SNAP applauds the three brave victims in a new class action lawsuit against the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington DC
SNAP applauds the three brave victims in a new class action lawsuit against the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington DC
(For Immediate Release October 2, 2023)
A class action lawsuit was filed jointly today by the law firms of Schochor, Staton, Goldberg and Cardea, P.A. and Janet, Janet & Suggs, LLC in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, Maryland against the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington DC. These two leading civil litigations firms were able to proceed with this action because the Maryland Child Victims Act went into effect on October 1st.
SNAP is grateful to the attorneys for moving forward with this case, which features the testimonies of three adults abused as children in the Archdiocese. We are in awe of the bravery of these survivors in speaking out and sharing their individual stories, despite having suffered a wide variety of serious physical, emotional, and financial injuries.
The lawsuit accuses the Archdiocese of engaging in a pattern of conduct that permitted Catholic boys and girls in its churches and school to suffer sexual abuse for decades. The Archdiocese has acknowledged having 34 “credibly accused” clergy. Bishop-Accountability.org, the independent watchdog group that has been tracking the Catholic abuse scandal for 20 years, puts the number of abusers in Washington DC at 45.
Based on our information and experience, we believe that despite the 2002 promise of openness and transparency by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, that much information about these crimes remains hidden. We hope this civil action will help shine a light into those dark places in this Archdiocese.
We also hope that victims who have been suffering alone and in silence will find courage from the stories set forth in the complaint to speak out themselves. There are people who will believe them and support them.
CONTACT: David Lorenz, SNAP Maryland leader ([email protected], 301-906-9161), Becky Ianni, Virginia and DC SNAP leader ([email protected], (703) 801-6044) Mike McDonnell, SNAP Interim Executive Director [email protected], 267-261-0578) Shaun Dougherty, SNAP Board President ([email protected], 814-341-8386)
(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)
###
Showing 1 comment