The Vatican Owes Survivors a Response, Morally and According to Canon Law
On Friday, October 9, 2020, the New Orleans Chapter of SNAP and its Executive Director mailed a letter to the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, DC, and to the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF) to ask for a Vatican investigation of Archbishop Gregory Aymond. Thus far, our letter has garnered no response.
Last night, two New Orleans journalists reported a similar lack of response when telling the story of a survivor who reported an allegation to the Archbishop two years ago. Catholic officials gave him a settlement but did NOT investigate the accusation at that time. Instead, the Vicar General for the Archdiocese stated that an investigation on Fr. Paul Calamari began only last week.
So far, eleven clergy abuse survivors from SNAP New Orleans have sent letters to the Apostolic Nunciature, the CDF, and to Archbishop Aymond. A canon lawyer, Fr. Charles Benoit, was appointed to respond to those queries on behalf of the Archbishop. Yet even though Canon Law dictates that all allegations of abuse require investigation, Fr. Benoit has only provided multiple and unreasonable justifications about why the Archdiocese of New Orleans has not followed Canon Law both in writing and by telephone.
Fr. Patrick Wattigny was arrested as a fugitive in Georgia and extradited back to Louisiana to face criminal charges for the sexual abuse of a minor while he was a priest in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Fr. Travis Clark is out on bond after being arrested for public indecency after having sex with two dominatrices on his altar in Pearl River, LA. It is clear that there is a problem in New Orleans, but Catholic officials in Rome appear content to ignore it.
Just last month, Pope Francis removed Bishop Edward Janiak of Poland for not following Canon Law and reporting abuse allegations to the Vatican. We call on Catholic officials in Rome to stop speaking out of both sides of their mouths. We strongly urge the Pope to respond to our request of October 9th and send Vatican investigators to New Orleans. We are confident that those investigators will uncover generations of crimes committed by clergy on faithful followers of the Catholic Church that require Canonical prosecution.
CONTACT: Kevin Bourgeois, SNAP New Orleans ([email protected], 504-376-5445), Zach Hiner, SNAP Executive Director (517-974-9009, [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
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