This is pretty sick. The abusers have become, well, still the abusers:
Turning the tables on an advocacy group that has long supported victims of pedophile priests, lawyers for the Roman Catholic Church and priests accused of sexual abuse in two Missouri cases have gone to court to compel the group to disclose more than two decades of e-mails that could include correspondence with victims, lawyers, whistle-blowers, witnesses, the police, prosecutors and journalists.
The group, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP, is neither a plaintiff nor a defendant in the litigation. But the group has been subpoenaed five times in recent months in Kansas City and St. Louis, and its national director, David Clohessy, was questioned by a battery of lawyers for more than six hours this year. A judge in Kansas City ruled that the network must comply because it “almost certainly” had information relevant to the case.
The network and its allies say the legal action is part of a campaign by the church to cripple an organization that has been the most visible defender of victims, and a relentless adversary, for more than two decades. “If there is one group that the higher-ups, the bishops, would like to see silenced,” said Marci A. Hamilton, a law professor at Yeshiva University and an advocate for victims of clergy sex crimes, “it definitely would be SNAP. And that’s what they’re going after. They’re trying to find a way to silence SNAP.”
Heaven forfend a group which works to advocate for the victims of pedophile priests come along and interrupt the Church’s time-honored tradition of shoving things like this under the rug. I mean, they’ve got an image to protect…
[h/t Thers]
This vicious attack on SNAP/victims tells us only one thing.
To all victims who have been sexually abused by clerics, your voices are strong, powerful, and being heard…!..
The church officials can’t shut us up. They can’t shove all the victims back under their control of silence.
The can of worms has been opened, and that is only because very brave victims of clergy sex abuse are speaking up, coming forward, contacting the police, exposing the truth, and trying their hardest to not allow another child to be given the life sentence of harm which they were dealt.
For those who wish to help …On our website – SNAPnetwork.org – are simple suggestions for helping victims beat back this assault against them by top Catholic officials. Please check it out. Thanks.
Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Associate Director, USA, 636-433-2511
“Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests” and all clergy.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims.
SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 12,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers and increasingly, victims who were assaulted in a wide range of institutional settings like summer camps, athletic programs, Boy Scouts, etc. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Desperate people resort to desparate actions. SICK!
Thx for going ahead and posting this on your sight. I wasn’t sure it would be within your guidelines and it seems you are the only one of the gay sights bringing it out. Bravo.
My hope is that this blows up in the church’s face and brings more light so more abuse victims will come forward.
I also hope many people will donate to SNAP so they can continue their very important expose`work.