He additionally refused to respond to questions about how he has been able to publicly post lawsuit information on the group’s website before it was filed with the court, although he did admit that part of what SNAP does “is to publicize lawsuits against priests.”
The deposition, which took place only after Clohessy lost an attempt in court to avoid being forced to testify, was part of an effort to determine whether a court-imposed gag order had been violated in the case of a Missouri priest accused of abuse.
During the deposition, Clohessy criticized the 2002 Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, a set of procedures adopted by the U.S. bishops to address allegations of sex abuse, as being a “belated, begrudging and small step forward.”
SNAP has repeatedly argued that Catholic dioceses need greater transparency.
However, one day after the deposition, Clohessy told CNA that his organization should be held to a “different standard” of transparency than Church leaders and dioceses, which he described as “organizations that enable and conceal thousands of pedophiles to rape tens of thousands of kids.”
SNAP maintains that its goal is to heal the wounded and prevent future abuse, but critics of the organization say that it does little to actually help victims and instead focuses its time and money on attacking the Catholic Church.
A ruling in coming months will determine whether Clohessy can be required to respond to questions that he refused to answer in the Jan. 2 deposition.
Michelle La Rosa is deputy editor-in-chief of Catholic News Agency. She has worked for CNA since 2011. She studied political philosophy and journalism at the University of Dallas.