He had another panic attack.
Youth pastor had sex with 15-year-old. Asks her to say it was her idea, report says
BY TIM POTTER, April 17, 2018, Wichita Eagle
A Wichita youth pastor began having sex with a church member right after she turned 15 and asked her to say she was older when it started and “that she had come on to him,” says an affidavit filed by a sheriff’s detective.
The criminal case against 48-year-old Chauncey Walker began this past August with a tip to the Wichita Police Department’s Facebook page. Detective Daniel Ribble, with the Exploited and Missing Child Unit, learned that the tipster obtained a taped admission from Walker, says the affidavit, received by The Eagle late Tuesday through a court record request.
Law firm renews call for Catholic Diocese to release information on accused Priests
By: Marissa Perlman, April 18, 2018, WIVB.com
WIVB, N.Y. (WIVB) - - The Buffalo Catholic Diocese has come up with a way to help pay settlements to victims who were sexually abused by priests.
The Buffalo Diocese says it's going to put the Bishop's mansion on Oakland Place on the market.
This has been the Bishop of Buffalo's home since 1952.
And Bishop Malone is the sixth out of 14 to have lived there. But faced with this sex abuse scandal,
The Bishop says the Diocese needs all of the resources it can get.
The Bishop will move into the rectory of Saint Stanislaus church on Buffalo's East Side.
PA State Grand Jury Investigates Six Catholic Dioceses: What you need to know
By Joelle Casteix, The Worthy Adversary, April 15, 2018
Cease and desist letters, bully tactics, salacious rumors, lists of accused, Cardinal Roger Mahony and … Bill Cosby? They are all a part of the big picture surrounding the PA state grand jury investigation of six local Catholic dioceses.
If you live in or around Pennsylvania and are concerned with issues anywhere within the state’s borders (or the Catholic clergy sex abuse scandal), you’ve probably heard about the statewide grand jury investigation of six Catholic dioceses across the state.
The result of the two-year investigation, which will be issued in report form, should be released in the beginning of May. The report may or may not include the presentation of criminal charges.
The Latest: Cops: Abuse victims should call us, not church
AP News, April 13, 2018
SAGINAW, Mich. (AP) — The Latest on the hiring of a judge to help the Saginaw Roman Catholic Diocese deal with allegations of sexual abuse . . .
Police investigating sexual abuse in the Saginaw Roman Catholic Diocese say people who believe they’re victims should contact law enforcement agencies — not church representatives.
The task force released a statement Friday after church officials announced the appointment of a judge to handle sexual abuse complaints. Investigators say the hiring of Michael Talbot appears to be a “positive thing.” But they also say the diocese “cannot and should not be used as a clearinghouse for the reporting of crimes.”
3 church sex abuse survivors to meet with Pope
By Rosa Flores, CNN, April 13, 2018
(CNN)After apologizing for "grave errors" in the handling of a Chilean sex abuse scandal, Pope Francis will be welcoming three survivors to the Vatican in two weeks, according to survivor Juan Carlos Cruz.
Pope Francis admits 'serious mistakes' in Chile sex abuse case
By Gerard O’Connell, April 11, 2018, America
In what has the appearance of the beginning of an earthquake in the Chilean church, Pope Francis has sent a strong letter to the Chilean bishops in which he speaks of his “pain and shame” on receiving the report on the abuse scandal in Chile from Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta. He had sent Archbishop Scicluna to listen to the victims of abuse last February.
In the three-page letter, he admits his own “serious mistakes” in dealing with this scandal and asks for forgiveness and goes on to take two dramatic steps: He summons the entire Chilean hierarchy to meet him in the Vatican and invites the three main accusers of Bishop Barros to meet him there too at a different time.
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