Director of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests Pays a Visit

By Susan Campbell
Hartford Courant
March 26, 2012

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-campbell-snap-0327-20120326,0,6129259.column

Earlier in March, reports began circulating that lawyers for the Roman Catholic Church and priests accused of sexually abusing children were going to court to force SNAP —- Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests —- to release more than two decades of correspondence.

Their attempts are unprecedented. SNAP is not directly involved in any court cases, though it has served as a support system to victims since its inception in 1989. The national organization has members in Connecticut who have provided support for individuals abused by George Reardon, St. Francis Hospital's former head of endocrinology, and priests, as well as lobbied for change in the state's statute of limitations laws.

David Clohessy, national director for SNAP, will be in West Hartford on Tuesday for a fundraiser. (You can find out more about the fundraiser here: http://bit.ly/GQNcjQ). He answered a few questions in preparation for his time in Connecticut.

Q: You're in town for a fundraiser on Tuesday. Are you doing more fundraising these days?

A: Considerably. Because of the church hierarchy's legal attack, we've incurred roughly $50,000 in legal expenses that we didn't expect and can't afford. We've had to work harder than ever to continue, as we have for years, protecting the vulnerable and healing the wounded and seeking donations to help us afford (and hopefully prevail over) the mean-spirited legal moves by Catholic officials in St. Louis and Kansas City.

Q: How does SNAP support itself?

We're funded almost entirely by individual donations. (We get very little grant funding.) We've always been gratified by the thousands of church members and employees who contribute to us. And those numbers seem to be increasing, as more Catholics feel dismayed by the hierarchy's empty promises to change how they deal with child molesting clerics.

Q: What's your budget? And how is your money spent?

A: Our total revenue for 2010 was $352,903. Outside of salaries, the second highest expense we have is travel. We set up new support groups and strengthen existing ones, so that people who are suffering because of childhood trauma have a safe place to get help.

Few people realize this, but we're basically 90 percent AA and 10 percent Mothers Against Drunk Driving. In other words, 90 pecent of what we do is quiet "behind-the-scenes," "under the radar," one-on-one listening, consoling, and counseling deeply wounded men, women and teenagers, many of whom have never told another person about their pain. In essence, we're "first responders," working to stabilize and help people who may be suicidal or deeply depressed or severely addicted. We do what we can to help and prod people – sensitively but persistently – toward getting other help from professionals.

Q: There have been reports of the Roman Catholic Church recently seeking some 24 years of correspondence from SNAP in two Missouri cases of clergy abuse though your organization is neither plaintiff nor defendant in the litigation —- what some news reports call a legal "hard-ball" move. This is a new tactic, and what does it mean to SNAP?

A: It means that more victims, witnesses, whistleblowers, police, prosecutors and journalists will turn to us for help. And it means that hundreds of already violated child sex abuse victims are being, and feeling, re-victimized by church officials who claim to be "reforming." It may also mean, if these bishops win, that the privacy of many other individuals will be eroded and that other crime victims (especially those who are raped or battered) will lose some of the confidentiality they have had.

Q: What do you think of this tactic?

A: It's a shrewd but deplorable way to misuse the justice system to help keep clergy sex crimes and cover-ups covered up. Every single victim, witness or whistleblower who can be scared into keeping silent is a victory for child molesting clerics and for their complicit church supervisors. As a society, we need to be making it less hard, not more hard, for people to expose clergy sex offenders.

Q: What do you think of the official denial from the bishops that this is done with their approval?

A: It's always risky speculating about others' motives, especially a notoriously secretive group like Catholic bishops. But their denial rings hollow in the face of their actions. Right now, on his blog, Cardinal Tim Dolan essentially challenges the credibility of a 16-year-old girl who reports having been molested three times last year by a Bronx priest, Fr. Jaime Duenas.The priest has been arrested, but Dolan is publicly trying to cast doubt on her by questioning why she returned to her parish job after being sexually assaulted. I could cite dozens more examples. But it's clear that after a decade of embarrassing headlines, a number of bishops are anxious to start going on the offensive.

Q: Why did you join SNAP?

A: I was one of the early members of the group. It was started by a Chicago social worker, Barbara Blaine, who saw others benefiting from self-help groups of different types. She was also being deceived and shunned by Toledo church officials and realized that she wasn't alone and needed support to recover from the crimes she suffered as a child. I'm very grateful to her and thousands of others are too.

Q: Have you ever been called anti-Catholic?

Only by a tiny (but relentless) handful of angry church figures

Q: How do you respond?

We're pro-child and anti-abuse. We work hard to be a safe, comforting place for all victims – the hard-core atheist and the daily communicant – to cope with and recover from horrific suffering. So we take no stands on political or religious issues or beliefs. Our members and leaders span the entire spectrum, from incredibly devout to incredibly confused to incredibly secular in their philosophies.

This is hard for some church officials to believe, but we're helping – not hurting – the church. Every child who is protected, every predator who is exposed, every criminal who is removed makes the church a safe, better, healthier institution.

The public outreach and education we do – news conferences outside church headquarters, leafleting outside parishes – is like a crucial medical procedure. It's unpleasant but necessary if future pain is to be avoided and current pain is to be healed. Staying silent about clergy sex crimes and cover ups helps no one except pedophile priests and corrupt bishops.