SPJ NORCAL HONORS TRANSPARENCY CHAMPIONS IN JAMES MADISON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AWARDS
February 12, 2025
Media contacts: Thomas Peele (510) 499-4944 | Laura Wenus (650) 996-3112 | [email protected]
SAN FRANCISCO – The Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists announces its 40th Annual James Madison Freedom of Information Awards, recognizing people and organizations who have made significant contributions to advancing freedom of information and expression in the spirit of James Madison, the creative force behind the First Amendment.
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Citizen
Dan McNevin, Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP)
While navigating his own healing journey after being abused as an altar boy, Dan McNevin spent years compiling a list of hundreds of Bay Area Catholic priests and other clergy accused of sexual abuse.
McNevin and other members of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests combed through court filings, news reports and church documents. While some local dioceses have released internal lists of suspected abusers, McNevin’s work shows how incomplete those disclosures are. In Oakland, McNevin’s list is more than three times as long as the list of alleged abusers published by the Bishop. And in San Francisco, where Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone has steadfastly refused to name accused priests within the Archdiocese, McNevin’s list has filled that void.
McNevin’s advocacy helped lead to a vast body of investigative work by local reporters in 2024. The reporting holds California dioceses accountable for how they have handled the child sexual abuse scandal. His work fighting for the public’s right to know has also shown other survivors they aren’t alone, in many cases leading survivors to realize they were not the only victims of a certain priest.
To read about the others honored by the Society of Professional Journalists - Northern California, go here.
