ABUSE TRACKER

Facing more than 250 lawsuits alleging the sexual abuse of minors by clergy and other employees since the 1950’s, the Diocese of Sacramento, California, has filed for bankruptcy as a means to provide compensation to victim-survivors of the abuse.

The diocese announced the filing on April 1, about four months after Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento announced the diocese planned to do so. Soto said April 1 that the bankruptcy reorganization process will allow the diocese to respond to victim-survivors as equitably as possible.

“There are many victim-survivors who have long suffered from the reprehensible sins committed against them,” Soto said in a statement. “This reorganization process will allow me to respond to them as equitably as possible.”

Per the bankruptcy filing, a court will oversee the distribution of available assets to satisfy the claims against the diocese. According to court documents, the diocese has between 200 and 999 creditors,…

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Amid an ongoing investigation into a scandal-plagued Peruvian lay group, the Vatican Tuesday announced that a top archbishop belonging to the group has resigned from leadership of the Piura archdiocese.

According to an April 2 Vatican news bulletin, Archbishop José Antonio Eguren Anselmi of Piura, 67 and a member of the Sodalitium Christinae Vitae (SCV), stepped down from leadership of his diocese.

Eguren’s exit comes amid an ongoing Vatican investigation into the SCV, a society of apostolic life founded by Peruvian layman Luis Fernando Figari in the 1970s.

RELATED: Vatican investigators meet Peru prelate accused of land trafficking

Though allegations were made several years prior, scandals involving the SCV exploded in 2015, when Peruvian journalists Pedro Salinas and Paola Ugaz published their book Half Monks, Half Soldiers detailing years of alleged sexual, physical and psychological abuse by top members of the SCV.

Figari himself was accused of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse within…

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The Vatican announced on Tuesday that Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Archbishop José Antonio Eguren of Piura and Tumbes, Peru.

Eguren, 67, has been in charge of the Archdiocese of Piura and Tumbes since 2006. He presented his resignation eight years before the age limit provided for in the Code of Canon Law. The Vatican has not reported the reason for the resignation.

Eguren and the Sodality case

The archbishop, who has been affiliated with the Sodality of Christian Life (SCV by its Latin acronym), was implicated by the press in a case of land trafficking in Piura following a 2016 report by the Al Jazeera news agency titled “Peru: The Sodalitium Scandal.”

Al Jazeera linked the San Juan Bautista Civil Association (SJB) — which in 2012 had acquired land in Piura — and the SCV with a criminal organization called La Gran Cruz…

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A Peruvian archbishop who sued two journalists over their reports about sexual abuse and alleged financial corruption in his religious movement, Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, has resigned amid a Vatican investigation.

Pope Francis on Tuesday accepted the resignation of Piura Archbishop José Eguren. At 67, he is several years shy of the normal retirement age for bishops of 75.

The Vatican didn’t say why Eguren was retiring early in its brief announcement. But the Vatican last year began an in-depth investigation into alleged abuse and financial wrongdoing in the Peruvian-based Sodalitium to which Eguren belongs.

The Vatican has had its eye on Sodalitium, which has chapters across South America and the U.S., for over a decade. In 2017, a report commissioned by the group’s new leadership determined that its founder, Luis Fernando Figari, sodomized his recruits and subjected them to humiliating psychological and other sexual abuses.

Those abuses first came to light…

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The Catholic Church has the Louisiana Supreme Court to thank for saving it from a legal reckoning after decades of clergy abuse scandals that have roiled our state. 

Survivors of clergy abuse were understandably outraged last month when their voices were dismissed again. Instead, the high court sided 4-3 with church lawyers who challenged the constitutionality of laws reviving “prescribed” civil claims — that is, claims deemed expired because they weren’t filed by the statutory deadline.

In 2021 and 2022, state lawmakers unanimously passed a pair of laws that granted persons with claims of child sexual abuse a window to sue, regardless of when the abuse happened. Many who had been abused by clergy decades ago hoped they’d finally get their day in court.

At the time, the Diocese of Lafayette was vigorously fighting a lawsuit involving a St. Martinville priest. Plaintiff Douglas Bienvenu and others…

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A Texas college pastor who sexually abused an underage family member for 7 years will not serve any jail time due to a recent plea agreement. The pastor, William C. Robinson, led a chapter of Chi Alpha Campus Ministries and was mentored by sex offender Daniel Savala, the central figure in a widening sex abuse scandal. 

On March 22, Robinson, 47, appeared at a district court hearing in Nueces County, Texas, and accepted a plea deal. That deal, approved by District Judge David Stith, deferred Robinson’s sentence for five felony charges related to child sex abuse and gave him 10 years of probation and 120 hours of community service instead.

According to court records, Robinson pleaded guilty to one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, one count of sexual assault of a child, and three counts of indecency with a child. 

“The offender in this case,…

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Florida pastor Monte Chitty is reportedly on the run after failing to appear in court to be arraigned on charges of sexual battery, lewd and lascivious behavior, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Editor’s note: This article contains information about sexual abuse and assault that some readers may find disturbing and/or triggering.

Last month, Chitty was arrested after being accused of giving a teen girl alcohol and then sexually assaulting her after she fell unconscious. The sexual assault allegedly took place on the property of First Baptist Church in Marathon, Florida, where Chitty had been serving as pastor. He also lived at the property. 

The congregation is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). 

Following Chitty’s arrest, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) said in a news release that deputies were initially alerted via an anonymous caller, who said they had heard a girl tell…

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Iowans who were sexually abused by Boy Scout troop leaders decades ago could get much less money from a national settlement than victims in other states unless state lawmakers act this month to change Iowa law. Iowa’s current time limit on suing perpetrators of childhood sexual abuse means hundreds of Iowa victims could get as little as 30% of the money they’re entitled to from the settlement.

Joe Gargano of Fort Dodge is one survivor who’s been asking lawmakers to change the law. Gargano says it made him angry to find out he would get less money than survivors in other states.

“I said: ‘I’m not just going to settle after all this time,’” he told lawmakers. “‘I’m not going to do it. I’m not going to just take whatever they throw out.’”

Gargano is a constituent of of Republican Senator Tim Kraayenbrink of Fort Dodge. Kraayenbrink is sponsoring a bill…

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The four of us have watched with dismay as Southern Baptist Convention officials repeatedly proclaim “progress” on sexual abuse reform while, at the same time, taking 10 steps backward. They bail with a thimble — and make a show of it — while they simultaneously swing a sledgehammer and knock gaping holes in the boat.

Institutional reform isn’t happening. As a prior member of the SBC’s sexual abuse task force wrote: “Nothing will change.”

Nevertheless, looking ahead to the SBC annual meeting in June, we’re setting forth these real and tangible steps the SBC and its Executive Committee could take if they were serious about protecting kids and congregants and reckoning with their wrongs.

‘Bare minimum’ prevention steps

1. Immediately add to the new Ministry Check database all the SBC-connected clergy abuser names on the Executive Committee’s previously secret list, which was made public in May 2022 and contained 703…

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Kevin Straughan sentenced to 7-20 years in prison

A former New Hampshire minister was sentenced to prison Monday after pleading guilty to several charges, including sexual assault.

Kevin Straughan, 68, was sentenced to seven to 20 years in state prison after pleading guilty to two counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault and one count of second-degree assault involving strangulation.

Straughan served as the head minister at Agape Ministries Church in Ossipee and Moultonborough.

Prosecutors said the assaults took place in August and December of 2020, and Ossipee police first launched an investigation into Straughan in 2022.

The three victims in the case were known to Straughan. A victim-impact statement was read Monday on their behalf.

“I hope this victim-impact statement can shed some light on what my family and I have been through,” the victim said in the statement. “I can’t honestly put into words how much Kevin Wayne Straughan…

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A man allegedly sexually abused by a priest in the 1960s in New Mexico filed a lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese of El Paso after “suffering in silence for over 50 years,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit alleges the Catholic Diocese of El Paso knew a priest, Lawrence Gaynor, was a danger to the community and needed “psychiatric supervision,” but continued to allow Gaynor to work at St. Joseph Parish in Lordsburg, New Mexico. Gaynor died in 1978.

The Catholic Diocese of El Paso is listed as the defendant in the lawsuit because the diocese was in charge of churches throughout New Mexico until 1982. The lawsuit was filed March 19 in Third Judicial District Court for Doña Ana County.

“Defendant Catholic Diocese of El Paso and its bishop Sidney M. Metzger were aware of Fr. Gaynor’s proclivity to sexually abuse children years before Fr. Gaynor sexually abused…

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• In 2018, Michigan lawmakers expanded the civil statute of limitations from criminal sexual conduct, a response to the crimes of former athletics doctor Larry Nassar.

• The case here rests on whether that law should apply retroactively.

• The Michigan Court of Appeals said it should not, and now the case is before the state Supreme Court.

The Michigan Supreme Court will hear arguments this month about whether a civil case involving 25-year-old clergy sex abuse allegations should go to trial.

The case rests upon whether a 2018 state law expanding the civil statute of limitations for criminal sexual conduct applies retroactively.

Christopher Desmond is an attorney for the survivor of alleged abuse. He said the law was meant to be broad.

“They were trying to help those individuals out and they were trying to ensure, now that we’re learning more, frankly about the psychology of sexual abuse victims and how…

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March 19 report finds priest Johannes Rivoire likely guilty of abuse

The CEO of Nunavut’s top Inuit organization is rejecting findings from a recent investigation by the Oblates into the Catholic church’s response to allegations of abuse by one of its own priests.

Rev. Johannes Rivoire worked in Nunavut for about 30 years between 1960 and the early 1990s. He left Canada for good in 1993 after police began investigating him for alleged abuse of Inuit children.

That investigation resulted in charges being laid in 1998, which were stayed in 2017 when the Crown determined there was no chance of conviction.

RCMP laid one more charge of historical sexual abuse in 2022. This charge remains active.

The Oblates hired André Denis, a retired Quebec judge, last year to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations, as well as the church and RCMP’s response to them.

That report was released on March 19….

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A proposal gaining traction in the Missouri legislature could wipe out, critics say, a 2021 law meant to protect kids by placing regulations on Christian boarding schools.

And, those critics contend, the bill would create a shield protecting unlicensed schools — several of which have been closed in recent years amid abuse allegations — from state scrutiny.

Sponsored by a St. Charles County lawmaker, the measure would no longer require unlicensed schools to directly answer to the Department of Social Services. Instead, those facilities would be overseen by a new board, with more than half of its members representing Christian schools.

“This bill raises a lot of serious concerns,” said Rep. Rudy Veit, R-Wardsville, a co-sponsor of the 2021 legislation. “It basically looks like an attempt to undo a lot of what we did three years ago. They can’t take away the powers we have (in Missouri) and then try…

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Both men suing Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board for abuse they allegedly endured as elementary students in the 1980s at hands of principal, vice-principal

The local English Catholic school board is being sued by two men who each claim they were sexually assaulted as children in the 1980s by staff at two different elementary schools in Sault Ste. Marie. 

The Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board (HSCDSB) is named as the defendant in both civil lawsuits, with each plaintiff seeking $5 million in damages. 

Both men claim the school board breached its duty of care by allowing the alleged abuse against them to occur. Both lawsuits were filed recently by Toronto-based Preszler Injury Lawyers.

SooToday is not naming the plaintiffs in either case because they are alleged victims of childhood sexual abuse.

None of the allegations contained in the lawsuits have been proven in court, and there is no evidence to suggest any school official…

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1. With regard to the legislation of Article 23 on safeguarding national security, the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong recognizes that as a citizen, it has obligation to national security;
2. The Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong has expressed its views on Article 23 legislation;
3. The legislation of Article 23 will not alter the confidential nature of Confession (Sacrament of Reconciliation) of the Church.

Hong Kong Catholic Social Communications Office

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The Diocese of Hong Kong on Friday issued a statement that the seal of confession would not be violated under the new National Security Law, legislation that grants greater latitude to prosecute crimes of treason and foreign political interference.

“With regard to the legislation of Article 23 on safeguarding national security, the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong recognizes that as a citizen, it has obligation to national security,” the March 15 statement said. 

In the brief statement, released on Friday, the Diocese of Hong Kong stated that the legislation will not alter the confidential nature of confession (the sacrament of reconciliation) of the Church. According to diocesan figures, the Catholic population of Hong Kong — a city of 7.5 million — is 392,000. 

The new 212-page homegrown National Security Law, also known as Article 23 of the Basic Law — the constitutional…

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Jaime Soto, Bishop of Sacramento, has filed for reorganization of the Diocese of Sacramento’s debts in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. He had announced in December the diocese’s plan to file bankruptcy.

The diocese’s filing comes as it faces more than 250 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of minors by clergy and other employees reaching back to the 1950’s. This wave of new claims followed a 2019 law allowing victim-survivors to file lawsuits regardless of when the abuse occurred. The likely cost of the lawsuits far outstrips the diocese’s funds available for litigation or settlement.

Bishop Soto described the bankruptcy filing as the best way left to him to provide some compensation to victim-survivors of abuse.

“There are many victim-survivors who have long suffered from the reprehensible sins committed against them,” Bishop Soto said. “This reorganization process will allow me to respond to them as equitably as possible.”

Under Chapter 11 of the…

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The Catholic Diocese of Sacramento filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday in federal court. That’s in the wake of more than 250 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests and other church leaders in recent decades, stretching back to the 1950s.

ABC10 spoke with an abuse survivor and asked the Diocese what Monday’s bankruptcy filing means for the church.

Dorothy Small has reminders of faith decorating her Woodland living room.

“This Easter was so intensely personal,” she told ABC10. “I love the beauty of the celebration, the beauty of the mass.”

It has taken years, but Small now feels comfortable returning to the Catholic Church — albeit, a different church community than the one where she experienced abuse.

“Then came that priest, and I sensed that something wasn’t right,” she said, recalling when a new priest came to lead the church she was attending about a decade ago.

Small…

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Members of Catholic Charities of Lubbock will begin Child Abuse Prevention Month by hosting “A Call for Superheroes” at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The even is being hosted at the Charities’ main office at 102 Ave. J.

Chief Prevention and Community Well-Being Officer with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Sasha Rasco will speak at the event. Rasco will also provide comments on resources for families in the South Plains.

Children from the Guadalupe Early Learning Center will be at the event and will participate in different themed superhero activities like making masks and capes and more.

According to a release, the Catholic Charities of Lubbock works throughout the year to provide different services to families like free counseling, educational programs and resources. Catholic Charities is a Lubbock area United Way partner agency.

For more information about the organization, visit www.cclubbock.org.

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Las Cruces NM – A new civil lawsuit has been filed against the Catholic Diocese of El Paso and the St. Joseph Parish in Lordsburg alleging the organizations knew that Father Lawrence Gaynor had a “proclivity to sexually abuse children” and that Gaynor groomed and abused an unnamed child in Lordsburg.

The lawsuit, filed in New Mexico’s Third Judicial District Court, claims the abuse happened in the late 1960s and says the unnamed victim has been “suffering in silence for over fifty years.”

The official facing allegations passed away decades ago, but attorneys representing the victim say the church has an ongoing duty to keep parishioners safe.

“The bottom line is this, the Catholic Church had and continues to have a duty to hire, supervise and retain priests who will not molest, abuse and harm vulnerable parishioners,” Ben Davis, principal at Davis Kelin Law Firm, LLC., said in a press…

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Beset by hundreds of abuse lawsuits, the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in federal court Monday, a move designed to allow the diocese to provide settlements to plaintiffs.

The diocese, which previously announced its plans for the filing, said the move came “as it faces more than 250 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of minors by clergy and other employees reaching back to the 1950s.”

“This wave of new claims followed a 2019 law allowing victim-survivors to file lawsuits regardless of when the abuse occurred,” the diocese said in an announcement Monday. “The likely cost of the lawsuits far outstrips the diocese’s funds available for litigation or settlement.”

Bishop Jaime Soto said in a statement that the bankruptcy filing will allow for the court to oversee how assets are distributed to plaintiffs.

“There are many victim-survivors who have long suffered from the…

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A Catholic priest in Duluth accused of sexually abusing a minor has been removed from a list of credible claims and his duties will be restored after a Vatican investigation found the evidence against him to be insufficient, the Diocese of Duluth confirmed to FOX 21 Friday evening.

Reverend William C. Graham was the pastor at St. Michael’s catholic church in lakeside when he was accused of sexual abuse of a minor in 2016 and put on administrative leave.

Graham has now been acquitted of these allegations with a decree of absolution after an investigation by the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith.

As a result of this decree, Father Graham’s name has been removed from the list of credible sexual abuse claims of a young person, all priestly ministry restrictions will be lifted, and he will be restored as pastor of St. Michael’s Catholic Church.

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A standing-room-only crowd packed the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in downtown Sacramento on Easter Sunday to celebrate one of the holiest days of the Christian calendar.

The Mass was filled with children dressed in pastels, choir music and lots of incense. But there were few signs of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento’s impending bankruptcy filing.

The diocese announced it would be seeking financial protection in December and set April 1 as the date it would file in federal court. Bishop Jaime Soto, who led Easter services at the cathedral, confirmed the action would occur on Monday.

Soto is moving forward with the action as the diocese faces more than 250 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by clergy or other church staff.

Sacramento is joining the dioceses of San Francisco, Oakland, Stockton and Santa Rosa in filing for Chapter 11. Catholic districts in California have faced an increasing amount of…

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Over the course of the podcast we’ve had several conversations about conscience and the moral law as well as episodes about abuse in the Church. However, in my reading of Pope Francis’s teaching, as well as in my research about spiritual abuse, there’s a specific type of abuse that’s discussed, but not widely understood, the abuse of conscience.

So today I wanted to unpack what abuse of conscience is and give concrete examples of what it looks like. I think you will be surprised how common it is, and even how, at times, the abuse of conscience is presumed to be the orthodox way of practicing the faith. Some of these examples include:

• Ignoring the difference between the internal and external forum, that is, subjective discernment and freedom/culpability and the objective moral law
• Telling someone that God is asking them to do something in a particular situation
• Telling someone a particular…

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Thika chief magistrate Stella Atambo to rule on bond next month

In Summary

• The probation officer is to file a report before the bail ruling is made on April 8
• The prosecution has opposed the bail application saying the priest is influential and may interfere with witnesses. 

A Catholic priest (Fr Abednego, not his real name) accused of defilement has been detained by a Thika court for another 12 days pending the determination of his bail application.

He is accused of defiling the victim between 2020 and August 2023 at his home in Buruburu Phase 5 in Nairobi county. The priest is also facing an alternative charge of indecent assault.

Fr Abednego, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, had applied for his release on bond. The prosecution opposed the application.

When the bail/bond application came up for determination on Wednesday, the prosecution, led by Christine Torome, told Thika chief magistrate Stella Atambo it was important…

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In a surprising twist, Fr. Daniel McCarthy, a twice-accused Chicago priest, is now back on the job after facing two accusations of sexual assault. That’s worrisome, of course, but sadly not terribly shocking. But what is shocking is that the cleric apparently spoke at length with a reporter regarding the Archdiocese’s mismanagement. Of course, that rarely happens. The cleric gave a relatively detailed description of the three-year saga of the church ‘investigation’ into the allegations against him to a reporter. The result: a news report that is telling, alarming, gripping, and disgusting all at once. Even the headline is startling: 

“Archdiocese of Chicago sat on or lost child sexual abuse accusation, didn’t question priest about allegation specifics, accused priest says.”

The sub-heading of that article reads, “Fr. Daniel McCarthy said he was never directly questioned about the details of child sexual abuse allegations leveled against him,…

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According to the Diocese, the Vatican “decided that there was not sufficient evidence presented to arrive at moral certainty that Father Graham was guilty of the accusation made against him.”

DULUTH — A Catholic priest in Duluth will have his duties restored and be removed from the credibly accused list after a Vatican investigation determined there “was not sufficient evidence” that he was guilty of sexual abuse of a young person, the Diocese of Duluth said in a statement Friday.

In 2016, Rev. William Graham, pastor at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in the Lakeside neighborhood, was placed on administrative leave after a man accused him of abusing him on at least three occasions in 1977-78 when the man was 15 to 16 years old and attending Duluth’s Cathedral High School. Graham, a teacher at Cathedral High School at the time, was ordained as a priest in 1976.

According to the…

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Robert Thomas’ victims included multiple Black girls from San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood. To stop him, two survivors would have to endure Thomas’ jailhouse machinations and a painfully slow criminal court process.

Rachel Tolliver was in an Apostolic Christian church in San Francisco when she was reminded of the devil from her past.

It was 2011 and Tolliver, then in her early 20s, had known a hard road. Raised around addiction and abuse, and having spent time in multiple group homes, the Bayview native was well versed in the ways that adults and systems can disappoint the children in their care. She was “over it all — just over life, to be quite frank,” she said. So she came asking God for a reason to go on.

“I made every single day of my life church,” she said. “Sunday all the way through Saturday, going to church….

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A third church leader with Mark Barclay Ministries and Living Word International Church in Midland has been suspended and removed from all church positions effective immediately after being accused of misconduct.

Josh Barclay, on behalf of Mark Barclay Ministries and the church, confirmed to WNEM-TV5 a second pastor is being investigated for sexual abuse.

In a statement, Barclay said the abuse allegations didn’t take place at the church nor was the church involved in any way.

“Living Word International Church is deeply saddened and concerned to address recent allegations of misconduct involving one of our ministers. We take these matters extremely seriously and are committed to transparency, accountability, and ensuring the safety and well-being of our congregation.”

Josh Barclay, Mark Barclay Ministries

Barclay said the church is cooperating fully with law enforcement in their investigation. The individual in question is suspended from all church duties, pending the outcome of the…

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5 days agoSusie Rack,BBC News, West MidlandsShare

Diocese of Lichfield Archdeacon Paul Thomas was required to resign following a “brief, consensual but inappropriate relationship with a woman”

An archdeacon has resigned and been banned from ministry for three years after admitting an “inappropriate relationship”.

The Venerable Paul Thomas, archdeacon of Salop since 2011, stepped back from duties last September while a complaint was investigated.

The Bishop of Lichfield confirmed it pertained to “a brief, consensual but inappropriate relationship with a woman during 2022 and early 2023″.

“I am deeply grieved that Paul’s long service in ministry in this diocese… has been marred in this way,” Bishop Michael Ipgrave added.

The relationship occurred while Archdeacon Thomas was experiencing “post-Covid depression and spiritual exhaustion”, the bishop said.

A complaint made under the Church of England’s Clergy Discipline Measure was overseen by the Bishop of Shrewsbury, the Right Reverend Sarah Bullock.

…

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Never questioned, says Carboni, neither was the legitimacy and autonomy of that bishop in his pastoral choices, nor were they a judgment on people

After the message sent to the parish communities by Father Paolo Contini regarding the affair linked to the abuse suffered as a seminarian and the consequent developments, the clarifications arrive from Archbishop Roberto Carboni.

In reference to the message of Father Paolo Contini written to his parish communities, published in recent days on social media and taken up by the press, where comments are made on appointments made in a diocese of Sardinia» specifies the archbishop, I consider it necessary to clarify that the expressions used by me, and taken up again by him without my authorization, were extrapolated from a personal message and must be contextualized to be understood in their meaning. They wanted to respond, in the form of solidarity and closeness, to his emotional situation…

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Cardinal Müller condemned as ‘unfathomable’ the ‘absurdity’ of German bishops negotiating Catholic doctrine in Rome ‘as if the Church’s teachings were an offer to be sold to the highest bidder in the supermarket of ideologies.’

Cardinal Gerhard Müller strongly criticized “negotiations” between the Vatican and German bishops about the heretical German Synodal Way and accused “German Synodalists” of effectively blaming Christ for sin by falsely claiming that His Commandments are responsible for the abuse crisis.

Cardinal Gerhard Müller strongly criticized “negotiations” between the Vatican and German bishops about the heretical German Synodal Way and accused “German Synodalists” of effectively blaming Christ for sin by falsely claiming that His Commandments are responsible for the abuse crisis

In an INTERVIEW with Austrian news outlet kath.net, Cardinal Müller was asked about the RECENT MEETING between German bishops and members of the Vatican Curia.

“The German Synodalists are completely wrong not only in terms of…

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In a surprising twist, Fr. Daniel McCarthy, a twice-accused Chicago priest, is now back on the job after facing two accusations of sexual assault. That’s worrisome, of course, but sadly not terribly shocking. But what is shocking is that the cleric apparently spoke at length with a reporter regarding the Archdiocese’s mismanagement. Of course, that rarely happens. The cleric gave a relatively detailed description of the three-year saga of the church ‘investigation’ into the allegations against him to a reporter. The result: a news report that is telling, alarming, gripping, and disgusting all at once. Even the headline is startling: 

“Archdiocese of Chicago sat on or lost child sexual abuse accusation, didn’t question priest about allegation specifics, accused priest says.”

The sub-heading of that article reads, “Fr. Daniel McCarthy said he was never directly questioned about the details of child sexual abuse allegations leveled against him,…

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After a months-long saga of media coverage, internal infighting and an exodus of members and deacons, Pastor Steven Smith of Immanuel Baptist Church of Little Rock, Ark. tendered his resignation via a letter to his congregation last night.

As previously reported by BNG, Immanuel Baptist is a prominent, wealthy and tall-steeple congregation where former Arkansas governor and U.S. President Bill Clinton previously worshiped. It is one of the largest and best-known churches in the state.

It also has been the subject of nearly four dozen reports detailing internal infighting, political drama, an exodus of members with young children, and a 41% vote of “no confidence” in Smith by the church’s deacon board, much of which has resigned.

Nearly all this reporting has come from Arkansas Democrat-Gazette religion editor Frank E. Lockwood. In February, Smith blamed the church’s abuse crisis and media coverage on Satan, rebuking him: “We command you by the power and the blood of…

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Pastor Steven Smith of Immanuel Baptist Church of Little Rock, Arkansas, will be resigning from his position in April amid criticism for failing to inform his church about child abuse charges against a former children’s ministry staffer. 

In a letter released Wednesday, Smith said he will step down effective April 7 to “diffuse the current situation and allow Immanuel to heal.”

“Every family experiences tension, and our church family tension has been very real and very public in recent months,” wrote Smith, as reported by The Arkansas Times.

“To feel this tension as we walk through the halls and as we worship together has been disheartening. Unfortunately, at present we do not see this abating, but only increasing.”

Regarding possible future plans, Smith said that he was “not stepping into another ministry, but stepping aside to allow this process of healing to begin.”

According to Immanuel’s  View Cache

T.D. Jakes, influential pastor of Dallas megachurch The Potter’s House, has been mentioned in a lawsuit against embattled music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. 

On Monday, producer Rodney “Lil’ Rod” Jones alleged in a lawsuit that Combs engaged in a multi-year “sex trafficking venture.” The sordid 98-page legal complaint mentions Jakes once, as part of a list of evidence that Jones “has personally witnessed and secured.” 

Jones’ accusations are related to multiple allegations of sexual assault against Combs, including a suit filed in November by Cassie Ventura, Combs’ former girlfriend. Earlier this week, agents raided Combs’ residences in Los Angeles and Miami as part of a federal sex-trafficking investigation.

In the suit filed Monday, Jones claimed he has “irrefutable evidence” that detail “how (Combs) planned to leverage his relationship with Bishop T.D. Jakes, to soften the impact on his public image of Cassie Ventura’s lawsuit.” No allegations of wrongdoing were…

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A man charged last year with sexually assaulting children in West Penn Township was sentenced this week.

On Tuesday, Marvin Leroy Mosley was sentenced by Schuylkill County Judge Charles Miller to six months to 23 months in Schuylkill County Prison after he admitted to sexually assaulting three children over a decade ago.

Mosley had admitted to the crimes when he was questioned by West Penn Township Police after a 26-year-old victim came forward in early 2023.  The victim told police that she, along with two others, were assaulted by Mosley at a farm in Andreas where he was staying at the time.

Following Mosley’s time in prison, he will serve 5 years probation, pay $16,000 in restitution to the victims for health bills related to the abuse, and he will be listed on the sex offender’s registry for the rest of his life.

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Original Story from June 22, 2023

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The founder of Special Olympics Maine spent years sexually assaulting a child beginning in the late 1960s, according to a new lawsuit.

Mark Frank, 65, of Augusta filed a lawsuit in Cumberland County Superior Court against Special Olympics Maine and Special Olympics Inc., based in Washington, D.C., the Portland Press Herald reported.

The lawsuit alleges the organizations should have been aware of the abuse and stepped in to protect Frank, who said he was sexually abused by Melvin Boutilier “dozens, if not hundreds” of times, according to the Press Herald.

The Special Olympics organizations told the Press Herald that they are “shocked and saddened” by the allegations, saying such behavior has never been tolerated within the Special Olympics.

Boutilier, who died in 2012 at age 83, was long celebrated for his work as an educator and volunteer with organizations serving children with intellectual disabilities. He was awarded the highest honor presented…

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Two Australian pastors, Corey Turner and Stacey Hilliar, will “lose their ministry credentials” for at least two years in the wake of a sex scandal, their former church’s overseeing denomination announced.

In an email posted Wednesday by a watchdog group, Wayne Alcorn, president of Australian Christian Churches (ACC), informed ACC pastors of “recent action” the denomination had taken regarding two ACC pastors. Turner, lead pastor of Neuma Church in Melbourne, confessed to a relationship with Hilliar, executive leader of the church’s worship and creative teams.

A charismatic megachurch seemingly modeled after Hillsong, Neuma Church has nine locations in Australia, plus campuses in Bangkok, Thailand, and San Francisco. Both pastors have admitted to sexual misconduct that violated their marriage vows and resigned in early February. 

Alcorn referred to the ACC’s “extensive processes” of evaluating the behavior of the prominent ministers and its impact. “It was determined…

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The Belgian Church had warned that the Pope could not go through with his planned visit in September if Vangheluwe was not laicised.

Pope Francis laicised the former Bishop of Ghent Roger Vangheluwe, who resigned his see in 2010 after admitting to sexual abuse of two nephews.  

Recent years have seen a rising tide of public appeals by Church leaders and politicians in Belgium for Rome to defrock him. 

Several bishops told the Vatican in public and private statements that the Pope could not go through with his planned visit to Belgium in September, to attend the 600th anniversary of the Catholic University of Leuven, if Vangheluwe was not laicised. 

Belgian politicians joined the fray, with Prime Minister Alexander De Croo calling for Vangheluwe’s laicisation in January and Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt announcing in February that Belgian officials had known since 2012 that many adult pornographic images were found on Vangheluwe’s computer.

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I have degrees from two Jesuit universities and worked as a Catholic high school religious educator and music minister for 27 years (ncronline.org, March 27, 2024). My husband and I raised our sons in the church. My youngest brother is a member of the De La Mennais order. Catholicism is part of my DNA, but I am no longer Catholic.

After confronting my own childhood abuse at the hands of two Catholic priests, even after discovering among family a total of six victims of these same two priests, and even after Boston in 2002, I remained a faithful Catholic. I taught my students that an imperfect human institution was admitting its wrongdoing and was committed to change. But then it became clear that my church’s dis-ease was so deep, so systemic, that no real change was taking place – Cardinal Francis E. George, the author of the…

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• In short: A man who suffered prolonged sexual abuse by former Canberra priest Father Lloyd Reynolds in the1960s has won his bid to have a settlement agreement set aside.
• As part of a $100,000 settlement he signed an agreement not to pursue any further liability, but the court found his dyslexia and literacy skills were so poor he thought the document was something else entirely.
• What’s next? Acting Justice Greg Curtin found the settlement deed was not just and reasonable and set it aside, clearing the way for the man to seek further damages.

A man who suffered prolonged sexual abuse at the hands of a former Canberra priest has won a bid to have a settlement agreement set aside, because he couldn’t read well enough to understand what he was signing.

Warning: This story contains details that some readers may find distressing.

It’s believed to be the first such judgement…

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The church will share records and information with the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc as it continues to investigate the site of a former residential school where hundreds of children went missing.

Vancouver’s Catholic archdiocese is marking Easter with a commitment towards reconciliation with First Nations in B.C., Archbishop J. Michael Miller says.

The church and the chief of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc announced Thursday that a “sacred covenant” agreement has been reached between the church and the First Nation in Kamloops.

The covenant comes three years after the First Nation announced the discovery of what it believed were more than 200 unmarked graves of children at the site of a former residential school.

Miller said the agreement with the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc will open a new chapter in the relationship between the church and First Nations in B.C.

“Unquestionably, the church was wrong in implementing a government colonialist policy which resulted in devastation…

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In an era where accessing information is merely a few clicks away, resources like “Six Questions To Ask Your Child If You Think They Are Being Sexually Abused” are invaluable. These guides, as recommended by Horowitz Law, serve not just as educational tools for those in dire situations but also as enlightening reads for everyone. Even if you’re convinced that you’ll never be in this awful situation, we also encourage you to share these excellent guides with others with children as a gesture of care and responsibility.  

However, there’s an equally significant yet often overlooked conversation that needs attention: the importance of asking our loved ones whether they endured sexual abuse in their childhood. Asking a girl or boy if someone is touching them inappropriately currently in the present is obviously important, but it’s also important that adults be asked the same question about events that could have…

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Catherine Coldstream found joy when she joined a Carmelite order, but also abuse, she tells Sarah Meyrick

CATHERINE COLDSTREAM says that she is staggered by the media interest in her memoir, Cloistered: My years as a nun. “People used to glaze over when I said I’m writing about my time as a nun,” she says. But the book is barely out, and several of the broadsheets, as well as the Church Times (Books, 8 March), have run reviews and interviews. There are speaking engagements in the diary.

The bones of her story are these. She grew up in a bohemian home in north London, the daughter of Sir William Coldstream, a painter and professor of fine art, and his much younger second wife, an opera singer. The marriage was stormy, and her upbringing was dysfunctional and marred by conflict.

On the death of her father, Catherine experienced an overwhelming religious conversion. Three years…

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A bishop of The Episcopal Church who was based in Wyoming has been deposed from his position following an investigation into a reported “indiscretion” he had with a church member.

The Rt. Rev. Paul-Gordon Chandler, bishop of the Episcopal Church in Wyoming, was officially deposed following a Title IV disciplinary investigation, according to an announcement released by the Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs on Wednesday.

“Chandler has voluntarily submitted to a sentence of deposition, which deprives him of the right to exercise the gifts and spiritual authority of God’s word and sacraments conferred at ordination,” the Public Affairs Office stated.

The deposition came as part of an accord that Chandler agreed to with the Rt. Rev. Mary Gray-Reeves, presiding bishop-designate for some Title IV matters, which the Disciplinary Board for Bishops approved.

In a statement to Episcopal News Service, Chandler maintained his…

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VENICE  |  April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and in conjunction with the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the Diocese of Venice will hold a Mass for Victims of Child Abuse for the 17th consecutive year with Bishop Frank J. Dewane as the Celebrant. The Mass will take place at 12:15 p.m., Friday, April 5, 2024, at Epiphany Cathedral, 350 Tampa Ave. W., Venice. All are invited to attend as we come together to pray for the victims of abuse.

Through a comprehensive Safe Environment program, the Diocese of Venice, and its entities, take very seriously the safety of all young people and vulnerable adults. The Diocese has a zero-tolerance policy, and works to prevent any instances of abuse, particularly against minors and vulnerable adults. This comprehensive program aims to protect the most vulnerable from all types of abuse while raising…

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A former Louisiana deacon says his own son was sexually abused by a priest. After the deacon left the church, he said he just learned he was excommunicated.

WDSU investigative reporter Aubry Killion uncovered a new video of the convicted priest being questioned.

Warning: the details in this story are graphic.

“It’s a graver sin to leave the church than it is to rape, molest, abuse, or take advantage of men, women, children. That’s an institution that I can’t be a part of,” Scott Peyton said.

Peyton resigned as a deacon for the Diocese of Lafayette last year.

He says he got a letter this month from the Diocese of Lafayette letting him know he was being excommunicated.

“They levied this punishment on me while the priest who molested my son, the day he walks out of prison, will be able to go to any Catholic Church, receive sacraments, will…

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Studies in Germany suggest that abuse in the country’s Protestant congregations, like that in Catholic communities, is also linked to a type of institutionalized clericalism.

The sizable number of abuse cases in the Catholic Church in Germany became known for the first time in 2010. Since then, the Church has been striving to process these cases. At their plenary assembly on September 25, 2018, the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) published a study documenting cases of abuse between 1946 and 2014. At the end of 2020, the Protestant Church of Germany (Die Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland) also began research on sexual abuse in their Churches. On January 25, 2024, this study was made public. What these two studies have in common is the role that clericalism plays in sexual abuse in Christian communities, local Churches, religious congregations, and organizations.

In the area of sexual abuse, it is clear that listening to…

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In their new book, Surviving God: A New Vision of God Through the Eyes of Sexual Abuse Survivors, Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Susan Shaw offer a feminist and intersectional understanding of God that challenges traditional ways of Christian thinking.

Kim and Shaw deconstruct patriarchal understandings of God as masculine and violent, replacing this male-centered God with one informed by the stories of sexual abuse survivors.

Surviving God is filled with testimonies and poems written by survivors of sexual abuse, carefully placed within a robust cultural, theological and scriptural analysis of the systems and frameworks churches use to perpetuate and justify stories alike. They share survivors’ thoughts on how the church’s response, or lack thereof, deeply impacted their ability to heal psychologically and spiritually, and present ways Christian theology can bear a healthier and more responsible image of God.

One of those abuse survivors, Kim and Shaw explain, is Jesus himself.

In chapter 8,…

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This is the story of how one of Australia’s top Catholic Bishops was brought down by a 7NEWS investigation. Chris Reason’s exclusive reporting about the alleged crimes of the Bishop of Broome landed on the desk of the Pope, and led to history being made – the first Papal investigation in Australia.

[To view program on Youtube, click here.]

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Complaints against an English priest named to become a bishop also triggered a Vos estis lux mundi investigation into his own diocesan bishop, who was accused of failing to handle the allegations appropriately. 

Canon Christopher Whitehead of the Diocese of Clifton has returned to parish ministry, the diocese announced in a brief statement on March 22, after a preliminary investigation into allegations raised against him determined there was no cause to initiate a full canonical proceeding.

But while the priest has now returned to parish ministry, the circumstances which led to his canceled episcopal promotion caused a major headache for multiple Vatican departments, and led to a Vatican-ordered investigation into Bishop Declan Lang of Clifton, who resigned weeks after the investigation began.

The Vatican announced Dec. 15, 2023 that Whitehead had been selected by Pope Francis to become the next Bishop of the Diocese of Plymouth, with his episcopal consecration scheduled for…

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Survivors’ coalition accuses insurers of ‘egregious delay tactics,’ but those companies argue criminal conduct may not be subject to policy coverage.

ALBANY — A coalition representing alleged survivors of child sexual abuse are calling on state lawmakers to investigate the insurance industry’s practices as many of those companies — which have provided policies to New York Catholic dioceses dating back decades — are fighting efforts to have the insurers pay settlements to victims.

The Coalition for Just and Compassionate Compensation, which bills itself as an independent alliance of survivors of child sex abuse, sent a letter Wednesday to state Sen. Neil Breslin and Assemblyman David Weprin, who chair their chambers’ insurance committees, requesting that they convene public hearings and examine whether the insurers are complying with the intent of the New York’s Child Victims Act.

The outreach by the coalition, whose members also include attorneys representing victims of clergy sex abuse, comes as…

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[See also Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel’s decree removing Deacon Scott Peyton’s faculties to function as a cleric and declaring him excommunicated.]

Toward the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus uses unsparing language in his condemnation of certain religious leaders of his era. He concedes the leaders’ authority, telling the people gathered that they should listen to their leaders’ instructions. “But” he adds, “do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice.”

He continued: “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. …They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’ “

That reading comes easily to mind with the recent news from the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana, where a permanent deacon…

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The Polish state Internal Security Agency March 26 raided three houses run by the the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus as part of an ongoing investigation by Poland’s new government into funding the congregation received from the previous government for its ministry for victims of abuse.

Sacred Heart Father Michal Olszewski, who leads the ministry, was arrested March 26, along with three former employees of the Ministry of Justice, and connected to the Justice Fund under the former Polish Law and Justice government.

The congregation has been in the middle of a political storm since early this year because of a Justice Fund investigation.

Accused of having “no experience” in the field, the congregation’s foundation didn’t receive the last batch of the funding — $7.5 million. Creators of the ministry told OSV News the funding is “indispensable to finish construction and start helping those abused both in society…

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Maryland Child Victims Act was enacted last year, allowing child sex abuse lawsuits to be filed by survivors, regardless of how long ago the acts occurred.

To speed up an inevitable constitutional challenge to Maryland’s Child Victims Act (CVA), which removed the statute of limitations from any child sex abuse lawsuits filed in the state, a federal judge has cleared the way for a case against the Mormon church to move straight to the Maryland Supreme Court.

The Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023 went into effect at the beginning of October, allowing claims to be filed against abusers and institutions that enabled the conduct, regardless of how long ago the acts occurred. The legislation has been hailed as a landmark achievement for survivors of childhood sexual abuse, since many individuals are unable to reach a point where they seek justice until long after the typical statute of limitations has expired.

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A PRRI survey finds that around one-quarter (26%) of Americans now identify as religiously unaffiliated, a number that has risen over the last decade and is now the largest single religious group in the U.S.

People in the U.S. are leaving and switching faith traditions in large numbers. The idea of “religious churning” is very common in America, according to a new survey from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI).

It finds that around one-quarter (26%) of Americans now identify as religiously unaffiliated, a number that has risen over the last decade and is now the largest single religious group in the U.S. That’s similar to what other surveys and polls have also found, including Pew Research.

PRRI found that the number of those who describe themselves as “nothing in particular” has held steady since 2013, but those who identify as atheists have doubled (from 2% to 4%) and those…

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In response to this published letter to the editor, the writer is misinformed and very much off base.  Had they paid attention to the eight years of their Catholic education, or bothered to learn more about their faith and the Church in their adulthood, they’d first of all know there is no Archdiocese of Arlington.  They’d know the difference between an Archdiocese and a Diocese; Arlington is the latter, led by a Bishop.  And an extremely good one at that, who is a man of great integrity and a true spiritual leader.

Second, the Diocese has an extraordinarily good record regarding these horrible abuse cases which plague not just the Catholic church, but all institutions.  Financially, the Diocese is solid, and while other Diocese are aging in their priesthood, Arlington stands proudly among numerous others nationwide who are ordaining exceptional young men to the priesthood, in numbers increasing their ranks. …

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The Archdiocese of Arlington is proposing a new facility in Front Royal despite 37 archdioceses in America declaring bankruptcy to avoid financial accountability for the over 11,000 accusations of abusing children in this country.

Many in Warren County sure seemed worried about some books possibly harming kids but not at all about the actual abuses of children by members of the clergy in the Catholic Church.

If all Catholics answer to one pope, then why is the Archdiocese of Arlington morally shielded from the fiscal and legal responsibility of their brethren in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Oakland, or 35 other dioceses in the US alone? Are they not their brother’s keeper? They have money to expand here but not tend their flock? Surely God’s laws supersede organizational jurisdiction.

The Catholic Church has shown little to no good faith in their response to victims or prevention, for decades. This could well be an attempt by this…

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Accuser says priest assaulted him as teenager

The Diocese of Manchester has settled a child sexual abuse claim from the 1970s involving a former priest.

No lawsuit was filed because the alleged abuse happened outside the statute of limitations, but the attorney representing the John Doe who was involved said it’s important for survivors to come forward as part of the healing process.Advertisement

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian said his client was sexually abused when he was a teenager in 1973 and 1974 by the Rev. Alfred Jannetta. He said Jannetta gave the child alcohol and marijuana before abusing him at St. Paul Church in Franklin, which is now known as St. Gabriel Parish.

Garabedian said the accuser also said he was abused by an unknown priest at Camp Fatima in Gilmanton Ironworks when he was 8 years old.

Garabedian and Bob Hoatson, the president of the nonprofit organization Road to Recovery,…

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The Diocese of Manchester has agreed to settle a claim of child sexual abuse from the 1970s against a former priest, an attorney for the victim announced Tuesday.

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian said his client, whom he referred to as a “courageous childhood clergy sexual abuse victim,” settled a claim with Diocese “in the low six figures” through a settlement program.

According to Garabedian, the man was sexually abused when he was about 15 or 16 by the Rev. Alfred L. Jannetta, when the priest was assigned to St. Paul’s Church in Franklin around 1973 and 1974.

“Fr. Jannetta would sexually abuse the innocent child after giving the child alcohol and marijuana to consume,” Garabedian said in an email. “At least one incident occurred in the church rectory and one incident occurred near the church in Fr. Jannetta’s car.”

Garabedian said no lawsuit was filed because the statute of limitations had…

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Over 140 individuals have sued the archdiocese alleging sexual abuse by more than 100 priests and diocese staff

Victims of sexual assault by Catholic clergy and their supporters marched in Quebec City on March 26 to raise awareness and encourage others to speak out against abusers within the Church.

More than 140 people filed a class action lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Quebec in Canada in 2022, claiming to have been sexually assaulted by more than 100 priests or diocese staff.

Some of the archdiocese’s top leaders, including Cardinal Gerald Cyprien Lacroix, a close advisor to the pope, as well as Cardinal Marc Ouellet, once considered a strong candidate to be pope, are among the accused. Both deny the allegations.

The mostly older march participants planted crosses symbolizing the victims in front of the city’s Notre-Dame basilica.

One woman in the crowd, who said she had been a victim of…

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A Louisiana man, who worked as a Catholic deacon and whose son was sexually assaulted by his priest as a child, has been excommunicated by his former bishop. As far as SNAP can tell, no perpetrator has ever faced this harsh ecclesiastical penalty. We call on the faithful who are appalled by this action to contact the bishop and express their dismay.

Scott Peyton’s excommunication from the Church on March 13, 2024, at the hands of Diocese of Lafayette Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel, seems to us to be vindictive, unnecessary, and likely to have a chilling effect on those victims and their families who are also believers. While Scott had worked as a deacon in the Diocese alongside his son Oliver’s abuser, Fr. Michael Guidry, Scott had already stepped away from this position in December, telling the Bishop at the same time that he and…

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Lawrence Hecker, 92, has been charged with first-degree rape, among other crimes.

Name: Lawrence Hecker

Age: 86 or 87

Position: Diocesan priest in Archdiocese of New Orleans

Served where: St. Mary in New Roads; Christ the King in Terrytown; Holy Family in Luling; Holy Rosary in New Orleans ; Our Lady of Lourdes in New Orleans; St. Anthony in Luling; St. Bernadette in Houma; St. Charles Borromeo (in residence); St. Frances Cabrini; St. Francis Xavier in Metairie; St. Joseph in Gretna; St. Louise de Marillac in Arabi; St. Theresa of Child Jesus

Ordained: 1958

Estimated time of abuse: Late 1960s, 1970s

Allegation received: 1996

Lawsuits filed/previous known allegations: Name included on list that Archdiocese of New Orleans released in late 2018

Removed from ministry: 2002

Current status: Public records say he still lives in Louisiana

Details: The archdiocese of New Orleans said a credible accusation of abuse led to Hecker’s removal from ministry in 2002. Further details are unknown.

The trial…

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The Diocese of Columbus, Ohio has updated and tightened its standards of conduct for addressing abuse allegations, reporting, and preventing sexual abuse.

According to the Catholic Standard, the diocese published the original standards of conduct in 2002, and were modified again in 2016. This year, the diocese issued a new update in line with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People adopted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. 

The updates are in the 112-page Diocese of Columbus Safe Environment Manual. According to the Standard, the policies

establish norms of appropriate clerical and lay conduct toward minors and the vulnerable and apply to all priests, deacons and members of religious orders in the diocese, as well as teachers in diocesan schools, parish and school employees, persons in positions of lay ministry and anyone else in a person of trust who is…

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The insidious and chronic nature of church sexual abuse is an outgrowth of patriarchal concepts of the divine that provide theological cover for abusers and shame for their victims, said the authors of a new book on theologies of abuse.

Language depicting God as “father,” “king,” “master,” coupled with an emphasis on the omnipotence and omniscience of God, is problematic because it emanates from patriarchy, said Susan M. Shaw, co-author of Surviving God, A New Vision of God Through the Eyes of Sexual Abuse Survivors.

“These are the characteristics we associate with men, and having a God like that essentially reinforces and justifies men having exclusive power over women, children, feminized men and marginalized other people,” Shaw said during a recent episode of “The State of Belief,” a podcast moderated by Interfaith Alliance President Paul Raushenbush.

“We really wanted to explore the ways those images, that language and those beliefs have…

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Authorities have jailed a Georgia pastor in the Sovereign Grace Churches network on preliminary charges stemming from a child abuse investigation, reports indicate.

Russell Jon Tusing II, 44, is being held without bond in the Troup County Detention Center on a felony charge of child molestation and a misdemeanor charge of sexual battery, according to jail records.

After Tusing’s arrest last Friday, police told the LaGrange Daily News that Tusing pastors Sovereign Grace Church of LaGrange, a small city southwest of Atlanta, along the border with Alabama.

The church is one of more than 130 congregations affiliated with Sovereign Grace Churches. Tusing is no longer listed on the local church’s website, which previously stated he “has faithfully served as the lead pastor” since 2011, cached results on search engines show.

Tusing was appointed the church’s pastor in August 2011 after…

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Leaders at Community Christian Church are speaking out for the first time since the church’s pastor was recently arrested on child sex crime charges.

As we reported, pastor Errol Wright was arrested and charged with Sexual Misconduct with a Minor, Child Seduction, and Child Solicitation after an investigation.

Affidavit details child sex abuse accusations made against Tell City pastor

• Adam Kight

Officials at the church say they waited to release a statement because of how heavily involved Wright’s family is in the church.

The statement also addresses a “misunderstanding,” and says that none of the church’s money went to paying Wright’s bail.

Statement from Community Christian Church concerning arrest of Errol Wright:

“We have felt the same shock and hurt as the community concerning the recent incident involving our previous pastor.  We neglected to release a statement until now because his family is heavily involved in the church, and we wished…

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The Louisiana Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s temporary suspension of the statute of limitations for child sex abuse is unconstitutional, a 4-3 decision likely to be seen as a win for the state’s Catholic hierarchy.

The three-year “lookback window” was opened in June 2021 and allowed individuals to file abuse lawsuits regardless of when the incidents are alleged to have occurred. The change in law, stemming from a case against the Diocese of Lafayette, had faced various legal challenges and was taken up by the state’s high court in late 2023.

“We are constrained to find the statutory enactment is contrary to the due process protections enshrined in our [state] constitution and must yield to that supreme law,” reads the majority opinion released on March 22.

“Accordingly, we reverse in part, and vacate in part, finding the trial court erred in overruling the…

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There is surprising pushback against a constitutional amendment that would allow child sex assault survivors to bring civil claims no matter how long ago their abuse happened. Republicans in the Colorado Senate are threatening to prevent the measure from making the ballot. 

They’re worried it would lead to lawsuits against churches, schools and other institutions that they say would have no way of defending themselves because the cases happened so long ago.

Under the amendment, survivors could sue both their abusers and those who covered up the abuse. 

The legislature passed a similar law three years ago, but the Colorado Supreme Court struck it down, saying the Constitution prohibits retroactive cases.

While many Republicans helped pass the law, they are now refusing to refer the constitutional amendment to the ballot unless institutions are exempted.

Child sex assault survivors such as Angie Witt say the opposition makes no sense. Witt says…

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Roger Vangheluwe, former bishop of Brugge, was suspended from ministry in 2010 for sex abuse of minors; his dismissal from the clerical state was long awaited in Belgium

Pope Francis has laicized Belgian prelate Roger Vangheluwe, the former bishop of Brugge who was suspended in 2010 after admitting to abusing his young male nephews for over a decade beginning even before his ordination to the episcopacy.

The pope made the decision to permanently remove the 87-year-old Vangheluwe from the clerical state on March 10 and the news was communicated to him this past Wednesday. The move brings an end to a long affair that had dragged on for fourteen years. Belgium’s statute of limitations prevented Vangheluwe from being prosecuted for these crimes.

But the Belgian bishops had been urging the pope to laicize him for the past several years.  A few months ago, his case again became a source of…

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Michael Hobbs, a former priest of the Diocese of Westminster, was sentenced, on 25 March 2024, at the Old Bailey, to 12 years’ imprisonment, following conviction of non-recent sexual abuse.

The Diocese of Westminster is deeply sorry for the hurt that he caused to his victims, their families and the wider community, and acknowledges the gravity of the abuse he inflicted.

The Diocese of Westminster has cooperated with the police and statutory authorities throughout the investigation.

Michael Hobbs was stood down from ministry in 2000, and laicised in 2002.

The Diocese of Westminster is committed to the safeguarding of all children and vulnerable adults in its care. Over the past two decades, in conjunction with the Catholic Church in England and Wales, we have developed robust safeguarding policies and procedures, which have been put in place across parishes, chaplaincies, schools and agencies of the diocese to provide protection for children…

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Reactions have poured in since the Oblates of Mary Immaculate published the Report of the Oblate Safeguarding Commission, authored by retired Superior Court of Quebec Justice André Denis, on March 19. The most consequential revelation of this 57-page report is that Rivoire was guilty, based on the “preponderance of evidence,” of sexually assaulting five minors in Naujaat, Nunavut, between 1968 and 1970, and one in Arviat and Whale Cove, Nunavut, between 1974 and 1979.

Fr. Ken Thorson, OMI, wrote in an email that “many have expressed their gratitude for the comprehensiveness of Justice Denis’ investigation and the clarity of the report.” Others told the provincial superior of OMI Lacombe their hopes that the findings “might offer some validation for those people (victims, families and supporters) who have long advocated for justice in this case.”

Tanya Tungilik, the daughter of the late Marius Tungilik, who accused Rivoire of sexual abuse, told…

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Books by Marko Rupnik, the Jesuit who’s been banned from public ministry for raping nuns, are featured at a prominent book store a few steps from St. Peter’s Square

The “Libreria San Paolo” is the largest bookstore on the Via della Conciliazione, the broad avenue that leads from the Tiber River up to St. Peter’s Basilica. Each day you can find priests, women religious, seminarians and tourists – even bishops and cardinals – browsing through the store’s countless volumes on spirituality, scripture or theology. As they mingle through the shelves, they pass by display tables featuring a broad selection of the latest titles or recommendations from the bookstore’s staff.

And among them are works by Father Marko Rupnik, the world-famous mosaic artist. He’s the Slovenian Jesuit who’s been accused of raping numerous women religious and is at the center of a continuing scandal. The…

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Attorneys involved in the Archdiocese of New Orleans bankruptcy process said Monday they were evaluating how a major ruling by the Louisiana Supreme Court that makes it harder for victims of childhood sexual abuse to sue their accusers will impact the long-running case and the 550 survivors of child sex abuse who claim they were sexually abused by local Roman Catholic clergy.

In a decision that surprised the local legal community and victim advocacy groups nationwide, a split Supreme Court court ruled 4-3 last week that a pair of state laws creating a “lookback window” for survivors of childhood sex abuse to file legal claims was unconstitutional.

The laws had granted child sex abuse survivors a three-year window to sue, regardless of when the alleged abuse took place. But the state’s high court said that the laws violated the due process of alleged perpetrators.

“This is a very, very, serious decision…

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A Louisiana deacon declared excommunicated this month had formally joined an Anglican parish community, before his bishop declared that he had incurred a formal canonical penalty.

Deacon Scott Peyton’s excommunication has garnered national attention, because the deacon’s defection from the Church came after his son was abused by a priest. 

The excommunication itself has been framed in local media reports as a direct response to the deacon’s criticism of diocesan policies and approaches to sexual abuse allegations.

But while that framing does not seem supported by available information, the case raises questions about episcopal decision-making, and transparency, in a gravely difficult pastoral circumstance.

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In 2015, Deacon Scott Peyton’s 16-year-old son was molested by Fr. Michael Guidry, a priest of the Diocese of Lafayette Louisiana, where Deacon Scott is incardinated. 

Guidry was convicted of plying Peyton’s son with alcohol and sexually assaulting him after the boy passed out. During depositions in…

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In 2017, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse found that within the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle, priests had perpetuated crimes of abuse for at least 30 years. Serious allegations were mismanaged, misplaced or ignored. Crimes were minimised. “Abusive and predatory” behaviour was wrongly portrayed as “consensual”.

In her new book, Crimes of the Cross, journalist Anne Manne provides an intricate and compelling account of how multiple diocesan clergy and leaders covered up allegations, protected priests who were known perpetrators and failed to care for survivors.

Manne builds on the groundbreaking work of Newcastle Herald journalist Joanne McCarthy, whose investigations, starting in 2006, led to the establishment of the 2012 royal commission. Manne’s writing is informed by a variety of source materials, including interviews with McCarthy and various survivors, and evidence from the royal commission.

On the first page, Manne warns us this story is about a…

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Hostility towards Christianity is now pervasive in every single aspect of our Australian society. There is no exaggeration in stating that we are now both a majority non-Christian nation and openly antagonistic to orthodox Christianity. According to Michael Sexton SC, the Solicitor-General of New South Wales since 1998, “the forces of political correctness” are presently “waging a war” on everything that is regarded as inconsistent with their own secular “articles of faith”. These zealots, Mr Sexton continues, desire to eradicate from the public square anything that is inconsistent with their own radical  and secular worldview. They have developed “a hostility to all forms of Christian religion but especially the Catholic Church”, he says.[1] 

This hostility is neatly illustrated in Supreme Injustice, Guilty Until Proven Not Catholic. This book, authored by Fr John Fleming, a Catholic priest, details his utterly abominable treatment by the Australian court system. The book is an…

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A Louisiana priest was convicted in the sexual abuse of the ex-deacon’s son. What followed was a lawsuit and now the Catholic Church’s highest censure.

A Catholic priest who sexually assaulted an altar boy in Louisiana is in prison, and a diocese has paid a settlement to the victim’s family. Now the diocese’s bishop has punished the victim’s father, a former deacon, with the Church’s highest censure: excommunication.

It was the latest turn in a yearslong battle pitting the former deacon, Scott Peyton, and his family against the Diocese of Lafayette.

The Peytons and the diocese have found themselves on opposing sides of a state law that gave childhood sexual abuse victims more time to file lawsuits.

The law, which was passed in the State Legislature in 2021 but struck down on Friday by the state’s highest court, did not apply exclusively to victims of clergy abuse….

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“Bad timing?” Behar said after Goldberg — who visited Pope Francis in October — glared at her.

Whoopi Goldberg — who famously once gifted Pope Francis with Sister Act merch and also wants to send the Vatican “some bees” — had quite the reaction to cohost Joy Behar‘s confession on The View.

Tuesday’s live broadcast closed with what could’ve been a sweet moment of friends trading stories about Broadway plays, as the table’s Republican seat-holder Alyssa Farah Griffin innocently brought up a recent show she enjoyed in New York City, which seemingly prompted Behar to recall a production she enjoyed as well: “I could recommend one too! I saw Doubt the other day, with Liev Schreiber,” the 81-year-old said, referencing John Patrick Shanley’s popular play about a nun who suspects a priest of abusing a young boy. “Very interesting, about the abuse scandal in the Catholic church!”

The camera then cut to…

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The Roman Catholic Church has finally admitted that some of its Clergy engaged in sexual abuse of minors. Millions have been/are being paid out to victims/survivors. Yet where is their deep dive into the root cause analysis of this ghastly behavior in the first place? Or have I just missed it all these years?

— Christy Bergland, Baltimore 

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A permanent deacon in the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana, whose then-teenage son was molested by the priest he once served alongside, is now excommunicated after leaving his ministry, because he formally left the Catholic Church, according to the recent decree written by his bishop.

“I’m very surprised — I assumed at some point that they would possibly laicize me, but excommunication … that thought never crossed my mind,” Deacon Scott Peyton, who was ordained in 2012 and had served until December 2023, told OSV News. He provided OSV News a digital copy of the March 13 letter he had received from Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel of Lafayette.

The document — printed on the bishop’s letterhead, signed by both Bishop Deshotel and the diocesan chancellor, and marked with the diocesan seal — acknowledged Deacon Peyton’s Dec. 4, 2023, email stating what the deacon called his intention to resign from the diaconate…

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Appointments, departures, exchanges, and meetings in the 41st year of the clerical sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church In Rome, the only hope for victims is the appointment of Col. Teresa Morris Kettelkamp, a retired Illinois police officer, to the commission to prevent abuses. The new secretary general, the auxiliary bishop of Bogotá, Luis Manuel Alí Herrera, lacks any record that speaks of interest in resolving the sexual abuse crisis.

The most relevant news in March regarding the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church were the appointments, on March 15, the day that used to be called Ides in the ancient Roman calendar, Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, known as Tutela Minorum or simply as Tutela, by its name in Latin.

Although these appointments could be seen as signs of some movement on this matter, the reality is that the solution to the crisis is rather…

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AUGSBURG ‐ Ein heute 39-Jähriger wirft vier Geistlichen Übergriffe vor – darunter der ehemalige Augsburger Bischof Walter Mixa. Nach seiner Anzeige erfolgten Ermittlungen in der Schweiz und Deutschland. Die wurden nun eingestellt. Auch der Grund ist bekannt.

Die Staatsanwaltschaft Augsburg ermittelt nicht mehr gegen den emeritierten Augsburger Bischof Walter Mixa. Gegenüber der “Augsburger Allgemeinen” (Donnerstag) teilte Oberstaatsanwalt Andreas Dobler mit, dass die Ermittlungen wegen eines Verdachts auf Nötigung Anfang März eingestellt wurden. Gegenüber katholisch.de erläuterte Dobler am Donnerstag, dass das Verfahren aufgrund von Verjährung eingestellt wurde. Mixa wurde durch einen heute 39-jährigen beschuldigt, ihn im Jahr 2012 gegen seinen Willen am Kopf umklammert und auf den Mund geküsst zu haben. Der Mann habe in einer eidesstattlichen Versicherung einen Übergriff in der Sakristei einer Hauskapelle am Arbeitsplatz des Mannes geschildert. Die Staatsanwaltschaft hatte ihn als Zeugen einvernommen. Mixa wies die Vorwürfe über eine Anwältin “auf das Schärfste als unwahr” zurück.

Die…

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Third-party investigation into accusations is under way

As Southern Baptists across the country grapple with allegations of sexual abuse dating back decades, leaders of an Oklahoma church are looking into a case of a former minister who was accused of abusing a teenager in 2006.

The current leaders of First Baptist Church of Broken Arrow have been responding to the accusations, in part, because their counterparts in 2006 did not notify police about the allegations. They also are investigating whether church leaders back then ever alerted the congregation at that time.

The church’s investigation into long-ago accusations of sex abuse are part of an ongoing effort by the Southern Baptist Convention to reckon with a decades-long pattern of mishandling or concealing allegations that resulted in the current crisis facing the faith group.

The eastern Oklahoma church, one of the larger Southern Baptist churches in the state, with average weekly attendance of…

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In January, Fr. Jerome Kaywell, a priest at Sacred Heart Punta Gorda, in the Diocese of Venice, Florida, was accused of sexual misconduct dating back to the winter of 2013-2014. The accused, whose name has not been made public, was a minor at the time, but is now an adult. When the diocese learned of the accusations, Kaywell was removed from ministry pending an internal review. The authorities were immediately notified.

On February 13, the diocese received a letter from the law firm representing the alleged victim. The accuser withdrew the charges, apologized and blamed the accusation on a “false memory.” On March 14, the diocesan review board concluded that there was no evidence of wrongdoing, and Fr. Kaywell was allowed to resume his ministry. 

There are a lot of problems with what happened.

• Why do we know the name of the accused but not the accuser?
• Why did it…

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A former Long Island high school girls volleyball coach was arrested Thursday and charged with raping one of his teenage players.

Shock and outrage swept across Sacred Heart Academy after 22-year-old Jason Maser, a former volleyball coach for the all-girls Catholic school, was accused of raping a 15-year-old player while working part-time as her coach at the college prep school in Hempstead.

“It’s scary,” one person said.

“It’s horrible that someone would take advantage of their position,” parent Sheena Falloon said.

The charges against Maser include rape, criminal sexual act and endangering the welfare of a child.

His mother remained silent while walking out of his arraignment Friday, but the family’s lawyer said bail of $75,000 in cash or a $150,000 bond was unfair.

“Obviously the bail set was very high. We’re going to get Jason out, and we’ll deal with the case going…

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The Vatican and the German bishops have announced they will work together to resolve the controversial German Synodal Way.

In a joint press release, the two parties on March 22 said further meetings would “develop concrete forms of synodality in the Church in Germany, which are in accordance with the ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council, the requirements of canon law, and the results of the world Synod, and which will subsequently be submitted to the Holy See for approval.”

According to the press release by the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) and the Holy See on Friday evening, the meeting lasted “the entire day.” It was characterized by “a positive and constructive atmosphere.”

The press release continued: “It was possible to discuss some of the open theological questions raised in the documents of the Synodal Way of the Catholic Church in Germany,” saying “differences and points of agreement were identified.”

…

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Since the national “reforms” adopted by all U.S. Catholic Bishops in 2002, there have now been four criminal convictions of Toledo Catholic diocesan clergy. Three clerics were convicted in federal court for sexual crimes involving minors and one priest was convicted in state court for murder.

The lineup of felon priests includes most recently Father Michael J. Zacharias, who this week was formally defrocked by the Vatican. Catholic church officials will act as though the bad acts of yet one more Toledo Diocesan cleric is neatly wrapped up with a bow.

Except it’s not.

Many questions remain unanswered, and much work remains to be done to protect kids, expose corruption and heal victims.

Zacharias was convicted in December 2023 by federal authorities on multiple charges of sexual crimes, including human trafficking.

He “manipulated and coerced drug-addicted boys and men into sex” and made a “confession video” in which he performed…

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Pope Francis did not create the crisis of credibility or the failure of leadership culture that precipitated it, but he has not made either any better. In fact, his conduct of the office entrusted to him has made things very much worse.

Pope Francis has defrocked a Belgian bishop, 87-year-old Roger Vangheluwe, who is among the most notorious high-ranking clerics ever to face consequences for his perverse and criminal behavior.

Good, one might say, but the defrocking—more precisely the “reduction to the lay state”—highlights entrenched structural and cultural problems all centered for the moment on the reigning pope, Francis.

The Vangheluwe case in brief

Vangheluwe’s crimes began to come to light fourteen years ago. Benedict XVI let Vangheluwe go into early and honorable retirement, even though he had admitted to the sexual abuse of his own nephew over a…

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The unanimous state legislation has been ruled unconstitutional in a split decision hinging on the due process clause of the Louisiana Constitution.

The Louisiana Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s temporary suspension of the statute of limitations for child sex abuse is unconstitutional, a 4-3 decision likely to be seen as a win for the state’s Catholic hierarchy.

The three-year “lookback window” was opened in June 2021 and allowed individuals to file abuse lawsuits regardless of when the incidents are alleged to have occurred. The change in law, stemming from a case against the Diocese of Lafayette, had faced various legal challenges and was taken up by the state’s high court in late 2023.

“We are constrained to find the statutory enactment is contrary to the due process protections enshrined in our [state] constitution and must yield to that supreme law,” reads the majority opinion released on…

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The sexual abuse of children by Catholic sisters and nuns has been overshadowed by far more common reports of male clergy abuse.

Women in religious orders have been not only abuse victims but also perpetrators, though few dioceses or religious orders publicly name abusive nuns. Survivors of nun abuse hope to raise awareness of the issue. Each week a support group for them gathers online. Among its members is Gabrielle Longhi, who is suing her alleged abuser’s religious order and her former Catholic school, Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, in Bethesda, Maryland. Her case exists because of a new law in Maryland removing the civil statute of limitations for child sex abuse victims.

On Wednesdays, the support group meets over Zoom. The members talk about their lives, their religious families and their old parochial schools. But mostly, they are there to talk about the sexual abuse they…

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• In short: The ribbons will be removed from the fence outside St Patrick’s Cathedral in Ballarat on Saturday. 
• The bishop’s office says the ageing fence needs to be repainted. 
• What’s next? Organisation Loud Fence wants the parish to meaningfully consult with survivors of abuse about the future of the ribbons. 

Thousands of colourful ribbons tied to the fence of a regional Victorian cathedral as a show of support for survivors of child sexual abuse are set to be removed.

The Diocese of Ballarat says it will remove ribbons tied outside St Patrick’s Cathedral on Saturday morning, for the ageing wrought-iron fence to be painted. 

It is unclear at this stage whether the ribbons will be returned to the fence or how they may be stored into the future. 

Bishop Paul Bird’s office says the parish will continue to consult with survivors of sexual abuse and Loud Fence organisers to decide…

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The Catholic Church’s “established, dogmatic models of the theological approach to sexuality have become anachronistic,” a moral theologian told a conference on sexuality and culture at the John Paul II Pontifical Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences in Rome.

Developing a new theological ethics of sexuality is “a task for the entire church community,” Salesian Father Ronaldo Zacharias, a professor of moral theology at the Salesian University of São Paulo, told the conference March 21.

“We cannot ignore that in recent decades there has been a remarkable evolution regarding terminologies, concepts and descriptions related to sexuality,” he said, noting the strong influence such developments have had on people’s conceptions of their own sexuality.

The church, therefore, “should not talk about sexuality without considering the understanding we have of it today,” he said, while also keeping in mind potential problems with modern understandings of sexuality.

Citing the Brazilian theologian Augustinian Sister…

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Several German bishops were due to meet with top Vatican officials today, while the two sides are openly at odds over the reform of Church governance

Just hours before the start of Holy Week, several of the highest-ranking officials of the Roman Curia are facing a challenging meeting — the latest round of talks, which was due to take place Friday, with a delegation of Catholic bishops specially convened from Germany.

On the agenda for the March 22 gathering was to be the dialogue, initiated several years ago, between the Holy See and the Church in Germany regarding the German “Synodal Path” and its implications. This initiative, with the Catholic bishops and lay leaders of Germany launched in 2019 in response to the clergy sex abuse crisis, has fueled numerous tensions between the Vatican and the German bishops.Further reading: Why Pope Francis wants no repeat of the German “Synodal Path”

Closed-door…

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The legislation would give those who suffered sexual abuse while in the Boy Scouts the ability to press claims against the organization.

The Alabama House of Representatives Thursday approved a bill that would allow Alabamians who suffered sexual abuse while in the Boys Scouts of America to press claims against the organization.

SB 18, sponsored by Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, and carried in the House by Rep. Matt Simpson, R-Daphne, a former Baldwin County child victims prosecutor, would lift the state’s statute of limitations for civil claims on sexual abuse to allow those abused in the Boy Scouts of America to file claims with The Scouting Settlement Trust.

“There was a fund that was created for assets for members with a settlement trust from people in the boy scouts who were affected by sexual abuse. This would allow Alabama citizens to be able to recover…

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Amendment to state constitution concerning statute of limitations is simple but would be substantial in safeguarding children

In November, Colorado voters will have a voice in saving children from sexual predators and those who harbor them. Coloradans will be able to do more than watch stories about the frightening epidemic of child sexual abuse; they can be part of the solution by using their voice at the ballot box to benefit children.

That’s if the General Assembly lets them.

The Child Sexual Abuse Accountability Act (SCR 24-001) will allow voters to make a small and narrow change to Colorado’s Constitution that will give the General Assembly the authority to pass retroactive laws for claims of child sexual abuse. Colorado’s Constitution framers did not know about the epidemic of child sexual abuse. They did not know about the science of trauma or delayed disclosure. They did not…

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Since the national “reforms” adopted by all U.S. Catholic Bishops in 2002, there have now been four criminal convictions of Toledo Catholic diocesan clergy. Three clerics were convicted in federal court for sexual crimes involving minors and one priest was convicted in state court for murder.

The lineup of felon priests includes most recently Father Michael J. Zacharias, who this week was formally defrocked by the Vatican. Catholic church officials will act as though the bad acts of yet one more Toledo Diocesan cleric is neatly wrapped up with a bow.

Except it’s not.

Many questions remain unanswered, and much work remains to be done to protect kids, expose corruption and heal victims.

Zacharias was convicted in December 2023 by federal authorities on multiple charges of sexual crimes, including human trafficking.

He “manipulated and coerced drug-addicted boys and men into sex” and made a “confession video” in which he performed…

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The rape trial of 92-year-old Catholic priest Lawrence Hecker will not start as scheduled Monday in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court because Hecker’s mental competency has not yet been evaluated.

It’s unclear when that evaluation will happen or how long the trial will be delayed.

Hecker admitted in an August interview with WWL Louisiana and the Guardian newspaper that he had sex with at least three underage boys in the 1960s and 70s. But in that same interview, he denied ever having sex with someone against his will.

A week after that interview, Hecker was arrested and charged with aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated crime against nature and theft for allegedly choking a student unconscious and having sex with him in his church office in 1975 or 1976.

Hecker pled not guilty to those charges last year and his bond was set at more than $800,000. Later, he…

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