Rome--Pope will speak at United Nations
Pope will speak @ United Nations; SNAP responds
For immediate release: Monday, Jan. 19
Statement by Barbara Blaine of Chicago, president of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (+1 312 399 4747, [email protected])
Pope Francis confirmed today that he'll speak to the United Nations in NYC later this year.
When he does, we urge him to directly address the two UN panel reports that are highly critical of how top Catholic officials still endanger kids, move predators and maintain secrecy around clergy sex crimes.
Francis has basically ignored these compelling reports while defensive underlings ducked, dodged and denied the solid evidence in them and attacked the motives of the dedicated volunteers who wrote them.
While making progress on church morale, finances and governance, Francis has made minimal gestures on abuse and cover ups. He must do more. We strongly urge diplomats and UN staff to prod the pope to take tangible action to expose crimes, punish enablers, help prosecutors, deter cover ups and make kids safer right now by ousting and revealing both clerics who commit and conceal sexual violence.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We were founded in 1988 and have more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Contact - David Clohessy +1 314-566-9790, [email protected], Barbara Dorris +1 314-503-0003, [email protected], Barbara Blaine +1 312-399-4747, [email protected]
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
Showing 2 comments
If after all these fights and information behavior that is the most appalling act that one human being can commit on another human being, just exactly what WOULD it take for you to walk away from the church and from god/or gods? And if you say ‘there is nothing that would make me give up my faith in god or to the RCC’, then convince me that you are not a victim of brainwashing? Seriously.
I asked myself after seeing JP2 back in the day, being surrounded by his security force, waiting to see the pontiff. ‘Who wants to kill this man that represents love, harmony, and good will? What do the critics say’? I found out what the critics had to say. And after finding out how absolutely corrupt from top to bottom the church is, all the while claiming the opposite, I felt and still feel, that the most immoral act I could ever do is remain a member. I have too many innate morals to be associated with such a despicable organization. You too have innate morals, and after all of this information that you have been exposed to, and still belong, is a most egregious act, IMHO. Like in the Watergate Gate hearings: ‘What did you know, and when did you know it’?
Thank you SNAP members and all of the hard work you do.
I just had to get this off of my chest.
Sincerely,
John Duffin.