We took the fight global - now we need you to help us keep going

Dear SNAP Community,

What began as a small group of survivors of clergy sexual abuse meeting for the first time at a Holiday Inn in Chicago has grown into a global movement. Under the fearless leadership of our founder, Barbara Blaine, our movement reached a historic milestone in 2010 when we brought a case against the Vatican to the International Criminal Court at The Hague. We stood up then, and we are still standing strong now for survivors of abuse in all faith-based institutions.

L: Photo of Barbara Blaine wiping away a tear at a 1993 press conference in New Orleans (AP); R: Barbara Blaine speaking at a press conference in Rome in 2011

In recent months, we’ve faced one of our greatest challenges yet in our fight for Catholic survivors: the Vatican’s attempt to rewrite history by claiming that reforms under Pope Francis had solved the abuse crisis. But SNAP refused to be silent. We stood firm and called for what survivors have demanded for years—real accountability in the form of a global, zero-tolerance law that mandates abusers to be permanently removed and holds those who enabled them accountable. While the conclave to select the new pope was ongoing, SNAP wrote him a letter with a roadmap to end abuse and cover-up in the Catholic Church. 

To ensure that the voices of survivors remain front and center as the Catholic Church prepares for its next chapter, we launched Conclave Watch—a bold initiative designed to shine light into the darkest corners. The response was overwhelming. Survivors and whistleblowers from around the globe reached out with stories, evidence, and support. When Pope Leo XIV stepped onto the balcony, SNAP was ready.

Immediately, the media was asking, “What does SNAP have to say about Pope Leo?” Our demand for zero tolerance for abuse and cover-up was front and center.

CNN Breaking News on the day of the new pope’s election including (L) “Group calls on new pope to enact “universal zero tolerance” for clergy sex abuse” and (R) a clip of SNAP’s press conference on the first day of the conclave

Since launching our Global Advocacy Working Group in March, SNAP has been featured at least 3,480 times in media outlets around the world, in dozens of languages, across 78 countries. Our Conclave Watch website received nearly 50,000 views.

Since we launched the Conclave Watch initiative in Rome on March 25, SNAP has been featured in news stories in 78 countries in every part of the world.

While this was happening, survivors in the US held the line passing a clergy mandatory reporting bill in Washington State under the leadership of SNAP Pacific Northwest leader, Mary Dispenza, keeping up the fight for a grand jury investigation and getting the Diocese of Camden to back down in New Jersey under the leadership of SNAP NJ Director, Mark Crawford, and passing a bill restricting non-disclosure agreements for all child sexual abuse cases in Texas with the advocacy of SNAP 2024 Conference Keynote Speaker Cindy Clemishire.

Top L: Mary Dispenza speaks at a press conference advocating for WA state survivors in July 2024 (Catalina Gaitán/The Seattle Times); Bottom L: Gateway Church survivor Cindy Clemishire after testifying in support of a bill banning non-disclosure agreements in child sex abuse cases in Texas in March 2025 (Eleanor Dearman/Fort Worth Star Telegram); R: Mark Crawford outside arguments in the New Jersey Supreme Court regarding a grand jury investigation in April 2025. (Dana DiFilippo/New Jersey Monitor)

This moment has proven the power of survivor-led advocacy. It’s working. But to keep going, we need your help. The church operates globally, and the press covers them globally. SNAP needs to be there. Thanks to your support we could afford to take our team to Rome and share SNAP’s message with the world. Can you help us fund the next phase?

We’ve built real momentum. Now we need to sustain it. Will you consider becoming a sustaining donor to SNAP with a monthly donation? If that’s not possible, will you make a one-time gift? 

Your ongoing support will:

• Amplify the voices of survivors across continents
• Keep pressure on global institutions to enact real change
• Expose abuse and cover-up wherever it hides
• And offer hope, healing, and justice to those still suffering in silence

Together, we can end the structures that allow abuse to flourish. Together, we can ensure that no survivor stands alone.

Please join us today in sustaining our work. Your support fuels this movement—and brings the light of justice to survivors everywhere.

In solidarity,

Peter Isely and Sarah Pearson

The SNAP Global Policy Team