Priest with History of Abuse in Columbia Removed from Ministry in Texas
In a step forward for child protection, the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston today suspended one of their priests who allegedly abused children in his native Colombia before coming to the United States. The media report says that this abuse may have resulted in the birth of children.
We are grateful to Church officials at the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston for responding quickly to the allegations against Fr. Jesus Suarez. The Archdiocese was informed of the allegations against Fr. Suarez last week and took action to remove him from ministry on Friday.
While we remain perplexed as to how Fr. Suarez was able transfer to Texas in 1994 without any apparent background checks, we are happy that he has been removed from ministry now. The most pressing questions at this time is whether Fr. Suarez hurt any children during his time in the United States.
We hope that Cardinal DiNardo will personally visit each parish where Fr. Suarez served or spent time and beg any victims, witnesses, or whistle blowers to come forward and report to local police and prosecutors. We also hope that law enforcement officials in Texas will reach out to their counterparts in Columbia, so that Fr. Suarez’s victims there can find justice and healing as well.
CONTACT: Michael Norris, SNAP Houston Leader ([email protected], 713-855-9178), Zach Hiner, Executive Director (517-974-9009, [email protected])
(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