NewsLocal News

Actions

SNAP reacts to AG report detailing sex abuse

Posted

BALTIMORE — They are victims of abuse at the hands of the Catholic Church.

Now, they are sharing their thoughts on a massive report from the State Attorney General.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, spoke with us today outside the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Wednesday, the Attorney General released a long-awaited report, detailing decades of child sexual abuse within Baltimore Catholic Churches.

RELATED: 'Day of reckoning': Report uncovers decades of sexual abuse within Archdiocese of Baltimore

The director of SNAP, who is also a child sex abuse survivor, says how the crimes were kept under wraps for so long surprised him.

"They had control of the media, they had control of editors, they had control of the judicial system. They had judges, making sure cases didn't get through. They had control the legislature," said David Lorenz.

"Finally, that cracked with you guys, the media finally started paying attention saying there's a story here. And once you guys started paying attention, the judicial system started paying attention. And once the judicial system start paying attention, so did the legislators," said Lorenz.

He adds they want all redacted names in the report released.

The court ordered those names blacked out.

But Lorenz says the church should independently release those names and where those priests worked, to help other victims come forward.