SNAP demands Philly archbishop step out of running to lead U.S. Catholic bishops group

Listen

A group supporting those who have been abused by priests is asking the Archbishop of Philadelphia to remove his name from the running for an office in the church. 

SNAP, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, says Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput should not be in contention for the presidency of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops. He should remove his name from consideration, said Barbara Blaine of SNAP.

“We feel he has a very poor track record on dealing with the cases of sex abuse by priests,” Blaine said. “He does not put the protection of children first and therefore he is not the best candidate to be president of the bishops conference.”

Arthur Baselice, who said his son committed suicide after alleged abuse by priests, said giving Chaput more influence within the church and lay community with a higher position is wrong.

  • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

“That would give him more power to defeat legislation that would hold people accountable for what they did, what they knew and what they failed to do,” Baselice said.

An archdiocese representative issued a no comment to the SNAP request and did not repond to multiple requests for comment on the matter.

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal