SNAP Praises Whistleblower from the Diocese of Buffalo

For immediate release: October 26, 2018

This Sunday, 60 Minutes will feature the story of one brave woman who helped uncover and put an end to attempts to conceal the number of priests accused of sexual abuse in the Diocese of Buffalo.

Every person who lives in Buffalo should do two things: watch the show and then send a warm thank-you card to Siobhan O’Connor, the courageous whistleblower.

We are grateful to Siobhan for her bravery and willingness to speak truth to power in revealing the depth of the secret diocesan archives in Buffalo. Thanks to her, we now have a clearer picture of the extent of the clergy abuse scandal as it relates to Buffalo, a picture that we hope is made even clearer by the ongoing Department of Justice investigation into the diocese. Siobhan has done an immeasurable service to parents, parishioners, police, prosecutors and the public by exposing horrific wrongdoing. Everyone in the Buffalo area should be grateful to her and should express their gratitude. (We suspect that notes of support to her, via WKBW TV, would be forwarded to her.)

All too often, whistleblowers who alert the public or authorities to corruption feel very nervous and dread criticism, so it is morally right and practically helpful when the rest of us praise and thank such brave individuals. 

 

Again, we encourage every Buffalo-area citizen and parishioner to watch Siobhan’s interview this Sunday, and then follow-up by sending her a warm thank-you note. It is the right thing to do for exposing wrong-doing and creating an opportunity for the prevention of similar crimes and cover-ups in the future.

 

CONTACT: Tim Lennon, SNAP President ([email protected], 415-312-5820) Zach Hiner, Executive Director ([email protected], 517-974-9009)

(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

SNAP Network is a GuideStar Gold Participant