“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to fulfill it.” George Santayana Recently, I warned a close family friend that his children weren’t safe around my dad, who molested me for most of my childhood. The friend was silent for a moment. He’s known about my abuse for years; he doesn’t doubt the identity […]

This is the 2nd blog in this series dealing with the effort of the state to hold a Roman Catholic bishop legally accountable for failing to follow church procedure in dealing with the sexual misconduct of a clergyman as reported in the NY TIMES on 14 October 2011, Bishop is Indicted; Charge is Failing to […]

When the NY TIMES reported the story, Bishop is Indicted; Charge is Failing to Report Abuse, it caught the attention of many people who are working in their denominations dealing with clergy sexual abuse. The efforts of law officials in the U.S. to help protect children from sexual abuse in churches has turned to making […]

Being a parent can be downright scary. With a 24-hour news cycle and the media’s love of the scare tactic (“To Catch a Predator,” anyone?), we are constantly bombarded with messages of fear and helplessness when it comes to the safety of our kids. When I present to parents and community members about preventing and […]

VICTIM’S VOICE Vol. 1, No.2 Dec. 2, 2008 From a speech by Tom Doyle at SNAP convention, Chicago July 2008 Issue 4: The understanding of forgiveness The doctrine of forgiveness forms the basis for yet another belief that becomes toxic when merged with the Church’s response to sexual abuse. Most people misunderstand the theological concept […]

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — When the Rev. Bryan Kuchar wore his Catholic priest’s collar and black shirt and slacks during his trials for sexually molesting a teenager, he stirred up some controversy. The first jury that heard the case against Kuchar deadlocked on charges that the priest had sodomized a 14-year-old boy in 1995. After […]

Traumatic bonding is “strong emotional ties that develop between two persons where one person intermittently harasses, beats, threatens, abuses, or intimidates the other.” (Dutton & Painter, 1981). Several conditions have been identified that must be present for a traumatic bond to occur. –(1).  There must be an imbalance of power, with one person more in […]

This article contains excellent advice for anyone contemplating the priesthood or discerning a vocation in the Orthodox Church (or any ‘church’ for that matter). Fr. Aris nails it. Aren’t we disgusted with the shocking number of high-profile cases of priests engaged in pedophilia, homosexual activity, and adultery? Some excuse this behavior with the platitudes “a […]

For immediate release: Wednesday, December 8, 2010 Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com) A recent survey by Christianity Today addresses sex offenders in churches. SNAP’s response: We’re alarmed that fewer than one in […]

For immediate release: Friday, December 10, 2010 Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com) While we applaud this move, we’re also cautious about assuming widespread change in long-standing practices. Old habits die hard, and we’ve seen many, many church policies […]