SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
SNAP - Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests [Chicago IL]
May 22, 2025
The survivors’ committee in the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s bankruptcy yesterday released Claims Data, which pulled information from individual reports filed in the proceeding. According to this data, 71 of the 88 parishes in the Archdiocese (81%) were named in the abuse claims. SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, called this and the other revelations from the report “wrenching,” and added, “There was no good news to be had in this data.”
The survivors’ group also again emphasized that no archbishop of San Francisco had ever released a list of accused perpetrators. However, by SNAP’s count, about 150 people were accused of abuse in the bankruptcy. Adding this information to the data already collected by the group, over 500 perpetrators lived or worked in the Archdiocesan territories of Marin, San Mateo, and San Francisco County. In addition, because the Oakland, Santa Rosa, San Jose, and Stockton dioceses were at one time a part of the Archdiocese, its tentacles reached to state lines and into central California. In all, hundreds of parishes and schools were the locations of abuse.
SNAP Board Member and Treasurer, Dan McNevin stated, “These abusers truly had absolutely shocking and widespread impact that defied the imagination and that deserved attention from Catholics, secular law enforcement, and the public.” Dan went on to add that while 81% of the parishes in the Archdiocese were identified as sites of abuse in this bankruptcy, because so few victims ever come forward, and because SNAP’s records show 98% of parishes housed or employed known perpetrators, there is no doubt that nearly every parish in the Archdiocese was the site of crimes against children.
We believe that the San Francisco Archbishop owes his parishioners and the public a full, transparent accounting of the abuse that occurred within his domain. Only Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone has access to the secret files, and only he has the records of earlier settlements, which may not have been public. Transparency now would help to assure the faithful that their churches are safe.
It would also serve as outreach to survivors who are still keeping their secret alone and in silence. Healing begins with knowing that you are not alone, and that your perpetrator has been publicly exposed.
CONTACT: Dan McNevin, SNAP Board of Directors Treasurer (dmcnevin@aol.com, 415-341-6417), Joey Piscitelli, SNAP Northern California (caljoey1@aol.com, 925-262-3699), Melanie Sakoda, SNAP Survivor Support Director (msakoda@snapnetwork.org, 925-708-6175), Shaun Dougherty, SNAP Interim Executive Director (sdougherty@snapnetwork.org, 814-341-8386)
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for more than 35 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)