MASSACHUSETTS
Patch
John Moynihan
It was just a little over 10 years ago when the Boston Globe began publishing the series of articles on the Priest Abuse Scandal that rocked the Catholic Church and won a Pulitzer Prize for the Globe. Ten years ago you probably were convinced that the Catholic Bishops were the meanest men on earth. But ten years have past and you probably don’t give the bishops much thought today.
Let me tell you something — they still are the MEANEST MEN ON EARTH. This time their target is not young boys but the organization that has taken those survivors in, has helped to bring dignity, sanity and justice to those who have been abused. Several of them have been Swampscott residents.
Since long before the Globe began reporting their stories, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) has been in 24/7 service to the survivors (“don’t call me a victim” one survivor once told me). Just as SNAP’s work is going global with the lurid stories of abuse coming from all over the world, the Catholic Bishops of the Dioceses of Kansas City and St. Louis have begun legal actions designed to shut down SNAP.
In a recent email to supporters, Barbara Blaine, SNAP’s President wrote:
“Catholic officials are desperately trying to conceal their wrong-doing by attacking victims. They’re trying to silence victims, and others, by trying to severely weaken SNAP. In October, SNAP Director David Clohessy was served with a subpoena in Kansas City by church defense lawyers. They demanded emails, correspondence and other records (some going back 23 years) including deeply private conversations with victims, their names and the details of the abuse they suffered.
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