NEW QUESTIONS ABOUT SNAP PSYCHIATRIST

In the last edition of Catalyst we featured an article about Dr. Steven Taylor, a psychiatrist associated with the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests (SNAP), who was sent to prison for the possession of child pornography. After it was published, new questions surfaced about Taylor.

Dr. Taylor seems to have a very curious mindset, and an even more curious relationship with SNAP. At first, he said he downloaded the child porn for “scientific” purposes—he wanted to see what interested pedophiles. Then he said he never obtained such fare, going so far as to say he didn’t recall ever admitting to doing so in the first place. But when his lawyer informed him they had him dead to right, his slippery memory snapped back into place, just in time to cop a plea.

Now it may be that Dr. Taylor’s memory is organically flawed: he has been working only half-days since he suffered a head injury in 1968 (the State Board of Medical Examiners made this call when it was determined that his judgment becomes impaired after four hours). In any event, in 2010 board members sanctioned him after they concluded he was a kiddie porn aficionado; he had previously been sanctioned for drug use, dementia, and other maladies.

What has not been determined is whether his suspect mental faculties (combined with his hatred of the Catholic Church, e.g., he wanted to bust the seal of confession) worked against the due process rights of priests whom he pursued while working with SNAP. As it turns out, Taylor’s wife, the former Lyn Hill Hayward, founded the local SNAP chapter, and it was that affiliate which he served. For her part, she claims she was once abused by a priest friend of hers: they were such good friends that eight years after the alleged abuse, he officiated her marriage. It is not a giant leap of faith to wonder whether all of these factors compromised the rights of priests.

Nothing less than full disclosure of the contents of all records detailing the proceedings between Dr. Taylor and his SNAP clients will satisfy. We also need to know whether he and his wife violated conflict of interest standards. SNAP records should also be disclosed.

 



SNAP STANDS BY CHILD PORN BUDDY

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on how the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests (SNAP) stands by its friends who have been convicted on child pornography charges:
 
Dr. Steve Taylor is a psychiatrist who is sitting in a Louisiana jail awaiting transfer to a state prison. He pleaded guilty last April to 23 counts of attempted possession of child pornography. He is not just an ordinary shrink with a sick appetite—he worked with SNAP for years.  
 
We now know, thanks to the reporting of Bruce Nolan in the Times-Picayune, that this child porn afficionado is so beloved by SNAP that its founder, Barbara Blaine, intervened on his behalf even before his conviction: she, along with her friend, noted Church-bashing author Jason Berry, wrote to the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, asking them to give due consideration to Taylor’s alleged humanitarian work before lifting his medical license. 
 
Now why should it matter if Taylor has done some good work in the past? After all, SNAP has never shown the slightest interest in weighing the totality of an accused priest’s record before condemning him publicly, and neither has Berry. Indeed, SNAP advises on its website that when a priest is accused, parishioners who support him should do so “PRIVATELY.” [Its emphasis.] To support him publicly would be “terribly hurtful to victims.” 
 
Blaine and Berry should immediately issue an apology to all victims, stating how contrite they are for causing such terrible hurt; they should also withdraw their public support for Dr. Taylor. To show how downright hypocritical these people are consider what happened last Thursday: SNAP issued a news release expressing its utter delight with the news that a North Carolina priest pleaded guilty to deleting child porn from his computer; he is sitting in a federal prison. His humanitarian record counted for nothing in their eyes. 
 
Contact Blaine: [email protected]
 


NEW QUESTIONS ABOUT SNAP PSYCHIATRIST

Bill Donohue comments on today’s Times-Picayune article on Louisiana psychiatrist Dr. Steve Taylor and his association with the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests (SNAP):
 
Dr. Steve Taylor, who is sitting in prison after pleading guilty to charges of accessing kiddie porn, seems to have a very curious mindset, and an even more curious relationship with SNAP. At first, he said he downloaded the child porn for “scientific” purposes—he wanted to see what interested pedophiles. Then he said he never obtained such fare, going so far as to say he didn’t recall ever admitting to doing so in the first place. But when his lawyer told him they had him dead to right, his slippery memory snapped back in place, just in time to cop a plea. 
 
Now it may be that Dr. Taylor’s memory is organically flawed: he has been working only half-days since he suffered a head injury in 1968 (the State Board of Medical Examiners made this call when it was determined that his judgment becomes impaired after four hours). In any event, in 2010 board members sanctioned him after they concluded he was a kiddie porn aficionado; he had previously been sanctioned for drug use, dementia, and other maladies.
 
What has not been determined is whether his suspect mental faculties (combined with his hatred of the Catholic Church, e.g., he wanted to bust the seal of confession) worked against the due process of rights of priests whom he pursued while working with SNAP. As it turns out, Taylor’s wife, the former Lyn Hill Hayward, founded the local SNAP chapter, and it was that affiliate which he served. For her part, she claims she was once abused by a priest friend of hers: they were such good friends that eight years after the alleged abuse, he officiated her marriage. It is not a giant leap of faith to wonder whether all of these factors compromised the rights of priests.
 
Nothing less than full disclosure of the contents of all records detailing the proceedings between Dr. Taylor and his SNAP clients will satisfy. We also need to know whether he and his wife violated conflict of interest standards. SNAP records should also be disclosed. 
 


ARCHBISHOP DOLAN LIBELED BY SNAP

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the reaction of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) to the news that an elderly New York priest was arrested for a sexual infraction:

A 16-year-old girl started working in a Bronx parish last Saturday and now claims she was inappropriately touched by an 87-year-old priest. She returned to work on Monday, where she now says she was touched the wrong way again. Then she voluntarily decided to go back to work on Tuesday, where she now claims she was wrongly touched for the third time. On Wednesday, the cops show up, with TV cameras rolling, and handcuff the elderly priest—who has never had a single allegation made against him in over 60 years as a priest—treating him as if he were Jack the Ripper.

If this isn’t surreal enough, consider that the phony victims’ group, SNAP, is accusing New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan of covering up the alleged misconduct, even though Dolan knew nothing about it. Moreover, when Dolan learned of the arrest, he immediately informed the cleric that he cannot function as a priest and must leave the parish until the matter is settled. So to accuse the New York Archbishop of a cover-up is obscene.

SNAP also says that Archbishop Dolan was guilty of “acting secretively” in a previous case involving Msgr. Wallace Harris. This is libelous: Dolan was the Archbishop of Milwaukee when Harris was suspended. When Cardinal Edward Egan, Dolan’s predecessor, learned of the alleged misconduct by Harris—which supposedly happened 30 years earlier—he notified the D.A.’s office.

According to SNAP’s press release today, these cases also show the Church’s tolerance of pedophilia. But neither of the two cases involved pedophilia: in both instances, the alleged victims were teenagers. The name of the game is to paint priests as child abusers, which is a bold-face lie. It’s time the media turned its cameras on the liars at SNAP.

Contact SNAP honcho David Clohessy: [email protected]



SNAP’S “LAST HURRAH”

Yesterday, before he landed in the U.S., Pope Benedict XVI said he was “deeply ashamed” of predatory priests, adding that pedophiles would be rooted out of the Church. Today, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) is holding a press conference in Washington criticizing the pope for not doing enough.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue responded as follows:

“Any minor who has been sexually molested deserves our compassion. But what SNAP is doing, aided and abetted by angry Catholics and ex-Catholics, deserves not our understanding, but contempt. This is a group which has a deep ideological and financial investment in painting the Catholic Church as a villain.

“SNAP’s ideological bias stems from the fact that it positively refuses to recognize the incredible progress that has been made—exactly five priests out of more than 40,000 had accusations made against them for abusing a minor in 2007—yet for SNAP it’s never enough. Financially, it derives much of its funding from the steeple-chasing lawyers who have fleeced the ‘deep pocket’ Catholic Church. It’s time we dismissed these professional victims’ advocates for what they are—activists whose goal is to discredit the Church.

“Once the pope leaves, SNAP may as well close up shop. The reforms that have already been made have made the group increasingly irrelevant, and it’s just a matter of time before it becomes obsolete altogether. So they should enjoy their little ceremony today—this is SNAP’s last hurrah.”



SNAP HAS SNAPPED

After SNAP director David Clohessy was deposed, it appeared that he and SNAP outreach director, Barbara Dorris were cracking up. Indeed they both justified dual standards of justice.

“We believe that there are two standards of transparency,” Clohessy said. He maintained there is one standard for “institutions that have enabled thousands of pedophiles,” and another for “organizations that enable kids to be safer and expose heinous crimes.” In other words, there should be one standard of justice for the Catholic Church, and another for SNAP.

A defense lawyer seized the moment. He noted that Clohessy wants bishops to suspend accused priests “the minute they are sued for abuse.” Accordingly, he then asked, does this mean SNAP should close its doors immediately if it is sued for defamation or libel? Clohessy flatly said, “No.” Interestingly, Clohessy refused to answer many questions during his deposition, complaining that “Church defense lawyers will likely ask that we be found in contempt of court and possibly fined or possibly jailed.” Reporters described him as looking “shaken and teary-eyed.”

Barbara Dorris is so contemptuous of priestly rights that she scoffed at the idea that an accused priest “has the same legal rights as any citizen.” She plainly said, “But of course, he doesn’t.” She then made the inane comment that a priest cannot marry or work at an abortion clinic (as if the civil law prevented him from doing so). But we know what she meant. Looks like SNAP has snapped.



SNAP LEADER QUITS IN DISGRACE

Bill Donohue comments on the resignation of David Clohessy, executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP):

Just days after SNAP was sued by a former employee for accepting kickbacks from Church-suing attorneys, its leader, David Clohessy, quit.

He said he “voluntarily resigned” last month, but that is an incomplete, if not dishonest, account. Had it not been for a string of lawsuits and bad publicity, he would have stayed for years. He will now be remembered for running when the going got tough, leaving behind a shell of an organization that is broken both morally and financially.

Clohessy is a man who spent a good part of his adult life attacking the Catholic Church and lying about it. He worked with unseemly lawyers, manipulated the media, lied to reporters, and exploited the very people he claimed to help.

The latest lawsuit against Clohessy underscores what I have written about for years: SNAP is riddled with corruption. I will have much more to say about the latest lawsuit in coming days, showing how the accusations made by Gretchen Rachel Hammond are consistent with what I have said. It’s all coming together. SNAP is on its last legs.

Contact SNAP president Barbara Blaine: [email protected]



SNAP IN PANIC MODE

SNAP director David Clohessy berates the Church for not reporting suspected sexual abusers, yet he himself admits failing to report a priest who molested a male youth. He accuses the Church of lying, he admits under oath lying to the media about his work. He claims the Church lacks transparency, but he doesn’t disclose his own funding sources. He alleges the Church gave victims inadequate counseling, yet he admits SNAP offers none. In 2007 they spent $593 for “survivor support.” (Clohessy, who has no counseling license, holds sessions at Starbucks). However, in 2008 he spent $92,000 on travel.

SNAP is broke. It recently emailed donors, pleading: “We are barely meeting our everyday expenses.” That’s because they have nothing to do. The homosexual abuse scandal ended almost three decades ago. Few of their rapacious lawyer friends who sued the Church are there to grease them anymore. Hence their latest stunt.

Before the conclave, SNAP released a “dirty dozen” list of cardinals. They’re clearly in panic mode and need to kick-start their operations once again. They claim to be furious about those “who pretend the worst is over.” They have to say that. They’ve got no other choice but to lie.

On March 1, the Washington Post covered the “survivors” movement. One activist confessed it “diminished quite a bit,” citing fewer of the “gray-haired folks.” Another reluctantly admitted the movement has “run out of steam.” SNAP’s best days are behind it, and Clohessy knows it.