ABUSE TRACKER

A Vatican-appointed investigator who helped bring to light decades-old allegations of sexual and spiritual abuse against a famous Jesuit priest is calling for the hierarchs who hid his crimes to “humbly ask the world to forgive the scandal.”

In correspondence obtained Monday, Bishop Daniele Libanori also said the claims of the women about the Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik were true and that they had “seen their lives ruined by the evil suffered and by the complicit silence” of the church.

Libanori penned the letter Sunday to fellow priests after a remarkable week in which the Jesuit religious order of Pope Francis admitted that Rupnik, an artist whose mosaics grace churches and chapels around the world, had been excommunicated for having committed one of the most serious crimes in the church: using the confessional to absolve a woman with whom he had engaged in sexual activity.

The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine…

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An alleged victim of Fr. Marko Ivan Rupnik has detailed the sexual, psychological, and spiritual abuse she said she suffered as a religious sister

An alleged victim of Slovenian Jesuit artist Fr. Marko Ivan Rupnik detailed on Sunday the sexual, psychological, and spiritual abuse she said she suffered as a religious sister, in a new interview with Italian media.

Allegations against the Jesuit priest have become a point of scandal in the Church, after Rupnik was accused of serially abusing Slovenian consecrated women in the 1980s and 1990s.

The allegations were sent to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2021, but have not resulted in canonical prosecution — with Society of Jesus officials saying they were informed that Rupnik would not be canonically prosecuted for the alleged abuse, owing to the canonical statute of limitations.

That claim has sparked controversy in the Church, with journalists and…

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Critics say the proposal falls short, ‘means nothing’

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The lobbying arm of the Catholic church in Maryland is making a partial concession to legislative reforms that would help victims of priest sexual abuse sue the church decades later.

The Maryland Catholic Conference, which represents the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Archdiocese of Washington and the Diocese of Wilmington, Del., announced Monday it will support legislation to erase the statute of limitations for future victims to sue the church. Maryland law requires men and women who are abused as children to file lawsuits by age 38 or within three years of an abuser’s criminal conviction.

The church, however, isn’t budging in its longstanding opposition to a “lookback window.” That would permit lawsuits from victims now older than 38 who…

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A pastor convicted of sexually assaulting seven young girls over two decades can’t keep his conviction hidden, a New Zealand judge ruled recently.

Siosateki Tonga Faletau, a pastor and business owner in Auckland, New Zealand, pleaded guilty to assaulting girls as young as 10 years old from 2001 to 2020, the New Zealand Herald reported. In September, the court sentenced Faletau to two years and three months in jail, but he is appealing, according to news reports.

The court barred news outlets from naming Faletau until an interim name suppression order expired last week, the Herald reported. In certain cases, New Zealand law allows courts to suppress the identity of a defendant, referred to as name suppression.Faletau had reportedly sought permanent name suppression, but a judge denied his motion.

Faletau was also a Justice of the Peace and a foster parent,  View Cache

The Vatican investigator who uncovered allegations of sexual and spiritual abuse by Jesuit artist Father Marko Ivan Rupnik says the claims are true, according to a letter he sent to Italian priests obtained by the Associated Press.

Bishop Daniele Libanari also said the women Rupnik is alleged to have abused have “seen their lives ruined by the evil suffered and by the complicit silence” of the Church, the AP reported Monday.

He urged the members of the hierarchy who hid his crimes to “humbly ask the world to forgive the scandal.”

Libanori’s letter comes on the heels of revelations in the past week that Rupnik, a Slovenian priest well-known for his mosaics that adorn chapels and churches around the world, had been excommunicated for using the confessional to absolve a woman with whom he had engaged in sexual activity.

The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of…

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A group of attorneys is gearing up the search for people who were sexually abused as children by Catholic priests in Maryland in preparation for a series of potential lawsuits.

Lawyers Robert Jenner, Barbara Hart, Beth Graham and Suzanne Sangree, who work at different firms, have started taking consultations with Catholic abuse victims to be ready if the Maryland General Assembly passes a law in 2023 lifting the statute of limitations on lawsuits in childhood sexual abuse cases.

“From simply listening to your story without judgment [to] assistance navigating the complexities of compensation programs and statutes of limitations, we are ready to help Baltimore clergy abuse survivors find justice and healing,” reads a landing page for abuse victims on Jenner’s website.

Maryland law gives victims until their 38th birthday to sue their abusers and an abuser’s employer, but a bill filed in the House of Delegates would repeal…

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The news, coming through a press release on a Friday evening in mid-November, was unexpected. Bishop Howard Hubbard, the retired leader of the Diocese of Albany, New York, and now under investigation for both allegedly abusing children and covering up abuse done by others, was requesting the Vatican remove his status as a priest, or laicize him.

Among those caught by surprise were Hubbard’s alleged victims, as well as the civil attorneys representing them. They, along with canon lawyers well-versed in the Catholic Church’s disciplinary procedures for clerics accused of sexual misconduct, are struggling to make sense of Hubbard’s request.

Some suspect that Hubbard may be trying to short-circuit a canonical investigation by preemptively assuming the most severe punishment that the church can impose on a cleric. Others think Vatican machinations are at play, and wonder if Hubbard is following the advice of church officials in Rome to…

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The man who becomes Maryland’s new attorney general next month is weighing in on the possible release of a report detailing sexual abuse allegations in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Attorney General-elect Anthony Brown said he has been monitoring efforts to release the report which names more than 100 priests accused of abuse and more than 600 victims dating back 80 years.

Since it is based on grand jury testimony, current Attorney General Brian Frosh has asked a court to release the report.

Attorneys representing people who wish to remain anonymous have sought to block the report’s release.

Brown said that case will continue under his watch.

Brown takes the oath of office in January.

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Archbishop Jason Gordon apologises to former residents of the St Dominic’s Children’s Home who were not protected and cared for as they should have been, especially amid reports of decades-long abuses.

He made the statement during his feature address at the home’s 150th anniversary celebrations closing ceremony at St Dominic’s in Belmont on Saturday.

Gordon said as people reflected on the 150 years of unbroken service, they had to consider the thousands of children who were given experiences and opportunities they would not have had if not for the care of the home.

“But the second thing we must also consider, because every anniversary is a milestone where we must reflect, not only on the good that we have done, but we must also consider the children who were not protected in the ways that they ought to have been, and might have been traumatised by their experience. And to…

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Pope Francis’ Jesuit order on Sunday asked any more victims to come forward with complaints against a famous Jesuit artist who was essentially let off the hook by the Vatican twice despite devastating testimony by women who said he sexually and spiritually abused them.

The Jesuits asked for new evidence against the Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik, and offered a timeline about his case in an effort to tamp down the scandal.

The Slovenian priest is relatively unknown among rank-and-file Catholics but is well known in the hierarchy because he is one of the church’s most sought-after artists. His mosaics decorate chapels, churches and basilicas around the globe.

The scandal exploded this past week after the Jesuits admitted he had been excommunicated for having committed one of the gravest crimes in the Catholic Church — using the confessional to absolve a woman with whom he had engaged in sexual activity.

He was…

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Trial hears Frank Houston also told his son Brian, founder of Hillsong, that he was abused by his own grandfather as a child

Hillsong founder Brian Houston has told a court he believes his father was a “serial paedophile” and the extent of his crimes may not be known.

Houston said it was quite likely his father sexually abused multiple children and the number of victims would never be revealed.

Frank Houston confessed to his son about one case of abuse in 1999, which occurred in New Zealand several decades earlier.

After the abuse came to light, Frank Houston was banned from preaching, but the public and authorities were not alerted.

Brian Houston, 68, is accused of covering up his father’s abuse until Frank Houston’s death in November 2004, after learning of the crime when his father confessed to him in 1999.

Houston has pleaded not guilty.

“I have no…

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A closer look at the sequence of events to-date about the investigation and excommunication of the world-renowned Slovenian priest.

At the start of December, Italian websites published information regarding psychological and sexual abuse allegedly committed in the 1990s by Jesuit Father Marko Ivan Rupnik, a Slovenian priest who is internationally renowned for his mosaics and other artwork.

The Society of Jesus subsequently confirmed that an investigation had been initiated last year into allegations that Father Rupnik had abused several women who were members of a Slovenian religious community he co-founded in the 1980s. But, according to the Jesuit order, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (now DDF, formerly known as the Congregation for Doctrine of the faith, CDF) subsequently ruled that the case would be closed because the allegations fell outside the canonical statute of limitations.

This response by the Jesuits’ leadership appeared to leave many questions unanswered, generating…

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“Any case like this is very painful, [but]…. we have not hidden anything,” says Arturo Sosa, S.J., the superior general of the Society of Jesus, in a short interview with 7MARGENS and Rádio Renascença, two religious media outlets in Portugal, published on Dec. 7. This represents the first public comments of the superior general regarding the allegations against the Slovenian artist Marko Rupnik, S.J.

Father Rupnik, whose mosaics decorate chapels in the Vatican, all over Europe, in the United States and Australia, has been barred from hearing confessions or offering spiritual direction after what the Jesuits described as complaints about his ministry. The Society of Jesus released a statement on Dec. 2 responding to the allegations of abuse against Father Rupnik and describing the restrictions on his ministry.

Italian news outlets reported the complaints were accusations of spiritually and sexually abusing adult members of a religious order of women in Slovenia. Father…

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The former Hanna Boys Center director says the child abuse lawsuit “came as a shot out of nowhere.”

Out of at least 130 child sexual abuse cases currently pending against the Santa Rosa Roman Catholic Diocese, one in particular stands out.

It is a claim involving Monsignor James Pulskamp, 81, and it’s unique because he’s currently serving as pastor at Star of the Valley Catholic Church in Oakmont.

Pulskamp, who served as director of the Hanna Boys Center in Sonoma Valley from 1972 to 1984, is the only accused priest in the diocese so far still serving in a clerical position.

He said he’s completely perplexed by the origin of the case filed against him — he said he doesn’t know the name of the plaintiff — and hasn’t been legally served.

An attorney for the diocese, however, said she had been served because they are a defendant, as well.

…

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For the third time, the sentencing hearing for a former Catholic priest convicted in October of raping a child in 2004 has been changed.

Joseph “Father Jack” Baker,  60, is now scheduled for sentencing by Judge Bridget Hathaway on Feb. 17, 2023 in Wayne County’s 3rd Circuit Court in Detroit. He’s held in the Wayne County Jail, denied bond.

According to a court spokesperson, sentencing was postponed on request of Baker’s defense attorney.

At the conclusion of jury trial in October, Baker was found guilty of first-degree criminal conduct – sexual penetration with a person less than 13 years old.

The assault happened while Baker was pastor of St. Mary Catholic School in Wayne. His victim was a second-grade student there who came forward a few years ago, saying Baker raped him in the church sacristy.

Baker was pastor of St. Mary in Wayne from 1997 to 2008, and from…

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The leaders of the French Bishops’ Conference and three lay experts on abuse issues hold three days of meetings with officials of the Roman Curia

Top officials at the Vatican have admitted that there have been, at times, “dysfunctions” in the way the Holy See has handled the clergy sex abuse cases that local dioceses are obliged to report to Rome.

The admissions were made this week to the top leaders of the French Bishops’ Conference (CEF), who were in Rome for three days of meetings surrounding recent revelations of abuse by a number of their retired confreres and how their cases were managed.

The December 12-14 meetings came a month after the CEF’s most recent plenary assembly, which was consumed with the abuse cases of Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard (78) and Bishop Michel Santier (75), and how, in general, the Roman Curia deals with sexual violence in the…

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The University of Trier today published its report on sexual abuse in the Diocese of Trier at the time of former Bishop Stein. It was also about his role.

The study reveals that 81 priests have been accused of abusing more than 300 children and young people during this period. For this purpose, historians have evaluated almost 500 personnel files from the Diocese of Trier. They have also spoken to many of those affected. Something that Bishop Stein has not done in any of the cases known to him during his term of office.

Secrecy is the top priority for the church

Although canon law also provides for removal from office as a punishment for the sexual abuse of children by priests, Bishop Stein, like his predecessors, only applied this right in individual cases, as diocese records show. Bishop Stein was aware of 17 cases of abuse…

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Parishioners are no longer welcome for Mass at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, but it remains a kind of still-life. Only a single bulb glows over the heavy, unlocked doors. Inside, prayer votives are cold and burned low. Gray light casts rows of pews in eerie shadow.

St. Mary’s merged in July with St. Therese, 2 miles away, one of a dozen parishes the Archdiocese of Seattle closed or consolidated to save money and minimize costly repairs to outdated structures.

Yet the archdiocese emerged from the pandemic with its highest financial gains in the last five years, despite COVID-19, declining Mass attendance, a small dip in parishioner giving and the ongoing strain of clergy abuse payouts.

Now the archdiocese’s finances have come under renewed scrutiny with the purchase of a home for Seattle’s Catholic leadership, prompting fresh criticism of the church’s transparency and money management. 

The archdiocese last month quietly acquired the…

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Church leader supports criminal prosecutions — and church should be open to official inquiries

The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland has said he is “deeply ashamed” of the horrific sexual abuse inflicted on children by members of the Spiritan Order . More than 300 people have claimed to have been abused by 78 Spiritan priests at Blackrock College and other schools and colleges in Ireland dating back to the 1980s.

In an interview with the Sunday Independent, Archbishop Eamon Martin said clerical abuse in Ireland “is like an open wound that has never been able to heal”.

“There is no doubt, I am ashamed,” he said. “I am horrified because of the impact of that childhood trauma and how it has hugely impacted how people view the church and their own personal faith.”

He said attempts by the church in the past “to avoid scandal by…

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A priest has been stood down after he was accused of sexually abusing a student while he was principal at a Catholic all-boys school in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs in the mid-1990s.

Father Hugh Brown is alleged to have abused the student at Whitefriars Catholic College For Boys in Donvale when he headed the school between 1989 and 1996.

Father Hugh Brown was the principal of Whitefriars College from 1989 to 1996.

Brown denied the allegation, telling The Age he was not aware of the details or the identity of the former student.

“In my personal and professional life I have never abused any person and that especially applies to any minors in my care as a principal,” he said.

“I feel extremely bewildered by the situation and am profoundly saddened for all victims of child abuse.”

Current school principal Mark Murphy said Brown, who belongs to the Carmelite religious order, had been…

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The latest report on clerical sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Vancouver has been released and names a late priest with an accusation of sexual abuse in 2008.

The Archdiocese of Vancouver has issued its semi-annual update on clerical sexual abuse, releasing the name of a priest who was the subject of sexual abuse allegation received in 2008.

The latest report of the Implementation Working Group, the archdiocesan committee responsible for implementing the approved recommendations received from the 2019 Case Review Committee, was released Tuesday and said an accusation of sexual abuse had been received in April 2008 against Father Georges Chevrier, OMI, pastor of Our Lady of Fatima in Coquitlam from 1971 to 1977.

The individual who reported the abuse has been receiving counselling and other forms of support, said the report, and legal proceedings only started several months ago.

The archdiocese also recently learned that accusations against Father…

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The unfortunate absence of transparency from Church leadership on this situation leaves the laity in an awkward situation, if not a scandalous one.

In a recent interview with America Media, Pope Francis — in response to a question about transparency and clergy sexual abuse — remarked: “If there is less transparency, it is a mistake.”

This is a lesson the Church has learned all too painfully, especially since the outbreak of the clergy sexual abuse crisis in 2002 and resurgence in 2018. And the need for transparency emerges in a variety of other areas as well.

One of particular significance is the cause for beatification of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen — a beatification that was scheduled to be held three years ago on December 21, 2019, and which hasn’t happened still.

And, cloaked in confusion and intrigue, there has been…

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The superior general of the Jesuits confirmed that Father Marko Rupnik, a Slovenian Jesuit and artist in restricted ministry because of abuse allegations, earlier had been excommunicated for what canon law describes as “the absolution of an accomplice in a sin against the Sixth Commandment,” a reference to sex.

Father Rupnik incurred excommunication automatically when he heard the confession and granted absolution, but the excommunication was confirmed by the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said Father Arturo Sosa, superior general of the order.

At his annual pre-Christmas meeting with reporters Dec. 14, Father Sosa said the excommunication was lifted when Father Rupnik admitted his wrongdoing, repented and wrote a formal request for forgiveness.

Several Italian blogs reported that the case involved a consecrated Italian woman and that the doctrinal office’s investigation of that allegation was conducted from 2019 to 2020.

The Jesuits had confirmed in early December that…

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About one in four Christians in Germany are considering leaving church due to the sex abuse scandals, a survey revealed on Thursday.

Mostly the members of the Catholic Church have lost faith in the clergy and church after the scandals in recent years, according to the Religion Monitor study of the Bertelsmann Foundation.

Among the Germans who said that they were considering leaving the church, 66% of them were members of the Catholic Church, and 33% were the members of the Protestant Church.

Some 81% of them said they are thinking of leaving the church mainly because they lost trust in these religious institutions. Other respondents criticized them over reluctance to reform and modernize their policies.

About 71% of them also criticized churches for having “too much power and influence” in Germany, and 68% said the current privileges of churches are “unfair in a multi-religious society.”

The survey also revealed that there is an…

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They walk away from the litigation as FBI reviews spending at St. Peter Claver Church

A man who had said he was raped as a 10-year-old boy on an overnight trip by a Roman Catholic priest from New Orleans has reached an agreement to drop his lawsuit, court documents show. The Rev. John Asare-Dankwah, former pastor of St. Peter Claver Church in Treme, has, in turn, agreed to drop a countersuit against the accuser, who is now in his 20s and is identified in court documents only as A.A. Doe.

In a conference Thursday with U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan, attorneys for both sides said they will file a joint motion by Dec. 22 to dismiss the allegations against each other, according to court records. That doesn’t mean the two sides reached a monetary settlement, only that they decided to walk away from the high-profile suits.

The Asare-Dankwah case is significant…

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A former Southern Baptist Convention seminary professor accused of sexual abuse by a student has filed a defamation lawsuit against the SBC and several other entities, claiming he was an “easy target” and a “bona fide scapegoat” in the sex abuse scandal surrounding the denomination.

David Sills, a former professor of missions and cultural anthropology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and his wife, Mary, filed a complaint on Nov. 21 in the Circuit Court of Mobile, Alabama.

The lawsuit centers on allegations that Sills sexually abused Jennifer Lyell starting in 2004 when Lyell was a student and Sills was a professor.

Lyell, who served as vice president of LifeWay Christian Resources, posted a confession in 2018 claiming how Sills, who has been married for over 30 years, sexually abused her and groomed her. At the time, Lyell  View Cache

The retired judge who has co-chaired the Montreal Archdiocese’s committee to implement abuse procedures has resigned, saying serious problems remain in the application of “regulations, policies and procedures approved by the archbishop.”

“I began my mandate as co-chair with real enthusiasm and the hope that I would be able to make important changes that would make the Catholic Church in Montreal an example of transparency and accountability to victims of abuse,” Pepita G. Capriolo wrote in her resignation letter, dated Dec. 7 and published as an appendix to the Fifth Ombudsman’s Report for the Archdiocese of Montreal. The ombudsman’s report was submitted to Montreal Archbishop Christian Lépine the same day.

She said “the numerous difficulties highlighted in the ombudsman’s last reports” led to her resignation.

Two years ago, Capriolo signed an incriminatory report on the handling of Father Brian Boucher’s case by Montreal archdiocesan authorities and even Vatican officials. Her…

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Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet is suing a woman for defamation, after she accused him of sexual assault in a class action lawsuit. If he wins, the money will go to Indigenous victims.

“I am taking legal action for defamation before the courts of Quebec in order to prove the falsity of the allegations made against me and to restore my reputation and honor,” said Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet in a statement published on December 13, 2022.

The current Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, who was Archbishop of Quebec from 2002 to 2010, was named in a class action lawsuit on August 16, after being accused of inappropriate touching by a former employee of the diocese. He denounced the “slanderous and defamatory accusations” and is now suing the woman, known only as F., for 100,000 Canadian dollars (about 70,000 euros, 74,000 US dollars) in compensatory damages.

“On August 16, 2022, unfounded…

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A Steubenville Catholic Central High School graduate who says he was molested by a priest 54 years ago wants the Diocese of Steubenville to admit “it wasn’t my fault.”

The man, who asked not to be identified, alleges the Rev. Kenneth Bonadies grabbed his “private area” after class and asked some inappropriate questions in the confessional 54 years ago.

He said he’s looking for “validation from the diocese that it wasn’t my fault, I had nothing to do with that, that the diocese wasn’t doing its job.”

“It really has bothered me,” he said recently. “It changed my life forever, a Catholic priest doing this to me. It made it hard to get along with other people, it made me not trust people — especially priests. Every time I would go to church I would think, ‘I wonder if he’s ever abused anyone?’”

On Thursday, the diocese confirmed that attorneys…

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As bishop of Bridgeport, Connecticut, the Most Rev. William E. Lori fought for nearly eight years — all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court — to prevent the wide release of information about the history of child sexual abuse in that branch of the Catholic Church.

The soft-spoken prelate argued in the case two decades ago that what was already publicly known about sexual misconduct by clergy in the diocese was all the information the public needed to grasp the scope of the crisis and understand who was responsible.

Now archbishop of Baltimore, the 71-year-old Lori is facing a tidal wave of criticism — and even calls for his resignation — as the Maryland Attorney General’s Office seeks to release the results of its four-year investigation into the abuse of children by Catholic clergy in Baltimore and nine counties in the state.

Democratic Attorney General…

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There has been criticism of Dutch journalist Ekke Overbeek’s investigation into the actions of the later Pope John Paul II concerning the abuse of children by Roman Catholic clergy in his homeland of Poland. Overbeek rebounds. “The Polish secret service did not have pure motives but often reported accurately.”

Earlier this month, Overbeek, a journalist from the Netherlands living in Poland, said he had found “concrete cases of priests abusing children in the Archdiocese of Krakow, where the future pope was archbishop. The future pope knew about it and transferred them anyway, which led to new victims.” Overbeek spent years digging through thousands of documents in the archives of the SB, the Polish security service, during the era of communism, which existed until 1990.

However, there is criticism of how Overbeek did his research and presented it, the Dutch Christian daily Nederlands Dagblad writes. “We did research at…

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The French Church has opened a National Canonical Criminal Court, a novelty in the Catholic world, to have clerical and lay experts deal with major canonical crimes such as sexual abuse of adults, abuse of authority and financial crimes. 

It takes over from the diocesan or interdiocesan tribunals that used to handle such cases. Lesser cases, such as marriage nullifications, make up the majority of cases at the diocesan level and will continue to be adjudicated there.  

Clerical sexual abuse of minors remains the responsibility of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), as does accusations against a bishop who, since appointed by the Pope, also comes under the Vatican. Rome can refer cases back to the French court but will handle all appeals.

This first national canonical court was created in response to a proposal by the so-called Sauvé report of 2021 into clerical sexual abuse.

It…

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Fr. Marko Rupnik is at the center of a complicated, and still unfolding, set of allegations in Rome. ‘The Pillar’ explains what’s happening.

The global leader of the Jesuit order on Wednesday told journalists that Fr. Marko Ivan Rupnik, SJ, was excommunicated in 2019 — two years before he faced allegations of spiritually abusing religious sisters in the priest’s native Slovenia.

Speaking to journalists Dec. 14, Fr. Arturo Sosa, superior general of the Society of Jesus, said that Rupnik had indeed been excommunicated, but that the penalty was remitted after Rupnik – a well-known Jesuit artist – repented of a serious canonical crime, namely the absolution of an accomplice in a sin against the sixth commandment.

Sosa’s admission brings some clarity to the complicated set of allegations against Rupnik, and confusing statements issued in response to them.

But the allegations against Rupnik are still fairly complicated, and the timeline…

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A priest has told of his shock at being accused of sexually abusing four girls after claims that he hugged inappropriately and touched their waist.

Father Neil McGarrity, 58, is accused of carrying out the crimes in Glasgow at St Thomas the Apostle Roman Catholic church in Riddrie, St Bernadette’s church in Carntyne, and his parish house between December 2018 and February 2020.

McGarrity, of the Germiston area, denied two charges of sexual assault against a girl at his trial at Glasgow sheriff court yesterday. He also pleaded not guilty to a further two charges of sexual assault and engaging in sexual activity with other girls.

McGarrity told the trial in his evidence that he was made aware of the allegations after a phone call from his archbishop in May 2020.

Billy Lavelle, for the defence, asked the priest of 33 years for his reaction to the claims. McGarrity said he…

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 Cardinal Marc Ouellet has filed a defamation lawsuit in Quebec courts contending that a woman wrongly accused him of sexual assault in a class-action sex abuse lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Quebec.

“I have never been guilty of these reprehensible behaviors, much less of those alleged against other members of the clergy cited in the class action,” the cardinal said in a Dec. 13 statement accompanying the lawsuit. “This inappropriate association, intentionally constructed and widely spread for improper purposes, must be denounced.”

“Having preliminarily made sure to protect the plaintiff’s anonymity by obtaining an order to that effect, today I am taking legal action for defamation before the courts of Québec in order to prove the falsity of the allegations made against me and to restore my reputation and honor,” Ouellet said.

The 78-year-old cardinal served as archbishop of Quebec from 2002 to 2010. He is currently prefect of the…

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Revelations that the Vatican let a famous priest off the hook twice for abusing his authority over adult women has exposed two main weaknesses in the Holy See’s abuse policies: sexual and spiritual misconduct against adult women is rarely if ever punished, and secrecy still reigns supreme, especially when powerful priests are involved.

The Jesuit order, to which Pope Francis belongs, was forced to admit Wednesday that its initial statements about the Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik, an internationally recognized religious artist, were less than complete. The order had said Rupnik was accused in 2021 of unspecified problems “in the way he exercised his ministry” but that the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith determined the allegations were too old to prosecute.

But under questioning by journalists, the Jesuit superior general, the Rev. Arturo Sosa, acknowledged the Congregation had prosecuted Rupnik for a separate, prior case from 2019 that…

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Incidents allegedly happened at St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church at Nanaimo in 1976

WARNING: This article contains information about allegations of sexual abuse.

A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit involving accusations that a former Catholic priest on Vancouver Island sexually abused a 10-year-old girl during confession decades ago.

The woman, now 57 and whose identity is protected, filed a notice of civil claim in 2020 against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Victoria, in B.C. Supreme Court. She alleges that Father Gerhard Hartmann, who has since died, used his position as an authority figure to take advantage of her when she was a parishioner at St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church at Nanaimo in 1976.

Details of the settlement were not available, but the plaintiff and her lawyer Robert Talach told the News Bulletin the matter was settled to everyone’s satisfaction.

Beginning in 1976, Hartmann is alleged to have,…

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Popular theology routinely enables powerful men to rehabilitate their public image after their misconduct goes public. This pattern applies especially to men known for their dedication to Jesus. The standard line holds that the man has repented of his sin and found forgiveness. Therefore, just as Jesus no longer holds his sin against him, neither should society. Far too often, the social harms attached to his transaction are ignored, and no transparent process for rehabilitation and reformation occurs. In late November two such cases hit the news, each reflecting how powerful White men protect one another in the wake of moral failure.

Earlier this year allegations of sexual assault surfaced in a report on sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention. The report’s most prominent charge pointed to former SBC president Johnny Hunt, who resigned his Georgia megachurch pastorate. Then, in late November, Hunt was declared restored to ministry by…

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This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell give an update on the new facts that have emerged in the case of the Jesuit artist Marko Rupnik, who was suspended from parts of his ministry in response to allegations of abuse against him.

The facts are difficult to confirm, so this week on the podcast Colleen and Gerry also explain the process they use to determine whether information is credible.

The day after this episode was recorded, Father Arturo Sosa, superior general of the Society of Jesus, confirmed to journalists in response to a question from the Associated Press that in 2019, two years prior to the most recent allegations of abuse, Father Rupnik had been “convicted and sanctioned” by the Vatican for granting absolution in the confessional to a woman with whom he had “engaged in sexual activity.” A priest absolving someone…

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Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on how New York officials are handling accusations of sexual harassment:

When Kathy Hochul succeeded Andrew Cuomo as governor of New York (she was his lieutenant governor), she was asked about the culture of sexual abuse that had arisen under her boss. “Anyone who crosses the line will be addressed by me.” Not true.

Hochul is giving a pass to an accused sexual abuser in her administration,  Ibrahim Khan, the former chief of staff to Attorney General Letitia James: he is accused of sexually harassing a former AG employee, Sofia Quintanar. Hochul said last week that she does not support an investigation of this matter. But when it came to probes of accused priests, she supported all of them.

Attorney General Letitia James was also tough on Cuomo. “Allegations of sexual harassment should always be taken seriously. There must be a truly independent investigation…

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Blackrock College and the Spiritan priests sexual abuse accusations bring Ireland’s Catholic Church to be further exposed, now among the upper classes.

The latest chapter in Ireland’s seemingly perpetual crisis of child abuse in religious institutions is now being written. We have cycled through abuse in orphanages, industrial schools and Magdalene Laundries, only to now contend with abuse at literally the highest order of all.

The name Blackrock College reeks of privilege and upper-class mores. The South Dublin institution was as close to the equivalent of the playing fields of Eton as you could get. Among its alumni are Eamon de Valera, founder of the 26-county Irish state who ruled over Ireland for decades, and Archbishop John Charles McQuade, who almost single-handedly imposed his puritanical control over the Irish church for decades.

Surely, there could be no whiff of pedophile activity in such an established school.

Think again, sadly.  Thanks to…

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One of the Catholic Church’s top sexual abuse experts has called for a review of how his own Jesuit order and the Vatican handled allegations against an internationally known priest and artist.

The case of Father Marko Ivan Rupnik has rattled the Jesuit order, of which Pope Francis is a member, and prompted criticism of the Vatican doctrinal department for not pursuing it further.

“I can understand how victims feel betrayed,” Father Hans Zollner, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and the head of Rome’s Gregorian University Centre for the study of abuse, told Reuters.

Following Italian media reports that Rupnik had sexually and psychologically abused nuns when he was their spiritual director in his native Slovenia three decades ago, Jesuit headquarters issued a statement on Dec. 2 saying he had been disciplined.

It said it had commissioned an unnamed, non-Jesuit to investigate Rupnik, 68,…

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Father Gerhard Hartmann served with the Hitler Youth before his career in the church on Vancouver Island

WARNING: This story contains an account of sexual assault.

A Vancouver Island woman who says she was sexually abused as a child by a former Nazi turned Catholic priest has settled her lawsuit against the church.

Father Gerhard Hartmann repeatedly sexually assaulted and fondled the victim over a period of three years at St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church in Nanaimo, B.C., beginning in 1976, when she was just 10 years old, according to the notice of claim.

“It happened during confession, which for a Catholic is a sacred time,” the plaintiff said. Because she is a victim of alleged sexual abuse, CBC has agreed to refer to her by her initials, S.P.

“I was in a very vulnerable position and I was just a young child. It’s such an abuse of power on so many…

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The Jesuit Superior General, Father Arturo Sosa, has confirmed that Jesuit artist Father Marko Rupnik incurred an automatic excommunication in 2019 for absolving a woman he had sex with, a fact his religious order was aware of but did not disclose until now.

According to a report by the Associated Press, Sosa disclosed this new information Wednesday in a briefing with journalists in Rome.

Abusing the sacrament of confession in this manner is one of the most serious crimes in the Catholic Church.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith “said it happened, there was absolution of an accomplice,” Sosa said. “So he was excommunicated. How do you lift an excommunication? The person has to recognize it and has to repent, which he did.”

Sosa also contradicted the Jesuits’ earlier statement and said the restrictions on Rupnik’s ministry, which remain in effect, dated from this earlier conviction,…

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The head of Pope Francis’ Jesuit religious order admitted Wednesday that a famous Jesuit priest had been convicted of one of the most serious crimes in the Catholic Church some two years before the Vatican decided to shelve another case against him for allegedly abusing other adult women under his spiritual care.

The Rev. Arturo Sosa, the Jesuit superior general, made the admission during a briefing with journalists that was dominated by the scandal over the Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik and the reluctance of both the Vatican and the Jesuits to tell the whole story behind the unusually lenient treatment he received even after he had been temporarily excommunicated.

Rupnik is unknown to most Catholics but is a giant within the Jesuit order and the Catholic hierarchy because he is one of the church’s most sought-after artists. His mosaics depicting biblical scenes decorate the basilica in Lourdes, France, the…

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High-ranking official leaked confidential information about abuse complaints, according to new report

The lawyer appointed to help make the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal more transparent in the way it handles allegations of abuse against clergy says her job is being undermined by those inside the church.

In a report made public Monday and obtained in advance by CBC News, Marie Christine Kirouack, the church ombudsman, said she discovered a high-ranking clergy member was leaking information about abuse complaints, and in some cases, actively discouraging complainants from contacting her.

“I was totally flabbergasted,” Kirouack said in an interview. The lawyer was appointed to her role by the archdiocese  in the spring of 2021 to deal with complaints of abuse and other inappropriate conduct.

Although the complaint process is supposed to be confidential, Kirouack said the priest, who is not named in her report, was sharing emails with a person outside the…

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December 13, 2022

SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

PO Box 16376

Chicago, IL, 60616

Most Reverend Michael C. Barber, SJ

Diocese of Oakland

2121 Harrison Street, Suite 100

Oakland, CA 94612

Dear Bishop Barber,

We are writing to you because, so far, SNAP has identified 227 publicly accused perpetrators associated with the Diocese of Oakland, a stark contrast from your current list which only includes 65 names. Our list has been created through careful study of documents in the public domain, including culling the lists released by other Catholic dioceses and religious orders. We are sending you this complete list and ask that you take our research and use it to update your own list.

While we have strived very hard for accuracy, as you review our list if you find we have mistakenly included a name, please let us know why you believe we have erred. We will then modify our list…

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Leaders representing the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) unveiled a list of East Bay church officials, mostly priests, they say have been accused of sexual abuse. Standing at 227 names, SNAP says its list is more than three times longer than the list released by Oakland Bishop Michael Barber in 2019.

Advocates from the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests gathered Tuesday at the doorstep of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland to unveil a list of East Bay priests they say have been accused of sexual abuse, mostly against children. 

“We’ve painstakingly gone through all the records we could find,” said Dan McNevin, a survivor of clergy abuse and one of the architects behind SNAP’s list, detailing his process of combing through court filings, news reports and other publicly available sources for bits of new information.

Currently standing at 227 names, the list just published by…

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At a sidewalk press conference outside the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, SNAP will share its list of those publicly accused of sexual abuse in the Diocese of Oakland

Following the press conference, SNAP will hand deliver a letter and a copy of its list to Bishop Michael Barber, asking him to expand his list

The list published by the Diocese of Oakland contains 65 names

SNAP’s list is currently at 227, with more names anticipated to be added before the 3-year civil window opened by California Assembly Bill 218 closes at the end of the month

WHEN

Tuesday, December 13, 2022, at noon

WHERE

On the public sidewalk outside of the Cathedral of Christ the Light, 2121 Harrison St. in Oakland, CA

WHO

5-6 survivors of sexual abuse in the Diocese of Oakland, supporters and advocates

WHY

The Diocese of Oakland released its own list of abusers in 2019. That list…

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The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, has called for the Diocese of Oakland to publicly released the full list of alleged abusive priests in the Catholic church. 

One survivor of abuse is encouraging victims to come forward before the window to file a civil suit closes at the end of the year. 

Joey Piscitelli claims he was first molested when he was playing pool at a Catholic school in Richmond when he was 14 years old. He said the abuse by a priest went on for more than a year and a half.  

“I think the most promiment side effect I deal with is chronic insomnia and triggering, flashbacks, nightmares, and dissociation. I still seek help for that,” Piscitelli said. 

Piscitelli may now be 66 years old, but his memories of sexual abuse remain painful and vivid. As the Northern California leader of SNAP, he…

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The Diocese of Worcester announced that Bishop Robert McManus has determined a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor exists against Reverend Alan J. Martineau and he will remain on leave from his pastoral duties. Martineau was first placed on leave in January.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Diocese said that it scheduled Martineau for transfer to a new parish in January due to “concerns over boundary issues with a minor.” Additional information reported to the Diocese before that transfer took place led McManus to put Martineau on leave.

An independent investigation into the allegations, completed recently, led to McManus making the determination that the allegation are credible.

The Diocese says it notified the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) and law enforcement about the allegations in early February. It also notified the Vatican and began a canonical process to adjudicate the allegation, according to hits…

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A former priest in northern Virginia pleaded guilty Monday to sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy more than 35 years ago.

Scott Asalone, 65, the former priest at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Purcellville, pleaded to a single count of felony carnal knowledge of a minor. He faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in April.

The victim in the case is former D.C. Council member David Grosso, who publicly identified himself as Asalone’s victim when the charges were filed in 2020.

Grosso, in a phone interview Monday, said he wrote a letter in 1992 to Asalone, and the priest responded by admitting his misconduct.

Grosso said the letter served as evidence to convict Asalone in a case that stretched back 37 years, to 1985.

“I love the fact that justice never stops in Virginia,” Grosso said.

Asalone, who now lives in Asbury Park, New…

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Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet announced he is filing a defamation lawsuit in Quebec against a woman who accused him of sexual assault.

“Having preliminarily made sure to protect the plaintiff’s anonymity by obtaining an order to that effect, today I am taking legal action for defamation before the courts of Quebec in order to prove the falsity of the allegations made against me and to restore my reputation and honor,” the cardinal said in a statement Dec. 13.

The woman accused the cardinal of inappropriately touching her at a meeting of the Quebec archdiocesan staff in 2008, when he was archbishop, and kissing her, pressing against her and making inappropriate comments at other gatherings.

“I have never been guilty of these reprehensible behaviors, much less of those alleged against other members of the clergy cited in the class action” lawsuit filed against the Archdiocese of Quebec and involving more than…

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Bishop Franz-Josef Bode has said he now expects to face a Vatican investigation over his handling of abuse cases in the Diocese of Osnabrück.

The Vatican has received a canonical complaint against Bishop Franz-Josef Bode, the vice president of the German bishops’ conference, concerning the bishop’s handling of abuse cases in the Diocese of Osnabrück. The bishop has said he now expects to face a Vatican investigation.

A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Hamburg confirmed that Archbishop Stefan Hesse received the complaint against Bode on Dec. 8, reported Katholisch.de, the German Church’s official website.

Bode has led the Osnabrück diocese since 1995, is Germany’s longest-serving diocesan bishop, and was elected deputy chairman of the German bishops’ conference in 2017.

As the metropolitan archbishop, Archbishop Heße is responsible for forwarding reports to the Holy See under the 2019 motu proprio Vos estis lux mundi, promulgated by Pope Francis after a global summit of…

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New USCCB president Archbishop Timothy Broglio explains how its most powerful, yet underappreciated, committee works.

When Archbishop Timothy Broglio was elected president of the U.S. bishops’ conference last month, media attention landed on the bishop’s history in the Vatican, his views on sexuality and clerical sexual abuse, and whether he could be considered “anti-Francis” — a charge the archbishop has laughed off.

Amid the commentary on theological and political questions, very little attention was given to what happened after Broglio was elected — and what it demonstrated about the most powerful, yet underappreciated, committee in the U.S. bishops’ conference.

But the bishops’ Committee on Priorities and Plans shouldn’t be overlooked — if you want to understand where conference leadership comes from, or how the conference spends its money and allocates staff hours, you’ve got to understand the central role of the USCCB’s central planning committee.

While customarily the USCCB’s vice-president…

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Best-selling author and Chicago-area pastor Dane Ortlund may have fired a church employee in retaliation for complaining of bullying and discrimination, an Illinois state investigation has found.

Ortlund is the author of “Gentle and Lowly” and pastor of Naperville Presbyterian Church (NPC). The Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR), which handles charges of employment discrimination, investigated and found “substantial evidence” of retaliation in the firing of NPC’s former operations director.

Christianity Today first reported the investigation’s finding this week. The outlet noted that this type of finding is rare, both at the state level and nationally.

A copy of the finding obtained by The Roys Report (TRR) shows Emily Hyland had been a longtime church member. In 2013,  the church  hired her as the church’s operations director. Ortlund fired her in March 2021 nine days after she complained of sex-based discrimination to the church’s elders, according to the…

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Letta Cartlidge created a group for missionary kids who’d attended her boarding school in Jos, Nigeria. The stories of abuse poured in.

It was on a Friday in spring 2021 that Letta Cartlidge decided she had seen enough.

In her backyard in a suburb of Denver, Colorado, a stack of bangles on her arm and an oversized cardigan draped around her shoulders, Cartlidge explained to the Century how on April 15, 2021, James McDowell, a former principal at Hillcrest—a boarding school primarily for the children of missionaries in Jos, Nigeria—admitted in a private Facebook group for Hillcrest alumni that he had “molested” two students during his tenure.

In his post, McDowell, who was at Hillcrest from 1974 to 1984, said he’d already apologized to the two students and offered restitution. But he also wanted to apologize to the wider Hillcrest community for “this breach of trust which these days is considered criminal.”

…

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Catholic bishops believe a ‘reckoning’ has yet to take place regarding sexual abuse in the church in Ireland

Over 300 people have made abuse allegations against at least 78 Spiritan priests, a spokesman for the religious congregation has said. He also said the latter figure may increase slightly when all recent contacts have been fully processed.

Some people making allegations have done so directly to the Spiritans, while others may have gone to the gardaí, “and we know that a number have gone initially to the independent expert on Restorative Justice, Mr Tim Chapman”, the spokesman said.

Allegations have not been broken down by the school or College where the alleged abuse took place, whether in Ireland or abroad, but the majority are understood to relate to Blackrock College /Willow Park in Dublin, he said.

No allegation about abuse abroad involving Spiritans had been made to the congregation in recent…

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Following an independent investigation, and subsequent recommendation by the Diocesan Review Committee, Most Reverend Robert J. McManus has determined that there is a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by Reverend Alan J. Martineau.  Fr. Martineau has been on administrative leave since January, 2022 and will remain on leave and cannot present himself as a priest.  The Department of Children and Families (DCF) and law enforcement authorities have been notified in a timely manner and a canonical process, including notice to the Vatican, has been initiated to adjudicate the allegation.

In late January of this year Fr. Martineau was scheduled to be transferred to a new parish to benefit from the tutelage of a seasoned pastor because of concerns over boundary issues with a minor, and for other pastoral issues.  Before that assignment took place, additional information was reported to the Diocese that prompted Bishop McManus to place Fr….

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The ombudsperson of Montreal’s Roman Catholic archdiocese is highlighting the “mishandling and delays” of abuse cases against the church and says she hopes that by speaking out, it will jolt the organization to act.

Lawyer Marie Christine Kirouack says in her new report that since June, delays in some files have become “interminable” and are causing complainants to lose faith in the process.

In an interview Monday, she said the problems began when she started reviewing older complaints.

“I feel that we’re in the midst of a storm right now,” she said. “Is it linked to the fact that I started working in late May and June into the old files?” Kirouack suggested some of the “old guard” at the archdiocese don’t want it made public that they didn’t act on abuse claims.

In the report — her fifth since being named to the role in 2021 — Kirouack described the case…

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Michael Benjamin said his testimony led local LDS Church leaders to “attempt to silence me from being vocal about the sex abuse case that the local leaders were involved in.”

Michael Benjamin has been involved with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints most of his life.

Baptized at age 8, he has served in several callings, or leadership assignments, over the years, including branch president, elders quorum president, Sunday school president, ward mission leader, Sunday school teacher, counselor in the bishopric, and stake young men’s counselor.

The LDS church has influenced almost every aspect of his life, from how he spent his time, where he could marry, how to raise his children, where he went to college — Brigham Young University — and what foods and drinks he could or could not consume.

“It has helped shape the values I have including service, love, kindness, compassion, hard work,…

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Bishop Robert J. McManus has determined that an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor levied against a Diocese of Worcester priest is credible.

The diocese announced Monday that the allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against Father Alan J. Martineau is credible. Martineau has been on administrative leave since January. He will remain on leave and cannot present himself as a priest, the diocese said in a release Monday.

“The Department of Children and Families (DCF) and law enforcement authorities have been notified in a timely manner and a canonical process, including notice to the Vatican, has been initiated to adjudicate the allegation,” the diocese said.

Martineau was scheduled to be transferred to a new parish to “benefit from the tutelage of a seasoned pastor because of concerns over boundary issues with a minor, and for other pastoral issues,” according to the…

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High profile US pastor Johnny Hunt was restored to ministry despite serious allegations of sexual misconduct. What happened to permanent disqualification, asks Beth Allison Barr. And what does it say to the women in their congregations?

Actions speak louder than words.

Last year, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) approved a resolution to “permanently” disqualify perpetrators of sexual abuse from holding the office of pastor.

“It’s very important for Southern Baptists to speak unequivocally and in a way that everyone can understand”, said Nathan Finn, the vice chair of the 2021 SBC resolutions committee. “We believe that sexual abuse is a disqualifying factor for anyone who would serve in church leadership.”

THE CASE OF JOHNNY HUNT

Yet, less than two weeks ago, four pastors (including two from within the SBC) declared that Johnny Hunt, a well-known speaker, leader, veteran pastor, and former SBC president, as fully qualified to resume his ministry. Last May, Hunt…

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Pastors guilty of sexual abuse never should be restored to ministry, Baylor University professor and author Beth Allison Barr wrote for a news service in the United Kingdom Dec. 9.

The opinion piece published by Premier Christianity addresses the case of Johnny Hunt, the former Georgia pastor and former executive vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board. Six months after Hunt was named as a perpetrator in a public investigation of sexual abuse in the SBC, a group of four male pastors issued a video declaring him “restored” to ministry under their unlicensed care.

That drew a sharp retort from current SBC President Bart Barber, who said if it were up to him he would permanently defrock Hunt, a previous SBC president.

Barr, professor of history at Baylor and author of the bestselling The Making of Biblical Womanhood, noted messengers to the SBC annual meeting last year adopted a resolution…

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Three men claim they were sexually abused by a deceased priest, John Curran.

AUGUSTA, Maine — Three new lawsuits were filed against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland in Cumberland County Superior Court on Monday. 

Three men claim the Rev. John Curran, a former priest who has since died, sexually abused them between the ages of 11 and 14 in the early 1960s. 

Eleven lawsuits have been filed seeking civil relief under a new law that removed the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse. 

The law that went into effect in 2021 lifted a statute of limitations, allowing Maine survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file a civil claim against their abusers, no matter when the abuse allegedly occurred. 

Previously, claims could only be pursued for cases dating back to 1987.

NEWS CENTER Maine is not identifying two alleged victims, but one of the plaintiffs, Andre Fortin, alleges Curran groomed him….

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Commonwealth of Virginia
Office of the Attorney General

Jason S. Miyares
Attorney General

The Office of the Attorney General successfully prosecuted a 37-year-old Child Sexual Assault case  

RICHMOND, VA — Attorney General Jason Miyares announced that Scott Asalone, 65, a former priest at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Purcellville, Va.,was convicted today in Loudoun County Circuit Court of felony carnal knowledge of a minor between 13 and 15 years of age. The abuse occurred during the summer of 1985 when Asalone was 29 and the victim was a minor.   

Asalone, of Asbury Park, NJ, was indicted by a multi-jurisdiction grand jury in March 2020 following an investigation by the Office of the Attorney General. He was arrested in New Jersey on March 14, 2020, extradited to Virginia, and remained on bond pending trial. Asalone, was removed from public duties in 1993 and dismissed from the Order of Capuchin Friars in 2007.

“Every victim…

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According to a release from the Office of Attorney General Jason Miyares, Scott Asalone was previously the priest at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church.

A 65-year-old former priest of a Purcellville church was convicted Monday for sexually abusing a minor during the summer of 1985 when the former priest was 29 years old. 

According to a release from the Office of Attorney General Jason Miyares, Scott Asalone was previously the priest at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church.

Asalone was arrested in New Jersey on March 14, 2020, and he was extradited to Virginia where he was indicted by a multi-jurisdiction grand jury for felony carnal knowledge of a minor between 13 and 15 years of age. The abuse happened during the summer of 1985 when Asalone was 29 and the victim was a minor.  

“Every victim deserves to be heard. My office is dedicated to…

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Scott A. Asalone, a rector in Purcellville, was removed from his church in 1993, but not arrested until 2020. The victim went on to become a D.C. councilman.

A former Catholic priest from Loudoun County, who was quietly discharged from his parish after abuse allegations in the 1990s, was convicted Monday in Loudoun circuit court of felony carnal knowledge of a minor for abusing a boy who would go on to become a D.C. councilman.

Scott A. Asalone, 66, who worked as a stockbroker and consultant in New Jersey for nearly three decades after leaving his parish, was arrested in March 2020, and released on bond during the pandemic. Jury selection for his trial was scheduled to begin Monday when Asalone decided to enter an “Alford” plea, in which a defendant doesn’t admit guilt but admits the prosecution has enough evidence to convict. Loudoun Circuit Court Judge James E. Plowman…

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Legislation that would give childhood victims of sexual abuse a chance to sue their abusers, regardless of when it happened, has the support of a key Maryland state senator.

Sen. Will Smith, the Democratic chair of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, told The Baltimore Sun he would support what’s previously been known as the “Hidden Predator Act,” which would create a “look-back window,” where survivors would have two years from the act becoming law to file a lawsuit regardless of when the abuse happened.

Under existing state law, childhood sexual abuse survivors have until their 38th birthday to file a lawsuit or three years after their abuser was convicted in criminal court, whichever is later.

Regularly sponsored by Del. C.T. Wilson, a Charles County Democrat who is a survivor of childhood abuse, the bill has been passed repeatedly by the House of Delegates only to die in Smith’s committee. Wilson said…

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The Rev. Alan J. Martineau, most recently of parishes in Warren, will remain on administrative leave after an investigation sought by the Diocese of Worcester deemed an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor to be credible.

Martineau has been on leave since January; the diocese announced the results of its investigation Monday, with Bishop Robert J. McManus ruling on the case.

Martineau, a former associate pastor at St. Anne’s of Shrewsbury, was most recently the administrator of St. Paul Parish and St. Stanislaus Parish in Warren. He grew up in Spencer and graduated from St. John’s High School, the diocese said in 2018, when Martineau was ordained.

The diocese gave the following account of the case: “In late January of this year Fr. Martineau was scheduled to be transferred to a new parish…

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[VIDEO]

The Aftermath looks into how victims of clergy abuse are dealing with the abuse endured and steps taken by the Catholic Church to prevent such abuse from happening.

The full documentary is 14 minutes long and looks into the perspectives of five subjects.

See trailer.

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Today, the law firms of Jeff Anderson & Associates and Greenberg Gross revealed that 44 Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) employees have been identified in 69 lawsuits filed under the California Child Victims Act and are accused of child sexual abuse. The public data collected is believed to be a small portion of what attorneys and advocates anticipate the final number of cases identifying LAUSD to be.

“Los Angeles Unified School District has a notorious history of hiring, and harboring perpetrators of child sexual abuse,” said Brian Williams of Greenberg Gross. “We hope by exposing perpetrators in lawsuits filed under the California Child Victims Act, children and students who participate in LAUSD will be protected in the present and future.”

Included below is a list of LAUSD employees accused of child sexual abuse and identified in lawsuits available to the public. The current whereabouts of some of these alleged perpetrators and…

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The three-year window established by California’s Child Victims Act – also known as Assembly Bill 218 (AB 218) – which temporarily set aside the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse victims to file claims, will close on December 31, 2022. This “lookback window” opened a three-year window for those of any age to revive past claims that may have been prohibited from being filed as lawsuits because the legal time limit to bring such claims, known as the statute of limitations, had run out.

Since AB-218 was signed into law in 2019 over 1000 victims of sexual abuse have brought lawsuits against large organizations such as the Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts of America. Victims were able to seek recompense in cases dating back decades. According to a list of settlements compiled by the website Bishop Accountability, California Catholic churches have paid among the highest dollar amounts for sex abuse settlements of…

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An advisory body of sexual abuse survivors on Monday called for canonical procedures against the vice president of the German Bishops’ Conference.

Bishop Franz-Josef Bode should be charged under canon law for his handling of abuse cases, the advisory council said in a statement sent to media Dec. 12, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.

The advisory body represents those affected by sexual abuse for the metropolitan archdiocese of Hamburg and the dioceses of Hildesheim and Osnabrück.

Under pressure for months to resign following the findings of a study that he has mishandled cases of sexual abuse, Bode has so far refused to step down.

The 71-year-old bishop of Osnabrück in northwestern Germany has been vice president of the German bishops’ conference since 2017. He is also vice president of the German Synodal Way.

On Monday, the victims’ advisory council said it had filed an official complaint and referred to…

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Anzeige Gemäss Kirchenrecht Bei Erzbischof Hesse

[PHOTO: Obwohl ihm eine Studie der Uni Osnabrück Versäumnisse im Umgang mit Missbrauch attestierte, will Bischof Bode nicht zurücktreten. Sein Betroffenenbeirat hat jetzt Anzeige gemäß Kirchenrecht erstattet – nun sind Erzbischof Heße und der Vatikan am Zug.]

Der Betroffenenbeirat der Bistümer Hamburg, Hildesheim und Osnabrück hat gegen den Osnabrücker Bischof Franz-Josef Bode kirchenrechtlich Anzeige wegen seines Umgangs mit sexuellem Missbrauch gestellt. Am Montag teilte der Betroffenenbeirat mit, dass er bereits am Donnerstag Anzeige beim zuständigen Erzbischof von Hamburg, Stefan Heße, erstattet hat. “Bischof Bode hat entgegen klaren päpstlichen Vorgaben gehandelt und bspw. sexualisierte Gewalt gegen Minderjährige noch in diesem Jahr als ‘Beziehung’ deklariert”, heißt es in der Pressemitteilung des Beirats zur Begründung. In der Gesamtschau zeige sich ein klares kirchenrechtliches Fehlverhalten Bodes, “der zum einen die Schilderungen der Betroffenen zum Sachverhalt gänzlich falsch eingeschätzt hat, und zum anderen die Anzeige nach Rom verzögerte,…

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A research team from Xavier University in Cincinnati has created a tool that measures the “moral injury” caused by clergy sexual abuse and its concealment by officials in the Catholic Church.

In a report on the pilot study, released Dec. 12, moral injury is described as persistent psychological and emotional distress, spiritual anguish, moral confusion, social isolation, and distrust for institutions. It results from a betrayal of trust or violation of deeply held moral values.

“When the perpetrator of sexual abuse is a priest — someone ordained in persona Christi — and represents the holy, the sacred or the entire church or even God, the trauma of abuse takes on an added weight,” said Marcus Mescher, a principal investigator for the study and professor of Christian ethics at Jesuit-run Xavier. “I thought the concept of moral injury would be a helpful hermeneutical lens for understanding the many…

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GARDAÍ are unlikely to prosecute any members of the Jesuits over the religious order’s handling of historic allegations of child sexual abuse by one of its priests Fr Joseph Marmion.

Garda sources said that enquires into allegations against Marmion of abusing pupils at Belvedere College, Clongowes Wood College and the former Crescent College in Limerick City have also run cold because Marmion died in 2000 at the age of 75.

In 1977 a number of pupils at Belvedere, where Marmion taught from 1969 to 1978, made disclosures to senior Jesuits of sexual abuse by Marmion.

The Jesuit Order dealt with the matter in-house, and Marmion was never questioned by the civil authorities.

A Garda spokesman told the Limerick Post that “while it is our intention to effectively deal with all complaints and information received, there will be limitations as to the action we can take in some cases due to…

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In 2019, Catholics managed to stop a draft law that would have opened a breach in the confessional privilege. But they left a problem unsolved.

Article 1 of 4.

The confessional privilege is the legal protection of the secret of the confession in the Catholic Church and of similar practices in other religious bodies. A Catholic priest should not reveal to anybody, including law enforcement officers or courts of law, what has been told to him in confession, under penalty of excommunication.

As Bitter Winter reported in a previous series, this privilege has been historically protected by both statutes and common law in most countries, and extended to confessional practices of other religions. In recent years, however, the sad tragedy of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests has induced some jurisdictions, including Ireland, most states and territories of Australia, and some U.S. states, to pass laws introducing…

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A response to Fra Bernard-Marie, a secular Franciscan who has argued that victims of sexual abuse need to forgive their abusers and get on with their lives

The testimony of this brother, which was recently published in La Croix, bothers me – and not just a little. He wrote and published the article to promote his personal decision.

When he says “it is undoubtedly this attitude, both just and merciful, that we should adopt towards our guilty brothers and sisters”, he is indirectly passing an unsympathetic judgment on the victims who denounce and fight against their predator, in spite of all his precautions. In the final analysis, are their struggles neither just nor merciful?

In response to this article, which I believe is symptomatic of the confusion that is often seen in Catholic circles on this subject, I would like to share four conclusions that I have reached after thirteen…

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For those still interested, the erosion of episcopal authority from the clerical sex abuse scandal continues at pace

The views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of La Croix International.

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Despite the findings from any number of independent inquiries and investigations of the closed and self- referential culture of the institution, the official Catholic Church stance remains defensive and controlling. The Vatican’s history of handling abuse cases has been riddled with a misguided clericalist attitude that accommodated and protected their own. Priest abusers were seldom defrocked, offending bishops were often conveniently furloughed and the curial instinct to resist submission to civil authorities perpetuated.

The Church’s canon law imposes mind numbing time delays and the verdicts of canonical trials seem devoid of any consistent jurisprudence leaving local bishops the unenviable tasks of defending the indefensible.

The French…

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„Prywatny komentarz” dyrektora Radia Maryja o bp. Napierale jako „współczesnym męczenniku” został wygłoszony publicznie w obecności kilkunastu biskupów oraz licznych wiernych – i dlatego domagał się natychmiastowej publicznej reakcji i sprostowania. Takiej reakcji jednak nie było, zresztą nie po raz pierwszy.

Ojciec Tadeusz Rydzyk nie ustaje w swoich wysiłkach wykreowania współczesnego modelu świętości w Kościele w Polsce. Jego najnowsza wypowiedź na ten temat, wygłoszona publicznie podczas uroczystości z okazji 31. rocznicy powstania Radia Maryja, nie pozostawia wątpliwości kogo, zdaniem redemptorysty, należy uważać za świętego.

Nawiązując do osoby bp. Stanisława Napierały i jego nieobecności podczas wspomnianej uroczystości spowodowanej wyraźnym zaleceniem Stolicy Apostolskiej w sprawie nieuczestniczenia w publicznych celebracjach, o. Tadeusz Rydzyk powiedział: „Tak powstają święci. To jest pchanie na ołtarze, tak. Dla mnie to są współcześni męczennicy”.

Dla Kościoła w Polsce nastał czas, kiedy mówienie o tym, co dotąd było oczywiste, stało się problematyczne, a nazywanie rzeczy po imieniu – zdecydowanie…

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A former youth pastor is facing charges in Polk and Story counties for allegedly sexually abusing teens and providing them with alcohol.

Twenty-six-year-old Caleb Toney of Elkhart is charged with two counts of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, one count of assault, three counts of supplying alcohol to persons under the legal age, and one count of permitting minors to consume alcohol.

Cmdr. Dan Walter with the Ames Police Department said the first charges stem from incidents in the fall of 2017 at a residence where Toney lived at the time. Toney is accused of giving a 15-year-old alcohol and once the teen was intoxicated Toney allegedly touched him in an “unwanted, insulting, and offensive” manner. Court documents show he provided alcohol for a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old on multiple occasions and allowed them to drink at his Ames residence.

The other incidents are alleged to have happened…

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A prominent Roman Catholic priest known for his activism has been reinstated as leader of his Chicago parish after being cleared by church officials of allegations that he sexually abused a minor decades ago.

The Chicago Archdiocese released a letter Saturday saying that a review board found “no reason to suspect” that the Rev. Michael Pfleger was guilty of the allegations. Pfleger had stepped away from his duties as pastor of St. Sabina Church in October during the review.

Cardinal Blase Cupich said in the letter that he recognizes the “great toll” Pfleger’s absence had on the parish and said “I am committed to do everything possible to see that his good name is restored.”

In October, a man in his late 40s said through an attorney that Pfleger abused him twice in the late 1980s during choir rehearsals in the St. Sabina rectory. That claim was similar to other  View Cache

A prominent Jesuit priest has been continuing to practise his ministry despite the fact that it was restricted by the Vatican in January 2022 following allegations of sexual misconduct made against him.

According to reports on a number of Italian news sites, 68-year-old Father Marko Ivan Rupnik was in January 2022 ordered to stop practising his ministry following a series of complaints about his conduct going back to 1992.

However, despite the ban, Fr Rupnik received an honorary doctorate from the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná in Brazil on the 30th of November. He has also featured in a regular YouTube slot every Sunday commenting on the Sunday Gospel. The Diocese of Rome also posted a video of Rupnik speaking about Eucharistic adoration in February this year.

Fr Rupnik is a high profile figure in Rome and known as a friend and advisor to Pope Francis. 

…

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NEWS ANALYSIS: Crucial questions remain unanswered with respect to the handling of allegations of physical, sexual and spiritual abuse against the prominent Slovenian Jesuit priest.

Ever since the Society of Jesus acknowledged last week that it had restricted the well-known Jesuit artist Father Marko Ivan Rupnik from ministry following allegations of abuse against religious sisters in Slovenia, questions have arisen about the transparency of both the society and the Vatican.

So what do we know about the case, and how forthright have both the Jesuits and the Vatican been, especially in light of Pope Francis’ recent appeal for greater transparency in all clerical abuse cases?

Father Rupnik, a 68-year-old Slovenian Jesuit best known for designing mosaic artworks for chapels, churches and shrines around the world for 30 years, is close to Pope Francis and influential in his native Slovenia where he is known as “one of the great reformers” and…

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Pfleger, 73, said he would return to lead Mass on Sunday. He has staunchly denied all claims of wrongdoing and was roundly supported by parishioners.

Chicago’s highest-profile and sometimes controversial priest was reinstated to his South Side pulpit Saturday as archdiocese officials dismissed the latest accusation of sexual abuse against the Rev. Michael Pfleger. 

The St. Sabina preacher had been sidelined from the ministry for almost two months after another man came forward saying Pfleger abused him in the rectory of the Auburn Gresham parish in the 1980s — marking the second time in the past two years that Pfleger had been benched due to decades-old accusations. 

In a letter to parishioners Saturday evening, Cardinal Blase Cupich announced the archdiocese’s review board “has concluded that there is no reason to suspect Father Pfleger is guilty of these allegations.”

“I want to recognize that these months have taken a great toll…

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December 10, 2022

Dear members of the Faith Community of St. Sabina,

Thank you for your patience and prayers during the absence of your senior pastor, Father Michael Pfleger. As you know, earlier this year the archdiocese received allegations of child sexual abuse against Father Pfleger. In accordance with our policies for the protection of children and youth, the archdiocese Independent Review Board. assisted by our Office of Child Abuse Investigation and Review and outside investigators conducted a thorough review of the allegations.

The Review Board has concluded that there is no reason to suspect Father Pfleger is guilty of these allegations. Having given careful consideration to their decision, which I fully accept, I now inform you that I am reinstating Father Pfleger to his position of senior pastor of the Faith Community of St. Sabina, effective immediately. I want to recognize that these months have taken a great toll…

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In October, a Chicago attorney confirmed that a client of his had filed a claim with the Archdiocese of Chicago, alleging that Pfleger had sexually abused him when he was a minor in the late 1980s.

Rev. Michael Pfleger has been reinstated as the pastor of Chicago’s Saint Sabina Catholic Church after an Archdiocese of Chicago review board cleared Pfleger of sexual abuse allegations brought forth against him two months ago, according to a letter from Cardinal Blase Cupich.

Cupich wrote a letter to the Saint Sabina parish community Saturday, announcing he was reinstating Pfleger as pastor immediately following a thorough review by the archdiocese’s Independent Review Board and outside investigators. The Review Board, according to the cardinal, concluded “there is no reason to suspect” Pfleger is guilty of the accusations.

“Having given careful consideration to their decision,…

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Cardinal Blase Cupich of the Archdiocese of Chicago announced Saturday that an investigation had found no support for the allegations against the well-known priest.

A prominent Roman Catholic priest has been reinstated to his south Chicago parish after an investigation found that abuse charges against him were not credible.

The Rev. Michael Pfleger, longtime pastor of St. Sabina Catholic Church was suspended in October after the Archdiocese of Chicago received an allegation of abuse against him.

The archdiocesan Independent Review Board and Office of Child Abuse Investigation and Review, with help from outside investigators, reviewed the allegations against Pfleger, Cardinal Blase Cupich told St. Sabina parishioners in a letter Saturday (Dec. 10).

“The Review Board has concluded that there is no reason to suspect Father Pfleger is guilty of these allegations,” he wrote.

Plefger had been accused of abuse once before and was suspended as the charges were investigated, then reinstated….

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Father Michael Pfleger wasted no time speaking to his congregation after a review board found no evidence the pastor is guilty of sexual abuse.

Cardinal Blasé Cupich announced Saturday that he has reinstated St. Sabina Catholic Church pastor to his senior role, effective immediately.

In a letter to the Saint Sabina parish, Cupich said, “The Review Board has concluded that there is no reason to suspect Father Pfleger is guilty of these allegations.”

Fr. Pfleger shared the reinstatement letter on his Facebook page with the caption: “Like MJ said. ‘I’M BACK.’”

His entrance was met with applause, tears, and relief from St. Sabina parishioners.

“I thank you for believing in me. I thank you for never giving up on me,” Fr. Pfleger said during his first public comments after being reinstated. This has been very painful. It would be twice in a row in, like, two-and-a-half years. But two things, God…

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Chicago Catholic Archdiocese reinstates Father Michael Pfleger, says ‘no reason to suspect he is guilty’

The Chicago Catholic Archdiocese reinstated Father Michael Pfleger on Saturday, saying “there is no reason to suspect Father Pfleger is guilty” of sex abuse.

“I just want to thank you for your love, believing in me,” Pfleger told parishioners on Saturday afternoon. “I apologize for taking you through all this craziness again because of me. I love you. I’ll talk with you soon.”

In October, Pfleger had been accused of abusing a minor more than 30 years ago. During the investigation, he was removed from his post at St. Sabina Church.

In a statement, attorney Eugene Hollander, who represents the latest accuser, said: “”My client is extremely disappointed by today’s finding.  We had overwhelming evidence concerning these sexual abuse allegations….

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Two men who were facing felony charges alleging they abused boys at a private Christian boarding school in southwest Missouri have pleaded guilty to misdemeanors, and the case against a third was dropped.

Scott Dumar, 46, the medical coordinator at the Agape Boarding School near Stockton, pleaded guilty Thursday to two misdemeanors and was placed on two years probation. Everett Graves, 40, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor.

The case against Chris McElroy was dropped after the alleged victim did not appear at a preliminary hearing Thursday, The Kansas City Star reported.

They were among five staff members charged in September 2021 with low-level felonies after an investigation into accusations by former and current students of widespread abuse at the school

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office had recommended prosecuting 22 staff members with a total of 65 counts on behalf of 36 students. But Cedar County Prosecutor Ty…

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“See, that’s my problem: too much respect”.

If you speak with Arthur Baselice Jr., you’ll believe it, too. While we talk, the retired Philadelphia detective’s undivided attention is on our conversation with intense, genuine engagement. Arthur’s presence commands respect – not to be confused with demanding it. 

Arthur is sharp, present, no-nonsense, and yet tactful, inviting, level. He invites me to walk with him some time, and, at my request, clarifies where I can get a proper cheesesteak (you should only trust the opinion of a lifelong Philadelphian – even if they now live in South Jersey). When I ask what he’s up to lately, he conveys patient urgency and substantive, ripened anger: 

“These days, we’re waiting and making it happen for as long as we can.”

The loss of Arthur’s only son, Arthur Baselice III, is no secret. Quite the opposite – since losing him, the elder Arthur commits…

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Several senior Church figures have been charged with trying to protect a Catholic priest arrested and remanded in police custody in western India at the weekend.

A bishop, two cardinals and two priests are accused of failing to take action over an alleged assault by the priest on a schoolboy. 

Father Vincent Pereira was arrested late on Nov. 25 in the city of Pune and remanded in police custody a day later after being accused of sexually assaulting the schoolboy.

The arrest of the 55-year-old Catholic priest from Pune diocese followed his conditional release by a court the same day in connection with similar complaints lodged against him.

However, several senior Church figures were also named in the latest complaint, a copy of which was seen by UCA News, and charged with trying to protect the priest.

The accused clergymen were Bishop Thomas Dabre of Pune; Cardinal…

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A prominent church near the campus of the University of North Carolina (UNC) is embroiled in controversy and bleeding members following allegations of spiritual abuse, abuse of power, racism, and sexism.

Chapel Hill Bible Church—a church of about 1,000, including several former and current UNC professors—has reportedly lost about 200 people over the past several years.

The church also has been the target of three investigations. The result of its most recent one, conducted by GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in a Christian Environment), has not been made public despite calls by members to do so.

On Saturday, church elders responded to the growing unrest by telling members that if they don’t trust the leadership, they should leave.

In an email to church members, the elder board stated, “We will no longer refer or respond to the group that identifies as Concerned Members or Concerned Congregants. We…

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At Pope Francis’ meeting with his cardinal advisers this week, Cardinal Sean O’Malley reported on the work of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, now within the Roman Curia.

The Holy See press office said on Dec. 7 that the pope met with his council of advisers for a two-day meeting at the current papal residence, the Casa Santa Marta.

The members of the Council of Cardinals discussed the continental phase of the Synod on Synodality and the work of the most recent United Nations Climate Change Conference before listening to O’Malley’s briefing on the protection of minors. 

Earlier this year, Pope Francis made changes to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in his attempt to reform the Roman Curia with the new apostolic constitution Praedicate evangelium.

The constitution placed the pontifical council within the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a move that led…

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Father Marko Ivan Rupnik, a well-known Jesuit priest and artist, has been accused of abuse he allegedly committed in the early 1990s against at least nine consecrated women of the Loyola Community, a Slovian community co-founded by Rupnik and Sister Ivanka Hosta.

According to an official statement from the Society of Jesus, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith received a complaint against the Slovenian priest and requested that a preliminary investigation be launched.

The investigation was carried out by a Dominican religious who heard the testimony of several people.

During the preliminary investigation, precautionary measures were taken against Rupnik, such as the prohibition of “exercising the sacrament of confession, spiritual direction, and giving the Spiritual Exercises,” according to the official statement released in Italian by the Society of Jesus on Dec. 2. 

The Provincial of the Jesuits in Slovenia explained that the results of this investigation…

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The canonical trial of Father Ivan Rupnik can be represented with the image of a bottle. The consecrated women of the Loyola Community, where the Slovenian Jesuit was confessor and spiritual director, found themselves victims of a man who was abusive and, at the same time, aware of his power. Indeed, one cannot count the friendships that Rupnik cultivated over the years. Too big to fail, whispers someone, here in the Vatican.

The canonical process

The first courageous women who chose to denounce Mark Ivan Rupnik’s abuse of power were confronted by people who said: ‘No, it cannot be possible‘. This often happens when the perpetrator is powerful and enjoys an aura of sanctity. The human mind cannot accept this being questioned. Yet, psychology teaches us, it is in this very fabric that the worst violence is born.

The complaints, however, became more and more numerous and the canonical investigation became a duty. H.E.R. Msgr. Daniele Libanori, Auxiliary Bishop…

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France’s Catholic bishops have set up what they believe to be the world’s first major national church court, replacing a previous network of local tribunals, although sexual abuse cases involving children will still be referred to the Vatican.

“As a community of believers, the church has developed a comprehensive legal system, which includes the right to sanction behavior by members” who undermine “the church’s spiritual and human values,” the bishops’ conference said in a statement.

“These ecclesial procedures do not conflict with French law. … Like all religions, the Catholic Church is free in its internal organization, and all Catholics, as French citizens, also remain subject to the state law.”

The statement explained the role of the National Canonical Penal Court, set up in Paris Dec. 5.

It said the 20-member court, approved by the Vatican in September, would be tasked with judging “canonical offenses committed by clergy and laity”…

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