Phil Saviano, Boston survivor of Catholic clergy abuse and an activist, member of the victims' rights group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and member of the Board of Directors of "Bishop Accountability" which documents the abuse BOSTON - Phil Saviano, a clergy sex abuse survivor and whistleblower who played a pivotal role in exposing decades of predatory assaults by Roman Catholic priests in the United States, has died.
He was 69.Saviano's story figured prominently in the 2015 Oscar-winning film "Spotlight" about The Boston Globe's investigation that revealed how scores of priests molested children and got away with it because church leaders covered it up.