ABUSE TRACKER

Washington’s law designating clergy as mandatory reporters, increasing protections for immigrants, and new charges and fees are all taking effect in July.

This July, new laws passed during this year’s legislative session are taking effect. 

Here’s what you need to know about how Washington state law is going to change as this legislation kicks in: 

SB 5375 – Mandatory reporter law catches ire of Department of Justice 

This bill requires members of the clergy to report child abuse or neglect when they have reasonable cause to believe that a child has suffered such abuse or neglect, no matter the scenario in which they obtain that information. 

This bill has been controversial since it was first introduced in the Legislature due to clergy-penitent privilege. Similar to attorney-client privilege or spousal privilege, this means a priest or minister cannot be called to testify under oath about what someone told…

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Agents with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) arrested a man accused of forcible sodomy, distribution of narcotics, and furnishing alcohol to a minor.

According to the department, on Sunday, June 22, the Laverne Police Department requested OSBI to investigate allegations of sexual assault.

OSBI agents launched an investigation and identified 66-year-old Christopher Cassel, a pastor in Laverne, as the suspect.

Cassel was arrested and booked into Harper County Jail on two counts of forcible sodomy, one count of distribution of narcotics, and one count of furnishing alcohol to a minor, OSBI officials said.

The investigation into this matter is still ongoing.

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Two personal injury cases in Winona County and one in Olmsted County have been filed against the Diocese of Winona and other entities.

All of the cases are centered around “unpermitted sexual contact” of minors that took place over 50 years ago, according to case documents.

While these cases were all filed earlier this year, the complaints are listed as having been originally served in 2016.

The Diocese of Winona-Rochester’s vicar general the Very. Rev. William Thompson made a statement last week that the Diocese was aware of the cases before they were filed.

Olmsted case faces jury in 2026

The first of the cases entered this year includes the plaintiff, identified as Doe 276, claiming that Cotter High School teacher Tom Bork “engaged in unpermitted sexual contact” with Doe 276 when she was about 15 to 16 years old in about 1972 to 1973.

At that time, the plaintiff…

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A Kentucky pastor has been arrested and charged with soliciting explicit photos from an 11-year-old girl.

Clarence Barry Hungerford, 58, was taken into custody on June 25, 2025, after an investigation by the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office.

According to authorities, Hungerford sent messages to the girl requesting photos of her body. He allegedly admitted to contacting the girl and destroying his cellphone to prevent access to its contents.

Hungerford, a pastor at a church in Marshall County’s Aurora Community, was charged with tampering with physical evidence and unlawful use of electronic means to induce a minor to engage in prohibited activities.

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Note: This story contains graphic depictions of predatory grooming and sexual abuse. 

“I just feel like you need a special hug from a friend,” Darren Kizer, a 44-year-old pastor at Parker Hill Community Church in Dickson City, in northeast Pennsylvania near Scranton, told Steph, his 27-year-old employee. 

At the time—Sept. 2, 2013—Steph thought she and Kizer were just enjoying a brief mid-day canoe ride as a break from work. This was something they had done before with other staff. But this time, it was just them.

Steph recounts that Kizer paddled upstream for about 20 minutes. They walked to a waterfall he’d discovered.

Steph told TRR Kizer hugged her once on the way to the falls. But on the way back, he pinned her against a stone wall, groped her breasts, then pressed his erect genitals into her back.

“I froze,” she said. “I don’t have a record of how long it…

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ASTORIA — The Diocese of Brooklyn has removed from all priestly ministries Father Michael McHugh, parochial vicar for Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Astoria, after an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor was substantiated, according to the diocese. 

Bishop Robert Brennan announced the decision via a letter that was read aloud to parishioners at the close of each of the church’s weekend Masses on June 21 and June 22. 

Bishop Brennan said that the diocese received a report on March 27 alleging the abuse, which dates back to the 1980s. The diocese, according to the letter, then launched an investigation into the allegation, and upon its conclusion, presented it to the Diocesan Review Board — an independent panel that investigates abuse allegations. 

“After deliberation, the Board found sufficient information to substantiate allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor and recommended Father McHugh’s removal from ministry,” Bishop Brennan…

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 One learning lab at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s General Assembly asked attendees to consider what their church would do if abuse happened in their congregation.

Jay Kieve, CBF’s abuse prevention and response advocate, joined attorney David Cooke to talk through the dangers of having a sexual predator in a faith community, reflect on church safety policies and consider the right and wrong responses to abuse disclosures. Kieve and Cooke used a true story, anonymized to protect the identities of survivors, to guide the conversation.

One of the first concerns attendees raised was about the ins and outs of disclosure and accusation, wondering if it would be possible to avoid a “he-said she-said” argument.

Cooke explained that’s often the baseline because sexual abuse survivors rarely come forward about their experiences with perpetrators, and those who do often wait years. The average age of disclosure for childhood sexual abuse victims is 52…

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A three-week Christian summer camp in Iowa was cut short when law enforcement removed 88 students after child abuse allegations.

State and county agents removed nearly 90 children from a Christian summer camp in Iowa this month amid allegations of abuse, according to local law enforcement. Camp leadership has publicly denied that any abuse occurred.

Kingdom Ministry of Rehab and Recreation’s three-week Shekinah Glory Camp in southeast Iowa’s Louisa County was cut short June 12 and 13, when law enforcement executed search warrants on the camp and another property owned by a Kingdom Ministry staff member. The camp serves youth from Myanmar’s Chin ethnic group who are struggling with substance abuse issues. The area is home to a significant Chin community, but youth came from around the country to attend the camp.

Deputies and agents with the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services’ Child Protective Services took 88 children…

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Video

‘Former church youth leader charged with 26 felonies for years-long abuse of teenager, DA comments

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Most Rev Justin Welby, former Archbishop of Canterbury has said part of a report into the way the Church of England handled abuse disclosures against the late Christian barrister John Smyth was “wrong”.

Most Rev Welby resigned last November shortly after the Makin Review found serious failings in the Church’s response to abuse allegations. The report stated that the Church should have reported Smyth to the police in the UK and to authorities in South Africa earlier.  The then archbishop had first been made aware of an allegation against Smyth in 2013, but he said he had been assured the matter was being reported to police.  He said he hadn’t realised the full extent of the abuse until four years later.

Speaking to the Cambridge Union last month, he said reviewer Keith Makin hadn’t seen evidence that came out after his report which was correspondence from Lambeth Palace and the Bishop of…

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A former Greater Grace World Outreach pastor who once led the Baltimore megachurch’s Bible college has been indicted by a Massachusetts grand jury for child sexual abuse, a spokesperson for the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office told The Baltimore Banner.

Eric Anderson, 80, is facing two counts of indecent assault and battery of a child, said Chief of Operations Julia Sabourin. The abuse is alleged to have occurred in 1980, when Anderson lived and worked at the church’s former headquarters in Western Massachusetts. Back then, the organization with offshoots around the world was known as The Bible Speaks.

Berkshire County has issued a warrant for Anderson’s arrest. He’s been living with his son Jesse Anderson, who was convicted of molesting a boy in the church but escaped prison time for his felony offenses. They live in rural Red House, Virginia. Another son, Jonathan Anderson, has also been accused of abuse, though he…

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An innocent phone call, followed by an email exchange, opened the door to the Dr. Richard Strauss sexual abuse scandal that eventually cost Ohio State millions of dollars and continues to sully the school’s reputation – the latest stain coming in an HBO documentary. 

In 2018, I received a call from Mike DiSabato, a former Ohio State wrestler with an ax to grind against his alma mater. He felt the school damaged his licensing apparel business by signing contracts with another company.

DiSabato, who competed for the Buckeyes from 1987-91, said he was about to email me a list of record requests he had sent to OSU, hoping to cast a wide enough net to catch the university in as many injustices as possible. Karma was on his mind.  

The bulk of the requests asked for email and text communications related to licensing agreements and royalty payments. But two…

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• Read in English

Rome – Today there is much talk about the need for bishops to be “close to the people,” “poor,” “simple,” “Franciscan.” Empty words. Stock phrases fit for the press and for those who need to project an image of themselves. And some bishops have understood this very well. But this is hardly the real issue.

The true drama of today’s episcopate is apathy. A blindness to concrete reality, an embarrassing inability to understand the needs of the clergy, and above all, a disheartening lack of will to make use of their talents. The issue is not whether a bishop wears a gold, silver, or hidden pectoral cross; nor whether he dons four meters of lace or a polyester alb. These are ecclesiastical gossip matters, interesting only to a few repressed laypeople or bored priests.

We used to have bishops who wore mitres sixty centimeters high, but who knew…

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A bill to fix a technicality that threatens to dismiss many cases filed by survivors of sexual abuse may stall in the New York state Assembly. 

The state’s top court dismissed a Child Victims Act lawsuit earlier this year after justices argued a man’s claim of child-sex abuse at a state-run theater in the late ’80s lacked sufficient information to bring the claim against the state.

State senators passed legislation last week to prevent cases filed under the Child Victims or Adult Survivors acts — which created lookback windows for survivors to file civil lawsuits against their abuser — from being tossed out on technicalities that require them to remember the exact date and time of their abuse.

But Assembly leaders have one day left to bring the proposal to the floor and close the loophole that’s preventing survivors from getting justice.

“I never give up until it’s over, and…

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The first time I saw St. Peter’s Basilica, I felt nothing. It was not the reaction I had thought I would have. I was a lifelong Catholic who had once seriously considered becoming a nun, and who now reported on the Vatican for a Jesuit magazine. But just a few days before, on a silent retreat, I had been red-faced, tears burning down my cheeks, as I hurled all my anger at God for standing by, apparently unmoved, as tens of thousands of children were sexually abused by Catholic priests over decades.

It was winter 2019. The previous six months on the religion beat had been wall-to-wall sex abuse coverage, starting with the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report, which recounted in harrowing detail 70 years of abuse and cover-up. Then came the once-beloved Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s fall from grace, when his serial abuse of minors and seminarians was exposed by a…

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A Queens priest has been permanently removed from all ministerial duties following an investigation by the Diocese of Brooklyn into an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor dating back to the 1980s.

Father Michael McHugh, 70, who served as Parochial Vicar at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Astoria since 2018, was removed from ministry after the Diocesan Review Board (DRB) found the abuse allegation to be credible. Bishop Robert Brennan accepted the DRB’s recommendation and announced the decision in a letter read aloud to parishioners during all weekend Masses on June 21 and June 22.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Astoria, where Father Michael McHugh served for the past seven years. (Via Google Maps)

The report, received by the Diocese on March 27, triggered an internal investigation and a review by the independent DRB. The Diocese emphasized in a public statement that the removal does…

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A Queens priest has been defrocked over sexual abuse allegations dating back more than two decades, according to church officials.

The Rev. Michael McHugh, a parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Astoria, was removed from the ministry after members of a Catholic review board claimed they substantiated allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor.

“This news is disturbing and confusing to many,” The Most Rev. Robert Brennan, bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn, wrote in a letter to the Astoria parish community.

“Often just having a place to speak about such matters is a beginning step to addressing the strong impact such news can have.”

Church officials did not detail the alleged transgression, only to say that it dates back to the 1980s.

Brennan said the decision to end McHugh’s ministry was based on the recommendation of the independent Diocesan Review Board, a panel of church lay people…

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The Most Reverend Robert J. Brennan, Bishop of Brooklyn, announced today 70-year-old Father Michael McHugh, currently a Parochial Vicar at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Astoria, has been removed from ministry. The decision was made based on the recommendation of the independent Diocesan Review Board (DRB).

The DRB had been investigating claims against Father McHugh received in a report on March 27, 2025, alleging sexual abuse of a minor dating back to the 1980’s. The Diocesan Review Board found sufficient information to substantiate allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor and recommended Fr. McHugh’s removal from ministry.

The removal from ministry means that he is not permitted to celebrate Mass publicly, cannot exercise any public ministerial duties, and cannot live in a parochial residence. His name will also be added to the List of Credibly Accused Priests on the Diocese of Brooklyn website.

The removal from ministry is not a…

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Hundreds of abuse victims linked to a long-running insolvency case involving a Catholic archdiocese in Newfoundland and Labrador will soon be receiving more cash after a court approved the disbursement of more than $14 million raised through the sale of churches and other assets.

Cheques are expected to be distributed sometime in July to nearly 360 claimants who endured abuse at the hands of Christian Brothers at the notorious Mount Cashel orphanage in St. John’s, and members of the clergy and other religious orders.

According to court documents, claimants will receive anywhere from $8,000 to $126,000 in this latest payout, minus legal fees of up to 40 per cent.

Late last year, the court approved an initial disbursement of more than $22 million.

When this latest payout is complete, victims will have received roughly 30 per cent of their total award, which averages about $400,000. Claimants who received compensation from previous settlements have had those…

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A Catholic school teacher and coach was arrested Wednesday for allegedly possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material, Buck County officials announced. 

Richard Adamsky, 65, of Warminster, is charged with felony counts of possession of child sexual abuse material and criminal use of a communication facility, the Bucks County district attorney’s office said in a statement. 

Adamsky was a teacher and coach at Nativity of Our Lord Catholic School in Warminster, the DA’s office said. He was a coach for various boys and girls sports teams in the county, including football and track and field. 

Court documents reveal the Catholic school teacher admitted to saving hundreds of sexually explicit images of children over the last four to five years. 

In March, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children “reported possible downloading or obtaining” of child pornography. That IP address eventually led to Adamsky.

Investigators with the…

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June 25, 2025–Richard Allen Adamsky, a longtime Catholic school teacher and youth sports coach from Warminster Township, has been arrested following an investigation into the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The 65-year-old was taken into custody on Wednesday morning after law enforcement executed a search warrant at his residence. Adamsky now faces felony charges of possession of child sexual abuse material and criminal use of a communication facility.

The investigation, led by the FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, with the assistance of the Pennsylvania Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, began in March 2025. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) alerted authorities to suspicious online activity involving the downloading and sharing of CSAM. NCMEC’s report specifically referenced an image of a prepubescent female posing nude with her genitals exposed, which was uploaded via an IP address linked to Microsoft…

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Richard Allen Adamsky, 65, a longtime Catholic school teacher and youth sports coach from Warminster Township, was charged with the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material.

The Brief

• Richard Allen Adamsky, 65, of Warminster was charged with the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material.
• Adamsky was a longtime Catholic school teacher and youth sports coach.
• Bail was set at $500,000.

WARMINSTER, Pa. – A Bucks County teacher and coach has been charged with disturbing crimes against children. 

What we know:

Richard Allen Adamsky, 65, of Warminster, was taken into custody Wednesday morning after officials say he was in posession of child sexual abuse materials. 

On Wednesday, District Attorney Jennifer Schorn announced the arrest of the longtime Catholic school teacher and youth sports coach from Warminster Township.

The arrest comes after a tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) jumpstarted an investigation on March 30.

NCMEC’s report…

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ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV affirmed Wednesday that priests must be celibate and insisted that bishops take “firm and decisive” action to deal with sex abusers, as he gave marching orders Wednesday to the world’s Catholic hierarchs.

Leo met in St. Peter’s Basilica with about 400 bishops and cardinals from 38 countries attending this week’s special Holy Year celebrations for clergy. A day after he gave an uplifting message of encouragement to young seminarians, Leo offered a more comprehensive outline of what bishops must do to lead their flocks.

It’s an issue the former Cardinal Robert Prevost would have long pondered given his role as the prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Bishops. In that job from 2023 until his election in May, the Chicago-born Prevost vetted bishop nominations for Pope Francis, identifying the type of leader who would further Francis’ view of a church where all are welcome and…

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The recent statement by Pope Leo XIV, coupled with an earlier apology issued by the Archdiocese of Malta following the conviction of a diocesan priest for sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl, confirm the shift in how the Catholic Church is responding to clerical abuse. For too long, instances of abuse within the Church were downplayed, hidden, or ignored. Today, while the wounds inflicted on victims can never be undone, it is encouraging to see the Church – both in Malta and globally – finally taking meaningful steps toward acknowledging past wrongs and actively preventing future abuses.

Pope Leo XIV’s firm declaration that there should be “no tolerance” for any type of abuse –  whether sexual, spiritual, or an abuse of power – is an essential message, and one that must now be matched with consistent and uncompromising action. His call for “transparent processes” and the development of “a culture of…

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‘We must urgently root in the Church a culture of prevention that does not tolerate any form of abuse,’ said the Pope in a message last week praising the work of journalists in Peru.

Thirty-seven survivors of sexual abuse wrote individual letters to Pope Leo XIV describing their experience and suggesting how the Church could change its approach to safeguarding.

Each letter was written by a member of Awake, a community founded in Winsconsin in 2019 whose mission is “to awaken our community to the full reality of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, work for transformation, and foster healing for all who have been wounded”, according to its website.

The letters were inspired by an interview the future Pope gave in 2023 regarding abuse in the Church. Cardinal Robert Prevost – as he was – told Vatican News: “Silence is not an answer. Silence is not the solution. We…

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• LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

In the new financial proposal to end the bankruptcy of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, attorney Robert Salim told Bloomberg Law that it was “woefully inadequate to address the harms these people [survivors] have endured.” That’s true and more.

What hasn’t been mentioned is what this could mean for Roman Catholics as members of this institution. Survivors can receive any financial settlement, the archdiocese can make all the nonmonetary proposals it can, but all members must take this personally to listen to the suffering of survivors to show that all members care whether survivors are healing or not. Meaningful healing won’t come alone from the archbishop, the bankruptcy or the Vatican, which should institute zero tolerance policy for abuse.

Some lawyers for survivors say the deal falls about $100 million short. There is a Catholic in our midst who could easily contribute that. Not because of guilt,…

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“Trey’s Law” will go into effect Sept. 1

A bill that would prevent the use of non-disclosure agreements in civil settlements for sexual abuse victims has been signed into law.

Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 835, also known as “Trey’s Law,” on June 20.

The bill was sent to the governor’s desk on May 26 after a third reading in the House. According to the Texas Legislature website, it passed unanimously.

The law will go into effect on Sept. 1.

Background:

The bill aims to stop non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) that would prevent a sexual abuse victim from notifying or disclosing facts regarding acts of sexual abuse during an investigation related to a resolution in the case, according to a press release. This would include the identity of the offender.

The bill originally targeted crimes against victims of child sexual abuse (CSA) but was broadened to include…

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In 2018, director Juan Manuel Fernández was in Thailand, catching up with the news from his home country of Costa Rica, when he came across the story of Anthony Venegas Abarca. The young man had bravely gone public with accusations of child sexual abuse against Mauricio Víquez Lizano in a case that would lead to a groundbreaking 20-year prison sentence and reshape the way Costa Rican law dealt with the statute of limitations around child sexual abuse.

Anthony’s story is at the centre of “El monaguillo, el cura y el jardinero” (“The Altar Boy, the Priest and the Gardener,” in literal translation), having its world premiere at the Costa Rica Film Festival.

Speaking with Variety, Fernández recalls being “really sincere” in his first meeting with Anthony and Josué Alvarado Quirós, a second plaintiff. “I told them from the beginning I wanted to make a film about this. I still had to look…

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Research from the Association Meter, an Italian-based organization run by Father Fortunato Di Noto that operates the World Observatory Against Pedophilia, has found that online pedophilic videos tripled over the last year, rising from from 651,527 in 2023 to 2,085,447 in 2024.

Moreover, in its annual report for 2024, Association Meter identified over 8,000 links to pedophilic content, with U.S.-based servers hosting half the links.

“A reported link can lead to a single video or photo file, but also to mega-archives containing thousands of child pornography files,” the report indicated. “These links are often distributed via chats or group.”

In an interview with “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly,” Di Noto said “the seriousness of the problem has not been grasped.”

Association Meter identified and reported on 410 groups on social media, including 336 Signal groups and…

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The Newsboys, a top contemporary Christian music (CCM) group, has been dumped by their record label due to scandals involving former lead singer Michael Tait, which TRR was first to report.

Capitol Christian Music Group’s decision comes just three weeks after the Newsboys’ latest album “World Wide Revival (Deluxe)” was released.

The announcement was made by lead singer Adam Agee to a sold-out crowd Sunday night at Elevate Music Festival at Highlands Church in Scottsdale, Arizona. Agee took over as lead singer of the Newsboys after Tait unexpectedly departed the band in January

“As a result of all this and the things that have come out that (Tait’s) done and he’s confessed to, we’ve been dropped from our record label,” Agee said, as the crowd groaned in sympathy.

“We’ve had radio stations pull our music. We’ve been cancelled by promoters and venues all over the world.”

In a video later shared…

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Theodore Gabrielli is facing charges of aggravated sexual assault of a minor, and investigators are urging other potential victims to come forward

A former priest who served at Dolores Mission Catholic Church in Boyle Heights has been arrested and is facing child sex abuse charges tied to a case that dates back more than 30 years, authorities said.  

Theodore Edward Gabrielli, 61, was arrested on June 12 in Los Osos, an unincorporated town in San Luis Obispo County (SLO), according to a press release by the SLO County Sheriff’s Department. He is facing charges of aggravated sexual assault of a minor, and investigators are urging other potential victims to come forward.  

Gabrielli held various roles at schools, ministries and churches in San Jose, Los Gatos and Los Angeles. At Dolores Mission, he served as associate pastor from 1998 to 2001 and again from 2011 to 2014, before becoming pastor from…

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In India, the Nalgonda Bishop Karnam Dhaman Kumar of Nalgonda has been barred from a German diocese over sexual abuse allegations.

The decision by the Diocese of Münster came following a complaint in March 2025 about an incident of sexual abuse against Kumar that allegedly happened during 2005 to 2007, according to The News Minute (TNM.)

In April this year, about a month before Dhaman was due to visit a parish in Germany where he had previously served as a priest, the Münster diocese prohibited him from any priestly activities in the diocese until further notice.

Kumar was appointed as the Bishop of Nalgonda by Pope Francis in February 2024. At the time, he had been serving as a parish priest in Münster, an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He was ordained a bishop on April 30, 2024.

When the alleged incident of sexual abuse happened, Kumar was serving…

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Is Francis’ signature motu proprio a product of the pope, or of circumstances?

Inside the coffin of Pope Francis is a document known as a rogito: a brief, biographical overview of a deceased pope’s life and the key events in his ecclesial ministry, held in a sealed metal tube.

The rogito of Pope Francis speaks in broad terms of his concern for the poor and marginalized, his commitment to ecumenical dialogue, and his missionary attitude. But it also speaks in more detailed terms of his canonical reforms, reminding us that Francis “toughened legislation regarding crimes committed by clerics against minors or vulnerable persons” — a reference to his 2019 apostolic letter Vos estis lux mundi (“You are the Light of the World”).

The rogito is simply a big-picture summary of a life and pontificate. This is just as well for those who compiled it; offering any more substantial commentary on how the norms of Vos estis cohere with Francis’ broader…

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – New Life Church confirmed Sunday that they believe their previous senior pastor was aware of the alleged sexual abuse of a child by a former colleague, and was hired despite leadership knowing he was aware.

At a Friday evening service, New Life Church informed attendees that Brady Boyd had resigned as senior pastor.

In court documents filed by attorneys for Robert Morris, the founder and former pastor at Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, Morris was told to resign or be fired in June 2024, when the church’s Board of Elders said it became aware of the “full extent of facts” regarding the “relationship” between Morris and a 12-year-old girl.

According to a representative for New Life, Morris began sexually abusing the victim in 1982 when she was 12 years old and he was 20 or 21 years old. Morris was Senior Pastor of Gateway Church…

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(OSV News) — A group of Orthodox churches filed a federal lawsuit over a new law in Washington state requiring clergy to report child abuse or neglect without exceptions for clergy-penitent privilege that is also being challenged by that state’s Catholic bishops. 

Washington state’s Senate Bill 5375, approved in May, designated members of the clergy as mandatory reporters — people required by law to report suspected or known instances of child abuse or neglect — without an exception for the clergy-penitent privilege.

While some have argued the bill addresses an important omission from the state’s list of mandatory reporters, others have expressed concern that without exceptions for the clergy-penitent privilege, as similar laws in other states have, Washington state’s law could place Catholic priests at odds with civil law in order to uphold church law regarding the seal of the confessional. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that priests are strictly forbidden…

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The decision by the Diocese of Münster came after it received a complaint about an incident of sexual abuse against Bishop Karnam Dhaman Kumar that happened during 2005 to 2007.

Karnam Dhaman Kumar, the Bishop of the Diocese of Nalgonda in Telangana, has been barred from carrying out any priestly duties in a diocese in Germany after he was accused of sexual abuse. The allegation, which a complainant reported to the Diocese of Münster, Germany in March 2025, relates to the years 2005 to 2007.

In April this year, about a month before Dhaman was due to visit a parish in Germany where he had previously served as a priest, the Münster diocese prohibited him from any priestly activities in the diocese until further notice. Münster is a city in Germany. 

Dhaman Kumar was appointed as the Bishop of Nalgonda diocese by Pope Francis in February 2024. At the time,…

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In a significant ruling that paves the way for a trial centering on sexual abuse in a famed youth basketball program, a New York judge last week denied Riverside Church’s motion for summary judgment against ex-Riverside Hawks player Daryl Powell.

Powell is one of 27 men who have sued Riverside, accusing the church of negligence for failing to protect them from alleged sexual abuse. Ernest Lorch, who founded and coached the basketball program and who died in 2012, is accused of numerous acts of sexual abuse against players. Sportico has extensively covered the scandal and its accompanying litigation.

In her order, Judge Sabrina Kraus underscored the far-reaching sway and authority of Lorch. He developed the Hawks into “one of the most powerful” AAU programs in the country. Lorch also used sponsorships, including with Nike, to supply free apparel to players, whom he helped to place into elite college basketball programs….

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Washington bishops sued last month to prevent the law from taking effect. Now, the Trump administration is looking to back their lawsuit.

The Trump Administration moved Monday to join a legal fight to overturn a new Washington law requiring religious leaders to report child abuse or neglect even when it is disclosed in confession.

A motion filed in federal court by the Department of Justice argues the law, which takes effect next month, is unconstitutional because it “deprives Catholic priests of their fundamental right to freely exercise their religious beliefs, as guaranteed under the First Amendment.” 

“The punishment for directly violating the sacramental seal of Confession is excommunication. A more direct burden on the exercise of religion would be difficult to imagine,” federal attorneys wrote in their motion to intervene in a case brought by Washington bishops last month.

That case is pending in the U.S….

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The U.S. Justice Department is investigating a new Washington state law that requires clergy members to report suspected child abuse, the agency announced May 5.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday that it is suing the state of Washington over a new law making clergy members mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect.

The department claims that Senate Bill 5375, which takes effect July 27, is “anti-Catholic.” But supporters of the measure reject the idea that the legislation targets Catholics, arguing that protecting kids from abusers should be a nonpartisan notion.

The lawsuit was filed Monday, June 23, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Tacoma.

Under the new law, clergy is defined to include priests, ministers, rabbis, elders, imams and any other regularly licensed, accredited or ordained spiritual or religious heads. They’ll join nurses, school personnel, psychologists and other professionals who already…

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LIMA, Peru – In a message of support sent to journalists in Peru who have faced backlash and judicial harassment for their reporting on a now-suppressed lay group, Pope Leo XIV hailed freedom of the press as key to justice, and to a functional democracy.

His message was read aloud to attendees of a showing of the Proyecto Ugaz, or Ugaz Project, a theatrical work that chronicles the story of Peruvian journalist Paola Ugaz, styling her as a heroine who has faced incredible attacks from the group the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV), which was suppressed by Pope Francis earlier this year, shortly before his death.

The Ugaz Project, Pope Leo said in his message, “gives voice and face to a pain silenced for too long.”

“This work is not just theater: it is memory, denunciation, and above all, an act of justice,” he said, saying that through the work, “the victims of the…

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Auxiliary Bishop Luis Manuel Alí Herrera, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCTM, by its Italian acronym), contends that instead of a single reparative action, victims of abuse within the Church require “an in-depth process that listens to, welcomes, and accompanies.”

Alí Herrera explained that the harm done to such victims is “disastrous” as it harms “the very image of God, the [victim’s] relationship with the Church, interpersonal relationships, and one’s very identity. A victim sees their life plans and their ability to bounce back damaged,” Alí explained in an interview with “EWTN Noticias,” the Spanish-language broadcast edition of EWTN News.

The auxiliary bishop of Bogotá — who, along with the other members of his team, met with Pope Leo XIV two weeks ago — stated that the voice of survivors is at the center of the Church’s work and that the…

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The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against a new law that demands priests report child abuse revealed during private confession.

One American Archbishop and other Catholic Church figures warned priests will be excommunicated for obiding by Washington state’s new law set to take effect on July 27.

Why It Matters

The issue spotlights the enduring tension between religious freedom and the state’s duty to protect children from abuse.

The laws proponents argue it’s necessary to help safeguard against child abuse, while critics argue that compelling clergy to breach the confessional seal damages their ability to practise religion freely.

The outcome may influence how other states approach mandated reporting requirements for clergy, especially as constitutional and civil rights groups enter the debate.

What To Know

The Democrat-led state of Washington passed a law in May requiring clergy to report any suspected child abuse and neglect learned…

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The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state of Washington over its recent law mandating that priests must violate the seal of confession if child abuse is learned about during the sacrament of reconciliation.

The DOJ in a press release announcing the lawsuit filed on June 23 said the Washington law “violates the free exercise of religion for all Catholics.”

“The seal of confidentiality is … the lifeblood of confession. Without it, the free exercise of the Catholic religion, i.e., the apostolic duties performed by the Catholic priest to the benefit of Catholic parishioners, cannot take place,” the DOJ wrote in the brief.

On May 3, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed into law Senate Bill 5375, which goes into effect July 27 and requires priests to disclose child abuse they learn about in confession. However, it exempts other professionals such as nurses…

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June 23 (UPI) — The Trump administration filed a lawsuit Monday in support of a challenge to a new Washington State law mandating clergy to report child abuse, describing the rule as “anti-Catholic” and a violation of the Constitution.

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Catholic, signed Senate Bill 5375 into law early last month. The new law, which goes into effect July 27, adds clergy members — including priests, ministers, rabbi and imam, among others — to the list of people required to report child abuse or neglect to the state or law enforcement under threat of being charged with a gross misdemeanor offense.

The law has received pushback from local Catholics, who have characterized it as forcing them to break the sacred seal of confession in order to avoid prison.

In the Justice Department’s lawsuit, federal prosecutors argue the new law puts Catholic…

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WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) — Survivors of sexual abuse that happened at a local church are now working to change the state laws they feel either allowed their abuse to go unnoticed or are still preventing them from receiving justice decades after the abuse took place.

At the beginning of June, Eastminster Presbyterian Church announced that former youth director Bodie Weiss had sexually assaulted 23 children during his employment at the church from 1989 to 2006.

Tyson Stuart is a survivor of the abuse that took place at the church. He, along with other survivors and their supporters, protested the church’s handling of the allegations outside the church on Sunday afternoon.

Stuart led the protest and read off a list of seven demands the survivors are making of the church.

One of them is that the church publicly supports legislation to end the statute of limitations on when child sex abuse survivors can…

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Elders believe he misled congregation about his knowledge of Robert Morris’s alleged abuse.

Brady Boyd, senior pastor of megachurch New Life Church in Colorado Springs, resigned his position last week after it became clear he misled the congregation regarding his knowledge of former Gateway Pastor Robert Morris’s alleged abuse of Cindy Clemishire.

Boyd, who served at Gateway Church in the Dallas-Fort Worth area as an associate pastor and elder from 2001 to 2007, said as recently as June 8 that, until last year, he was unaware that Clemishire was 12 when the abuse began.

“I worked alongside him. I had no reason to believe he had any kind of character issues,” Boyd told the congregation, according to ChurchLeaders. “He did confide in me he’d had a moral failure when he was 20 years old. That’s really all the details he shared.”

New Life elder Scott…

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Eastminster Presbyterian Church addressed one of the key questions surrounding allegations against former youth minister Bodie Weiss

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – A couple of weeks after an east Wichita church confirmed an investigation surrounding sexual abuse allegations against a former staff member, the church addressed one of the key questions concerning the involvement, or lack thereof, of law enforcement’s awareness of what was reported to have happened.

Last week, Eastminster Presbyterian Church sent a letter to its congregation, admitting to knowing about past allegations of sexual abuse by former student ministries director Bodie Weiss before last year. Previously, the church shared that allegations against Weiss were brought to the governing board of elders last July.

In response to the allegations, Eastminster’s Session hired Fact Finding Ministry to investigate, but did not mention any investigation from the Wichita Police Department or the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office.

Fact Finding Ministry’s investigation stretched…

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The federal government is suing Washington state over a new law that some Catholic priests refuse to follow.

Senate Bill 5375, signed into law by Gov. Bob Ferguson last month, adds clergy to the list of mandatory reporters of sexual abuse.

That’s common in most other states — but Washington’s new law also applies to what’s shared during confession, a usually confidential sacrament for Catholics where what you say to a priest stays in the confessional booth. Only six other states had similar laws, a federal review in 2019 found.

Washington’s new law was targeted by Trump’s justice department last month, and on Monday, DOJ lawyers argued it violates freedom of religion provisions in the First Amendment.

“Laws that explicitly target religious practices such as the Sacrament of Confession in the Catholic Church have no place in our society,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet…

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In his first public comments on abuse in the Catholic church and the important role of journalists, Pope Leo XIV emphasized the “urgent need to establish a culture of prevention throughout the church that does not tolerate any form of abuse—neither of power nor of authority, nor of conscience or spiritual, nor of sex.” His forceful message was read aloud by Msgr. Jordi Bertomeu at the June 20 premiere performance in Lima, Peru, of a theatrical production called “Proyecto Ugaz.”

In his written statement, the pope also said that this culture of prevention “will only be authentic if it is born of active vigilance, transparent processes and sincere listening to those who have been hurt.” For this, he said, “we need journalists.”

“Proyecto Ugaz” dramatizes the work of the Peruvian investigative journalist Paola Ugaz, who was subjected to online attacks, legal actions and death threats for her reporting on the…

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Pope Leo XIV sends a message on the occasion of a Peruvian theatre performance honouring investigative journalist Paola Ugaz, and calls for a culture that does not tolerate any kind of abuse in the Church and for the defence of press freedom. He praises journalists who expose abuse, stating that silencing them threatens democracy and undermines the Gospel’s call for justice and truth.

In a message against all forms of abuse, Pope Leo XIV has called for a cultural transformation within the Catholic Church.

“[It is necessary to] radicate throughout the Church a culture of prevention that does not tolerate any form of abuse: abuse of power or authority, of conscience or spirituality, of sexual abuse”, he writes.

His words were read at the performance of the theatrical production Proyecto Ugaz, currently running in Lima, Peru. The play honours investigative journalist Paola Ugaz, known for her reporting on the now-suppressed Sodalitium, and…

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) — “It is urgent that there take root throughout the church a culture of prevention that does not tolerate any form of abuse: of power or authority, of conscience or spiritual or sexual,” Pope Leo XIV wrote to a Peruvian journalist.

“This culture will only be authentic if it is born of active vigilance, of transparent processes and sincere listening to those who have been wounded,” the pope wrote to Paola Ugaz, who has been sued and repeatedly taken to court for her attempts to expose the various forms of abuse that took place within the Peru-based lay movement, Sodalitium Christianae Vitae.

Pope Francis suppressed the movement at the end of January.

A Vatican official read Pope Leo’s message to Ugaz June 20 at a performance in Lima, Peru, of Proyecto Ugaz, a theatrical performance honoring the journalist for her reporting. The pope’s letter was not published on the…

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Sexual abuse survivors presented more than thirty letters to Vatican officials last week, calling for reform of the Church’s practices and approach to accompaniment of victims at the outset of Pope Leo XIV’s reign.

Sara Larson, executive director of Awake! – a survivor outreach and advocacy organization based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin – carried the letters to Rome, where she was a keynote speaker at the annual safeguarding conference of the Institute for Anthropology (IADC) at the Pontifical Gregorian University, which ran from June 17-20.

Letters of raw emotion, practical realism

Larson presented these letters to Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, head of the IADC, on June 17 and delivered copies to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors later in the week, with a request that they be passed to Leo.

The letters, excerpts of which are available on the Awake! website, are at once emotionally raw and powerfully lucid, combining both bracing frankness…

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 Pope Leo XIV has said there should be no tolerance in the Catholic Church for any type of abuse – sexual, spiritual or abuse of authority — and called for “transparent processes” to create a culture of prevention across the church.

Leo made his first public comments about the clergy sex abuse scandal in a written message to a Peruvian journalist who documented a particularly egregious case of abuse and financial corruption in a Peruvian-based Catholic movement, the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae.

The message was read out loud on Friday night in Lima during a performance of a play based on the Sodalitium scandal and the work of the journalist, Paola Ugaz.

“It is urgent to root in the whole church a culture of prevention that does not tolerate any form of abuse – neither of power or authority, nor abuse of conscience, spiritual or sexual abuse,” Leo said in the message….

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On Thursday, June 19, 2025, Jared Tatum, an Orlando high school teacher and tutor, was arrested for alleged sexual misconduct with a student. Tatum was taken into police custody by the department’s fugitive investigative unit and held in the Lake County Jail. He faces two felony charges, touching of certain minors and attempted sexual battery on a victim over the age of 12 years old.

According to media reports, Jared Tatum, 31, was terminated by Bishop Moore Catholic High School after a female student reported to authorities that Tatum, also an engineering teacher, inappropriately touched her during a tutoring session in May 2025. The school immediately notified authorities and terminated Tatum’s employment. An investigation began on Tatum on May 7 and remains open. Detectives say there could be more student victims.

Bishop Moore Catholic High School, a private Roman Catholic high school…

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A former Slaton priest was arrested Wednesday accused of attempting to touch a woman without her consent.

73-year-old Ammanuel Puthuparambil is charged with indecent assault and unlawful restraint.

Court documents detail three incidents of Puthuparambil attempting to sexually assault the victim and another incident attempting to restrain her.

The Catholic Diocese of Lubbock released the following statement:

“Sadly, the Diocese of Lubbock is aware of the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Father Ammanuel Puthuparambil and is monitoring developments.

Upon learning of the allegation, Bishop Coerver immediately removed Father Puthuparambil from his parishes in Slaton.

The Diocese hopes this case can be resolved quickly in the legal system so that Father Puthuparambil can return to his home monastery in India as previously scheduled.”

The Slaton Police Department cannot comment on on-going investigations.

Both counts are classified as class A misdemeanors and punishable by up to a year in jail.

Puthuparambil remains…

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• The Rhode Island House voted to allow victims of childhood sexual abuse by priests, others to sue institutions that concealed or enabled the abuse.
• The bill would open a two-year window for victims to file lawsuits, even if the statute of limitations has expired.
• Opponents, including the Catholic Church, argue that it is difficult for institutions to defend against decades-old lawsuits due to lost evidence and unreliable memories.
• The bill now moves to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain.

Victims of childhood sexual abuse by priests and others in their Rhode Island world have scored a victory.

The R.I. House of Representatives voted 67 to 5 along party lines on Monday, June 16 to allow these victims to file civil suits, seeking damages, from people and institutions that neglected to stop the abuse they suffered as children, concealed it or transferred known offenders from one location to another.

Republican Rep….

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The most persistent denier of a sexual abuse crisis in the Southern Baptist Convention now says SBC Executive Committee President Jeff Iorg agrees with him that the stories of two key abuse survivors are false.

In a June 18 email to Iorg copied to various journalists, Allen Jordan continues to deny the reality of a sexual abuse crisis in the SBC as he has steadfastly done for a decade.

“What is most troubling, Dr. Iorg, is that you acknowledged to me in January 2025 that you knew that both (Christa) Brown and (Tiffany) Thigpen’s stories were not credible and requested my help in exposing both the AOF and the GP report before the convention,” Jordan wrote. “At that time, you felt that the SBC world needed to know the factual truth that there never was a CSA crisis in the SBC, but, for some reason, after you hired Jeff Dalrymple in late…

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In a statement, the Diocese said the court actions were “known and anticipated by the parties and stem from insurance issues that were addressed in the Bankruptcy of the Diocese.”

The Diocese of Winona has been named in three personal injury lawsuits filed this year, all alleging sexual misconduct from more than 50 years ago.

The most recent complaints were filed Friday, June 6, in Winona County District Court. However, according to the date the complaints were originally drafted, the lawsuits have been in the works for over nine years.

The cases are the results of the Minnesota Child Victims Act of 2013, which lifted the statute of limitations on past claims of child sexual abuse for a three-year period that ended in August 2016. More than 100 claims of child sexual abuse by clergy arose after the act was passed.

The three complaints filed in 2025 were signed in…

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Pope Leo XIV sends a message on the occasion of a Peruvian theatre performance honouring investigative journalist Paola Ugaz, and calls for a culture of zero tolerance toward abuse in the Church and the defence of press freedom. He praises journalists who expose abuse, stating that silencing them threatens democracy and undermines the Gospel’s call for justice and truth.

In a message against all forms of abuse, Pope Leo XIV has called for a cultural transformation within the Catholic Church.

“[It is necessary to] radicate throughout the Church a culture of prevention that does not tolerate any form of abuse: abuse of power or authority, of conscience or spirituality, of sexual abuse”, he writes.

His words were read at the performance of the theatrical production Proyecto Ugaz, currently running in Lima, Peru. The play honours investigative journalist Paola Ugaz, known for her reporting on the now-suppressed Sodalitium, and who has faced sustained…

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Holy Apostles Parish stands to lose 80% of its unrestricted cash as part of the Buffalo Diocese’s settlement with victims of sexual abuse pending an appeal of the settlement.

The settlements, which are basically a tax on Catholic churches in the diocese, faces a higher total owed because it was chosen for extinctive merger under the Road to Renewal. Other churches that are remaining open are set to pay 65% of their unrestricted assets into the settlement fund. The 80% settlement would affect the Ss. Peter and Paul, St. John and St. James Catholic churches in the city.

“They have also confirmed that this will occur regardless of the suspension of our decree of merger,” Samantha Scalise, procurator of the group leading the appeal to overturn the closure of Ss. Peter and Paul Parish. “They claim that if our decree is overturned, they will refund the parish the difference between…

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Central Catholic High School, recently embroiled in allegations of hazing and sexual abuse involving its soccer team, announced a new partnership with ChildSafe, a San Antonio-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting child victims of abuse.

Related: Central Catholic HS launches independent investigation into alleged sexual misconduct

The school stated its commitment to “promote positive behavior, reduce bullying and create a deeper understanding of what Brotherhood truly means for the young men of Central Catholic.”

Related: Family demands accountability after teen’s hazing ordeal at Central Catholic High School

The collaboration with ChildSafe will encompass various initiatives, including staff development, emotional skills building, and family collaboration, the school said.

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Pope Leo XIV has said the Catholic Church must establish a culture that refuses to tolerate abuse in “any form,” as he thanked a Peruvian journalist for reporting on allegations of abuse inside a powerful Catholic group.

Leo’s remarks, the first he has made publicly on the church’s abuse scandals since his election to the papacy on May 8, were contained in a message sent for the performance of a play which dramatizes the work of an investigative journalist, Paola Ugaz, who has faced a long campaign of legal actions and death threats due to her reporting.

“It is urgent to ingrain throughout the Church a culture of prevention that does not tolerate any form of abuse — neither of power or authority, nor of conscience or spirituality, nor sexual,” Leo wrote in a message read on 20 June. “This culture will only be authentic if it is born of active…

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The Abbey of Saint-Maurice in Switzerland has failed to deal with the sexual abuse it has witnessed over the last few decades.

Tasked with shedding light on this past, an independent working group has found major dysfunctions.

+ Why Switzerland is losing its religion

The group, led by Neuchâtel Attorney General Pierre Aubert, published its report on Friday. Based on archives and eyewitness accounts, it listed “a significant number” of acts of sexual violence of all kinds committed between 1950 and 2022.

The Abbey has long adopted a “defensive posture” to preserve its reputation. Its leaders sometimes tried to “cover up” the facts, for example by moving the incriminated canons, and sometimes tried to “trivialise” or “minimise” these abuses.

The working group also highlights the “laxity” in terms of supervision and “insufficient guidance and support” for members of the community. This climate may have encouraged “unacceptable behaviour” and the…

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Brady Boyd, embattled senior pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, has resigned, elders announced at a service Friday night, according to KOAA-TV .

In a statement, the elders said they did not believe Boyd’s earlier claim that he didn’t know about Morris’s child abuse until recently and asked him to resign, which Boyd did Wednesday night. Associate Pastor Daniel Grothe has been named interim pastor.

“Recently, Brady has insisted that he was unaware until 2024 that Miss Clemishire was 12 years old at that time that Morris had abused her in the 80s,” the elders stated. “We believe this to be inaccurate. Brady also made statements in his public address to the congregation on June 8 that the Board of Elders know to be inaccurate.”

The elders added that “trust is the currency of leadership. When Brady recently told our congregation inaccurately that he was…

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According to the latest annual report from the U.S. bishops on the protection of children and youth

 The U.S. Catholic bishops‘ latest annual report on child and youth protection shows abuse allegations continue to decline – but authors warned of the dangers of complacency among dioceses and the laity in upholding key aspects of bishops’ safe environment protocols.

In particular, said the report, lack of functioning diocesan review boards to review protocols and allegations, along with an increase in parents opting their children out of safe environment training, could erode progress in addressing and preventing abuse.

On June 6, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection released the “2024 Annual Report – Findings and Recommendations on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.”

The 2024 report is the 22nd…

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Parishioners across the Diocese of Buffalo are making their voices heard, days after church leaders unveiled how much they expect individual parishes to contribute to the Chapter 11 settlement fund.  

It’s a plan that includes parishes and other related civil corporations and affiliates, like Catholic Charities, to make an expected contribution of $80 million of the $150 million outlined in the terms of the settlement to survivors of abuse.

It’s a settlement being met with opposition, especially from churches slated to merge or close.  

Ann Dolce directs the music ministry at Saints Peter and Paul in Jamestown, Chautauqua County. Her husband Tony co-directs and has been a parishioner for 45 years.  

“I was confirmed here,” Tony Dolce said. “We were married here. It’s been an integral part of our family and our religious faith.”  

The church, one of several in the Diocese of Buffalo to close…

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A former counselor at an Ohio Catholic high school was sentenced to prison June 10 for sexual battery of a student, with prosecutors alleging in a sentencing document she had groomed others.

Emily Nutley will serve three years for having sexual relations with a then 17-year-old attending St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati.

In a June 10 statement, the school’s president, Tim Reilly, thanked both the Springfield Township Police Department and the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office for its “thorough work and cooperation” in the matter.

‘Dignity of Every Student’

“We appreciate the unwavering commitment of our faculty, staff, and administration for the safety, well-being, and dignity of every student entrusted to our care,” said Reilly.

While noting that “we believe this case to be an isolated incident,” Reilly also strongly urged victims to contact the school and law enforcement “if any St. Xavier employee has failed you or someone you…

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Several Orthodox churches filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Washington on Monday over a recently passed law mandating clergy to report child abuse and neglect, even if discovered within the confessional.

The conservative legal group Alliance for Defending Freedom, which filed on the churches’ behalf, argued in a press release that the state is singling out priests by punishing them for respecting the confidence of the confessional while preserving privacy for disclosures in nonreligious situations.

“Washington is targeting priests by compelling them to break the sacred confidentiality of confession while protecting other confidential communications, like those between attorneys and their clients,” said John Bursch, ADF senior counsel and vice president of appellate advocacy. “That’s rank religious discrimination.”

The Orthodox Church of America said in the press release that “Every state, including Washington, honors the clergy-penitent privilege.”

In fact, Washington joins seven other states – New Hampshire, West Virginia,…

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Recalling the warnings of popes and saints, Cardinal Burke said neglect of liturgical law and tradition has paved the way for widespread confusion about faith and morals.

London – Cardinal Raymond Burke has appealed to Pope Leo XIV to lift the restrictions on the pre-1970 liturgy, stressing that respect for liturgical tradition is critical for the Catholic Church’s mission and that doctrinal and moral corruption shows itself in “divisions and factions” that lead to liturgical abuse. 

Speaking via video link to a London conference celebrating 60 years of the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales, Cardinal Burke recalled that the most serious difficulty St. Paul faced in the early Church in Corinth was the “abuse that had entered into the celebration of the Most Holy Eucharist” and that it was “directly related to doctrinal and moral divisions among members of the community.”  

Church history, he said, shows that “doctrinal and…

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New Jersey Supreme Court decided unanimously on Friday that the state’s attorney general can move forward with a grand jury investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy statewide, originally announced in September 2018.

Seven years ago, then-attorney general Gurbir Grewal said he was forming a task force after a report by a grand jury in Pennsylvania found more than 1,000 victims over 70 years. The PA report also implicated around 300 priests and found evidence of a coverup by church leaders.

The reason behind the court’s delayed decision was suggested by a NorthJersey.com article on Feb. 5, which said that the Diocese of Camden had challenged New Jersey’s authority to empanel a special grand jury to lead the sex-abuse inquiry at a secret hearing in May 2023. That inquiry was supposed to end with a comprehensive report documenting individual abusers as well as any broader coverup by the church.

According to…

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A priest in California has been arrested and charged with acts of child sex abuse that reportedly occurred through the 1990s.

Police arrested Father Theodore Gabrielli last week on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a minor, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office said in a post on X on Tuesday.

Authorities identified three alleged male victims of the priest, the sheriff’s office said; all three were members of the same family.

At the time of the alleged abuse, “the family was living in Mexico” where they allegedly befriended Gabrielli.

“The priest became close with the family, and he was allowed to take the three boys with him to many places in California including his parents’ residence in Los Osos,” the sheriff’s office said. “It was there, the victims stated, the priest would sexually assault them.”

The alleged assaults “continued over the course of about eight…

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Theodore Gabrielli, 61, was posted at schools and ministries in San Jose, Los Gatos and Los Angeles

A prominent Catholic priest with ties to the South Bay is behind bars in San Luis Obispo County facing charges of sexually abusing three boys starting in the early 1990s, and police think there are more victims.

Theodore Gabrielli, 61, was arrested June 12 in Los Osos, near Morro Bay, and charged with three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a minor and one count of forced sodomy. Initially, his bond was set at $1 million. A judge since deemed Gabrielli a public safety risk and removed bail as an option for the priest, said Eric Dobroth, assistant district attorney for San Luis Obispo County.

Gabrielli was based in San Diego, according to police, but the Jesuit priest has roots in San Jose and Los Gatos, where he apparently worked at a church…

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Two bishops have distanced themselves from changes to a planned independent commission.

Two Polish bishops broke ranks Tuesday after the bishops’ conference announced changes to plans to establish a national independent abuse commission.

Bishop Artur Ważny of Sosnowiec and Kraków auxiliary Bishop Damian Muskus distanced themselves June 17 from the decision to overhaul the team leading the project, made at the bishops’ plenary meeting in Katowice last week.

Archbishop Wojciech Polak, the Polish bishops’ point man on abuse, will no longer oversee the initiative, which was first announced in March 2023 but has made little progress due to disagreements among the bishops over the commission’s nature, scope, and financing.

Abuse survivor advocates sharply criticized the announcement, which has prompted protests in which lay people reportedly leave stones inscribed with biblical quotations in front of curia buildings.

Ważny, who created Poland’s first diocesan independent abuse commission in 2024, told the Catholic weekly magazine Gość Niedzielny…

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Thomas Millar attacked the teenager at his home, on church grounds and in his car. He was eventually confronted by the victim’s wife

A ​f​ormer senior Catholic priest​ has admitted molesting a child after the victim’s wife confronted him about the abuse 40 years later.

Thomas Millar​, who was honoured with the title ​monsignor​ by the pope​​, targeted the boy who was in his mid-teens after a game of badminton at a sports centre in Baillieston, Glasgow​, in the early 1980s.

The abuse went undiscovered until 2021 when the victim summoned the courage to tell his wife, who texted Millar with allegations of the sexual crimes.

​The High Court in Glasgow heard that when he was asked about the incident by his bishop, Millar, 71, replied: “It is true”.

He pleaded guilty to the repeated indecent assault of the victim between 1981 and 1984​ and was remanded in custody by the…

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On 8-28-2024, the Sheriff’s Office received a report of child abuse which started occurring more than 30 years ago. Detectives in the Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit began an immediate investigation.

During the course of the investigation, three male victims were identified. All the juveniles were members of the same family. At that time, the family was living in Mexico where their family befriended a Catholic priest. The priest became close with the family, and he was allowed to take the three boys with him to many places in California including his parent’s residence in Los Osos. It was there, the victims stated, the priest would sexually assault them. The assaults continued over the course of about eight years. The victims decided to come forward last year and report the abuse.

The suspect has been identified as 61-year-old Theodore Gabrielli of San Diego. He is a Catholic priest who has…

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Forty years ago this month, readers of the National Catholic Reporter first learned through a series of three articles about a dark secret in the Catholic Church that would ultimately expand into an international sexual-abuse crisis.

Ultimately, the bombshell stories in NCR would mushroom into a controversy that would shake the very foundations of the worldwide Catholic Church and raise questions about the management of the institution, impact the election of popes, spark a crisis of confidence among billions of Catholics and foreshadow a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation in The Boston Globe.

Yet it would be decades before the scandal reached those proportions. 

The coverage began in June 1985 on NCR’s front page with an overview of abuse cases in several U.S. dioceses. That edition also included at its center a shocking example, the results of a monthslong investigation by freelance journalist Jason Berry into Gilbert “Gil” Gauthe. 

A popular horseback-riding,…

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The leader of New Life Church in Colorado Springs knew that a pastor at his previous church in Texas sexually abused a child, according to court documents.

The documents also allege that leadership at New Life hired Boyd as senior pastor despite knowing he was among those who were informed of the abuse.

New Life is one of the largest churches in Colorado Springs.

Boyd denies knowing anything about the abuse and is not accused of any crimes in the court documents. However, a motion filed in a Texas lawsuit specifies that Boyd knew a fellow pastor at his last church had sexually abused a “young woman” several decades ago.

During Sunday service on June 8, Boyd told some 15,000 New Life Church congregants and 1,700 viewers online about who he calls his former mentor, Robert Morris.

“I was deceived. I was lied to,” Boyd told his congregation.

He says…

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Archbishop Joseph Pamplany of Tellicherry has ordered the removal of Father Paul Thattuparambil from his office and issued an order prohibiting from priestly ministry.

Last week the priest was arrested for allegedly repeatedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy.

The accusation says Thattuparambil took the boy to his home and sexually abused him between May 15 and August 13, 2024.

“Taking into consideration the seriousness and scandalous nature of the allegation of child abuse that is taking rounds among the public against Rev. Paul Thattuparambil, who is at present Vicar of St. Pauls’ Church Athirumavu belonging to the Archdiocese of Tellicherry and his subsequent police enquiry and after having made due consultations, including legal, in this regard, I, Archbishop of Tellicherry in my capacity of Archbishop of the said Archdiocese, hereby remove Rev. Fr. Paul Thattuparambil from his office of the Vicar of the above mentioned parish with immediate effect,” the…

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The priest can come back after a police probe and legal process proves his innocence

A Catholic archdiocese in southern Indian Kerala state has suspended a priest from pastoral ministries after he was accused of sexually abusing a 16-year-old boy for at least four months a year ago.

The Archdiocese of Tellicherry, in an official statement released to the media on June 15, announced that Archbishop Joseph Pamplany suspended Father Paul Thattuparambil, a retreat preacher, following allegations.

Thattuparambil was the priest of St Paul’s Church in Athirumavu village when he was suspended.

Considering the seriousness and scandalous nature of the allegation of child abuse that is circulating among the public against Thattuparambil, he has been removed from the parish with immediate effect, said the statement dated June 8.

The priest was accused of abusing the grade-eleven student multiple times from May 15 to August  13, 2024, and…

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A former pastor of the Victory Baptist Church in Warsaw has pleaded guilty to eight child sex crimes.

During a plea hearing the afternoon of Monday, June 16, Albert Wharton entered an Alford plea for eight charges related to indecent liberties with a child and aggravated sexual assault.

On Dec. 8, 2023, Wharton was arrested in South Carolina by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and South Carolina’s Pickens County Sheriff’s Department. He was charged with 22 felony counts of taking indecent liberties with a child under the age of 13 while in a custodial position and eight felony counts of aggravated sexual assault.

The church leader was ultimately charged with a total of 30 felony charges in 2023 for crimes committed between 1981 and 1997.

After Wharton pleaded guilty Monday afternoon, Richmond County Commonwealth’s Attorney Elizabeth Trible announced the remaining charges were nolle prosequi — meaning…

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Teacher Ray Clavin and Father John Kilty have come up in multiple lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of boys.

One of B.C.’s most prestigious private schools has been named as a defendant in a B.C. Supreme Court lawsuit alleging teacher sexual abuse of a Grade 7 student more than 40 years ago.

The claim by a plaintiff Glacier Media has chosen to identify as A.B. names as defendants: Raymond Thomas Clavin, St. George’s School, Vancouver College Limited (VCL), now-dead Father John Kilty and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver, A Corporation sole (RCAV).

The claim is the second such case naming the defendants. A previous claim was filed in April.

It’s one St. George’s headmaster David Young addressed in a notice to the school community June 16.

“We have been saddened to learn of one additional allegation of abuse from around 40 years ago. This is deeply upsetting,…

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A proposal from Archbishop McKnight would see bishops commit more concretely to justice for abuse victims and to due process for clerics.

Committees of the U.S. bishops’ conference are reviewing a proposal that would see the bishops make a set of new moral commitments in response to clerical sexual abuse and misconduct in the Church.

In response to a request from Archbishop Shawn McKnight, the USCCB committees for canonical affairs and child protection are reviewing a proposal that would see the bishops draft “a new statement … recognizing the historic character of the Charter [for the Protection of Children and Young People] but also incorporating recent universal legislation and the wisdom of 25 years of experience,” according to a February request obtained by The Pillar.

A draft document provided by Archbishop McKnight of Kansas City, Kansas, would see the bishops commit more concretely to responding both pastorally and legally to alleged…

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In a Father’s Day letter to congregants, a Presbyterian church in Wichita, Kansas, admitted it ignored multiple reports of child sexual abuse by its youth pastor in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Eastminster Presbyterian Church paid a settlement to only one of the victims after a lawyer contacted the church threatening to sue, the letter said. The letter named former student ministries director, Bodie Weiss, as the man who groomed and sexually abused 23 students.

Weiss was hired by Eastminster in April 1989 and worked there until January 2006, when he left to take a position at another church. He died in June 2020 at the age of 58, apparently of Covid.

The church’s secrecy about the matter and the outrage expressed by some of the victims have been widely reported in Wichita. Eastminster is the home church of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo…

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Dozens of children are now in protective custody after deputies rescued them from a church camp in Iowa, according to officials.

On Monday, the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office said 88 children are now in protective custody after deputies conducted a child safety operation on Thursday and Friday.

EN ESPAÑOL: Rescatan a 88 niños del campamento de verano de una iglesia tras reportes de abuso infantil

The sheriff’s office said the operation took place after reports of child abuse and endangerment at the camp.

The alleged abuse happened at the Shekinah Glory Camp in Columbus Junction, Iowa. The camp is run by the Kingdom Ministry of Rehab and Recreation.

The 88 children were shuttled away from the camp and taken to the Wapello Methodist Church to meet with child protection workers, according to deputies.

Deputies said the children have been placed in temporary foster care until they can safely…

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Theodore Edward Gabrielli of San Diego -a Catholic priest who worked at churches, schools, and ministries in San Jose, Los Gatos, and Los Angeles- was arrested on June 12 in connection with the aggravated sexual assault of three minors that occurred over 30 years ago.

On Aug. 28, 2024, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office received a report of child abuse from over 30 years ago and detectives with the Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit began an investigation stated a press release from the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office Tuesday.

Detectives identified that three male sexual survivors from the same family who were living in Mexico when their family befriended a Catholic priest shared the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office.

The priest became close with the family and took the three boys to places across California including his parent’s home in Los Osos explained the San Luis…

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Paul Francis Kellen of Medford, MA passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Thursday, June 12th, 2025. Paul’s dedicated curiosity, adventurous imagination, and thoughtful friendship were a gift and inspiration to all who knew him. He was born in Boston on August 4th, 1936, to Catherine Frances Wallace and George Daniel Kellen, grew up in Savin Hill, Dorchester with his older brothers, George and Robert, and graduated from Cathedral High.

A gifted physicist, Paul took a Bachelor’s degree at Boston College, won a Fulbright Scholarship to RWTH Aachen University in Germany, and completed a Master’s degree at MIT. During that time he met Jean Nyberg, his beloved wife of over 60 years, at a mutual friend’s party in Beacon Hill, where she wondered, ”Who was that tall skinny guy, doing the twist..?!”

Paul worked at Avco Everett Research Laboratory and Charles Stark Draper Laboratory where his work was used…

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Spokane WA – New court filings show several Orthodox churches and a priest are suing the state of Washington and Governor Bob Ferguson over a newly implemented law that requires clergy to report suspected child abuse.

The plaintiffs include Orthodox Church in America, Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas, Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, and Timothy Wilkinson.

They join Catholic bishops who have already sued the state.

In the suit, the churches argue the law violates their religious freedom.

In Orthodox Christianity, confessions made to a priest are confidential, and those priests are not permitted to repeat what they’re told in confession.

The new Washington law makes it a crime for clergy not to report child abuse, including during confession.

The churches agree that abuse should be reported, but only outside of confession.

The argument is that…

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[See also the text of the Supreme Court decision.]

New Jersey can have a grand jury examine allegations of clergy sexually abusing children, the state’s Supreme Court ruled Monday, after a Catholic diocese that had tried for years to block such proceedings recently reversed course.

The Diocese of Camden previously had argued that a court rule prevents the state attorney general from impaneling a grand jury to issue findings in the state’s investigation into decades of allegations against church officials. But the diocese notified the court in early May that it would no longer oppose that. Camden Bishop Joseph Williams, who took over the diocese in March, said he’d met with stakeholders in the diocese and there was unanimous consent to end the church’s opposition to the grand jury.

The seven-member Supreme Court concluded such a grand jury inquiry is allowed.

“Courts cannot presume the outcome of an investigation in…

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[See also the text of the Supreme Court decision.]

Key Points

• New Jersey can go forward with a special grand jury investigation of alleged sexual abuse by Catholic clergy and any potential cover-up.
• The unanimous decision rejected a challenge originally brought by the Diocese of Camden and capped a years-long legal fight.

New Jersey can proceed with a special grand jury investigating alleged sexual abuse by Catholic clergy and whether the state’s dioceses took any steps to cover it up, the state Supreme Court announced Monday.

The court’s unanimous June 16 decision marks the end of a years-long court battle between the Catholic Diocese of Camden and the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, which first proposed the statewide probe seven years ago.

In his ruling, Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner said a lower court that sided with the diocese should have followed protocols and allowed the grand jury to proceed, at…

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More than 20 years after claims of child sexual abuse rocked the Catholic Church, states are still figuring out who can be held accountable, and how

Gilmanton Iron Works NH – A half-mile gravel road cuts through the woods that isolate Camp Fatima from the outside world, leading to an idyllic lakefront retreat where Catholic leaders have hosted sleep-away camps for boys each summer for generations.

While some campers have carried fond memories of friendships forged and outdoors explored while staying at the property on Upper Suncook Lake, others have carried emotional scars after clergymen who were supposed to serve as role models instead allegedly subjected them to sexual abuse.

A man who filed a lawsuit in 2023 against the Roman Catholic Bishop of Manchester alleges he was about 8 years old when he was raped by the camp’s director in the mid-1970s. The diocese contends that the plaintiff waited…

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[See also the text of the Supreme Court decision.]

A grand jury can be seated to investigate alleged clergy sex abuse and potential cover-ups in Roman Catholic dioceses across New Jersey, the state Supreme Court has ruled.

Members of that jury also can produce a presentment of its findings, the high court said in a unanimous ruling Monday.

The New Jersey Office of Attorney General proposed creating the special grand jury in 2018, but it’s been blocked by a legal challenge from the Diocese of Camden.

A trial court judge ruled in favor of the diocese, finding state law did not authorize an “anticipated” presentment concerning clergy sex abuse.

The initial ruling said the attorney general’s office “has made no secret as to its intentions” to produce a presentation similar to an 887-page report on Catholic clergy sex abuse previously published by members of a Pennsylvania grand jury.

An…

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The trial for a former Maryland teacher who was accused of sexually abusing students is now in the hands of the jury. Matthew Schlegel, a former third-grade teacher at Severna Park Elementary School in Anne Arundel County, is accused of sexually abusing multiple students between August 2022 and March 2024. 

His trial began on May 19 and is entering its fifth week as the jury prepares to decide the verdict on 33 counts of sexual abuse of a minor and assault. 

Legal expert notes number of charges 

James Tuomey is a criminal defense lawyer in Anne Arundel County. He is not affiliated with the trial. 

He observed the court proceeding last week and said the gallery was full, calling it very serious and somber. 

Tuomey said this type of case is unusual because of the number of charges and evidence presented over the last four weeks. 

“I…

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A Fijian abuse survivor is urging the new head of the Catholic church to adopt a zero tolerance policy for child sex abuse.

Felix Fremlin was seven years old when he was molested by a New Zealand Marist Brother at his primary school in Suva.

Although he had received a written apology and FJD$15,000 (approx US$6,680) in financial compensation from the Marist Brothers Order of New Zealand and the Pacific, Fremlin said it’s not enough.

Speaking to Pacific Waves, Fremlin said culture and faith prevents many people in the Pacific from speaking out.

“It’s a Pacific island thing, everybody looks upon the church as messengers of God, and so for people to talk about it… it’s a taboo thing,” he said.

Seeking mental health support is also a struggle for Fremlin.

“So here, we don’t have any specialists where survivors can go to for counselling. The church here has offered counselling…

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Perrette recounted how he was 16 and attending Pope John Paul II high school in Slidell when Wattigny began texting him privately in about the fall of 2019.

A young man who received inappropriate text messages from his Catholic high school chaplain that ultimately helped send the priest to prison for child molestation says he was “nauseous” watching the clergyman appear at a parole hearing Thursday and try to downplay the nature of the communications as “friendly.”

“There was honestly a moment I thought I was going to vomit,” Rex Perrette said after the hearing, during his first public comments ever about his role in the case that landed Patrick Wattigny behind bars.

Perrette recounted how he was 16 and attending Pope John Paul II High School in Slidell when Wattigny began texting him privately in the fall of 2019. Wattigny, who was denied an early release from prison Thursday,…

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Pope Leo XIV’s June 5 meeting with the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors marks a beginning to his response to the abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. As calls for accountability grow louder, the Vatican’s next steps could define this pontificate’s approach to safeguarding against all forms of abuse in the church.

One potential step was proposed last November by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. The cardinal’s announcement concerned the potential addition of a delict in the Code of Canon Law to address “spiritual abuse.” This initiative, prompted by the troubling reality of spiritual manipulation for sexual exploitation, rightly acknowledges a grave form of harm. However, while Cardinal Fernández’s proposal is a necessary step, the initiative as currently presented risks obscuring the full reality of spiritual abuse in the Catholic Church.

In a January interview, Cardinal Fernández clarified that the…

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“It’s basically a war on parishes”

Parishes across Western New York continue to learn how much they’re being asked to pay towards the diocese’s $150 million settlement with more than 800 survivors of sexual abuse.

On Monday, the diocese announced parishes would be responsible for paying $80 million of the proposed settlement.

The first vicariate meeting was held on Monday at Immaculate Conception Church in Ransomville for the Niagara-Orleans Vicariate. The second was held on Tuesday at St. Leo the Great Church in Amherst for the Northern Erie Vicariate.

The latest meeting was held at the diocesan offices at the Catholic Center in Downtown Buffalo on Wednesday for the Buffalo Vicariate.

Clergy, parish trustees, financial chairs, business managers and parish council members from 30 city churches filed into the Catholic Center for the meeting.

“It’s basically a war on parishes,” said Craig Speers, a parishioner at St. Michael’s Church.

He is now bracing…

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“This diocese just keeps coming back and putting us into the buzz saw”

Amherst NY – More parishes in the Diocese of Buffalo are learning exactly how much they will have to contribute to help pay for the diocese’s $150 million settlement with more than 800 survivors of sexual abuse.

On Monday, the diocese announced parishes would be responsible for paying $80 million of the proposed settlement.

The first vicariate meeting was held on Monday at Immaculate Conception Church in Ransomville for the Niagara-Orleans Vicariate.

The second vicariate meeting was held on Tuesday at St. Leo the Great Church in Amherst for the Northern Erie Vicariate.

“This diocese just keeps coming back and putting us into the buzz saw and crisis, making us all victims,” Mary Pruski from Save Our Buffalo Churches said.

Pruski spoke to me outside the church as the closed-door meeting was held.

The diocese has only announced publicly…

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We pause our regular “Inside the Vatican” episode this week to pick up where our America subscriber-only Conclave Debrief live Zoom event left off on Monday, June 9. Hosts Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell briefly cover the latest Vatican headlines before inviting their producer, Ricardo da Silva, S.J.—who also participated in the live event—to join the conversation. Together, they tackle the key questions posed by America subscribers, focusing on four areas of concern:

• Inside the Conclave
  What made this conclave different from the 2013 election of Pope Francis? What stood out this time? What was it like covering a conclave live from the Vatican for the first time? And how did secular media in the U.S. respond to the papal transition?
   
• Pope Leo and AI
  What early signals has Pope Leo given about artificial intelligence, deep fakes and the ethical challenges of new technologies? How might these shape the church’s approach to rapidly evolving technology environments?
   
• Ongoing reforms…

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An Ohio pastor, who is accused of sexually abusing two children in his care, is serving at another church where his new congregation believes in his innocence.

Dominic J. Foor, 39, was indicted June 5 in Pickaway County, Ohio, Common Pleas Court with 11 counts of sexual battery, six counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, and six counts of importuning. (Ohio defines importuning as soliciting a child between the age of 13 to 16 for sex.)

Court records show the alleged abuse was from November 2022 to November 2024 and May 2024 through November 2024. The alleged victims are now 16 and 18 years old.

Foor is free on $250,000 bond, ordered to have no contact with the alleged victims, and must stay in the state.

Until December, he was the pastor of the Columbus-based Pathway Apostolic Church, which is part of the United Pentecostal Church…

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