IOWA
The Hawk Eye
A support group called SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) has been formed in eastern Iowa for victims of religious sexual abuse.
The Rev. David Hitch of Tipton will lead the chapter. Hitch's brother was sexually abused by James M. Janssen, a former priest in the Davenport Diocese who served in Lee County during the 1960s and '70s.
Last month, a Scott County jury awarded $1.9 million to a man who said Janssen sexually abused him for nine years, beginning when he was 5 years old. At the trial, Janssen, now defrocked, admitted the abuse only to recant the next day.
"I've talked to so many survivors of religious sexual abuse and I've talked to their families. Their pain is enormous," Hitch said. "There is a need in the Diocese of Davenport for survivors of sexual abuse by priests and (the) religious to have a place to gather and support one another. SNAP is a very effective format for this to happen."
Posted by kshaw at June 5, 2005 07:12 PM