The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, better known as SNAP, warns TAN Books to stop “profiting off of those who have abused children.”
Newsroom (08/02/2022 4:25 PM Gaudium Press) – “Is it worth the nearly 12 dollars per item to associate your brand with men who are known to have committed crimes against children?” SNAP asked the North Carolina-based TAN publisher in a letter dated last Wednesday, February 2. “Do you believe that you are better arbiters of the facts of the case than the Church officials and lay review boards who heard the details of the abuse?”
According to its website, TAN Books was founded in 1967 and acquired by Saint Benedict Press in 2008. In an email, Chris Cona, vice president of Saint Benedict Press, clarified that “this is the first that we have heard of any complaint from SNAP.”
“If they sent us a letter on February 2, management has not yet seen that letter,” Cona continued. “We have no knowledge that the priests in question have been credibly accused. We will investigate this matter immediately.”
The Books
The two books SNAP refers to were written by priests, both deceased. The books continue to be part of the TAN Books catalogue.
One is “My Daily Bread” by the Rev. Anthony Paone, a Jesuit priest who had postings in New York, New Jersey and Ohio before his death in 1990.
“He was accused of sexually abusing a minor in approximately 1953 while he served at Brooklyn Preparatory School,” claims a law firm representing some of Paone’s accusers. “After an investigation, the allegation was deemed to be credible.”
The other book is “My Meditation on the Gospel” by the Rev. James E. Sullivan, based in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens before he died in December 2006.
The Brooklyn Diocese identified Sullivan in 2019 as one of the more than 100 priests who had been hit with “credible” accusations of sexual misconduct with a minor.
SNAP Executive Director Zach Hiner insisted that the group isn’t trying to “cancel” TAN. “We have no issues with the rest of their offerings,” Hiner said in an email.
But if TAN continues to sell the books in question, “they should simply be donating that money to survivors,” Hiner said, instead of “enriching the orders and dioceses that helped cover-up the crimes of these men.”
Via NBC News
(Compiled by Raju Hasmukh)
