News Story of the Day
Catholic Officials on Edge After Reports of Priests Using Grindr
A conservative Catholic media organization, The Pillar, has published several reports claiming the use of dating apps at several churches and the Vatican.
The reports hit the Roman Catholic Church in rapid succession: Analyses of cellphone data obtained by a conservative Catholic blog seemed to show priests at multiple levels of the Catholic hierarchy in both the United States and the Vatican using the gay hookup app Grindr.
The first report, published late last month, led to the resignation of Msgr. Jeffrey Burrill, the former general secretary of the U.S. bishops’ conference. The second, posted online days later, made claims about the use of Grindr by unnamed people in unspecified rectories in the Archdiocese of Newark. The third, published days after that, claimed that in 2018 at least 32 mobile devices emitted dating app data signals from within areas of Vatican City that are off-limits to tourists.
The reports by the blog, The Pillar, have unnerved the leadership of the American Catholic Church and have introduced a potentially powerful new weapon into the culture war between supporters of Pope Francis and his conservative critics: cellphone data, which many users assume to be unavailable to the general public.
“When there is reporting out there that claims to expose activity like this in parishes around the country and also on Vatican grounds, that is a five-alarm fire for church officials, there is no doubt about it,” said John Gehring, the Catholic program director at Faith in Public Life, a progressive advocacy grou
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA)– The review of more than a thousand accusations of sexual abuse by Illinois catholic clergy is ongoing.
‘Never one word was ever uttered’: The road to healing after decades of silence over sexual abuse in the Catholic Church
Coalition Calls on Hochul to Take Bold Action to Reform Albany - SNAP fully supports The Adult Survivors Act (S.66 Hoylman / A.648 L. Rosenthal)
Diocese bankruptcy filings shows its spent almost $1 million on attorneys in 4 months
In addition, the diocese placed its assets such as cash, investments, cars and accounts receivable at $21.2 million but has not determined the current value of the 14 properties it owns. It lists its current liabilities at $2.9 million but that does not include the more than 60 lawsuits by men who say they were raped and sexually assaulted as boys by Christian Brothers and other staff at the diocese-run Mount Saint John Academy in Deep River.
CBS THIS MORNING- Saturday marks three years since a landmark grand jury report concluded the Catholic church covered up rampant sexual abuse in Pennsylvania for decades.
Child abuse survivors wait for justice, healing as CVA deadline passes with nearly 10K lawsuits filed
When legislators in New York passed the Child Victims Act in 2019, it was prompted by an understanding that survivors of sexual abuse were struggling to heal and needed help. Outdated laws kept them from finding justice through the courts, and the institutions which had fostered the abuse were slow to respond on their own.
What the legislators did not understand, perhaps, was how pervasive the sexual abuse of children had been across the state and the sheer number of individuals who had been victimized.
If you were a victim of childhood sexual abuse in New York, there's still time to take steps to seek justice.
If you were a victim of childhood sexual abuse in New York, there's still time to take steps to seek justice.
The "Window to Justice" opened by New York's Child Victims Act closes this week, but there is still time for folks who were abused in New York to come forward. The deadline to file a lawsuit is Friday, August 13, so if you're debating whether or not this is the right step for you, now is the time to get in touch with an expert and ask questions.
If you were abused in New York but aren't interested in filing a lawsuit, you can also report your abuse to New York Attorney General Letitia James.
No matter what you decide to do, SNAP volunteers are there to support you. We have many great advocates in New York who can help you and can connect you to resources, so don't hesitate to reach out.
We are here to support you!
Your friends at SNAP
http://www.snapnetwork.org/
Sex abuse victims’ lawsuits continue to pour in as NY’s Child Victims Act nears its deadline to file
The window to file lawsuits under New York State’s Child Victims Act will come to a close later this month, but until a few weeks ago, David Ferrick didn’t know that the law enabling victims of sexual assault to sue even existed.
People of Praise school official says allegation of sexual abuse was mishandled
A Minneapolis-area school run by the Christian group People of Praise mishandled a student’s allegation of sexual abuse against a teacher, the school board president acknowledged in a recent email to teachers and parents.
Help Support Our 2021 Annual Conference
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