Religious orders - sometimes "independent," sometimes not
Bishops consistently claim they aren't responsible for child sex crimes and cover ups committed by religious order clerics. "They're totally separate from us," bishops repeatedly say about the Jesuits, Salesians, Benedictines and the like.
And Vatican officials consistently claim they aren't responsible for clergy sex crimes and cover ups across the globe. (Their jurisdiction, they want us to believe, is limited to the actual, tiny, physical Vatican city/state.)
But today, the National Catholic Reporter is disclosing that hundreds of treasurers of religious orders have been summoned to Rome by the bishop of Rome, Pope Francis, to talk about money.
Once again, church officials say they're A, until that's disadvantageous. Then, they say they're actually B. And when claiming to be B becomes disadvantageous, then they go back to claiming to be A.
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
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If there were “too much human morality and decency in existence,” then citizens of all religions, denominations, the police, teachers, doctors and nurses, social workers, civic organizations, etc., would be demanding justice. Instead, pastors and rabbis are afraid to embarrass priests, and lay citizenry is so ashamed of the very mention of pedophilia that they lower their eyes, shake their heads, and walk away. I’ve been told by editors of major publishing houses in their rejection letters to me, “We really want to help you with this, but we’ve been trying to avoid publishing on this subject…”. Nothing will change until the abuse is confronted openly and repeatedly.
When we were young, we read stacks of books from libraries. Now, the message must be disseminated through the Internet, social media, and electronic books, because many libraries are as empty and quiet as mausoleums.
Lani, our goals, you and I, are the same: justice, recovery, and change. It is evident that you hold enough anger to motivate you. Now, put the energy of that anger to use by getting the word out through modern means of communication, and by helping in state chapters of SNAP to litigate these crimes, so we can collectively pressure the Catholic church to STOP THE ABUSE, as you desire.