ABUSE TRACKER

A former New Bedford priest is being sued by an Acushnet man who was once an altar boy at St. Anthony of Padua parish for alleged sexual abuse that took place more than 30 years ago when he was 12 and 13 years old. 

The Rev. Richard Degagne is accused of repeatedly sexually abusing Jason Medeiros in a lawsuit that was filed in Bristol County Superior Court on July 18. 

According to the lawsuit, Medeiros was a student and altar boy at St. Anthony of Padua Church from 1988 to 1991, from 12 to 15 years old. He also participated in a Catholic youth group at St. Anthony of Padua Church under the direction of Degagne during that same time.

Degagne allegedly abused Medeiros at least three times in his rectory bedroom and at least two times in his car when Medeiros was 12 and 13. Degagne also allegedly…

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A lower court in Costa Rica ruled that the Catholic Church in the Central American country must pay about $100,000 to a victim of sexual abuse committed by a former priest. The judgment will be appealed.

According to a local media report, on Aug. 23 a lower court issued the judgment against the Costa Rican Bishops’ Conference; the archbishop of San José, José Rafael Quirós Quirós; and temporalities (income, properties, stipends, etc.) of the Archdiocese of San José, accused of covering up sexual abuse by former priest Mauricio Víquez Lizano.

The compensation to be paid to Carlos Alberto Muñoz Quirós, a victim of Víquez Lizano, amounts to 65 million colones, or about $100,000. The court also ordered that the archdiocese pay the costs of the trial: 10.6 million colones, about $16,000.

According to crhoy.com (Costa Rica Today), the decision states that “with regard to Muñoz Quirós (the victim), Quirós Quirós…

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Several months ago the Times Union reported that Catholic High in Troy would be closing its doors and that its students would be moving to St. Ambrose in Latham in the Fall. Shortly thereafter it was announced that the Catholic High building in Troy had been sold for $5 million, so clearly those students were going to have to move somewhere.
 
It is not surprising that the diocese is closing an inner city school to move to a more affluent community as their business model for years has been to pack up and get out of the cities and move to the suburbs where the money is. The diocese’s business model seems to be to generate as much revenue as it can while reducing its services to those most in need.
 
At one time the saying “WWJD” (what would Jesus do) was in vogue with the diocese, but the diocese has strayed…

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[Via National Catholic Reporter]

Retired Archbishop Rembert Weakland, who was the ninth archbishop of Milwaukee from 1977 until his retirement in 2002, died overnight at Clement Manor in Greenfield after a long illness, the archdiocese announced Aug. 22. The prelate, who lived at the residence, was 95.

“For a quarter of a century, Archbishop Weakland led the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and his leadership embodied his Benedictine spirit,” said Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki. “His pastoral letter, ‘Eucharist without Walls,’ evoked his love for the Eucharist and its call to service.”

“During his time, he emphasized an openness to the implementation of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, including the role of lay men and women in the church, the celebration of the sacred liturgy, ecumenical dialogue and addressing societal issues, especially economic justice,” he added. “May he now rest in peace.”

Funeral arrangements were pending.

Raised in western Pennsylvania and…

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Archbishop Weakland died Aug. 22 after a long illness. He resigned as Milwaukee’s archbishop in 2002 after revelations that the archdiocese had paid $450,000 to silence Paul J. Marcoux, an adult seminarian with whom he had had a sexual relationship.

Jesuit Father James Martin said he was sorry Tuesday for not having been clearer about the “sins and crimes” of Archbishop Rembert Weakland, in an earlier tweet noting the death of the Benedictine and retired prelate.

“Last night many people were angered by two tweets about Archbishop Rembert Weakland, who committed many sins and crimes, and who died at 95. Obviously I condemn his covering up of sex abuse and his paying out hush money,” Father Martin, an editor at large for America magazine, wrote on Twitter Aug. 23.

“I can see how people thought I was downplaying (or even ignoring) his sins and crimes. I’m sorry for not being clearer about…

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The Civil Court of the First Judicial Circuit of San José sentenced the Episcopal Conference and Archbishop José Rafael Quirós to pay ¢65 million colones for moral damages to the victim of sexual abuse by the former priest Mauricio Víquez Lizano.

The victim’s lawyer, Rodolfo Alvarado, confirmed the information, saying there are still two more lawsuits against the Catholic Church for acts attributed to the former priest.

Alvarado pointed out that the Catholic Church was involved in a cover-up by not taking action when the complaints were made against the former priest. The complainants assure that Quirós was aware of Víquez’s actions, but he delayed the internal complaints.

The Episcopal Conference announced that they will present an appeal before the First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice.

In March, Víquez Lizano was sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping and sexually abusing an 11-year-old boy in 2003, the…

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Acushnet – An Acushnet man and former altar boy at St. Anthony of Padua parish is suing a former New Bedford priest for alleged sexual abuse he says took place over three decades ago.

In a lawsuit filed in Bristol Superior Court in late July, Jason Medeiros alleges that Father Richard Degagne sexually abused him on multiple occasions.

The alleged abuse took place in or around New Bedford and while on an overnight trip to Maine in 1988, when Medeiros was 12 years old.

Father Richard Degagne is one of three priests the Fall River Diocese agreed in December were “credibly accused” of child abuse.

The Diocese said at the time that Degagne was suspended in 2019 and would not be returning to ministry, although the former priest denied the allegations.

Degagne, who was ordained in 1982 and is in his late 60s, was affiliated with St. Anthony of Padua Parish in New Bedford from…

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The Benedictine monk was one of the leading liberal voices in the Catholic Church before his resignation in 2002

Rembert G. Weakland, a Benedictine monk who became a leading liberal voice within the Catholic Church and served for 25 years as archbishop of Milwaukee, resigning his post in 2002 amid revelations of a financial settlement with a man who had been his lover decades earlier, died Aug. 22 at a retirement center in Greenfield, Wis. He was 95.

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee announced his death but did not cite a cause.

For years, until his embattled final days in office, Archbishop Weakland was one of the most prominent American prelates in the Catholic Church. He was by all accounts a formidable intellect — he spoke six languages and was a musical prodigy who had studied at Juilliard as well as the seminary — and brought to his ministry…

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Archbishop Weakland of Milwaukee was a liberal lion who worked to trash the Catholic Church’s tradition — and covered up sex abuse

Former Milwaukee Catholic Archbishop Rembert Weakland has died, aged 95. He was an archliberal who was at the forefront of just about everything bad that happened to the Catholic Church in America since the 1960s — including sex abuse.

Not that you would know it from the response that Vatican Pride ambassador James Martin, SJ, tweeted to his repose [see below].

I don’t at all blame Father Martin for mourning the passing of a friend, however great a sinner the friend was. But “legacy was marred” is doing a lot of work there. They recall the words of Boston’s then-Cardinal Archbishop Bernard Law to the serial pedophile Father John Geoghan, upon Geoghan’s retirement after cornholing little boys in a number of parishes: “Yours has been an effective life…

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The death of Archbishop Rembert Weakland has thrown the spotlight back on the corruption of the American hierarchy. While the late archbishop was himself involved in both sexual abuse and financial misconduct, let me focus here on another aspect of the corruption, which extends far beyond this one individual: the routine of lies and, still worse, the contempt for people who told the truth.

Most American bishops were not personally involved in sexual abuse. But most—at least most of those whose responses were exposed to public view during the “Long Lent” of 2002—were guilty of misleading their people about abuse and abusers. Few were as relentless as the late Archbishop Weakland in the campaign against whistle-blowers. But the media coverage during that unforgettable sad and scandalous year showed a shockingly familiar pattern:

When confronted with evidence that a priest had abused a child, our bishops:

1. Denied the evidence.
2. When…

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Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland, a liberal critic of Vatican orthodoxy who led the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee for 25 years but resigned on the eve of retirement in a scandal over a long-secret love affair with a man, died on Monday at his home in Clement Manor, a retirement community in Greenfield, Wis. He was 95.

His death was announced by the archdiocese.

An intellectual touchstone for progressive Catholic reformers, Archbishop Weakland, over the course of a distinguished if often controversial half-century career, was head of the worldwide order of Benedictine monks for a decade, presided in a rocky tenure over the Milwaukee archdiocese’s 700,000 Catholics, wrote many books and was an influential voice among the nation’s Catholic bishops.

But after an ecclesiastical life that lifted him from poverty in a Pennsylvania coal town to one step below the College of Cardinals — he was the recipient…

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Archbishop Rembert Weakland, formerly of Milwaukee, died Monday. He was 95 years old.

Weakland is widely regarded as one of the most ignominious Churchmen in American Catholic history.

The bishop was, in his day, the lion of the American Catholic left — he called for the ordination of women, excoriated the Church’s teaching on sexuality and contraception, and urged his priests to conduct “experiments” in living – urging them out of their parish rectories, and into apartments instead. He was regarded as a liturgical “innovator” par excellence. 

While he advocated for a broader social safety net for the poor, Weakland also lobbied to give abuse victims less time to file in court, and urged “flexibility” on legal tolerance for abortion. 

But while his record as a bishop and teacher of the faith might have otherwise been debated among Catholics, the details of his personal life, and his handling of sexual abuse,…

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This afternoon, it was announced that former Archbishop Rembert Weakland died at age 95.

His legacy, no doubt, will be described as “complex” and “controversial” — appointed to run the Milwaukee Archdiocese, he soon became the liberal icon of the American hierarchy, his hopes to become a Cardinal dashed with the ascendency of John Paul II and the return and triumph of the conservative church. His many gifts, his concert-level piano playing, his mastery of several languages, and his intellect — will be enumerated and praised. 

Yet the specter that cast itself over the life of Weakland, one that his death will not erase or ameliorate, is his role as chief architect in the widespread and systematic abuse of children by clergy of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Thousands of children were harmed under his watch, and he bears the responsibility. 

During his tenure as Archbishop of Milwaukee, Weakland transferred dozens…

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[Via Port Pirie Recorder]

A deceased choirboy’s father will be able to pursue civil action against the Catholic Church after a Victorian court ruled the clergy cannot use a legal loophole.

The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is seeking damages against the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and Cardinal George Pell in the Supreme Court.

He claims to have suffered nervous shock after being informed of allegations Cardinal Pell had sexually assaulted his son in the mid-1990s. Cardinal Pell has always maintained his innocence.

The Catholic Church tried to be excused from the proceedings by relying on the Ellis defence, arguing the man could not sue as he was not the direct victim of the alleged sexual abuse.

Up until 2018, the church could use the defence to deny liability to sexual abuse victims.

The case is believed to be the first to test the whether the Legal…

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Retired Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland, a once-towering figure in the American Catholic Church who spent his final years in virtual exile after a public fall from grace, has died. He was 95.

He suffered a long illness and died overnight at Clement Manor, a Greenfield senior living center, the archdiocese said Monday. 

Weakland served as Milwaukee archbishop for 25 years before stepping down in 2002 amid a scandal that involved paying hush money to a man who had accused him of sexual assault. Weakland had denied the allegations. He would come out as openly gay — possibly the first Catholic bishop to voluntarily do so — in his 2009 memoir “A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church.”

His resignation came as the public was beginning to grasp the scope of the church’s global crisis involving the sexual abuse of minors. Weakland, who protected abusive priests and at least initially treated complaints about them with…

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Bishop of Derry warns against dumbing down church teaching to adapt to changing cultural priorities

Abuse of children by priests was addressed “clearly, directly and very movingly” in the synthesis report sent to Rome last week by the Irish Catholic Church, people attending the novena at Knock were told on Monday.

“The darkest place in our Catholic story is clerical and institutional abuse,” said Archbishop of Tuam Francis Duffy in a homily during Mass in the Basilica. In the synthesis report “it is referred to as an ‘open wound’ that was concealed by the church for so long. Those who participated in the synodal preparations identified a sense of loss, anger, betrayal, estrangement, in addition to the deeply personal and living sense of hurt. There is also a clear desire for healing,” he said.

The Archbishop noted how “significantly” the synthesis report “links abuse to other aspects of life where…

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Sylvia MacEachern said she will no longer update the site or allow people to post comments because of concerns that she “may be doing more harm than good.”

An Ottawa woman who has devoutly catalogued the clergy sexual abuse scandal in Canada for more than a decade has decided to shut down her encyclopedic blog known as Sylvia’s Site.

In a recent post, Sylvia MacEachern said she will no longer update the site or allow people to post comments because of concerns that she “may be doing more harm than good.”

MacEachern, a practising Catholic, said she has been deeply pained to see “diocese after diocese” forced to sell off churches to settle victims’ damage claims.

“Countless good, decent Roman Catholics are suffering because a diocese was sued for the sins and crimes of defiant, deviant priests who, in pursuing their own perverted passions, betrayed the faithful entrusted to their…

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[Via Union of Catholic Asian News]

The independent commission wants those living abroad to submit testimonies, especially during their summer home visits

An independent commission investigating sexual abuse in Portugal’s Catholic Church urged more victims to submit testimonies, especially during summer home visits by citizens living abroad.

“In our work as a voice in the silence, we continue appealing to all adults who may have been victims as children,” said the commission’s chairman, Pedro Strecht.

“We make the same request to all members of the church who can spread this message as they consider appropriate, such as in homilies or on parish door notices.”

The child psychiatrist spoke at a Lisbon media conference Aug. 17, nine months after the six-member commission was set up by Portugal’s Catholic bishops.

He said he was concerned to reach the 2.3 million Portuguese, 20% of the population, currently living outside the country, a “significant…

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The crackdown particularly continues to target the Catholic Church, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom says in a comprehensive report.

Dated August 2022, the USCIRF’s report on Nicaragua is a powerful indictment of the massive violations of freedom of religion or belief perpetrated by the Marxist, pro-Russian, and pro-Chinese regime of President Daniel Ortega.

The USCIRF, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom,  is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission created by the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). Its Commissioners are appointed by the President and by Congressional leaders of both political parties.

The report notes that “Nicaragua is embroiled in a social and political crisis that started after the government’s repression of peaceful protests in April 2018.” Catholic support for the protesters led to a crackdown on the Catholic Church.

“Since 2018, the report summarizes, government actors and citizens sympathetic to the regime…

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Why have over half of the Gen Z youths lost faith and confidence in organized religion? Societal upbringing is one cause, but there are several other causes.

America’s trust in organized religion has reached another all-time low. In fact, people were more than twice as likely to have a robust confidence in organized religion in the 1970s than they are today. According to Gallup, 65% of adults (ages 18 and up) in the 1970s said that they had a “great deal of trust” in organized religion, while this number has fallen to just 31% today.1

But organized religion is not the only institution where trust has eroded significantly. Gallup has been surveying people’s trust in other institutions for over forty years. Over that period of time, the percentage of Americans who have “a great deal” of trust in the medical system has fallen from 80% to 38%. Similarly, trust in the…

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The Italian cardinal at the center of a historic Vatican trial on corruption and mismanagement, said on Sunday that Pope Francis had invited him to the consistory for the creation of 21 new cardinals, to be held on Saturday in Rome.

“On Saturday, the pope phoned me to tell me that I will be reinstated in my cardinal duties and to ask me to participate in a meeting with all the cardinals that will be held in the coming days in Rome,” Cardinal Angelo Becciu reportedly said Sunday, during a private Mass celebrated before a group of faithful in Italy’s Golfo Aranci, where he is vacationing.

He shared the story with those in attendance to explain why he will not be “able to be present” during next Sunday’s Mass because he will be “busy in Rome.”

The prelate’s lawyer, Ivano Iai, confirmed the information to a local news outlet: “An invitation…

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A mediation plan is being negotiated by the church and attorneys for more than 440 alleged victims of abuse who have filed lawsuits

Dozens of personnel files for clergy and others associated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany as of midday on Friday had not been turned over to the attorneys for hundreds of victims who allege they were sexually abused as children.

Despite court orders instructing the diocese to turn over the materials, and public proclamations by Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger and other officials that the diocese is being transparent, the attorneys said more than half of the treatment and personnel files for roughly 60 accuses priests had not been disclosed before a Friday court conference.

The pre-trial discovery process is supposed to unfold as a slow-moving mediation plan is being negotiated by the church and attorneys for more than 440 alleged victims of abuse who have filed…

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More than four decades after sexual abuse claims against a Catholic priest first made national headlines, spurring accusations, lawsuits, a series of newspaper investigations and billions in settlements, the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating a religious group’s handling of sexual crimes by clergy and church staff. 

This time, the Southern Baptist Convention is under investigation, according to a statement released Friday by leaders of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.

News of the investigation came months after the release of a report from the investigative firm Guidepost Solutions that found SBC leaders had mistreated abuse survivors and mishandled abuse claims for decades.

The SBC’s Nashville-based Executive Committee acknowledged that it had received a subpoena from the Department of Justice. Leaders from Southern Baptist seminaries, missionary groups, the Executive Committee and other entities promised to cooperate fully.

Texas pastor Bart Barber, the SBC’s newly elected president, also signed the…

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The Vatican said Thursday it will not hold a trial against Marc Cardinal Ouellet over allegations he sexually assaulted a woman.

Ouellet, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops, was accused of sexual assault in a civil suit filed this week against the Archdiocese of Quebec.

A Vatican spokesman said Aug. 18 that the conclusion of a preliminary investigation by Father Jacques Servais, SJ, found “that there are no elements to initiate a trial against Cardinal Ouellet for sexual assault.”

AFP reported that a class action suit, filed Aug. 16, includes the testimony of 101 people who say they were sexually assaulted by clerics or Church staff from 1940 to the present. Eighty-eight clerics face accusations in the suit.

Ouellet is accused by a woman who says that he assaulted her multiple times while she worked as a pastoral intern for the Quebec archdiocese between 2008 and 2010, while…

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On August 12, 2022, the Federal Bankruptcy Court in the City of Camden adjourned the Plan of Reorganization Confirmation Hearing scheduled for August 29, 2022 until October 3, 2022. In response to this delay, Bishop Dennis Sullivan, Bishop of the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey stated: “After nearly two years and nearly unanimous support from almost every survivor, the Bankruptcy Court’s adjournment of the confirmation hearing is very unfortunate.” 

In April 2022, after nearly 8 months of intense negotiation and mediation with the Tort Claimant’s Committee, the Diocese filed a joint Plan of Reorganization seeking to pay over $87.5 million to the approximately 300 survivors of clerical abuse who have filed claims during the Chapter 11 process. 

Over 97.8% of survivors voted in favor of the Tort Claimants’ Committee/Diocese of Camden Plan of Reorganization.  A total of 270 of the 276 voting survivors accepted the Plan of Reorganization.  On August…

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Donations allegedly spent on live sex shows. Fr Luke Seguna denies wrongdoing

Marsaxlokk parish priest Luke Seguna is believed to have spent nearly €150,000 of parishioners’ money on pornographic websites as he faces accusations of money laundering in court.

Sources close to the investigation told Times of Malta that Seguna was accused of misappropriating parishioners’ donations and used large volumes on the sites that provide live sex shows by performing artists against a fee.

It is understood that this went on for several years.   

Seguna is believed to have told investigators he was struggling with a “sexual crisis” triggered by a major health problem at the time. 

When contacted, his lawyers José Herrera and Matthew Xuereb, said their client denies any wrongdoing.

“It must be pointed out that our client is in no way accused of any related offence. We further emphasise that, at this point in time, our client is presumed…

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 A preliminary Vatican investigation into allegations against Cardinal Marc Ouellet concluded there was not sufficient evidence to warrant opening up formal proceedings against the cardinal for sexual assault, a Vatican spokesman said.

However, the Jesuit who did the investigation was a long-time associate of the cardinal.

Pope Francis has been made aware of these findings and, after further consultation, has declared that “there are insufficient elements to open a canonical investigation for sexual assault by Cardinal Ouellet against person F,” Matteo Bruni, head of the Vatican press office, said in a written statement Aug. 18.

Bruni wrote that a preliminary investigation ordered by Francis had been completed and that it concluded there were no facts or “elements to initiate a trial against Cardinal Ouellet for sexual assault.” The Canadian cardinal is prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Bishops.

Bruni confirmed that Belgian Jesuit Fr. Jacques Servais had been chosen by…

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Priests, pastors and bishops from various faiths say both sides of an apparent collision of ideals are sacred to them: protecting children from all forms of abuse, and keeping confessions confidential so penitents feel safe and motivated to acknowledge and stop their sinful — and sometimes criminal — behavior.

The tension between doctrines about confessions and the impulse to protect children through mandatory reporting laws raises important legal, societal and religious questions about how religious leaders try to focus on and prioritize rescuing victims of abuse while also providing spiritual help to the person who has confessed.

Spiritual confessions have been shielded from government eyes, police investigations and courts for hundreds of years by legal exemptions called the clergy-penitent privilege, similar to privilege given to attorneys and their clients. But seven U.S. states and most states and territories in Australia now designate clergy members as mandatory reporters of…

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“The entire operation of the help line,” says Pulitzer-winning journalist Michael Rezendes, “…is enveloped in secrecy.”

Earlier this month, an Associated Press investigation of several child sex abuse cases, including a particularly horrific one in Arizona, revealed that the much-debated “help line” supplied by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for its lay leaders failed to protect the victims.

The expose brought responses of dismay, disgust and anger from insiders and outsiders alike — and the reverberations are still being felt.

On The Salt Lake Tribune’s latest “Mormon Land” podcast, AP journalist Michael Rezendes — who previously earned a Pulitzer Prize with The Boston Globe for uncovering the Catholic Church’s pattern of covering up clergy sex abuse as part of the team dramatized in the Oscar-winning film “Spotlight” — talked about the story, how he came upon it, how he reported it and how it compares to his previous reporting on…

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This coming Saturday, Pope Francis will hold a consistory to create new cardinals, followed by two days of meetings with all cardinals to discuss his reform of the Roman Curia. In between he’ll visit the central Italian city of L’Aquila, and although papal outings inside Italy generally are low-key affairs, this one is destined to draw saturation coverage.

The reason is because L’Aquila is home to the tomb of Celestine V, the last pope to voluntarily resign the papacy before Benedict XVI. When Benedict visited Celestine’s resting place in 2009, he left behind the pallium, or stole, which he’d received at his election – and, with the benefit of hindsight, that gesture was seen as foreshadowing Benedict’s own resignation in 2013.

As a result, observers will be hyper-attentive during Francis’s brief Aug. 28 trip to see if he drops any hints about the current state of…

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The Vatican cardinal accused in a class-action lawsuit in Canada of sexual assault against a woman on Friday denied any inappropriate behavior and said he would vigorously fight the “false” and “defamatory” accusations if the case proceeds.

Cardinal Marc Ouellet issued his own statement via the Vatican press office a day after the Holy See said a preliminary church investigation into the woman’s allegations determined the case didn’t warrant further investigation or canonical trial.

The back-to-back statements were responding to lawyers in Quebec who recently filed a class-action compliant by 101 alleged victims accusing 88 prelates of sexual abuse and assault over decades.

Ouellet, who headed the Quebec archdiocese from 2002-2010, was accused by a woman identified only as “F” of several alleged incidents of unwanted touching, including sliding his hand down her back and touching her buttocks at a 2010 event in Quebec City.

In…

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Canadian cardinal Marc Ouellet on Friday (Aug. 19) strongly denied claims of sexual assault made against him and said he was ready to prove his “innocence.”

Ouellet is accused of abusing a female intern, identified only as “F,” from 2008 to 2010, when he was archbishop of Quebec.

The 78-year-old, who was once considered a strong candidate to be pope, was named in court documents this week relating to a class action suit targeting more than 80 members of the clergy in the archdiocese of Quebec.

He rejected the accusations in a statement, a day after the Vatican said it ruled out a formal church investigation.

“Having learnt of the false accusations made against me by the complainant, I strongly deny having made inappropriate gestures towards her,” he said.

“I consider the interpretation and circulation of these allegations of sexual assaults to be defamatory.

“If a civil inquiry is…

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The rally, calling for mandatory reporting of child sex abuse, comes after an AP report revealed that the faith’s “help line” failed to protect sex abuse victims.

Scores of Utahns gathered on the state Capitol steps Friday night with a plea.

That plea, written across a yellow banner, read “We petition the Lord and President Nelson, protect LDS children.”

The demonstration, drawing about 100 protesters and hosted by Mandate Clergy Reporting, came after a recent Associated Press report revealed that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints used a “help line” in a number of cases to keep sexual abuse accusations against members from being reported to law enforcement.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Protesters gather on the steps of the Capitol, for a rally to gain support for removing the clergy exemption from mandatory reporting in cases of abuse and neglect, on Friday, Aug….

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An Arizona judge overseeing a high-profile lawsuit accusing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of conspiring to cover-up child sex abuse has ruled that the church may not refuse to answer questions or turn over documents under the state’s “clergy-penitent privilege.”

Clergy in Arizona, as in many other states, are required to report information about child sexual abuse or neglect to law enforcement or child welfare authorities. But an exception to that law — the privilege — allows members of the clergy who learn of the abuse through spiritual confessions to keep the information secret.

Judge Laura Cardinal ruled on Aug. 8 that the late Paul Adams waived his right to keep his confessions secret when he posted videos of himself sexually abusing his two daughters on the Internet, boasted of the abuse on social media, and confessed to federal law enforcement agents, who arrested him in 2017 with…

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(For Immediate Release August 18, 2022) 

According to a statement released by the Vatican today, Pope Francis has concluded that there are insufficient grounds for a canonical investigation into the accusations of sexual assault against Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet. The Vatican statement noted that the Pope consulted with Father Jacques Servais, who confirmed that position with these words: “There are no grounds to open an investigation into the sexual assault undergone by person ‘F.’ by Cardinal M. Ouellet. Neither in the written report sent to the Holy Father nor in the testimony via Zoom that I subsequently gathered in the presence of a member of the Diocesan Ad Hoc Committee, did this person make any accusation that would provide grounds for such an investigation.”

To us, it appears that the Pope has passed up a perfect chance to demonstrate that even those closest to him, such…

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There is not enough evidence to open a formal church investigation into sexual assault allegations against a prominent Quebec cardinal, Pope Francis declared Thursday.

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, an adviser to the Pope, has been accused of sexual misconduct in a class-action lawsuit filed earlier this week in Quebec Superior Court. A woman identified as “F.” accused the cardinal, once considered a front-runner to become pope, of several incidents of sexual assault between 2008 and 2010, including sliding his hand down her back and touching her buttocks at an event in Quebec City.

The lawsuit says the woman wrote a letter to Pope Francis in January 2021 regarding Ouellet and was informed that the Pope appointed Father Jacques Servais to conduct a preliminary investigation into her allegations.

Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See press office, issued a statement on Thursday quoting Servais, who said, “there are no grounds to open…

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After Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet was accused by a woman of sexual assault in a class-action lawsuit introduced this week, more women have come forward with similar allegations against members of the province’s Catholic Church.

At least three women filed formal sexual assault complaints against the archdiocese of Montreal since the allegations against Ouellet were made public, Christine Kirouack, ombudswoman for the city’s archdiocese, said in an interview Wednesday.

“It exploded since yesterday,” Kirouack said about the introduction in Superior Court of two class-action lawsuits against members of the Catholic Church in Quebec, involving hundreds of alleged victims.

It was the media reports about the allegations against the cardinal, however, that led to numerous calls to Kirouack from women. She said the high-profile allegations by an adult woman broke the stereotype commonly associated with church abuse — that it involves young children, mostly boys.

“One of them told…

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Governor Spencer Cox on Thursday signaled his support for a bill to mandate clergy to report any disclosures of abuse to the proper authorities.

Bills are being planned on Utah’s Capitol Hill to remove the clergy-penitent privilege in abuse reporting laws. It follows an Associated Press investigation surrounding The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ abuse “help line” that claims the system can divert accusations away from law enforcement to church attorneys. The Latter-day Saint faith has disputed the reporting.

Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, told FOX 13 News that she was re-filing a bill she initially brought forward in 2020. The bill faced significant and heated pushback from faith-based groups.

This year, she is not alone in pushing the issue. Rep. Phil Lyman, R-Blanding, said he was also planning a similar piece of legislation. Utah is a state that mandates that any disclosure of abuse be reported to…

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Geoff Drew was a lay minister when he raped an altar boy 30 years ago

After living in a “hell” created by the Catholic music minister who raped him more than 30 years ago, Paul Neyer told police in July 2019 that he was ready to file criminal charges against his rapist, Geoff Drew, who had become pastor of one of the Cincinnati area’s largest parishes.

“I felt like I had an obligation to protect kids,” Neyer told the WCPO 9 I-Team.

Based on Neyer’s emotional testimony, a Hamilton County Grand Jury indicted Drew on 9 counts of rape.

If convicted, there was a chance Drew would live the rest of his life in prison.

“I wanted 32 years — an eye for an eye,” Neyer said on Monday during an interview with the WCPO 9 I-Team. “The years that I struggled through this entire thing, I give it back…

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Education Review Office chief executive Nicholas Pole wants more support for children facing a stand-down or exclusion from school.

Appearing before the Royal Commission on Abuse in Care, Pole said families needed help navigating schools’ disciplinary processes.

“My own view is there should be greater protections and greater advocacy and support for whānau going through the process of having their child stood-down or excluded.”

Too many children who were excluded from a school were being enrolled with correspondence school Te Kura instead of being re-enrolled with another regular school, Pole said.

High levels of exclusion and stand-downs were often linked to poor practices in schools, he said.

“Often it is a manifestation of the quality of teaching, the quality of leadership, the quality of governance, practices and systems in the school and a lack of that collective teacher efficacy where teachers are working together to make sure every single learner…

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A Canadian church plans to terminate a rental agreement with a Christian school due to its connection to a lawsuit involving former students accusing local private school officials of abuse. 

Forest Grove Community Church of Saskatoon made a public announcement Monday that it will terminate Grace Christian School’s lease next month.

At issue is a Grace Christian employee being named in a class-action lawsuit by several former students of another school, Legacy Christian Academy, over allegations of abuse by school officials, including allegations of forced exorcisms. 

The termination comes after it was discovered that Grace Christian School had hired staff who previously worked at LCA. Last week, Saskatchewan’s education ministry appointed administrators to oversee LCA, Grace Christian and a third school that employs someone named in the lawsuit, Regent Academy in Prince Albert. 

“Forest Grove Community Church’s operations staff and church leadership have reviewed our…

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A Catholic priest who stepped aside from his Westwood church four years ago amid sexual assault allegations has reemerged at a church resource center in Newark that serves abuse victims, pregnant women and other vulnerable populations.

The Rev. Jim Weiner, who took a leave of absence from the Church of St. Andrew in 2018 amid decades-old allegations, has been reassigned to the Mercy House in Newark, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Newark confirmed this week. The archdiocese said an investigation into the accusations against Weiner had closed, but it offered no further details.

“The Archdiocese of Newark has returned Father James Weiner to ministry to serve the needs of the poor and vulnerable,” spokeswoman Maria Margiotta said in an email this week. “A re-review of an allegation of misconduct with an adult originally reported almost 20 years ago has concluded and the matter regarding Father Weiner has been closed.”

Asked…

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It was a somewhat lonely vigil Friday morning for Robert Hoatson.

Hoatson, a New Jersey-based advocate for those abused by Catholic clergy, waved to occasional drivers on Richards Avenue in front of St. Mary’s-Sacred Heart School and debated with a few passersby as he called for the Fall River Diocese and Bishop Edgar da Cunha to disclose more information about allegations against a local pastor, the Rev. Rodney Thibault.

“Thibault should be exposed for what he did here,” Hoatson told a small gaggle of reporters gathered on the sidewalk. “We don’t know what the offense was.”

The diocese says it can’t make more information public while its investigation is underway.

Last weekend, parishioners of the Transfiguration of the Lord Parish were told Thibault, pastor since 2019, is the subject of an investigation into “alleged misconduct that is inconsistent with standards of ministerial behavior and in direct violation of…

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Thousands of New Jersey Catholics gathered over the past year in an unprecedented series of meetings designed to help steer the future of the church.

The consensus, officials say, was clear: The Catholic Church needs to open its arms more to women, immigrants, LGBTQ individuals and others who feel marginalized by the faith.

The desire for more inclusivity was a major theme in discussions with 16,000 parishioners in four of New Jersey’s Catholic dioceses, according to summaries released recently by each diocese. While responses varied widely, many at the listening sessions said they too often feel unwelcome. Participants also cited distress at the church’s handling of the clergy abuse scandal.

“The challenge remains,” Trenton Bishop David O’Connell said in a statement, for the church “to determine ways to address and minimize the hurts felt by people.”

The surveys conducted by the Trenton, Camden, Paterson and Metuchen dioceses — representing almost 2.5…

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Earlier this week Canadian media reported that Canada’s Cardinal Marc Ouellet – a potential successor to the Pope and a noted conservative – has been accused of sexual misconduct as part of a class-action lawsuit brought against the Archdiocese of Quebec, one of two high-profile cases being brought against Catholic bodies in Canada.

In the lawsuit naming Ouellet, 101 alleged victims have accused upwards of 80 priests and diocesan staff of sexual abuse. A woman identified as F. in documents filed to the court accused Ouellet of inappropriate touching and massaging her back at a series of events in 2010 and kissing her in overly familiar manner in 2008, when she was a diocesan intern.

Pope Francis has determined, following a preliminary investigation by Jesuit Father Jacques Servais, that “there are insufficient grounds to open a canonical investigation for sexual assault by Cardinal Ouellet regarding person ‘F’.

Ouellet allegation could…

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Analysis: Cardinal Marc Ouellet

Canadian media reported Tuesday that Cardinal Marc Ouellet has been accused in a class-action lawsuit of inappropriately touching an intern, allegedly kissing her at a 2010 ordination party, and then sliding his hand down her back and touching her posterior.

The cardinal has not yet made a statement about the allegations, nor has the Holy See officially indicated whether any canonical process will be undertaken.

The allegations are the kind unlikely to be prosecuted as crimes, and neither guilt nor innocence is especially likely to be proved. Ouellet will most likely remain for some time in a middle ground, neither exonerated nor condemned. 

But the Vatican’s handling of the case already – in the 19 months since Pope Francis apparently learned of the allegations – is likely to draw criticism for the pontiff, renewing the frequent charge that Francis does not have a handle on addressing…

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Arthur Masse, 92, charged with assaulting 10-year-old girl at Fort Alexander school more than 50 years ago

WARNING: This story contains distressing details.

A retired priest accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl at a Manitoba residential school more than 50 years ago has pleaded not guilty.

Arthur Masse, now 92, was not in the Powerview, Man., court on Wednesday, but entered his plea through his lawyer. His case will go to a Court of Queen’s Bench judge-only trial in Winnipeg, but a trial date has not been set.

Masse was arrested in June after a decade-long investigation and now faces one charge of indecent assault.

RCMP say the victim was a student at Fort Alexander residential school in Sagkeeng First Nation, in eastern Manitoba, where Masse worked. 

Police haven’t named the victim, but 63-year-old Victoria McIntosh, of Sagkeeng First Nation, says she was the child at the centre of this case.

“I’ll be there…

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Church outlines its feelings on abuse and how a recent Associated Press story got it wrong

For generations, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have spoken in the strongest of terms about the evils of abuse and the need to care for those who are victims or survivors of abuse. From the thundering rebuke of former President Gordon B. Hinckley to the recent words of healing offered by Elder Patrick Kearon of the Presidency of the Seventy, our feelings are clear. We echo those sentiments and teachings today. Our hearts are broken as we learn of any abuse. It cannot be tolerated. It cannot be excused. The Savior Jesus Christ wants us all to do better and be better.

It is important to us that our members and friends understand how deeply we feel about this subject. It is also important that they have accurate information about how we approach…

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News agency says it “stands by its story” as reporter explains why he believes bishop knew of ongoing abuse.

A recent Associated Press article about a horrific case of child sexual abuse by a Latter-day Saint father in Arizona has “significant flaws in its facts and timeline, which lead to erroneous conclusions,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Wednesday evening in a scathing critique of the piece.

It was the Utah-based faith’s second response to the AP article published Aug. 4, written and reported by Michael Rezendes, a member of The Boston Globe’s investigative team that won a Pulitzer Prize for exposing clergy abuse in the Catholic Church.

The LDS Church’s initial response called the AP article an “oversimplified and incomplete” story about the faith’s handling of child sex abuse cases, but didn’t supply any examples of what was wrong with it.

Rezendes’ reporting centered on Paul Adams, a one-time…

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Alleged victim says Léopold Manirabarusha assaulted her more than 15 times

WARNING: This article contains details of abuse.

The archdiocese of Quebec removed a priest accused of sexual assault from his post in April of this year, just months after an alleged victim filed an official complaint against him.

But court documents from a new civil lawsuit against the archdiocese show at least one parish official knew of allegations against him more than four years earlier.

Details of the allegations against Léopold Manirabarusha were made public Tuesday in a class action that represents more than 100 victims. Some 88 members of the clergy are named in the lawsuit.

The allegations date back to 2016 and were made by a woman in her 30s who was working as a pastoral agent in Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, a town just west of Quebec City, at the time.

The woman, identified only as “F” in the court…

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Cardinal Marc Ouellet, one of the most prominent Catholic leaders in Canada, was accused of sexual assault in legal documents filed Tuesday in a Quebec court.

Ouellet, considered a candidate for pope in recent conclaves, is one of scores of church clergy, employees and volunteersaccused of sexual misconduct in a class-action lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Quebec.

In the lawsuit, a woman identified only as “F.” accuses Ouellet of inappropriate touching and comments when he was archbishop of Quebec and she was a pastoral intern. She said the alleged abuse left her feeling “troubled” and gave her a sense of “deep unease,” and eventually prompted her to complain to Pope Francis last year.

The Archdiocese of Quebec said Tuesday that it “took note” of the allegations and “will not have any comment.” A Vatican spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Ouellet, 78, is one of the most…

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‘It’s not the diocese’s to sell,’ says chair of non-profit group launching fundraising campaign

As the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation continues to sell church properties to compensate abuse victims, the volunteer group that runs St. Gabriel’s Hall in Marystown has launched a fundraiser to buy the building they’ve spent years caring for.

John Baker, chairperson of the group that runs St. Gabriel’s Hall — a former parish hall and 107-year-old heritage building — says the hall isn’t the church’s to sell because the building was built by people from Marystown and surrounding communities over a century ago. 

“I personally feel that this property shouldn’t go for sale. I personally feel that it’s not the diocese’s to sell,” Baker told CBC News on Wednesday.

St. Gabriel’s Hall operates as a community gathering place, housing a theatre, conference room, music school, café and veterans’ memorial. 

The Catholic church has been held liable by the Supreme Court for abuse…

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Besides a lack of reporting some of these cases to authorities, the Pulitzer-winning journalist points to document shredding and a lack of transparency by the Utah-based faith.

Earlier this month, an Associated Press investigation of several child sex abuse cases, including a particularly horrific one in Arizona, revealed that the much-debated “help line” supplied by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for its lay leaders failed to protect the victims.

The expose brought responses of dismay, disgust and anger from insiders and outsiders alike — and the reverberations are still being felt.

AP journalist Michael Rezendes, who previously earned a Pulitzer Prize with The Boston Globe for uncovering the Roman Catholic Church’s pattern of covering up clergy sex abuse while part of the team dramatized in the Oscar-winning film “Spotlight,” joins us on…

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After Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet was accused by a woman of sexual assault in a class-action lawsuit introduced this week, more women have come forward with similar allegations against members of the province’s Catholic Church.

At least three women filed formal sexual assault complaints against the archdiocese of Montreal since the allegations against Ouellet were made public, Christine Kirouack, ombudswoman for the city’s archdiocese, said in an interview Wednesday.

“It exploded since yesterday,” Kirouack said about the introduction in Superior Court of two class-action lawsuits against members of the Catholic Church in Quebec, involving hundreds of alleged victims.

It was the media reports about the allegations against the cardinal, however, that led to numerous calls to Kirouack from women. She said the high-profile allegations by an adult woman broke the stereotype commonly associated with church abuse — that it involves young children, mostly boys.

“One of them told me when…

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Affaire Marc Ouellet

Si, en 2021, les plus hautes autorités de l’Église catholique avaient respecté à la lettre un décret disciplinaire promulgué par le pape François lui-même, le nom du cardinal Marc Ouellet ne paraîtrait pas dans le tableau des victimes et des agresseurs dévoilé hier, le mardi 16 août 2022, par les avocats qui mènent le recours collectif contre l’archidiocèse de Québec.

L’enquêteur nommé par le pape dans cette affaire n’a toujours pas remis les résultats de son enquête à «la personne qui affirme avoir été offensée» par l’ex-archevêque de Québec.

Vos estis lux mundi

En mai 2019, le pape François a promulgué le motu proprio Vos estis lux mundi qui rappelle aux évêques et prélats du monde entier qu’ils peuvent eux aussi faire l’objet de mesures disciplinaires s’ils ont commis des inconduites ou des abus sexuels ou encore s’ils ont dissimulé de tels gestes…

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A North Carolina judge says the Nigerian statute of limitations prevents the case from going forward.

A North Carolina judge has dismissed a lawsuit alleging a missionary agency was responsible for abuse at a boarding school in Nigeria, ruling the statute of limitations in Nigeria prevents him from hearing the case.

“It was a gut punch—building yourself up for things, hoping, hoping, hoping, then having the rug pulled out from under you at the very last moment,” plaintiff Daniel Robinson, the son of Canadian missionaries, told CT.

The suit against SIM—formerly known as Soudan Interior Mission, Sudan Interior Mission, and Society for International Ministries—claims that seven employees at two schools in Jos and Miango, Nigeria, sexually abused children as young as five. The abuse reportedly went on from 1962 to 1981.

Six of those former missionary kids filed suit in December 2021, arguing the North Carolina–based missionary agency “breached its…

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Canadian cardinal Marc Ouellet, who has a high-ranking position within the Vatican, has been accused of sexual assault in a class action suit that targets more than 80 members of the clergy in the Quebec diocese, court documents showed Tuesday.

The accusation over the alleged abuse of a female intern in 2008 comes just weeks after Pope Francis visited Canada, where he apologized for the decades-long abuse of Indigenous children in Catholic-run residential schools.

Ouellet is a prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, one of the most important functions within the Curia, the government of the Vatican.

When contacted by AFP, the Quebec diocese said in a statement that it had “taken note of the allegations with respect to Cardinal Marc Ouellet” and had no further comment.

The claims against Ouellet in the civil suit, which the Quebec supreme court ruled could go ahead in May, are among testimonies of…

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Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, was accused of sexual assault in a civil suit filed against the Archdiocese of Quebec.

AFP reported that the class action suit, filed Aug. 16, includes the testimony of 101 people who say they were sexually assaulted by clerics or Church staff from 1940 to the present. Eighty-eight clerics face accusations in the suit.

Ouellet is accused by a woman who says that he assaulted her multiple times while she worked as a pastoral intern for the Quebec archdiocese between 2008 and 2010, while he was Archbishop of Quebec. She described him kissing her and sliding his hand down her back to her buttock.

According to the CBC, the alleged incidents involving Ouellet occurred at public events.

The suit says that the alleged victim wrote to Pope Francis about Ouellet in January 2021, and she received an email Feb. 23,…

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Cardinal Marc Ouellet is among 88 members of the clergy facing sexual assault allegations

The name of a prominent Vatican cardinal, who is regarded as a potential successor to Pope Francis, appears on a list made public as part of a new class action against the archdiocese of Quebec, Radio-Canada’s investigative program Enquête has found.

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who was the archbishop of Quebec when the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was taking place, is among some 88 members of the clergy who are facing allegations of sexual assault. It’s the first time Ouellet’s name appears in the legal proceedings.

The civil lawsuit represents more than 100 victims who were allegedly sexually assaulted, most of them as minors, by priests and other staff working for the archdiocese since 1940. 

Most of the assaults allegedly took place in the ’50s and ’60s, according to the class action documents. 

Ouellet is by far the most prominent person…

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A recent report on the public relations strategy used by Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki during a clerical sex abuse scandal has provoked renewed controversy, even after the cardinal’s March return from his six-month sabbatical initiated by Pope Francis, reported the German Catholic news agency KNA.

Tim Kurzbach, president of the Diocesan Council of Catholics in the Archdiocese of Cologne, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper Aug. 15 the cardinal should take another, longer sabbatical.

“I hope that someone will now soon take responsibility in the interests of the people in the Archdiocese of Cologne,” Kurzbach said.

Early the same day, the Catholic reform group Maria 2.0 symbolically blocked access to the administrative headquarters of the archdiocese by stretching red and white barrier tape across the entrance and attaching a photo of a padlock with the message: “Vicar General’s office Cologne CLOSED. Moral bankruptcy.”

In addition, 21 diocesan employees demanded…

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The door to the Vatican money vault appears to have been thrown open wider than ever before, revealing cause for both relief and concern.

The Holy See’s financial statement for 2021, released by the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy on Aug. 5, reflects that the Vatican is largely bouncing back from the financial downturn it suffered during the pandemic, but it is still far from being in the clear, posting a deficit in its annual budget and continuing to offload its assets to make ends meet. 

But what’s most striking about this year’s report is its scope, going well beyond that of past financial statements. In the previous fiscal year, the Holy See’s financial statement included only 60 entities operating as part of the Vatican. This year, that number has increased to 92 and for the first time includes the Vatican’s substantial pension funds and Peter’s Pence, a fund composed…

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A new report explores how a culture of clericalism contributes to the cover-up of sexual abuse by clergy in the Catholic Church. The study reveals a widespread belief among church personnel that a repression of sexuality, unhealthy power dynamics in Catholic settings and dated views on gender among church leaders foster a culture in which speaking up about wrongdoings is difficult.

The report, “‘Beyond Bad Apples’: Understanding Clergy Perpetrated Sexual Abuse as a Structural Problem & Cultivating Strategies for Change,” was researched and written by two professors at the Jesuit-sponsored Santa Clara University, Julie Hanlon Rubio and Paul J. Schutz. Dr. Rubio, who teaches Christian ethics at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, and Dr. Schutz, a teacher in the university’s religious studies department, interviewed hundreds of priests, members of religious communities and lay people working in the church to gather insight about the…

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When it comes to victims of child abuse there is no greater challenge to Faith

There is so much good that true Christians and the Church can do to help and heal the wounded. All Catholics must be good Samaritans if they aspire to be true Christians and followers of Jesus of Nazareth.

When it comes to victims of child abuse there is no greater challenge to Faith. If Faith is believing that goodness, love and truth will overcome evil then we need plenty of these virtues.

The task facing honest, morally committed Church leaders, bishops, priests and lay people is for them to be child defenders and healers, be child rights activists and support all victims in every way possible, report abuse and get victims to the protection and help of a therapy center.

All must actively oppose the evil of child abuse and trafficking and bring the perpetrators…

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Last year, the U.S. branch of the Jesuits pledged to raise $100 million for a reconciliation initiative in partnership with descendants of people once enslaved by the Catholic order. On Tuesday, a leader of those descendants expressed deep dissatisfaction with the order’s lack of progress since then.

Joseph Stewart, in a publicly released letter to the head of the order, contends the Jesuits have failed to uphold their side of the partnership with the urgency the circumstances demand. Stewart and other descendants are the progeny of 272 enslaved men, women and children sold in 1838 by the Jesuit owners of Georgetown University to Louisiana plantation owners to pay off the school’s debts.

The Jesuits “are in a state of disillusionment,” Stewart wrote, warning of the possible disintegration of the partnership between the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, and the GU272 Descendants Association, which represents those whose ancestors were…

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When a man in Springfield sued the Catholic Church over abuse he said he suffered at the hands of a bishop in the 1960s, the church tried to use a now-abolished law to claim it cannot be sued because of its status as a nonprofit organization. GBH News legal analyst and Northeastern University Law Professor Daniel Medwed joined Morning Edition hosts Paris Alston and Jeremy Siegel to talk about how the Supreme Judicial Court ruled in that case, along with a few other summer rulings. This transcript has been lightly edited.

Jeremy Siegel: It looks, Daniel, like it’s been a fairly busy summer for the Supreme Judicial Court. Tell us about some of the cases that have caught your eye.

Daniel Medwed: According to the court’s own rules, the SJC likes to issue opinions within 130 days of oral argument. What that means practically is that we’re seeing opinions now in cases that were…

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Is Catholicism the biggest trend of 2022 — or is there nothing to see here?

A recent New York Times headline proclaimed that “New York’s Hottest Club is the Catholic Church.” Written by Julia Yost, a senior editor at the conservative Christian intellectual journal First Things, the essay pointed readers’ attention to the Manhattan neighborhood known as “Dimes Square,” where a 2,000-year-old religion is supposedly the hip new trend. “Reactionary motifs are chic: Trump hats and ‘tradwife‘ frocks, monarchist and anti-feminist sentiments. Perhaps the ultimate expression of this contrarian aesthetic is its embrace of Catholicism,” Yost wrote.

Key figures include Honor Levy, who hosts the podcast “Wet Brain” and whose fiction has been published in The New Yorker. Levy “recently converted to Catholicism and lets you know when she has unconfessed mortal sins on her conscience,” Yost writes. Another is Dasha Nekrasova, “a Catholic…

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The Catholic Church’s group dealing with the Royal Commission into State and Faith-Based Care say it is studying a Cabinet paper released by Public Services Minister Chris Hipkins.

Hipkins has plans to cut a 3000-strong waiting list of claimants of abuse in state care – such as children’s homes – by making “rapid payments”.

Survivors of abuse in religious and faith-based settings are not included.

Hipkins said the new scheme would cover both state and religious claimants, but faith-based institutions would for now provide their own claims and redress processes.

“While we are engaging with faith-based institutions, it is currently up to each of them to determine whether to introduce faster payment processes,” he said.

“It’s worth noting that faith-based institutions can often settle claims more quickly than these agencies.”

Dave Mullin (pictured), who leads the Te Rōpū Tautoko catholic church group dealing with the Commission and the Crown Response…

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Pope Francis’ plans to visit the central Italian city of L’Aquila and its basilica Aug. 28 fueled speculation of a possible announcement of his resignation, which he has firmly denied.

L’Aquila’s basilica is the burial place of St. Celestine V, who issued a decree declaring the right of a pope to voluntarily resign, and then he did so in 1294. It was also where — on top of Pope Celestine’s glass casket — then-Pope Benedict XVI left his woolen pallium he had worn during his installation Mass — a gesture many wondered had been a sign of his resignation to come four years later.

In the more than 700 years that have passed since St. Celestine established this legal precedent, the right of a pope to resign remains ensured in church law.

The law is not very detailed, saying only that the decision must be made freely and “duly manifested,”…

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A former Catholic brother’s lawyer has conceded there is a case against his client in relation to a third person at a Brisbane court committal hearing.

Frank Terrence Keating, 79, is charged with 18 counts that include indecent dealing, indecent treatment and carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature.

Prosecutors allege Keating committed the offences – against four boys and one girl – while teaching at a Queensland school in the 1980s.

A third alleged victim and his family members on Tuesday gave evidence at Keating’s Brisbane Magistrates Court committal hearing.

Keating’s lawyer Terry O’Gorman conceded there was a prima facie case against his client for the third alleged victim on one charge after evidence was given in a closed court.

Mr O’Gorman on Monday had also conceded there was a case against Keating in relation to eight charges involving two other alleged victims.

Keating was due…

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The report, ‘Beyond Bad Apples,’ looks at systemic causes behind the clergy sex abuse scandal of past decades.

A new report based on interviews with some 300 Catholic priests, nuns and laypeople concludes that clergy aren’t adequately prepared to wield the power they exercise and need more education on questions of sex and gender.

The report, “Beyond Bad Apples: Understanding Clericalism as a Structural Problem & Cultivating Strategies for Change,” released Monday (Aug. 15), explores the links between clericalism — clergy’s focus on its authority — and clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse. 

The study’s authors, Julie Hanlon Rubio and Paul J. Schutz, both professors at Santa Clara University, a Jesuit institution in Northern California, initially intended to survey 600 respondents, drawn proportionally from lay, religious (those who take vows but are not ordained to the priesthood) and priests, but were turned away by five of the six dioceses and diocesan seminaries…

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Attorney Mitchell Garabedian and Robert Hoatson are asking that the North Attleborough Police conduct an independent investigation into allegations of misconduct against Rev. Rodney E. Thibault.

In a demonstration held outside the St. Mary’s-Sacred Heart School Friday morning, Garabedian and Hoatson said that the Catholic Church cannot be trusted to “self-police” in this matter, and an independent investigation is needed to determine the truth.

“Leaving the public out in the cold only frustrates the public,” said Garabedian in a Zoom call on Friday. “Advocates, sexual abuse victims, the public, want to know the truth.”

Hoatson is the co-founder and president of Road to Recovery, a New Jersey-based nonprofit that offers counseling and referral services to survivors of sexual abuse. Garabedian has represented sexual abuse victims in the Boston area during the Catholic priest sexual abuse scandal.

Thibault heads the Transfiguration of the Lord Parish, comprised of three separate parishes—St. Mary’s,…

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Paravur native Joseph Kodiyan (63) was arrested based on a complaint lodged by the boy’s parents on Saturday

• Kodiyan is a priest at a church near Varapuzha
• POCSO case has been registered against the priest
• He will be produced in court on Monday

Kerala police on Sunday said they have arrested a Catholic priest for allegedly molesting a minor boy. The arrest of Paravur native Joseph Kodiyan (63) was made based on a complaint lodged by the boy’s parents on Saturday, said the police. Kodiyan is a priest at a church near Varapuzha, where the alleged abuse took place. A case under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was registered, the police told PTI. The priest was arrested on Sunday and would be produced before court, they said.

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In April 2021, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul announced a statewide initiative to review reports of clergy and faith leader sexual abuse in Wisconsin.

The initiative was to have two primary thrusts: confidential communication with the state’s Department of Justice on such abuse, and a physical review of related documentation maintained by the clergy and faith leaders and their respective organizations.

What has happened in the course of the review? Has the initiative been fruitful? Throughout the following months, not much has been said by the attorney general. Yet the citizens of Wisconsin have a right to know — after all, they are paying for the effort.

Kaul’s report should:

• Describe the steps taken during the review.
• Explain what has been learned, while appropriately respecting confidentiality.
• Provide his recommendations for state legislators, law enforcement officials, leaders of the faith communities involved in the review and citizens at large.

Such…

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A boy rejected attempts by a Catholic brother to tuck him into bed during a home prayer meeting thinking it was “weird and strange”, a court has been told.

But prosecutors allege the boy’s brother was indecently treated by Frank Terrence Keating the same night.

The alleged victim and family members testified in the 79-year-old former Catholic brother’s committal hearing in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday.

Keating is charged with 18 counts that include indecent dealing, indecent treatment and carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature.

Prosecutors allege he committed the offences – against four boys and one girl – while teaching at a Queensland school in the 1980s.

Keating was due to face a further 15 counts relating to another person but the Crown withdrew those at the start of the hearing.

An alleged victim’s father told the court his son’s behaviour changed after Keating, also…

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The Catholic Church appears to be in a constant state of “mea culpa.”

In Canada last month, Pope Francis apologized for the abuses Indigenous people suffered in the country’s state-funded residential Christian schools. From the 1800s to the 1970s, Native children were forced to attend the schools where abuse was rampant.

Such papal apologies are a relatively modern phenomenon, according to Jeremy Bergen, a church apology expert and professor of religious and theological studies at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario. Bergen noted that “for 1,900 years, churches didn’t apologize for the bad things that they did.”

In 2000, Pope John Paul apologized for Catholics’ sins through the ages, including against women, Jews and other religious minorities.

So many abuses, so many apologies. One must wonder why the abuses continue in spite of the apologies. Consider the following events concerning the abuse of nuns.

In February 2019, Pope Francis publicly…

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A Massachusetts priest has been placed on leave while he is investigated for alleged misconduct that is “inconsistent with standards of ministerial behavior.”

In a statement Aug. 7, the Diocese of Fall River said the allegations against Rev. Rodney E. Thibault do not involve a minor. However, Thibault is accused of misconduct that violates the code of conduct for priests in the diocese.

Thibault is the pastor at Transfiguration of the Lord Parish in North Attleborough. Parishioners were told during Masses the weekend of Aug. 6-7 that Thibault has been placed on leave.

While on leave, he is not permitted to exercise public ministry nor present himself as a priest in public settings.

Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha “acknowledged how ‘distressing’ this turn of events is for parishioners of the parish and assured them of his prayers during this difficult time,” according to the diocese.

Thibault was first…

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Siete décadas de abusos. El caso involucra a la Iglesia Católica y a 2 sacerdotes que dirigían un internado para sordos en Argentina, condenados por abuso sexual.

El caso Próvolo es uno de los más sonados (y abominables) que involucra a la Iglesia Católica y a dos sacerdotes que dirigían el Instituto Antonio Próvolo para Sordos en Argentina, quienes fueron condenados por abusar sexualmente de 25 niños y adolescentes.

El suceso, no obstante, supera cualquier frontera: 67 exalumnos en Italia denuncian que también fueron víctimas desde 1950. Los abusos se habrían prolongado por más de siete décadas en Verona, La Plata y Mendoza, principales sedes del instituto.

El papa Francisco nunca se ha pronunciado en público sobre estas acusaciones y fue recién en 2017 que ordenó una investigación preliminar sobre las denuncias de abuso en el Instituto, un año después de que los sacerdotes fueran arrestados.

¿Qué es el caso Próvolo?

El hoy…

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THERE are few people in the world or in the Philippines who have not been physically, verbally, psychologically or sexually hurt and abused in their childhood. They have been emotionally damaged, and they carry the hurt and do not totally forget it. They are the brave victims/survivors — children and adults — of human family life. Their parents are likely to have been abused also and vented their pain and anger onto their children. The cycle of domestic violence and child abuse continues into the next generation.

The damaging impact of a cruel relative, parent or pedophile robbed the victims/survivors of their childhood and condemned them to a life of misery with buried, repressed memories of rape and sexual assault as their nightmarish companion for a lifetime and they cannot do anything about it. The victims of abuse are forbidden to complain, to ask help, to get justice. There is…

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News of the federal investigations comes several months after the nation’s largest denomination passed new reforms aimed at addressing abuse.

Federal officials have begun an investigation into sexual abuse in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, Southern Baptist Convention officials announced Friday. 

A spokesman for the SBC Executive Committee’s lawyers said that the committee “has received a subpoena. No individuals have been subpoenaed at this point.”

Southern Baptist leaders pledged to cooperate fully with investigators, who will be looking into several SBC entities, according to a statement released by the SBC Friday (Aug. 12). 

“Individually and collectively each SBC entity is resolved to fully and completely cooperate with the investigation,” said the SBC statement. “While we continue to grieve and lament past mistakes related to sexual abuse, current leaders across the SBC have demonstrated a firm conviction to address those issues of the past and are implementing measures to ensure they…

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The Southern Baptist congregation led by Acts 29 president Matt Chandler maintained it hadn’t done anything wrong, infuriating the family of the victim.

The Village Church, a large Southern Baptist church in Texas pastored by Matt Chandler, has announced it reached a settlement with a woman who had reported one of the church’s pastors sexually assaulted her when she was 11 years old.

But the conflict isn’t over. The church statement said, “We maintain and firmly believe that we committed no wrong,” and noted that the woman couldn’t positively identify that it was the church employee who abused her.

The woman’s family protested, saying in a statement that the church’s statement was “not fully truthful, transparent, or caring for the traumatized.” The family has left the church over the handling of the case.

“The attempt to communicate care in one sentence followed by language that invalidates and dismisses the…

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The co-founder of a group that advocates for victims of clergy abuse is planning a demonstration and a call for “transparency” Friday in the case of a local Catholic pastor suspended while being investigated for alleged misconduct.

The allegations against the Rev. Rodney Thibault do not involve a minor, the Diocese of Fall River has said, but that’s not enough for Robert M. Hoatson, president of the New Jersey-based group Road to Recovery.

Hoatson says Bishop Edgar da Cunha needs to “inform the parishioners and school parents…and the general public immediately” about why he suspended Thibault as pastor. Thibault was also director of St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Elementary School.

Worshipers at Masses last weekend at the three churches that make up the Transfiguration of the Lord Parish were told that Thibault, who has been pastor since 2019, did is the subject of investigation into “alleged misconduct that is inconsistent with…

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Pope Francis’ recent visit to Canada featured a widely reported apology for decades of horrific abuses at church-run residential schools for Indigenous youth. But it remains to be seen how much the papal visit accomplished in reconciliation between the Catholic Church and Canada’s First Nations.

The catalyst for the recent visit to Canada by Pope Francis arose over a year ago, when ground-penetrating radar found more than 200 grave-like impressions outside a now-closed residential school in the town of Kamloops, about 250 kilometers east of Vancouver.

It was one of 139 such schools that existed across Canada from 1828 to 1996. Paid for by the Canadian government and run principally by the Catholic Church, approximately 150,000 First Nation, Inuit and Metis children were taken from their families and local communities and forced to attend the schools. Investigations have found that verbal, sexual and physical abuse were common, even rampant, at many…

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EMMET COUNTY, Mich. (WPBN/WGTU) — Hundreds of people gathered at Pellston Public Schools Saturday for the Road to Healing.

The Department of Interior (DOI) launched the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative to bring awareness to the trauma that Indigenous people endure as a direct result of boarding schools.

The investigation found that from 1819 to 1969, the federal Indian boarding school system consisted of 408 federal schools across 37 states or then territories, including 21 schools in Alaska and 7 schools in Hawaii.

The investigation identified marked or unmarked burial sites at approximately 53 different schools across the school system. As the investigation continues, the Department expects the number of identified burial sites to increase.

The Road to Healing Tour, a series of listening sessions, is an integral step in the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative to hear from survivors and their descendants about their…

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I have been covering the sexual abuse claims within the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) for over a year. As a reminder, the SBC has been accused over the years of clergy sexually abusing their parishioners. At their annual meeting in 2021, the SBC ultimately ignored the problem by putting in place an ineffective boiler-plate policy regarding sexual abuse in the denomination. Needless to say, this did not go over too well with the public. The SBC later decided to do an internal investigation into the matter. At this year’s annual meeting (2022), the SBC decided to have a third-party come in and investigate the claims.

Well, the results are in, and as expected the 300-page report shed light on the despicable actions of SBC leadership from 2000 to 2020. In fact, the report has spurred a federal investigation by the DoJ. With 190 million on the line (their annual budget),…

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Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention said Friday that several of the denomination’s major entities are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice in the wake of its multiple problems related to clergy sex abuse.

The SBC’s Executive Committee has received a subpoena, but no individuals have been subpoenaed at this point, according to the committee’s lawyers.

“This is an ongoing investigation and we are not commenting on our discussions with DOJ,” they said.

The statement from SBC leaders — including Executive Committee members, seminary presidents and heads of mission organizations — gave few details about the investigation, but indicated it dealt with widespread sexual abuse problems that have rocked the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S.

“Individually and collectively each SBC entity is resolved to fully and completely cooperate with the investigation,” the statement said. “While we continue to grieve and lament past mistakes related to sexual abuse,…

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A former seminarian and victim of the bishop emeritus of Oran, Argentina, Gustavo Zanchetta — who was sentenced to prison for sexual abuse in Argentina — asked the Catholic Church not to turn its back on him.

On Aug. 12, ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language sister news agency,  interviewed G.C., a 28-year-old former seminarian and one of Zanchetta’s victims, after the bishop was allowed to serve his sentence under house arrest in July.

The place of house arrest, according to the newspaper El Tribuno, is a house for retired priests in the Monastery of Our Lady of the Valley of Nueva Orán of the Order of the Immaculate Conception-Franciscan Conceptionist Mothers.

In March, Zanchetta was sentenced to four and a half years in prison after being found guilty of abuse.

“Simply that: don’t turn your back on us. We didn’t deserve such treatment,” G.C. told ACI Prensa when asked about what he…

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Card Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Bombay, released a video following reports that he covered up for Bishop Kannikass Antony William of Mysore.

“In the interest of the truth and for the good of the Church, I am communicating with you directly,” he says in the video released two days ago by the archdiocese.

Bishop William is accused of having lovers, fathering children, and killing four priests who opposed him.

A Vatican commission composed of three bishops began investigating in February 2021 after a group of local priests wrote a letter to Pope Francis in 2019.

“I was very distressed when recently several well-wishers shared with my team some videos and messages that have been doing the rounds on social media. These centre around a conversation between Bishop William and myself two years back,” Card Gracias notes.

“I have realised that the tape of my conversation has been mischievously edited to give…

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Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias adamantly denied allegations that he attempted to arrange for a fake paternity test for a scandal-plagued bishop accused of secretly fathering a child, among other charges.

In a video statement posted on the Archdiocese of Bombay’s YouTube channel Sunday, Gracias said that a 2020 recording of a telephone conversation with Bishop Kannikass Antony William of Mysore had been “mischievously edited” to give the impression that the cardinal had tried to cover up the scandal.

The recording in question, originally posted by the website Church Militant, had been circulating on social media among Indian Catholics, according to various news accounts.

In the video, Gracias said that he was “distressed” to learn of the rumors, which he said he “categorically, emphatically and totally” denied.

He said that an unedited version of the recorded conversation would show that he was attempting to arrange for a paternity test in a…

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A Catholic parish priest has been arrested under the POCSO Act for sexually harassing 3 underage girls. He noticed them attending the church alone and took them to his private chambers on the pretext of conducting ‘special prayers’ for their studies.

John Robert (46), is the parish priest of St.Arulanandar Church in Mandapam near Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu. 3 school going girls aged between 15-17 accused him of sexually harassing them in the church. As per the news reports, the 3 girls used to come to the church alone. Noticing this John Robert started talking to them and established a relationship with them.

One day after the mass was over he took the 3 girls to a private place on the pretext of conducting ‘special prayers’ for their studies and molested them. Girls told about it to their parents who informed the Child Welfare Committee(CWC)…

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