The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is once again tone deaf to the cry of the poor: they have ignored survivors’ cries for justice

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is once again tone deaf to the cry of the poor: they have ignored survivors’ cries for justice

The Bishops' Conference ignores two primary findings of the recent Synod which concluded on October 28th

The USCCB sits on their hands while Archbishop William Lori re-victimizes survivors by filing for bankruptcy, not to protect Church assets, but to avoid the scandal of civil litigation

WHAT: At a sidewalk news conference, abuse survivors and advocates who are part of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, will demand that the USCCB follow the findings of the recent Synod which recommends a new approach to the child abuse crisis and also to have “regular reviews of the bishop’s performance with reference to …safeguarding against all possible kinds of abuse.” They will call on the USCCB to take these recommendations seriously, as well as to review the conduct of Archbishop Lori. Specifically, to look into how the Archbishop has handled the abuses newly revealed by the Maryland Attorney General and how he has revictimized survivors by filing for bankruptcy. The Archdiocese of Baltimore (AOB) has not shown any financial insolvency due to child abuse cases being filed.  SNAP will also call, once again, for the Archbishop to attend each of the bankruptcy hearings where survivors are given a chance to tell their stories in an atmosphere where they feel protected by the court, rather than in the Archbishop’s inner sanctum where survivors feel intimidated by the trappings of ecclesiastical power.

WHEN: Tuesday 11/14/23 at 1:30 PM

WHERE:  Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, 700 Aliceanna St, Baltimore, MD 21202

WHO: Abuse survivors and advocates, including Maryland SNAP Leader David Lorenz and Maryland SNAP member Teresa Lancaster

WHY: Specifically, SNAP is requesting the following:

That the USCCB should censure Archbishop Lori for his inhumane approach to survivors and for failing to reveal the names of dozens of abusers documented in the Maryland Attorney General's report; and

That the AOB remove the 3rd party protections from its filing.

The survivors' group will also point out that the AOB is not filing for bankruptcy because of financial insolvency, but rather they are using bankruptcy to avoid the revelations that would necessarily come from civil litigation.

SNAP will also reach out to survivors from the AOB and let them know that they are not alone, and that there is support available to them.

CONTACT: David Lorenz, SNAP Maryland ([email protected], 301-906-9161), Teresa Lancaster, SNAP Member ([email protected], 410- 703- 9122),  Mike McDonnell, SNAP Interim Executive Director ([email protected], 267-261-0578

(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 35 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)