Catholic priest from Pennsylvania charged with attempted sexual assault and other serious offenses involving minors
Fr. Gregory Loughney was arrested on October 22, 2021, on charges that he contacted and arranged to meet with what he thought was a 15 year old boy using the online dating app Tinder. The Catholic clergyman was arraigned the following day. While we are grateful that law enforcement conducted this sting and have charged Fr. Loughney, we are concerned that he may have also assaulted real children, and that there may even be victims in the parishes where he worked. We feel it is incumbent upon the Diocese of Scranton to announce this arrest in every place that Fr. Loughney was assigned either as a cleric or a seminarian, and to beg anyone who may have experienced, witnessed, or suspected abuse to contact law enforcement.
Parishioners of Most Holy Trinity Parish in Cresco were in shock to learn of the news yesterday following Sunday mass. However, we were not shocked. We hope the faithful at Most Holy Trinity will open their eyes to the ongoing scandal within the Catholic Church. Fr. Loughney is not the only supposedly celibate Catholic priest to have been recently accused of using an online dating app.
Each month we read, on average, two news reports about the arrest of Catholic clergy or staffers for sexual abuse or misconduct. This disturbing news from Pennsylvania shows us once again that the persistent claims from Church officials that the abuse scandal is a thing of the past is simply not true. It is very much a thing of the present.
We urge anyone who might have relevant information to call the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department at (570) 895-2400, the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office at (570) 517- 3052, or any local law enforcement agency.
CONTACT: Mike McDonnell, SNAP Communications Manager, (267-261-0578, [email protected]) Zach Hiner, SNAP Executive Director (517-974-9009, [email protected]) Shaun Dougherty, SNAP Board President, (814-341-8386, [email protected])
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director
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