UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Wednesday, April 23, 2014
For more info: David Clohessy, 314-566-9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com
Abuse victims seek apology
Top Baptist official attacked them
He called support group “opportunistic”
Group wants to speak at SBC annual meeting
A victims group is asking the head of the Southern Baptist Convention to apologize for his “very hurtful comment” about the organization and for a chance to speak at the annual SBC meeting in Baltimore this summer.
Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, are writing Frank Page hoping to talk about preventing clergy sex crimes before thousands of Baptist who will gather in Baltimore this summer. And they want Page to publicly apologize for what they call his “hurtful comment” in 2007 when he wrote that their group was “nothing more than opportunistic persons motivated by personal gain.”
“Publicly castigating brave clergy sex abuse survivors effectively demonizes and hurts already wounded men and women who were traumatized as kids,” said David Clohessy, executive director of SNAP. “We hope that, over the past few years, [Page will] have reflected on [his] words and realized the extraordinary harm he has caused,” Clohessy added.
He also said that SNAP has “25 year of experience working with victims,” so the organization “can help SBC get their abuse policy and handling of victims where it needs to be.”
Among other reforms, SNAP urges church officials, including Southern Baptist officials, to establish review boards to hear molestation reports and instituting and enforcing a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy.
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