For immediate release: Monday, May 20

Statement by Barbara Blaine of Chicago, president of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (312-399-4747, SNAPblaine@gmail.com) 

Six men who were sexually violated as kids by a widely-known Jesuit priest, Fr. Donald McGuire, have reached a settlement totaling nearly $20 million. We applaud their courage and strength.

These six brave men have, despite their horrific pain, struggled to expose corruption by some of the top Jesuits in the US. More truth about awful church crimes and cover ups is being revealed and for that, Catholics should be grateful.

This isn’t just another settlement. It’s a settlement involving America’s most prominent child molesting cleric (a high profile priest who was Mother Teresa’s confessor) and Catholicism’s most elite religious order (the Jesuits). It’s a settlement that, by its size alone, shows that Catholic officials are terrified of having to testify in open court about their complicity in McGuire’s egregious child sex crimes. And it’s a settlement that should make parents pause before sending their youngsters to Jesuit schools.

I know some of McGuire’s victims. They have been deeply traumatized. But they have put their own misery aside in the effort to protect kids from him and warn parents about him. Because of McGuire’s criminal conviction and this settlement, they have largely succeeded, against long odds. We in SNAP are deeply appreciative of their concern for children and their commitment to justice.

Read the press release here.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 12,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Contact – David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, SNAPclohessy@aol.com), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688 home, 314-503-0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, SNAPblaine@gmail.com), Peter Isely (414-429-7259, peterisely@yahoo.com), Joelle Casteix (949-322-7434, jcasteix@gmail.com), Judy Jones 636-433-2511, snapjudy@gmail.com)