Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP, established in 1989, is a
Shaun Dougherty was elected to serve as the president in July 2021[3] and remained president as of April 2024.[1] Tim Lennon was a past president.
History
SNAP's history, and list of current staff and directors, are on their Web site.[1]
Activities
On June 13, 2002, SNAP's
On August 8, 2009, former
In 2009 SNAP supported a legislative bill in New York that would push Catholic Church dioceses to disclose the names of all clergy who have been transferred or retired due to "credible allegations" of abuse.[7]
On June 9, 2009, a group of survivors of clergy abuse protested the appointment of
Retired Auxiliary Bishop
SNAP's president, Barbara Blaine, and national director, David Clohessy, resigned from their SNAP positions, effective February 4, 2017, and December 31, 2016, respectively. According to the Chicago Tribune, "Barbara Dorris, SNAP's outreach director, has become the managing director".[11][12] Three other longtime leaders, board president Mary Ellen Kruger and outreach director Barbara Dorris, both of St. Louis, and board member Mary Dispenza, left in March 2018.[13]
Defamation lawsuit and sanctions
In 2015 SNAP was ordered by
According to David Clohessy, the director and spokesman, it is the most significant legal battle facing the organization in its 23 years and that he personally may be fined or jailed.[14] SNAP refused to fully comply with the judge's order, claiming "rape crisis center privilege".[17][18] In August 2016, Judge Jackson found that no such privilege exists and imposed sanctions against SNAP. The judge found that SNAP had defamed him and conspired against the priest, and order that SNAP pay the priest's legal fees. SNAP's attorney stated they were considering an appeal.[citation needed]
Hammond v. SNAP
On January 18, 2017, a former fundraiser for SNAP, Gretchen Rachel Hammond, filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the organization in Cook County, Illinois. Hammond had been employed by SNAP as a Director of Development from July 2011 through February 2013. In the lawsuit, Hammond alleged that SNAP fired her in retaliation for confronting the organization for "colluding with survivors' attorneys." The lawsuit stated that "SNAP does not focus on protecting or helping survivors—it exploits them. SNAP routinely accepts financial kickbacks from attorneys in the form of 'donations.' In exchange for the kickbacks, SNAP refers survivors as potential clients to attorneys, who then file lawsuits on behalf of the survivors against the Catholic Church."[19] According to the Catholic News Agency, the lawsuit claimed that SNAP "receives 'substantial contributions' from attorneys sometimes totaling more than 40 or 50 percent of its annual contributions. A prominent Minnesota attorney who represents clergy abuse survivors reportedly donated several six-figure annual sums, including over $415,000 in 2008. Other unnamed attorney-donors who represent abuse survivors reportedly came from California, Chicago, Seattle, and Delaware."[20] The lawsuit also cited emails sent by David Clohessy and Barbara Blaine to survivors and "prominent attorneys".
In one such email, Clohessy urges a survivor to sue the Wisconsin archdiocese "i sure hope you DO pursue the WI [Wisconsin] bankruptcy … Every nickle (sic) they don't have is a nickle (sic) that they can't spend on defense lawyers, PR staff,gay-bashing, women-hating, contraceptive-battling, etc."[21][22]
SNAP denied the allegations. Outreach Director Barbara Dorris told the
See also
- Sexual abuse cases in church
- Abuses in the Baptist Faith
- Jehovah's Witnesses and child sex abuse
- Catholic Church sex abuse cases
- Catholic Church sex abuse cases by country
- Catholic Church sex abuse cases in Australia
- Catholic Church sex abuse cases in Belgium
- Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in Canada
- Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in Dublin
- Catholic Church sex abuse cases in English Benedictine Congregation
- Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in Ireland
- Catholic sexual abuse cases in New Zealand
- Catholic Church sex abuse cases in the United States
- Critique and consequences related topics
- Criticism of Pope John Paul II
- Debate on the causes of clerical child abuse
- Ecclesiastical response to Catholic sex abuse cases
- Instruction Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with Regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in View of Their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders
- Media coverage of Catholic sex abuse cases
- Settlements and bankruptcies in Catholic sex abuse cases
- Sex Crimes and the Vatican, BBC documentary
- child sex abuse in the Boston area by numerous Catholic priests. It features Phil Saviano, founder of the New England chapter of SNAP.[26]
- Investigation, prevention and victim support related topics
- Broken Rites Australia, support and advocacy group in Australia
- Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, USA
- National Review Board, USA
- National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, UK
- Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, Vatican
- Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity, peer-reviewed journal on prevention & treatment
- Virtus (program), church initiative in USA
- Vos estis lux mundi, church procedure for abuse cases
- Other related topics
- Child sexual abuse
- Clerical celibacy
- Homosexual clergy in the Catholic Church
- Pontifical secret
- Religious abuse
- Spiritual abuse
References
- ^ a b c "About SNAP: Mission Statement, history, staff". Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
- ^ Zwartz, Barney (November 27, 2012). "Advocate warns on church's silence strategy". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
- ^ "Johnstown's Dougherty elected new president of SNAP". SNAP. 7 July 2021.
- ^ "Impact Statement of David Clohessy,”. U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved 2013-07-10. Archived 2013-06-09 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Clergy-abuse support group ignites debate: SNAP's public tactics, ties to lawyers anger some victims". NBC News and Associated Press. December 18, 2004. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
- ^ “Keating recalls service on review board,”. National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
- ^ "Long Island News Stories on Sports, Politics & More". Newsday. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
- ^ "Child abuse survivors protest outside Saginaw Diocese Tuesday afternoon". abclocal.go.com. Archived from the original on 2011-06-04.
- ^ "SNAP Call to Action," http://ccrjustice.org/files/SNAP%20Fundraiser%20Event_4-11-2013.pdf. SNAP website. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
- ^ "Vatican moved quickly to punish Gumbleton". National Catholic Reporter. November 5, 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
- ^ "Barbara Blaine, leader of priest sex-abuse survivors group, steps down". Chicago Tribune. February 4, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
- ^ "Support group for victims of Catholic Church abuse faces upheaval". Chicago Tribune. February 6, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
- ^ Benchaabane, Nassim. "New director named, former leader returns to SNAP after legal threats, leadership upheaval", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 14, 2018
- ^ CBS St. Louis. January 3, 2012. Archived from the originalon August 13, 2018.
- St Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ Fowler, Lilly (17 June 2015). "Charges dropped against St. Louis priest accused of abuse". St Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ Currier, Joel (21 July 2016). "Victim advocates plan to defy court order in lawsuit filed by once-accused St. Louis priest". St Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ Currier, Joel (24 August 2016). "Federal judge sides with St. Louis priest in SNAP defamation case". St Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ a b Bogan, Jesse (January 23, 2017). "SNAP faces lawsuit claiming it colluded with clergy sex abuse victim attorneys". St. Louis Post-Dispatch – stltoday.com. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
- ^ Jones, Kevin (January 19, 2017). "Kickbacks for suing the Church? Lawsuit claims major misbehavior at SNAP". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
- ^ Bogan, Jesse (January 23, 2017). "Hammond vs. SNAP". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
- ^ a b Grimm, Andy (January 24, 2017). "SNAP announces director named in lawsuit has resigned". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2017-01-29. Retrieved 2017-01-28.
- ^ Grimm, Andy (January 19, 2017). "Former SNAP worker says clergy-abuse group colludes with lawyers". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
- Kansas City Star. January 26, 2017. Retrieved 2017-02-19.
- ^ "Lawsuit settled, former SNAP director returns to the fight against abuse". Religion News Service. September 16, 2018.
- Boston Phoenix. Retrieved March 4, 2016.