ABUSE TRACKER

A report summarizing discussions at the assembly of the Synod of Bishops said the church may need more welcoming pastoral approaches, especially to people who feel excluded, but also acknowledged fears of betraying traditional church teachings and practices.

Among the topics addressed in the report were clerical sexual abuse, women’s roles in the church, outreach to poor and the concept of “synodality” itself.

The assembly, with 364 voting members — 365 counting Pope Francis — met in working sessions six days a week Oct. 4-28 after a three-day retreat outside of Rome. They were scheduled to join the pope Oct. 29 for the assembly’s closing Mass.

After the voting on the synthesis concluded, the pope said he wanted to remind everyone that “the protagonist of the synod is the Holy Spirit.” He briefly thanked the synod officers and joined members of the assembly in giving thanks to God.

The assembly’s…

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A former priest who was formally relieved of his clerical status decades ago was recently arrested for allegedly molesting a 15-year-old cancer patient during an unsanctioned blessing ceremony in Ohio.

Luis Jesus Barajas, 76, stands accused of one count of gross sexual imposition, according to the Westlake Police Department.

Authorities say it’s not the first time the former man of the cloth has been accused of child sexual abuse – not by a long shot.

The underlying alleged incident occurred on Oct. 10, when the defendant was driven to a home in Westlake – a large suburb of Cleveland located in Cuyahoga County – in order to pray with the girl at her family’s request because she was suffering from cancer and her concomitant chemotherapy treatment, police say. The girl’s family had previously heard about Barajas because he was visiting the…

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Attorneys for the Archdiocese of Baltimore and abuse survivors are expected back in court next week as the church’s bankruptcy proceedings unfold. Meanwhile, survivors say they’re eager for answers about how they’ll find justice amid the bankruptcy process.

The archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late September, just days before the start of a new Maryland law that allows survivors of child sex abuse to sue their perpetrators or responsible parties, no matter how long ago the abuse took place. But the church’s move, filed in federal court, immediately halted church abuse survivors from filing civil claims against both the church and its parishes in state courts.

The bankruptcy proceeding is still in the early stages, but so far, the court has appointed what’s called a creditors committee made up of seven survivors and their attorneys that will serve as representatives for all survivors expected to come forward in…

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Spain’s bishops apologised on Monday after a report estimated more than 200,000 minors had been sexually abused by the country’s Roman Catholic clergy since 1940.

But the Spanish Episcopal Conference said the numbers mentioned in the report, by an independent commission, “do not correspond to the truth”.

The paper published Friday did not give a specific number of abuse victims but said a poll of more than 8,000 people found that 0.6 percent of Spain’s adult population said they had suffered sexual abuse by members of the clergy when they were children.

With a population of about 39 million people, that would make about 230,000 victims.

In a statement issued after an extraordinary assembly held to assess the report, the conference said: “The bishops present have expressed their pain for the damage caused by some members of the Church with sexual abuse and reiterate their request for forgiveness from the…

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Sex abuse survivors groups are asking why Pope Francis took so long to waive a statute of limitations to permit the possible prosecution of Slovenian priest-artist Father Marko Rupnik.

Victims “need justice, not talk,” said Irish abuse survivor Marie Collins (pictured), a former member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM) who resigned in protest in 2017.

For over a year, the furore surrounding Rupnik, perhaps contemporary Catholicism’s most famed muralist, who has been accused of sexually assaulting around 25 adult women over a 30-year period, has plagued the Church, in part due to several question marks over the handling of the case.

The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) initially declined to open canonical proceedings, citing a canonical statute of limitations for the abuse of adults, which had previously been waived in other cases, making the Pope’s announcement on Friday a seemingly complete…

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Nearly 25 years since the Portarlington paedophile Donal Dunne was jailed for offences against young boys, his deeds continue to cast a shadow over many lives.

He had a 45 year teaching career and left the Christian Brothers in 1957, his abuse of boys having spanned both his time in the order and subsequently.

He began his teaching career in Dublin in 1940 at Scoil Mhuire in Dublin’s Marino and he held posts in a total of ten schools before retiring from the Sacred Heart School in Tullamore. At the age of 78, he received a two year prison sentence at Tullamore Circuit Court in 1999.

Dunne’s abuse of boys came to light after incidents relating to a neighbour’s child led to a Garda investigation into his teaching career. This included the three years he spent as principal of Walsh Island NS, one of at least six schools where he…

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The Catholic Church is dominated by men but is making progress on giving a stronger voice to women, representatives of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), an umbrella group of Catholic nuns, said on Wednesday.

Pope Francis has appointed a few women in senior Vatican managerial positions, and has for the first time given them voting powers in this month’s synod, a bishops’ summit discussing church reforms.

At the same time, Francis has ruled out opening up the priesthood to women.

The Church is “by and large fully led by a male hierarchy”, and “if you ask if I have felt frustrated, yes I have felt frustrated,” Sister Mary John Kudiyiruppil, UISG Associate executive secretary, said.

“But I really think we are making progress,” the Indian-born nun added, speaking at the Foreign Press Association in Rome.

Sister Maamalifar Poreku, a missionary nun from Ghana who co-chairs a UISG panel on…

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[Video of report posted yesterday in Abuse Tracker, with brief interviews of survivor Paul O’Halloran and attorney Angela Sdrinis, who represents survivors.]

The Catholic Church-owned insurance company [Catholic Church Insurance] that insures Catholic organisations is struggling to keep up with demand for payouts relating to historical child sexual abuse.

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A Thunder Bay court approved a proposed settlement agreement between abuse victims of Ralph Rowe, a former Anglican priest and scout master. On 27 Oct 2023 Justice Bonnie Warkentin approved a proposed settlement agreement in the class action lawsuit against Ralph Rowe, Scouts Canada, and the Diocese of Keewatin to compensate victims of abuse.

The class action suite was filed in 2017 and sought $110 million in damages for numerous incidents of sexual abuse committed by Rowe between 1975 and 1985 when he was a priest and Scout leader in the geographic boundaries of the Diocese of Keewatin in Northern Ontario.

Since 1988 Rowe has been found guilty of over 50 counts of abuse and sexual assault involving dozens of young boys. He has served less than five years imprisonment for his crimes. 

The settlement will see the diocese, Scouts Canada and the Anglican Church of Canada pay $13.25 million…

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A retired priest has been removed from ministry pending an investigation into an allegation of child sexual abuse, according to the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, asked the Rev. William Killeen to “step aside” after learning of the allegation last week, according to a Saturday evening news release. The abuse allegedly happened about 40 years ago at St. Patricia Parish in Hickory Hills. Killeen denies the allegation, according to the statement.

Killeen declined to comment on the investigation when reached by phone Sunday afternoon.

The archdiocese said it notified civil authorities, and that the person who made the allegation was offered services of the archdiocese’s victim assistance ministry.

Retired since 2019, the archdiocese said Killeen occasionally celebrates Mass at St. Francis Xavier Parish and St. Cletus Parish, both in La Grange, and St. John of the Cross Parish in Western Springs.

Cupich notified eight parishes that…

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Case shows why Zero Tolerance must be mandated by canon law

After sustained pressure over the past year, the Pope announced earlier today that he is finally waiving the statute of limitations in the case against Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik, a statute that he has previously stated he “always” waives in cases of minors or “vulnerable adults.”  

ECA has long contested current Vatican policy that requires the Pope’s intervention to waive the statute of limitations on an individual basis. Earlier this month, ECA released the text of our newly proposed Zero Tolerance law, legislation that would mandate permanent removal from the priesthood for any cleric found guilty of abusing a child or vulnerable adult, as well as any bishop found to have institutionally concealed such abuse. Furthermore, this Zero Tolerance law exempts any instance of sexual abuse from a statute of limitations.

In our latest press release, sent prior to…

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WESTLAKE, Ohio (WJW) — City police arrested a 76-year-old Colombian man who claimed to be a retired Catholic priest, after he was accused of molestation while “blessing” a 15-year-old girl suffering from cancer.

A local priest reported the “disturbing incident” to city police just before 2 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 20, according to a Tuesday news release from police Capt. Gerald Vogel.

The man, whom police identified as Luis Jesus Barajas, a Colombian national, has been staying with local families in Lorain County for months, “performing spiritual ceremonies to the nearby Spanish-speaking population,” reads the release.

On Friday, he was driven to Westlake to pray with a 15-year-old girl who had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy, according to the release.

“According to witnesses, Mr. Barajas touched the juvenile inappropriately during the blessing,” Vogel wrote….

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CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – A 76-year-old former priest accused of “inappropriately touching” a 15-year-old Westlake girl sick with cancer while giving her a blessing is scheduled to appear in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Monday.

Luis Jesus Barajas will face a judge for an initial appearance. He is being held on a $500,000 bond at the Cuyahoga County Justice Center.

Westlake police arrested Barajas on Oct. 23 and charged him with gross sexual imposition.

According to police, the Columbian national has been staying with local families in Lorain County for several months.

On Oct. 10, he was driven to Westlake to pray with the teenager and her family.

Witnesses told police Barajas used blankets and clothing to to hide his actions and his movements during the blessing were “unconventional.” Another Catholic priest learned of the incident and reported it to police on Oct. 20.

Barajas was accused of sexual…

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A former priest was arrested Monday and accused of molesting a 15-year-old girl who is ill with cancer.

A local Catholic priest called Westlake Police Department to report “a disturbing incident” involving Luis Jesus Barajas, 76, who was visiting the area and performing spiritual ceremonies in Spanish for Hispanic residents in the area.

Barajas, who has been staying with families in Lorain County, was driven to a home in Westlake on Oct. 10 to bless a 15-year-old girl who is undergoing chemotherapy.

Witnesses told police Barajas touched the girl inappropriately during the blessing, police said.

“Mr. Barajas’ used blankets and clothing to hide some of his actions from witnesses, but his touching made several uncomfortable. Witnesses said Barajas’ movements were ‘unconventional’ compared to past blessings they had seen,” a police report said.

Barajas, from Colombia, had been accused in the past of sexual misconduct…

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The historic report released by Spain’s ombudsman details the abuses committed by clergy members, calling out the religious institution in harsh terms. According to the figures released, Spain is the country with the highest official projection of victims

Spain has become a global exception among majority-Catholic countries. It went from having no officially recognized cases of pedophilia within the Catholic Church to being the country with the highest number of victims in the world. It is estimated that 1.13% of the current adult population has suffered abuse in the religious sphere. This is according to a large-scale survey, the first of its kind in the country, carried out by Ombudsman Ángel Gabilondo.

The ombudsman avoided making the calculation in round numbers during his appearance in the Congress of Deputies on Friday, October 27. His final report also doesn’t offer such figures. However, according to calculations by EL PAÍS, that 1.13%…

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Cardinal Omella took 24 hours to react to the report that was commissioned by Spain’s ombudsman. He dismissed the study that estimates that 1.13% of the country’s population — approximately 440,000 people — have suffered childhood sexual abuse in religious environments

Cardinal Juan José Omella — president of the Episcopal Conference of Spain and archbishop of Barcelona — has rejected the conclusions of one of the pillars of the recently-released report on pedophilia in the Catholic Church of Spain.

The report — commissioned by Ombudsman Ángel Gabilondo — was presented to Spain’s Congress on Friday, October 27. It entailed a demographic survey of more than 8,000 adult Spaniards. Based on the results of said survey, it is estimated that 1.13% of Spain’s adult population — more than 440,000 people between the ages of 18 and 90 — have suffered abuse in religious environments in Spain. Approximately…

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A report released by Spanish Ombudsman Ángel Gabilondo on Friday found that priests within the Catholic Church have abused more than 1 in every 200 Spaniards. The report was presented to the Spanish Parliament on Friday and aimed to ensure that the perpetrators are held responsible and accountable for their actions. The ombudsman also sought to create greater awareness about the issue of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

The report detailed that, out of 8,000 interviewees, 11.7 percent were victims of sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic priests during their childhood or adolescence. Additionally, the report revealed that more women than men were abused and how many now suffer from mental health issues or have contemplated committing suicide.

Last year, the Spanish Parliament agreed to create an independent body to investigate the increasing cases of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. After 1,237…

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Four former members of the Monastic Family of Bethlehem denounce excesses of founder Odile Dupont, which they claim led to a system of control in the name of unreasonable obedience to the Virgin Mary

In January 2021, the Monastic Sisters of Bethlehem opened a complaints center to hear from alleged victims of abuse in their community since its founding in the 1950s. Far from “carrying out justice and reparation” as announced, this center has been seen by former members, who have been trying to alert the Church for nearly 15 years, as a “smokescreen” and a new attempt to discredit their testimony. 

Therefore, they entrusted their testimonies and the task of investigating the alleged dysfunctions of the Monastic Sisters of Bethlehem since its origins, to Blandine de Dinechin, a former journalist who worked on spiritual abuse. According to them, these issues stem from the excesses of the founder, Odile Dupont…

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• The Catholic Church-owned insurance company that insures Catholic organisations is struggling to keep up with demand for payouts relating to historical child sexual abuse.
• The company, established in 1911, stopped issuing new policies in May but says it’s still having financial difficulties.
• What’s next? Catholic organisations need to find insurance elsewhere, but there are concerns they’ll struggle to get cover for abuse claims and smaller organisations won’t have the money to fund future claims.

Paul O’Halloran went to Marist College in north-west Tasmania the 1960s.

In recent times, he’s seen six former staff members from the Burnie Catholic school jailed for historical child sexual abuse.

Allegations have been made against another five, who have since died.

“It’s unimaginable, I think, the damage that’s been done to this community through the abuse on the scale that it was,” said Mr O’Halloran, a former Tasmanian Greens state MP.

Mr O’Halloran and his brother both allege they…

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Are the commitments for a synodal Church credible when a priest accused of repeated sex abuse finds a new diocese?

Most mornings, on the drive to school, my daughters wave at the Catholic Church we drive by and say, “Hi, Jesus!” It’s a small gesture of their deep faith, and one that gives me great hope. Even at just six and three, they know the Lord is there, Jesus present in the Eucharist, inside the tabernacle, set behind the altar, in the Church we drive past.

But some mornings, like the morning of October 25, that great hope in their young faith and my love of the Church was short lived. Because sometimes, the Church lets me down, and even the burgeoning faith of my two little girls can’t seem to buoy it back up.

I hoped my Wednesday would be spent reading the Letter from the Synod of Bishops…

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El informe del Defensor del Pueblo, que constata los abusos sexuales ocurridos en el clero, resalta la falta de colaboración de la Iglesia católica

El informe presentado este viernes por el Defensor del Pueblo no cierra, desgraciadamente, la investigación sobre los abusos sexuales ocurridos en el ámbito de la Iglesia católica española durante décadas porque no incluye la plena admisión de responsabilidad por parte de la jerarquía de esta institución ni su compromiso efectivo de poner en marcha los mecanismos necesarios, no solo de reparación por lo ocurrido hasta ahora, sino también, y sobre todo, los recursos de prevención que permitan controlar en el presente y en el futuro hechos parecidos en colegios e instituciones dependientes de la Iglesia católica.

Los periodistas que abrimos esa investigación en el diario El PAÍS, en septiembre de 2018, lo hicimos conscientes…

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Today, Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, notified eight parishes that he had asked Fr. William Killeen to step aside pending investigation of an allegation of child sexual abuse received this week. Father Killeen denies the allegation. The abuse is alleged to have occurred approximately 40 years ago at St. Patricia Parish in Hickory Hills.

The parishes are: St. Alexander in Palos Heights, St. Patricia in Hickory Hills, St. Michael in Orland Park, St. Christopher (now St. Augustine) in Midlothian, Infant Jesus of Prague (now St. Veronica) in Flossmoor, St. Francis Xavier in La Grange, St. Cletus in La Grange, and St. John of the Cross in Western Springs.

Retired since 2019, Killeen celebrates Mass occasionally at St. Francis Xavier Parish and St. Cletus Parish, both in La Grange and St. John of the Cross Parish in Western Springs. Civil authorities have been notified, the person making the allegation has…

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Retired Archdiocese of Chicago Priest William Killeen is being investigated for alleged sex abuse at Saint Patricia Parish in Hickory Hills.

A retired priest with the Archdiocese of Chicago is under investigation for alleged child sexual abuse.

Cardinal Blase Cupich notified eight parishes about the allegation on Saturday.

Father William Killeen has been asked to step aside after the allegation was received earlier this week.

The accuser says the abuse happened 40 years ago at Saint Patricia Parish in Hickory Hills. Killeen denied any wrongdoing.

Retired since 2019, Killeen celebrates Mass occasionally at St. Francis Xavier Parish and St. Cletus Parish, both in La Grange and St. John of the Cross Parish in Western Springs, the archdiocese said.

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ROME – Back in 1980, William Casey, then the campaign manager for candidate Ronald Reagan, coined the phrase “October surprise” to refer to the possibility that incumbent President Jimmy Carter might try to do something dramatic, such as freeing the American hostages in Iran, to boost his prospects ahead of the November elections.

In the end it never happened, and Reagan cruised to victory. Ever since, however, the term “October surprise” has endured in American politics as a metaphor for trying to change the political landscape with some sort of bombshell at the last minute.

On Friday, Pope Francis delivered his own “October surprise” by announcing that he had lifted the statute of limitations in canon law in order to allow prosecution of Father Marko Rupnik, the most famous – or, perhaps more accurately, the most infamous – accused sexual abuser in the Catholic Church at the moment.

The decision…

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The Synod on Synodality, the monthlong assembly convened by Pope Francis at the Vatican, released its final document containing the discussion of several hot-button issues which it calls “controversial”: the idea of women deacons, optional priestly celibacy, and the accompaniment of people struggling with their gender or sexual identity.

The 42-page report, published in Italian Oct. 28, divides topics into “convergences,” “matters for consideration,” and “proposals.”

Among the proposals made by the Synod, held Oct. 4-29 at the Vatican, was the request for continued theological study of the possibility of women deacons, and for the results of such a study to be shared at the next session of the Synod on Synodality, to be held in October 2024.

For the first time in a Synod of Bishops, laypeople, including women, took part in the vote on the final document.  

The document also acknowledged that there were differing views…

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El cardenal Omella, que ha tardado 24 horas en reaccionar al estudio de Gabilondo, desdeña la encuesta que estima que el 1,13% de la población, 440.000 personas, ha sufrido abusos en la infancia en entornos religiosos

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El presidente de la Conferencia Episcopal Española (CEE) y arzobispo de Barcelona, el cardenal Juan José Omella, rechaza las conclusiones de uno de los pilares del informe sobre pederastia en la Iglesia que el Defensor del Pueblo, Ángel Gabilondo, presentó el viernes; una encuesta demoscópica a más de 8.000 personas que estima que el 1,13% de la población, más de 440.000 personas, ha sufrido abusos en entornos religiosos en España (de ellas, un 0,6%, más de 233.000 personas, a manos de un sacerdote o religioso). En su cuenta de X, ha declarado la mañana de este sábado que “las cifras extrapoladas por algunos medios son mentira y tienen…

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Besides uncovering Church failings to address the abuse scandal, the inquiries could also discuss ending its state subsidies.

The Belgian federal parliament and the regional Flemish assembly have decided to review how the Catholic Church has dealt with cases of clerical sexual abuse after a television documentary recounted its failures to follow up on initial investigations.

The broadcast of the mini-series Gotvergeten (“Forgotten by God”) by Flemish television last month revealed that alleged victims felt ignored, leading to a public outcry over the Church’s slow response.

The two inquiries, which follow politicians questioning the Church’s long-standing state subsidies, will now review how the bishops have handled the scandal since it broke in 2010.

The former Bishop of Bruges Roger Vangheluwe admitted in 2010 to having sexually abused a nephew, and later said he abused a second nephew.  A Church commission revealed five months later that abuse was widespread in Catholic institutions in the…

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The plaintiff said one Christain Brother took him on a tour of Newfoundland’s Mount Cashel orphanage.

A B.C. man alleging sexual abuse by priests is suing the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver and the Burnaby Catholic school where he alleges the abuse occurred.

The man, identified as A.B. in the Supreme Court of B.C. notice of civil claim filed Oct. 23, alleges Alfred Patrick Quigley and the late Brother Dominic William Pike, both members of the Congregation of Christian Brothers, abused him.

Named as defendants in the case filed by lawyer Sandra Kovacs are the two men; St. Thomas More Collegiate Ltd.; The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver, a Corporation Sole; and The Catholic Public Schools of the Archdiocese of Vancouver.

• Pope orders Vatican to reopen case of priest accused of adult abuse but allowed to keep ministering
• Pope accepts resignation of bishop of Polish diocese where gay orgy scandal…

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The Buffalo Diocese has asked a state court to stop the public release of documents subpoenaed by the State Attorney General’s Office during its investigation into the diocese’s handling of childhood sex abuse allegations against clergy.

The diocese – despite repeated promises of greater transparency in its efforts to overcome a major sex abuse scandal – argued in court papers Friday that a release of the files to The Buffalo News under the state’s Freedom of Information Law would undermine confidentiality in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and threaten ongoing efforts to reach a mediated settlement with approximately 850 sex abuse claimants.

The diocese’s lawyers filed an Article 78 petition in New York County State Supreme Court to block The News from obtaining 25,000 pages of documents about how church leaders responded to and concealed abuse allegations.

The News plans to submit a brief to the court arguing that the…

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Tuesday, a handful of people gathered at the Springfield Federal Courthouse for a moment of silence.

A mother is suing a shuttered Christian boarding school in Missouri, blaming her son’s death on a gang rape and other abuse he endured there.

Agape Boarding School has been subjected to a wave of litigation as a series of abuse allegations emerged. The case filed this month and amended Monday in federal court by Kathleen Britt is believed to be the first wrongful death suit.

Tuesday, a handful of people gathered at the Springfield Federal Courthouse for a moment of silence.

At the same time, they’re asking lawmakers to listen and make changes to help abuse victims.

“Hundreds, perhaps thousands of people who are sexually violated in institutional settings, don’t survive and end up taking their own lives,” said survivors group known as SNAP member David Clohessy. “He was younger when he was sent…

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Fr. Marko Rupnik, the former Jesuit priest who was expelled from that religious order in June  for “disobedience” in the wake of multiple accusations that he abused adult women over a thirty-year period, has apparently found a new home.  Fr.. Rupnik was incardiated in August by the Diocese of Koper in Slovenia. When questioned about this reception, the Diocese responded that the priest was “presumed innocent” until proven guilty.

We call this decision absolute madness. The Church has complete control over who does and who does not work as a Catholic clergyman. A conviction for a penal offense has never been required for removal from ministry. 

The incardination of Fr. Marko Rupnik is to us a telltale sign that while the Church continues to say they have changed, their actions belie it. It also reinforces that we need to continue our fight for justice and accountability. Catholic officials…

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• Kentucky Supreme Court case to decide whether 2021 law against “non-perpetrators” in abuse claims can apply retroactively.
• SBC, Southern Seminary and Lifeway filed amicus brief in April saying Kentucky 2021 law shouldn’t apply retroactively. Courier Journal article in October puts attention on brief.
• Abuse survivors and leaders in SBC abuse response issue joint statements denouncing SBC’s brief.

A six-month-old legal brief has sparked uproar and confusion throughout the Southern Baptist Convention over contradictions between the denomination’s professed stance on abuse versus its legal position.

SBC Executive Committee members, the former chairs of SBC abuse response task forces and abuse survivors have denounced an amicus brief as evidence of the Nashville-based denomination seeking to avoid accountability.

The SBC, SBC Executive Committee, Brentwood-based Lifeway Christian Resources and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville filed the April brief in a case unrelated to abuse in the SBC or one of its churches, though the legal maneuver…

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Wow. That’s the reaction here at Horowitz Law to the latest revelations in Louisiana’s largest and deeply troubled Catholic diocese: The Archdiocese of New Orleans. In just one news story, allegations that detail almost all of the irresponsible and heinous behaviors exhibited by clerics who commit and conceal child sex crimes are laid bare. We acknowledge that most of what follows are accusations yet to be proven or disproven. However, at the same time, it’s important to note that the predator in this case pleaded guilty in criminal court. Some of it is based on recordings of phone conversations and official police documents, which also lends credibility to the startling allegations. But if even a few of the accusations in The Guardian’s article this week are deemed valid, it will be a huge blow to an already-embattled prelate, Archbishop Gregory Aymond.

That story accuses Catholic officials in New Orleans…

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More than 200,000 children are estimated to have suffered sexual abuse from Spain’s Catholic clergy, an independent commission has found.

The details emerged from an unprecedented public investigation by Spain’s ombudsman, who spoke of the “devastating impact” on victims.

Angel Gabilondo also criticised the Church for its inaction and attempts to cover up or deny the abuse.

“What has happened has been possible because of that silence,” he said.

The 700-page report, which was ordered by Spain’s Congress last year, reveals the result of a survey that the commission carried out on 800,000 members of the public.

It found that 0.6% of the country’s adult population, roughly 39 million people, said that they had suffered sexual abuse as children by members of the clergy.

That percentage rose to 1.13%, more than 400,000 people, when including alleged abuse by lay people in institutions overseen by the Church.

Mr Gabilondo said the…

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Spain’s first official probe of sex abuse by clergy members or other people connected to the Catholic Church in the country included a survey that indicated that the number of victims could run into hundreds of thousands.

The survey was part of a damning report by the office of Spain’s ombudsman, or “defensor del pueblo,” following an 18-month independent investigation of 487 cases involving alleged victims who spoke with the ombudsman’s team.

Ombudsman Ángel Gabilondo criticized the church’s response to sex abuse scandals, saying it had often been to minimize if not deny the problem. He presented the nearly 800-page report to the speaker of the Spanish parliament’s lower house Friday and then to reporters.

“This is a necessary report to respond to a situation of suffering and loneliness that for years has remained, in one way or another, covered by an unfair silence,” Gabilondo…

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More than one in 200 Spaniards may have been sexually abused by Catholic Church priests, a survey released on Friday suggested, pointing to a far greater number of victims nationwide than previous similar investigations.

The survey by Spain’s human rights ombudsman, part of a report presented to parliament on Friday, questioned just over 8,000 people. The document criticised the Church for not cooperating more fully with the investigation and seeking to “minimise the phenomenon”.

Ombudsman Angel Gabilondo said 0.6% of the survey sample said they had been abused by a priest, a figure that rose to around 1.1% when including abuse by lay people such as teachers at Church institutions.

“By being able to quote 0.6% you can see the magnitude of what it can mean in terms of overall abuse,” he told a press conference after delivering the report. Spain’s population is around 48 million.

A spokesperson for the…

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In response to a complaint from his own anti-abuse panel about “serious problems” in the handling of a case involving a prominent Slovenian artist and priest, Pope Francis has decided to lift the statute of limitations in Church law which, up to this point, had barred a canonical prosecution.

The Vatican made the announcement in a brief statement Friday, roughly 48 hours after news broke that Father Marko Rupnik had been accepted back into his home diocese in Slovenia as a priest in good standing. The 68-year-old cleric and artist had been expelled from the Jesuit order in June, after an internal investigation found a high degree of credibility to charges of sexual and other forms of abuse against adult women.

Friday’s announcement also came in the wake of a couple of high-profile developments last month, which, taken together, suggested to some observers that Rupnik was being virtually rehabilitated.

According…

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The mosaic artist Fr. Marko Rupnik will face a canonical process over allegations of sexual, psychological, and spiritual abuse against women religious, the Vatican announced Friday, in an apparent about-face.

The Vatican has not formally specified the charges Rupnik will face, and the Vatican’s press office has declined questions on its statement.

The Holy See press office said Oct. 27 that the process would take place after Pope Francis decided to waive the statute of limitations on the claims, amid a worldwide outcry after it emerged this week that Rupnik had been accepted into a diocese in his native Slovenia after being expelled from the Jesuit order.

The press office said that in September the pope had been informed of “serious problems” in the Vatican’s handling of the case by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, a Vatican body dedicated to the safeguarding of minors and vulnerable adults. 

…

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With the world media in Rome to cover the signature synodality initiative of Pope Francis, a stomach-churning Jesuit scandal returned to dominate the news.

To the outrage of victims, the shock of the assembled synod delegates, the bewilderment of bishops and the shame of the Holy See, it turned out that the world’s most infamous Jesuit abuser, Father Marko Rupnik, had been returned to ministry in a Slovenian diocese. The news rocketed around Rome on Wednesday evening.

On Friday, with the Vatican engaged in intense damage control, the Holy Father reversed himself in the face of a media outcry. He directed that the Rupnik case be reopened at the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), and lifted the statute of limitations to that effect. The Holy See press office stated that it was an example “[listening] attentively and compassionately to those who are suffering.”

Father Rupnik has been for generations…

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Abuse survivors, along with some members of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee and the SBC’s abuse reform task force, have denounced a Kentucky court filing by Southern Baptist entities aimed at limiting their liability for sexual abuse claims.

A brief filed earlier this year by lawyers for the Executive Committee, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Lifeway, an SBC publisher, argues that a Kentucky law that changed the statute of limitations for making civil claims over abuse — and allowing survivors to sue third parties such as churches or police — should not be applied retroactively.

“There are no mincing of words here. No holding back. This is disgusting,” abuse survivors Megan Lively, Jules Woodson and Tiffany Thigpen said in a statement released Wednesday.

A group of Southern Baptist leaders working on abuse reforms also criticized the brief, saying the filing was “a choice to stand against every…

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The historic report on abuses in the clergy, very harsh on the institution, makes Spain the El histórico informe sobre los abusos en el clero, muy duro con la institución, convierte a España en el país con la proyección oficial de víctimas más alta. Se basa en una encuesta a 8.000 personas que cifra los afectados en un 1,13% de la población. Recomienda que el Estado también asuma su indemnización

España pasa hoy de ser una excepción mundial entre los países católicos, sin casos de pederastia en la Iglesia reconocidos oficialmente, a ser el país con el cómputo de víctimas más alto del mundo: un 1,13% de la población adulta actual ha sufrido abusos en el ámbito religioso, según una encuesta a gran escala, la primera de este tipo en el país, que ha realizado el defensor del pueblo, Ángel Gabilondo. El Defensor ha eludido hacer el cálculo en números…

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Milton Martin, 56, of First Pentecostal Church of Chalmette, accused of abuse of girl, now 28, who was member of congregation

Authorities in Louisiana have charged a Pentecostal pastor with sexually molesting a teenage girl who was a member of his church.

Milton O Martin III, 56, faces one charge each of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile – colloquially referred to as statutory rape – and of indecent behavior with a minor, records obtained by the Guardian show.

A grand jury in the New Orleans-area community of St Bernard parish indicted Martin on Tuesday, about seven months after he had been arrested in connection with the allegations and had made bail.

Scott Rodrigue, the state police detective who helped obtain the indictment against Martin, also investigated the retired New Orleans Catholic priest Lawrence Hecker, who years ago secretly admitted to church leaders that he sexually molested…

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In August, Father Rupnik was accepted for priestly ministry in the Diocese of Koper in his native Slovenia.

The news of Father Marko Rupnik‘s return to priestly ministry despite having been accused of sexual abuse interrupted the bishops’ Synod on Synodality as it was completing its final week of meetings.

The Society of Jesus had dismissed the Jesuit priest and artist last June after admitting to knowing of abuse accusations against Rupnik for years.

Here’s a timeline of known facts about what the Jesuits knew and when they knew it in the Father Rupnik case, what actions the order took, and how he was returned to priestly ministry.

2018

October: Jesuit Father Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves, Father Rupnik’s superior, receives allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of Father Rupnik, and an allegation that Rupnik gave absolution in confession to an accomplice in a sin against the Sixth Commandment. A preliminary…

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Madrid, Oct 27 (EFE).- Over 230,000 people in Spain were abused by Catholic priests as children, according to a report by the Spanish Ombudsman that was published on Friday.

The investigation on sexual abuse in the country’s Catholic Church, commissioned by the Spanish parliament, brings together the testimonies of 487 alleged victims.

The report was delivered by Ángel Gabilondo to the president of the Congress of Deputies Francina Armengol on Friday, one year and a half after it was ordered.

The over 700-page document urged the creation of a state fund to compensate the alleged victims and accuses the Catholic Church’s hierarchy of having denied and concealed these crimes for decades.

While the investigation did not provide the total number of potential victims of abuse, it revealed that 0.6% of Spain’s 39 million-strong population have allegedly suffered sexual abuse by a priest before turning 18.

That translates to an estimated…

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Over 200,000 minors are estimated to have been sexually abused in Spain by the Roman Catholic clergy since 1940, according to an independent commission published Friday.

The report did not give a specific figure but said a poll of over 8,000 people found that 0.6 percent of Spain‘s adult population of around 39 million people said they had suffered sexual abuse by members of the clergy when they were still children.

The percentage rises to 1.13 percent — or over 400,000 people — when including abuse by lay members, Spain’s national ombudsman Angel Gabilondo told a news conference called to present the findings of the report.

The revelations in Spain are the latest to rock the Roman Catholic Church after a series of sexual abuse scandals around the world, often involving children, over the past 20 years.

But unlike in other nations, in Spain — a traditionally Catholic country that has become…

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Pope Francis has ordered the Vatican to reopen the case of a well-known priest-artist accused of sexually, psychologically and spiritually abusing adult women, and removed the statute of limitations on their claims, the Vatican said Friday.

The announcement marked a major turnaround for the Holy See and followed an outcry among victims and their advocates over the handling of the case of the Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik, a former Jesuit whose mosaics grace churches and basilicas around the world.

The scandal has been a headache for the Jesuits, the Vatican and Francis himself due to suspicions that Rupnik received favorable treatment from the Holy See, where a Jesuit is pope and other Jesuits head the sex crimes office that investigated Rupnik and declined to prosecute him because the claims against him were deemed too old.

A Vatican…

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Pope Francis lifts the statute of limitations in the case of Fr. Marko Rupnik to allow a canonical procedure to take place regarding allegations against the former Jesuit.

Pope Francis has asked the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to review the case of former Jesuit artist, Fr. Marko Rupnik, who was accused of psychological and sexual abuse by some consecrated women with whom he worked. He was expelled from the Society of Jesus in June.

A Holy See Press Office statement on Friday said, “In September, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors brought to the Pope’s attention that there were serious problems in the handling of the Fr. Marko Rupnik case and lack of outreach to victims.”

“Consequently,” it added, “the Holy Father asked the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to review the case, and decided to lift the statute of limitations to allow…

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Spain will on Friday learn the results of the country’s first independent probe into the abuse of minors within the Catholic Church, long accused by survivors of stonewalling and denial.

Unlike in other nations like France, Ireland and the United States, in Spain — a traditionally Catholic country that has become highly secular —  clerical abuse allegations are only now gaining traction.

Spain’s parliament in March 2022 overwhelmingly approved the creation of an independent commission led by the country’s ombudsman to “shed light” on allegations of sexual abuse of “defenceless boys and girls” within the Catholic Church.

The commission’s final report is scheduled to be delivered to parliament at 11:30 am (0930 GMT) by Spain’s national ombudsman Angel Gabilondo, a former education minister.

Spain’s Catholic Church, which for years flatly refused to carry out its own probe, declined to take part in the independent investigation, although it did cooperate by providing documents on…

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To the editor: Columnist Gustavo Arellano highlights former Diocese of Orange Bishop Tod D. Brown’s complicity in concealing and enabling Catholic clergy child abuse. He makes an important contribution to the struggle for equality: the equality of believers and nonbelievers.

Since major stories about clergy abuse broke around the beginning of this century, the church has attempted to obstruct full accountability for the crimes of its priests.

The underlying theme of Catholic efforts to escape full reckoning is that since the church is God’s true religion, its wrongdoers deserve more lenient treatment than other child rapists.

The 1st Amendment requires that believers and nonbelievers be equal before the law. Any lesser penalties, or allowing concealment of heinous crimes just because the perpetrators are clergy, violates this principle of equality. There should be no difference in how the law treats any child abuser and in how it deals with any institution that…

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… and what will SBC officials do about it now?

In keeping with nationwide trends, the Kentucky legislature extended the time period in which child sex abuse survivors can bring civil lawsuits and allowed that their lawsuits can be asserted, not only against perpetrators, but also against institutions that fail to protect children.

Under these new laws, Samantha Killary pursued her lawsuit for childhood sexual abuse against a Louisville police officer and also against Louisville Metro for “employing and empowering” him.

The case is now pending before the Kentucky Supreme Court, with arguments about the validity of the new laws.

Into this case, the Southern Baptist Convention decided to insert itself, even though the SBC is not a party and the case has nothing to do with the SBC.

Together, the Southern Baptist Convention, the SBC Executive Committee, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Lifeway Christian…

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The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors has reached out to known victims of Slovenian Fr. Marko Rupnik, asking to meet with them.

The purpose of the invitation, written by a member of the 19-member papal body, was to examine and study how the victims were treated by the church, specifically the Jesuits — the religious order Rupnik was expelled from in June — and the Vatican, Il Sismografo, an Italian blog that closely follows the Vatican, reported Oct. 25.

Catholic News Service confirmed the invitation Oct. 26.

The mission of the papal body includes evaluating the church’s response to victims and abuse allegations and ensuring that “robust policies and practices for the prevention and management of all forms of abuse are in place,” according to the commission’s strategic plan 2022-2027.

Its three-point mandate includes improving church practices by identifying and detailing gaps and ongoing concerns in current prevention…

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Scandal-plagued PwC would determine payout rates under scheme proposed by Catholic Church Insurance in effort to avoid insolvency

The Catholic church insurer wants to establish a scheme that would stave off its own insolvency by paying church bodies only a fraction of the money owed to abuse survivors, at rates to be determined by scandal-plagued consultancy PwC, documents show.

Catholic Church Insurance is facing significant financial turmoil due to the rising volume of abuse claims, estimating it has $381m in liabilities relating to professional standards payouts to various church entities, including dioceses and church-aligned charities.

In an attempt to protect itself financially, CCI is asking the federal court to approve a legally binding scheme that, if it comes close to insolvency, would trigger a reduction in abuse payouts to church bodies. The scheme would allow the insurer to pay out only a yet-to-be-determined percentage of what is owed to survivors.

…

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(OSV News) — A former Jesuit priest dismissed by the order for sexual abuse has apparently been incardinated in a diocese in his native Slovenia, according to multiple media reports.

Father Marko Ivan Rupnik—a renowned mosaic artist who was expelled from the Society of Jesus in June for refusing to comply with ministry restrictions after credible abuse accusations—has been accepted into the Diocese of Koper, which is headed by Bishop Jurij Bizjak.

The news was first reported Oct. 25 in Italian and German media reports, and confirmed to media in a statement from diocesan vicar general Msgr. Slavko Rebec.

Father Rupnik has been accused of sexually, spiritually or psychologically abusing some 2 dozen women and at least one man over a 40-year period.

He had been briefly excommunicated in 2020 for granting absolution to a woman with whom he had engaged in sexual relations. Among his accusers were several members…

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It is impossible to absolve Pope Francis of ultimate responsibility for the farcical management of the Rupnik business. Whether by act or omission, he is the author of it.

A disgraced former Jesuit accused of heinous sexual, psychological, and spiritual abuse allegedly perpetrated against well more than a dozen victims – most of them women religious – over some three decades, Fr. Marko Rupnik, is now a priest of Koper diocese in his native Slovenia.

Koper’s vicar general told The Pillar that Bishop Bishop Jurij Bizjak agreed to give Rupnik a chance since “Rupnik had not been sentenced to any judicial sentence.”

Rupnik has never been tried for his alleged crimes of abuse. That is because the Vatican department responsible for investigating and prosecuting the crimes of which Rupnik stands accused decided not to waive the statute…

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A famous priest-artist who was thrown out of the Jesuits after being accused of sexual, spiritual and psychological abuse of women has been accepted into a diocese in his native Slovenia, the latest twist in a case that has implicated the pope and laid bare the limits of the Vatican’s in-house legal system.

The Diocese of Koper confirmed in a statement sent to The Associated Press on Thursday that the Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik was accepted as a priest there in August.

Rupnik was taken in because he had been expelled from the Jesuits and because the diocese hadn’t received any documents showing that Rupnik had “been found guilty of the alleged abuses before either an ecclesiastical tribunal or civil court,” it said.

The statement cited the Universal Declaration on Human Rights’ provision on the presumption of innocence and right to a defense for anyone accused of…

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An unprecedented letter published by the synod on synodality Wednesday said that the Church should focus more on the idea of synodality ahead of the October 2024 final session of the Church’s years-long consultative process. 

The Oct. 25 text also emphasized discipleship of Jesus Christ, and commitment to both service of the poor and protection of the environment.

“We hope that the months leading to the second [Vatican] session in October 2024 will allow everyone to concretely participate in the dynamism of missionary communion indicated by the word ‘synod,’” said the  letter, which was addressed to Catholics around the world.

“This is not about ideology, but about an experience rooted in the apostolic tradition,” the letter added.

The letter was published Wednesday afternoon, as more than 300 of the synod on synodality’s delegates deliberate on an interim report they’ll publish later this week. The aim of the synod on synodality is…

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Marko Ivan Rupnik, a former Jesuit who has been at the centre of controversy amidst accusations of spiritual and sexual abuse, has been granted permission to return to priestly ministry in the Diocese of Koper in his native Slovenia.

The decision follows consultations by Bishop Juri Bizjak with senior prelates from Rome– alongside a report released in September on the Aletti Center, the artistic institute founded by Rupnik, after a canonical visitation investigating the accused priest’s dealings.

It is understood that Bishop Bizjak, who heads the Diocese of Koper where Rupnik has been incardinated, discussed the course of action with Slovenia’s apostolic nuncio Bishop Jean-Marie Speich, canon lawyer Giacomo Incittii, and Cardinal Angelo De Donatis who serves as the vicar of the Diocese of Rome.

Nuncio Speich lauded the decision to incardinate Rupnik in Slovenia with encouragement and approval, calling it an “excellent solution” and foreseeing no additional trouble “because there…

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Father Marko Rupnik was released by the Jesuits after an investigation credibly showed that he had abused his authority over a group of Slovenian nuns for years. In the 1990s this included his forcing them to commune his ejaculate from chalices used for Mass. The Jesuits investigated these crimes but found them outside the statute of limitations. Rupnik went on to Rome to found the Aletti Center, where he could practice as an artist and teach Ignatian spirituality. In 2016, Rupnik committed one of the gravest canonical crimes: He affected to use his power as a priest to absolve a woman of a sexual sin she had committed with him. This crime comes with a penalty of automatic excommunication. In January 2020, an investigation confirmed that Rupnik had committed the crime. In May of the same year, the conviction and verdict were reaffirmed unanimously and formalized after an investigation by…

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Father Marko Rupnik, the former Jesuit priest and mosaic artist accused of serious abuses against women, has been accepted for priestly ministry in a diocese in Slovenia.

In a statement to CNA on Wednesday, the Diocese of Koper confirmed earlier Italian and German media reports that Rupnik was now incardinated there.

The statement said that Rupnik was received into the diocese at the end of August.

The local bishop accepted Rupnik’s request to be received into the diocese “on the basis of the decree on Rupnik’s dismissal from the Jesuit order” and “and on the basis of the fact that no judicial sentence had been passed on Rupnik,” according to an English translation of the statement, written in Slovenian, issued by diocese’s vicar general, Slavko Rebec.

Rebec went on to cite Article 11.1 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states:…

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The influential mosaic artist Fr. Marko Rupnik has been incardinated into a diocese in his native Slovenia.

Msgr. Slavko Rebec, vicar general of the Diocese of Koper, said in an Oct. 25 statement to The Pillar: “In response to the question whether the priest Marko Ivan Rupnik has been received (incardinated) into the Diocese of Koper, we answer that the said priest was received into the Diocese of Koper at the end of August 2023.”

“The Bishop of Koper admitted him on the basis of the decree of Rupnik’s dismissal from the Jesuit order and on the basis of Rupnik’s request for admission to the Diocese of Koper, and on the basis of the fact that Rupnik had not been sentenced to any judicial sentence: ‘Everyone who is accused of a criminal offense has the right to be presumed innocent until he is found guilty according to law, in a…

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Marko Ivan Rupnik was received in a Slovenian diocese. He can now exercise his priestly ministry freely.

Quando si gode di una copertura ai massimi livelli non vi è nulla da temere. Con questa convinzione si è sempre mosso Marko Ivan Rupnik, l’ex gesuita sloveno che è stato dimesso dalla Compagnia di Gesù a seguito della fuoriuscita di notizie in merito a delitti canonici che sono stati trattati in modo “anomalo”, si fa per dire.

Il 1 dicembre 2022 Silere non possum rendeva noto che l’artista aveva subito una condanna per aver assolto la complice nel peccato contro il sesto comandamento. Venne così appurato dalla Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede che il sacerdote era incorso nella scomunica latae sententiae. Dopo pochi giorni, Papa Francesco ha revocato la scomunica senza spiegare il perché. Poco tempo dopo giunsero al dicastero ulteriori denunce in merito ad abusi commessi da Rupnik. Il procedimento, anche in quel…

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Pastor defends computer expert who had 9,900 sexually explicit images of children

A Mississippi man who volunteered for his church’s media ministry is now facing two charges of possessing and distributing child sexual abuse images after federal officials found 9,900 sexual images of children on his personal computer, according to The Sun Herald in Biloxi.

A judge denied the man bail and had him immediately jailed, saying he was a flight risk and a potential danger to the safety of the community. Meanwhile, a church leader and family members maintain his innocence.

Cameron “Cam” Cotrill, 66, of Vancleave used his computer expertise to volunteer at Center Pointe Church in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

The district judge handling the case denied Cotrill bail, as he awaits trial in January. The judge cited substantial evidence against Cotrill, his potential threat to the community, his significant wealth, and his many…

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Just a few days after my 45th birthday, I had another dream about my childhood pastor.

This final dream was the coup de grâce: My great-grandparents’ home was ablaze. It was dark. Early morning still, and I was standing outside, talking on the telephone with him, and he essentially told me he was washing his hands of me and that, whether I believed it or not, he wasn’t the only abuser out there. That there were others. That I could go on and do what I needed to do. It was water under the bridge to him.

Before hanging up the phone, he told me he wouldn’t gift us the $10,000 we needed to rebuild. I never had asked him for any money. I am not asking for any now.

I awoke. Showered. Carried my kids off to school. Then stumbled onto an Ohio Capital Journal article published Aug. 17 about child sex abuse…

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A Catholic priest from Philadelphia was convicted today of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl in 2014. The victim described the assault as a “nightmare” in court. We applaud this brave survivor for reporting the cleric despite her suffering. Her bravery has helped to ensure that Catholic children and the public are safer. We hope that the cleric will receive the stiffest sentence possible for his crime.

 Fr. Armand Garcia pleaded guilty to corruption of a minor and unlawful contact with a minor stemming from the assault on this now-25-year-old woman. The priest was initially charged with rape, but agreed to a plea bargain taking that charge off of the table. The victim was an altar server at the Immaculate Heart of Mary parish in the Andorra neighborhood at the time of the crime. The survivor had known the clergyman since she was 13 and he was a friend of her father’s. She…

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A Philadelphia priest has admitted to sexually abusing a teen girl who was once an altar server at his parish.

Fr. Armand D. Garcia appeared in a Philadelphia courtroom Oct. 23 to plead guilty to corruption of a minor and unlawful contact with a minor. He will be sentenced in January 2024.

The abuse took place while Garcia was a parochial vicar at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Philadelphia from 2014-2017.

The priest had initially been charged with rape; photographing, filming and depicting on a computer sexual acts; sexual assault; and corruption of a minor. According to the criminal docket, the first three charges were dropped, while Garcia entered a non-negotiated guilty plea for corruption of a minor and unlawful contact with a minor.

The victim, who was a 13-year-old student at the parish school when she met the priest, delivered an impact statement at the hearing, noting the…

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A mother is suing a shuttered Christian boarding school in Missouri, blaming her son’s death on a gang rape and other abuse he endured there.

Agape Boarding School has been subjected to a wave of litigation as a series of abuse allegations emerged, but the case filed this month and amended Monday in federal court by Kathleen Britt is believed to be the first wrongful death suit.

The suit said that mental health problems plagued Britt’s son, Jason Britt, after he left the private school, where several staffers subsequently were charged. The suit said he lifted weights obsessively and ingested copious steroids so he would become so strong that he never would be victimized again.

He grew so despondent that he wrote a suicide note. But heart and kidney failure were what claimed his life in February 2022.

“The saddest part of his case is…

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Pope Francis accepted the resignation of 59-year-old Polish Bishop Grzegorz Kaszak on Tuesday following public calls for him to step down over poor management of scandals involving priests in his diocese.

Kaszak, who had led the southern Polish Diocese of Sosnowiec since 2009, had recently faced blowback from local media for his response to a priest of his diocese allegedly being caught hosting an orgy with a male prostitute at the end of August.

In a letter posted to the diocese’s website Oct. 24, Kaszak said he requested his resignation from Pope Francis on Sept. 29.

“I also ask everyone to forgive my human limitations. If I have offended anyone or neglected anything, I am very sorry for it,” the bishop said.

The diocese said in a Sept. 22 press statement that it had become aware from media reports of an orgy held the night of Aug….

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The pope on Tuesday accepted the resignation of a Polish bishop whose diocese has been rocked by reports of a sex party involving a male prostitute in a priest’s apartment, as well as previous violent incidents involving his clergy.

The Vatican didn’t give a reason for why Bishop Grzegorz Kaszak was resigning as head of the diocese of Sosnowiec, in southwestern Poland. At 59, he is several years shy of the normal retirement age of 75.

But his diocese has been in the spotlight again after one of his priests was placed under criminal investigation for an Aug. 30-31 incident at his apartment in Dabrowa Gornicza that allegedly involved a male prostitute.

Polish media reported that one of the participants of a sex party at the home collapsed after overdosing on erectile dysfunction pills. The reports said the priest allegedly tried to initially bar paramedics from entering the apartment.

Waldemar…

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The Buffalo Diocese is offering up to $100 million to settle child sex abuse claims in its federal bankruptcy case.

As much as half of that would come from parishes, schools and other Catholic entities, while the diocese would also need to sell its Catholic Center on Main Street, the former Christ the King Seminary campus in the Town of Aurora and other properties.

More than three years since the claims were filed, none of the abuse victims has been compensated as the diocese, its parishes and insurance carriers attempt to negotiate a settlement with abuse victims.

Those details were revealed in court papers filed late Monday in which diocese lawyers sought a preliminary injunction to keep all sex abuse lawsuits against parishes and schools grounded while mediated negotiations in the diocese bankruptcy case continue.

Court papers said the $100 million does not include insurance funds, while suggesting that insurance…

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“It’s time to let juries decide these cases”

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Diocese of Buffalo claimed it will offer $100 million to settle child sex abuse lawsuits and is considering the sale of the Catholic Center, the former Christ the King Seminary campus and other real estate, according to documents filed in its federal bankruptcy case Monday.

However, lawyers representing child sexual abuse survivors say the preliminary injunction filed by the diocese is an attempt to prevent survivors from pursuing their cases against non-bankrupt entities and effectively silence survivors.

Declaring bankruptcy put a hold on all litigation against the diocese in state court. But that did not apply to its parishes and related nonprofits.

The unsecured creditors committee, made up of six abuse survivors, agreed to place a hold on litigation against non-debtor entities while participating in good faith negotiations.

The agreement expired on September 30 and the committee…

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Pope Francis has appointed Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández as a member of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, the Vatican department charged with authoritatively interpreting canon law, despite the pope’s September decision to excuse the cardinal from participating in his own department’s most sensitive legal work.

Cardinal Fernández’s appointment was announced in the daily Vatican news bulletin on Oct. 20. The appointment comes after Fernández was created a cardinal by Pope Francis in September, and assumed the role of prefect for the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in the same month.

While it is customary for DDF prefects to serve on the council, Fernández’s nomination is unusual. At the time of his appointment as DDF prefect, Pope Francis specifically urged him to focus on doctrinal matters and to leave the department’s legal work overseeing major canonical crimes in the hands of “competent professionals.”

On the day Fernández took office,…

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[See a PDF of the diocese’s original post here.]

For some time now, the Diocese has been actively engaged in mediation with the Creditors’ Committee, which represents the interests of abuse survivors. The Diocese’s insurance carriers have also participated in mediation as we work to establish a pool of settlement funds to provide some measure of restitution and, we pray, closure for survivors.

Any ultimate settlement will need to be funded by monetary contributions sourced from across our Catholic community, including from the Diocese, parishes, and other affiliated Catholic entities, as well as from available insurance assets. While confidential settlement discussions continue, our Catholic community must remain steadfast in supporting survivors and dedicating available resources to their healing. To that end, the Diocese, in close consultation with the priests who make up the parish steering committee, is making a commitment that the collective contribution of our Catholic community, not…

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The Catholic Diocese of Buffalo announced Tuesday it is pledging at least $100 million to survivors of sex abuse.

The diocese says that with the help of parishes and other affiliate Catholic entities, it will create a pool of settlement funds of at least $100 million.

The diocese also says that total does not include any insurance money.

According to official court documents, the diocese would contribute all of its liquid assets and likely need to sell the Catholic Center on Main Street in Buffalo and the Christ the King Seminary Campus in East Aurora.

The diocese released a statement, saying in part:

“We recognize that honoring this commitment will be challenging, but it is absolutely necessary that we do everything in our power to set things right, to move beyond this dark chapter in our history and move forward as together we work to rebuild and renew our church.”

…

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Le vicaire de Ruffec est mis en examen et placé sous contrôle judiciaire. La victime est un jeune garçon âgé de 9 à 11 ans au moment des faits, qui sont récents.

François-Xavier Grandpierre, vicaire de Ruffec, a été mis en examen, vendredi, pour agressions sexuelles sur mineur. CL révélait l’information ce mardi 24 octobre. On en sait un peu plus sur les faits qui sont reprochés à ce prêtre de 31 ans, qui a grandi en Charente.

Le parquet de Versailles indique que les faits se sont produits entre le 1er juillet 2021 et le 5 août 2023, « au préjudice d’une seule victime, un garçon âgé entre 9 et 11 ans au moment des faits ». On sait aussi que la jeune victime est « l’un des enfants d’une famille dont le mis en cause était proche ».

Le père François-Xavier Grandpierre, vicaire à Ruffec, est visé par une enquête pour atteinte sexuelle sur mineur, au parquet de Versailles….

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A 31-year-old priest from Charente was indicted for sexual assault on a minor under the age of 15, Agence France-Presse (AFP) learned from the Versailles public prosecutor’s office and the diocese of Angoulême, which suspended from all functions on Tuesday October 24. The indictment, pronounced on Friday, was accompanied by judicial review.

The facts occurred between July 1, 2021 and August 5, 2023, “to the detriment of a single victim, a boy aged between 9 and 11 years old at the time of the events, one of the children of a family to whom the accused was close”, declared the prosecution to AFP. Some of these events took place in Yvelines, where the victim’s family resides. Investigations are continuing to see if there are other victims.

Entering the seminary in 2015 in Bordeaux, the future priest then joined the Paris seminary, before becoming an educator in a boys’ school integrating musical…

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A priest in the bishop’s diocese was accused of holding a sex party in his church apartment that involved a male prostitute who lost consciousness.

Warsaw – A Polish bishop whose diocese has been badly tarnished by reports of a gay orgy involving priests and a prostitute resigned on Tuesday, the latest in a long series of sexual and financial scandals in Poland’s Roman Catholic Church.

Grzegorz Kaszak, the bishop of Sosnowiec in southwestern Poland, announced his departure after one of his priests was placed under criminal investigation in connection with reports last month that he had organized a sex party during which a male prostitute lost consciousness from an overdose of erectile dysfunction pills.

Gazeta Wyborcza, a liberal daily newspaper, reported in September that one of the priests at the gathering, held in a building belonging to the parish of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Angels in…

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We’re here today outside a courthouse because this is where you go – if you were physically or sexually or emotionally abused in an institutional setting – this is where you go for justice, healing, closure, accountability and prevention, to the admittedly flawed but time-tested and transparent legal system. You find justice, healing closure, accountability and prevention in secular courts of law, not in the private offices of wrongdoers.

This is especially true when it comes to institutions that are private, independent and secretive and when they posture as religious or educational.

So more than anything, we want to beg victims, witnesses and whistleblowers who saw, suspected or suffered any crimes or potential crimes at the Agape Boarding School to come forward and report the wrongdoing to people you can trust – your family, your friends, the police, a prosecutor, a therapist or a support group like ours.

When victims,…

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Mom sues because her son, gang raped there, is now dead

Unusual case names eight defendants; two of them are sheriffs

It also accuses a company that transports kids to such facilities

Victims also call for better laws & enforcement ‘to prevent more abuse’

WHAT

Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims will
–announce the first-ever wrongful death lawsuit against a controversial, unlicensed, independent  and now-shuttered Baptist facility for ‘troubled teenagers’ in southern Missouri, and
–call on Missouri lawmakers to pass a new law that would expand the state’s civil statute of limitations on abuse which would enable more child sex abuse victims to expose those who commit or conceal child sex crimes in court.
–urge local and state law enforcement agencies to more aggressively investigate similar schools and more vigorously prosecute wrongdoers.

WHEN
TODAY, Monday, Oct. 23 at 1:00 p.m.

WHERE
On the sidewalk outside the federal…

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A former Philadelphia Police officer and a former Catholic Priest have been convicted in separate child sexual abuse incidents.

According to the District Attorney’s Special Investigations Unit, former Philadelphia Police Officer Patrick Heron and former-Catholic priest Armand Garcia were charged in separate criminal proceedings for various counts of sexual abuse allegations with minors.

Former Officer Heron pleaded guilty to 2 counts of Unlawful Contact with a Minor, 2 counts of Sexual Abuse of Children, Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse, Official Oppression, Kidnapping of a Minor, Indecent Assault, Forgery, and Stalking for five criminal cases brought against him by the Special Investigations Unit.

Former-Catholic priest Armand Garcia pleaded guilty to Corruption of Minors and Unlawful Contact with Minors, said the DA’s office and will be sentenced in January 2024. 

Officials say the Commonwealth court had been preparing to go on trial for over a decade for the allegations brought against Heron for the dozens of women and girls he abused, assaulted, intimidated, photographed, and attempted to…

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St. John’s man in his 70s was sexually abused by a Christian Brother at former Holy Cross school

The sky over St. John’s on this October morning is thick with dark clouds as a blue sedan slowly pulls into an unremarkable parking lot on Patrick Street. The older man at the wheel is expressionless as he guides his car to a stop.

He takes a second to compose himself, opens his door and plants his sneaker-clad feet onto the damp asphalt. Smartly, he stands erect.

Looking to the back of the parking lot, where Holy Cross all-boys school once stood, he feels a chill unrelated to the threatening skies overhead.

It’s the first time he’s stepped on this ground in 55 years — kept away by an invisible force field energized by pain, anger and shame.

‘This is where it happened’

“This is where it happened,” he says while sitting on a…

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The pope on Tuesday accepted the resignation of a Polish bishop whose diocese has been rocked for weeks by reports of a gay orgy involving a male prostitute in a priest’s apartment.

The Vatican didn’t give a reason for why Bishop Grzegorz Kaszak was resigning as head of the diocese of Sosnowiec, in southwestern Poland. At 59, he is several years shy of the normal retirement age of 75.

But his diocese has been in the spotlight for over a month after one of his priests was placed under criminal investigation for having allegedly organized a gay orgy at his apartment in Dabrowa Gornicza. Polish media reported that a male prostitute collapsed after overdosing on erectile dysfunction pills.

A prosecutor said the priest is suspected of “failing to provide assistance to a person whose life is at risk,” for having allegedly tried to bar police and paramedics from entering the…

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Victim told court that assault by Camille Piché ‘held me down’ for decades

WARNING: This article contains graphic content and may affect those who have experienced​ ​​​sexual violence or know someone affected by it. 

A former N.W.T. priest began a two-year sentence Monday for a crime dating back four decades. 

Camille Piché pleaded guilty in N.W.T. territorial court to indecent assault against a child while working as a priest in Fort Simpson, N.W.T. 

According to an agreed statement of facts read in court on Monday, Piché was working at the Sacred Heart Church in Fort Simpson when he developed a friendship with the victim’s parents and made regular visits to their home. 

On two of those occasions, in 1981 and 1982, Piché sat next to the victim on their living room couch. The victim was covered by a blanket and Piché admitted he put his hand under the blanket, under the child’s pants…

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Former Philadelphia priest Armand Garcia will plead guilty to sexually abusing a teenage girl in court on Monday.

Authorities arrested and charged Garcia back in 2019. He was a pastor at Saint Martin of Tours in Oxford Circle, but the alleged crime took place between 2014 and 2017 at the Immaculate Heart of Mary in the city’s Andorra section. 

Garcia also committed unlawful conduct with the same girl in his home in Delaware County, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said. He first met the girl when she was a 13-year-old altar server at the Immaculate Heart of Mary’s Elementary School.

The archdiocese put Garcia on administrative leave when the criminal investigation began in 2018. 

The DA’s Office said the girl is expected to deliver a victim impact statement in court. 

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A Roman Catholic priest appeared in the Family Court in St Vincent and the Grenadines on Monday charged with two counts of sexual offences.

The priest, a foreign national, was arraigned on two counts of rape and two counts of indecent assault and appeared on camera before Magistrate, John Ballah, sitting in his capacity as deputy president of the Family Court.

Media reports here said that the cleric is alleged to have committed unlawful sex acts on a teenage female and was not called upon to plead to the indictable offences. He has been granted and was granted bail to appear before the Family Court, whose president would conduct a preliminary inquiry.

The court would then decide if there was enough evidence to send the matter to trial before a judge and a jury.

The priest left the court in the company of a senior member of the Diocese of Kingstown, …

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The victim said Armand Garcia exploited her trust, raping and manipulating her for years.

A Philadelphia priest has admitted he sexually abused a 16-year-old altar server at a church in Andorra in what she described in court Monday as a “nightmare.”

The Rev. Armand Garcia, 54, pleaded guilty to corruption of a minor and unlawful contact with a minor in the abuse of the now-25-year-old woman, starting when she was 16 and an altar server at the Immaculate Heart of Mary parish in the Andorra neighborhood.

The woman said in court Monday that she went to the priest, whom she knew since she was 13 and who was a friend of her father’s, in 2014 to confide in him about a personal matter and he “exploited” her trust, eventually assaulting and raping her.

“I was targeted, manipulated, and raped to the very end of my contact with him,” the…

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The former Mobile priest who in July fled to Europe with an 18-year-old woman who recently graduated from McGill-Toolen Catholic High School may soon have to leave the country when their travel clearance expires later this month.

 Mobile attorney Christine Hernandez, a representative of the young woman’s family, said Wednesday Alex Crow, who was defrocked by the Archdiocese of Mobile over the summer, recently applied for residency in Italy, where he and the young woman have lived since the summer.

Because Italian authorities denied that application, Hernandez said Crow and the young woman will have to leave the country before their 90-day stay ends in the final weeks of October.

Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said Thursday afternoon he had “no knowledge” of the Italian government denying Crow’s request, but thought they made the right decision.

“I would hope they would deny that knowing the controversy surrounding him coming there,”…

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Retired Bishop Tod D. Brown, the third bishop of the Diocese of Orange, died early Oct. 15 at Providence St. Joseph Hospital after being hospitalized, according to the diocese. He was 86.

Msgr. Tuan Joseph Pham, a close friend of the late bishop, told the Los Angeles Times the prelate died after a long battle with lymphoma.

Bishop Kevin W. Vann, who succeeded Brown as shepherd of the diocese, said in a statement he was “deeply saddened” to announce the passing of his predecessor, who retired in 2012.

“With his tireless spirit and witness to Christ, Bishop Brown faithfully served the people of the Diocese of Orange since 1998 when Pope St. John Paul II appointed him bishop and ordinary of our diocese,” said Vann, who remembered especially “his kindness to me when I was a newly ordained priest years ago.”

In the fall of 1981, then-Frs. Brown and Vann…

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A spokesperson for the church said it does not vet the therapists its bishops recommend and pay for, saying “it is up to church members” to “make their own decisions.”

Co-published with The Salt Lake Tribune

When health care workers sexually abuse their patients in Utah, survivors confront obstacles to justice: in the law, in the courts — and in the culture as a whole.

This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with The Salt Lake Tribune. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published.

This story discusses sexual assault.

Three additional men have come forward to say a therapist recommended and paid for by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints touched them inappropriately during counseling sessions related to struggles with their sexuality. The men’s statements follow allegations by three others, previously reported by The Salt Lake…

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Father Paschal Morlino removed as pastor of St. Benedict Church in southwest Baltimore

The Archdiocese of Baltimore is confirming a settlement with a priest in Baltimore accused of sexual harassment.

The archdiocese said it learned about the claims on Thursday involving Father Paschal Morlino, who is the pastor of St. Benedict Church in southwest Baltimore. Within 24 hours, the priest was suspended from any duties in public ministry. His removal was announced Sunday to parishioners.

Next to St. Benedict, a 90-year-old towering church, is the Father Paschal Center off Paschal’s Way. A parishioner and volunteer who asked to remain anonymous told 11 News it’s where she worked alongside the popular priest at the food pantry.

“(I saw) him every day. I know what kind of person he is. I knew the person that was the accuser,” the parishioner said.

In a statement, the archdiocese said someone filed a complaint in…

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As the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s bankruptcy begins to work its way through the legal system, court officials have selected a group of sexual abuse victims who, with an assist from several attorneys, will eventually negotiate settlement terms for the hundreds of fellow survivors.

Known as an unsecured creditors committee, the seven victims will play a key role throughout the archdiocese’s bankruptcy — a process that is expected to last years.

In a typical bankruptcy, meaning one that is not based around allegations of sexual assault and child abuse, such a committee is composed of people or financial institutions who hold liens or have outstanding invoices against the debtor. They’re in line behind secured creditors, who have collateral such as real estate. Unsecured creditors sometimes get as little as pennies on the dollar for what they’re owed.

But in cases where the debt…

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A High Court bid launched by the Catholic Church is set to have far-reaching consequences for personal injury claims in Victoria. Source: Herald Sun.

A legal challenge is seeking to block the parents, siblings, friends and families of abuse victims from suing for damages. If successful it would prohibit “secondary” victims from seeking damages against a range of organisations for psychological injury.

They could include the state government, WorkSafe, the Transport Accident Commission, schools, clubs, kinders, religious organisations and social and cultural groups.

The case centres on a claim brought by the father of a dead former choirboy who claims his son was assaulted by Cardinal George Pell.

Cardinal Pell was convicted, then acquitted, of abusing the choirboy now at the centre of this landmark case. The former choirboy died of a heroin overdose in 2014 having never disclosed allegations of abuse to his parents or authorities.

The choirboy’s father is…

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Two Vatican trials are coming to a head this week and posing uncomfortable questions for the Holy See, given they both underscore Pope Francis’ power as an absolute monarch and the legal, financial and reputational problems that can arise when he wields it.

On Wednesday, the Vatican’s former in-house auditor was in court for a hearing in his 9.3 million euro wrongful dismissal lawsuit against the Holy See. Libero Milone says Vatican police forced his resignation in 2017 under the threat of arrest, after he was told Francis had “lost faith” in him over his zealous attempts to audit Vatican monsignors.

The Vatican secretariat of state has objected to being named as a defendant in the suit, arguing it had nothing to do with Milone’s hiring or resignation and that the city state’s tribunal had no place getting involved.

The rationale: The pope hired Milone and…

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During Saturday’s Synod briefing, speakers highlight topics ranging from the role of women to the defense of minors and vulnerable individuals, as participants prepared to recite the Rosary and pray for peace in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday evening.

At nine in the evening on Saturday in St. Peter’s Square, the recitation of the Rosary takes place with a prayer intention for peace. A special appeal for was launched on Friday in the Synod Hall “to help the young people, in a Middle East that is bleeding, not to lose hope and not to have as their only perspective for the future that of suffering or leaving their country”, and “to provide these young people, as a Church and as pastors, with the instruments to reach peace.”

Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication and President of the Synod Information Commission, highlighted this at Saturday’s briefing with journalists, which…

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The so-called ‘singing priest’ received a four-year sentence in December 2022 for abusing survivor Alan Nolan, 51, and two other boys in the 1980s.

And Gardai have now submitted new files on the monster to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The files being analysed relate to three males and one female.

If charged, it could mean Walsh spending more time in jail after his expected release date in 2027.

Details of the files were also confirmed by brave abuse survivor Darren McGavin, 51, who revealed he’s working as an advocate with four other victims of the priest.

He hopes the four men will also make statements against Walsh.

Depraved Walsh — who used the cover of the Catholic Church to prey on innocent children — has started to admit his crimes when he has been hit with fresh charges over the last six years.

Since 1995, the beast has been convicted of…

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The Pennsylvania governor made a name for himself by exposing sexual misconduct and cover-ups

A sexual harassment scandal had once again consumed Harrisburg.

Allegations against a Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Mike Zabel, from both a lobbyist and a fellow House member had sparked urgent calls for his resignation and reignited widespread outrage at a male-dominated Capitol culture that seemed to let the powerful act with impunity toward women.

On March 3, Gov. Josh Shapiro weighed in.

“Let me be very clear where I stand. People deserve to be safe and free from harassment wherever they work,” the new Democratic governor told the Philadelphia radio station KYW. “I think it’s critically important for those who come forward to be able to share their truth and have it investigated fairly and properly.”

He said the investigation of the Democrat from Delaware County “should be done swiftly. And I think the [House] Speaker…

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A German bishop participating in the Synod on Synodality challenged the idea that the Catholic community in his country is at odds with the universal Church — and reasserted that it will continue to play a role in the ongoing discussions in Rome about the Church’s future.

Speaking at the Synod press briefing Saturday afternoon, Bishop Franz Josef Overbeck of Essen acknowledged that others have expressed concerns to him regarding the Catholic Church in Germany’s controversial “Synodal Way.”

“Many people have asked me, ‘Are you still Catholics and part of the Catholic Church?”, said Overbeck, one of the German Bishops Conference’s three delegates to the universal Synod, and a major proponent of the German Synodal Way. “And I say, ‘Yes, of course, we are Catholics, and we are here to stay.”

Begun in 2019, the Synodal Way is a non-canonical initiative of the German bishops’ conference and the Central Committee…

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Four men who say they were sexually abused by clergy gathered outside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Thursday to announce their group sent a formal complaintwith the Vatican, charging that Springfield’s bishop “harms his flock.”

The group also sent a letterto Bishop Thomas Paprocki asking that they be allowed to speak at a Diocesan gathering later this month. “We think that would be a long overdue, welcome gesture on his part, and we think that it would encourage other victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to come forward. Kids are safe when abuse is reported or abuse is not reported in a climate…of fear and shame,’’ said David Clohessy, former national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and volunteer director of the Missouri group.

The other letter is in response to a new process by which laypeople can report to the…

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