ABUSE TRACKER

A sprawling collection of discovery material now made public has unearthed explosive new details and previously unknown facts regarding the Southern Baptist Convention, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and the sexual abuse allegations involving former professor David Sills and his former student, Jennifer Lyell.

The documents, stemming from Sills’ ongoing defamation lawsuit against the SBC and others, expose a staggering chasm between the supportive public statements made by key denominational leaders and the private doubts, skepticism and hostility expressed in internal communications regarding abuse allegations and the survivor community.

Although Lyell, who became an executive at Lifeway Christian Resources in Nashville, died earlier this year, the legal battle continues. Sills has declined to sue her estate but continues to seek a court judgment against the institutions and leaders he claims scapegoated him.

This article is based on publicly available discovery documents — including sworn depositions and copies of text message records — filed…

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The Mattoon Police Department arrested the pastor of a local church for child pornography.

The Coles County State’s Attorney’s Office filed the Class X felony against 51-year-old Douglas R. Overmyer. Charging documents indicate that Overmyer shared a video of an underage girl and an adult male engaging in a sex act. The documents also indicate that Overmyer committed the offense “on or about May 20, 2025.”

A source familiar with the family confirmed with WCIA that Overmyer is involved with Zion Hill Church in Mattoon and Seers See. According to the group’s website, Seers See is a “blog/site meant to teach about the seeing gift, help seers cope with their gift, and to offer guidance to those who parent them, those who are friends with them, and those who pastor them.”

WCIA reached out to Zion Hill Church for a statement, but did not immediately receive a response…

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Bradley Reynolds, the former Truett McConnell University vice president who allegedly groomed and digitally raped a student-employee at the Georgia Baptist school, was indicted Monday for lying to police about the relationship.

Reynolds faces three felony counts of “making a false statement” to Sgt. Anthony Sims of the White County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office during a March 1, 2024, interview. The maximum sentence for each count could be five years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which first reported the indictment.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Reynolds, with a bail bond set at $30,000. White County District Attorney Jeff Langley told The Roys Report (TRR) an arrest warrant for Reynolds’s extradition from Texas would be issued if he doesn’t “turn himself in.”

In May, TRR broke the story of how Reynolds, a trusted ally of then-TMU president Emir Caner, had approached Hayle Swinson, a…

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The Vatican’s Dicastery for Clergy has declared that several parishes in the Diocese of Buffalo, New York can remain open after Bishop Michael Fisher ordered their closure amid a diocesan-wide renewal plan. 

Save Our Buffalo Churches, which has advocated against church closure proposals in the diocese’s “Road to Renewal” plan, said in a Dec. 8 Facebook post that the Vatican has revoked the closures of three parishes since November, with a fourth parish receiving a temporary reprieve from the diocese itself. 

The closures and mergers of Our Lady of Peace Parish and Holy Apostles Parish have been revoked by the dicastery, the group said. 

As well, the Vatican said it will also examine the “asset appropriation” levied by the diocese against those parishes. The group confirmed to CNA on Dec. 9 that those appropriations, if collected, are meant to help fund the diocese’s ongoing bankruptcy settlement…

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One hopes the canon lawyer in Pope Leo XIV will continue a dialogue with the UN Committee for the Rights of the Child

The Holy See was one of the strongest promoters and first signatories of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted on Sept. 2, 1990. This convention is the most ratified of all the UN treaties.

Signatories are required to provide periodic reports to the Committee for the Rights of the Child every five years. The Holy See submitted its first report two years late in 1994, and its second report 16 years late in 2011. It has not submitted another report since.

There is no enforcement mechanism under the convention. As the former president of Ireland, and a canon lawyer, Mary McAleese has pointed out, the convention is meant to be a dialogue between the UN and the signatories as to…

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A priest who served at several parishes in central Minnesota is facing felony sexual assault and threats of violence charges.

Father Joseph Herzing was charged in Stearns County Court on Nov. 26. According to the criminal complaint in the case, police began investigating a report of sexual abuse in August of 2024.

Herzing is accused of having an inappropriate intimate relationship with a woman he provided spiritual guidance to over a four-year period beginning in 2018. Court documents allege Herzing physically assaulted the woman, choked her, and threatened to kill her.

St. Cloud Diocese Bishop Patrick Neary immediately place Herzing on administrative leave on Nov. 26 after hearing about the charges. Herzing’s first court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 29.

Herzing was most recently pastor of Christ the King in Browerville, St. Joseph in Clarissa, St. Joseph in Grey Eagle, St. Mary of Mount Carmel in Long Prairie, and St….

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• Mediator who helped settle record L.A. case to reprise role in New York
• Attorney for accusers says archdiocese finally giving in to pressure
• Archdiocese says efforts to pay victims complicated by insurer Chubb
• Chubb said archdiocese has refused to reveal what it knew about abusers

Dec 8 (Reuters) – The Roman Catholic Church in New York and more than 1,300 accusers on Monday announced they have agreed to mediation to settle sexual abuse claims that could result in one of the largest payouts ever by the church in the United States.

Similar cases against the Catholic Church in the United States have resulted in billions of dollars in payouts, as priests and church lay workers were found to have sexually preyed on children for decades while being protected by the church hierarchy.

With civil litigation against the Archdiocese of New York due to come to trial next year, the archdiocese agreed to negotiate…

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NEW YORK (AP) — The Archdiocese of New York on Monday announced it will set up a $300 million fund to compensate victims of sexual abuse who have sued the church.

In a statement, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said the archdiocese would pay for the fund by reducing its budget and selling off assets, including completing the sale of its former headquarters in Manhattan, with the goal that the fund “can be set aside to provide compensation to survivors of sexual abuse.”

The archdiocese has also agreed to engage retired Judge Daniel J. Buckley as a mediator between itself and victims to reach a settlement, Dolan said. Buckley had a similar role in negotiations between the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and more than 1,000 people there.

A spokesperson for the archdiocese said church officials hope the fund would cover settlements for most, if not all of the roughly 1,300 outstanding claims against…

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The Archdiocese of New York has agreed to negotiate a settlement to compensate 1,300 people who have accused priests and staff lay members of child sex abuse — and is working to raise $300 million to cover the cost.

Archdiocese officials have met with lawyers in hopes of reaching a global settlement with survivors who have accused lay members of sexually abusing them while they were minors, Cardinal Timothy Dolan announced Monday in a public letter.

The Archdiocese has begun raising $300 million to fund the settlement by dramatically cutting costs and selling real estate — including laying off staff, reducing its operating budget by 10%, and selling the former archdiocesan headquarters on First Avenue in Manhattan, Dolan said.

Roughly 1,300 abuse survivors would benefit from the settlement, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of New York told The Post.

“As we have repeatedly acknowledged, the sexual abuse of minors long…

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The archdiocese will raise at least $300 million to fund the settlement. It has agreed with its accusers on a mediator to conduct negotiations.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York said on Monday that it was raising at least $300 million as it moved to negotiate a settlement that would benefit roughly 1,300 people who have said they were sexually abused as minors by its priests and lay staff members.

The archdiocese said it had agreed with representatives of the accusers on a mediator and had begun to raise money by cutting costs and selling assets, including its headquarters and other real estate.

Jeff Anderson, a lawyer who represents 300 people who have filed abuse claims against the archdiocese, said on Monday that the archdiocese had taken “a step in the right direction,” but cautioned that the matter was far from settled.

“There is no agreement at all…

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The Archdiocese of New Orleans’ yearslong bankruptcy has officially ended.

Judge Meredith Grabill heard from church leaders, sex abuse survivors, and insurance companies over the course of two weeks and formally approved the $230 million settlement on Monday.

Last week testimony wrapped up with Grabill taking the weekend to come to her final decision on the settlement.

Attorneys for the Archdiocese said money for survivors will be ready before Dec. 31.

Nearly 150 parishes and charities will contribute approximately $65 million to the settlement fund for clergy sex abuse survivors.

The diocese will also pay about $28 million with an interest rate of a little more than 4% over 12 years to bondholders, as well as pay a portion of additional fees.

Payouts will be specific to sex abuse claims and based on a point system.

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The accepted plan would pay settlements to an estimated 600 claimants…

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NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – A settlement plan ending the yearslong bankruptcy case of the Archdiocese of New Orleans was approved Monday (Dec. 8) by a federal judge in New Orleans.

The agreement, which includes a $230 million settlement for survivors of clergy sexual abuse, was approved by U.S. District Judge Meredith Grabill. It ends one of the longest and costliest church bankruptcies in the country.

The archdiocese sought bankruptcy protection in 2020, after more than 600 claims of clergy sex abuse were brought against it.

Attorneys for the archdiocese and survivors of the alleged sexual abuse negotiated for nearly five years before agreeing to a $230 million settlement.

Today’s ruling sets in motion several things, including the creation of a fund to pay survivors and the establishment of a new set of reforms designed to strengthen child protection and protocols for reporting child abuse in the archdiocese.

Attorneys for the…

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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Archdiocese will pay at least $230 million to hundreds of victims of clergy sexual abuse under a settlement approved Monday by a federal judge that follows years of negotiations.

Richard Trahant, an attorney representing victims in the case, and a spokesperson for the archdiocese both confirmed approval of the settlement to The Associated Press by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Grabill.

Archbishop Gregory Aymond, the head of the archdiocese, told reporters outside of a federal courthouse on Monday that he’s pleased “this is the end of this process” and hopes that survivors will “find some closure.”

“We hope and pray that they will be able to not only receive what is given to them but they will know the healing of God’s love,” Aymond said.

Earlier this month, some of the survivors behind the more than 500 abuse claims testified in court, saying they are…

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NEW ORLEANS, December 8, 2025 – SNAP extends its deepest solidarity and support to all survivors of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, both those who participated in the bankruptcy proceedings and those whose voices were never heard in court. 

The process remains profoundly unjust: it forces survivors to enter a bankruptcy arena as “creditors,” reducing the widespread rape and sexual assault of children, the extensive institutional cover-ups, and the financial manipulation that enabled these crimes to mere matters of debt. By removing these cases from the hands of justice officials and placing them before a bankruptcy judge, the church forces victims into a traumatizing, degrading, and drawn-out legal battle that severely limits their ability to seek reparations.

SNAP is encouraged that documents related to the archdiocese’s management of abuse claims will be made public, an essential step toward exposing the truth. We urge continued accountability for every official – Catholic or…

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Prosecutors in the Mexican border state of Coahuila have filed child abuse charges against a priest who is currently living in Texas. Authorities are also working to file more charges in connection with a second victim and believe there may be more.

The issue first came to light late last month when a victim who was 12 at the time of the abuse came forward and filed a complaint with the Coahuila Attorney General’s Office. The victim, who was 12 at the time of the alleged sexual assault, claimed that in 2007 she was taking catechism classes at the San Antonio de Padua Church and that Father Luis Efrain “N” had been the one who had groomed her and abused her.

Since then, the priest has worked in Laredo, Texas, and reportedly became a naturalized U.S. Citizen, Mexican news outlets reported. The priest is reportedly retired and…

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BOSTON – A Greek-American allegedly a victim of abuse at St Basil Academy in Garrison, NY, Christopher Bowen is set to take his case to trial after years of discovery and delays post-COVID.

From the ages of 12 to 17, (1982 to 1987), following the passing of his mother, Christopher Bowen was a resident of Saint Basil Academy – a place designed to provide a home, and a safe and supportive environment to children in need, run by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

His experience there, however, was not one that made him feel safe, nor supported, after suffering what he claims were years of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse from mentors, and people he trusted at the residential institution.

In November of 2024, Bowen spoke in an interview with The National Herald, revealing his alleged abuser as Finley Everett Eubanks – a former music and religion teacher, dorm…

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In short:

Clerical abuse survivors from Ballarat and Newcastle meet to reflect on lives lost to suicide stemming from child abuse.

The Child Abuse Royal Commission heard scores of people linked to clerical abuse have died by suicide in Ballarat and Newcastle.

What’s next:

A public memorial for survivors is being built in Ballarat, with calls for one in Newcastle.

Interstate clerical abuse survivors have gathered in Newcastle to reflect on the past horrors of the two cities and to remember lives lost to suicide

Newcastle and Ballarat are 1,100 kilometres apart but share a dark bond — scores of suicide deaths linked to historical Catholic clergy abuse.

On Saturday, survivors from both cities met for the first time in Newcastle for a symbolic gathering to remember and reflect.

[PHOTO: Survivors from Ballarat and Newcastle and their supporters tied ribbons to reflect and remember. (ABC News: Keely Johnson)]

They symbolically tied…

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Former clergy, senior legal figures and safeguarding professionals have told Premier Christian News that, despite the Church of England’s repeated claims to have learned from past safeguarding failures, many survivors who come forward continue to be re-traumatised by the way their cases are handled.

In one case, a former child protection lawyer described the treatment of a man who raised a complaint about the Diocese of London’s handling of his abuse allegations as “the worst example of post-abuse victimisation of a CDM complainant we have ever seen”.

The man, referred to by Premier as Survivor N, told us exclusively that the response and lack of investigation from the Diocese of London and Archbishop of Canterbury-elect Dame Sarah Mullally left him in such a severe mental health crisis that he attempted to take his own life twice.

A former employee of the Diocese of London, who also asked to remain anonymous and whom we are…

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The former Bishop’s house in Newry has gone back on the market to help raise funds to provide compensation to the victims of clerical abuse.

The premises – surrounded by 27 acres of land – has lain empty since 2018 following the resignation of Dr John McAreavey as Catholic Bishop of Dromore.

Dr McAreavey vacated his position after it came to light he had celebrated Mass alongside paedophile priest Fr Malachy Finnegan in the year 2000 while aware of the allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

The contents of the Bishop’s home – based on the Armagh Road, Newry – were sold off at auction earlier this year by the Diocese of Dromore to meet compensatory liabilities due to clerical abuse victims.

According to the BBC one of the standout sales in auction included a marble-topped table, originally from Tandragee Castle, which was bought by a priest in a 1950s dispersal…

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Two former nuns have been found guilty of physically abusing vulnerable youngsters at children’s homes in Scotland more than 40 years ago.

Carol Buirds, 75, and Eileen McElhinney, 78, caused several children unnecessary suffering and injury at two homes run by the Catholic order the Sisters of Nazareth.

Retired support worker Dorothy Kane was also convicted at Edinburgh Sheriff Court of two charges of using cruel and unnatural treatment towards children.

The offences were committed at Nazareth House homes in Lasswade, Midlothian and Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, and at an unknown address in Dunbar, East Lothian between 1972 and 1981.

During a five-week trial, jurors heard how Buirds had struck, punched and kicked children in her care, forced soap and food into their mouths and locked one victim inside an unlit cellar without any food or water.

The former nun, who was known as Sister Carmel Rose, also rubbed urine-soaked bedding…

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In 2002, Americans were rocked by a news investigation that exposed widespread sexual abuse of children in one of the country’s largest Roman Catholic dioceses. As reported by The Boston Globe’s Spotlight team, numerous pedophile priests in Boston had been transferred from parish to parish in an attempt to cover up abuse.

Although the Spotlight investigation was not the first exposé of clergy sexual abuse in the United States—or in the global Catholic Church—it had an impact like no abuse revelations before it. Investigations were launched in dioceses around the world. For many Catholics, once they had learned about the abuse and cover-up, there was no going back. As Heidi Schlumpf, the author of Encyclopaedia Britannica’s article on the misconduct, writes, “The sexual abuse crisis has severely damaged the Catholic Church’s credibility and permeates every aspect of life in the church today.”

But what does that mean at the parish level? What impact did…

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A survivor of clerical abuse is calling for the Justice Minister to end or limit the use of character references in court cases, particularly in relation to sexual offences against children.

Tony Gribben, who was abused by the Catholic priest Fr Malachy Finegan, highlighted a case where two Catholic priests gave character references to a man convicted of sexual offences against children.

The priests in the Diocese of Dromore provided the references in 2022. The family of one of the victims declined to speak publicly but are understood to have been “incensed” at the move.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said it is aiming to launch a planned review of sentencing issues this month.

‘Safeguarding failure’

Mr Gribben, is the founder of the Dromore Group, which represents survivors of clerical abuse.

He described the 2022 case in the Dromore diocese as a “safeguarding failure”, which he said was…

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In new audio recording, Diocese of Chiclayo calls pope’s investigation a “joke” 

SNAP to file updated Vos estis lux mundi complaint using new evidence of cover-up

Survivors of clergy sexual abuse held a press conference this morning (Thursday December 4, 2025) to release new evidence showing Pope Leo XIV wielded his new papal authority to avoid testifying about his involvement in covering up child sex abuse in Peru.

This evidence included internal Vatican documents, emails from Pope Leo, and recordings of meetings with church officials discussing the cases of sexual abuse reported by Ana María Quispe Díaz and two other victims from the Diocese of Chiclayo in Peru. 

Quispe previously traveled to Chicago in July to testify in a press conference alongside representatives of SNAP.  

Her full statement regarding the recent updates in her case can be found here. 

Él no lo considera un delito / He doesn’t consider…

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New recordings of church officials spurred the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, to file an updated complaint with the Vatican.

Survivors of clergy abuse are calling for an investigation into Pope Leo XIV during his tenure as bishop of Chiclayo in Peru, alleging he played a role in covering up how priests and clerics accused of sexual assault were allowed to continue their roles in the Catholic Church.

Recordings of a meeting from in April between the Rev. Giampiero Gambaro with Ana María Quispe Díaz and others accusing Peruvian clerics of assault revealed the man they accused had confessed to church officials years ago, and in September was granted an “honorable discharge.”

The Chicago Sun-Times reviewed a translated version of the recordings made public by Conclave Watch.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests plans to file an updated vos estis lux mundi complaint, the church’s pathway…

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Andrea was just eight-years-old, living in a small town in Zambales, the Philippines, when her parents separated. Afterward, her mother moved in with Christopher, who soon became Andrea’s stepfather. In January 2024, when Andrea turned 11, Christopher sexually abused her. Terrified of what he might do to her and her mother, Andrea kept silent. 

It was not until a counselling session with her teacher that she found the courage to reveal the truth. 

Her disclosure set a chain of support in motion—she was referred to the municipal social worker of Castillejos, Zambales, who brought her to the Preda Foundation’s home for abused and trafficked children.

At Preda, Andrea was welcomed, affirmed, and empowered through Emotional Release Therapy.

Gradually, she found the courage to testify in court. While Christopher denied all charges, the judge believed Andrea’s testimony. Justice prevailed: Christopher was found guilty of two counts of lascivious conduct and sentenced…

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The priest named in the filing as Fr Jacek K. was one of two serving priests from the Diocese of Sosnowiec arrested in October 2024 and charged with sexually abusing children.

Prosecutors in Poland filed an indictment against a priest from a diocese that has faced recent scrutiny for child sex abuse allegations.

The priest, named as Fr Jacek K. under Polish privacy laws, from the Diocese of Sosnowiec in Upper Silesia, southern Poland, faces 10 charges, including nine counts of sexually abusing seven minors when he served as a priest and taught religion classes between 2008 and 2024. 

The tenth charge relates to pornographic videos and images of children found on the priest’s data storage devices.

The indictment was submitted to court on 5 December, a spokesman for the district prosecutor’s office in Sosnowiec told the state news agency PAP. He said the priest had exploited the children’s helplessness and…

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A former Church in Wales bishop is said to have admitted sexually assaulting a teenage boy, according to a report seen by the BBC.

Anthony Pierce, who earlier this year was jailed for historical sexual abuse of another boy, allegedly confessed to the report author what is described as a “criminal offence” while he was a parish priest.

The document was written months before he became Bishop of Swansea and Brecon in 1999 and the church held the report – which Pierce asked a “friend” to write – for 11 years before passing it to police.

The Church in Wales said it did not commission the report and the document would form part of a review into how they handled the claim.

The handwritten 25-page document said the abuse happened in 1990 and stated Pierce, who is now 84, felt “intensely guilty” and “could not escape the reality that he…

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Trial dates have been set for a former priest who allegedly sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl in his congregation in 1970.

Constantin Turcoane’s matter appeared in Brandon’s Court of King’s Bench on Tuesday, when his trial dates were set for November 2026.

The 81-year-old used to run the St. Elijah Romanian Orthodox Church in a small Westman community that sits within what is now the RM of Riding Mountain West. The church is now a part of the St. Elijah Romanian Orthodox Pioneer Museum, which is roughly 210 kilometres from Brandon.

In March 2022, a woman in her 60s reported that the priest had sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions over a period of two years while she was a parishioner at the church, RCMP said in a news release in August last year.

The woman was 11 and 12 when the alleged sexual assaults took place, police said.

The…

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A roughly 40-minute conversation shows how leaders of an Old Apostolic Lutheran Church kept an open secret quiet for so long.

This story contains graphic descriptions of sexual abuse.

There were so many details in the women’s reports to law enforcement that were hard for me to read. That they were just little girls when it happened. That a man many knew as the “fun uncle” had touched them sexually under their skirts and tops. And that it happened in church or while swimming at the lake or during games of hide-and-seek. They were as young as 5 years old, according to the police reports. Some could even remember what they were wearing when it happened: a fluffy multicolored skirt; a pair of jeans with purple flowers on them.

But by the time my co-reporter from the Minnesota Star Tribune, Andy Mannix, and I got those accounts — spanning from…

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A Chico pastor has pleaded guilty to child molestation charges.

Roger Scalice, 75, appeared in Butte County Superior Court on Thursday where he pleaded guilty to molesting a minor under 14-years-old. Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said Scalice’s charges stem from October, after the Chico Police Department received a report that Scalice had inappropriately touched a minor child with whom he had access for over a year.

Authorities say during the investigation, Scalice admitted to the conduct and was arrested at his home in Chico on October 27.

Ramsey said that because of the conduct’s nature and the prolonged abuse, Scalice was charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child. He now faces up to 16 years in state prison on his plea. The judge for his case appointed a doctor to conduct a mental evaluation before sentencing date to determine if Scalice is likely to reoffend and assess…

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A volunteer youth pastor at a church in the Houston area was arrested on suspicion of possessing child sex abuse materials. 

On Nov. 26, Carter August Thomas, a volunteer at Houston’s Second Baptist Church, was taken into custody and charged with one felony count of possessing child pornography.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office was initially made aware of the suspicions in August, according to court records, after deputies received an email from someone claiming that Thomas had confided in them that he had trouble seeking out child abuse content online.

At the time, Thomas confessed he was still officially volunteering with the youth of Second Baptist, where his duties included supervising children. According to The Houston Chronicle, Thomas’s defense attorney, Stephen Aslett, said that he was not working at the church in any capacity when…

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A volunteer who worked last summer with youth at Houston-based Second Baptist Church has been charged with possessing child sexual abuse material. The arrest marks another controversy to hit the embattled megachurch, which has been accused of stealing members’ voting rights.

Carter Thomas, 27, was arrested Wednesday for the felony, Harris County police announced on Facebook. He was first charged on Nov. 26, but police picked him up on the way to turning himself in a week later on Wednesday, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Police were first tipped off about Thomas by email in August, according to the probable cause records. The individual who tipped off police said that Thomas had admitted to struggling with viewing the materials online.

Police began an investigation into Thomas and seized his electronic devices. They found 23 nude images of children under 17 on…

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Confidential discussions underway with other parties that may also be liable for decades of harm at Mount Cashel and elsewhere

The St. John’s Roman Catholic archdiocese has received another extension of its creditor protection, as lawyers for clergy abuse survivors meet with other organizations who may also be liable for the historic harms.Article content

The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John’s (RCECSJ) has been in creditor protection since December 2021 as it sells its assets to compensate more than 300 survivors of historic abuse by Christian Brothers at Mount Cashel orphanage and other locations. 

The courts found the archdiocese vicariously liable for the abuse, and an independent claims adjudication awarded the victims $121.3 million. Article content

So far, the claimants have received just over 30 per cent of what they’re due, and the archdiocese continues its efforts to collect the funds needed. It requested and was granted a 60-day extension of…

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U.S. Catholics continue to disaffiliate from the Church at record rates, thanks in part to the nationwide legacy of mass child abuse by pedophile clerics

On Nov. 17, the Feast of St. Frances Cabrini, a group of lay Catholics, former employees of the diocese of New York, and clerical abuse survivors announced initiatives to help the victims of abuse at the hands of the Catholic Church in New York state. They want survivors to have access to the Cabrini Fund, a foundation created when the New York bishops sold their diocesan health insurance plan for $3.2 billion in 2018.

“Many survivors have been locked in a legal morass for years,” said Gary Greenberg, a Child Victims Act advocate and survivor, in a press release announcing the move. “They have been denied long-term healing resources and meaningful acknowledgment of the harm they endured.”

Abuse in the Catholic Church may have faded…

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More than a dozen survivors of alleged clergy sex abuse are demanding major reforms from the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Their demands came during hours of testimony Tuesday (Dec. 2) in the archdiocese’s bankruptcy trial. Testimony focused on the impact the abuse had on those who say they suffered at the hands of priests or clergy.

The testimony from survivors was as powerful as it was painful. The judge overseeing the bankruptcy case called it the most important part of the proceedings, because clergy sex abuse is at the core of the case. Some survivors viewed the opportunity to take the witness stand as their only chance to memorialize their account in a courtroom.

“There’s no justice for us here today, and you cannot compensate me for what you took from me. There’s no money in the world that can give me back my childhood,” said Brian Manix, a claimant…

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Judge Meredith Grabill stopped short of confirming the $230 million plan Thursday, but says she will likely confirm next week after continued ‘prayer’ and ‘meditation.’

A weekslong trial aimed at settling the Archdiocese of New Orleans bankruptcy case concluded on Thursday with a federal bankruptcy judge saying she is likely to approve the settlement worked out between the local church and survivors of child sexual abuse.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Grabill told attorneys for the church, abuse survivors and others involved in the long-running case that she planned to spend the weekend reflecting on the evidence she heard during nine days of sometimes gut-wrenching testimony and indicated that next week she intends to confirm the $230 million settlement.

Her ruling could come as soon as Monday.

“I want to sit with all of the evidence before making a final ruling,” Grabill said. “That said, I don’t see any impediment at…

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The Archdiocese of New Orleans’ yearslong bankruptcy trial will not end in a decision Thursday, according to the judge presiding over the case.

Judge Meredith Grabill heard from church leaders, sex abuse survivors, and insurance companies over the course of two weeks.

On Wednesday, testimony wrapped up with Grabill stating she needed more time to make a decision on the settlement of $230 million for sex abuse survivors.

The final approval could come as early as Monday.

Attorneys for the Archdiocese said money for survivors will be ready before Dec. 31.

Nearly 150 parishes and charities will contribute approximately $65 million to the settlement fund for clergy sex abuse survivors.

The diocese will also pay about $28 million with an interest rate of a little more than 4% over 12 years to bondholders, as well as pay a portion of additional fees.

Survivors could receive payments by next year.

Payouts…

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Attorneys for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, survivors of alleged clergy sex abuse, and several insurance companies delivered closing arguments Thursday (Dec. 4) in one of the most protracted and most expensive Catholic church bankruptcies in U.S. history.

“This is probably just one chapter closed, but I’m not done because we didn’t get what we came for,” said Brian Manix, a claimant in the bankruptcy case.

“This whole process has been one of anxiety, but it’s also been one of healing,” said New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond.

The arguments capped several days of testimony from Aymond, nearly two dozen abuse survivors, and senior financial officers of the archdiocese.

Manix, who says disgraced and now-deceased deacon George Brignac sexually abused him, said he’s relieved that the end of the case is in sight, but the trauma he endured as a child persists.

“There’s not enough money in the world to give…

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Renny Martyn revealed in archdiocese bankruptcy proceedings that priest abused her at school when she was six years old.

A woman who Big Brother fans might recognize as a contestant on an earlier season of the unscripted television competition has spoken out as a victim of New Orleans’ decades-old Catholic clergy abuse scandal.

Renny Martyn, 71, told her story toward the end of a Tuesday hearing in the federal courthouse where the Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans has been in bankruptcy protection proceedings since 2020 amid the financial fallout of the scandal.

Martyn waited for hours before recounting in court that she had been molested when she was six years old by a priest at the St Mary Magdalen elementary school in Metairie.

She was among 20 or so clergy abuse claimants who testified on Tuesday during a trial over the fairness of a proposal by the archdiocese to pay…

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A former teacher has been found guilty of grooming and sexually abusing a “vulnerable” teenager who was one of his pupils.

Edward Waller sent naked photos of himself before having sex with the girl in 2005 while he was teaching at St Anne’s Catholic School in Southampton, Hampshire, prosecutors said.

The 66-year-old, of Winter Road, Southsea, was convicted of sexual activity with a child and two counts of inciting child sexual activity, all committed by a person in a position of trust.

Sentencing at Portsmouth Crown Court was adjourned to 5 February.

The history teacher knew his victim, who was then aged 16 to 17, “was a vulnerable girl who was having significant issues at home”, prosecutors said.

He began to give her extra attention, messaging her privately and sending sexual texts and photos.

In December 2005, Waller invited the victim to his home where they had sex, prosecutors added.

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“I have to fuck you to save you,” said the priest.

Nuns vs. the Vatican is a documentary that tells the story of Marco Rupnik, a Jesuit priest and famous mosaic artist, whose art adorns many Catholic churches. What the nuns kept secret for decades was that he sexually and spiritually abused them. Gloria Branciani is the lead victim in this film. When she was young, after talking with this glorious priest, she decided she would join the Loyola community he had created. She was not sure she wanted to be a nun, but he warned her she would be far from God if she were not.

Rupnik started by taking off her shirt when he asked her to model for a mosaic. Then he visited her apartment when her roommate was gone. He violently forced her into oral sex, which was shocking to a young woman who did not know anything about…

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A Dublin man who reportedly had a concealed crawl space in his home has been arrested in Utah after being accused of sexually abusing two children in both states.

According to federal prosecutors, Wade Christofferson, 72, appeared in U.S. District Court in Utah on Tuesday after being federally charged with attempting to sexually exploit a minor, and coercion and enticement in Dublin, Ohio.

Charging documents state that Dublin police received a report this month alleging the sexual abuse of 7- or 8-year-old by Christofferson, who reportedly assaulted the child 15-20 times and faces at least 20 charges.

It is also alleged that Christofferson sexually abused a child in Utah and engaged in sexually explicit FaceTime call with the minor. The call reportedly referred to sexual activity with code words for body parts and other sexual content.

Additionally, a criminal complaint said Christofferson wrote the Utah victim a letter with “top…

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In a case that exposes a deeply troubling pattern of institutional failure, church leaders within the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church (OALC) are accused of knowingly concealing the crimes of a serial child sex abuser for approximately two decades, allowing him to continue preying on victims across two states.

Clint Massie, a member of the OALC community, sexually abused children over a period of about 20 years. A recent report from 20 November 2025, reveals that church leaders, including prominent figure Daryl Bruckelmyer, were aware of Massie’s actions but deliberately chose not to report him to law enforcement.

Instead of involving the police, the leaders orchestrated so-called “forgiveness sessions.” In these meetings, victims were pressured to forgive Massie and were given a devastating ultimatum: they were told that if they spoke of the abuse again, the sin would become their own. This manipulative tactic effectively silenced the victims and created a…

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Andreozzi + Foote, opens new tab, a nationally recognized law firm dedicated to representing survivors of sexual abuse, has launched the Andreozzi + Foote Fund, a corporate community sponsorship initiative that will distribute $100,000 to Pennsylvania-based organizations between December 2025 and December 2026. The Fund is designed to support organizations in the Commonwealth that empower children, support survivors of sexual abuse, and strengthen communities through education, advocacy, healing, and opportunity.

Through this effort, Andreozzi + Foote will award sponsorships ranging from $2,500 to $25,000 to nonprofits, youth programs, advocacy coalitions, schools, and community leaders supporting the safety and wellbeing of children and survivors.“

We represent survivors every day, and we see the difference it makes when communities invest in safety, healing, and prevention. This Fund allows us to support organizations doing this critical work, providing opportunities to children and ensuring survivors never have to navigate these…

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At least eight schools have sent out the letter after a 51-year-old man was charged.

A relief teacher who worked at a number of public, private and Catholic schools has been charged with child sexual offences prompting a letter to thousands of parents.

7NEWS understands the 51-year-old male teacher worked across both primary and secondary schools predominantly in Adelaide’s metropolitan area.

WATCH ABOVE: Adelaide teacher charged over alleged child sex offences.

At least eight schools have sent the letter to parents, offering support to students.

7NEWS also understands the 51-year-old was arrested and charged in November.

Parents and guardians were sent the letter on Wednesday, informing them a relief teacher who had taught at the schools has been charged with “child sexual offences”

The teacher by law is prevented from engaging in any child-related work or volunteering and has been instructed to not attend any of the schools.

A Department…

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Ursuline High School and the Diocese of Youngstown have denied the school’s football team fosters a ‘culture of hazing’ in their response to a federal lawsuit.

Ursuline High School and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Youngstown have formally responded to a federal lawsuit alleging incidents of hazing and sexual abuse within the Fighting Irish football program, denying that there is a “culture of hazing” within the team and pushing back on claims of a coverup by coaches and administrators.

In the 216-page response filed Monday in Northern Ohio U.S. District Court addresses claims from the mother of a former Ursuline player who says her son was attacked multiple times and sexually abused by his teammates during an out-of-state football camp in June. She further alleges that at least Ursuline coach dismissed her concerns and that school leaders declined to adequately investigate the incidents, to the point of allowing…

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The Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, and one of its Catholic high schools are facing multiple lawsuits over the alleged mishandling of multiple reports of bullying and student-led abuse.

Of the four lawsuits, three were filed in federal district court and the fourth was filed in a county court of common pleas. They allege that Ursuline High School in Youngstown failed to prevent the bullying and harassment of several students.

In the federal lawsuits, attorneys allege that Ursuline ignored multiple instances of harassment and bullying from the school’s football players. Ursuline was aware of the abuse, the suits claim, though administrators allegedly did nothing in order to protect “the glory of [the school’s] football team.”

One suit alleges that a football player engaged in protracted sexual harassment and eventually physical abuse of a young female student, including “asking [her] for sex and nude photos” and eventually allegedly dragging…

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Colombia said Monday it sent 26 members of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect Lev Tahor to the United States after determining that the rights of some of the children in the group were at risk.

Authorities detained the group of 17 children and nine adults on Nov. 22 following a raid on their hotel in Yarumal, a city in northwestern Colombia.

Immigration officials said that while all of the children in the group were accompanied by at least one parent, there were five children with American and Guatemalan passports for whom Interpol yellow notices had been issued. The notices are global alerts issued for people who have been reported as missing or those considered victims of parental or criminal abduction.

Colombia’s national immigration agency said the group spent the past week in one of the agency’s buildings in Medellin, where the children were provided with support from Colombia’s National Institute for…

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The incidents took place during the transportation of pastoral groups participating in the annual religious festival held in this northern Chilean town.

The Tamarugal Prosecutor’s Office has charged a 44-year-old priest with the sexual abuse of a woman, an offense committed on July 16, 2025, in the town of La Tirana, where he served as a youth pastoral advisor.

During the hearing, lead investigator Milton Torres detailed that the incidents occurred in the context of transporting pastoral groups participating in the annual religious festival held in that location.

According to the prosecutor, at a social gathering in a local residence—following the victim’s consumption of alcohol which led to a state of intoxication—the defendant, identified by the initials G.A.M., «noticed the woman’s vulnerable condition and, taking advantage of the existing trust, between 5:30 and 6:00 AM, led her to his bedroom, where he laid her on a bed and reclined beside…

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The trial for a former youth pastor at four Texas churches has been reset to April 20, 2026, granting both the prosecution and defense more time to prepare for what is expected to be a contentious case.

Luke Cunningham, 43, of Lubbock, Texas, faces charges that include 16 counts of sexual assault of a child. These charges carry a first-degree felony enhancement known as “bigamy” following a grand jury reindictment that superseded previous charges and added penal enhancements.

The statute under which Cunningham has been reindicted escalates sexual assault charges to first-degree felonies when the offender is accused of assaulting a person “whom the actor was prohibited from marrying or living with under the appearance of marriage,” as defined by Texas bigamy laws.

Prosecutors based these charges on Cunningham’s alleged promises to marry his underage victims — teenagers in his youth group at Turning Point Community Church in Lubbock — once they…

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A former youth pastor at four Texas churches is facing a slew of new criminal charges as his long-delayed trial is now set to begin Dec. 1.

The new indictment returned by a grand jury three months ago charges Luke Cunningham of Lubbock, Texas, with 16 counts of sexual assault of a child under a first-degree felony enhancement known as “sexual assault of a child — bigamy.”

Cunningham’s case has drawn national attention since Baptist News Global first reported in June 2024 that he had been arrested by U.S. marshals on initial child sexual assault charges and was under federal investigation by the FBI for possible international and interstate sex trafficking.

BNG’s original reporting revealed that federal investigators were examining allegations of abuse that occurred during out-of-state and overseas mission trips while Cunningham was employed by Turning Point Community Church, a Lubbock megachurch.

The state of that federal probe remains unclear, as…

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Media in Spain identifies the priest only as Ramón LE, the Mexican media protects him further by identifying him only as Ramón N.

Were the priest’s superiors aware of similar aggressions to the one behind his extradition? Did they inform the Mexican bishops who received him? Did the Mexican bishops investigate?

This Monday, December 1, the EFE agency and other media in Spain reports a ruling from a top national court there, the Audiencia Nacional , authorizing the extradition to Mexico of a Spaniard national who is a Catholic priest.

In accordance with current in Spain, neither EFE nor the other media offer more details than the first name and the initials of the surnames of the extradited person: Ramón LE

As far as it is possible to know, this is a case dating back to 2022 in the state of Jalisco in what the media in Spain describes…

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Critics say a deadline approaching early next year in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno’s bankruptcy case amounts to a “huge loophole” that limits clergy sexual abuse victims’ ability to pursue justice.

Any abuse victims who do not meet the Feb. 2 deadline “will be forever barred, estopped and enjoined” from suing the diocese in the future, according to a paid legal notice published Nov. 25 in The Californian.

A victims advocate noted the so-called “bar date” deadline applies not just to adults coming to terms with trauma they suffered as youth, but also to recent victims who typically do not recognize the abuse they have suffered for many years to come.

Director Dan McNevin of victims advocacy group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said Tuesday the deadline’s expiration will basically lock down the diocese’s files.

“That means society, not just the victims, society will not have visibility…

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More than a dozen people described during testimony Monday how being sexually abused as children by Catholic priests in the north country has had long-lasting and often ruinous impacts on their lives.

The people who told their stories in a federal courtroom in Albany have all sued the Diocese of Ogdensburg, the Roman Catholic organization that oversees parishes and churches from Watertown to Plattsburgh and down through the Adirondack Mountains. The survivors contend that the diocese failed to properly prevent and respond to reports of sexual abuse of children by priests in its employ over multiple generations.

Those suits, filed under New York’s Child Victims Act, were authorized by a state law passed in 2019 that briefly authorized people who had been sexually abused to seek civil judgments against their abusers and the organizations that empowered and failed to stop abuse. The Diocese of Ogdensburg is facing 138 such lawsuits.

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Spanish church leaders have criticized media treatment of a diocesan bishop who resigned over accusations of sexual abuse, amid renewed debates over the church’s historic role in the traditionally Catholic country.

“We must take into account the presumption of innocence, because sometimes the perpetrators can be the victims,” said Archbishop Jesús Sanz of Oviedo.

“This bishop asked to be relieved of his duties months ago as a cancer sufferer. Then came the complaint ─ or rather, the complaint became public ─ and this has complicated matters,” the archbishop said.

He was reacting to Pope Leo XIV’s Nov. 22 acceptance of the resignation of Bishop Rafael Zornoza of Cádiz-Ceuta, the first serving Spanish diocesan to quit over abuse claims.

Speaking to journalists, Archbishop Sanz said the church remained close to both “alleged victims and alleged perpetrators,” and urged media restraint pending full investigations.

Meanwhile, Bishop Ginés García Beltrán of Getafe, said treatment of…

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The Stearns County Attorney’s Office filed charges on Wednesday against Joseph Paul Herzing, 61, of Milaca

A Catholic priest has been charged with stalking, criminal sexual conduct and violence against a woman whom he was spiritually advising. This is the second St. Cloud-area priest accused of inappropriate conduct in the past two months.

The Stearns County Attorney’s Office filed charges on Wednesday against Joseph Paul Herzing, 61, of Milaca, for one count each of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and stalking, and three counts of threats of violence in connection with the abuse and intimidation. The abuse occurred between May 2018 and October 2022, according to the criminal complaint.

During the time of the incidents, Herzing served as a priest in Little Falls and St. Cloud, according to law enforcement. He was ordained at St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud in 1999, and later was appointed as pastor of…

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Law enforcement said Joseph Paul Herzing sexually, physically and emotionally abused an adult woman from 2018-22

A St. Cloud-area Catholic priest has been charged with stalking, criminal sexual conduct and violence against a woman he was spiritually advising.

Joseph Paul Herzing, 61, of Milaca, was charged Wednesday, Nov. 26, by the Stearns County Attorney’s Office. He faces one count each of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and stalking, and three counts of threats of violence in connection with the abuse and intimidation.

According to the criminal complaint, the abuse occurred between May 2018 and October 2022. Herzing served as a priest in Little Falls and St. Cloud during the time of the incidents.

St. Cloud police began investigating Herzing in August 2024, following a report from the woman who said she received spiritual advice, aid, and comfort in the form of confession from Herzing while in Little Falls in 2018, then…

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Charges were filed against a Catholic priest Nov. 26 for actions connected to alleged sexual abuse.

The Rev. Joseph Herzing, 61, a priest in the St. Cloud Diocese, is accused of abusing a woman he provided spiritual guidance to from about May 2018 though October 2022, according to the criminal complaint filed by the Stearns County Attorney’s Office. Stearns County prosecutors say in the criminal complaint alleged sexual acts occurred between December 2021 and October 2022. These alleged actions included kissing and touching the woman in a sexual manner.

During that timeframe, prosecutors allege in the criminal complaint “multiple individuals reported to church leadership that they observed conduct indicative of an inappropriate intimate relationship between the (two individuals).”

Herzing served as a priest at Christ Church Newman Center, St. Anthony Catholic Church and Holy Spirit Catholic Church at that time, according to a statement from the Diocese of…

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A Catholic priest in central Minnesota is charged with sexually abusing, physically assaulting and threatening a woman to whom he had given spiritual guidance.

Joseph Herzing, 61, has served as a priest in several central Minnesota communities, including St. Cloud and Little Falls. He was charged last week in Stearns County District Court with third-degree criminal sexual conduct, stalking and three counts of threatening violence. 

Court documents say St. Cloud police began investigating a report of sexual abuse in August 2024. A woman told police she received spiritual guidance from Herzing over a four-year period beginning in the fall of 2018, first in Little Falls, then in St. Cloud after Herzing moved there.

According to the criminal complaint, multiple people told church leaders they observed conduct that indicated an inappropriate intimate relationship between Herzing and the woman, including Herzing allegedly being at the woman’s residence late at night and early…

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Bishop Patrick Neary, C.S.C., of the Diocese of St. Cloud was notified Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025, that Father Joseph Herzing, a priest of the diocese, was charged in Stearns County with one count of stalking, one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and three counts of threats of violence, all involving one adult.

Bishop Neary has placed Father Herzing on leave immediately from his ministry at Christ the King in Browerville, St. Joseph in Clarissa, St. Joseph in Grey Eagle, St. Mary of Mount Carmel in Long Prairie, and St. John the Baptist in Swanville, and prohibited him from all public ministry, pending the outcome of the judicial process. The diocese is cooperating with civil authorities.

Bishop Neary has named Father Arlie Sowada, a retired priest of the diocese, as parochial administrator of the affected parishes.

In October 2022, diocesan leadership was made aware of potential inappropriate behavior between Father…

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Victims of sexual abuse accuse Church of “opacity, slowness, disrespect”

Years on from the shocking report that lifted the lid on decades of deviant behaviour by priests and officials of the Catholic Church and very little appears to have been done for the hundreds of victims.

The “process of analysis” of victims’ claims, in order to determine financial compensation, is simply taking much too long – and smacks of obfuscation.

The Silent Heart Association, which brings together victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, has had enough of waiting.

In a press release today it expresses “concern and outrage” – lamenting the lack of information, and general sloth.

“The Silenced Heart Association expresses deep concern and indignation regarding the handling of the process of analysing and compensating victims of sexual violence within the Portuguese Catholic Church,” says the release, accusing the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP, better known as the conference…

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A woman who was sexually assaulted by a well-known Catholic priest as a child says she “felt dirty” for decades after the abuse.

Fran, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, was sexually abused by Dennis Finbow in the 1980s while he was working as a priest in Peterborough.

Her speaking out led to him being convicted for the first time in 2023, since when more of his victims have come forward to report further offences.

“It made me feel so dirty, and so wrong and bad, that I knew not to say anything,” she told ITV News.

Finbow, 77, originally from Ipswich, served as a priest throughout the 1970s, 80s, and 90s.

He was well-known in the Peterborough and St Neots area, and would regularly feature in local newspapers for his charity work.

Fran said Finbow’s “larger-than-life” character and highly respected religious status meant he was able…

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A Catholic priest serving five parishes in central Minnesota is being charged in Stearns County District Court after he allegedly had an inappropriate relationship with a woman that turned violent.

According to court documents, the woman told police that Father Joseph Herzing gave her spiritual advice and comfort through confession in 2018 while he was serving as a priest in Little Falls. Between 2018 and 2022, multiple people told church leadership they saw inappropriate intimate conduct between the 61-year-old priest and the woman, including Herzing being at her home late at night and early in the morning. In February 2022, the relationship escalated to violence when he allegedly choked and threatened to kill her. In May 2022, the woman saw a text message that led her to believe Herzing was involved in an intimate relationship with someone else, and she confronted him. Herzing choked her, wrestled her to the ground,…

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There’s an update in the on-going process of crafting a settlement between the Archdiocese of New Orleans and those who survived its sexually abusive priests.

An announcement from the Archdiocese says that an agreement has been reached with the bond trustee in the case.

“This is a matter of justice,” said Archbishop Gregory Aymond. “We must pay our debts. I believe this is the just way to move forward for the good of survivors and the local church. We thank the faithful for their prayers for the past five years and continue to ask for prayers for the survivors of abuse. We trust that through the mercy and love of Jesus Christ the Archdiocese of New Orleans will move forward to continue sharing its mission of sharing the Gospel.”

The Archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 Reorganization Bankruptcy in May 2020, in large part due to looming costs of settlements with…

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The Archdiocese of New Orleans has reached a settlement with a group of bondholders in its long-running bankruptcy case, removing the last remaining hurdle towards a resolution, which could come now as soon as next week.

The bondholders, who were owed nearly $30 million on a $40 million loan they made to the archdiocese in 2017 to help refinance parish debt, was opposed to the settlement plan currently up for confirmation before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Grabill.

The plan, which would create a $230 million trust to be paid to hundreds of survivors of clergy sex abuse and establish strict new abuse protection and reporting policies, has the overwhelming support of abuse survivors. 

The bondholders, however, who initially stood to receive just $3 million of the $30 million they were owed, opposed the settlement and were laying the ground work for an appeal, should Grabill confirm…

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When the Diocese of Ogdensburg filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 17, 2023, it described the move as a “difficult and painful decision,” reached after “extensive prayer and consultation.” For survivors of clergy sexual abuse, however, the bankruptcy did not feel like an act of pastoral care — it felt like another form of silence.

The filing came after the opening of New York’s Child Victims Act window, which allowed survivors to bring forward long‑buried claims. A total of 138 lawsuits were filed against the Diocese, many involving abuse from decades past. The Diocese has stated publicly that it does not have the financial resources to litigate or settle all the cases, and that bankruptcy was the only path forward. While those statements may reflect sincere belief, the impact on survivors is undeniably different.

As a survivor, and as Chair of the Survivors Committee, I have felt these delays…

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The European Institute for Gender Equality defines sexual harassment as follows: “any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature occurs, with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person, in particular when creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment”. Harassment stems from power, and it is meant to control either psychologically or sexually. In both instances, victims often feel confused, alone, and uncertain about whether they caused the abuse.

As a historian, I aim to understand how women in the past experienced and tackled intimidating behaviour. Particularly, I am looking at harassment during confession in 18th-century Italy. Catholic women approached this sacrament to share doubts and hopes about subjects ranging from reproduction to menstruation, but at times were met with patronising remarks that unsettled them.

A power imbalance

The Vatican archives show us that some of the men who made these remarks…

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A longtime Catholic priest in the Birmingham area has been removed from the clerical state following allegations that he began a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl more than 15 years ago, the Diocese of Birmingham confirmed this week.

Father Robert Sullivan, 61, served as vicar general for the diocese and pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Homewood until he was placed on administrative leave in early August amid the claims. The accuser, Heather Jones, now 33, alleged the exploitative arrangement started around 2009 when she was 17 and working at an adult entertainment club near Birmingham that Sullivan frequented. Jones detailed years of sexual encounters, travel, financial support and a nondisclosure agreement for $273,000 after she raised concerns, according to her public account submitted to the diocese.

The stark 44-year age gap between Sullivan, ordained in 1993 after seminary training, and the teenager has drawn scrutiny amid…

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Fear and Spiritual Blackmail at St. Anthony’s

Many thanks to Nick Welsh for his recent article about “Sexual Predators in the Vatican and the White House.” His reporting on sexual abuse of minors by priests at St. Anthony’s Seminary in Santa Barbara and by wealthy businessmen and politicians, likely including the U.S. President, captures key factors that allow sexual abuse to go under-reported and under-prosecuted. Being in positions of authority and lacking empathy and ethics seem to be the common elements.

Hosting Planned Parenthood’s “Speaking of Sex” radio show on KCSB from the early 1990s through the early 2000s, I interviewed the parents of three boys who were molested by clergy at St. Anthony’s. Under pressure from the then adult survivors and their parents, the Franciscan Order had established an independent board to investigate and report on numerous allegations. Professional therapists, parents of some victims, and others on the…

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The brother of Latter-day Saint apostle, President D. Todd Christofferson, has been charged with sexual exploitation crimes against minors.

Documents show Wade S. Christofferson, 72, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, just before 8 p.m. According to the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office, he was booked by the FBI on a warrant.

According to public records obtained by ABC4, Wade S. Christofferson currently lives in Dublin, Ohio, and is the brother of President D. Todd Christofferson of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In an obituary for Elder Christofferson’s father, Paul Christofferson, Wade is listed as a surviving child, along with D. Todd Christofferson.

Wade Christofferson is being charged with at least 20 offenses including attempting to sexually exploit a minor with coercion and enticement.

Charging documents allege Christofferson sexually abused a…

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A recent lawsuit claims leaders of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, ignored repeated warnings about child sexual abuse and domestic violence and pressured a mother to keep her children in harm’s way. The suit’s allegations fit a pattern formerly reported by The Roys Report (TRR) that the church led by the late John MacArthur allegedly protected child abusers, while gaslighting and punishing their victims.

The 25-page complaint, filed in California’s Superior Court on Sept. 29, alleges the church went out of its way to protect a father who then abused his daughter during supervised visits.

It lists incident after incident where church leaders allegedly excused and explained away ongoing sexual molestation of the couple’s oldest daughter by the father, while gaslighting the mother’s efforts to stop it.

The new lawsuit is filed by one “Jane Doe” and her three children. It alleges her husband, Clinton Jung, sexually abused the couple’s…

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An attorney for former president Joseph Nyre said the New Jersey school is trying to “silence the truth.”

An investigation ordered by a high-ranking cardinal into clergy abuse at one of the country’s top Catholic universities seemed poised to clear a major hurdle when lawyers sat down last week with a key figure holding potentially damning information.

But for the second time in six months, nothing happened when former Seton Hall University president Joseph Nyre was ready to dish — and his attorney says it’s because the school is trying to “silence the truth.” Nyre showed up, the attorney said, but school officials effectively blocked him from answering any questions.

It’s the latest point of conflict in an investigation spurred by POLITICO’s reporting on Seton Hall’s current president, Monsignor Joseph Reilly, who was named to the position despite previously facing allegations he mishandled sexual abuse claims on campus….

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The Diocese of Laredo announced on Friday that one of its priests was suspended in May after it was notified of accusations of sexual misconduct with a minor.

In a statement, the Diocese of Laredo shared that the accusation was made against Fr. Luis Mares in May of this year. The claim alleged the incident happened 18 years ago while Mares was a priest for the Diocese of Piedras Negras in Mexico.

The statement also shared that the Diocese of Piedras Negras promptly relayed the information about the accusation to Bishop James Tamayo of the Diocese of Laredo, where Fr. Mares had been incardinated as a priest in 2022.

The Diocese of Laredo stated that upon receiving notification of the accusation on May 19, 2025, Bishop James Tamayo, that same day, informed Fr. Mares that his faculties as a priest were temporarily suspended in the Diocese of Laredo pending a…

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A former central Florida pastor already facing charges of sexual abuse and molestation of minors faces additional counts related to crimes that allegedly occurred at his home in DeBary.

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office (VSO) announced on Nov. 21 that Yersson Solarte Basto, 33, was initially arrested on five counts of sexual battery on a victim under the age of 18. Investigators say Solarte exploited his position of trust within the church to groom and coerce the victim into multiple instances of sexual abuse.

VSO said that Solarte was first arrested on May 7 by the Prince William County Police Department in Virginia in connection with allegations stemming from his Sanford congregation. He has since been transferred to the Volusia County Branch Jail, where he is being held without bond.

See also: Drone surveillance leads to arrest in West Palm Beach cocaine sting

According to VSO, the…

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A Texas appeals court has temporarily halted proceedings in a high-profile lawsuit alleging defamation by Gateway Church, saying it will consider arguments that the case intrudes into constitutionally protected church autonomy.

If ultimately successful, those arguments could have wide implications for how far courts can go in reviewing interior communications inside a church relating to child abuse.

The Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas issued the stay Nov. 21, pausing the lawsuit between plaintiffs Cindy Clemishire and her father, Jerry Clemishire, and defendants Gateway Church and three of its independent elders.

The order leaves the pause in effect while the court reviews Gateway’s petition for a writ of mandamus challenging the trial court’s jurisdiction.

The Clemishires sued when Gateway in June 2024 responded internally and publicly to allegations founding pastor Robert Morris sexually abused Cindy Clemishire in the 1980s, beginning when she was 12.

Morris, who resigned from Gateway in June…

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James M. O’Toole traces the collapse of confession in America

“Seldom does history offer an example of a practice undertaken for so long by so many that collapsed so quickly,” writes James O’Toole of confession. “The question is why.” For I Have Sinned is his eloquent, thoroughly researched answer.

From the beginning of the twentieth century into the 1950s, regular confession was what O’Toole, a distinguished historian who taught for many years at Boston College, calls a “defining characteristic” of American Catholic religious life. If Sunday was for Communion, Saturday was for confession, and most Catholics were reluctant to take Communion if they had not gone to confession. 

But in the late 1960s, seemingly all at once, regular confession became the exception, not the norm. By the end of the twentieth century, penance—rechristened reconciliation after Vatican II—had become a “ghost sacrament,” as a priest quoted by O’Toole puts it. It lingered…

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Diocese leadership had suspicions of “inappropriate boundaries” nearly two years before charges were filed.

A central Minnesota Roman Catholic priest has been charged with sexually and physically assaulting a woman who had received his spiritual guidance.

Joseph Paul Herzing, 61, of Milaca was charged Wednesday in Stearns County District Court with one count each of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and stalking, and three counts of threats of violence in connection with the abuse and intimidation that spanned from 2018 to 2022.

The Minnesota Star Tribune contacted Herzing on Friday for a response to the allegations, and he said, “I’ve been told I can’t say anything.”

Herzing, who said he has yet to retain legal counsel, declined to reveal who told him to keep quiet about the case. In the meantime, he is charged by summons and has a Dec. 29 court date scheduled.

Prosecutors say that in August 2024 St….

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University authorities, including the rector, initially denied there was a complaint of sexual assault, media reports say

A Catholic university in Flores, Indonesia, has announced the dismissal of a priest after an internal investigation found he was involved in the sexual assault of a female student.

The priest, whose name has not been revealed, was a lecturer at the Catholic University of Indonesia, Saint Paulus Ruteng, and was dismissed a fortnight ago, said the university rector Father Agustinus Manfred Habur on Nov. 27.

The announcement came a day after local media outlets carried reports of the alleged crime.

Habur said the Saint Paul Foundation’s board of directors dismissed the priest on Nov. 12.

Earlier, the priest was relieved of his duties as a lecturer on Nov. 6, more than six months after the victim “contacted the campus psychology service for consultation regarding the alleged sexual assault,” he added.

This, Habur said,…

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The accused and the two victims were known to one another, police say

Provincial police in Elgin County have charged a Southwold man who formerly worked at a St. Thomas elementary school following an investigation into an alleged sexual luring incident.

Elgin County OPP announced the charges Wednesday afternoon, accusing a 59-year-old man of sexual misconduct and charging him with two counts each of communicating with anyone for the purpose of obtaining sexual services, and communicating with someone under 18 years old for the same reason.

The London District Catholic School Board (LDCSB) has confirmed the man did, in the past, work at one of its elementary schools.

In a letter to parents it shared with CBC News, the school board said the accused “was in our school through a third party (not as a LDCSB employee).”

Police first began investigating after being called to a Southwold Township address following the…

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In short: 

Regional Anglican dioceses are facing financial strain after paying compensation to abuse victim-survivors. 

In the Ballarat diocese, seven properties have been sold and a parish has been closed.

What’s next?

The Anglican Bishop of Ballarat Garry Weatherill says about $6 million has been paid out already and anticipates more than $1 million remains to be paid to more claimants.Link copiedShare article

The Anglican Bishop of Ballarat says regional dioceses around Australia are facing financial pressure and potential closure due to having to pay millions of dollars to abuse victim-survivors. 

In his 2025 “presidential address” Bishop Garry Weatherill said his diocese is in a “very difficult” financial position after having to pay almost $6 million to survivors of abuse over the past decade. 

He said the diocese had sold all of its Ballarat properties and one in Warrnambool to help pay victim-survivors through civil claims and a redress scheme.

The…

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Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś is heading to Poland’s best-known archdiocese

In a blow to fans of ecclesiastical nicknames, Pope Leo XIV has named the Polish churchman dubbed the “Lynx of Łódź” as the next Archbishop of Kraków.

Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, whose surname means “Lynx” in Polish, has led the Archdiocese of Łódź since 2017. The pope appointed him Nov. 26 as the archbishop of Poland’s best-known archdiocese, whose previous leaders include Karol Wojtyła, who became Pope John Paul II.

Was the cardinal’s move to Kraków unexpected? Where does Ryś sit on the ecclesiastical spectrum? And what are people saying about the appointment?

Let’s take a closer look.

An unexpected appointment?

Polish Catholics have considered Ryś a possible successor to Kraków Archbishop Marek Jędraszewski since at least July 2023, when Pope Francis unexpectedly named Ryś a cardinal.

Francis did not exactly shower Poland with red hats during his almost 13-year pontificate, so it was…

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Robert Sullivan’s self-imposed removal comes after accusations he provided financial support in exchange for arrangement which included sex

A longtime Roman Catholic priest in Alabama has voluntarily left the clergy after a woman alleged to his superiors that he provided her financial support in exchange for “private companionship” including sex beginning when she was 17.

Robert Sullivan’s self-imposed removal from the priesthood – known as laicization – was announced Wednesday, the day before the US holiday of Thanksgiving, in a public statement from Birmingham, Alabama, by Bishop Steven Raica.

The woman who accused Sullivan, Heather Jones, filed her allegations in a formal written statement to the Birmingham diocese that she then shared exclusively with the Guardian in August. Jones, now 33, also maintained that Sullivan had paid her hundreds of thousands of dollars to remain silent about their arrangement, backing up her claim with financial and email records, along with a copy…

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[Editor’s Note: Timothy Quigley, a long-time reader and one-time contributor to WPI, reached out to me recently to ask that we help share his new project, which is an opportunity to accompany him as he journeys his personal “Stations of the Cross.” Timothy is a survivor of clergy sexual abuse, and he will chronicle his journey on his Substack page (Link). You can sign up to receive the newsletter emails here. Please keep Timothy and all survivors in your prayers. —ML] 

Have you felt like you want to accompany survivors of clergy sexual abuse but don’t know how? Does the scandal all feel like so much that you fear that, if you looked at it too closely, it would break your faith? Walk with me during my passion. I will be putting up various posts this week to help you walk alongside me. These will…

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“This is a path to continue, seeking to involve the entire Church, but also civil society. Without wanting to give lessons to anyone, we believe that this process, with the help of such competent people we had and the path we have followed, is the way to follow in this country,” stated José Ornelas, the bishop of the Diocese of Leiria-Fátima.

The prelate was speaking at the opening of the international congress “From Reflection to Action: The Role of the Catholic Church in Preventing and Responding to Sexual Violence,” held in Fátima.

“I ask and hope that we have, with this process, also contributed to the recognition in Portugal of the need to work,” so that children “can have a future with hope and life,” he added.

In his speech, José Ornelas referred to the work of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP) in this area, reiterating that, “from the beginning,…

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[See PDF of statement.]

November 26, 2025

In light of complaints made against him in July of this year, Father Robert J. Sullivan, of his own accord, submitted a petition to Pope Leo, requesting that he be dispensed from all the obligations arising from Holy Orders. As is the standard process for such petitions, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith studied the request and presented the petition to the Holy Father, who subsequently granted the dispensation. With communication of Pope Leo’s decision on November 24, 2025, Robert J. Sullivan is no longer a cleric in the Catholic Church and, thus, will no longer exercise ordained ministry.

The canonical investigation of the allegations, referred to the Dicastery in late summer, now concludes with this dispensation. A diocesan financial review, initiated at my request due to the significant payments alleged to have been made by then-Father Sullivan, was recently…

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HOMEWOOD, Ala. (WIAT) — An Alabama priest who was put on leave in August after a woman claimed he began a sexual relationship with her when she was 17 has been removed from the clergy by Pope Leo, according to the Catholic Diocese of Birmingham.

“In light of complaints made against him in July of this year, Father Robert J. Sullivan, of his own accord, submitted a petition to Pope Leo, requesting that he be dispensed from all the obligations arising from Holy Orders,” Bishop Steven Raica said in a statement Wednesday.

According to Raica, Pope Leo’s decision to remove Sullivan from the clergy was communicated Monday.

“The canonical investigation of the allegations, referred to the Dicastery in late summer, now concludes with this dispensation,” Raica’s statement continued. “A diocesan financial review, initiated at my request due to the significant payments alleged to have been made by then-Father Sullivan,…

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Bishop Emeritus Rafael Zornoza, the former bishop of Cádiz and Ceuta, has insisted he is innocent of allegations that he sexually abused a young boy when the alleged victim was aged between 14-21.

Following the acceptance of his resignation and an appointment of an apostolic administrator by Pope Leo XIV over the weekend, the Diocese of Cádiz and Ceuta published a statement from Zornoza in which he thanked the Holy Father and insisted he was going to fight the allegations.

“I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Pope Leo XIV for his understanding and paternal closeness, in granting me the power to dedicate myself fully to the medical treatments required by my current state of health, as well as to attend with serenity and trust in God to my defense against an unjust and false accusation, which is being studied by the Church,” he said.

Zornoza was accused of…

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The prosecutor called it “truly heartbreaking” that justice was delayed for several years and explained why charges were not brought against preachers for failing to report a member’s crimes.

DULUTH — Leaders of a local church were warned about their obligation to report allegations of child sexual abuse to authorities several years before investigators learned of the full scope of a member’s crimes, according to a new report.

But even with the benefit of hindsight, Deputy St. Louis County Attorney Jon Holets said he doesn’t believe police and prosecutors could have handled the case against Clint Franklin Massie any differently.

“Child sexual abuse cases are always challenging,” Holets told the News Tribune this week. “This case presented even greater challenges and pressures on victims.”

An investigation into Massie and the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church was published last week by ProPublica, a national, nonprofit investigative journalism outlet, in conjunction…

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I knew NOTHING about the pastors and leaders in the SBC church in the 7 years I attended there. They wore masks.

This is going to be a short screed by Dee. Let me start by saying that I am the worst example of doing the thing I am warning parents and grandparents about. I was first a member of an almost megachurch in Chapel Hill. Then, I attended a growing megachurch in Dallas. My children were babies, toddlers, and school-age as they grew up in these churches. I can say that there was no abuse reported or rumored in these churches. Then, I moved to Raleigh and joined an SBC almost-megachurch. At this church, I allowed them to attend summer camp and participate in a variety of activities and Bible studies. In ALL of these cases, I trusted those who ran the churches.

However, in that final SBC church…

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A Texas appeals court has temporarily halted proceedings in a high-profile lawsuit alleging defamation by Gateway Church, saying it will consider arguments that the case intrudes into constitutionally protected church autonomy.

If ultimately successful, those arguments could have wide implications for how far courts can go in reviewing interior communications inside a church relating to child abuse.

The Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas issued the stay Nov. 21, pausing the lawsuit between plaintiffs Cindy Clemishire and her father, Jerry Clemishire, and defendants Gateway Church and three of its independent elders.

The order leaves the pause in effect while the court reviews Gateway’s petition for a writ of mandamus challenging the trial court’s jurisdiction.

The Clemishires sued when Gateway in June 2024 responded internally and publicly to allegations founding pastor Robert Morris sexually abused Cindy Clemishire in the 1980s, beginning when she was 12.

Morris, who resigned from Gateway in June…

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Multiple lawsuits allege that the Archdiocese of Chicago kept two priests in active ministry in spite of years of “mounting complaints” of child sexual abuse leveled against them.

The suits, filed by the Chicago-based law firm Gould, Grieco, & Hensley, allege that archdiocesan officials allowed Father Daniel Holihan and Father John Curran to continue ministry “even after Church officials were aware of their history abusing children.”

The suits were filed on behalf of students from two archdiocesan schools, Quigley Preparatory Seminary and St. Christina Catholic School. Holihan is alleged to have abused a male student at the now-closed preparatory seminary during the 1980s, while Curran allegedly abused two students at St. Christina around the same time.

The law firm claims the archdiocese had been warned about both Holihan and Curran as early as the 1960s. The alleged abuse victims said they were unaware of the archdiocese’s alleged prior…

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A new lawsuit alleges that Grace Community Church of Sun Valley, California, a prominent nondenominational church once led by John MacArthur, aided and abetted a child abuser.

A plaintiff identified as Jane Doe and three minors identified as “J.J.,” “A.J.,” and “R.J.” filed a complaint for damages against GCC and an individual named Clinton Jung in the Superior Court of the State of California in Sacramento County back in September.

According to the complaint, a copy of which was provided to The Christian Post on Nov. 17, Doe was married to Jung and had reported to Grace Community leaders in early 2021 that he had sexually abused their toddler-aged daughter.

Doe alleges that GCC leadership attempted to conceal Jung’s abusive behavior despite being legally required to report such abuse to authorities and told her to “submit” to Jung’s authority as he continued to abuse her and their children.

“At numerous…

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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel today secured an agreement (PDF) with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) ensuring DOJ will not apply alarming restrictions to critical Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) and Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) services supporting survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. Last month, Attorney General Nessel and a coalition of 20 other attorneys general sued DOJ over unlawful new conditions that threatened to cut off critical legal services for survivors who could not immediately prove their immigration status. As a result of the lawsuit, DOJ reversed course and today agreed to a binding resolution guaranteeing the federal government will not apply the restrictions to states’ VOCA Victim Assistance and VAWA funds and ensuring that survivors can continue to rely on these crucial supports, regardless of immigration status.  

“Crime victims, regardless of their immigration status, deserve support, and I am relieved that our lawsuit forced…

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A Tucson pastor accused of failing to report alleged child sex crimes must be evaluated for competency before he stands trial, a Pima County judge ordered Monday. 

Superior Court Judge Mark Hotchkiss agreed with a request by Pastor Isaac Noriega’s attorney that his client should be medically evaluated.

In a Nov. 12 court filing, attorney Douglas W. Taylor argued that Noriega, 83, is incompetent to stand trial due to dementia. He cited a doctor’s report saying Noriega has “late phase mild stage dementia, currently progressing into moderate stage dementia.”

Two doctors, one chosen by the defense and another by the court, will evaluate Noriega before a Jan. 26 competency hearing. 

Noriega, longtime pastor of Golden Dawn Tabernacle on Tucson’s south side, was arrested in June and charged with two counts of failure to report child abuse or neglect of a minor, one felony count and one misdemeanor. He faces up…

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A civil lawsuit filed in April accuses a local recovery program and a religious counselor of sexually abusing five men enrolled in a court-mandated treatment program, according to court documents obtained by KFOX14/CBS4 on Monday.

According to the lawsuit, five former residents of Casa Vida de Salud say they were groomed, assaulted, and threatened by Jorge Gabriel Giorgetti, aka George Gabriel Georgetti, a chaplain and recovery coach who worked closely with residents.

The Recovery Alliance of El Paso, a non-profit organization, operates residential and sober living recovery programs for those struggling with substance use and addiction, including Casa Vida, a 37-bed residential recovery center in central El Paso, according to its website.

In the lawsuit, five men say that through the summer of 2024, a spiritual advisor, Giorgetti, used his authority over them to serially abuse them.

The lawsuit alleges Giorgetti would routinely question residents of Casa Vida, including the…

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A woman has accused self-proclaimed Kenyan-American prophet Lovy Elias of years of sexual exploitation, spiritual abuse, and financial manipulation involving her and multiple other women.

Elias, 39, a songwriter who leads the Revelation Church LA, in Simi Valley, California, claims to hear from God himself and has widespread influence with more than 2 million followers on Facebook and Instagram. He started his church in 2013 in his living room in nearby Woodland Hills.

The woman, who identifies as Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit against Elias earlier this month in Los Angeles County’s Superior Court. She also accused Revelation Church of knowing about Elias’s activities but failing to take any action.

Doe alleges that Elias used his authority as a pastor to manipulate her into a sexual relationship, which began in 2022. Elias, who had divorced in 2017, purposefully misrepresented his…

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