SNAP to Newly Elected Attorneys General: Please Keep the Investigations Going
For immediate release, November 13 2018
Since the bombshell grand jury report that revealed the depth of clergy sex abuse and cover-ups in Pennsylvania, 19 other states have begun investigations of their own. Following last Tuesday’s elections, at least six of those states will have new attorneys general and SNAP is pleading with those newly elected officials to not let these investigations fall by the wayside.
Independent investigations by law enforcement are the only way to get to the bottom of institutional sexual abuse scandals. We are grateful that New York, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Florida and Delaware have been among the national leaders in beginning these investigations. We hope that as new attorneys general take office in each of these states they will continue in the footsteps of their predecessors and continue these investigations into clergy sex abuse in their state.
The need for these investigations has become even more critical after the Vatican derailed the USCCB meeting’s agenda this week and prevented bishops from voting on measures that were aimed to prevent and deter future abuse cover-ups. Given that the highest church officials will not even allow bishops to police themselves, we can only rely on our law enforcement officials to do so. We hope that, rather than lose momentum following the change in leadership in their office, the investigations in these states continue with even greater urgency than before.
CONTACT: 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)