COLUMBUS (OH)
Sandusky Register [Sandusky OH]
September 3, 2023
[Includes a 48-minute video interview with SNAP’s Claudia Vercellotti about Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s refusal to open an investigation into child sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other church officials. Photo above: Screen image of Claudia Vercellotti during the interview with Matt Westerhold, Managing Editor of the Sandusky Register, on September 1, 2023.]
An abuse survivor and victim advocate spoke about her mission to help those who were sexually abused by officials of the Roman Catholic Church.
Claudia Vercellotti, an activist with Toledo’s chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, appeared on “Between The Lines” on Friday. The nearly 45-minute interview is available on the Sandusky Register’s YouTube channel.
She spoke about the group’s attempts to have Ohio hold child predators within the Church accountable for their abuses, and to break the cycle of abuse.
“This isn’t our first ask. We’ve been asking for over 20 years, each successive attorney general’s office, to open an investigation,” Vercellotti said, referring to children being sexually abused by Catholic priests and other officials within the Church.
“Twenty years ago, we were asking the state of Ohio to lead that charge in protecting Ohio kids. Now we’re just asking that Ohio get on the justice bus.”
Vercellotti spoke about the Toledo Diocese’s lack of transparency, the shuffling of abusers between parishes and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office’s unwillingness to investigate claims and hold abusers accountable.