SNAP Responds to Passing of Cardinal William Levada
Cardinal William Levada has passed away. In his wake, he leaves behind a legacy of obfuscation, cover-up, and minimization of cases of clergy abuse.
As the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, Cardinal Levada ignored reports of abuse from the Antonio Provolo School in Verona, Italy, for almost a year, until the allegations became public.
While the leader of the the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Cardinal Levada allowed priests who were accused of abuse to stay in ministry even while facing lawsuits. He has the notorious distinction of seeing the head of his hand-picked abuse review panel resign in protest after seeing that church “investigations” of abusers under the cardinal were little more than PR stunts.
We hope that future heads of the CDF and other archdioceses around the country will learn from Cardinal Levada’s example and know what not to do when handling cases of clergy abuse in the future.
But even more so, we hope that survivors know that our volunteer leaders are there to support any victim who may want to talk through their feelings with someone who understands. Events like these can cause different emotions to well up, whether anger, sadness, or confusion, and our support groups are open to all victims of clergy and nun abuse.
CONTACT: Dan McNevin, SNAP Board Member ([email protected], 415-341-6417), Joey Piscitelli, SNAP California ([email protected], 925-262-3699) Melanie Sakoda, SNAP Survivor Support Coordinator, ([email protected], 925-708-6175), Esther Hatfield Miller, SNAP Los Angeles (562-673-9442, [email protected]), Zach Hiner, SNAP 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)
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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