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	Michigan Clergy Sex Victim Speaks Out; SNAP Responds By David Clohessy Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests September 1, 2010 http://www.snapnetwork.org/snap_statements/2010_statements/083110_michigan_clergy_sex_victim_speaks_out_snap_responds.htm Statement by David Clohessy, executive director of SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, 314-566-9790 It's very tough for any child sex abuse victim to come forward, seek justice, expose wrongdoers and start healing. It's particularly tough on someone like Greg who has lost so much, including a productive professional career, because the devastating effects of horrific childhood trauma came suddenly crashing down on him. It's a real sign of health that he's taking careful steps to gradually rid himself of the inevitable shame that accompanies awful childhood sexual abuse. The Bible tells us that the truth shall set us free. Greg, along with tens of thousands of other deeply wounded men and women who were violated as kids by clerics, is helping to expose that truth. We applaud him for doing so. (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 22 years and have more than 10,000 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) Attorney Gregory Guggemos has identified himself as the man who settled a decades-old sex abuse claim against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing for $225,000 earlier this month. Guggemos, his voice sometimes breaking with emotion, read a 10-page statement at his attorney's office today. detailing the years-long process of recalling the abuse. Guggemos says he was abused by Monsignor John Slowey at the St. Vincent home for children while he and three siblings stayed there for portions of 1954 and 1955. Guggemos, formerly of Haslett, said he hopes that sharing his story will encourage other victims of abuse to come forward. "I know now I did nothing wrong when I was at the orphanage. I have no responsibility for being sexually abused. I am a victim," he said. Guggemos settled his suit weeks before Bishop Earl Boyea, leader of the 10-county Diocese of Lansing, said he believes another priest, the Rev. John Martin, abused at least a half-dozen boys who attended St. Isidore church in Laingsburg during the 1950s and early 1960s. Both Slowey and Martin are long dead.
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