On March 13, we released a report by Bill Donohue, SNAP UNRAVELS; it was a critical analysis of the statements made by SNAP director David Clohessy at his January 2 court-ordered appearance in Missouri. On the same day, the New York Times ran a front-page story on Clohessy’s deposition. Donohue was quoted in the story, and his comments set off a firestorm.
The next day, there was an editorial in the Times critical of the Catholic Church for allowing “aggressive” lawyers to press Clohessy. We responded by summarizing Clohessy’s statement and by calling out the newspaper.
We know from the deposition that Clohessy has been (a) lying to the media about his work (b) falsely advertising his group as a rape crisis center (c) working with unseemly lawyers (d) exploiting his clients by providing unauthorized “counseling” services (e) ripping off those who are truly in need of help by failing to contribute even a dime for licensed counselors, and (f) pursuing priests on the basis of legal criteria he admits he cannot explain.
We also asked, “When the Times is sued, does it hire wimpy lawyers? Does it allow itself to be a punching bag?” Not on your life: they hire the most aggressive attorneys they can buy. So should the Catholic Church. After all, SNAP’s tactics are unethical at best, and illegal at worst. Moreover, SNAP is motivated by revenge, not justice.
