SNAP Draws Attention to Unregulated Facilities Housing Abusive Priests
According to representatives from Missouri’s top law enforcement office, facilities in Missouri where abusive priests are sent to live lack oversight from the attorney general due to statutory limitations. Now, we are calling on Missouri’s elected officials to address this gap with legislation that would allow attorneys general the ability to oversee and investigate facilities that purport to house abusive priests.
Both the Vianney Center and St. Luke’s Institute are centers run by church officials to which clergy accused of sexual abuse are housed while being “treated.” However, the lack of oversight from secular law enforcement officials means these treatments used are unregulated and unmonitored and that due to the nature of the men living there, these offices place their surrounding communities at higher risk.
Children and the vulnerable in Missouri should be as protected as possible, and so SNAP is calling for legislative action in Missouri that would give the attorney general’s office the statutory oversight and jurisdiction to monitor these facilities and investigate any wrongdoing at them. The sooner that elected officials in Missouri get to work closing loopholes and ensuring facilities like these are monitored, the sooner that children and vulnerable adults will be protected from these large concentrations of abusive men.
SNAP has sent letters to Gov. Michael Parson and leaders in the state house and senate about this issue. Those letters were received by all parties on April 28.
CONTACT: Zach Hiner, Executive Director (517-974-9009, [email protected]), John Bellocchio, SNAP New Jersey ([email protected])
(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