ABUSE TRACKER

One of the church’s leading experts on safeguarding and clerical sexual abuse has said the exclusion of women from seminary formation has had “extremely harmful consequences,” and this “needs to change.”

Jesuit Father Hans Zollner told more than 200 people at a “Stolen Lives” webinar that “the role of women has been to clean up the mess that men have made.” The webinar was organized by the Root & Branch lay reform movement in Britain in conjunction with Survivor Voices and Scottish Laity Network.

Zollner said he regretted that workshops on safeguarding are attended mostly by women. “It seems that men are not only in the great majority responsible for the big mess and the hurt, but they also run away from facing that reality.”

The priest, director of the Institute of Anthropology Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care at the Pontifical Gregorian University and a member of the…

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A survivor of abuse says churches have missed a golden opportunity to really reflect on how Aotearoa-New Zealand came to have such an appalling record of abuse of people in care.

Faith-based organisations were given a chance to respond at the recent final public hearing of the Royal Commission in to Abuse in care.

Jacinda Thompson suffered sexual harassment by her Anglican minister in the early 2000’s, and she has given evidence to the inquiry.

She said that while abuse itself was condemned, most church leaders failed to accept responsibility for allowing it to flourish in the first place.

Thompson had hoped the churches would respond by taking a good hard look at themselves, look at their teachings and the part churches played.

”I was sure that the churches would know the value of genuine repentance and change. Without this how could they expect to rebuild people’s trust in their…

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Audit details potential irregularities in which nearly $400,000 of church congregants’ funds were allegedly misused

A Catholic priest who led one of New Orleans’ best-known inner-city churches until being accused of sexually molesting a child has been reported to federal authorities for possible financial crimes after an audit found he spent nearly $400,000 of his congregants’ money in questionable ways.

John Asare-Dankwah ran the St Peter Claver church in New Orleans’ historic Treme neighborhood from 2014 until early 2021, when a lawsuit alleging that he raped a boy on an out-of-state overnight trip years earlier prompted church officials to indefinitely suspend him from his role.

Asare-Dankwah, 62, has denied the rape accusation. But his financial stewardship at St Peter Claver – whose parishioners grapple with high levels of poverty and gun violence – also fell under scrutiny after the city’s archdiocese in 2020 became the oldest in the…

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Archdiocesan authorities have stripped Father Karole Reward Israel of priestly functions pending investigations

The recent arrest of a Filipino priest for alleged sexual molestation and blackmail of a 16-year-old church volunteer has come as a surprise for the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao in the northern Philippines.

Father Karole Reward Israel, 29, a newly ordained cleric who received his assignment sometime in May 2021, has been stripped of his priestly functions pending investigations and a trial.

“The archdiocese will fully cooperate with the prosecution service towards the conduct of an unbiased preliminary investigation and will also extend its assistance to our priest,” the archdiocese said in a statement.

Israel’s arrest by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Oct. 20 was made public two days later. Authorities said the clergyman had molested the victim several times.

“We formed a team of NBI officers who followed the priest and his minor victim…

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The French bishops’ conference overhauled its agenda for its November plenary meeting to deal with “the anger, shame, powerlessness (and) incomprehension” they and their people felt after discovering that a bishop allowed by the Vatican to retire actually was disciplined for sexual abuse.

Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort of Reims, president of the bishops’ conference, announced the changed agenda Nov. 3 and urged his fellow bishops to have as their first concern “the victims, those who spoke out two years ago and more recently, and those, perhaps, who have not yet made themselves known.”

The archbishop was referring to the case of retired Bishop Michel Santier of Créteil. When the Vatican announced in 2021 that the bishop was retiring, the bishop had said it was for health reasons. No one contradicted him publicly until mid-October, when the Diocese of Créteil confirmed he had been credibly accused of sexual misconduct and disciplined…

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Editor’s note: this story has been updated to clarify the appeals court order, which halts any action in the case until further notice.

The Missouri Court of Appeals has ordered a Cedar County judge to halt all further action in the Agape Boarding School case until it issues a final decision on a recent motion.

“You are directed to refrain from taking further action,” the appellate court wrote in a ruling that was issued Wednesday, “ … until further order of this court.”

In what is called a preliminary writ of prohibition, the appellate court said the only action Associate Judge Thomas Pyle could take in the case is to vacate his Oct. 12 order that the state appoint a guardian ad litem for each Agape student and to include all the parents as parties to the AG’s petition to shut down the school. Late last month there…

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A priest in the Somascan Order has apparently been removed from his post as pastor at a Houston parish after several New Hampshire lawsuits allege sexual abuse at the Somascan-run home Pine Haven home for troubled boys in Allenstown.

Fr. Albert Zanatta, a member of the Somascan order who once served at Pine Haven, is still listed on the Houston Assumption Parish website as the pastor, though recent editions of the parish weekly bulletin indicate he is no longer serving in that capacity.

There has been no public statement about Zanatta’s status from either the Somascan order, nor any from representatives from the Galveston-Houston Roman Catholic Archdiocese. InDepthNH.org has made several calls to the archdiocesan media representatives, Jo Ann Zuniga and Jonah Dycus, without any response.

InDepthNH.org has repeatedly attempted to speak to Zanatta, but he has not returned any of the calls or messages left for him.

The only…

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Fr. Andrew Small, secretary of the Vatican’s child protection committee, talks about sexual abuse and Church reform.

Fr. Andrew Small was appointed in June to one of the most important positions in the Catholic Church’s fight against abuse.

The English priest was named secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors pro tempore (“for the time being”) at a significant moment of transition for the body founded by Pope Francis in 2014.

The decree establishing the commission eight years ago defined its “specific task” as advising the pope on “the most opportune initiatives for protecting minors and vulnerable adults.”

In 2019, Pope Francis took another significant step when he issued the motu proprio Vos estis lux mundi, setting out new norms for combating abuse and holding Church leaders accountable for their handling of cases. Article 2 of the document called on all dioceses to establish a “public, stable and easily accessible” system for…

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In speaking to worshippers at Broadmoor Baptist Church in Madison, Mississippi, on Sunday, Lead Pastor Josh Braddy presented several action steps toward addressing a decades-old case of sexual abuse to which he and other church leaders believe “a more thorough response was warranted.”

The case centers around a former member of Broadmoor’s youth group who approached church leaders recently over abuse she suffered from the youth minister during the 1980s.

Allegations include abuse and inaction by staff. Current church leadership has committed itself to investigating the charges, updating current policies and procedures and, if need be, assisting in the survivor’s legal defense should there be a lawsuit brought over violating a non-disclosure agreement with the alleged perpetrator.

“Many times we ask ourselves, ‘What in the world, God, do you want from me?’” Braddy said toward the end the morning worship service. “I always go to one verse that leads me…

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In a video posted to his social media accounts, Brian Houston, the former leader of the Hillsong global megachurch and media empire, lashed out at the leaders of the church he co-founded, saying their public allegations against him had made his position as pastor “untenable.”

“The media and others incorrectly say I resigned because I breached the Hillsong code of conduct, but that’s just not true,” Houston said in the studio-shot video posted to his Facebook on Thursday afternoon (Nov. 3) in Australia. “I didn’t resign because of my mistakes. I resigned because of the announcements and statements that had been made.”

Houston, 68, who co-founded Hillsong with his wife, Bobbie Houston, in Australia in 1983, resigned from his position as global senior pastor March 21, less than a week after the church’s board revealed in a statement that he had sent inappropriate text messages to a staff member and had spent…

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A Langley woman has filed a lawsuit against Northside Foursquare Church and pastor Barry Buzza, claiming the pastor sexually abused her and subjected her to “psychological, spiritual, and sexual grooming, abuse and exploitation.”

The lawsuit also alleges Buzza used his privilege and power as her pastor and as the woman’s father figure to gain her trust when she was most vulnerable.

“The grooming and sexual exploitation was perpetrated through Buzza’s coercion, manipulation and exploitation of his position of power and control over the plaintiff,” the claim stated.

The woman, identified in court documents as A.B., is claiming damages against Buzza, the Lansdowne Drive church, and its parent organization Foursquare Gospel Church of Canada in the notice of civil claim filed in the B.C. Supreme Court on Oct. 18.

The claim alleges, among other things, that Reverend Buzza was the one who baptized A.B. a year after she began attending the…

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The Diocese of Rochester has reached a settlement with sex abuse survivors, resolving a Chapter 11 case.

The Diocese will pay $55 million to a trust to benefit sexual abuse survivors.

More than 450 sexual abuse survivors asserted claims.

Survivors will also be able to pursue claims in court against the Diocese.

Bishop Salvatore R. Matano released a statement Thursday, saying:

“We believe that this Restructuring Support Agreement represents the fairest approach for the survivors and most viable path forward for the Diocese and its related Catholic entities to continue our shared mission of healing and reconciliation.

“Once again, while I know my words may seem hollow, simply repeating a rehearsed apology, I renew with sincerity my deep apology to the survivors of sexual abuse. The history of sexual abuse of children in our Church has caused tremendous pain, hardship, alienation, and understandable anger. It has seriously impacted survivors, their families,…

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester will pay $55 million to survivors of sexual abuse committed by clergy members under a settlement announced by church officials.

The diocese, which declared bankruptcy in 2019 after hundreds of lawsuits were filed against it under the state’s Child Victims Act, will create a trust for abuse survivors, Rochester Bishop Salvatore Matano said Thursday. Survivors may also be able to pursue further claims with the diocese’s insurers, Matano said.

The settlement was negotiated with abuse survivors and is subject to bankruptcy court approval.

Matano, whose diocese was the first in New York state to seek bankruptcy protection under the weight of abuse lawsuits, apologized to survivors in a “Letter to the Faithful.”

“The history of sexual abuse of children in our Church has caused tremendous pain, hardship, alienation, and understandable anger. It seriously has impacted survivors, their families, our priests and others in diocesan…

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester has reached a $55 million settlement with hundreds of clergy abuse survivors.

More than 450 sexual abuse claims were filed in connection with the case against the Diocese over the past three years, many of them in response to the Child Victims Act, which extended the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse cases. 

The Diocese filed for bankruptcy in 2019. It was the first in New York State to do so.

Under the terms of the settlement, the Diocese “and related entities” will pay $55 million into a trust for the survivors, many of whom will be able to pursue further claims in court against the Diocese’s insurers.

A previously-offered $106 million settlement with those insurers was “deemed inadequate” by the committee representing the survivors. The new settlement does not include any of that money.

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The Official Creditors Committee in the Diocese of Rochester Catholic bankruptcy case has reached a settlement with the Diocese after more than three years of litigation.

The settlement is a first of its kind in a New York Catholic bankruptcy case where three other diocesan bankruptcies are pending—Diocese of Syracuse, Buffalo and Rockville Centre. The Committee, appointed by the United States Trustee, represents the interests of approximately 475 sexual abuse survivors who asserted child sexual abuse claims against the Diocese.

The settlement consists of three main components: a $55 million payment from the Diocese and parishes; the ability for survivors to pursue additional assets from the insurance companies; and establishes a trust for the benefit of survivors of sexual abuse.

The Diocese previously announced a settlement of approximately $106 million with its insurers, which the Committee deemed inadequate.

Under the new settlement, the insurance policies will be assigned to a…

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After a torturous three years in Bankruptcy Court and many months of talks, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester and more than 400 sexual abuse survivors with claims in the diocese’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy have agreed to terms.

The settlement agreement is an important step but far from the final chapter in the Rochester diocese’s hard-fought bankruptcy.

“There’s still a long road ahead,” predicts James Cali, chairman of the bankruptcy’s official creditors committee.

Formed by the U.S. Trustee to represent survivors’ interests, the creditors committee worked out the settlement’s terms with the diocese.

Anticipating a flood of claims under the New York Child Victims Act, the diocese asked for court protection in September 2019, a month after the CVA took effect.

The CVA temporarily lifted a statute of limitations that had kept survivors of long-past abuse suffered as children from going after their abusers. A virtual tsunami of CVA cases…

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The so-called “Santier affair” is overshadowing the autumn plenary of the Catholic episcopal conference of France, as people demand answers from their Church leaders

One year after the French Bishop’s Conference (CEF) held a very intense plenary assembly, during which its members took institutional responsibility for the Church’s sex abuse crisis, the bishops are once again meeting amidst public anger over the “Michel Santier affair”, an abuse case concerning one of their retired confreres.

Santier, former bishop of the Créteil diocese in the outskirts of Paris, was disciplined by the Vatican in 2021 for acts of “voyeurism” that were aggravated by the misuse of his spiritual authority and the sacraments. But the canonical sanctions remained secret and were only revealed recently by the press. This has caused bewilderment and anger among members of the French Catholic Church, which now seems to be careening from one crisis to another.

The bishops,…

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Un joven contó por primera vez en un programa de televisión cómo Julio César Grassi había abusado sexualmente de él. El cura mediático, que supo aprovechar los beneficios del menemismo, fue condenado a 15 años de prisión por abuso sexual. Si bien hoy pasa sus días en una cárcel común, no dejó de recibir protección de la iglesia que, hasta la actualidad, continúa encubriendo a sus criminales sexuales.

A pocos días de asumir como jefe de la Iglesia Católica, Jorge Bergoglio afirmaba que no daría “un paso atrás” en lo referido a “esos problemas” porque “con los chicos no se juega”. Frente a la notoriedad pública que cobraban los abusos sexuales cometidos por integrantes de la Iglesia Católica alrededor del mundo, Bergoglio intentó maquillar la responsabilidad de la jerarquía eclesiástica en el encubrimiento de los abusadores con algunas reformas. Muchos de estos criminales siguen gozando de la protección del Vaticano. Uno de ellos es Julio…

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Every diocese has its own list of credibly accused clergy of sexual abuse. But just because the list exists doesn’t mean it’s a good one. What matters most about any church offender list is one criterion: Is every predator on the list that SHOULD be on the list? 

We at Horowitz Law have repeatedly found that proven, admitted, or credibly accused clerics whose identities have been made public elsewhere via news coverage, court records, and church documents go unmentioned on a diocesan list where they also worked or lived. With that being said, is the Diocese of Monterey’s list complete? Bishop Daniel Garcia falls far short.

Historically, the most accurate and thorough lists of accused Catholic clerics are found on www.Bishopaccountability.org. At least six clerics listed on BA’s list are not named on Monterey’s accused list. These six clerics have been inexplicably left off the official Monterey diocesan accused list. 

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Evil and scandal abound in the churches today — but there is real hope

Last night at bedtime, I got to scrolling Twitter, which is stupid, and happened on stories which are hard to take, but have to be confronted, somehow.

I was reminded that I almost never hear about corruption in the Orthodox Church institution almost entirely because a) the Orthodox Church is tiny in the West, and b) I don’t speak languages used in the Orthodox world, so I can’t read their media. This Catholic twitter account @tomsdigest shows up on my Twitter feed so often that for a very long time I assumed I was following him. Only last night did I realize that I wasn’t, so I started to follow him, and my timeline blew up with really interesting news and commentary by him about issues related to Catholicism and other churches. It was there that I…

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Steubenville priests have urged the USCCB to consult before weighing in on the future of their diocese.

Clergy in the Diocese of Steubenville, Ohio, have asked USCCB officials to delay a consultative vote on the prospect of merging their diocese into the neighboring Diocese of Columbus.

The vote – scheduled for a Nov. 14-17 meeting of U.S. bishops – would come before laity and clergy in Steubenville have been adequately consulted on a plan that would significantly impact their spiritual lives, according to an Oct. 28 letter signed by 18 priests and deacons of the Steubenville diocese.

“We ask Your Excellencies and your brothers in the episcopate to delay the November vote on the proposed merger so that we and our laity may participate in this process that so directly greatly impacts our relationship with the Church and each other,” the clerics wrote, in a letter sent to Archbishop Jose…

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Despite commissioning multiple investigations, the Catholic Church is still to resolve allegations a priest knew about paedophile clergyman Neville Joseph Creen’s abuse of a school girl in the 1980s.

Key points:

• The church has failed to resolve the complaint and has now commissioned another report
• Father Creen was convicted of multiple offences of abusing young girls in the 1970s and 1980s
• Father Lancini denies claims a victim of Creen told him she had been abused

Two independent reviews and investigations have so far been undertaken by the Church and a third is under way into a complaint by Townsville woman Kathleen Walsh who was abused by former Catholic priest Neville Creen in the 1970s and 1980s.

Ms Walsh alleged that as a 16-year-old in the early 1980s she met with then Mount Isa priest Father Dave Lancini and told him that Creen had “touched” her when she was a school girl.

She alleged Fr Lancini disregarded her disclosure.

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Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, condemned digital pornography while speaking at the Vatican about social media use.

The pope spoke to and answered questions from a group of seminarians and priests studying in Rome, Italy, on Monday, Oct. 24, according to the full text of the event published on Vatican City’s website.

 One person asked the pope how priests and those considering becoming priests should use social media, the text of the event says.

After instructing people to use digital technology “to advance, to communicate,” the pope turned his attention to the topic of digital pornography, The Guardian reported.

Pornography, the pope said, “is a vice that has so many people, so many lay people, so many lay women and also priests and nuns,” according to a translation by Sky News.

The pope said he realized this reality and condemned the behavior, saying both “criminal pornography like…

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Retired Roman Catholic priest Maurice Praught, 69, is facing multiple sexual assault charges stemming from alleged incidents on P.E.I. in the 1990s.

On May 17, 2022, police were told about several incidents of alleged sexual assaults against a minor involving a 69-year-old man, which are alleged to have occurred between 1990 and 2010 in Summerside P.E.I., according to the RCMP.

When Summerside Police Services started investigating, it learned offences had also allegedly happened in other areas of the Island, according to a news release from the force.

Summerside Police Services and the RCMP started a joint investigation into the allegations on May 20.

Ten days later, the Diocese of Charlottetown, which covers the Island, announced Praught would retire from active ministry.

On Monday, police arrested a 69-year-old man in Stratford, P.E.I., in connection with the investigation, says RCMP.

On Tuesday, six counts of sexual exploitation and four counts…

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Abuse survivors support proposed resolution D095

The Episcopal Survivors Network (ESN), comprising victims of abuse in the Episcopal Church, today sharply condemned Bishop Todd Ousley’s repeated mishandling of clergy disciplinary complaints made via Title IV, the church disciplinary canon. Ousley is the current bishop for the Office of Pastoral Development and reports to Presiding Bishop Michael Curry.

“Ousley’s dismal and disgraceful handling of Bishop Whayne Hougland’s admitted extramarital affair is appalling. The notion of rewarding misconduct, while ignoring victims, is repugnant to basic notions of Christianity. We see no evidence of any effort by Ousley to care for those hurt by this situation, or any recognition of the added trauma his behavior has caused.

“Nor is this the first time we have seen Ousley ignore church canons. Indeed, he has repeatedly refused to address situations in which bishops ignore Title IV requirements altogether, both substantive and procedural. Ousley himself often…

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In its final report, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse recommends eliminating the confessional privilege in cases of sexual abuse of children

These are tough times for the confessional privilege, i.e. the legal protection of the secret of the Roman Catholic confession and similar practices in other religions. Laws compelling priests and pastors to report information obtained in confession about child sexual abuse have been passes in Ireland, in almost all states and territories of Australia, and in some states of the US. Earlier this year, Bitter Winter devoted a series of articles to this theme.

Now, in its final report, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in England and Wales states at paragraph 109 that “neither the freedom of religion or belief nor the rights of parents with regard to the education of their children can ever justify the ill-treatment of children or prevent…

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• Mark was abused for three years at St Joseph’s College in Geelong in the 1970s
• PE teacher John Coogan molested him about 100 times from fourth to sixth class
• Mark took to cross-dressing in fourth class as a way of coping with the violation
• He is now suing the Christian Brothers for at least $2.5million in compensation 

Mark was raised in a deeply religious Catholic family and his devout parents taught him to respect and obey all his hometown authority figures.

Trusting his elders helped feed Mark into the hands of notorious paedophile teacher John Coogan at St Joseph’s College in Geelong, a Christian Brothers campus south-west of Melbourne.

Day after day for three years Coogan forced Mark to sit on his lap in his locked office and molested him, violating the boy at least 100 times through primary school.

Mark’s response was to begin cross-dressing, late in fourth…

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• Legislation also requires ministers of religion to disclose information gained during confession
• Changes implement recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse 

Ministers of religion are now legally required to report information about child sexual abuse, including information gained in confession.

The changes are part of new laws introduced by the McGowan Government and come into effect today.

Failure to make a mandatory report is an offence with a maximum penalty of $6,000. A minister of religion will not be excused from criminal responsibility for failing to make a report because their belief is based on information disclosed during a religious confession.

The Children and Community Services Amendment Act 2021 implements key recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, delivering on the McGowan Government’s commitment to create a safer WA for children.

The changes also extend mandatory reporting requirements to early childhood, out…

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Cuatro de estos presuntos casos de abusos sexuales de sacerdotes en León ocurrieron este año y dejaron al menos 8 víctimas

 La Arquidiócesis de León ha dado seguimiento a 9 presuntos abusos sexuales contra menores de edad y posibles adultos vulnerables. Del total, cuatro ocurrieron en este año y solo estos han sido denunciados penalmente. Los otros cinco se habrían cometido hace aproximadamente 10 años y no llevan un proceso legal. 

Carlos Muñoz Hernández, Presidente de la Comisión Diocesana para la Protección de Menores y Adultos Vulnerables, informó sobre el acompañamiento que han dado a las víctimas desde el momento en que se acercaron sus familiares a denunciarlo. 

“Se ofreció la información de que podían denunciar. Las autoridades están actuando conforme al Código Nacional de Procedimientos Penales. Nosotros tenemos una obligación muy grande para no incurrir en un delito que está penado (…) Es lo que estamos ofreciendo, yo como Presidente hablo con las…

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An insurance company is appealing the recently confirmed reorganization plan for the Archdiocese of Agana, which could delay the church’s exit from bankruptcy.

It could also delay the payouts to more than 270 men and women who say they were abused as children by Guam priests and others associated with the Catholic Church.

Continental Insurance Co. on Tuesday notified the U.S. District Court of Guam that it is appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, challenging a final order confirming the archdiocese’s reorganization plan.

Continental, an archdiocese insurer, has been challenging abuse-related contribution claims. It previously called for the nonconfirmation of the plan.

The insurance firm’s notice of appeal comes days after U.S. District Court of Guam Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood issued an Oct. 20 written order confirming the fifth amended joint plan of reorganization for the archdiocese.

During plan confirmation hearings in October, attorneys for…

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Pope Francis accepted the resignation of a German archbishop on Tuesday. 

Archbishop Ludwig Schick of Bamberg had been in charge of the Bavarian archdiocese since 2002.

Schick recently came under pressure for the handling of sexual abuse cases in his diocese.

The archbishop of the diocese in Southern Germany said in a statement published Nov. 1 that he had conveyed this request “to the pope verbally and in writing during a private audience in April of this year, explaining it thus: I have fulfilled and completed my duties in the archdiocese.” 

Schick said the pope had asked him to remain in office. “After presenting my reasons again, he then granted my request at the end of September,” Schick said. 

He is not the first German archbishop to ask the pope to accept his resignation. In 2021, Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich, who has come under criticism for his handling of sexual…

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The lawsuit claims that Father Joseph John Toole, who died in 2010, sexually abused a young girl repeatedly at Holy Spirit Church

The Catholic Church in Calgary is facing a $3.2-million lawsuit over allegations a since-deceased priest sexually abused a young girl in the 1980s.

 But in a statement of defence, the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Calgary denies the plaintiff was abused and said if Father Joseph John Toole committed any sexual assaults it was without the knowledge of church officials.

The statement of claim filed last month says the sexual abuse of the plaintiff began in 1985 when she was seven, or eight years old and continued for about four or five years.

The sexual abuse ranged from Toole exposing his naked body to the girl, to anal and vaginal rape.

“In order to facilitate the abuses, Toole also engaged in a pattern of behaviour…

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A Roman Catholic priest on Prince Edward Island is facing charges for allegedly sexually assaulting a teenager in the 1990s.

The investigation started in May when the alleged victim reported the incidents to police in Summerside, P.E.I.

When Summerside Police Services started investigating, it learned offences had also allegedly happened in other areas of the Island, according to a news release from the force. As a result, the RCMP’s Major Crime Unit was brought in to investigate.

Police arrested the accused, a 69-year-old man, on Monday.

He faces charges of sexual exploitation and sexual assault. Police say all charges are in relation to a single alleged victim, who was 14 when the assaults allegedly began.

The accused has been released from custody and is due in court in December.

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Father Kevin Christofferson was placed on administrative leave last week by the Diocese of Helena after being accused of abusing of a minor in 2001. Fr. Christofferson worked at Immaculate Conception in Polson, MT.

It is astonishing to us that Church officials routinely announce that a cleric’s placement on leave is not an admission of guilt. However, it would be more helpful if Bishop Austin Vetter would inform parishioners from Christofferson’s prior workplaces about the current allegations. This affirmative action would alert parishioners and the public. Statistics and experience routinely demonstrate that those who harm children seldom have just one victim.

We applaud the alleged victim who stepped forward with strength and courage and hope that they are getting the support they need. Now that this survivor has come forward, we call on church officials from Helena to use every resource at their disposal, including parish bulletins and…

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Advocates for Ohioans who have survived childhood sexual abuse are pushing for bills that they say would help survivors, protect kids, and prevent more victims. They’re hoping lawmakers will take action on several bills during the lame duck legislative session after next month’s election.

The advocates with Ohioans for Child Protection include survivors of childhood sexual abuse, such as Paul Neyer. He held up a photo of himself when he was in elementary school, at the age when he was sexually abused multiple times.

“That boy took 32 years to find his voice. I was about out of time. I’m thankful I narrowly made it through the small window of time,” Neyer said. “I was able to hear my assailant say ‘guilty’ nine times.”

The man who pleaded guilty to rape is Father Geoff Drew, who was sentenced to seven years in prison with that plea deal last year. Drew…

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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Thursday the release of a 154-page report detailing allegations of sexual abuse within the Marquette Catholic Diocese.

The report is the first of a series of seven reports that will be released detailing alleged abuses in each of the state’s six diocese and the Archdiocese in Detroit.

The Marquette report draws from a number of sources, ranging from the Department of the Attorney General’s clergy abuse tip line and victim interviews to documents seized from the diocese and reports of allegations disclosed by the diocese itself.

“The willingness of the Diocese to provide information was instrumental in the compilation of the report,” Nessel said in a video announcing the document’s release. “The report was shared with the Diocese of Marquette in advance of being released to the public to ensure accuracy and completeness.”

For Marquette, the investigation by the Attorney General’s Office and the Michigan State…

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Report finds majority of allegations against 44 Upper Peninsula priests over the past 72 years regard incidents in the 1960s and ’70s

The Michigan Attorney General’s Office released the first of seven reports Oct. 27 related to its investigation of sexual abuse in Michigan’s seven Catholic dioceses over the past 72 years, detailing allegations of abuse in the Diocese of Marquette.

Since 1950, the report states, allegations of sexual misconduct were made against 44 priests in the diocese, including 38 who were “employed or incardinated by the Marquette Diocese,” a release from the Attorney General’s office said.

This includes both substantiated and unsubstantiated allegations. An allegation’s inclusion in the report “does not reflect a determination by the Department that the allegations are credible or otherwise substantiated,” the report said.

According to the report, the majority of allegations against Marquette clergy date to the 1960s and 1970s, and there are no…

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My abuser wasn’t a pastor. Still, he was a “good Christian man” by all appearances. He went to church every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night. No one would have suspected a thing, and I wasn’t talking.

Lately, we’ve heard a lot about clergy who have sexually abused women and children in their congregations. We’ve also seen how churches and denominations have failed to address the problem.

But what about the abusers in the pews? The “good” churchgoing men who molest their children (and/or someone else’s), who hit their wives or who sexually harass women at work? What is the church doing about them? How much are they, and the other men in the pews who sit silently by not speaking out against misogyny and abuse, responsible for the church’s pathetic response to predatory clergy?

The proportion of men who abuse is pretty much the same, whether they’re Christian or not….

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HELENA — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena is investigating a priest accused of abuse a minor. The alleged abuse happened in 2001.

In a statement, the diocese says Bishop Austin Vetter notified law enforcement after they learned of the accusation and placed the priest on administrative leave as of October 27, 2022.

The priest has not been officially charged with any crime at this time. MTN News is not identifying the priest because he has not been charged with a crime.

The Diocese says they take every accusation of abuse seriously. The accused priest is not permitted to have contact with minors and will refrain from administrative responsibilities and priestly duties. The Diocese also recognizes that accused persons are justly considered innocent until proven guilty.

“I ask that you join me as we pray together for those who are directly involved, and everyone affected by this difficult situation,” said…

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The Diocese of Helena said Monday it has received an accusation of abuse of a minor in 2001 against Father Kevin Christofferson.

Bishop Austin A. Vetter notified law enforcement and placed Christofferson on administrative leave on Oct. 27, which was keeping with diocesan policy, and in consultation with the Diocesan Review Board.

Upon the conclusion of any law enforcement investigation, and per diocesan policy, the diocese will do a third-party investigation into the accusation, diocese officials said in a news release.

Christofferson is not permitted to have contact with minors and will refrain from administrative responsibilities and priestly duties.

Christofferson has not been charged with any crime, diocese officials said, adding accused people “are justly considered innocent until proven guilty.”

“I ask that you join me as we pray together for those who are directly involved, and everyone affected by this difficult situation,” Vetter said in a news release.

Christofferson…

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Last week, we discussed that a “good” way to evaluate bishops concerning abuse is to look closely at their ‘credibly accused’ clerics lists. We started by examining the list in the Fresno Diocese. Now it’s time to dive into the San Bernardino Diocese.

Bishop Alberto Rojas, who hails from the Chicago Archdiocese, took the reins in San Bernardino in December 2019. His predecessors included Bishop Gerald Barnes, Bishop Phillip Straling, Bishop Dennis Patrick O’Neil, and Bishop Rutilio J. del Riego. Like other California prelates, San Bernardino’s bishop released a ‘credibly accused’ list in September 2018 in the wake of the scandalous revelations against Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. To his credit, Bishop Rojas includes religious order clerics on his credibly accused list, including Fr. Bernard Waltos OFM CONV., Fr. Carlos Rene Rodriguez CM, Fr. Joseph Fertal SVD, Fr. Howard Melzer SCJ,…

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The USCCB will vote this month on whether the Steubenville diocese should merge with Columbus.

The bishop of Steubenville, Ohio, is facing a new challenge to his handling of sexual abuse cases, several sources have confirmed — the second Vatican-ordered investigation into the bishop to be reported this month.

Church officials and other sources close to the case have told The Pillar that a Vos estis lux mundi investigation is getting underway regarding Bishop Jeffrey Monforton’s dealings with an alleged victim of sexual abuse within the Franciscan Sisters, T.O.R.

According to sources close to the case, the complaint pertains to a former member of the religious community, who alleges that she was sexually abused by a religious sister who was not a member of the Franciscans, but was involved in TOR formation activities. The alleged abuse reportedly began in the late 1980s or early 1990s, sources told The Pillar.

The Franciscan Sisters, T.O.R. of Penance…

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A Catholic priest from Nsukka Diocese, Enugu, Rev. Fr. Benedict Ugwuanyi, has called for the implementation of civil sanctions against child abusers in the country.

Ugwuanyi said that unless strict sanctions are meted out to offenders, it will be hard to nip the escalating menace in the bud.

In a statement he signed and made available to newsmen in Abuja on Monday, the cleric emphasised the need to strengthen economic support to families of victims of child abuse.

According to him, strengthening economic support to families has become important because poverty was one of the underlying causes of child abuse, especially child sexual abuse in Nigeria.

He said, “Poverty in most parts of the country is indeed worrisome. The current economic situation in Nigeria has brought about the challenge of financial insecurity.

”Increasingly, many low income families are thrown into abject poverty, leading to more and more children dropping out…

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The first person to be charged as a result of the ongoing Boy Scouts of America (BSA) investigation has pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct charges, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced today.

Mark Chapman, 51, of New York pled guilty before Judge Kathryn A Viviano in the 16th Circuit Court in Macomb County to the following charges:

• One count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, with a sentence agreement of 12-20 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections, lifetime sex offender registration, and lifetime electronic monitoring as mandated by statute, and sex offender counseling.
• One count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, with a sentence agreement of 10-15 years served in the Michigan Department of Corrections, lifetime sex offender registration, and sex offender counseling. 

“Securing justice for the survivors of abuse is one of my top priorities.  Regardless how much time has passed, or how difficult the circumstances of a case may…

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The law extends liability protections to churches that disclose allegations.

Texas state lawmakers passed a law in 2019 intended to shield charities, including churches, from liability when sharing information about sexual abuse allegations against their employees and contractors. Officials with the Southern Baptist Convention, facing its own sex abuse scandal after a damning report in May, backed a resolution this year encouraging lawmakers across the country to pass legislation like what Texas approved.

We think the law could benefit from clearer language about how far the liability protection extends. Nevertheless, the legislation is a welcome measure to protect congregations from predators who for too long have moved from church to church with impunity.

The Texas law, known as House Bill 4345, was sponsored by state Rep. Scott Sanford, R-McKinney, and written with contributions from Bart Barber, a Farmersville pastor who was recently elected SBC president. It states that charitable organizations…

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The Catholic population in Canada has declined by almost 2 million people in the last 10 years, the Canadian census has found in a report that indicates the religiously unaffiliated now outnumber Catholics.

The latest census figures, compiled in 2021, show the Catholic Canadian population has declined to 10.9 million. Catholics now make up about 29.9% of the country’s people. According to the 2011 census, the Catholic population that year was 12.8 million.

Just 53.3% of Canadians, 19.3 million people, now identify as Christian, a decline from 67.3% in 2011 and 77.1% in 2001. Statistics Canada, Canada’s national statistical office, presented the latest figures in an Oct. 26 report.

Catholicism is still the most popular religious affiliation in all provinces and territories except for Nunavut, the sparse population of which has a large Anglican component.

Quebec is the only majority Catholic province, but Catholic numbers declined “considerably,” Statistics Canada said….

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Earlier this year the Republic of Ireland announced plans for a National Center for Research and Remembrance located at a former Magdalen Laundry in Dublin. It is envisioned as “a site of national conscience” to remember not only those women forced to work in the network of 10 laundries, but also the women and children abused at Mother and Baby Homes, industrial schools, reformatories, and other institutions, mostly run by the Catholic Church but licensed and funded by the Irish state. The proposal calls for a museum and exhibit space, research center, and space “for reflection and remembrance.”

In October, the Irish government introduced an online service that for the first time will provide access to birth certificates and other early life information for people adopted, boarded out, or subject to other illegal birth registration practices, usually through the institutions mentioned above. More than 16,000 people have expressed a preference to…

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Bond has been set at $75,000 for Patrick Wattigny, a former Catholic priest who was booked into the St. Tammany Parish Jail Tuesday on a count of molestation of a juvenile, according to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Wattigny, 55, was still in jail mid-afternoon Wednesday.

This is the second child sex abuse arrest for Wattigny, who was formerly pastor of St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church in Slidell. He was arrested two years ago at a home in owns in Georgia on a single count of molestation involving a 15-year-old boy, and has been out on a $150,000 bond.

He pleaded not guilty in St. Tammany Parish in March of 2021 and is scheduled to go to trial in that case in January.

In August, a second accuser, now an adult, contacted investigators to say that Wattigny had abused him while he was an elementary school…

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Joe Montanez walked up to the first designated “Garden of Healing” in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, just outside the front doors of the St. Camillus Center for Pastoral Care near East LA.

He reached his hand out to touch the water pouring out of an installation feature known as “The Weeping Wall.”

Montanez said he needed to feel it.

“I love the sound of water,” the 64-year-old said. “It creates peace.”

He acknowledged the sounds of the moment: an ambulance siren, the rumble of delivery trucks, a police helicopter buzzing above, the horn of trains in the near distance.

“This can be a peaceful area,” he said with a half-smile.

For those like Montanez directly impacted by sexual abuse in the Church, the establishment of this pacifying space has been an idea years in the making.  

Archbishop José H. Gomez, who presided over the garden’s Oct. 26 dedication, announced…

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Bankruptcy Judge Paul Warren erred in letting abuse survivors’ individually filed claims against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester’s parishes move ahead, the diocese argues in papers filed recently in the Western District of New York’s Rochester Division.

The diocese’s appeal brief comes some three months after it filed a notice of its intention to appeal Warren’s May ruling. In that decision, Warren said some 300 individually filed state court Child Victims Act claims against Rochester Catholic parishes that had been stayed since the bankruptcy’s filing could resume.  

The state passed the CVA in 2019. The act temporarily eliminated a statute of limitations on certain sex-abuse crimes, making it possible for victims—now middle aged and older—to seek redress for abuse they had suffered as children decades ago. A virtual tsunami of CVA claims followed, with many hitting the Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts of America.

Faced with its own…

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The Yates report was not the first time we’ve seen widespread misconduct hidden in sports, and it almost certainly won’t be the last.

When U.S. Soccer commissioned an investigation by King & Spalding LLP partner Sally Yates and the results revealed widespread, “systemic abuse and misconduct” across the NWSL and women’s soccer as a whole, many of the findings felt eerily familiar. Three coaches—Paul Riley, Rory Dames and Christy Holly—had all been accused of verbal abuse and/or sexual misconduct. Officials in charge downplayed or ignored the complaints. The coaches moved from club to club freely despite reports of their behavior.

We’ve seen these scandals before in sports, and yet little is done to prevent them from repeating elsewhere.

The Yates report makes it abundantly clear that team owners, general managers and top officials in both U.S. Soccer and the NWSL had plenty of opportunities to just do the right…

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There have been at least 330,000 cases of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests, nuns, Popes and others in the church. The number will really never be known due to the Church officials covering them up and many men still in shame over crimes that were not of their own choosing. The abused, mostly boys, but also girls, start as young as three years old, with the majority of abuse between the ages of 11 and 14. Cases have also been brought against members of the Catholic hierarchy, who then covered up the sex abuse allegations and moved abusive priests to other parishes, where the abuse always continued. This is a world wide pandemic.

I personally knew the brave and courageous Phil Saviano, the man who helped bring down almost 250 priests in Boston and more. One priest can have over 3,000 victims and most of the time they are kept silent.

I am…

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Mastriano accuses Shapiro of grudge against the church 

Flanked by tearful victims and their families, Attorney General Josh Shapiro took to the podium in the state Capitol and delivered perhaps the most defining remarks of his career as Pennsylvania’s most powerful law enforcement official.

It was August 2018 and the state Supreme Court had just approved the release of an explosive grand jury report revealing decades of child sexual abuse by hundreds of Catholic priests, as well as efforts by church leaders to cover up their crimes.

He accused the church’s bishops of choosing to protect the institution over the young men and women to whom they were entrusted to lead in their spiritual growth.

He spoke of the euphemisms that some of the church leaders used — “horseplay,” “wrestling,” “inappropriate contact” — to paper over the sordid activities of the priests. 

Jabbing his hand into the…

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COMMENTARY: The new ‘National Survey of Catholic Priests’ highlights that bishops need to recognize that the vast majority of their spiritual sons, brothers and co-workers are indeed struggling and need their help.

On Oct. 19, the results of the “National Survey of Catholic Priests” were released by The Catholic Project and the Department of Sociology at The Catholic University of America and revealed the enormous toll the Church’s response to the sexual-abuse crisis has been having on American clergy.

The “National Survey,” the largest study of Catholic priests in America in more than 50 years, is an ambitious attempt to assess the state of the priesthood in the United States as the Church marks the 20th anniversary of the U.S. bishops’ “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.”

Conducted by Gallup between February and June this year, the survey sought to interview 10,000 of the 35,000 Catholic priests in…

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Rarely has an endorsement for elected office been as open and shut as the one for Democrat Josh Shapiro in the race to become Pennsylvania’s next governor.

To some degree, the choice between the state’s attorney general and Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano involves Mastriano’s continued baseless denial of the 2020 presidential election results and his unfounded concerns over alleged voter fraud.

Ultimately, we support Shapiro on his own merits. As he has climbed up the political ladder in Pennsylvania, he has routinely focused on what’s best for commonwealth residents, regardless of their political leanings, color, creed or economic status.

He has worked his way from county commissioner to state representative — he was actually a state representative for seven years before becoming a Montgomery County commissioner — then to Attorney General, an office he has held since 2017.

Shapiro has built his resume on bipartisanship and taking on big…

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Patrick Wattigny’s trial on a molestation charge is scheduled for January

Patrick Wattigny, the former pastor of St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church in Slidell, faces new criminal accusations in a second molestation case involving a juvenile, two years after he was arrested on one count of molesting a 15-year-old boy.

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office said a second alleged victim, now an adult, contacted investigators in August and said that Wattigny abused him while he was an elementary school student at a Covington-area Catholic school, according to Sheriff’s Office news release Tuesday evening.

A warrant was issued for Wattigny’s arrest following an investigation, the Sheriff’s Office said. He was being booked into the St. Tammany Parish Jail late Tuesday afternoon on one count of molestation of a juvenile, the Sheriff’s Office said.

“It is deeply disturbing when an individual in a position of authority uses…

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For 62 years, Peter Murnane has been a Dominican priest.

He remained so through the storm after he poured blood on the floor of the US Consul’s office. When he provided a safe house for the asylum seeker Ahmed Zaoui. When he broke into the Waihopai spy base, was prosecuted and acquitted. Even when he gave a sermon explaining why he thought Australia’s top Catholic, Cardinal George Pell, was not a good bloke.

Only now, at 82 years old, have the Dominicans seemingly had enough of their rebel priest after Murnane refused instructions to pulp his new book, Clerical Errors, which clinically examines the Catholic Church’s dismal sexual abuse record, lays out a long treatise on Pell and argues the entire church should be dismantled.

Ironically, the Dominicans have labelled him a ‘priest not in good standing’, a tag normally attached to paedophiles and other deviants.

It has left Murnane…

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Police are also probing whether Bishop Thomas Dabre of Pune tried to cover up Father Vincent Pereira’s alleged crime

An Indian Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing a boy has surrendered before the police as they began a probe against Bishop Thomas Dabre of Pune for allegedly attempting to cover up the crime.

Father Vincent Pereira, 55, of Pune in the western state of Maharashtra presented himself before the police on Oct 23, ending his nearly month-long efforts to evade arrest. He is alleged to have abused a 15-year-old boy at his parents’ home on Dec. 4 last year.

Police said the priest had been in hiding ever since they booked him on Sept. 30 under India’s stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

A local court on Oct. 21 granted the priest anticipatory bail that prevented police from arresting him while…

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Bishop Paul Mason said that mandatory reporting of confessions would turn the priest “from a minister of God to an agent of the state”.

The lead bishop for safeguarding in England and Wales has said that mandatory reporting of disclosures of child abuse cannot break the seal of the confessional, because it would turn the priest “from a minister of God to an agent of the state”.

Speaking on Radio 4’s Sunday programme, the Bishop of the Forces, Paul Mason, said that the nature of the confessional was determined by “the sacredness of the relationship of any person to God and being open to forgiveness”, and so “the Church facilitates that through the intermediary of the priest”.

He said that it is “as though the priest is not there in that confessional situation”.

Bishop Mason was responding to questions on the future of confession following the final report of the Independent Inquiry…

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In 2021, 34,182 people left the Catholic Church, a record number, reported RTS. The figure represents 1.1% of worshipers.

Departures in 2021 exceeded the previous annual record of 31,410 in 2019 by 2,772. 31,410 people left in 2020.

Leading reasons cited for leaving the Catholic Church in Switzerland included differences of opinion on public issues such as women in the church, homosexuality, remarrying after divorce, abortion and assisted suicide. A survey run in 2019 showed that 36.8% of those leaving listed one of these reasons for their decision. Investigations and revelations of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church are likely to be another factor.

Another reason is cost. Across much of Switzerland there are church taxes. Some cantons apply compulsory church taxes to companies. While others have optional church taxes on individuals. The only canton that effectively levies a compulsory church tax on companies and individuals is the canton of Vaud…

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The Most Reverend William Patrick Callahan, D.D., Bishop of La Crosse, makes the
following announcement:

The Reverend Monsignor Mark R. Pierce, Pastor of St. Michael Parish and Church of the
Resurrection Parish, both in Wausau, and Dean of the Wausau Deanery, has submitted his
resignation as Pastor and Dean, and it has been accepted, effective October 21, 2022. He has
been placed on a leave of absence.

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A Catholic priest who served two Wausau parishes has resigned over an accusation of sexual misconduct with a minor that occurred several decades ago. 

The Rev. Monsignor Mark Pierce accepted responsibility and announced his resignation in a statement. Pierce led the congregation at St. Michael and Resurrection Parishes on the east side of Wausau. 

Parishioners at several Wausau churches learned of the accusation and resignation during Sunday services on Oct. 23.

“After many years of neglect, I’m being called to face the wrong I have caused someone by behavior inappropriate for a priest. Facing up to what I have done now is what requires that I resign as your pastor,” said Pierce in a statement that was read to churchgoers on Sunday. “I am truly sorry for the hurt that I have caused one person in particular and the embarrassment I’ve brought on you all.”

La Crosse Diocese Bishop William…

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Padre detido tinha tentado frequentar o seminário uma primeira vez, mas em vão

O padre que foi detido esta quinta-feira pela Polícia Judiciária (PJ) pela alegada prática de crimes de tráfico de pessoas e de abuso sexual de pessoa incapaz de resistência, em Vila Nova de Foz Côa, só entrou para o seminário em 2006/2007 e foi ordenado padre em 2013, aos 53 anos. No entanto, já tentara anos antes frequentar o seminário, mas em vão – sabe o 7MARGENS. Não foi possível apurar a razão exacta para que isso tenha acontecido, mas um responsável eclesiástico da região diz que ela podia já ter a ver com suspeitas sobre este tipo de factos.

Num comunicado da PJ, refere-se que o suspeito foi detido, através da Directoria do Norte, no âmbito de uma investigação em curso e em cumprimento de mandados emitidos pelo Ministério Público – Departamento de Investigação e Ação…

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O arguido tinha sido nomeado tutor da vítima em 2017, por via judicial, oferecendo-lhe trabalho, em troca de alojamento e alimentação.

APolícia Judiciária (PJ) deteve um padre de 63 anos pela alegada prática de crimes de tráfico de pessoas e de abuso sexual de pessoa incapaz de resistência, em Vila Nova de Foz Côa.

Em comunicado, a PJ adiantou que o suspeito foi detido, através da Diretoria do Norte, no âmbito de uma investigação em curso e em cumprimento de mandados emitidos pelo Ministério Público – Departamento de Investigação e Ação Penal (DIAP) da Maia.

“Trata-se do padre António Pinto, de Numão, em Vila Nova de Foz Côa”, no distrito da Guarda, disse fonte policial à agência Lusa.

No âmbito da investigação, a PJ efetuou buscas domiciliárias e não domiciliárias, “detendo um indivíduo fortemente indiciado pela prática dos crimes de tráfico de pessoas e abuso sexual de pessoa incapaz de…

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An Archdiocese of New Orleans priest who is scheduled to be tried in January on child sex abuse charges was arrested again Oct. 25 on an additional molestation charge. 

Father Patrick Wattigny was arrested by the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office located in Southeastern Louisiana after an investigation was initiated by a sexual abuse complaint brought to the office in August. 

Wattigny’s bond was set at $75,000, according to Nola.com. The outlet reported that as of Wednesday afternoon he was still in jail.

“The victim, who is an adult now, disclosed that he was abused by Wattigny while he was an elementary student at a Covington-area Catholic school,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement about the new arrest. 

According to the sheriff’s office, Wattigny was booked into the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center on one count of molestation of a juvenile.

“It is deeply disturbing when an individual in…

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‘Most of these defendants used their faith and church to gain access to their victims,’ Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said.

Four Jehovah’s Witnesses have been charged with sexually abusing 19 children in their congregations, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced in a news conference Thursday morning (Oct. 27). The alleged crimes of the four defendants are separate, but all took place in Jehovah’s Witness communities in Pennsylvania. The charges include indecent assault, rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.

“The cases that we are here to announce are deeply disturbing, the allegations hard to imagine, while all sharing one common tie,” Shapiro said at the news conference. “Most of these defendants used their faith and church to gain access to their victims to build their trust and then molested them.”

The charges are the result of a three-year investigation involving dozens of witnesses and hundreds of hours of grand jury…

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New details raise questions about how officials handled abuse allegations at Franciscan University.

Both Franciscan University of Steubenville and its sponsoring religious order said Friday they would not comment on newly surfaced allegations, which claim that officials mishandled spiritual, psychological and sexual abuse reports from the victim of Fr. David Morrier, a former university chaplain who was convicted this year of sexual assault.

The newly emerged allegations raise questions about statements in which the university and the Sacred Heart Province of the Third Order Regular Franciscans claimed they were not aware of sexual abuse allegations against Morrier until 2015.

Morrier was sentenced in March to five years probation and a lifetime of sex offender registration, after he took a plea bargain on charges of rape and sexual battery.

To avoid trial, the priest pled guilty to one count of sexual battery against a university student he is alleged to have…

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On Friday the Italian Bishops’ Conference signed an agreement with the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors to provide support for safeguarding initiatives, particularly in the global south, where funds for these efforts is often lacking.

Speaking to journalists Friday at the close of the commission’s fall plenary assembly, Father Andrew Small, the commission’s secretary, noted that it is part of the commission’s mandate to help bishops’ conferences implement national listening centers and stable publicly accessible reporting mechanisms for victims and survivors of abuse.

These services were required by Pope Francis in his 2019 legislation Vos Estis Lux Mundi, which also imposed mandatory reporting for bishops for any allegation of abuse.

According to Small, of the 114 bishops’ conferences around the world, “I would estimate that about 70-80 don’t really have these really publicly established, mostly in the global south, a part of the world that has not really received,…

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A senior official in the Vatican’s advisory commission on clerical sexual abuse admitted on Friday that the Catholic Church was failing to tackle the scourge in the southern hemisphere.

There was a “disparity in training and prevention of child sexual abuse between the northern and southern hemispheres,” warned Andrew Small, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

The abuse scandal erupted in the second half of the 1980s, sparking an avalanche of allegations about pedophile priests around the world, from Australia and Chile to France and the United States.

Pope Francis has insisted that the Church will adopt a “zero tolerance” approach to abuse, but critics say many countries are yet to seriously confront the issue.

There was an “urgency… to remedy the huge inequality in safeguarding services between the global north and south,” Small said in an article published in the Vatican’s newspaper L’Osservatore Romano. View Cache

LANSING, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) — On Thursday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced the release of a 154-page report detailingallegations of abuse at Michigan’s seven dioceses, including the Diocese of Marquette.

The report is a compilation of the information obtained from the Department of Attorney General tip line, victim interviews, police investigations, open-source media, paper documents seized from the Diocese, electronic documents found on the Diocesan computers and reports of allegations disclosed by the Diocese.

Diocese of Marquette – FINAL REPORT – Oct – 2022

“The report contains detailed descriptions of allegations of sexual abuse and other sexual misconduct, including grooming and misuse of authority, against minors and adults,” the Michigan Department of Attorney General said.

In Oct. 2018, Michigan law enforcement authorities executed search warrants at Michgian’s seven dioceses and seized 220 boxes of pater documents and over 3.5 million digital documents, the department said.

To date,…

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If nothing else, it was thorough.

That’s what at least some people are saying about a 100-plus page report released late this week from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel concerning allegations of sexual abuse that took place in the Catholic Diocese of Marquette.

The report was released in the interest of the public and to acknowledge the reports of alleged abuse from victims, Nessel’s office said. The document is a compilation of the information obtained from the Department of Attorney General tip line, victim interviews, police investigations, open-source media, paper documents seized from the diocese and electronic documents found on the diocesan computers, and reports of allegations disclosed by the diocese.

Here are the numbers: The list of priests for which there were allegations of sexual misconduct against either children or adults since Jan. 1, 1950, is derived from information gleaned from a search warrant that was executed against the…

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Interview with a member of a network that is organizing rallies this weekend in various parts of France to protest the handling of the so-called Bishop Santier affair.

A group of Catholics in France who are committed combating sex abuse in the Church is coordinating a series of rallies in various cities this weekend to voice their displeasure with the way the so-called Santier affair has been handled.

French Catholics have been angered by recent revelations that Bishop Michel Santier, who took early retirement in 2021 on health grounds, had actually been sanctioned by the Vatican for sexual abuse of two young men. And the Catholic network “Agir pour notre Église” (“doing something for the Church”) is holding the weekend rallies to “send a message to the bishops” before the Church leaders meet later next week for their plenary assembly.

 Alix Huon, a member of the network, told La Croix’s…

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Nazir Afzal, Chair of the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency, spoke to The Tablet after the publication of the IICSA final report.

The report recommendations – do you wholeheartedly endorse them? 

This final report is vitally important as it consolidates all that has gone before in terms of identifying the scale of work needed to better protect children in a range of settings, as well as the work already done by the Catholic Church.

It matters to the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA) because it will continue to help shape our work. It matters to the Catholic Church because there won’t be more chances to get this right. Most crucially, it matters to victims and survivors of abuse.

Any measures, whether governmental, or institutional, which help us tackle abuse and protect children, must be actioned.

Do you particularly accept the recommendation of mandatory reporting of disclosures of sex abuse, even if…

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The Vatican panel due to produce annual reports on child abuse prevention within the Catholic Church will not deliver its first full review until 2024, its secretary said on Friday.

In April, after a wider constitutional overhaul of Vatican structures, Pope Francis gave the Pontifical Council for the Protection of Minors a mandate to produce the reports.

Clerical sex abuse and cover up scandals have rocked the 1.35 billion-member Catholic Church for decades, undercutting its moral authority and taking a toll on membership and coffers.

Greater transparency, new reporting procedures and tougher punishment for abusers and those who fail to go after them are part of Francis’ stated “zero tolerance” response.

“Around October next year we’ll have a good idea of what we want to say, (but) I don’t think we’re going to have data in place until the following year, 2024,” said panel secretary Father Andrew Small.

Briefing reporters, he…

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‘We recognize that this news is especially difficult for many Inuit people,’ said Father Ken Thorson

The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate Lacombe say they’re disappointed in France’s decision not to extradite a retired priest who faces charges of sexual assault in Canada.

On Wednesday, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada said French authorities denied Canada’s extradition request for Johannes Rivoire, who formerly belonged to the religious group. It said France’s reasoning included that too much time has passed since the events in question, and that the country can’t extradite its own citizens.

In September, the Oblates said they were dismissing Rivoire from their congregation. That process is expected to take two to three months.

Father Ken Thorson, head of OMI Lacombe, the Oblate order headquartered in Ottawa, said Thursday in an email that his organization was “deeply saddened” by the news that French officials denied Canada’s extradition request.

“Further,” Thorson wrote, “we…

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Catholic academics, theologians, clergy sex abuse survivors, and advocates for the inclusion of women and LGBTQ individuals in the U.S. Catholic Church praised the forthrightness and transparency with which the Vatican’s new synod document engages controversial topics that in years past would have been off-limits for discussion.

“This is really Pope Francis enacting a post-conciliar ecclesiology. It’s his contribution to making space for a listening church to really emerge,” said Natalia Imperatori-Lee, chair of the religious studies department at Manhattan College.

The 45-page working document will guide the continental phase of the 2023-24 Synod of Bishops in Rome. The document distills several major themes that emerged in listening sessions with millions of Catholics across the world, who over the past year articulated a desire for a “listening” church that reaches out to the marginalized, especially the LGBTQ community, and that allows women to serve in…

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With a renewed membership, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors met at the Vatican in late October and laid the groundwork for devising an annual report on child protection efforts by the Catholic Church globally.

Oblate Fr. Andrew Small, commission secretary, told reporters Oct. 28 that members also looked at the commission’s new relationship to the disciplinary section of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and continued their efforts to promote greater transparency and fuller reporting to victims about the outcome of their cases.

“In our engagement with victim survivors, the acknowledgement of the wrong that was done to them is primary, being listened to, being believed,” Small said. “There’s nothing that takes the place of being believed and heard.”

But, he said, “seeing the wrongdoer continue to flourish at times or to appear without sanction is also very painful,” so victims are understandably confused or…

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A recently released document that is part of the Vatican synod contained discussions of topics formerly considered taboo by the Roman Catholic Church leadership. These included clergy sexual abuse allegations, ordination of women into priesthood, and LGBTQ relationships.

What the Synodal Document Contains

According to the National Catholic Reporter, the Vatican issued the 45-page document titled “Enlarge the space of your tent” on Oct. 27. 

The document contained a discussion of various topics that formed part of the “listening sessions” among the Catholic faithful throughout 2021 and up to the current year.

The Synodal document touched on topics that reflect the present mindset of the Vatican over issues once deemed taboo.

The article bared that the document will serve as a blueprint for future continental ecclesiastical meetings for the next half of the year. 

The meetings will come before the scheduled twin assemblies in Rome…

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Click here to hear Bishop James Doerfler comments. Click here to read the AG’s report.

Marquette Catholic Diocese Bishop James Doerfler held a news conference Thursday afternoon to respond to the 154-page report issued by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, which detailed alleged sexual abuse within the Diocese.

Doerfler started his remarks by offering a “sincere apology” to those who have been harmed, adding that the work to “stamp out this great evil must continue.”

To the alleged victims, the Bishop said:

“You are, and should have been, our priority. There is no excuse for what happened to you. It is especially grievous if your voice was not heard. Thank you to those who have courageously come forward to bring light into this darkness.”

The Attorney General report summarized allegations of misconduct against 44 different members of the clergy, dating back to 1950. Some of them are now…

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A new report by the Michigan attorney general’s office identifies dozens of abuse allegations against Catholic priests in the Upper Peninsula.

The report is part of an ongoing state investigation into allegations of sexual abuse involving Catholic priests. In this case, the data stems from a search warrant served on the Diocese of Marquette in 2018 and additional tips.

The report identifies 44 priests for which there were allegations of sexual misconduct against either children or adults since January of 1950. 32 of the priests are known or presumed to be dead. Of the 12 others, two are still involved in active ministry.

Bishop John Doerfler apologized to the victims at a news conference Thursday, saying “words fall short.”

“Even though almost all the abuse in our diocese occurred decades ago, the wounds run very deep and many people are still suffering today,” said Doerfler.

Since the state investigation began,…

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LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel today announced the release of a report by the Department of Attorney General concerning allegations of abuse that took place in the Marquette Catholic Diocese. A video providing an overview of the report is included.

The report was released in the interest of the public and to acknowledge the reports of alleged abuse from victims.  The document is a compilation of the information obtained from the Department of Attorney General tip line, victim interviews, police investigations, open-source media, paper documents seized from the Diocese, and electronic documents found on the Diocesan computers, as well as reports of allegations disclosed by the Diocese.

The list of priests for which there were allegations of sexual misconduct against either children or adults since January 1, 1950, is derived from information gleaned from a search warrant that was executed against the Diocese of Marquette on October 3, 2018.  There…

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Once again, thanks to the intrepid work by Michigan’s Attorney General, we now know much more about the issue of clergy abuse within the state of Michigan. We are grateful to  A.G. Dana Nessel and her team for their transparency and for releasing a report that provides parents, parishioners, and the public with far more detail about the extent of clergy abuse in Marquette than had been provided by Catholic officials.

The report released by A.G. Nessel includes the names and details of 44 priests who worked, lived, or spent time in the Diocese of Marquette. Of those men, 38 were trained, ordained, and employed by the Diocese itself. This report flies in the face of supposed transparency and honesty from Church officials from Marquette, where the names of only eight abusive priests had been released. Just like in Illinois and Pennsylvania, the lists released by Catholic…

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Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the release of a report on accused priests in the Diocese of Marquette issued by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel:

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has issued the most vacuous report, “Diocese of Marquette: A Complete Accounting,” on clergy sexual abuse ever written. We know she has been out to get the Catholic Church, but this effort makes her look incompetent, as well as unethical.

The probe of Catholic dioceses searching for instances of clergy sexual abuse began in 2018 under her predecessor, Bill Schuette; she took the reins in 2019. There has been no attempt to investigate the sexual abuse of minors by ministers, rabbis, imams or school teachers. Just Catholic priests.

This amounts to Catholic profiling. Make no mistake, this is no less invidious than a probe of violent crime would be if it only targeted African Americans. Such a selective…

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[To see a PDF of the statement, click here.]

October 27, 2022

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Words fall short when attempting to speak about something as sobering and disturbing as the report released earlier today by the Office of the Michigan Attorney General concerning its investigation into clergy sexual abuse in the Diocese of Marquette. However, something must be said, and our work to stamp out this grave evil must continue.

On behalf of the Church, I offer a sincere apology to anyone who has been abused by clergy in the Catholic Church. You are, and should have been, our priority. There is no excuse for what happened to you. It is especially grievous if your voice was not heard. Thank you to those who have courageously come forward to bring light to this darkness which has brought about so much harm.

If you have suffered abuse…

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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Thursday announced the release of a report from her department concerning allegations of abuse that took place in the Catholic Diocese of Marquette.

The report was released in the interest of the public and to acknowledge the reports of alleged abuse from victims, the attorney general’s office said. The document is a compilation of the information obtained from the Department of Attorney General tip line, victim interviews, police investigations, open-source media, paper documents seized from the diocese and electronic documents found on the diocesan computers, and reports of allegations disclosed by the diocese.

The list of priests for which there were allegations of sexual misconduct against either children or adults since Jan. 1, 1950, is derived from information gleaned from a search warrant that was executed against the Diocese of Marquette on Oct. 3, 2018. There are 44 priests on this list; 38 were…

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Michael F. Whalen, whose 2018 news conference began a sexual abuse scandal in the Buffalo Diocese, called the diocese’s settlement with the state attorney general on Tuesday “a step in the right direction.”

He’s a bit worried, though, that the enhanced child protection and priest monitoring plans mandated in Attorney General Letitia James’ settlement won’t go far enough to keep the diocese honest. The court-ordered monitoring program will last for a period of five years. 

“I just don’t think it goes far enough,” Whalen said in an interview with The Buffalo News. “I think it should be permanent.”

In Nov. 2020, James sued the Buffalo Diocese, along with retired Bishop Richard J. Malone and retired Auxiliary Bishop Edward M. Grosz, over their handling of clergy sexual abuse cases.

The civil case accused diocese leaders of protecting more than two dozen priests accused of child…

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The Buffalo Diocese in its settlement Tuesday with the State Attorney General’s Office made no admissions about covering up for priests who had molested children, but agreed to implement enhanced measures to prevent future sex abuse in parishes and schools.

The settlement, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, bans two retired bishops linked to a cover-up of sex abuses from serving in any charitable fiduciary roles in New York, and requires the diocese to follow through for five years on such measures as a program to monitor offending priests.

New York’s AG is alleging diocese leaders protected more than two dozen priests accused of child sexual abuse by not referring their cases to the Vatican.

Attorney General Letitia James said the deal ushers in a “much-needed era of independent oversight and accountability” of the diocese.

“For far too long, the Buffalo Diocese and its leaders…

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Roman Catholic diocese failed its most basic duty to guide and protect children, New York Attorney General Letitia James says

An independent auditor will monitor how the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo handles sexual-abuse allegations as part of a settlement filed Tuesday in federal court with New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The diocese, which declared bankruptcy in February of 2020 after a wave of sexual-abuse lawsuits, also agreed to specific time frames for investigating misconduct claims. The auditor, former FBI official Kathleen McChesney, will be in place for five years. The auditor will prepare and publish an annual report on the diocese’s compliance with its procedures regarding abuse claims.

“For far too long, the Buffalo Diocese and its leaders failed their most basic duty to guide and protect our children,” Ms. James, who sued the Buffalo Diocese in November of 2021, said in a statement.

It is the first…

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Some media reports have claimed that the Buffalo diocese has agreed to “submit to government oversight” as part of the settlement.

The Diocese of Buffalo announced a settlement Tuesday in the lawsuit filed by New York’s attorney general, over the diocese’s handling of clerical sexual abuse allegation.

Some media reports have claimed that the Buffalo diocese has agreed to “submit to government oversight” as part of the settlement.

Is that true? What does the settlement actually say?

The Pillar explains.

What’s been going on in Buffalo

The attorney general’s lawsuit was filed against the diocese in 2020, charging a coverup in more than 20 alleged cases of clerical sexual abuse.

The suit came after a protracted public scandal under the tenure of former diocesan bishop Richard Malone, who resigned from office in December of 2019, a year after a former Buffalo chancery employee leaked diocesan documents to local media on the…

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The Diocese of Buffalo and the New York attorney general’s office have reached a settlement in a 2020 civil lawsuit filed by the state regarding the diocese’s handling of clergy sexual abuse allegations.

Under the agreement, filed Oct. 25 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the diocese is required to implement enhanced child protection measures. It also prohibits two retired bishops alleged to have covered up clergy sexual abuse from holding any fiduciary roles within New York.

“The settlement that the diocese and the New York attorney general have agreed to confirms that the rigorous policies and protocols the diocese has put in place over the past several years are the right ones to ensure that all young people and other vulnerable persons are safe and never at risk of abuse of any kind by a member of the clergy, diocesan employee, volunteer, or member…

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A Catholic priest in central Wisconsin has resigned over allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor that happened several decades ago.

The allegation against Monsignor Mark Pierce, who has been a priest for 26 years, surfaced last week, La Crosse Bishop William Callahan said, adding that Pierce was told of the accusation, placed on a leave of absence and relieved from ministerial duties.

No details about the allegation were released, including when and where it occurred, the La Crosse Tribune reported Wednesday.

Pierce led the St. Michael Parish and the Church of the Resurrection in Wausau. His resignation was announced Sunday in a statement read to churchgoers.

“After many years of neglect, I’m being called to face the wrong I have caused someone by behavior inappropriate for a priest. Facing up to what I have done now is what requires that I resign as your pastor,” Pierce’s…

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France has rejected a request to extradite a priest accused of sexually abusing Indigenous children in Canada’s far north decades ago, Canadian authorities said Wednesday.

Johannes Rivoire, who now lives in a retirement home in Lyon, is the subject of an arrest warrant in Canada for allegedly sexually assaulting a child between 1974 and 1979.

The Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) said Wednesday that France refused the request because its law prohibits extradition of its own citizens, and because “too much time has passed between the events and the charges being laid.”

The latter reason also prevents French authorities from prosecuting Rivoire themselves.

Rivoire, 93, left Canada in 1993 after 33 years as a missionary.

The priest, who has dual nationality, was also the subject of an arrest warrant between 1998 and 2017 for the alleged sexual abuse of three minors. It was never acted upon.

The priest denied…

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The Canadian government said Wednesday that France has denied an extradition request for Johannes Rivoire, a former priest accused of crimes against children in the northern territory of Nunavut.

The Public Prosecution Service of Canada made the extradition request for Rivoire, who was in Canada from the early 1960s until 1993 but now lives in France.

Rivoire, who has denied any wrongdoing, is wanted on a Canada-wide warrant after being charged in February with one count of indecent assault on a female. The alleged victim was a child at the time of the offence, which occurred between January 1974 and December 1979.

The prosecution service said in a news release that French authorities denied the extradition request because French law prohibits the extradition of its own citizens and too much time has passed between the events and the charges being laid. The latter issue also prevents French authorities from prosecuting…

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Angeblich musste der Bischof von Créteil aus gesundheitlichen Gründen zurücktreten. Jetzt sind die wahren Gründe bekannt – die Bischöfe schwiegen.

Von einem „Schock für die Gläubigen“ spricht der Vorsitzende der französischen Bischofskonferenz, Erzbischof Éric de Moulins-Beaufort. Ein neuer Missbrauchsskandal erschüttert die französische Kirche, während Präsident Emmanuel Macron am Sonntag nach Rom aufgebrochen ist. Er wird an diesem Montag zu einer Audienz von Papst Franziskus empfangen. Doch die Frage des Umgangs mit sexuellem Missbrauch in der Kirche soll laut Élysée-Palast nicht zur Sprache kommen. Dieses Thema sei bereits beim vorangegangenen Besuch Macrons im Vatikan erörtert worden. Im November 2021 sprach Macron mit dem Papst über den kurz zuvor veröffentlichten Abschlussbericht der Unabhängigen Kommission über sexuellen Missbrauch in der Kirche (Ciase) unter Leitung des ehemaligen Verwaltungsgerichtspräsidenten Jean-Marc Sauvé. Der Bericht beschrieb das „systemische Ausmaß“ sexuellen Missbrauchs und leitete eine Debatte über notwendige Veränderungen ein, um Missstände schnell aufklären und die Opfer schützen…

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44 priests accused of abuse, grooming and misuse of authority

Michigan’s Sexual Assault Hotline is free, anonymous and available 24/7 by calling 1-855-864-2374 or texting 1-866-238-1454.

A detailed report has been released by the Michigan attorney general’s office regarding allegations of sexual abuse that took place in the Marquette Catholic Diocese.

The report includes information from the attorney general’s tipline, interviews with survivors, police investigations, open-source media, paper and electronic documents seized from the diocese and reports of allegations disclosed by the diocese.

Nessel said the report was released in the interest of the public and to acknowledge reports of alleged abuse from survivors.

Nessel provided a statement via video, which you can watch below:

(Can’t see the video? Click here)

Abuse allegations date back to 1950; 44 priests on list

There is a list of priests who have faced allegations of sexual…

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The report names 44 priests who ministered in Marquette who have been accused of abuse since the 1940s. Thirty-three of the 44 priests named in the report are known or presumed to be deceased.

MARQUETTE, Mich. — Michigan attorney general Dana Nessel on Thursday released a report compiling allegations of sexual abuse directed at priests in the Diocese of Marquette, stretching back to the 1940s. 

Nessel said the Oct. 27 document is the first of seven from her office on sexual abuse allegations against priests in each of Michigan’s Catholic dioceses. 

“Since the very start of my term, I pledged to use the resources of my department to ensure that every case of sexual abuse and assault is thoroughly reviewed, and that whenever we are able to pursue justice, we do so relentlessly and aggressively,” Nessel, a Democrat who is running for re-election, said in a video statement…

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Catholics want the role and vocation of women to be tackled urgently, according to a new report that has come out of the synodal listening process.

The landmark synod report says that Catholics repeatedly express the desire for a more welcoming, inclusive Church that eradicates the misuse of power. 

The findings are contained in a 45-page document released by the Holy See’s synod office that summarises the results of the unprecedented listening and dialogue process as part of the global synod. 

“Women remain the majority of those who attend liturgy and participate in activities, men a minority; yet most decision-making and governance roles are held by men,” the report states.

“From all continents comes an appeal for Catholic women to be valued first and foremost as baptised and equal members of the People of God. There is almost unanimous affirmation that women love the Church deeply, but many feel sadness because their…

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