BishopAccountability.org
	SNAP Leader Discusses Church Arbitration Procedure for Claims of Sex Abuse Victims Voice from the Desert July 2, 2008 http://reform-network.net/?p=1808 From an email received from SNAP National Director David Clohessy, 7.2.2008 The SNAP press release by SNAP President Barbara Blaine, below, is followed by a statement from the Diocese of Springfield, MA, offering a "voluntary arbitration procedure." Statement by Barbara Blaine of Chicago, national president member of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (312-399-4747) Often, in our experiences, these programs [arbitration programs; see below] are more about protecting secrets and bishops than about helping victims and families. While these efforts may result in some compensation for deeply wounded victims, church officials often require victims to sign away many legal rights to get that compensation. Flawed though it may be, our courts have often proven to be a good way to expose the truth, get justice and deter wrongdoing. Like other crime victims, clergy sex abuse victims, should be able to use the justice system to warn others about and protect others from predatory priests and corrupt bishops. At the end of the process, some victims may end up with sorely-needed funds for therapy. But everyone else involved - the police, prosecutors, parishioners and public - are denied the chance to learn exactly who’s cover up horrific clergy sex crimes and just how widespread those cover ups are. (SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the nation’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We’ve been around for 17 years and have more than 8,000 members across the country. Despite the word "priest" in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org) Contact David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, 314-645-5915 home), Peter Isely (414-429-7259) Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688), Mary Grant (626-419-2930), Mark Serrano (703-727-4940)
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