UNITED STATES
Catholic Life Ministries
Originally published February 19, 2017
By Robert Fontana
David Clohessy, the executive director of the Survivors Network of People Abused by Priests (SNAP), resigned from his position in December. He is pictured here presenting an award to me as the SNAP Lay Person of the Year, 2012. In January, David was named in a lawsuit which claims that, in exchange for “kickbacks,” he provided names of potential clients to attorneys who were suing the Catholic Church. David acknowledges accepting donations for SNAP from lawyers who have sued the Catholic Church, but he denies ever accepting any money for exchange of client information. Lori and I believe David.
We are sad to see David leave SNAP. Catholic leaders have NEVER VOLUNTARILY TOLD THE TRUTH about sex abuse in the church. The truth was pulled, pushed, and prodded out of them by survivors of sex abuse through public rallies, lawsuits, and media exposure.
David and the survivors community have been like the little shepherd boy with a slingshot and a stone, fighting the giant Goliath Catholic hierarchy, with its deep financial pockets, and a worldwide network of sympathetic government and civic leaders. In truth, David is one of the best friends the Catholic Church has because his work is calling the Church back to its foundational principles: to live by truth which sets one free, and to protect the weak and the vulnerable, especially children.
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