About Us

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       SafeNet promotes the healing process. As a service-oriented group it advocates for survivors who suffered the trauma of clergy abuse, whether as minors or adults, including: sexual, physical, verbal, emotional, psychological, spiritual, and/or bullying.

 

    SafeNet was first established in 2003, as a volunteer organization by Paul Fericano and John McCord, two survivors of clergy sexual abuse who attended St. Anthony’s Seminary in Santa Barbara in the sixties and seventies, respectively.

         

       In 2008, SafeNet was incorporated as a tax exempt nonprofit under the umbrella of Instruments of Peace.  After the dissolution of Instruments of Peace in 2016, SafeNet reverted to its original volunteer status. It receives and accepts no financial assistance from individuals or organizations, including the Catholic Church or any other religious institutions.

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    SafeNet assists survivors by researching and gathering pertinent information on specific or general cases; answering particular inquiries about the Franciscans, the offenders, and/or St. Anthony's Seminary and the Santa Barbara Boys Choir; contacting church authorities on behalf of survivors; and offering survivors referrals for psychotherapy and/or legal counseling regarding abuse that occurred in Catholic dioceses and religious orders in the United States.