Allegedly Abusive Catholic Composer Dropped by Prominent Hymnal Publisher

By Zach Hiner
SNAP
June 15, 2020

https://www.snapnetwork.org/allegedly_abusive_catholic_composer_dropped_jun20

Following an open letter detailing allegations of inappropriate sexual advances and sexual harassment, we have learned a prominent Catholic composer has been dropped by one of the companies with which he worked. We applaud this move and hope that this news will encourage other still-silent victims to come forward and make a report to police.

David Haas has reportedly been accused by dozens of women of being a serial sexual harasser and manipulating women into inappropriate or unwanted relationships. His decades of impropriety was first made public by the organization Into Account, which sent an open letter to the organizations employing the composer, informing them of the numerous allegations against Haas and urging those organizations to take action. Last week, SNAP wrote in support of these efforts by survivors and Into Account. Following the publication and dissemination of our statement, SNAP heard from several more victims. To us, this means there are many women who have felt silenced out of fear and who did not realize that they were not alone.

Haas was dropped by GIA Publications, a prominent publisher of hymnals, earlier this year. This decision was publicly announced in a Facebook post on June 13^th. The group wrote that they had severed their relationship due to the allegations made and to the fact that they learned that the Archdiocese of Minneapolis – St. Paul was considering a decision not to provide the musician a letter of suitability.

We applaud this decision by GIA Publications and believe it sends the message that sexually abusive behavior will not be tolerated. We hope that this news will be heard across the country by other victims of Haas and that this public stance against his behavior will encourage others who may have experienced, seen or suspected these possible crimes to come forward and make a report to law enforcement.