ABUSE TRACKER

Following a review of abuse allegations made in October 2023 against Msgr. Michael Mellone, the pastor of Annunciation Parish in Washington, and Deacon Lawrence Bell of St. Martin of Tours Parish in Gaithersburg, Cardinal Wilton Gregory announced in July 17, 2024 letters to those parish communities that no evidence of misconduct was found, and both men may return to active ministry.

The cardinal explained that after the Maryland Child Victims Act took effect on Oct. 1, 2023, The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington received notice of a lawsuit that included a John Doe plaintiff’s allegations of sexual abuse of a minor made against Msgr. Mellone and Deacon Bell that dated back to the 1990s, when they served together at St. Martin of Tours.

“To be clear, apart from the lawsuit, we have received no prior complaints of any sort of improper conduct made against either Monsignor Mellone or Deacon Bell – at…

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A former altar boy who accused Manchester Bishop Peter A. Libasci of sexual abuse in the 1980s died earlier this month, leaving the status of his civil case against the bishop uncertain.

The 53-year-old man died earlier this month in New York. In 2021, he filed a lawsuit accusing Libasci, now head of the Catholic Diocese of Manchester, of groping him while Libasci was a priest in his early 30s in Rockville Centre, New York.

Christian Curran, the accuser’s attorney, sent the death certificate to the clerk of the Suffolk County (New York) Supreme Court on Tuesday after informing the court of his death last week.

The letter, in part, said, “We respectfully request the action be marked stayed at this time.”

Curran said he did not wish to comment Tuesday. Attempts to reach Libasci’s attorney, Michael J. Connolly, were unsuccessful.

In New York state, there are two ways a…

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Earlier this month a bombshell media report revealed that Father Stechschulte had in 2012 destroyed a hard drive reportedly containing inappropriate pictures of children

A priest in Ohio has resigned from his parish after parishioners demanded his ouster due to his having destroyed a hard drive containing possible child porn. 

Father Barry Stechschulte announced his departure from St. Susanna Catholic Parish in Mason, Ohio, in a message on the church’s website this week.

“[It] has become evident to me, after much prayer and discernment, that, for the good of our parish and school, I should step down as pastor, effective immediately, to be reassigned elsewhere in the archdiocese [of Cincinnati],” the pastor wrote.

Earlier this month a bombshell media report revealed that Father Stechschulte had in 2012 destroyed a hard drive reportedly containing inappropriate pictures of children — and potentially child pornography — and then delayed reporting the incident to…

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An Ohio pastor reportedly resigned from his ministry on Monday after nearly 500 people signed a petition demanding his ouster in 2021 after allegations of destruction of evidence

Father Barry Stechschulte stepped down from his position after a WCPO 9 report that he allegedly ordered the destruction of child pornography and delayed reporting it for six years while he served at another parish, according to the outlet.

Parents for Action expressed concerns in a letter to Stechschulte and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati obtained by the outlet. “The decision you made to destroy evidence instead of reporting it to the proper authorities has severely compromised the confidence many of us have in your leadership,” the organization reportedly wrote. “We believe that for the unity and peace of our parish to be restored, a change in leadership is necessary … we respectfully request your resignation from your position at St….

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A newly released police report detailed the role a Mason priest had in destroying a laptop with alleged pornographic material in 2012.

The Rev. Barry Stechschulte resigned from St. Susanna Catholic Parish on Monday after hundreds of parishioners and parents of students at its school signed a petition calling for his dismissal.

It happened just weeks after he stood before the congregation at Sunday masses and admitted to ordering the destruction of a computer hard drive related to a possible child pornography investigation at another church more than a decade ago and then failing to report it to police for six years.

He apologized and said he was so shocked and disgusted by the images he saw that he wanted to make sure no one else would be subjected to seeing them. He also told the congregation he realizes now that not reporting it to the police for…

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Yesterday brought news of the resignation of Fr. Barry Stechschulte as pastor of St. Susanna’s Church in Mason, Ohio, in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. The priest resigned following mounting pressure after it was revealed that in 2012 — shortly after he became pastor of Holy Rosary Church in St. Mary’s, Ohio — he ordered Deacon Marty Brown to destroy a hard drive on an old desktop computer in the parish rectory.

A letter from Archbishop Dennis Schnurr to the parishioners of St. Susanna thanked Stechschulte for his service and announced that a retired priest, Fr Jeff Kemper, will serve as temporary administrator of the parish, effective immediately.

The frequency with which these types of scandals and crimes are revealed suggests that the truth is only shared with the faithful on a need-to-know basis, causing frustrated and disillusioned Catholics to wonder how much more Church leaders are hiding from…

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(7-30-24) The pastor of St. Susanna Church in Mason, Fr. Barry Stechschulte, has resigned after more than 500 people signed a petition calling for change after a recent report showed that he ordered the destruction of alleged child pornography and waited six years to report it to police while at a different parish.

After Father Tony Cutcher left Holy Rosary Church in St. Marys…Stechschulte arrived as the new pastor in July of 2012, he and Church Deacon Marty Brown told police that they had discovered what looked like child pornography while refurbishing an old desktop computer from a storage room, which had been used by Cutcher.

Stechschulte moved from Holy Rosary to become pastor of St. Susanna in Mason.

According to a St. Marys Police 2018 police report —

When Stechschulte, who was raised in Minster, arrived as the new pastor in July 2012, he and Deacon Marty Brown told…

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Archbishop George Lucas says the Catholic Church asked him to continue serving the diocese until successor found since allegation was anonymous

A week after a lawsuit filed in St. Louis accused Omaha Archbishop George Lucas of sexually abusing a 16-year-old boy, the archbishop issued a second statement, noting that he had submitted his resignation prior to the accusation.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha on Wednesday posted a video of the archbishop on its website and issued his full written statement to news media. He called the allegation made by an anonymous person in the lawsuit “a complete fabrication.”

“It never happened. I have never had sexual contact with another person,” the archbishop says, calling the allegation “disturbing.”

“My conscience is clear, and I am at peace before the Lord.”Omaha Archbishop George Lucas

Lucas says he submitted his resignation to Pope Francis on June…

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David Clohessy of Survivors Network of those Abused by Catholic Priests discuss abuse claims against Omaha Archbishop George Lucas

[See video.]

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Pope Francis said of Bishop Rosario Gisana: “He is good, this bishop. He was persecuted, slandered, yet he stood firm, always, just, a just man.”

A Sicilian court said a bishop recently praised by the Pope was “knowingly guilty” of covering up the crimes of a sex abuser priest.

Judges said Bishop Rosario Gisana of Piazza Amerina, in central Sicily, had protected Fr Giuseppe Rugolo, who was sentenced in March to four-and-a-half years in prison for sexual abuse of minors.

Antonio Messina told police the priest had abused him while he was a teenager. In 2020, Messina wrote to Pope Francis about the abuse.

After Messina and his family informed Gisana of the abuse between 2009 to 2013, a Church inquiry concluded that it had taken place while Rugolo was a seminarian. However, Messina said the abuse continued after Rugolo’s ordination.

In a telephone conversation recorded by police and presented…

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A clerical abuse scandal has been brewing in the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, where two priests are accused of having molested three minors almost a decade ago. 

What makes the case different from the many others that affect the Church around the world is that the diocesan bishop at the time the allegations first surfaced was the American Robert Francis Prevost, now a cardinal and prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, who led the diocese from 2014 until last year.

Local Catholics have expressed frustration at the course of the investigation, which began after an alleged victim filed a complaint in 2022, accusing the priests of inappropriate touching when she was a minor. Two years on, questions continue to be raised around the case.

Given Prevost’s role in enforcing Vos estis lux mundi, the papal motu proprio on episcopal negligence in abuse cases, the situation has attracted international scrutiny, with some in Peru…

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[See video.]

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A Diocese of Scranton priest revered for his work with the region’s poor is guilty under church law of sexually abusing two children, the diocese said Tuesday.

Monsignor Joseph P. Kelly is immediately and permanently prohibited from exercising priestly ministry and permanently barred from wearing clerical attire or presenting himself as a priest following the guilty verdict, according to a statement from the diocese.

While guilty under canon law, Kelly has not faced criminal charges.

The Vatican authorized the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, bishop of Scranton, to impose a permanent penalty on Kelly but did not authorize his dismissal as a priest due to his age, according to the diocese. Kelly is 83 years old.

Ordained May 28, 1966, Kelly had 17 assignments throughout his career, including in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties. He received widespread recognition from the community for his work with disadvantaged children and adults, serving as…

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A priest of the Diocese of Scranton has been found guilty under canon law of the sexual abuse of two minors.

According to a media release from the Diocese of Scranton, Monsignor Joseph P. Kelly was found guilty at the conclusion of a disciplinary process.

By Oct. 2020, seven individuals alleged that Kelley sexually abused them as children. Another allegation was received in Jan. 2023, according to the Diocese of Scranton. Five of the eight allegations were deemed credible and were investigated as required by the Code of Canon Law of the Catholic Church.

Bishop Joseph C. Bambera was authorized to adjudicate the accusations through trial processes. At the end of the trial, Kelly was found guilty under canon law of two of the accusations.

As a result, Kelly was immediately and permanently prohibited from the exercise of priestly ministry and permanently prohibited from wearing clerical attire or presenting himself…

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Strategic collaboration, especially with law enforcement monitoring crimes online, is needed in the fight against human trafficking, according to the head of an international network of religious orders and partners against trafficking.

“New challenges in preventing and combating human trafficking affecting children have emerged,” particularly as traffickers are using the Internet “to advertise and sell children online for sexual exploitation and to distribute child sexual abuse material,” said Maryknoll Sister Abby Avelino, international coordinator for the international network, Talitha Kum.

There is also another worrying trend, according to the Global Slavery Index 2023 report, of “orphanage trafficking,” in which children are recruited to live in private, donor-funded residential care facilities that have little to no government oversight and where they are exploited for profit, she said in an article published in the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, July 29.

July 30 marks the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, sponsored by…

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A former altar boy who accused Manchester Bishop Peter A. Libasci of sexual abuse in the 1980s died earlier this month, leaving the status of his civil case against the bishop uncertain.

The 53-year-old man died earlier this month in New York. In 2021, he filed a lawsuit accusing Libasci, now head of the Catholic Diocese of Manchester, of groping him while Libasci was a priest in his early 30s in Rockville Centre, New York.

Christian Curran, the accuser’s attorney, sent the death certificate to the clerk of the Suffolk County (New York) Supreme Court on Tuesday after informing the court of his death last week.

The letter, in part, said, “We respectfully request the action be marked stayed at this time.”

Curran said he did not wish to comment Tuesday. Attempts to reach Libasci’s attorney, Michael J. Connolly, were unsuccessful.

In New York state, there are two ways a…

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Joey Piscitelli told the Register that during the seven-year period Harris served as San Francisco’s district attorney, she repeatedly declined his requests to release relevant documents and to meet with him.

Kamala Harris is emphasizing her experience as a prosecutor in her campaign for president, which is drawing attention to her decisions as a district attorney two decades ago — including how she handled victims of sex abuse by Catholic clergy.

Some advocates for victims say she didn’t help them when she could have — particularly during a seven-year period when she had control of personnel files of Catholic priests accused of sex crimes.

It’s not a new claim; critics have made it during at least two of Harris’ prior runs for higher office.

Joey Piscitelli, 69, a clergy sex-abuse victim and activist, told the Register that when Harris was San Francisco’s district attorney from 2004 to 2011, he couldn’t…

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The Diocese of Scranton announced Monsignor Joseph P. Kelly, a former priest in the Diocese of Scranton, has been found guilty under canon law of the sexual abuse of two children.

According to a statement issued Tuesday by the Diocese of Scranton, Monsignor Joseph P. Kelly was found guilty under canon law of sexually abusing two children after a four-year canonical process.

As a result, Monsignor Kelly was immediately and permanently prohibited from exercising priestly ministry and was not allowed to wear clerical attire or present himself as a priest, the diocese stated.

The Vatican authorized Bishop Joseph Bambera to impose a permanent penalty on Monsignor Kelly, short of authorizing his dismissal from the clerical state, given his advanced age.

By October 2020, seven people had accused Monsignor Kelly of sexually abusing them as
children, some of who received compensation through the Independent Survivors Compensation Program. At that time,…

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A prominent pastor and community outreach leader in the Dallas-Fort Worth area has been charged with sexually assaulting a woman, according to a Texas court record.

As reported by CBS News, Koinonia Christian Church pastor Ronnie Goines was taken into custody on July 25. He has since been charged with two counts of sexual assault, according to the Tarrant County Court Clerk.

Goines, 51, was released from the Tarrant County Jail on July 27 on $3,000 bail.

Telephone messages left with the Arlington Police Department about the allegations were not returned. But according to KERA, a National Public Radio station, the charges resulted from a woman’s “outcry that was reported to the department” in June.

Goines is the founding pastor of Koinonia Christian Church in Arlington, Texas. His arrest marks at least the fifth Dallas-Fort Worth area pastor to be embroiled in scandal…

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Kenneth Flowers, a prominent Detroit pastor who leads Greater New Mount Moriah Baptist Church, tells me he is innocent of the charges. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

A prominent Detroit pastor has been charged with sexually assaulting a minor in Farmington Hills for an incident that allegedly occurred in December.

The Rev. Kenneth Flowers, 63, pastor of Greater New Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Detroit, was arraigned Friday in Farmington Hills District Court on one count of criminal sexual conduct with force or coercion and one count of criminal sexual assault with intent to commit sexual penetration. Court records show Flowers stood mute and a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf. He was released on a $25,000 personal recognizance bond, which means he did not have to post cash or a bond, but would owe the court $25,000 if he fails to…

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Josiah Anthony, the lead pastor at Cross Timbers Church in Argyle, has resigned due to allegations of “inappropriate and hurtful actions.”

NBC 5 obtained a letter from Cross Timbers Church, sent to its congregation following the pastor’s announcement of stepping down.

In the letter, church officials said the elder board recently became aware of events and circumstances involving Anthony over the past few years.

“Josiah’s been in a prolonged and sustained season of struggle with his emotional and mental health, which has been very painful for him and those around him,” the letter said.

“Throughout this struggle, some of Josiah’s decisions and actions were inappropriate and hurtful to current and former members of the CT family and staff. During this time, Josiah was not forthcoming and transparent with the staff and the elder board. Once all of this came to light over the last few weeks, it…

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An associate pastor with Living Word International Church in Midland now faces new criminal sexual conduct charges after a preliminary examination hearing on Monday, July 29.

Associate Pastor Randy Saylor, 71, is now charged with 11 criminal sexual conduct (CSC) charges from one case, according to Courtney Driscoll, the Midland County Assistant Prosecutor.

He is now charged with two counts of first-degree CSC with a victim under 13, three counts of first-degree CSC with a victim 13 to 15, related by blood or affinity, a count of second-degree CSC with a victim under 13, and four counts of second-degree CSC with a victim 13 to 15 related by blood or affinity.

All charges in this case involve the same victim over a period of time when the victim was 11 to 15 years old, Driscoll said.

The victim took the stand on Monday and testified in detail about the alleged…

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Several Texas pastors have resigned this year after allegations of misconduct, among other accusations. Some pastors face charges for their actions. 

In June, the American-Statesman reported on megachurch pastor Robert Morris resigning after allegations of child abuse. 

Morris resigned from his position as the senior pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, near Fort Worth, after a confession made in early June regarding his involvement in sexual behavior with a child during the 1980s. 

Here is a breakdown of Morris and the other Texas pastors who stepped down this year.

Robert Morris child sex abuse allegations 

Cindy Clemishire made allegations in a report that Morris had abused her when she was 12 years old. 

Clemishire, who is now 54, detailed her abuse in “The Wartburg Watch,” a blog focusing on nefarious issues in Christian churches. The alleged abuse continued for more than four years, Clemishire said.

According to WFAA, Morris’ defense…

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Two sexual assault charges against the former Meeting House pastor remain to be tried.

After a two-year delay, one of three sexual assault charges against Bruxy Cavey, former pastor of the Ontario megachurch The Meeting House, has been stayed.

Cavey’s defense lawyer, Megan Savard, argued on Monday to Ontario Court Justice Michael K. Wendl that the duration of time between the initial sexual assault charge, made by Hamilton police in June 2022, was too long and infringed upon Cavey’s rights to trial within a reasonable time. According to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a trial in Provincial Court must begin within 18 months of the charge and within 30 months in Superior Court. Justice Wendl, on July 22, ruled in favor of Savard’s argument, effectively putting an end to prosecution. 

Outside the courtroom on Monday, Cavey said that while he acknowledges a moral failure, “I don’t believe I failed…

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Bishop Gisana continues to lead the Diocese of Piazza Armerina despite being caught admitting to covering up the abuse

The bishop of a southern Italian diocese deliberately avoided protecting victims in his diocese and instead sought to protect a priest long accused of having abused several minors as a seminarian, a court in the southern Italian city of Enna ruled.

The court July 24 published its “Statement of Reasons,” an extensive 222-page document explaining the court’s guilty verdict against Father Giuseppe Rugolo, a diocesan priest, who was found guilty in March of sexually abusing two minors, including Antonio Messina, who was 16 at the time.

A copy of the court’s ruling was obtained by OSV News.

The three-judge tribunal — Francesco Paolo Pitarresi, Elisa D’Aveni and Maria Rosaria Santoni — stated that Bishop Rosario Gisana of Piazza Armerina was “well aware for many years of the reports made concerning the…

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A priest in Ohio has resigned from his parish after parishioners demanded his ouster due to his having destroyed a hard drive containing possible child porn. 

Father Barry Stechschulte announced his departure from St. Susanna Catholic Parish in Mason, Ohio, in a message on the church’s website this week.

“[It] has become evident to me, after much prayer and discernment, that, for the good of our parish and school, I should step down as pastor, effective immediately, to be reassigned elsewhere in the archdiocese [of Cincinnati],” the pastor wrote.

Earlier this month a bombshell media report revealed that Stechschulte had in 2012 destroyed a hard drive reportedly containing inappropriate pictures of children — and potentially child pornography — and then delayed reporting the incident to police. 

The pastor did not report the incident to police until 2018. In an apology to parishioners earlier this month…

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At least 973 Native American children died in the U.S. government’s abusive boarding school system, according to the results of an investigation released Tuesday by Interior Department officials who called on the government to apologize for the schools.

The investigation commissioned by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland found marked and unmarked graves at 65 of the more than 400 U.S. boarding schools where Native American children were forcibly assimilated into white society. The findings don’t specify how each child died, but officials said the causes of death included disease and abuse during a 150-year period that ended in 1969.

Additional children may have died after becoming sick at school and being sent home, officials said.

The findings follow a series of listening sessions held by Haaland over the past two years in which dozens of former students recounted harmful and often degrading treatment they endured at the hands of teachers and administrators…

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After the remains of hundreds of children were discovered on the grounds of former residential schools in Canada in 2021, leadership at a Catholic boarding school for Native youths in southeastern Montana wondered whether unmarked graves might exist on its properties serving the Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations.

The resulting 16-month investigation — one of the first of its kind launched by a Catholic entity — found no indications of undocumented graves or deaths on school grounds. But the 149-page report, shared with NCR July 25, reveals that between 1884 and 1960 at least 113 students died while enrolled in institutions operated by the St. Labre Indian School Educational Association.

Disease and illness caused 90% of student deaths, according to the report, with 10 deaths from other causes, including accidents. The large percentage roughly parallels overall estimates in the Americas as disease decimated Indigenous populations following…

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An estimated 200,000 children and vulnerable adults in the care of state and faith-based institutions were abused or neglected between 1950 and 2019, according to the report on an independent inquiry by the New Zealand Royal Commission.

The report, which was released July 24, stated that the total number of those abused — many of whom belonged to the Indigenous Maori people — “may be higher than this estimate” due to poor record keeping and that the abuse and neglect of hundreds of thousands of children, young people, and adults was “a national disgrace.”

“These gross violations occurred at the same time as Aotearoa New Zealand was promoting itself, internationally and domestically, as a bastion of human rights and as a safe, fair country in which to grow up as a child in a loving family,” the report’s executive summary stated.

“If this injustice is not addressed, it will remain…

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Father Barry Stechschulte resigned after more than 500 people called for him to step down

The pastor of St. Susanna Church in Mason has resigned after more than 500 people signed a petition calling for change after our I-Team report showed he ordered the destruction of alleged child porn and waited six years to report it to police while at a different parish.

MASON, Ohio — After accepting the resignation of Father Barry Stechschulte, Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr has appointed a temporary administrator to St. Susanna Church in Mason.

Stechschulte announced in a message to parishioners Monday that he was stepping down as pastor after more than 500 people signed a petition calling for his resignation following a WCPO 9 I-Team report that showed he ordered the destruction of alleged child pornography and waited six years to report it to police while at a different parish.

A group of parents and…

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The pastor of St. Susanna Parish in Mason resigned Monday after admitting he ordered the destruction of material connected to an investigation into images possibly showing child sexual abuse while working at another church years earlier.

The Rev. Barry Stechschulte apologized to parishioners more than two weeks ago for his role in the matter and said at the time he remained committed to “maintaining a safe environment here at St. Susanna,” a large Catholic parish that also is home to a school. But on Monday, after hundreds of parishioners signed a petition seeking his removal as pastor, Stechschulte announced on the parish website he was leaving his post.

“The last couple of weeks have been difficult ones for all of us at St. Susanna,” Stechschulte wrote. “It has become evident to me, after much prayer and discernment, that, for the good of our parish and school, I should step down as…

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Five civil lawsuits filed against the Archdiocese of St. Louis July 24 allege multiple incidents of sexual abuse of minors and long-standing coverups, with a Nebraska archbishop — then a St. Louis archdiocesan priest — included among the accused.

A total of 60 plaintiffs claim that they were abused by clergy, religious and laypeople, with most alleged incidents taking place from the 1960s through the 1990s.

The lawsuits name Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of St. Louis, who was appointed to his see in August 2020, “solely in his capacity as an officer, director and/or chief executive officer of the Archdiocese of St. Louis,” representing “all archbishops who officially supervised or failed to supervise the employee abusers” alleged in the cases. Rozanski is a Baltimore native.

One of the suits (A.S. et al. v. the Archdiocese of St. Louis) alleges that in 1988 a 16-year-old student at the now-closed St. Louis…

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The son of a disgraced Texas megachurch pastor who resigned over allegations of sexual abuse with a young girl abruptly quit the church on Thursday.

James Morris stepped down from his role as associate senior pastor of Gateway Church after his father, Robert Morris, admitted last month to having “inappropriate sexual behavior” with a family friend starting when she was just 12 years old.

The younger Morris and his wife Bridgette Morris, an executive pastor inside the church, decided to leave their positions together after meeting with Gateway elders, according to WFAA.

“They collectively made the decision” that the couple would step down from their roles, the church said in a statement obtained by the outlet.

“We as Elders affirm and believe that God has placed a desire in both Pastors James and Bridgette’s hearts to serve as senior pastors of a church at some point in the future,” the elders…

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Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Missouri volunteer director of SNAP, 314 566 9790, davidgclohessy@gmail.com

We commend these wounded survivors for their courageous efforts to protect kids by exposing clergy who commit and conceal heinous crimes against children.

We are very grateful to them because any information about clergy sex crimes and cover ups is an immense gift to parents, police, prosecutors, parents, parishioners and the public. Girls and boys are safer now because these victims are speaking up and filing suits.

We’re not surprised that dozens more victims are now finding the strength to step forward and seek justice. It’s long been obvious that hundreds of clergy abuse victims are still suffering in shame, silence and self-blame, numbing their deep pain through drugs, alcohol, agoraphobia, anorexia and other self-destructive behavior. It’s also long been obvious that child abuse victims come forward when they are…

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Church leader in Sicily ‘knowingly guilty’ of failing to act over priest who slept with teenager and was given a four-year jail sentence

A Catholic bishop covered up for a sexually abusive priest, a court in Sicily has ruled, creating embarrassment for Pope Francis who recently praised the bishop and claimed he was being “persecuted”.

Rosario Gisana, bishop of Piazza Armerina in Sicily, was “knowingly guilty” of covering up for a priest who was handed a four-year jail sentence this year after his young victim went to the police, the court in Enna ruled.

Police who wiretapped Gisana during an investigation overheard him telling the priest, Father Giuseppe Rugolo: “This is now not only your problem but also mine because I covered up the affair.”

Antonio Messina, who waived his anonymity, was abused as a teenager by Rugolo between 2009 and 2013. He and his family first reported the priest to…

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A Catholic bishop believes there has been a culture change going through the church in the wake of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care’s final report.

The Royal Commission of Inquiry report, released last week, contained details of horrific abuse at institutions across New Zealand over decades.

More than 250,000 vulnerable people were abused and neglected at places they were meant to be cared for in, including faith-based institutions, from 1950 to 2019.

The bishop of Palmerston North, John Adams, spoke to Stuff as he wanted to put a face to the church’s response.

He said the church’s culture had been changing since the early 2000s when the Boston Globe newspaper in the United States revealed widespread sexual abuse by priests.

There had been a culture where things such as abuse were not spoken about, but that was changing.

“There’s zero appetite for that culture in the church now….

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An Italian bishop praised by Pope Francis has disputed a court’s ruling that he failed to exercise proper oversight of a priest convicted of sexual abuse.

In an interview published July 26 by Italy’s La Stampa newspaper, Bishop Rosario Gisana insisted that he had “not ‘facilitated the predatory activity’ of anyone,” despite wire-tap recordings of the bishop saying he had “buried” the case of a priest subsequently convicted of abuse. 

The Bishop of Piazza Armerina, Sicily, was responding to a 222-page explanation of a March 5 ruling on the case of Fr. Giuseppe Rugolo, a former religion teacher.

Rugolo was sentenced in the first instance by a court in the Sicilian city of Enna to four years and six months for sexual violence and attempted sexual violence against minors.

The priest and the episcopal curia of the Piazza Armerina diocese were ordered jointly to pay compensation, to be determined in a…

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SOUTHLAKE – Gateway Church elders on Saturday apologized to a woman who publicly accused Pastor Robert Morris of sexually assaulting her when she was a child.

The church also welcomed well-known pastor Max Lucado.

It all happened during the first services since Pastor James Morris stepped down. His father, founding Pastor Robert Morris, also resigned last month after the woman – Cindy Clemishire – said he sexually assaulted her when she was only 12 years old.

For the first time, Gateway elders addressed Clemishire directly.

“Cindy, in case you are watching, we want to again apologize to you on behalf of our entire church for the years of pain you have endured,” said Trey Wilbanks, a Gateway elder. “To be clear, we believe that this was sexual abuse of a child. Any description falling short of that does not…

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Tri-State priest resigns after destruction of potentially criminal evidence

CINCINNATI (WKRC) – The resignation of a popular local priest is sending shockwaves throughout a Tri-State community.

The pastor at St. Susanna Catholic Parish in Mason has stepped down after he admitted to ordering the destruction of pornography and photos of young boys. He said they were on another priest’s computer at a different church.0 seconds of 3 minutes, 8 secondsVolume 90% (WKRC)

Father Barry Stechschulte resigned on Monday after a groundswell of condemnation by many of the 14,000 people who attend St. Susanna in Mason. The resignation came four years after the pastor arrived.

The welcome note Father Stechschulte wrote in 2020 when he arrived at St. Susanna is in stark contrast to the note on the church’s website four years later, stating, “It has become evident to me, after much prayer and discernment, that for the good of our parish…

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Just when it appeared that justice was moving closer to being realized by victims of sex abuse at the hands of Catholic clergy in Washington, a King County Superior Court judge put the brakes on it, at least for now.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson launched an investigation last year into whether charitable donations to Catholic churches were used to conceal or facilitate sexual abuse. 

After the Seattle Archdiocese refused access to certain church records regarding priests, citing the state’s Charitable Fund Act, Ferguson appealed to the courts. He asked King County Superior Court to allow his office access to records that he said could possibly provide evidence that church leaders in Seattle, Spokane and Yakima used charitable funds — church donations and offerings — to support clergy members who abused parishioners. 

Ferguson’s investigation is important and should move forward, and his office should appeal King County Superior Court Judge Michael…

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[See the lawsuit that names Archbishop Lucas.]

ST. LOUIS COUNTY — A new lawsuit filed against the Archdiocese of St. Louis accuses the archbishop in Omaha, Nebraska, of sexually abusing a teenage boy here in the late 1980s, a charge he denied Thursday.

The boy, identified in the lawsuit only by the initials D.S., is one of 27 victims in St. Louis County who have sued the archdiocese and its leader of covering up decades of abuse by priests, nuns and other employees.

In the lawsuit, filed in St. Louis County Circuit Court, D.S. claims that the Rev. George Lucas — now the archbishop of Omaha — sexually abused him while attending the now-closed St. Louis Preparatory Seminary School in Shrewsbury.

“Father Lucas required D.S. to meet with him for regular one-on-one check-in sessions,” the lawsuit alleges. “Eventually, these check-in sessions proved to be a ruse for Father Lucas…

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The Erie County District Attorney’s Office is looking into sexual misconduct allegations involving a Buffalo Catholic priest.

On Tuesday, the Diocese of Buffalo announced its internal review board substantiated claims against Rev. Joseph Rogliano. He was accused of engaging in acts of sexual misconduct with adults.

The DA’s office will determine if the reported conduct is criminal and within the statute of limitations, a spokesperson tells 2 On Your Side Investigates. They are awaiting more information from the diocese. 

“Our office will investigate any complaint of sexual abuse or sexual misconduct involving a child or adult victim brought to our attention,” a spokesperson for the DA’s office said in a statement.

The memorandum of understanding between the Diocese of Buffalo and Erie County District Attorney only requires notification of allegations of sexual abuse involving people under the age of 17. 

Rogliano was initially placed on leave in September while the diocese…

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Allegations against a Buffalo Diocese priest have been substantiated following an investigation into claims of sexual misconduct, the diocese announced.

Rev. Joseph Rogliano of Family 21 was accused of sexual misconduct with adults. Bishop Michael W. Fisher determined the accusation to be substantiated as a result of an initial internal inquiry, an independent investigation and recommendations by the Independent Review Board.

Rogliano was placed on administrative leave in Sept. 2023 and retired in Feb. 2024.

Family 21 is composed of Blessed Trinity, SS. Columba-Brigid, St. Lawrence and St. Martin de Porres parishes.

Kayleigh Hunter-Gasperini joined the News 4 team in 2024 as a Digital Video Producer. She is a graduate of Chatham University.

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Buffalo, N.Y., July 23, 2024 – As a result of an initial internal inquiry and then an independent investigation, and upon the recommendations of the Independent Review Board, Bishop Michael W. Fisher has determined the allegations that the Rev. Joseph Rogliano engaged in acts of sexual misconduct with adults have been substantiated. As a result, at this time, Rev. Rogliano has been restricted from public ministry.

On Sept. 11, 2023, Rev. Rogliano was placed on administrative leave. Prior to being placed on leave, Rev. Rogliano was the pastor of Family 21 composed of Blessed Trinity, SS. Columba-Brigid, St. Lawrence and St. Martin de Porres parishes in Buffalo. In February of 2024, he resigned as pastor of Family 21 and retired.

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I worked on projects with Casey, but never knew about sex abuse

Will the Bishop Casey story ever go away? It has dogged our lives in one way or another for 30 years.

This week, the front pages, the documentaries and the phone-in radio programmes revealed a new angle on the Casey story. We thought we understood the issue — namely, that as the best-known Catholic bishop in these islands, he fathered a child with a distant cousin.

At first, he denied it and then failed miserably in his duties as a father. It’s now much worse than that.

The RTÉ/Mail on Sunday investigation accuses him of being a serious child abuser for many years.

I knew Bishop Casey and worked successfully on committees with him, but I never knew him well because he didn’t like me.

He was a friend of Fr Michael Cleary, who was a friend of…

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The Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has directed that complaints received in relation to alleged child sexual abuse against Bishop Eamonn Casey be re-examined, Extra.ie can reveal.

In a statement to Extra this Friday, a spokesman for An Garda Siochana said: ‘The Garda Commissioner has requested the Garda National Protective Services Bureau to examine the original investigation file. Directions by the DPP are a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions.’

The Garda National Protective Services Bureau is a specialist unit of the Garda Síochána that handles human trafficking, child protection, domestic violence and sexual violence and general support to victims in distress.

It followed calls earlier this week by former Justice Minister Alan Shatter for gardai to review all complaints received against him, after a major investigation by RTE, in association with the Irish Mail on Sunday, aired on RTE One on Monday.

The documentary, Bishop Casey’s Buried Secrets, examined the Catholic…

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A priest who was a nephew of disgraced Bishop Eamonn Casey should not have been moved from one diocese to another after he too was accused of child sexual abuse, the Limerick Diocese has confirmed.

The Limerick Diocese received multiple accusations against Fr Michael Donovan, who was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Limerick in 1983 and who was removed from all ministry 12 years later, in 1995.

Three of these accusations were also disclosed to gardaí, and two alleged victims made formal complaints to the Limerick Diocese.

Details of Fr Donovan’s alleged abuse were disclosed in an RTÉ documentary, Bishop Casey’s Buried Secrets, in association with the Irish Mail on Sunday (MoS), on Monday night.

The MoS revealed in 2019 that Fr Donovan was also accused of abusing his sister, Patricia Donovan, who also reported her uncle, Bishop Casey, for alleged child sexual abuse.

Fr…

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After little more than three months, we know why a 51-year-old male decided to end his life in the seventh-floor of the building of the Ecuadoran Congress.

The person who hung himself at the Ecuadoran Congress was a former parliamentary aide, and until then a survivor of clergy sexual abuse.

Suicides as the one at the building of the Ecuadoran Congress are a frequent outcome of sexual abuse, clergy or otherwise.

Back on March 5th, 2024, around 10 am, a maintenance worker at the premises of the Ecuadoran Congress informed their superiors of the corpse of a male hanging at a terrace of the seventh floor of that building.

Little over an hour later, the account of the National Assembly at what used to be Twitter posted a message. The posting provides little or no detail about the circumstances of the suicide of someone identified only as “a lifeless body,”…

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Fr. Lowrent Kamwaza tells Vatican News that the protection of minors and vulnerable persons against all forms of abuse is a key mission of the Church.

The Coordinator for Integrity in Ministry in the Society of the Missionaries of Africa, Fr. Lowrent Kamwaza, tells Vatican News that the Protection of Minors and vulnerable persons against all forms of abuse is a key mission of the Church.

All Catholics, he said, are invited to be part and parcel of this mission to create a safer church for all.

Fr. Kamwanza was speaking in reference to a two-week course on Safeguarding organised by his office in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, for safeguarding delegates of his Congregation. The course started on June 15th and ended on June 30th.

Below is a transcript of Vatican News’ interview with Fr. Lowrent Kamwanza.Listen to our interview with Fr Lowrent Kamwanza

Q: Explain what you meant in your statement before the…

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Bishop Casey’s secrets – inside the controversial documentary

Anne Sheridan, the reporter behind the documentary Bishop Casey’s Buried Secrets, writes for RTÉ Culture about the genesis of the controversial RTÉ One documentary, which examines the Catholic Church’s handling of allegations against the former Bishop of Galway, Eamonn Casey, who died in 2017.

Watch Bishop Casey’s Buried Secrets here, via RTÉ Player.

In April 2016, a letter from an anonymous writer arrived for me in the post at the offices of the Limerick Leader at 54 O’Connell Street. I had then been working at the Leader for nearly a decade.

The arrival of that single slip of paper would change the course of my next eight years as a journalist, though little did I realise that at the time. It led me to discover that two women had independently made complaints of historical child sexual abuse against Limerick Diocese and Bishop Eamonn Casey.

This was seismic. Neither complaint had received…

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Oh, how we laughed in the summer of 1992. The T-shirt vendors made hay while the Bishop Eamonn Casey revelations shone. “Wear a condom just in Casey” was one slogan to mock the disgraced bishop. The wit and irreverence now seem very inadequate, redolent of a time when some of us felt all we were doing was calling out a randy, hypocritical bishop who could not resist the temptations of a young American woman, Annie Murphy, and that the exposure of his secret might actually help to foster constructive debate about the Catholic Church and celibacy.

We were soon to learn there was more to the scandal than initial headlines suggested, including the advantage he took of Murphy, the pressures heaped on her to give their son Peter up for adoption and her forced stint at the St Patrick’s mother and baby home. Now, through the distressing details…

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Two of the most prominent law firms involved in suing the Archdiocese of Santa Fe on behalf of victims of clergy sex abuse over the years announced new lawsuits in Southern New Mexico earlier this month.

The new civil suits involve allegations of sexual abuse of a young boy and a young girl by two priests in separate incidents in the 1980s. One of the accused priests was defrocked in 2007, and the other is deceased.

The suits were jointly filed earlier this month in state 3rd Judicial District court by Huffman Wallace & Monagle and The Davis Kelin Law Firm against the Dioceses of El Paso and Las Cruces, respectively, as well as against individual congregations. Until the early 1980s, when the Diocese of Las Cruces was founded, the Diocese of El Paso oversaw some territory in Southern New Mexico.

Lawyers at both Albuquerque-based firms said while it’s not…

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While womanising ex-bishop Eamonn Casey was attending first Communions as a Catholic curate in England in 2001 – the year Limerick diocese received an allegation that he had sexually abused a child – another man of the cloth was enhancing the church’s battered image. For weeks on end Fr Aidan Troy walked Belfast’s Ardoyne Road with children too scared to go alone to Holy Cross primary school through a gauntlet of whistling, jeering, missile-throwing loyalist protesters. The daily barrage of bile began to dissipate after the Passionist priest invited a Presbyterian minister to join him and the children in a recitation of the Lord’s Prayer at the school gates.

The sight of Troy with his black robe defiantly fluttering in the tensed air became etched in the iconography of the troubled North. It joined film footage of Fr Edward Daly waving a white…

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Despite being questioned by gardaí and removed from public ministry by the Vatican, Casey died with outstanding allegations of child abuse against him

Bishop Eamonn Casey was repeatedly given the benefit of the doubt by the Catholic Church and others in power. There had been several accusations made against the former bishop of Galway while he was still alive. Casey, who fathered a child with Annie Murphy in the early 1970s, had always denied the accusations of sexual abuse.

He was never convicted in the criminal courts. He had been questioned by gardaí, but never charged.

The Vatican moved so far as to pull Casey from public ministry for the last 12 years of his life, but it repeatedly declined to either expel or exonerate him. There were compensation payments made and confidentiality agreements signed.

But yet, Casey died with outstanding allegations of child abuse made…

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Liberty University and its disgraced former president Jerry Falwell, Jr., have reached a settlement agreement, ending years of dueling lawsuits and back-and-forth allegations.

In a statement published online, Liberty announced Friday that the two parties had “reached a global resolution agreement settling all outstanding disputes on both legal and personal matters.”

The statement added that both Liberty and Falwell “sincerely regret the lengthy and painful litigation process, and each take responsibility for their part in the disputes.”

Without being specific, the statement said Falwell “acknowledges and apologizes for the errors in judgement and mistakes made during his time of leadership.” Similarly, Liberty’s Board of Trustees “acknowledge and apologize for the errors and mistakes made on their part,” the statement read.

Settlement ends four years of legal battles

Falwell’s legal battles with the school began in October 2020, just two months after Falwell resigned as president amid allegations of…

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A Palmetto pastor arrested Friday after he was accused of buying child sexual abuse images is now facing more charges, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said.

Jonathan Elwing, 43, senior pastor of Palm View Baptist Church, has been charged with two counts of capital sexual battery, six counts of production of child sexual abuse material and six counts of possession of child sexual abuse material.

A forensic search of Elwing’s cell phone revealed images of him sexually battering a child, along with the production and possession of 12 images of child sexual abuse material, according to a sheriff’s office news release.

According to an arrest report, Elwing said he sometimes purchases adult pornography and claimed that he deletes any child sexual abuse material that “may get mixed in.”

But when investigators extracted hidden files from his phone, deputies say he was using a private photo vault app to hide at…

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Jonathan Elwing, a senior pastor of Palm View First Baptist Church in Palmetto, Florida, was arrested by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office on June 21, 2024, after explicit child pornography photos were found on his phone, including ones of him repeatedly sexually abusing a toddler. Elwing, 43, was charged with four counts of possession of material depicting child sexual conduct. Less than a week later, a forensic review of Elwing’s cell phone and computers revealed more evidence of child sex abuse, adding 14 more charges. Elwing is now facing 18 felony counts in total: two counts of capital sexual battery of a child under 12 years old, six counts of production of child sex abuse material, and six counts of possession of child sex abuse material. 

Media reports say the investigation commenced on June 20 after Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children…

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A federal judge Friday sentenced a retired Mississippi computer software developer and former media minister at an Ocean Springs church to serve nine years in prison for possessing over 83,000 images of child pornography.

In addition, U.S. District Judge Suz Ozerden ordered Cameron “Cam” Cotrill to pay a total of $237,194.12 in restitution to the minors, some as young as toddlers, identified as victims in the child pornography images and videos federal authorities found on three hard drives on a computer at his Vancleave home.

Cotrill is also a retired computer software developer who had the expertise to restrict his wife’s Internet access on computers at their home.

During the sentencing, the judge outlined exactly how much of the restitution would go to each of 35 victims identified in child pornography images of videos discovered during an forensic evaluation of Cotrill’s computer and hard drivers. Some of those videos…

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Bishop Michael Duignan has said interment of Casey, who has been accused of child sexual abuse, in cathedral is a ‘sensitive issue’

The Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora has said that “time and space” is needed “to consider and consult” on the interment of Eamonn Casey in the crypt of Galway Cathedral following the emergence of allegations of sexual abuse against the former Bishop.

Earlier this week Bishop Michael Duignan of Galway and Kilmacduagh said he “shares” the feelings of “anger and profound distress” around the allegations of child sexual abuse made against Eamonn Casey.

Bishop Duignan, in his statement last Tuesday, expressed his commitment to “working with anybody affected, to help bring truth, healing and peace to such terribly painful situations”.

The Diocese said the interment of the remains of Bishop Casey in the crypt beneath Galway Cathedral is a very “sensitive issue” that deeply affects people in…

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The Galway Diocesan Office has said it has begun “a period of careful consideration and consultation” in relation to the interment of Bishop Eamon Casey’s remains in the crypt beneath Galway Cathedral.

It follows the documentary ‘Bishop Casey’s Secrets’, which examined the Catholic Church’s handling of allegations against him

Casey died in 2017 aged 89 and was interred in a crypt in Galway Cathedral.

The documentary revealed that the former Bishop of Galway was formally removed from public ministry in 2007 by the Vatican, following “allegations” which, RTÉ established, including his niece Patricia Donovan’s complaint of child sexual abuse.

In a statement this morning, the Galway Diocesan Office highlighted comments by the Bishop of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora, Michael Duignan earlier this week, who expressed his commitment to “working with anybody affected, to help bring truth, healing and peace to such…

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Bishop Duignan described Casey’s burial n the crypt as “a very sensitive issue”.

BISHOP OF GALWAY Michael Duignan has said the internment of former bishop Eamonn Casey in the crypt beneath the Galway Cathedral is under “careful consideration” after he was described in a recent RTÉ documentary as a sexual predator. 

Bishop Duignan described Casey’s burial in the crypt as “a very sensitive issue that deeply affects people in different ways, and which has different facets”. Casey was buried there in 2017.

“The interment of Bishop Casey in the Cathedral crypt now requires a period of careful consideration and consultation, which has already begun,” he said in a statement today. 

“Time and space are required to adequately and appropriately bring this undertaking to completion.” 

Last Tuesday, Duignan said the Church was “working with anybody affected, to help bring truth, healing and peace to such terribly painful situations.” 

The former CEO…

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At least two foster care organizations have filed for bankruptcy as they attempt to honor claims made under the Child Victims Act. Others worry they are next.

The labyrinthine rooms of the Northern Rivers foster care facility in Albany appear sterile at first glance. 

But the 24 children living full-time in the building, just a stone’s throw from the Albany Medical Center complex, have marked their surroundings with personal possessions — K-pop posters, treasured photographs, clothes and shoes spilling out of cupboards. The dorm-like bedrooms are occupied by kids who have become Northern Rivers residents for a singular reason: they need a place to stay and to get care as they churn through the Capital Region’s foster care system and await a more permanent solution. 

On a pleasant summer day in July, the grounds are bustling. Children play rowdy card games or cool off in a private pool while accompanied…

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The Archdiocese of Baltimore’s bankruptcy case moved closer to the critical mediation phase Monday, as attorneys for the Catholic church, its insurance carriers and a committee of sex abuse survivors reached a tentative agreement on the terms for upcoming negotiations.

The agreement is tentative because the lawyers still need their clients’ approval for a last-minute detail hashed out in the hallways outside of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Baltimore: Whether the archdiocese will drop its breach-of-contract lawsuit against its insurers, and what the survivors’ role would be should they choose to refile it later.

Scheduled for a contested hearing Monday, attorneys in the case settled their differences in time to avoid debating legal issues in court. After being briefed on the tentative agreement, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michelle M. Harner credited the lawyers for “creating a mediation structure that’s acceptable to all.”

During mediation, attorneys and their clients get together with…

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Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill said in a lawsuit that Grindr released his data, leading him to lose his job and suffer “significant damage” to his reputation.

When Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill began using queer dating app Grindr in 2017, there was no indication that people outside of the app could access his data, according to a new lawsuit. If there had been, the lawsuit said, he never would’ve downloaded it.

After all, Burrill’s position as the top administrator of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) required him to take a vow of celibacy, and Catholic teaching opposes sexual activity outside heterosexual marriage.

But in 2021, a Catholic media site reported that Burrill had been using the app, news that forced him to resign from his position, according to the lawsuit, which Burrill filed against Grindr last week in California Superior Court.

Burrill alleged that Grindr did not protect his data and…

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The Nebraska Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s ruling to dismiss defamation and other claims for a Catholic priest accused of sexual misconduct against the Archdiocese of Omaha on Friday.

In a 22-page ruling, the state’s high court said the District Court for Cuming County was correct when it dismissed the claims brought by Rev. Andy Syring, who accused the archdiocese of having defamed him when the archdiocese named Syring on a 2018 list.

The published list named priests who had “substantiated claims of clergy sexual abuse of or sexual misconduct with a minor” lobbed against them.

Syring served in the archdiocese from 2011 to 2018. He resigned from his clergy position at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in West Point, which is about 70 miles northwest of Omaha and where he had been since 2016, after the archdiocese’s announcement.

According to the defamation lawsuit Syring filed against the archdiocese in…

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Russian Orthodox Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Budapest-Hungary has been temporarily suspended following reports about an ongoing investigation of sexual misconduct with a young staff member.

According to the online news site Novaya Gazeta Europe, Georgy Suzuki, who served as the bishop’s personal assistant between Oct. 2022 and Jan. 2024, was sexually harassed on several occasions by the 58-year-old high-ranking prelate.

Alfeyev has reportedly denied all allegations made by Suzuki. 

Earlier this month, Church Times reported that 11 Russian Orthodox priests in Budapest signed a joint statement defending Alfeyev who, they believe, is innocent and a victim of a “dirty slanderous campaign.”    

Yesterday, Novaya Gazeta Europe published several photos as well as details of private messages shared between Suzuki and Alfeyev, highlighting the bishop’s sexually inappropriate behavior and materially-excessive lifestyle. Alfeyev reportedly purchased mansions in France and Hungary as well as expensive watches, and spent holidays on…

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Nebraska Supreme Court handed down decision on Friday

In a ruling issued Friday, a former associate priest in the Archdiocese of Omaha lost his appeal to the Nebraska Supreme Court.

Father Andrew Syring sued in October 2020 after he was removed from his position for what the archdiocese claimed were significant boundary violations with young adults and minors.

Syring sued for more than $2 million claiming he did nothing wrong and was denied due process.

In its conclusion on Friday, the Nebraska Supreme Court found no error in a lower court’s dismissal of all pending claims against the archdiocese and therefore dismissed all of Syring’s claims.

An allegation of wrongdoing was made against the priest in 2013. Syring described the archdiocese as following standard procedure and had the allegation thoroughly investigated by law enforcement and a retired federal agent.

No wrongdoing was identified.

Still, Syring’s complaint pointed out that he was…

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Catholic immigration and anti-trafficking advocates are expressing grave concern over alleged systemic sexual abuse of unaccompanied migrant children by staff of a private contractor for the U.S. government.

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit July 17 against Southwest Key Programs, an Austin, Texas-based nonprofit that provides housing for unaccompanied minors, as well as services for youth, family and job seekers.

Operating 29 shelters in Texas, Arizona and California, Southwest Key is the largest housing provider for unaccompanied children in the U.S., receiving over $3 billion in grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement between fiscal years 2015-2023. The children remain at such shelters until they can be reunited with immediate family, a relative or a vetted sponsor amid immigration proceedings.

The DOJ’s complaint, filed in the U.S District Court for the Western District of Texas, alleges that Southwest Key violated the Fair…

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A Texas pastor turned himself in to police on Thursday after an arrest warrant was filed against him in connection with a sexual assault investigation. Ronnie Goines, lead pastor of Koinonia Christian Church in Arlington, has been charged with one count of indecent assault and one count of sexual assault.

Goines, 51, previously served on Arlington’s Unity Council, a group formed in 2020 to “promote and encourage greater equality.” 

He is also a former member of the Arlington Police Department’s clergy and police partnership program, which consists of clergy who are “called upon to pray for the police department members, build relationships with police officers and other governmental officials, and to be available for various situations involving our community.”

According to The Dallas Morning News, an investigation into allegations against Goines began after “an adult woman made an outcry that was reported to the…

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A Florida pastor and father of nine children has been arrested after being accused of raping his 15-year-old niece.

Pastor Christopher Whitehead of Mount Olive Primitive Baptist Church in Gainesville was arrested on Sunday, with the sexual assault having allegedly occurred back in April.

The niece and other family members were visiting Whitehead in April in honor of the second anniversary of his being appointed pastor of Mount Olive Primitive Baptist, the Independent Florida Alligator reported.

According to authorities, the niece wanted to borrow some money and went to the master bedroom where Whitehead was lying on the bed. After saying he would not give her money, the pastor allegedly asked the niece to lay in bed with him.

She agreed to do so, but shortly after getting into the bed, Whitehead allegedly raped her, with the assault ending when another child opened the door to the bedroom…

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James Morris, who was slated to take over leadership of Dallas-area Gateway Church, has resigned in the wake of the sexual abuse scandal involving his father, Robert Morris.

In a statement released to media, Gateway said its elders met earlier this week with Associate Senior Pastor James Morris and his wife, Gateway Executive Pastor Bridgette Morris. At that meeting, “they collectively made the decision” that the couple would step down.

“We as Elders affirm and believe that God has placed a desire in both Pastors James and Bridgette’s hearts to serve as senior pastors of a church at some point in the future,” the statement said. “. . . They have faithfully and honorably served our congregation and this community through all the years that they have been part of Gateway Church.”

Gateway said pastor and best-selling author Max Lucado has agreed to serve as an interim teacher…

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Jared King and his family were active members at Gateway Church for 11 years. That changed in June, after King saw news reports that the church’s founder and senior pastor, Robert Morris, had been accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s. 

The family appreciated the worship music and the community built with other congregants at the church, but has not attended in-person worship services since. One of King’s reasons for not returning to Gateway was that James Morris, Robert Morris’ son, was set to become senior pastor and succeed his father as leader of the church. 

“I wouldn’t be supportive of attending the church if the Morris kids are in charge, just because I think the church needs to just move on,” King said. “I think the only way to save the church is if you just bring in somebody new.”

The Morrises will no longer follow through…

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A 55-year-old priest remains in the Collier County Jail as Texas officials work on extraditing him for multiple sex crimes.

U.S. Marshals arrested Father Anthony Odiong last week for child porn charges based in Waco, Texas.

We now know Waco Police are charging Odiong with two counts of sexual assault. WPD reports eight victims have come forward so far.

One victim shared an anonymous statement following the sexual assault charges:

“I sought spiritual direction from Anthony Odiong during one of the darkest phases of my life. Rather than helping me, he exploited my vulnerability and trust. He manipulated, coerced, threatened, and assaulted me and the Austin diocese did nothing to protect me, despite having received at least one previous report about his conduct. My marriage and relationship with my children, my physical and psychological health, and, most importantly, my relationship with God have suffered badly for over a decade as…

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[See the lawsuit.]

A lawsuit filed against the Archdiocese of St. Louis this week alleges decades of sexual abuse by local priests, including now-Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha. The archbishop has denied the allegation.

Filed Wednesday in St. Louis Circuit Court, the lawsuit argues that the Archdiocese of St. Louis and its current archbishop, Mitchell Rozanski, enabled and covered up abuse of minors by archdiocesan employees.

It includes 27 anonymous plaintiffs who say they were abused by archdiocesan priests and other employees, including a couple of teachers.

The alleged abuse largely took place in the 1960s-90s, with a few allegations from earlier or later.

The lawsuit claims archdiocesan leaders knew about the abuse but allowed perpetrators to continue to have access to minors, often transferring them to a new location within the archdiocese.

“[T]he Archbishop and Archdiocese engaged in several decades of intentional misconduct in turning a blind eye…

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Omaha Archbishop George Lucas has categorically denied accusations that he sexually abused two minors several decades ago while he was dean of education at St. Louis Preparatory Seminary in Missouri.

Lucas is one of several dozen priests, nuns, and lay men and women accused of sexual abuse of minors in a series of five separate lawsuits filed by 27 anonymous plaintiffs on Wednesday.

The abuse is alleged to have occurred over the span of several decades, with some of the purported crimes allegedly having occurred as recently as 2015.

The lawsuit naming Lucas was filed in the St. Louis County District Court. It alleges that as a priest Lucas coerced a 16-year-old boy identified as “D.S.” and another student into performing sexual acts with him at the St. Louis school. 

The suit alleges that Lucas first met D.S. at the school in 1988 and that the now-archbishop of…

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A lawsuit brought by 25 former attendees of Catholic churches, schools and activities organized by the Archdiocese of St. Louis accuses leadership of knowing about the rampant sexual abuse of minors and not taking steps to prevent it.

The plaintiffs, who range in age from 21 to 83, outlined the repeated sexual abuse they faced as children by Catholic priests, nuns and brothers all associated with the archdiocese, according to the lawsuit filed July 24 in St. Louis Circuit Court.

The Archdiocese of St. Louis and the archbishop did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit were identified by initials to conceal their identities.

Some of these children viewed priests as “father figures,” the lawsuit said. Plaintiff D.M used the Catholic Church as an “escape” from his abusive father.

D.M. met Father William Vatterott while serving as an altar…

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Nearly one in three people in state or religious care between 1950 and 2019 experienced abuse, inquiry finds

An estimated 200,000 children and vulnerable adults in the care of state and faith-based institutions were abused or neglected between 1950 and 2019, according to the report on an independent inquiry by the New Zealand Royal Commission.

The report, which was released July 24, stated that the total number of those abused — many of whom belonged to the Indigenous Maori people — “may be higher than this estimate” due to poor record keeping and that the abuse and neglect of hundreds of thousands of children, young people, and adults was “a national disgrace.”

“These gross violations occurred at the same time as Aotearoa New Zealand was promoting itself, internationally and domestically, as a bastion of human rights and as a safe, fair country in which to grow up as a child…

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The Archdiocese of St. Louis knowingly enabled and concealed the sexual abuse of children by priests and nuns for decades, says a new lawsuit filed Wednesday on behalf of 25 unnamed individuals.

The suit filed in St. Louis Circuit Court includes dozens of pages of details concerning the accusations. The Associated Press reports several other lawsuits were filed against the archdiocese this week, bringing the total number of complainants to 60.

David Clohessy was among a group of people who gathered Thursday in front of the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica and said they have experienced abuse by church employees. He said he hopes this lawsuit inspires other survivors to open up about being abused.

“We’re rarely, rarely aware of just how burdensome it is to quietly keep this horrible secret because we’ve been doing it for decades,” Clohessy said. “But it’s a freeing and a liberating moment and…

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Sixty people allege in new lawsuits filed in Missouri that they were abused as children by dozens of Catholic priests, nuns and others, and the man who now leads the Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska, is among the accused.

Five separate lawsuits seeking unspecified damages were filed this week in St. Louis and neighboring counties. All told, the lawsuits name 56 alleged abusers. The suits seek unspecified damages.

Among those named is Omaha Archbishop George Lucas. A lawsuit filed Wednesday in St. Louis County Circuit Court said the unnamed accuser was 16 when he met Lucas at the now-closed St. Louis Preparatory Seminary in the late 1980s, where Lucas was a priest and dean of education. The lawsuit accused Lucas of sexually abusing the boy multiple times and offering better grades for sexual favors.

Lucas, in a statement on Thursday, strongly defended himself.

“I categorically deny the accusation made by an…

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Requests for financial compensation for victims of sexual abuse committed in the Church in Portugal will be analyzed by two commissions, one to analyze the cases and the other to determine the amounts of compensation, the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference (CEP) said in regulations published Thursday.

“Financial compensation should represent a significant benefit and be proportional to the seriousness of the damage assessed, without the pretension of paying what is unpayable or annulling what, unfortunately, cannot be annulled,” the CEP regulations say.

In February 2023, the final report of the Independent Commission for the Study of the Sexual Abuse of Children in the Catholic Church in Portugal was released. According to the document, from 1950 to 2022 there were at least 4,815 victims in the country. Following this report, the VITA Group was created to monitor situations of sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults in the context of the Catholic…

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The bishop serving as the Belgian Church’s point man on abuse is stepping down, weeks before a papal visit that could be overshadowed by the country’s abuse crisis.

Bishop Johan Bonny confirmed July 25 that he was withdrawing from the high-profile role, citing an excessive workload that he said was taking a toll on his health.

His departure leaves the Belgian Church scrambling to find a successor before Pope Francis’ Sept. 26-29 visit, which is expected to include a private meeting with abuse survivors. 

The 69-year-old bishop decided to step back from the role after he appealed unsuccessfully to Rome for an auxiliary bishop to help him oversee his Diocese of Antwerp, which serves around 1.2 million Catholics. 

In a letter published July 1, Bonny said the Vatican had denied his request partly because it would upset the balance between French-speaking and Flemish-speaking bishops within Belgium’s bishops’ conference. 

This is a…

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The Bolivia province of the Society of Jesus failed to follow instructions from the Jesuit curia in Rome by allegedly not publicly disclosing the findings of an investigation into a pedophile priest, deepening a series of clerical sexual abuse scandals engulfing the order in the South American country.

In 2019, the Bolivia province investigated Father Luis María Roma — who documented in a diary his sexual abuse at least 70 girls — and sent its report to Rome. The curia told the Bolivian province in an email to offer reparations to the victims and publicize details of the case, including the perpetrator’s name, according to an investigation by the Spanish newspaper El País. The curia also allegedly counseled keeping the diary confidential, El País reported July 22.

The Bolivia province ignored all advice from the Jesuit curia except one — to keep the diary confidential. El País reported its existence in June 2024,…

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[See also the text of the lawsuit.]

A new lawsuit filed in Missouri accuses Omaha Archbishop George Lucas of sexually abusing a teenaged seminarian in St. Louis in the late 1980s, an allegation that

Lucas “categorically” denies.

The person, who is identified only by the initials D.S. in the civil lawsuit, accuses Lucas of abuse while Lucas was his teacher at the now-closed St. Louis Preparatory Seminary School in St. Louis. Lucas was a St. Louis archdiocesan priest.

D.S. is one of 27 adult plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed in St. Louis County Circuit Court against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis and Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski. The plaintiffs allege that they were sexually abused as minors by priests or others of the St. Louis Archdiocese and that the archbishop and other archdiocesan officials failed to protect them and abetted the abuse by covering it up. The suit does…

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[See also the text of the lawsuit.]

Omaha’s Archbishop is among the clergy members named in a lawsuit filed against the Archdiocese of St. Louis and Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski alleging the sexual abuse of minors for decades.

The lawsuit said the Archdiocese has “known of the sexual abuse perpetrated upon its young parishioners and children in the community” by employees, priests, reverends, nuns, teachers, and other staff members.

The lawsuit was brought forth by 27 anonymous plaintiffs.

It accuses the defendants of often transferring the perpetrators to different locations within the Archdiocese or Catholic Church or sending them away for treatment before returning them to unsupervised access to children.

“Our clients have courageously stepped forward to file these cases. They are entitled to full justice and accountability. By bringing these actions the hope is that justice will serve as some sense of closure,” said Todd Matthews and Bailey Glasser who…

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The head of a six-year investigation into mistreatment in orphanages, mental health institutions and elsewhere said it found an “unthinkable national catastrophe” unfolding over decades.

Auckland, New Zealand – More than 200,000 people are estimated to have been abused by state and religious organizations in New Zealand that had been entrusted with their care, according to the final report from a landmark independent inquiry released on Wednesday.

The abuse included sexual assault, electric shocks, chemical restraints, medical experimentation, sterilization, starvation and beatings, said the report from the Royal Commission of Inquiry Into Abuse in Care. Many of the victims were children who had been removed from their families and placed in state, religious or foster care.

“For some people this meant years or even decades of frequent abuse and neglect,” the report said. “For some it was a lifetime; for others it led to an unmarked grave.”

In a statement…

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As part of a six-year investigation into decades of abuse and neglect in the country, New Zealand pointed to the Catholic Church among other institutions for what it said was the Church’s role in perpetuating abuse.

New Zealand’s abuse commission, Abuse in Care: Royal Commission of Inquiry, focused on uncovering abuse and neglect in state and faith-based care institutions from 1950 to 1999 in a final report released on Wednesday. 

The report found abuse and neglect of 200,000 survivors in New Zealand state and faith-based institutions, and pointed to the Catholic Church and Catholic institutions in particular for enabling abusers.

“If this injustice is not addressed, it will remain as a stain on our national character forever,” Arrun Soma, chief adviser of the commission, said in a video statement.

The New Zealand commission said the Catholic Church and Catholic entities responded inadequately to complaints of abuse…

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[See also the text of the lawsuit.]

Twenty-five men and women, in a lawsuit filed late Wednesday in St. Louis Circuit Court, say Roman Catholic priests and nuns sexually abused them and that church officials failed to do anything to prevent it.

The plaintiffs mention more than 30 clergy in their arguments, while naming just the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski and John Doe I as defendants.

“This shameless cover-up spanned decades and allowed various clergy and other employees to access and sexually abuse numerous children,” the lawsuit alleges, adding: “Defendants knew or should have known that Abusers were unsuitable for the positions they held.”

Todd Mathews, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said by telephone that he was in the process of filing similar lawsuits on behalf of about 35 additional plaintiffs who say they were abused in St. Louis, Jefferson, St. Charles and Franklin counties. Those…

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[See also the text of the lawsuit.]

Twenty-five plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial, alleging the Archdiocese failed to protect them and covered up sexual abuse they endured as children.

A lawsuit filed Wednesday in St. Louis Circuit Court accuses the Archdiocese of St. Louis of knowingly enabling and covering up the sexual abuse of minors by its clergy members for decades.

The lawsuit lists 25 plaintiffs, identified by initials only, and names as defendants the Archdiocese, Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski and an unnamed priest identified as “John Doe I.” The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Bailey & Glasser LLC, Levy Konisberg LLP, and Randles Mata LLC.

Todd Mathews, an attorney with Bailey & Glasser, said in an email that he was in the process of filing similar lawsuits on behalf of about 35 more plaintiffs for alleged abuse that occurred in St. Louis, Jefferson, Franklin and St. Charles counties.

…

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[Below is a transcript of the video introduction to the final report, spoken by the chair and commissioners of the inquiry, followed by the executive summary of the voluminous final report. This Abuse Tracker entry links to the main webpage of the final report. There you will find the video introduction (with the transcript) by the chair, the commissioners, and an advisor to the commission, who reads the executive summary aloud. The executive summary is also available on a separate page.

The main page also provides links to the parts of the final report, including narratives of Survivor Experiences and five case studies. Note that a case study about the Catholic Brothers of St. John had been released earlier.]

[Coral Shaw – Chair]: Poa ki te rangi, poa ki te whenua, tenei te rahuia o te aroha e tore nei, tihei mauri ora. We present to you our…

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When the chair of the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care first delivered her recommendations to the Government two months ago, it came with an appeal to the public.

“The whole country must pay attention when our final report is released and take responsibility to ensure that it never happens again,” Judge Coral Shaw said at the time.

On Wednesday, that report, “Whanaketia – Through pain and trauma, from darkness to light” was released to the public for the first time.

We must all heed Judge Shaw’s advice. We can no longer look away.

The report is a harrowing read. Detailing the biggest, broadest inquiry ever undertaken in Aotearoa New Zealand, spread over 16 volumes and about 3000 pages, it offers a devastating critique of abuses in state and faith-based care in the period from 1950 to 1999.

Judge Shaw has described the scale of abuse as “beyond what anyone…

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An inquiry in New Zealand found 200,000 people were abused in state and faith-based institutions over several decades. The Catholic Church pledged to improve safeguarding and support to victims, while the government plans to formally apologize to survivors in November.

After an independent inquiry found that 200,000 people were abused in New Zealand state and faith-based institutions over seven decades, Catholic Church leaders in the country  reiterated their commitment to responding to abuse, safeguarding, and ensuring church spaces are safe.

“There is work for the government to do and work to be undertaken by many other people. We understand that within the community, some of us — including leaders in the Catholic Church — have a special role to play to ensure that the findings and recommendations of this significant Inquiry are not lost or confined to words in a report. We commit to that role,” said a message issued jointly by…

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New Zealand’s independent inquiry into decades of abuse of children and vulnerable adults released a blistering final report Wednesday finding the country’s state agencies and churches failed to prevent, stop or admit to the mistreatment of those in their care.

The scale of abuse was “unimaginable” with an estimated 200,000 people abused over seven decades, many of them Māori, New Zealand’s Indigenous people, the report said.

In response to the findings, New Zealand’s government agreed for the first time that historical treatment of some children in a notorious state-run hospital amounted to torture, and pledged an apology to all those abused in state, foster and religious care since 1950.

But Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said it was too soon to say how much the government expected to pay in compensation — a bill the inquiry said would run to billions of dollars — or to promise that officials involved in denying and…

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Abuse survivors have overwhelmingly approved the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester’s plan of reorganization and just as overwhelmingly rejected the Continental Insurance Co.’s rival plan.

Adoption of a single plan could be a precursor to a resolution of the now nearly five-year-old case. But obstacles could still stand in the way.

In a final tabulation of the vote, 439 claimants in the bankruptcy voted to approve the diocese plan, which was jointly filed with an official committee representing survivors in the Chapter 11 case. Seventy-four claimants voted for the Continental plan.

Creditors’ approval of a plan of reorganization often opens the door to a final settlement in Chapter 11 cases. But where this vote leaves the Rochester diocese’s bankruptcy is not clear.

The case dates to September 2019 when the diocese, facing a virtually certain likelihood of being sued by hundreds of sexual assault survivors, asked for court protection.

The filing…

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A joint investigation by the Irish national broadcaster RTÉ and the Irish Mail on Sunday has revealed that the Vatican and Irish bishops did not notify the public that the reasons for the suspension from ministry of the late Bishop Eamonn Casey related to child sexual abuse allegations in both England and Ireland.

The public have long believed that the bishop’s suspension related to his relationship with American divorcée Annie Murphy, mother to his son Peter. The bishop, who spent much of his early priesthood in English parishes, resigned as Bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh and as Apostolic Administrator of Kilfenora in 1992, after the media became aware of the relationship with Murphy.

So while the Vatican could be said to have acted responsibly in regard to child safeguarding, its failure to explain the reasons for Casey’s suspension has resulted in another public relations disaster, as well as giving the Church’s critics fresh ammunition…

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The Bishop of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora has said he shares the feelings of “anger and profound distress” of many people, following recent media coverage concerning the life and legacy of Bishop Eamonn Casey.

In a statement, Bishop Michael Duignan said his priority is that anyone “betrayed or harmed by Bishop Casey is heard and that their experiences are appropriately acknowledged and recognised”.

Bishop Duignan said the diocese adheres to all current procedures for responding to allegations concerning the safeguarding of children as governed by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland.

All safeguarding allegations are reported to An Garda Síochána and the child and family agency Tusla for investigation, he added.

Bishop Duignan said that diocesan safeguarding personnel, along with the bishop, are available to provide pastoral care and support while counselling is also available through the independent professional support organisation Towards Healing.

Read…

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Television: Searing documentary about sex abuse allegations may forever cast Eamonn Casey in a damning light

With the exception of Gay Byrne, it’s hard to think of a figure more present on the Irish airwaves through the 1980s and early 1990s than bishop Eamonn Casey. The chummy, irreverent face of Ireland’s cold, cruel strain of Catholicism, he was everywhere. Until suddenly, he wasn’t.

The reason he disappeared was, of course, the scandal over his relationship with Annie Murphy. It is difficult to overstate the damage caused by the revelations of an affair in the early 1970s with an American divorcee 20 years his junior – and of the child he had shunned. A hypocrite in a mitre, he made the whole country feel as if they had been treated like fools by the Catholic Church. We’d always known the hierarchy was…

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Bishop Michael Duignan said he is ‘committed to working with anybody affected to help bring truth, healing and peace’.

THE BISHOP OF Galway and Kilmacduagh has said he “shares” the feelings of “anger and profound distress” around the multiple child sexual abuse allegations made against former bishop Eamonn Casey.

Bishop Michael Duignan also said he is “committed to working with anybody affected to help bring truth, healing and peace to such terribly painful situations”.

Eamon Casey was the Bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh from 1976 until 1992, when he resigned after it was revealed that he fathered a child with an American woman, Annie Murphy, in 1974. 

Murphy wrote a book about their relationship and appeared on The Late Late Show for a famous interview with host Gay Byrne.

In an RTÉ documentary in association with the Irish Mail on Sunday, Casey was described as a “sexual predator” by the…

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Bishop Casey’s Buried Secrets aired on Monday night, drawing a strong reaction from the public

Viewers were “appalled” by an “eye-opening” Irish documentary detailing the church’s handling of horrific sexual abuse allegations against former Co Galway Bishop Eamonn Casey.

Bishop Casey’s Buried Secrets aired on Monday night, delving into the shocking and tragic allegations of child sexual abuse against Bishop Casey, who died in 2017 aged 89.

The eye-opening documentary detailed four separate complaints of childhood sexual abuse against Bishop Casey and one further ‘child safeguarding concern’. The programme also featured an interview with one of Bishop Casey’s accusers, his niece, Patricia Donovan.

Speaking for the first time on camera, she claimed that he first raped her at the age of five and that the sexual abuse continued for years. “Some of the things he did to me, and where he did them,” Patricia said in the documentary.

“The horror of being…

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Mississippi state officials have enlarged their sexual abuse investigation into a Baptist church to include a second juvenile.

As first reported by WLBT 3 in Jackson, Mississippi, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) is investigating two sexual abuse cases connected to Broadmoor Baptist Church in Madison, Mississippi.

One of the allegations of abuse involves David Ingram, who served as Broadmoor’s youth pastor from 1982 to 1988.

The second allegation of abuse involves a girl who attended Broadmoor’s youth ministry decades ago. Though the abuse involved two people unrelated to Broadmoor, the victim says the church mishandled her abuse and eventually kicked her out of Broadmoor’s youth group because of it.

According to a survivor’s statement published online, the abuse involving Ingram was first reported to Broadmoor’s former senior pastor decades ago, but the pastor failed to act on the information.

However, in 2022, that…

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A former Islamorada pastor serving as senior pastor of Palm View Baptist Church in Manatee County has been charged with 18 counts relating to child sexual abuse and child pornography.

Jonathan Elwing, 43, was charged earlier this month with two counts of capital sexual battery, six counts of production of child sexual abuse material and six counts of possession of child sexual abuse material, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. He was previously charged in June with four counts of possession of child sexual abuse images, the Sheriff’s Office stated.

The alleged criminal activity happened while Elwing was pastor of the Palmetto-based church on Florida’s west coast. He resigned from his job before his arrest, according to authorities.

Elwing was pastor at First Baptist Church of Islamorada from 2012 to 2019. An email sent to The Keys Citizen’s sister newspaper, the Florida Keys Free Press, by a self-described concerned…

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