MISSISSIPPI
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, March 16

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, 314 645 5915 home, davidgclohessy@gmail.com)

Thank heavens for the attentive and responsive parents who reported an allegedly abusive Baptist youth pastor to the Hancock County sheriff. Often kids can’t tell, parents don’t believe them, or families foolishly tell church figures, not secular authorities. This mom and dad, however, promptly did the proper thing – they honored their moral and civic duty by calling law enforcement. We applaud them for their courage and wisdom.

[WAPT]

We’re grateful that Rev. David Matthew Thorne of Picayune, a youth pastor at Goodyear Baptist Church in Pearl River County, has been arrested. But it’s a long way from arrest to conviction. Now is not the time for complacency….