Resignation from SNAP

March 27, 2026

Dear Snappers,

I recently resigned from Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests due to a catastrophic change in direction taken by the current leadership, the Executive Director, Angela Walker, and the Board of Directors. I believe they have taken actions that have destroyed our survivor organization, an organization that I have worked with and volunteered with for the last thirty-one years. This destruction of our peer network of survivors deeply saddens me. I joined two dozen SNAP leaders in resigning en masse on Monday.

Let me share with you my three major concerns about the current leadership prompting my resignation:

~ They erased the myriad resources previously found on the SNAP website to help survivors, including the contact information of all the SNAP leaders and their local support groups. No longer can a victim easily find a local SNAP leader to talk to or a local support group to join. This removal only harms vulnerable survivors who are just coming forward–filling out a form online is no substitute for connecting with a peer! For three decades, SNAP had been a lighthouse for survivors, welcoming victims, originally from the Catholic community but later expanding to include religious communities (Baptist, Orthodox, Lutheran, Jewish, Mormon, etc.) and other institutions. SNAP also supported survivors from the LGBTQ community, incest survivors, and those abused by women religious. All those links and contacts are now gone.

~They erased the history of SNAP and the founding of SNAP. This was a rich history that started with small peer-to-peer support groups that grew into an international organization, with survivors from around the world building a large network. They erased history by removing historic press statements and media advisories. The stories of leaders recorded by StoryCorps, including those of SNAP founder Barbara Blaine, David Clohessy, and Barbara Dorris, are gone. The survivor stories shared by dozens of survivors from around the world are also gone.

~They fired one longtime leader, Melanie Sakoda, who had worked as the Survivor Support Director for more than 6 years. She had been a local SNAP leader in CA and in the Orthodox Christian community since 2008, having joined SNAP several years earlier. Melanie served on the Board of Directors of SNAP  from 2016-2019, where she served as Secretary. Other local volunteer SNAP leaders were also eliminated, for what I view as dubious grounds. Other leaders withdrew before Monday’s mass resignation.

SNAP is now a ghost of its previous glory as a peer network of survivors supporting one another and challenging the powerful institutions that fail to protect the vulnerable and cover up for the abusers. The winter storms have done their damage. However, there are new blossoms of hope with the founding of the Abuse Survivors Coalition (ASC), a new home for survivors.

Much has changed. I celebrate the opportunity to build a new home for survivors. Join other former leaders and me in building ASC!

I welcome comments and questions.

Tim Lennon

Survivor

Joined SNAP Board in 1995
Local Leader, 2008 to 2026 (upon resignation)
Sponsor Local Support Group, AZ, NV, & NM
SNAP Board of Director 2009 to 2021
President of the Board of SNAP 2018 to 2021
Author of Book, Stand Up Speak Up – How Survivors Created a Movement to End Sexual Abuse