SNAP Fights Court-ordered Disclosure of Its Own Internal Documents

Catholic Culture
January 2, 2012

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=12833

In an odd reversal of roles, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) is fighting against court-ordered disclosure of the group’s internal documents.

David Clohessy, the director of SNAP, has been ordered by a Missouri court to turn over documents and correspondence relating to the case of Father Michael Tierney, a priest who faces sex-abuse charges. Lawyers for the accused priest argue that a plaintiff’s lawyer violated a gag order by providing information about the case to SNAP.

Clohessy, who has routinely insisted that Catholic diocesan officials should disclose all available information about sex-abuse allegations, has fought against the disclosure of SNAP’s internal documents. Claiming that the release of those documents could have a “chilling effect” on sex-abuse victims, he has appealed the court’s order to furnish documents and provide testimony in the Tierney case.