ABUSE TRACKER

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America proposal would direct ministers to report child abuse disclosed during confession or counseling

The practice of religious confession is again in the spotlight over the question of whether clergy should report evidence of child abuse heard during private confession or pastoral counseling—but this time within a Protestant denomination.

Next month, leaders and elected representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will vote on a church document that would direct ministers to tell authorities if they hear about child abuse during confession. Twenty-eight states already require clergy to report child abuse. But most of these states grant an exception—also called the “clergy-penitent privilege”—if a child abuser admits to their actions during private pastoral conversations.

According to the Lutheran denomination’s “Draft Social Message on Child Protection,” clergy would “have an obligation to report child maltreatment that is ongoing or that they…

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Mark O’Connell, the new Albany bishop, introduced himself to the public on Monday.

O’Connell will replace Bishop Edward Scharfenberger, who submitted his resignation to Pope Leo XIV. Scharfenberger, 77, has led the diocese since 2014, when he was appointed by Pope Francis to succeed Bishop Howard Hubbard. Born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens, Scharfenberger was ordained a priest in 1973.

“My heart is full of gratitude, first of all to Pope Leo for having appointed such a wonderful successor,” said Scharfenberger.

O’Connell is an auxiliary bishop of Boston. He was born in 1964 in Ontario and was ordained a priest in 1990 in the Archdiocese of Boston. He recently launched a podcast called Listening to Catholic Women.

“I already have some cherished memories of Albany. Little did I know or suspect that I would one day be the bishop of this place,” said O’Connell.

Monday’s announcement also follows Friday’s…

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In a historic and hopeful step toward greater cooperation, the Board of Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA Global), an international coalition of survivors and human rights advocates, met this morning with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, marking a significant moment of dialogue between the Catholic Church and advocates representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse from more than 30 countries.

“This was a deeply meaningful conversation,” said Gemma Hickey, ECA Board President and Canadian survivor of clergy abuse. “It reflects a shared commitment to justice, healing, and real change. Survivors have long sought a seat at the table, and today we felt heard.”

Today’s meeting followed a letter sent by ECA earlier this year to the newly elected Pope. In a gesture of openness, Pope Leo XIV responded positively, welcoming the opportunity for a direct and respectful conversation about the path forward.

“We came not only to raise our concerns, but also…

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Pope Leo XIV met with a coalition of survivors of abuse and victims’ advocates for the first time at the Vatican Oct. 20.

Members of the board of Ending Clergy Abuse met with the pope for about an hour in a closed-door meeting that was later confirmed by the Vatican.

“This was a deeply meaningful conversation,” Gemma Hickey, ECA board president and survivor of clergy abuse in Canada, said in a press release. “It reflects a shared commitment to justice, healing and real change.”

“Survivors have long sought a seat at the table, and today we felt heard,” Hickey said in the statement.

“Pope Leo is very warm, he listened,” Hickey said at a news conference, according to Reuters. “We told him that we come as bridge-builders, ready to walk together toward truth, justice and healing.”

While the group of six people representing ECA met with the pope, video clips…

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Survivors of sex abuse by members of the Catholic clergy have expressed hope after meeting Pope Leo at the Vatican for the first time.

Gemma Hickey, board president of Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA Global), told the BBC it spoke “volumes” he had met them so soon in his papacy.

The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy, already adopted in the US, of permanently removing a priest who admits or is proven to have sexually abused a child. The Pope acknowledged there was “resistance in some parts of the world” to this, Hickey said.

The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited the issue, which has haunted the Catholic Church for decades and the Vatican has struggled to root out.

His predecessor, Pope Francis, tried to address the problem by holding an unprecedented summit on paedophilia in the Church, and by changing its laws to explicitly…

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Organizers shared that the pope said he agreed to maintain a permanent dialogue with them, as they advocate for a zero-tolerance abuse policy in the Catholic Church

Pope Leo XIV acknowledged Monday that there is “great resistance” within the Catholic Church to adopting a universal zero-tolerance policy for clergy who abuse children.

The first American pope met with Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA), a global organization of clergy abuse survivors and advocates, and agreed to maintain a permanent dialogue with the group.

The policy calls for the permanent removal of any priest found guilty of child sexual abuse.

Tim Law, ECA co-founder, said Pope Leo recognized the challenges in implementing a universal zero-tolerance law. Law added that the organization hopes to work with the pope and the Vatican to advance the policy.

“Meeting with the pope and being heard at this level is historic,” Law said, noting that previous popes, including Francis and…

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Deep-seated cultural barriers, inadequate training, and victims’ fear of speaking out continue to hamper the Catholic Church’s efforts to combat abuse in the Philippines, church leaders said ahead of a landmark safeguarding conference.

These long-standing challenges will take center stage at the National Safeguarding Conference, a four-day gathering from Oct. 20 to 23 organized by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ Office for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons.

The first event of its kind in Asia, themed “Our Mission of Safeguarding: A Journey of Hope and Compassion,” seeks to deepen the Church’s understanding and commitment to protecting minors and vulnerable adults within its institutions.

More than 370 bishops, priests, religious, lay experts, and representatives from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM) and other Church commissions are expected to attend.

Participants from the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, and Vietnam will also…

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A federal judge is allowing a small number of sexual abuse lawsuits against the Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa to proceed to trial, despite the Diocese being in bankruptcy.

According to the Press Democrat, the Diocese filed for Chapter 11 in 2023, pausing about 260 lawsuits due to massive financial liability. The handful of cases now moving forward are intended to establish a financial benchmark, pressuring insurance companies to agree to a global settlement with hundreds of survivors.

For survivors, this decision offers a crucial chance to publicly reveal details of the abuse and cover-up—information that is often kept private during bankruptcy proceedings.

The Diocese oversees 42 parishes and has been linked to abuse at sites like the Hanna Boys Center.

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Pope Leo XIV on Monday met with members of an international organization of clergy abuse survivors and advocates at the Vatican.

Four victims and two advocates from Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA) — a coalition representing clergy sexual abuse survivors from more than 30 countries — had an hourlong conversation with Leo on Oct. 20. According to participants, it was the first time during his pontificate that the pope met with survivors of abuse.

Gemma Hickey, ECA board president and survivor of clergy abuse, said that “this was a deeply meaningful conversation. Today we all felt heard.”

The group said it was invited to the Vatican after sending a letter to the newly-elected pontiff. 

“We came not only to raise our concerns but also to explore how we might work together to ensure the protection of children and vulnerable adults around the world. We believe collaboration is possible — and necessary,”…

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Mediations can still continue between the Baltimore Catholic Archdiocese and the creditors committee, which represents the interests of people seeing funds for child sexual abuse by the church, as the archdiocese’s bankruptcy case goes forward during the federal shutdown.

However, there is still uncertainty around other functions of the case if progress is made or if the case is dismissed.

Last week, the U.S. Trustee program, an arm of the Justice Department, told the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Maryland District that it would be unable to complete its work as long as the federal shutdown is in effect.

That revelation came as a survivor asked the Trustee program to join the creditors committee, but was told that the program would be unable to act until the shutdown ended.

In the meantime, other parts of the case that don’t involve the federal government can continue.

“Everything is being done by…

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Pope Leo XIV met Monday for the first time with an organization of clergy abuse survivors and advocates, who said he agreed to maintain a permanent dialogue as they press for a zero-tolerance policy for abuse in the Catholic Church.

Ending Clergy Abuse is a global organization that has been campaigning to universalize the U.S. church’s abuse policy. Among other things, the policy calls for the permanent removal from ministry of a priest based on even a single act of sexual abuse that is either admitted to or established according to church law.

The U.S. policy, first articulated in the 1990s, was publicly adopted at the height of the scandal there in a bid to restore trust and credibility in the U.S. hierarchy after revelations of decades of abuse and cover-up. It is church law in the United States but is not embraced elsewhere.

Leo acknowledged “there was great resistance” to…

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Canadian Gemma Hickey said Leo listened to abuse survivors with empathy

Pope Leo XIV met with survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy for the first time on Monday, participants said, days after the Vatican’s child protection commission accused senior church leaders of being too slow to help victims.

Leo held a meeting with Ending Clergy Abuse, an international coalition of survivors, the group said. The encounter, which included six abuse victims, lasted about an hour and was “a significant moment of dialogue,” they said.

The 1.4-billion-member church has been shaken for decades by scandals across the world involving abuse and cover-up, damaging its credibility and costing it hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.

An unusually critical report from the Vatican’s own child protection commission, issued on Thursday, faulted senior bishops for not providing information to victims about how their reports of abuse were being handled,…

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[See also the full text of the annual report.]

The Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors on Thursday released its second annual report on the Church’s safeguarding policies and procedures, urging heightened awareness of abuse and the need to offer reparations to victims.

The second annual report launched by the commission, instituted by Pope Francis in 2014 for the protection of minors and vulnerable adults, promotes “conversional justice” — founded on the pillars of truth, justice, reparations, and institutional reforms — to be adopted by the Church across the globe and at all levels of governance.

Archbishop Thibault Verny of Chambéry, who was appointed by Pope Leo XIV in July to head the commission, spoke of the report’s efforts to emphasize the significance of “walking alongside victims and survivors” and including their voices in promoting positive change and institutional reform within the Church. 

“We have acquired the profound…

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[See also the full text of the annual report.]

At 11.30 today, a press conference was held at the Holy See Press Office, Via della Conciliazione 54, to present the second Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

The speakers were: Archbishop Thibault Verny of Chambéry, bishop of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and Tarentaise, chair of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors; Bishop Luis Manuel Alí Herrera, titular of Giubalziana, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors; Dr. Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, jurist, responsible for the Annual Report; and Professor Benyam Dawit Mezmur, jurist, member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

Teresa Morris Kettelkamp, assistant secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, was present.

The following are the interventions by Archbishop Thibault Verny and Dr. Maud de Boer-Buquicchio:

Intervention of Archbishop Thibault Verny

…

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Just days before a sexual abuse lawsuit was due to head to jury trial, The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany settled the case for $8 million.

Law firm Pfau Cochran Vertitas Amala PLLC (PVCA) called it a “landmark” settlement on behalf of Michael Harmon. It’s the first such settlement among seven lawsuits that saw the Diocese’s bankruptcy stay lifted to allow for individual cases to go to trial. Attorneys say it’s a step toward resolving more than 400 cases against the Diocese, all stayed and pending in federal bankruptcy court.

The trial over Harmon’s case was set to begin Monday in New York State Supreme Court in Albany. It was filed in March 2020 as part of the state’s Child Victims Act window for filing abuse lawsuits that would have otherwise been past the statue of limitations.

“We commend Michael’s bravery in coming forward, in standing up to the Diocese,…

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Pope Leo XIV met Monday for the first time with an organization of clergy abuse survivors and advocates, who said he agreed to maintain a permanent dialogue with them as they press for a zero-tolerance for abuse policy in the Catholic Church.

Ending Clergy Abuse is a global organization of abuse victims and activists that has been campaigning to universalize the U.S. church’s abuse policy. Among other things, the policy calls for the permanent removal from ministry of any priest who abuses a child.

Leo acknowledged “there was great resistance” to the idea of a universal zero-tolerance law, said Tim Law, ECA co-founder. But Law said he told Leo ECA wanted to work with him and the Vatican to move the idea forward.

Leo has met before with clergy abuse survivors, and was the point-person for listening to victims in the Peruvian bishops conference when he was a bishop there. But history’s…

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Pope Leo met with survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy for the first time on Monday, participants said, days after the Vatican’s child protection commission accused senior Church leaders of being too slow to help victims.

Leo held a meeting with Ending Clergy Abuse, an international coalition of survivors, the group said. The encounter, which included six abuse victims, lasted about an hour and was “a significant moment of dialogue,” they said.

The 1.4-billion-member Church has been shaken for decades by scandals across the world involving abuse and cover-up, damaging its credibility and costing it hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.

An unusually critical report from the Vatican’s own child protection commission, issued on Thursday, faulted senior bishops for not providing information to victims about how their reports of abuse were being handled, or whether negligent bishops had been sanctioned.

Gemma Hickey, a Canadian survivor who took part…

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A New York man has received an $8 million settlement from the Diocese of Albany over claims that he was abused for years by a priest when he was a child. 

The Albany-based law firm LaFave, Wein, Frament & Karic said in an Oct. 16 press release that the Albany diocese agreed to pay the seven-figure sum to Michael Harmon ahead of a planned Oct. 20 jury trial. 

The law firm said Harmon had been abused repeatedly for years, starting when he was 11 years old, by Father Edward Charles Pratt. During that period, Pratt served as vice chancellor of the Albany diocese. 

Pratt is listed on the diocese’s list of clergy who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse. He was removed from ministry in 2002, the diocese says. 

The law firm said the diocese had “received reports about Father Pratt’s sexual abuse of children before Michael was ever abused.”…

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Test cases would establish potential liability in Santa Rosa Diocese’s bankruptcy.

About 260 sexual abuse lawsuits were paused when the Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa filed for bankruptcy in 2023. That has been a frustration for survivors who want the actions of their abusers, and the failings of the powerful institution that obscured the crimes, dragged into the daylight.

Now, it looks like a few of those survivors may have their days in court.

The judge in the bankruptcy, Charles Novack of the Northern District of California, recently put a small set of lawsuits on the path to trial, where they are expected to set a baseline for the diocese’s potential financial liability.

It’s an important step, those involved say, in pushing insurance companies to enter into a global settlement with the diocese and the dozens of people who say they were harmed by predatory church figures. And it could…

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MORRISTOWN — The jury in a groundbreaking sexual assault trial spared the Delbarton School and the Catholic order that oversees it from a potentially devastating punitive damage award on Oct. 16, as the case against the exclusive Morris County prep school came to a close.

After five hours of deliberations over two days, the jury at the Morris County Courthouse decided unanimously against imposing damages beyond the $5 million compensatory award it granted last week to a Delbarton graduate who said he was abused in the 1970s.

The jury ruled in favor of the graduate, who said he has suffered trauma ever since he was assaulted as a 15-year-old by the Rev. Richard Lott, a former Delbarton teacher and maintenance director. His lawyers urged jurors to punish the school and the Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey for creating “a culture of abuse and a…

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Payout heads off trial that would have focused on ex-Bishop Howard J. Hubbard’s coverup of allegations against priests who victimized children

ALBANY — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany has agreed to an $8 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by a man who had said he was molested hundreds of times as a child by a former high-ranking priest who ultimately admitted sexually abusing young boys for years.

The deal was finalized Thursday, four days before the religious organization’s cover-up of the sexual abuse of children by priests and others was expected to be laid bare in what would have been the diocese’s first trial as a defendant in a case filed under New York’s Child Victims Act.

The case is one of seven child sexual abuse lawsuits filed against the diocese that a federal judge in March ruled would be allowed to go to trial — part of an effort…

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NEW ORLEANS — New documents have revealed graphic allegations against a former New Orleans priest who was extradited to face child sex abuse charges.

WARNING: Details in this story are graphic and may be upsetting to some. Viewer discretion is advised.

According to the U.S. Marshals, Mark Ford, 64, was arrested in September and charged with four counts of first-degree rape, two counts of second-degree kidnapping, two counts of sexual battery, and two counts of indecent behavior with juveniles.

He was extradited to New Orleans following his arrest in Indiana last month. Friday (October 17th, 2025), he made a court appearance in New Orleans where he was ordered to be held without bond.

The state asked that Ford be held without bond because he does not live here and still has access to children and a vulnerable population. Ford’s attorney argued he is not a danger or flight risk and…

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A senior Swiss bishop has claimed that the disproportionate presence of men with homosexual tendencies in the priesthood is a key factor in clerical abuse scandals.

Bishop Marian Eleganti made the comments on his personal blog, arguing that unless the issue is confronted openly, efforts to tackle abuse will remain incomplete.

He insisted that silence on the subject is no longer possible, writing that “the ‘elephant in the room’ of the abuse crisis is the widespread homosexuality among the clergy and its significance in the scandal”.

Bishop Eleganti did not equate homosexuality with abuse directly, acknowledging that many with same-sex attractions live lives of chastity and virtue, while also highlighting that his article “does not condemn people with homosexual tendencies”.

He adds: “The Church has always distinguished between the (inviolable) dignity of every human person and their inclinations, which may be disordered. Disordered sexual tendencies, which exist…

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Each officially recognised survivor of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in Belgium will receive an additional 3,000 euros in financial support, which is being funded by the country’s dioceses and religious congregations. According to Stichting Dignity, the foundation coordinating support for victims, the total allocation could exceed 2.5 million euros.

This announcement followed a meeting in Brussels on Saturday, which was part of a series of ‘encounter days’ intended to give survivors a voice in shaping policy. A total of 1,591 victims will benefit.

An urgent and necessary step towards recognition and care

National coordinator Jessika Soors explained that the measure aims to make psychotherapeutic care more accessible pending the creation of a permanent legal framework for victims of sexual abuse, both within and outside the Church. She stressed that, although the past cannot be undone, the new payment represents “an urgent and necessary step towards recognition and care”.

…

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• Los Angeles County will pay an additional $828 million to sexual abuse victims at county facilities, on top of April’s record $4-billion settlement.
• The county announced Friday that past claims brought by Downtown LA Law Group will undergo additional review following Times investigations that uncovered four plaintiffs who said they were told to make up false allegations.
• The firm has said it would never “encourage or tolerate anyone lying about being abused.”

Los Angeles County is poised to pay out an additional $828 million to victims who say they were sexually abused in county facilities as children, months after agreeing to the largest sex abuse settlement in U.S. history.

The award, posted on the county claims board agenda Friday, would resolve an additional 414 cases that were not included in the $4-billion sex abuse settlement approved this spring. Both the supervisors and the county claims board will need to vote…

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New documents have revealed graphic allegations against a former New Orleans priest who was extradited to face child sex abuse charges.

WARNING: Details in this story are graphic and may be upsetting to some. Viewer discretion is advised.

According to the U.S. Marshals, Mark Ford, 64, was arrested in September and charged with four counts of first-degree rape, two counts of second-degree kidnapping, two counts of sexual battery, and two counts of indecent behavior with juveniles.

He was extradited to New Orleans following his arrest in Indiana last month. Friday (October 17th, 2025), he made a court appearance in New Orleans where he was ordered to be held without bond.

The state asked that Ford be held without bond because he does not live here and still has access to children and a vulnerable population. Ford’s attorney argued he is not a danger or flight risk and this is only…

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The following story discusses sexual abuse and may be disturbing to some readers.

After years of sharing her story with no action taken, Cindy Clemishire has closure after reading a statement in court at the trial of the man who abused her, former pastor Robert Morris.  

Morris started grooming and sexually molesting Clemishire when she was just 12 years old, when he and his wife and children were staying in their home. Morris was also a pastor at the time. The abuse continued, according to Clemishire, for four years. 

The 64-year-old appeared in court on Oct. 2 and pleaded guilty on all five counts. Morris will serve six months in the Osage County jail and then be on probation for nine years and six months, according to a plea agreement outlined by Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond. He also must pay $270,000 in restitution to Clemishire. 

Facing her abuser

…

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Gateway Church has now been accused of violating a law that has been used to prosecute everything from organized crime operations to pro-life groups.

A year ago, a group of four church members from the Dallas-based church filed a financial fraud lawsuit against the controversy-ridden church. They alleged that the church fraudulently claimed that it gave 15% of its members’ tithes to global missions when in reality, it did not.

According to the suit, Gateway should have given a minimum of $15 million a year to global missions, as the church had an annual revenue of around $100 million. However, the suit claims Gateway only gave away $3 million a year.

This week, the group ramped up the seriousness of their allegations, contending that the church has violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

The amended suit said that Gateway engaged in a “pattern of racketeering activity”…

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West Belfast actress Geraldine Hughes is back in Belfast, directing a critically-acclaimed play about abuse in the Catholic Church.

Unreconciled is an autobiographical play written and performed by Pennsylvania-born Jay Sefton.

The one-man show tells the story of a teenage actor cast as Jesus in a school play directed by a parish priest.

It also chronicles his journey to speak out as a survivor of sexual abuse and navigate a reparations programme set up by the Catholic Church.

Ms Hughes said she wants to bring “important stories” to Belfast – stories she is “proud to tell and be associated with”.

She grew up in west Belfast in the 1970s and 1980s, before leaving for the USA to pursue an acting career.

“I’m really happy to be back at the Lyric Theatre,” she told BBC News NI.

“Belfast is special. Belfast is the best city.

“I travel for work, I go…

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A former teacher at a school in Southampton has been jailed after admitting non-recent sexual offences against three teenage girls.

Leo Norman, of Peartree Avenue, Southampton, was jailed for 14 months at a sentence hearing today (Friday 17 October) at Portsmouth Crown Court.

The 46-year-old was a teacher at St Anne’s Catholic School and Sixth Form College at the time of the offences, which took place between 2014 and 2019.

Norman had pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual activity with a girl 13 to 17 – adult abuse of position of trust, at a previous hearing at the same court on Monday 11 August.

Two impact statements were read out in court. They were from two of the women who were abused by Norman when they were teenage girls at the school, and they detailed the impact of Norman’s offending.

The court heard that some of the offending involved…

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English and media teacher Leo Normal, 46, has been sentenced after being found guilty of the sexual abuse of children at St Anne’s Catholic School and Sixth Form College in Southampton

A former teacher has been jailed for 14 months for the ‘shocking’ sexual abuse of three pupils at a Catholic school over a five-year period.

Predatory Leo Norman targeted the the teenage girls while working at the sixth form of St Anne’s School in Southampton, Hampshire, between September 2014 and June 2019. The English and media teacher was sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court after pleading guilty to three charges of sexual activity with a child by a person of trust.

As well as the prison sentence, the 46-year-old, from Southampton, was handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and ordered to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years. He was told he abused his his position of trust as…

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Cardinal Marx and Bishop Bätzing are expected to feature in the study

A report will be published at the end of October assessing how prominent German Catholic leaders handled abuse cases while serving in the Diocese of Trier.

Researchers from the University of Trier will present Oct. 30 an interim report on the diocese’s response to sexual abuse from 2002 to 2021.

The report will examine the period when Cardinal Reinhard Marx, now Archbishop of Munich and Freising, led the Trier diocese. Marx was the Bishop of Trier from 2002 to 2007, when he was succeeded by Bishop Stephan Ackermann, who continues to lead the diocese.

Bishop Georg Bätzing, the chairman of the German bishops’ conference, served as vicar general of the Trier diocese from 2012 until he was named the Bishop of Limburg in 2016.

Ackermann, who oversaw the German bishops’ conference’s response to abuse cases from 2010 to 2022,…

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany just agreed to pay $8 million to settle one case of sexual abuse committed by one of their former priests.

The lawsuit was scheduled to go to trial on Monday.

The victim said he was just 11 years old when the abuse began. He claims Father Edward Charles Pratt molested him until he was 16 years old.

The victim filed a lawsuit against the diocese back in 2020, shortly after New York State’s Child Victims Act went into effect. That law removed time limitations that prevented old sexual abuse claims from going forward to court.

The law firm representing the victim told NewsChannel 13 this settlement is a sign of how strong the diocese believes the case is against them.

RELATED: Abuse cases against Diocese of Albany can proceed  

RELATED: Albany Catholic Diocese files for bankruptcy

“The fact…

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The verdict came a week after the same jury awarded $5 million in compensatory damages to a former student who said a monk assaulted him at the elite Catholic school.

The New Jersey jury that made history last week by awarding $5 million in damages to a Delbarton School graduate who claimed a monk sexually assaulted him decided Thursday not to impose further penalties on the elite Catholic prep school.

The four women and two men on the panel declined to award any punitive damages to the accuser, who has been identified only as T.M. during the more than five-week trial in Morris County Superior Court.

Nevertheless, in the aftermath of Thursday’s decision, T.M. released a statement calling the case a “seismic shift towards institutional accountability.”

“My hope is that by pursuing this nearly nine-year climb to justice, I can help others understand the profound and lasting…

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The ruling means a Catholic diocese will be shielded from a 1970s child rape claim at a N.H. summer camp, and other victims could be barred from bringing similar claims to court

A lawsuit claiming the Catholic diocese in New Hampshire was negligent in its failure to protect kids from sexual abuse in the 1970s cannot proceed to trial, the state’s highest court ruled Wednesday, finding that a statute of limitations lawmakers repealed in 2020 still applies.

The plaintiff, Randy Ball, who filed his lawsuit in 2023, alleged he was about 8 years old when a priest raped him in the mid-1970s at Camp Fatima, a lakefront summer camp for boys in Gilmanton Iron Works. That priest, the Rev. Karl E. Dowd Jr., was employed by the diocese as the camp’s director despite having previously been accused of fondling a teenager in Keene, N.H.

The statute…

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PROVIDENCE — Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said he is about to send the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence a report that shows the church “did not respond well” to accusations of clergy sexual abuse of children over the past 70 years.

During an interview with Globe reporters, Neronha said he hopes to send the 400-page report to the diocese by the end of October. He said church officials are entitled to review the document before it’s released to the public, and the diocese could go to court to try to stop its release.

In 2019, the attorney general’s office and the Rhode Island State Police began a review of all files ofcomplaints of childhood sexual abuse collected by the Diocese of Providence since 1950. Over the past six years, the investigation led to new charges against a few priests, and produced…

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Mark Ford, extradited from Indiana to New Orleans jail, faces life in prison if convicted of sexual abuse charges.

NEW ORLEANS — A man working as a Roman Catholic priest in New Orleans positioned himself as a mentor to a young disabled boy grieving two family deaths – and then exploited the proximity to abuse him for years, police allege.

Those details are contained in criminal court records generated by the arrest of Mark Francis Ford in Indiana in September as well as his subsequent transfer to the Orleans Justice Center jail, a process which was completed late on Tuesday.

Ford, 64, made an initial appearance in Criminal District Court on Wednesday as he became the latest figure to come under scrutiny during the New Orleans Catholic church’s long standing clergy molestation scandal. 

A magistrate commissioner temporarily ordered Ford held without bail.

Ford is one of several men who have worked…

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[Note from BA: This is an updated version of the article posted in yesterday’s Tracker.]

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican’s child protection board said Thursday the Catholic Church has a moral obligation to help victims of clergy sexual abuse heal. Financial reparations for the abused and tougher sanctions for the abusers and their enablers are essential remedies, it said.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors focused on the issue of reparations in its second annual report — an often sensitive topic for the church, given the financial, reputational and legal implications involved.

The report was significant — an official Vatican publication prepared with the input of 40 abuse survivors from around the world. It gave a voice to their complaints of how badly the church had handled their cases and highlighted measures they need to heal.

It contained the shocking revelation that the Vatican office responsible for one-third…

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The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors publishes its second annual Report, which presents guidelines for “informed listening” and for economic, psychological, and spiritual support to victims, while highlighting the need for more transparent communication, public acceptance of responsibility by the Church, and streamlined reporting mechanisms.

The Second Annual Report on Safeguarding Policies in the Catholic Church, published on Thursday by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, offers an operational vademecum, drawn up by actively listening to those who have personally suffered abuse.

The guidelines are intended to help ecclesial communities implement “restorative measures,” following step by step the reporting process and calling for its general simplification.

Recommendations include an initial “informed listening,” access to information about one’s case, and economic, psychological, and spiritual support. All of this is to be accompanied by transparent official statements that “acknowledge the harm caused” and publicly assume responsibility.

Archbishop Thibault…

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The commission’s report highlights the difficulties Pope Leo faces in trying to end clerical abuses and ensure abusers are held to account.

A Vatican commission set up to address the clerical sexual abuse crisis said on Thursday that the Roman Catholic Church was still too slow in addressing a problem that has plagued it for decades.

The commission called on church leaders to act more quickly and more transparently, and recommended that the church listened to, and involved, survivors as it worked to build trust after decades of scandal.

“Many times I have also asked myself that same question: Why so slow?” Msgr. Luis Manuel Alí Herrera, the commission’s secretary, said at a news conference to present its latest report on the church’s progress in dealing with abuse. “Sometimes I admit that I have been discouraged because I wanted the change to be more obvious, more radical.”

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The new report is bigger and bolder than the initial pilot study.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors released its second annual global child protection report Thursday, underlining the need for reparations, sanctions for abusers, and clear communication when bishops resign after mishandling cases.

The 200-page “Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding” was released Oct. 16 in five languages and with a Vatican press conference attended by the PCPM’s new president, the French Archbishop Thibault Verny, who succeeded founding president Cardinal Seán O’Malley in July.

PCPM members believe the publication of the first annual report marked a breakthrough in the worldwide struggle against abuse in the Catholic Church. The second report is twice the length but has the same structure as the pilot study, with four sections, focusing respectively on local Churches, continental blocs, the Roman curia, and the Church’s wider child protection efforts. A 13-page executive summary accompanies the full text.

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Its report faults “the Church’s decades-long pattern of mishandling reports, including abandoning, ignoring, shaming, blaming, and stigmatizing” abuse victims.

This story has been updated.

The Catholic Church has been lax in fulfilling its “moral and spiritual obligation to heal the deep wounds” inflicted on victims of clergy sexual abuse for decades, according to a highly critical report released Thursday by the Vatican’s child protection commission.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors’ 200-page report called for tougher sanctions for abusers and their enablers; public acknowledgement of cover-up and mishandling of abuse cases; and reparations for victims going beyond financial compensation, to include invitations for them to help develop safeguarding procedures and professional psychological support for survivors.

The new report marks only the second from the commission since the late Pope Francis established it in 2014. The commission’s new report, coming a year after its first, draws on accounts from dozens…

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Vatican City (AFP) – Victims of clerical sex abuse still face “disturbing” retaliation from Catholic Church leaders for speaking out despite years of efforts to tackle the global scourge, a Vatican commission said Thursday.

In its second annual report, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors set out how local Catholic churches can better help survivors, highlighting “cultural resistance” that hinders action in many countries.

The document was drawn up with the contributions of 40 victims, who shared their personal stories — and who gave what the commission described as “disturbing accounts of retaliation” by Church leaders after they reported their abuse.

“My brother was a seminarian. The bishop told my family that my complaint could affect his ordination,” one recalled.

Another described how a priest in the local church publicly declared their family excommunicated after they reported the abuse.

Yet another recounted that the local bishop said nothing for…

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[Note from BA: This is an updated version of the Reuters article posted in yesterday’s Tracker.]

Summary

• Vatican commission criticises Church’s response to abuse victims
• Report highlights lack of transparency in bishop removals
• Italy is criticised for poor cooperation with Vatican commission

VATICAN CITY, Oct 16 (Reuters) – The Vatican’s child protection commission accused senior Catholic leaders on Thursday of being too slow to help victims of sexual abuse by clergy and implement new safeguarding efforts in an unusually critical internal report on the issue.For decades, the 1.4-billion-member Church has been shaken by scandals across the world involving abuse and cover-up, damaging its credibility and costing it hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.

The new report, only the second by a commission founded over a decade ago, faulted Church leaders for not providing information to victims about how their reports of abuse were being handled, or whether negligent bishops had been…

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The study, conducted by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, is presented as a tool to assist in the creation of safe environments and advocates for a broader understanding of reparation beyond the economic issue.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors has presented in Rome its second Annual Report on Church Guardianship Policies and Procedures. It is a comprehensive study aimed at prevention, assistance and knowledge of the facts that, in this edition, has counted with a much higher number of victims of abuse in ecclesial environments in all regions of the world.

The report, whose first edition published last year, this time focused on how the Church is doing with regard to existing reparation practices in the local Churches and their pastoral and theological foundation “understood as the Church’s responsibility to accompany victims/survivors on their journey of healing and reparation”. 

40 victims participating in the study

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• Summary

• Vatican commission criticises Church’s response to abuse victims
• Report highlights lack of transparency in bishop removals
• Italy is criticised for poor cooperation with Vatican commission

The Vatican’s child protection commission criticized senior Catholic leaders in an annual report on Thursday for not moving quickly enough to help victims of sexual abuse by clergy and to implement new safeguarding efforts worldwide.

For decades, the 1.4-billion-member Church has been shaken by scandals across the world involving abuse and cover-up, damaging its credibility and costing it hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.

The new report faulted Church leaders for not providing information to victims about how their reports of abuse were being handled, or whether negligent bishops had been sanctioned.

It also said the commission’s own requests for information about safeguarding protocols had not always been answered and the Italian Church had failed to provide full details.

“In many cases … victims/survivors report…

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A Vatican commission for the protection of children has said the mishandling by the Catholic Church’s leaders of sexual abuse allegations involving clergy is causing “ongoing harm” to victims, in a hard-hitting report released Thursday.

The report also called out parts of Italy and Africa for failing to implement robust anti-abuse measures.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which released its second annual report on October 16 called for greater transparency from the Vatican and noted with “concern” that survivors often perceive the church’s central administration as “lacking in sensitivity.”

The report is the first to be released since the election of Pope Leo XIV and it sets out the scale of the challenge for the American pope in tackling the scourge of sexual abuse of children and vulnerable people inside the Catholic Church. His predecessor, Pope Francis, took some important steps to tackle the abuse crisis but  View Cache

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The Vatican’s child protection board said Thursday the Catholic Church has a moral obligation to help victims of clergy sexual abuse heal, and identified financial reparations and sanctions for abusers and their enablers as essential remedies.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors focused on the issue of reparations in its second annual report. It’s an often sensitive topic for the church, given the financial, reputational and legal implications it imposes on the hierarchy.

The report was significant — an official Vatican publication prepared with the input of 40 abuse survivors from around the world and giving voice to their complaints of how badly the church had handled their cases, and their demands of what they need to heal.

It said monetary settlements were necessary to provide victims with needed therapy and other assistance to help them recover from the trauma of their abuse.

But it…

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In a note sent to the Lusa agency, the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP) announced that the commission includes Circuit Judge Maria Amália Pereira dos Santos, president of the 3rd Civil Section of the Guimarães Court of Appeal, and Pedro Vaz Patto, Circuit Judge at the Porto Court of Appeal.

The commission also includes lawyers David Silva Ramalho, a guest lecturer at the University of Lisbon’s Faculty of Law, Francisco da Cunha Ferreira, and Paulo Câmara, a law professor at the Portuguese Catholic University.

Two other law professors round out the seven-member commission for determining financial compensation: Francisco Mendes Correia from the University of Lisbon and Rita Lynce de Faria from the Portuguese Catholic University.

According to the note from the Portuguese bishops, the permanent council of the CEP, meeting on Monday in Fatima, disclosed the composition of the entity “which is developing the proposals for the financial compensation amounts designated…

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A nearly three-hour preliminary hearing Tuesday afternoon for the former pastor of the Summit Church resulted in probable cause being found for the felony charge of soliciting a minor via computer.

The charge will now proceed to the grand jury, after Tuesday’s ruling by Randolph County Magistrate Michael Dyer.

Kevin Curtis Jones, 33, appeared in an orange prisoner’s jumpsuit in Randolph County Magistrate Court Tuesday afternoon, represented by attorney James Hawkins Jr.

Jones is also charged with one felony count of distribution and exhibiting of material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit activity. A hearing on that charge has been continued to a later date.

Jones is currently being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on two separate $50,000 cash-only bonds set by Magistrates Benjamin Shepler and Dyer.

The courtroom was full with approximately 20 people for Tuesday’s hearing, including family members of the alleged victim and a witness….

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12 News has received information after a pastor at an Elkins church was charged earlier this month with soliciting a minor and distributing material depicting minors in sexually explicit activity.

On Tuesday, 33-year-old Kevin Jones, who is a pastor at Summit Church in Elkins, appeared in Randolph County Magistrate Court for a preliminary hearing in this case. Jones’s attorney made motions to have his $50,000 cash-only bail altered and to have the charges thrown out. The magistrate denied those motions.

During Tuesday’s hearing, the alleged victim testified that she did not have sexual contact with Jones until after she turned 18 and that she wants to be in a relationship with him. Another female witness testified that she had contact with Jones when she was underage, but that the contact was not inappropriate.

An investigator in the case stated that they had found more than a million files on Jones’s…

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Deputies arrest man for crime at St. Agatha Catholic Church in Westchester

A 54-year-old man confessed to sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy at a church in Miami-Dade County’s Westchester area and said “the devil” made him do it, according to deputies.

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Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Alvaro Rios, who works as a server, shortly before 12:40 a.m. on Wednesday at his home in Cutler Bay, according to the deputies’ arrest report.

Rios followed the teenage boy to the restroom at St. Agatha Catholic Church, “rubbed” his back, “fondled his buttocks,” grabbed him by the neck, “kissed him on the lips,” and told him “he was beautiful,” according to Miami-Dade deputies’ arrest report.

“The victim explained he was disgusted by this action and ran out of the restroom,” a deputy wrote.

The teen told his mother and a family friend that the abuse happened…

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A Mooresville man has been charged with human trafficking and child sexual assault offenses after allegedly leading minors on a religious trip from Argentina to the United States, according to the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office.

On August 12, detectives learned of sexual offenses committed against two minors between May 2002 and June 2008.

The victims were both from Argentina and between the ages of 13 and 17 at the time of the offenses, officials said. They were reportedly part of a religious ministry led by the suspect, 50-year-old Luis Alberto Sosa, who was serving as a missionary pastor from Argentina.

The investigation revealed that Sosa brought the victims to the United States under the false pretense of a ministry opportunity and a “once-in-a-lifetime’ trip. At the time, Sosa was reportedly granted temporary guardianship over the children while they were traveling.

Over the course of two months, Sosa allegedly committed several…

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New Hampshire’s 2020 law abolishing deadlines for lawsuits alleging sexual assault cannot be applied retroactively, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

The ruling came in the case of Randy Ball, who sued the Roman Catholic Bishop of Manchester in 2023 alleging he was raped by a priest at a summer camp in the 1970s. Under the law at the time of the alleged assaults, Ball had only until he turned 20 in 1986 to sue, but he argued his lawsuit was permissible under a 2020 amendment that removed the statute of limitations.

The amendment itself did not specify whether it could be applied retroactively, but the court ruled that doing so would violate the state Constitution, which gives private parties a vested right to a statute of limitations defense.

In upholding the dismissal of Ball’s lawsuit, justices said they were “acutely aware that victims of child sex abuse are some…

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Facing potentially devastating punitive damages on top of a landmark $5 million verdict, the headmaster of the exclusive Delbarton School testified that another large monetary award “could put us out of business.”

The Rev. Michael Tidd’s testimony came on Oct. 14 at the start of the punitive hearing phase of a civil trial brought by a 1977 graduate of the all-boys’ Catholic school in Morris Township. The suit, one of dozens of abuse cases pending against Delbarton, names the school and the Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey, which oversees it, as defendants, along with the Rev. Richard Lott, the former OSBNJ monk accused of the assault.

All of the defendants denied wrongdoing. But last week, a six-person jury unanimously found the student’s accusations to be true and that the abuse caused him lifelong trauma. They also agreed with the defense…

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“McKnight’s proposal is bold in more ways than one.”

Since Pope Leo’s May 8 election, attentive Catholics have been waiting eagerly for the pope to reveal his mind on some of the most important issues facing the Church today.

We have started to gain access to tidbits in recent weeks, especially through the release of portions of an interview Pope Leo conducted with Elise Allen.

From the interview’s text, we can see that when asked about sexual abuse in the Church, Pope Leo quickly affirmed that it is a “real crisis…that the church has to continue to address because it’s not solved.”

In brief but sophisticated remarks, the pope offered keen analysis of complex issues: the need for ongoing care of victims, who often suffer the effects of the abuse long after a legal or canonical case is resolved; that abuse is committed not only by clergy but by others…

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Bishop Robert Brennan announced on Oct. 14 the removal from ministry of Deacon Danny Rodriguez, who most recently served at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Sunset Park, in the wake of an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor that took place approximately 20 years ago — an allegation that the Diocese of Brooklyn deemed to be credible.   

The removal of Deacon Rodriguez, whose legal name is Danny and not Daniel, means that he will no longer be allowed to minister at Mass or exercise any diaconate ministry, and his name will be added to the list of Credibly Accused Clergy on the Diocese of Brooklyn’s website.   

The decision to remove him was made on the recommendation of the Diocesan Review Board (DRB), the independent panel that investigates accusations of clergy sex abuse and submits its findings to Bishop Brennan.   

The DRB had been investigating…

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Five former pupils who claimed a priest groomed and abused them at a Co Down school are to receive more than £1.2m in combined damages.

The compensation forms part of settlements reached in their High Court actions over alleged historic sexual and physical assaults perpetrated by the late Father Malachy Finnegan.

Written apologies will also be issued to them from the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland as part of the resolutions, their solicitor disclosed.

The plaintiffs, who cannot be identified, sued the Diocese of Dromore and the Board of Governors at St Colman’s College in Newry over failures to protect them from the priest.

They all attended the school as young boys over a period spanning between 1972 and 1984.

During that time Fr Finnegan, who taught and worked at the college, subjected them to serious sexual, physical and emotional abuse, according to their case.

Lawyers for the…

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Five men who claimed a paedophile priest groomed and abused them at a school in Newry, County Down, are to receive a combined total of more than £1.2 million in damages.

The final settlements were reached in their High Court action over historic physical and serious sexual assaults inflicted by the late Fr Malachy Finegan.

The men will also be given a written apology from the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland on behalf of the Diocese of Dromore, their lawyer said.

The men, who cannot be identified, sued the Diocese of Dromore and the board of governors at St Colman’s College over failures to protect them from the priest.

The men were pupils at St Colman’s between 1972 and 1984.

The settlements do not involve any admission of liability by either defendant.

Finegan was accused of a wider campaign of child sexual abuse but never prosecuted or questioned…

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Clarence Barry Hungerford was in Marshall County Circuit Court on Tuesday for a status hearing. Hungerford is charged with tampering with physical evidence and unlawful use of electronic means within the commonwealth to induce a minor to engage in sexual or other prohibited activity.

The charges came in late June after the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office received a report from the family of an 11-year-old girl that their pastor, Hungerford, had asked her for pictures of her body.

Through a brief investigation, the sheriff’s office determined that Hungerford had contacted the child, and upon his arrest, Hungerford admitted to destroying his cell phone in an attempt to prevent the contents of it from being accessed.

While Hungerford is a Mayfield resident, he was the pastor of a church in Aurora, and kept a part-time residence in Marshall County, which is where MCSO stated he was at the time of the…

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DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton described the punishment as too lax and said his office will work to challenge the decision.

A former DeSoto Central High School assistant basketball coach and youth pastor has been sentenced to three years of house arrest for sexual battery of a child by a person of trust or authority.

Lindsey Whiteside was arrested Nov. 21, 2024, for the charge, according to DeSoto County officials. She was indicted on the charge by a DeSoto County grand jury on Dec. 13, 2024.

A copy of the indictment alleged that Whiteside had sex with an underage female between May 14, 2024 and Nov. 6, 2024.

“Prior to this indictment, Lindsey Whiteside served as a youth ministry leader and basketball coach—positions that carry a profound responsibility to protect and guide others. Sexual abuse and exploitation inflict lasting harm on victims, that often last for a…

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The drafters of Washington State’s SB 5375 made history on May 2, when Gov. Bob Ferguson signed it into law, shifting the state from one of most lenient on child abuse reporting to one of the strictest — especially concerning clergy and the Sacrament of Confession.

That history was muted on Oct. 10 when state and county prosecutors agreed to keep “information clergy learn solely through confession or its equivalent in other faiths” under protected speech.”

“Today’s agreement respects the court’s decision in this case and maintains important protections for children,” said Attorney General Nick Brown in a press release. “It keeps crucial portions of Washington’s mandatory reporting law in place, while also preserving the Legislature’s authority to address issues with the law identified by the court.”

The state agreed to include clergy as mandated reporters but carved out an exception preserving the privileged confessional…

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GLOUCESTER CO., Va. (BP) – A Virginia church is cooperating with authorities over a second case of unlawful sexual conduct by a former leader in as many months.

Zachary Thomas Ramaglino served Union Baptist Church in Hayes for a year as an assistant in the young adult student ministry and communications assistant. That included helping the student ministry director organize events, according to local reports. He was arrested on Sept. 4 on 20 counts of possession of child pornography.

An Oct. 3 statement by the church said Ramaglino left in January 2025 “as a result of continued integrity and performance issues regarding a lack of respect for authority, failure to complete tasks, and dishonesty regarding his work.”

Union Baptist was not aware of the charges against Ramaglino until July, the statement added, when investigators visited the church.

“We did everything in our power to assist the…

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The Catholic Diocese of Spokane removed a priest from ministry and asked police to investigate after he was accused of misappropriation of funds and sexual misconduct involving six women.

Catholic clergy across Spokane received a notice in April that Our Lady of Fatima’s priest, the Rev. Miguel Mejia, was accused of seeking sex from “vulnerable” women in exchange for money or other items, using parish funds to pay for sexual activities with women, stalking a woman at least once and using his power and status as a priest to harm them.

“This is wrong,” said the Rev. Darrin Connall, vicar general for the diocese, in an interview. “And it’s tragic.”

Many of Mejia’s former parishioners, including the church’s bookkeeper, continue to support the priest and question the veracity of the evidence against him.

Parishioners and priests all gathered at a meeting in June, according to a transcript and recording obtained…

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The agreement represents a major victory for Catholic bishops, who challenged the law’s constitutionality.

In a major victory for Catholic bishops, the state of Washington has agreed to abandon its effort to force priests to report child abuse they learn of in confession — or face imprisonment for failing to do so.

The state’s agreement Friday came in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Tacoma by the bishops of the Washington’s three Catholic dioceses in which they pointed out that the law would force priests to break the seal of confession, which results in automatic excommunication, to report abuse, or face up to 364 days imprisonment and a $5,000 fine for breaking the law.

A federal judge had issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the law days before it was to take effect on July 27, saying that requiring priests to report child abuse revealed during confession violated the U.S….

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Dennis Finbow used his position within the church to abuse children throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He has been described as a ‘prolific’ offender.

A former priest who used his position to abuse children has had his prison sentence extended by 11 years. Dennis Finbow was convicted in early 2023 for sexually abusing a child in the 1980s while offences in the most recent case date back to 1974.

The 77-year-old claimed all the allegations against him were “nonsense” in police interview. However, he later admitted multiple offences and on Friday (October 10), at Cambridge Crown Court, he had his current sentenced extended.

He admitted touching a boy in 1974 at a school where he was teaching, prior to being ordained. He also abused an altar boy between August 1984 and August 1985, a girl between February 1984 and February 1985, a girl between 1987 and 1991 and a third…

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Following lawsuits from the DOJ and local bishops, Washington will no longer require faith leaders to report child abuse admissions made during confession.

Officials in the state of Washington have agreed to water down a child abuse law after pressure from the Trump administration and local Catholic leaders.

Catholic bishops and the Trump administration had filed lawsuits seeking to overturn a bill signed by Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat and a Catholic, that required faith leaders of all denominations to report allegations of abuse they received in private religious settings — including confession. Though the Catholic Church has a documented history of enabling child sexual abuse, the sponsor of Washington’s bill said the legislation was inspired by reports of abuse within Jehovah’s Witness churches.

Catholic leaders have argued that being forced to report admissions made during a confession amounts to religious…

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Spokane Diocese points to “overwhelming evidence” — but parishioners question Bishop Thomas Daly’s motivations

Emily Chapman could feel a pressure rising inside her. In the gym at Our Lady of Fatima, the Catholic church where she works, the Spokane Diocese was recapping how a leader of the parish, Father Miguel Mejía, had allegedly abused his powers as a priest to have “consensual and nonconsensual sex” with multiple women.

They said he stalked a woman. That he gave money and gifts to women in exchange for sex. That he paid to have phone sex with a woman in jail — potentially misusing parish funds to do it.

At least five women had come forward about the priest’s behavior. Eight members of a review board tasked with looking at sexual abuse cases within the Catholic Diocese of Spokane had concluded that “overwhelming evidence” backed the women’s accounts.

Chapman was one of those…

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Five judges have been selected to oversee the trial.

The Vatican announced on Oct. 13 the appointment of five judges for the canonical trial of disgraced former Jesuit Fr. Marko Rupnik, accused of sexually abusing several adult women.

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) officially announced that it had appointed five judges to oversee Rupnik’s trial. It said the appointments had been made Oct. 9.

The Vatican has been criticized over the slow pace of progress in the case against Rupnik, after the first allegations against the former Jesuit became public in December 2022, with Pope Francis finally lifting the statute of limitations to try the case in October 2023, amid immense public pressure.

Rupnik, a former Jesuit from Slovenia, is the creator of mosaics installed in dozens of high-profile chapels, cathedrals, and basilicas in Europe — including the Vatican — as well as Latin America and the United…

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ROME – The Vatican announced on Monday that a panel of judges has been appointed to hear the case of Father Marko Rupnik, a Slovenian priest accused of serial sexual, psychological, and spiritual abuse of dozens of victims, after a review of evidence that lasted two years.

In an Oct. 13 communique, the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) said that a panel of five judges have been appointed to hear the case against Rupnik, a former Jesuit and celebrity artist whose works still adorn shrines and chapels around the world.

The DDF in its statement said that the panel is composed “of women and clerics who are not part of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and who do not hold any office in the dicasteries of the Roman Curia.”

“This is for the purpose of better guaranteeing, as in any judicial process, the…

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Group says Mark Francis Ford’s work history also has several red flags, including entering a program known for treating pedophilia, though he claimed he was there due to problematic spending

An Indiana man charged with molesting a disabled child while working as a Roman Catholic priest in New Orleans for several years beginning in 2004 should be listed as a credibly accused clergy abuser by various institutions for whom he ministered, says the director of a church accountability organization.

Mark Francis Ford, once a member of the religious order colloquially known as the Vincentians, ministered within the archdiocese of New Orleans as well as the dioceses of Dallas and Gallup, New Mexico, after his ordination in 1992. He is accused of raping a boy whom he met through a program that he helped start in New Orleans named God’s Special Children – which serves youths who are disabled – before and after the…

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A statement released by the Dictastery for the Doctrine of the Faith announces that women and clerics from outside the former Holy Office and Roman Curia will serve on the panel judging the former Jesuit Fr. Marko Rupnik, accused of abuse by several religious sisters.

The Vatican has announced the appointment of five judges to oversee the canonical trial of former Jesuit priest and renowned artist, Fr. Marko Ivan Rupnik, who has been accused by several adult consecrated women of psychological and sexual abuse.

In a statement released on Monday, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith said the judges were appointed on 9 October, 2025. The tribunal will be responsible for examining the serious allegations against Fr. Rupnik, who was dismissed from the Society of Jesus in June 2023 following multiple accusations.

According to the statement, the judicial panel is made up of women and clerics who are not members…

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ROME (AP) — The Vatican took the unusual step on Monday of announcing that it had named judges to decide the fate of a famous ex-Jesuit artist, whose mosaics decorate basilicas around the world and who was accused by more than two dozen women of sexual, spiritual and psychological abuse.

The case of the Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik badly tarnished the legacy of Pope Francis, given suggestions that the the Jesuit pope, the Jesuit religious order and the Jesuit-headed Vatican sex abuse office protected one of their own over decades by dismissing allegations of misconduct against him.

The Vatican office that manages clergy sex abuse cases, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said that the five judges named to hear the Rupnik case include women and priests who are external to the Vatican bureaucracy.

It said that such composition was “done in order to better guarantee, as in any…

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October 12, 2025

The Archdiocese of Chicago distributed the following letters to the community of St. José Sánchez Del Rio Parish:

St. José Sánchez Del Rio Parish (English, Spanish)

[The letters have been cached by BishopAccountability: English, Spanish]

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CHICAGO (WLS) — A priest from Mexico who has visited Chicago is accused of sexually abusing a minor in the city years ago, the Archdiocese of Chicago said in a letter on Sunday.

Father Ernest Tovar-Trejo is from the Diocese of Tampico, Mexico.

Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, says the father celebrated Mass without the proper permission at Maternity of the Blessed Mother Church on West North Avenue in Humboldt Park.

Father Tovar-Trejo been told he can not minister as a priest while he is under investigation.

“Our responsibility for the welfare of the children entrusted to our care is of paramount importance to us,” a statement from the Archdiocese read in part. “The Archdiocese of Chicago encourages anyone who feels they have been sexually abused by a priest, deacon, religious or lay employee to come forward. They will be received with dignity and compassion.”

No further information was immediately…

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CHICAGO — A priest of the Diocese of Tampico, Mexico, has been accused of sexual abuse of a minor during past visits to a Chicago parish, according to a letter sent to the parish by Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago.

Cardinal Cupich’s letter was addressed Saturday to St. José Sánchez Del Rio Parish, located in Humboldt Park on the city’s Northwest Side. The parish is home to the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church and affiliated Catholic School.

In his letter, Cardinal Cupich states, “I write to share troubling news about Father Ernest Tovar-Trejo, a priest of the Diocese of Tampico, Mexico, who has visited Maternity of the Blessed Mother Church for short periods in past years and occasionally celebrated Mass there without obtaining proper permission.

“The Archdiocese has received an allegation against Father Tovar-Trejo of sexual abuse of a minor during his visits to Chicago…

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A former student who says he was sexually abused decades ago at the elite catholic Delbarton School in New Jersey was awarded $5 million by a jury this week. 

The verdict on Wednesday came after a five-week trial in Morris County Superior Court, where the anonymous victim, T.M., claimed a monk from the Benedictine Catholic middle and high school sexually abused him on New Years Eve in 1975.

Delbarton, located in tony Morristown, where tuition is $48,725 a year, said in a statement this week that they were “extremely disappointed in the verdict in this trial.” 

In addition to expressing “genuine compassion for any victim of abuse,” Delbarton and church officials said that they “do not believe damages awarded in this case are either fair or reasonable.”

“Crucially, the jury unanimously found that St. Mary’s Abbey and Delbarton School did not violate the New Jersey Child Sex Abuse Act,” the letter…

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The $5 million jury verdict in favor of a Delbarton School graduate who said he was sexually assaulted by a monk a half-century ago could have vast implications for one of New Jersey’s most prestigious private schools, as well as scores of other clergy abuse lawsuits, according to those who followed the landmark trial.

While every case will turn on its own set of facts, the verdict “will give the plaintiffs of other cases much more confidence to bring their cases forward,” said Del Russo, who led the prosecutor’s unit dealing with sex crimes.

The case, brought by a now-grown student identified in court only as “T.M.,” was watched closely as it was the first implicating the Catholic Church in a child sex abuse case to go to trial since New Jersey laws changed in 2019 to extend the statute of limitations on such claims. Hundreds more are pending in…

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Following a detailed inquiry, the police said the allegations were found to be true and arrested the priest under relevant sections of the POCSO Act.

A 75-year-old temple priest has been arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for allegedly sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl inside a temple near Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu.

Police said the incident took place last month at a temple in Thiruvalanchuzhi, a shrine under the control of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department

The accused, Viswanatha Iyer, who had been serving as the temple’s chief priest for several years allegedly sexually abused her. On September 8, the 13-year-old survivor had come to the temple with her family for darshan. When she went alone to the hundi (offertory box) area to make an offering, the elderly priest allegedly misbehaved with her.

Following a detailed inquiry, the police said the allegations…

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On Thursday, Saskatoon priest Janko Kolosnjaji was sentenced after being found guilty of sexual assault of a minor back in February of this year.

Back in 2023, a 13-year-old girl who remained nameless during this case got a job cleaning St. George Ukrainian Catholic church with her newly-immigrated Ukrainian family. The young girl went by herself to get a vacuum when Kolosnjaji asked the girl for a hug.

The girl went on to describe the hug as lasting for 15 to 20 seconds before he raised her chin and kissed her on the lips, adding that after the kiss, he mentioned how beautiful her eyes are.  According to prosecutor Sheryl Fillo, this was the girl’s first kiss.

Kolosnjaji described the scene a bit differently, sharing he heard a noise in the storage closet and went to check on the girl. He said when he entered, she seemed scared, so…

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Woman told police that sexual contact happened as he offered her ‘spiritual direction’

A former Catholic priest with the St. Cloud Diocese has been accused of sexual misconduct with a woman while being her spiritual adviser.

Aaron John Kuhn, 47, of Wadena, was charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct Monday in Stearns County District Court.

According to the charges, he “wrongfully and unlawfully engaged in sexual penetration with another person (and) the actor was or purported to be a member of the clergy.”

A woman told law enforcement she had sexual contact with Kuhn between September 2019 and October 2022 while he was providing her “with spiritual direction,” according to the Stearns County Attorney’s Office. She said Kuhn used his role as a spiritual adviser to manipulate and pressure her into engaging in sexual acts. Additionally, she reported that the abuse escalated over time and that she repeatedly asked Kuhn…

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Painting himself as “rejected and persecuted,” the Rev. Mark T. Barclay is praying for financial help from his parishioners to keep his ministry afloat and thriving. Meanwhile, son-in-law James P. Randolph is awaiting his return to prison for once again preying on a minor.

Barclay, 73, is the televangelist founder of Mark Barclay Ministries and Living Word Church, 2010 N. Stark Road in Midland County’s Lincoln Township. The organization describes itself as “a worldwide gospel ministry with a prophetic voice in end times alerting God’s people with God’s Word of righteousness through every available means in every available place.”

The church has been mired in controversy since July 2023, when the first of three men associated with it — elder Brandon S. Saylor — was charged with sexually abusing children. That November, self-professed youth minister Randolph faced similar charges.

A jury on Aug. 29, 2025,…

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A Peoria pastor was arrested Wednesday in Pekin on charges of disseminating harmful material to a juvenile.

Michael S. Ritchason, 47, a co-lead pastor at Riverside Community Church in Downtown Peoria, was arrested Wednesday after the Pekin Police Department investigated allegations that he had provided “harmful materials” to a juvenile.

According to the police department, they received evidence of an ongoing dissemination of the materials on Oct. 5. Their department of investigations began looking into the matter, which led to Ritchason’s arrest Wednesday.

In a statement, Riverside said that at his direction, Ritchason asked to be removed from his duties as lead pastor while he dealt with a “alleged serious matter.” They also said that their eldership team will make a further statement Sunday.

As of Thursday morning, Ritchason remained listed on Riverside’s website.

The case has now been referred to the Tazewell County State’s Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

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A former mayor and pastor in South Carolina is accused of inappropriate conduct with a vulnerable patient inside a hospital room.

Johnnie Waller, a former mayor of Calhoun Falls, is charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

A release from the Greenwood Police Department said Waller is “a community member known to visit patients under a pastoral role.”

Police said they were called to Self Regional Healthcare on Sept. 27 after a staff member reported seeing “a situation in a patient’s room that prompted immediate concern and led to notification of security and law enforcement.”

According to police, the staff member reported that Waller was in the room of a long-term patient under the care of the Department of Social Services.

Police said the patient involved has been in the hospital’s care since early 2025 and had been formally deemed to lack decision-making capacity by multiple physicians.

“Due to the nature…

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The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) condemns in the strongest possible terms the decision by Washington State officials to exempt clergy from the state’s mandatory reporting law, allowing religious officials to withhold knowledge of child rape and sexual assault when learned in the confessional.

“This is a shameful day in Washington’s history,” said SNAP spokesperson Sarah Pearson. “Governor Ferguson and Attorney General Brown have bypassed the legislature to appease powerful church lobbyists. They have chosen to protect the institutional church instead of children, survivors, and the vulnerable.”

SNAP called the move a “devastating betrayal” of public trust, warning that the exemption creates a dangerous double standard. “Every teacher, doctor, therapist, and social worker in Washington is required by law to report suspected abuse,” the group noted. “But clergy are now given a license to conceal rape and sexual assault. There is no compromise when it comes to…

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A former priest in the Diocese of East Anglia has today been sentenced to 11 years for a number of non-recent sexual offences against children.

Dennis Finbow changed his plea to guilty in July of this year in relation to offences involving multiple children between 1975 and 1992.

The 77-year-old appeared at Cambridge Crown Court today (Friday October 10).

He was sentenced in relation to 15 counts of indecent assault against five victims – three females and two males – including three who were eight and nine years old at the time he abused them.

The court heard powerful victim impact statements from each of the survivors, who spoke of how Finbow had “shattered the trust placed in him” and that the psychological effects of his abuse had “reverberated” through the rest of their lives, with devastating effects on their mental health, personal relationships and careers.

In his sentencing remarks,…

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Randolph County authorities have filed an additional sex crimes charge against an Elkins pastor.

Kevin Curtis Jones, 33, of Elkins, was charged Tuesday with Distribution & Exhibiting Material Depicting Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Activity.

Jones has been in jail since Oct. 2 when he was charged with allegedly using a computer to solicit an underage girl. Authorities said Jones, the pastor at Summit Church, used a phone to seek a “clandestine relationship“ with the girl in December 2023,

According to the original criminal complaint, the girl attended Jones’ church. She is now older than 18.

Jones’ bail remains at $50,000. He’s being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for next Tuesday.

The Mountain Region Drug And Violent Crime Task Force is handling the investigation.

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A former Catholic priest has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for 15 counts of indecent assault on two males and three females, most of whom were under the age of 16 at the time of the offences.

In July, Dennis Finbow, 77, who is already serving a prison sentence for abusing a girl while working in Peterborough, admitted to further child abuse offences between 1975 and 1992.

At Cambridge Crown Court on Friday, Judge Philip Grey commended the victims for their courage in coming forward.

Sentencing Finbow, formerly of Martlesham, near Ipswich, the judge said: “You were a manipulative and predatory paedophile who made use of a climate of excessive trust and deference.”

Finbow was jailed for six and a half years in March 2023 for touching a girl while she was in bed in the 1980s.

The court was then told that when he was voluntarily interviewed, he described…

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Washington state has dropped its efforts to require clergy to report child abuse or neglect when the information is revealed during the rite of confession, but left other provisions intact, designating priests and bishops as mandatory reporters.

The decision settles a lawsuit over a state law, Senate Bill 5375, that would have required clergy members to disclose information learned about child abuse, even if they learned about it during the rite of confession.

The settlement means Catholic priests are not required to report information learned during confession.

“This is a landmark settlement. Washington state has promised not to force clergy into making an impossible choice between either obeying their faith or complying with civil law,” said William Haun, senior counsel for Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. “By agreeing not to enforce the law in what would have been an unconstitutional way, Washington state has left that sacred trust…

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Clergy in Washington will remain mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect, but prosecutors will not enforce the law when abuse is disclosed solely during religious confession, according to a new agreement filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma.

The development comes as the state faces two federal lawsuits and an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The agreement, which awaits a judge’s approval, was submitted by the Washington attorney general’s office and plaintiffs who sued the state over a new law passed this year. It aims to resolve key constitutional questions about how far mandatory reporting requirements can extend into religious practice.

Senate Bill 5375, signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson in May, added clergy to the list of mandatory reporters, joining other professions like health care workers and school personnel. The law, however, did not include an exemption for information shared during confession, prompting pushback…

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A jury in New Jersey has awarded a man $5 million in damages for a sexual assault that occurred at a Catholic school there nearly 50 years ago. 

The Morris County jury ruled unanimously that the plaintiff, a man in his 60s identified as “T.M.,” was entitled to the damages. It held that Father Richard Lott, who at trial last month denied the allegations, was 35% liable for the assault, while the Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey was found 65% liable. 

The $5 million represents compensatory damages in the case. The jury will decide on Oct. 14 whether or not the Benedictine order will pay punitive damages, according to local news reports. 

In a statement on Oct. 8, Headmaster Father Michael Tidd, OSB, of the Delbarton School, which is run by the Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey, said the institution was “extremely disappointed in the verdict.”…

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The Diocese of Lincoln has limited a priest’s assignments after he was accused of sexually abusing a minor 32 years ago.

According to a statement released on Sept. 19, a woman came forward alleging that she was sexually abused as a minor in 1993 when Fr. Scott Courtney was a seminarian in Lincoln.

The diocese said it immediately reported the allegations to local law enforcement. No criminal charges were filed.

The diocese also conducted its own independent investigation and consulted the diocesan review board. From there, Bishop James Conley limited Courtney’s ministerial assignment to providing spiritual support to the retired priests of the Diocese of Lincoln.

Courtney has denied the allegations and is entitled to the presumption of innocence, both under state, federal and secular law, the diocese said.

“The Diocese of Lincoln remains committed to the protection of our most vulnerable members, especially young adults and children,” the diocese…

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Delbarton School graduate was first in New Jersey to win civil trial against Catholic institution

A New Jersey jury awarded $5 million in damages Wednesday to a Delbarton School graduate, known only as T.M., who alleged he was sexually abused by a Benedictine monk nearly 50 years ago.

The verdict marks the first time a civil sex abuse case against the Catholic Church has gone to trial in New Jersey. A trial in the punitive damages phase of the case is expected to start next week.

The jury decision could pave the way for dozens more lawsuits tied to Delbarton School and St. Mary’s Abbey, advocates say.

Billy Crane, a former Delbarton student who previously settled a similar case alongside his twin brother, called the verdict a “day of justice” and praised the jury for reaching a decision based on “overwhelming evidence.”

“This is a high watermark,” Crane said in…

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After two weeks of testimony and two days of deliberations, the verdict on the historic sex abuse case involving Delbarton School is in, according to a report from nj.com.

On Wednesday, a jury found that the plaintiff, only identified as T.M., is entitled to $5 million in compensatory damages from The Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey, which operates the all-boys prep school, and former Delbarton Monk Rev. Richard Lott, the report reads.

Patch has reached out to attorneys regarding the ruling, but they are unable to comment at this time, they said.

The report added that the jury found The Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey 65 percent liable for the abuse and Lott 35 percent liable.

Additional punitive damages may be awarded at a hearing next week.

The case, T.M. v. Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey, was the first clergy sexual…

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The Catholic Diocese of Lincoln released a statement last month regarding sexual abuse allegations against a priest.

According to the diocese, a woman came forward alleging that she was sexually abused as a minor in 1993, when Father Scott Courtney was a seminarian in Lincoln.

The diocese said they promptly reported the allegations to local law enforcement, but no criminal charges were filed.

An internal investigation was launched within the diocese and the diocesan review board was consulted.

As a result, Bishop James Conley has limited Courtney’s ministerial assignment to providing spiritual support to the retired priests of the diocese.

According to the diocese, Courtney has denied these allegations.

“The Diocese of Lincoln remains committed to the protection of our most vulnerable members, especially young adults and children,” the diocese said in a statement. “We take all allegations of misconduct seriously and have protocols in place specifically designed to…

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[See also a PDF of the letter.]

Dear Delbarton Community,

We previously wrote to you about the civil trial in a sexual abuse lawsuit against St. Mary’s Abbey and Delbarton School in Morris County Superior Court when jury deliberations commenced on Monday.

Today, the verdict in this case was announced, finding St. Mary’s Abbey and Delbarton School liable for plaintiff’s damages. The jury awarded total damages of $5 million of which St. Mary’s Abbey and Delbarton are responsible for 65%, or $3.25 million.

Crucially, the jury unanimously found that St. Mary’s Abbey and Delbarton School did not violate the New Jersey Child Sex Abuse Act, meaning we did not know of the alleged abuse and there was no intentional misconduct. The jury will reconvene next week to determine if any punitive damages are to be added to this verdict.

We are still extremely disappointed in the verdict in this…

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A former student at the elite Delbarton School in New Jersey who said he was sexually assaulted a half-century ago by a monk at the school has been awarded $5 million in damages.

The historic verdict in the first civil trial against the Catholic Church in New Jersey was reached by a panel of four women and two men Wednesday after less than two days of deliberation.

“We are extremely disappointed in the verdict in this trial,” the school said in a statement shortly after the verdict was announced. “We do not believe that the damages awarded are either fair or reasonable, and our legal representatives are considering all legal options.”

There was no immediate comment from the former student, who had been identified only as T.M. during the five-week trial in Morris County Superior Court, or his lawyers who have been barred by…

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