SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) Needs Our Help.
For the last 21 years SNAP has been a voice for Catholics seeking answers and reform from the hierarchy on pedophilia. In that time it has bravely demanded an end to the shell game of moving predatory priests as well as the seemingly endless series of cover-ups of incidents of sexual abuse.
In its mission statement the group tells us that it is “…a volunteer self-help organization of survivors of clergy sexual abuse and their supporters.” And it does so by “By supporting one another in personal healing” as well as “By pursuing justice and institutional change by holding individual perpetrators responsible and the church accountable.”
SNAP’s many accomplishments include:
* A young man whose father is a priest who was struggling with an aggressive and advanced form of brain cancer. SNAP worked with his mother to make the Franciscan order help him maintain his dignity in the final days of his life and to reach out to others.
* Two brave survivors who informed SNAP that the Diocese of Bridgeport paid them settlements for abuse by two priests who remain in ministry. With SNAP’s help they were able to expose this dangerous situation and warn the community.
* A survivor who learned that a priest convicted of child abuse in New Jersey, with the help of church officials, had his name legally changed and was quietly sent to a parish in rural Missouri, where he molested again.
* Hundreds of survivors and family members who wanted information and strategies for coping with the pain and other consequences of sexual abuse by clergy.
For those of us who seek both greater accountability as well as greater transparency from the Catholic hierarchy, SNAP has been never hesitated to stand front and center. They are true heroes of the Church.
But now SNAP needs your help to keep going.
SNAP is the largest and oldest support group run by and for survivors and receives no government nor church support. All its donations come from individuals like you. The organization has been awarded the “Independent Charities Seal of Excellence” which is given to organizations, “that have, upon rigorous independent review, been able to certify, document, and demonstrate on an annual basis that they meet the highest standards of public accountability, program effectiveness, and cost effectiveness.
Donations to SNAP are tax deductible.
Join me in helping out by clicking here to make an on-line donation or mail your check to:
SNAP
700 N. Green Street, Suite 504,
Chicago, IL 60642
Filed under: Church Structures / Ecclessiology Tagged: | clerical abuse, pedophilia, SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests)
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gaysurvivor
Frank, I’m glad you posted this. I was actually thinking of doing a similar posting before Christmas, recommending SNAP as a group to which people might want to give contributions in the name of family and friends, at Christmas time.
SNAP is an outstanding organization and deserves strong support–as do all those who have survived childhood sexual abuse by religious authority figures.
Thank you Bill. It is good to see a group of organized Catholics who are actually working to heal the Church.
Good morning,
Thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement. We have made great progress in the past few years but sadly rarely a day goes by that we do not hear from new victims of clergy abuse.
Our National Conference will be in Chicago the weekend of July 30 to August 1. We would like to invite your readers to join us for this event. Speakers in the pst have included Frank Keating, former head of the bishops lay review board, Fr. Tom Doyle, a canon lawyer and out spoken critic of the way the hierarchy has handled the abuse crisis and Jason Berry a journalist who has written extensively about this issue.
Thank you again for all your help. Please let me know if there is anything i can do to help.
Barbara Dorris
National Outreach Director
314-862-7688
SNAP is an important, courageous group which helps many victims of clergy abuse, educates the public, and works to make positive changes. (One correction to another posted comment, SNAP is not a Catholic organization. Many members are not Catholic.)
[...] SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) Needs Our Help. For the last 21 years SNAP has been a voice for Catholics seeking answers and reform from the hierarchy on pedophilia. In that time it has bravely demanded an end to the shell game of moving predatory priests as well as the seemingly endless series of cover-ups of incidents of sexual abuse. [...]