Nonprofit Took Kickbacks Instead of Helping Priests' Sex Abuse Victims, Lawsuit Claims

In this day of fake news, alternate facts and astroturfing, nothing seems to be as it appears. If this lawsuit is factual, it means that even some NGOs that are formed to help child sex abuse victims may be revictimizing the survivors by failing to provide the real help they need to recover.

Gretchen Rachel Hammond is suing Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). 

BY REUVEN BLAU, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

A nonprofit set up to help sex abuse victims of priests gets financial kickbacks for referring cases to attorneys seeking to sue the Catholic Church, a new lawsuit alleges.

A former employee of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) brought up the case, saying the group fired her in February 2013 after she complained to bosses about the collusion.

"Attorneys and SNAP base their strategy not on the best interests of the survivor, but on what will generate the most publicity and fundraising opportunities for SNAP," the suit filed last Thursday in Illinois federal court says.

The fired staffer, Gretchen Rachel Hammond, was hired in 2011 to do fundraising for the group, according to the suit.

Instead, she was regularly forced to handle calls from victims seeking basic counseling assistance.

SNAP says it tries to connect with as many clergy abuse victims as possible and prevent further assaults through advocacy and education.

A new lawsuit says SNAP took kickbacks in exchange for referring potential clients to lawyers. (@SNAPNETWORK VIA TWITTER)

But the lawsuit charges that's not the case.

"In reality, SNAP is a commercial operation motivated by its directors' and officers' personal and ideological animus against the Catholic Church," the suit says.

The organization also does not employ any grief counselors and ignores calls from victims seeking that assistance, the suit alleges.

And SNAP "squanders funds meant for survivors," the legal papers say.

Hammond says she oversaw a fundraising drive to pay for SNAP's trip to the Hague, where the group filed charges against Pope Benedict in the International Criminal Court.

But the money was used "to pay for lavish hotels and other extravagant travel expenses for its leadership," the suit says.

"SNAP also uses funds meant to assist survivors on its own legal troubles," according to the complaint.

SNAP president Barbara Blaine strenuously defended the advocacy group.

"The allegations are not true," she said in a statement. "This will be proven in court. SNAP leaders are now, and always have been, devoted to following the SNAP mission: to help victims heal and to prevent further sexual abuse."

Thank you to the many people who Tweeted this story to me.