Activists Defend Sex Victims' Rights

Advocates for alleged victims of priest abuse protested yesterday in front of Johnston Gate a subpoena that would have made public confidential comments made by victims in support groups.

Even though they received word that the subpoena had been dropped moments before the press conference began, members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) condemned the move by lawyers for Bishop Robert E. Kelley of the Worcester Diocese.

Kelley has admitted to molesting 50 to 100 girls in his parish.

SNAP and its supporters yesterday said the attempted subpoena was the latest in a long campaign of stone-walling by the Church.

“When we heard that the Church was trying to subpoena our communications we were horrified. This is the kind of behavior used to intimidate, harass and re-victimize,” said Susan Renehan, a member of the Coalition of Catholics and Survivors. “This is an ongoing conspiracy by the Catholic Church to hide crime.”

The press conference had originally been called to protest the subpoena, which was issued 12 days ago and would have required the release of records of conversations that victims had at meetings or with volunteers at SNAP. The subpoena stemmed from a lawsuit brought against the Diocese by five women, who argued that it did not do enough to protect them from Kelley.

Though the lawsuit against Bishop Kelley only involved five women in his parish, his lawyers had requested access to all records of the victims who have called SNAP regarding Worcester.

“The best evidence of unlawfulness and intent of malice is the overbroad scope,” said Wendy J. Murphy, an attorney for SNAP and a visiting scholar at Harvard Law School.

Kelley’s lawyers apparently dropped the subpoena mid-morning yesterday and Kelley, who said he first heard about the subpoena on Sunday, confirmed the action several hours later.

Nevertheless, SNAP members remained defiant despite the dropped challenge during the 45-minute press conference, which was heavily attended by local media.

“I had no intention of cooperating with this,” said SNAP Regional Director Philip J. Saviano. “We would have had an appeal and stuck to our guns on this one.”

The handful of supporters who attended the press conference held signs reading “No Intimidation” and “Catholic Church Launches Inquisition Part II.”

SNAP is a national volunteer organization that helps survivors through peer counseling and support groups.

The group chose to have the press conference at Harvard because of the support they said they had received from the student group Coalition Against Sexual Violence, which Saviano said is also reaching out to the victims of sexual abuse.