Rome--Victims to Vatican: Do outreach in suspected murder & orgy cases
For immediate release: Wednesday, April 8
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, 314 566 9790, [email protected], [email protected]
There’s a common thread in the two pending Italian Catholic scandals – an alleged murder by a priest and alleged orgies by another priest. It’s a common thread in nearly all clergy sex abuse, misconduct and cover up cases: Virtually no Catholic official ever urges his flock to help law enforcement officials.
Priests who often use their “bully pulpits” to tell parishioners how to act become suddenly silent when crimes are committed or suspected by church staff. That’s irresponsible and hurtful.
This omission speaks volumes. It says “We still want to handle alleged crimes quietly and internally.” It says “Lay people are to stay passive. No matter how egregious the wrongdoing, let us – church officials – deal with this.” It says “Protecting others by helping the justice system is not important.”
We call on Catholic officials in Italy and elsewhere to take aggressive steps to help secular officials solve alleged crimes by church personnel or in church facilities. We urge priests and bishops to show real compassion and courage - by using pulpit announcements, church bulletins, parish websites and other resources - to prod victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to step forward and call police and prosecutors when crimes are committed or suspected in churches.
And we urge everyone – Catholics and non-Catholics – in the Tuscany or Rovigo areas to share what they may know about Fr. Gratien Alabi and the other accused priest with secular authorities.
If innocent children and vulnerable adults are to be safer, inside and outside or churches, parishioners should be aggressively prodded to overcome their fears, break their silence and call law enforcement with even the slightest bit of information they may have about crimes and possible crimes.
(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
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