SURVIVING CLERGY SEX ABUSE - David Lorenz from SNAP

David Lorenz, Maryland state director of SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) is Richard's guest today. SNAP is a self-help group that supports people who have been victimized by clergy, and helps them try to pick up the pieces of their lives, heal and move forward.  The new film "Spotlight" highlights the work of journalists to expose sexual predator priests in the Boston archdiocese.  If you have been the victim of spiritual & sexual abuse, SNAP suggests:

1. Acknowledge your courage. It takes courage to acknowledge that we’ve been abused and it is not easy to even admit it to ourselves.
2. Know that you are not alone. There are many more survivors of abuse by priests, and other clergy members, than any of us wants to believe. One study from University of Chicago estimates that there are probably about 100,000 survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests in the U.S. Most of us believed that we were the only victim of the priest that abused us. Over time we have learned that there is rarely, if ever, only one victim.

www.snapnetwork.org 

Support Richard's "Canaan Land" campaign, a film that contrasts toxic abusive pastors who hurt people with healthy faith that heals people.  Visit this link: http://www.gofundme.com/canaanland