ABUSE TRACKER

One of the first women who accused a once-exalted Jesuit artist of spiritual, psychological and sexual abuse went public Wednesday to demand transparency from the Vatican and a full accounting of the hierarchs who covered for him for 30 years.

Gloria Branciani, 59, appeared at a news conference with one of the most prominent Vatican-accredited lawyers in Rome, Laura Sgro, to tell her story in public for the first time. She detailed the alleged abuses of the Rev. Marko Rupnik, including his fondness for three-way sex “in the image of the Trinity” which, if confirmed, could constitute a grave perversion of Catholic doctrine known as false mysticism.

Rupnik has not commented publicly about the allegations, but his Rome art studio has said the allegations were unproven and media reports about the case a defamatory “lynching.”

Rupnik’s mosaics decorate churches and basilicas around the world, including at the Catholic…

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The causes of the physical and sexual assault by clergy in the Roman Catholic Church

Introduction

This article discusses the sexual abuse of children by clergy. Detailed depictions of graphic physical violence are not a part of this article.

The classifications,  Catholic Church or Roman Catholic Church (RCC), is used in this article to refer to all people who identify as Roman Catholic, i.e., clerics and congregants.

The classifications, Administrative Elites of the Roman Catholic Church, signified by the acronym AERCC, refers to the Pope, all other Bishops, and Non-Clerical administrators of the RCC who are seated in the upper echelons of power within the Vatican or other diocesan administrations.

Information that could be obtained through the use of a competent encyclopedia is not cited. All other information is cited and sourced.

I apologize to those who are extensively familiar with the topic being discussed and find themselves on familiar ground. Some statements bear repeating…

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Former nuns who said they were subjected to sexual, psychological or spiritual abuse by a famous priest urged Pope Francis on Wednesday to allow an independent investigation, saying the Catholic Church had put up “a rubber wall” blocking the truth.

Father Marko Ivan Rupnik, a religious artist whose mosaics adorn about 200 churches and chapels around world, including in the Vatican, was expelled from the Jesuit order last year and is believed to be somewhere in his native Slovenia.

About 20 people, mostly former nuns, have accused him of various types of abuse, either when he was a spiritual director of a community of nuns in Slovenia about 30 years ago or after he moved to Rome to pursue his career as an artist.

He has not commented on the allegations, which the Jesuit Order said last year are “very highly” credible. Both the order, to which Pope Francis belongs, and…

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Two former nuns said Wednesday that a world-renowned artist priest made them take part in threesomes and watch porn so they would “grow spiritually”.

Slovenian mosaic artist Marko Rupnik, 69, is accused of sexually and psychologically abusing at least 20 women for nearly 30 years at a religious community in Slovenia.

“He took me to pornographic theatres to help me ‘grow spiritually’,” Gloria Branciani, who was a member of the community until 1994, told journalists at a press conference in Rome.

“He said that I would not grow spiritually if I did not meet his sexual needs,” she said, describing how he sexualised religious concepts.

“We had another nun have sex with us because he said it was like the Trinity,” Branciani said, referring to the central Christian doctrine of three persons within one God.

Rupnik was briefly excommunicated in 2020 for absolving someone of having sexual relations with him,…

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The new nonprofit is designed to get past the SBC Executive Committee’s ongoing financial and legal challenges.

Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention’s abuse reform task force announced plans Monday (Feb. 19) to launch an independent nonprofit to host a database of pastors accused of abuse and to implement other reforms.

They still need the money to run it.

The new nonprofit will oversee a proposed Ministry Check website listing abusive pastors, which has stalled since a website for the abuse reforms was launched last year. Currently, no names of pastors are included on the website, sbcabuseprevention.com.

Josh Wester, a North Carolina pastor who chairs the SBC’s Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force, said the nonprofit, which he called an abuse response commission, will be independent of the SBC’s current structure. 

He said the job of abuse reform was too big for a task force of volunteers to accomplish on their own. That…

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Five years ago this week, Pope Francis convened an unprecedented summit of bishops from around the world to impress on them that clergy sexual abuse was a global problem and that they needed to do something about it.

Over four days, these bishops heard harrowing tales of trauma from victims, learned how to investigate and sanction pedophile priests, and were warned that they too would face punishment if they continued to cover for abusers.

Yet five years later, despite new church laws to hold bishops accountable and promises to do better, the Catholic Church’s in-house legal system and pastoral response to victims has proven incapable of dealing with the problem.

In fact, victims, outside investigators and even in-house canon lawyers increasingly say the church’s response, crafted and amended over two decades of unrelenting scandal around the world, is downright damaging to the very people already harmed — the…

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The Vatican accepted Feb. 14 the resignation of the pontifical delegate for the Foyers de Charité, a troubled international association of the faithful co-founded by the French mystic Marthe Robin. 

The Foyers de Charité said in a Feb. 16 press release that Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life, had accepted the resignation of Bishop Michel Dubost, the 81-year-old bishop emeritus of Évry-Corbeil-Essonnes, almost two years after Dubost was appointed pontifical delegate.

The Foyers de Charité, which was co-founded in 1936 by the bed-bound mystic Marthe Robin and her spiritual director Fr. Georges Finet, was placed under the control of a pontifical delegate in February 2022. 

The Vatican often names pontifical delegates to oversee changes to groups that have governance problems or are struggling after revelations that their founders lived double lives.

Pope Benedict XVI, for example, asked the then Archbishop Velasio De Paolis to…

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The Southern Baptist Convention’s top administrative body voted Tuesday to oust four congregations — one for having a woman as senior minister, two for what it said were failures related to the denomination’s sexual-abuse policy and one for lack of financial participation.

The SBC’s Executive Committee announced the decision after a closed-door session at the end of its two-day meeting in Nashville. These are the latest in a series of expulsions in recent years, most notably when it ousted one of its largest, California’s Saddleback Church, and a Louisville, Kentucky congregation for having women in ministry leadership roles.

On Tuesday, the committee ousted Immanuel Baptist Church of Paducah, Kentucky, whose senior minister is a woman. The SBC’s official statement of faith says the office of pastor is open only to men.

There was no immediate response from Immanuel Baptist to an emailed query it received from The Associated…

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The Southern Baptist Convention will create a new, independent nonprofit to address allegations and investigations of sexual abuse in SBC churches, according to the second task force assigned to figure out solutions.

Josh Wester, chairman of the SBC’s Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force, reported this news to members of the SBC Executive Committee meeting in Nashville Feb. 19. Although Wester did not give the cost of creating such a commission, BNG has learned the estimated startup could cost as much as $5 million.

Additional operating revenue reportedly would be generated by fees paid by churches to participate in the clergy screening service. The commission would be independent of the SBC’s oversight.

“Given the current legal and financial challenges facing the SBC and the Executive Committee, the formation of a new independent organization is the only viable path that will allow progress toward abuse reform to continue unencumbered and without delay,” Wester said.

…

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A bill currently working its way through the Alabama Legislature would make it a felony for any clergyperson, church volunteer or staff member to have a sexual relationship with church attendees under age 19 and protected persons under age 22.

This new provision contained in Alabama House Bill 125 would apply to “a minister, priest, rabbi, bishop or other recognized member of the clergy in a position of trust or authority over a person.”

The bill would prohibit acts of “sexual intercourse or sodomy.” The bill also would make a felony out of acts of enticement, harassment, nudity and sexting.

The bill states that “consent is not a defense to a charge under this section.”

Abuse reform advocates have long pushed for legislatures to adopt similar laws. Many have argued that because of the inherent power differentials and dynamics of spiritual control at play in clergy-parishioner relationships, clergypersons should not be legally allowed…

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Fernando Gonzalez Ortega’s arrest shows church has not uprooted all molesters despite reform calls, abuse victims and advocates say

A Roman Catholic priest near the US’s border with Mexico is facing criminal charges on allegations that he sexually molested a child, according to authorities.

Fernando Gonzalez Ortega’s arrest for sexually abusing a minor and of trafficking of persons demonstrates that US Catholic bishops have not yet rooted out all molesters under their command despite reform prompted by the worldwide church’s decades-old clergy molestation scandal, abuse victims and their advocates have argued.

Gonzalez, 52, had been serving as pastor of Saint Luke’s church in Brownsville, Texas, when he was named in an “allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor” that diocesan officials received, local bishop Daniel Flores said in a 13 February statement.

The complainant, who is now an adult but was underage at the time of the alleged molestation, came forward…

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During the house search the officers identified Viagra and other stimulant material ready for sale

The Spanish Civil Guard arrested a priest and his companion in the city of Don Benito (Badajoz) as part of an anti-drug operation. According to what was reported by the newspaper “El Pais”, it is Don Alfonso Raul M., priest of the parish of San Sebastián.

During the house search, the agents identified Viagra and other stimulant material ready for sale, which the priest would have distributed among his customers. The investigations began months ago, when the Guardia civil became aware of the alleged sale of substances by the parish priest and another man.

The parish priest was well known in the municipality of over 37 thousand inhabitants and enjoyed great popularity among the locals for his closeness to the citizens and for his way of exercising the priesthood. The arrests were carried out on Monday…

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An archdiocese-maintained list of Catholic clergy members who have been deemed “credibly accused” of sexual abuse in Northern New Mexico parishes should also include others named by their accusers in a bankruptcy case, an attorney argues.

The claim, from Albuquerque attorney Levi Monagle, who represented about 140 people who made accusations against clergy in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe’s federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, is the latest salvo in a years-long battle over accountability in New Mexico’s part of the Catholic sex abuse scandal.

The list, initially published in 2017 by the archdiocese under Archbishop John C. Wester, includes the names of living and dead priests and other members of the Catholic clergy deemed by the archbishop and an independent review board to be credibly accused of sexual abuse. The list was last revised in March 2023.

But Monagle argues in a motion filed Tuesday in federal bankruptcy court that…

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The pastor of a California church for Central American immigrants has been arrested and is being held on $10 million dollars bond as a result of sexual abuse accusations against him from four victims who reported their claims to authorities. 

Fifty-three-year-old Pastor Victor Hernandez-Pineda has pleaded not guilty to 16 charges involving the sexual abuse of four victims in Contra Costa County Court on Jan. 17, according to KGO-TV‘s Dan Noyes.

Prosecutors have charged him with 16 criminal counts, including several counts of forcible rape of a child under 14, forcible rape of a person over 14, lewd act upon child and child molestation. 

Hernandez-Pineda is pastor of Iglesia Pentecostes Momiento De Gloria Church in Richmond in the East Bay area. 

Pablo Cifuentes, a senior official at the church, discovered that Hernandez-Pineda had sexually abused his daughter, Karen. Cifuentes told KGO in December that his 21-year-old…

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A priest in the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, has been arrested after being accused of sexual misconduct with a minor victim. 

Brownsville Bishop Daniel Flores said in a statement last week that diocesan officials had “received an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor by Father Fernando Gonzalez.”

Flores had received the report in early February from the diocesan victim’s assistance coordinator. The following day he “removed [Gonzalez] from active ministry” and “prohibited him from exercising any priestly ministry anywhere.” 

“The individual who came forward, who is now an adult, spoke to the Diocesan Victim’s Assistance Coordinator and was advised to report the allegation to the police,” the bishop said. “The investigation is in the hands of law enforcement and is ongoing. The diocese will fully cooperate with the investigation.”

Law enforcement reportedly arrested the priest last week. The Cameron County Sheriff’s Department lists Gonzalez as…

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Last year, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed into law the Child Victims Act of 2023, which eliminates the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases. This is incredibly important to the survivors of these type of crimes due to the fact the perpetrators often are not caught for these heinous acts before they cyclically abuse others.

When the child is older, they may be able to help with the cases they were involved in – thus, giving them a voice. Allowing victims to express how these crimes affected them and seeing the justice system work allows for higher rates of healing.

In 2020, there were 1,365,166 children in Maryland. Of those children, 7,242 were victims of child abuse or neglect. 28.4% of the child abuse or neglect that occurred in Maryland in 2020 was sexual abuse, meaning 2,059 Maryland children experienced sexual abuse. This is an increase of 3.4% from 2019….

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Sometimes, a quote doesn’t just catch your eye; it seizes your entire consciousness. It’s not often that words on a page stop you in your tracks, leaving you grappling for your bearings in the maze of your own thoughts. And then, occasionally, a quote screams so loud in its silence, “THAT’S IT! THAT REALLY NAILS IT.” For us at Horowitz Law, these sentences did exactly that:

 “Certainly, our prayers are with the alleged victim, as it is a terrible tragedy when someone is sexually abused. Nevertheless, it is equally tragic when someone is falsely identified and accused of an unspeakable act.”

Equally tragic? This sentiment expressed by the now-retired Bishop Matthew Clark, former head of the Rochester, New York Diocese, raises compelling questions about empathy, understanding, and the true weight of words versus actions.

False Equivalency: Reputation vs. Lifelong Damage

In an alarming equivalence, Bishop Clark juxtaposes:
– The…

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Thank you, Tim Hale, for pointing out that Catholic entities that seek bankruptcy protection do so largely to keep clergy abuses and cover ups covered up.

Three dozen church institutions have taken this move when officials face the prospect of answering tough questions, under oath, in open court, about how much they knew about and how little they did about predatory priests.

Until federal bankruptcy laws are reformed, in the short term, only the continued courage of victims, witnesses and whistleblowers can protect kids, expose corruption and deter future cover ups. I hope everyone who has knowledge or suspicions about this horror speaks up.

David Clohessy is the former national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests in St. Louis, MO.

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A new report focused on dozens of New York agencies serving children, youth and families in the foster care system revealed a shocking number last month: These nonprofits now face more than 800 lawsuits alleging childhood sexual abuse, including allegations that date back as far as the 1950s.

The legal challenges follow passage of the 2019 Child Victims Act, a law written to “finally allow justice for past and future survivors of child sexual abuse, help the public identify hidden child predators through civil litigation discovery, and shift the significant and lasting costs of child sexual abuse to the responsible parties.” The state law, mirroring similar legislation across the country, lifted state statutes of limitation for survivors of abuse to file legal claims against their alleged perpetrators. Claimants had until Aug. 21, 2021 to file lawsuits.

Fifteen percent of the almost 11,000 cases filed in…

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[Includes audio of the entire conversation, as well as a transcript.]

The Archdiocese of New Orleans has been in bankruptcy court for nearly four years, seeking protection from dozens of lawsuits after revelations that more than 300 of the Catholic church’s workers were reported for sexual abuse.

The Guardian’s Ramon Vargas has been reporting on these cases for years and tracking the tactics the archdiocese is using to avoid responsibility.

In a conversation with the Gulf States Newsroom’s Drew Hawkins, Vargas and Aaron Hebert, a survivor in one of the abuse cases, discuss how important it is to shed light on these abuses — and how much more work there is to be done.

Content Warning: This story contains details of the sexual abuse of children. The following conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. 

Ramon, you’ve been covering sexual abuse of children by members…

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[Includes link to an hour-plus podcast discussion.]

I first came across Dr. Bernard Prusak’s work when a friend sent me his article in Commonweal titled, Who Knew? The sexual-abuse crisis and ‘epistemic injustice.’ This article struck me as contributing something important to the discussion about the abuse crisis in the Church, so I reached out to Bernard. After we connected, he sent me a draft of an article (that will be published later this year by Liturgical Press) about the concept of Institutional Vice and how it can help explain how abuse coverup happens in the Church.

The simple explanation of institutional vice is that if the virtues of an institution naturally encourage the individual members of that institution to be more virtuous than they were on their own, the vices of an institution can corrupt a person. Institutional vice helps explain how a seemingly otherwise good…

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One afternoon in mid-December, Pope Francis had a meeting that wasn’t on his official agenda or otherwise recorded, that underscored the utter dysfunction of the Catholic Church’s response to the global clergy sex abuse scandal.

In the main reception room of the Vatican hotel where he lives, Francis met for more than an hour with a Spaniard who as a young seminarian was molested by his spiritual director. The former seminarian was desperate.

He had lodged a complaint with the Toledo, Spain Archdiocese in 2009, and visited Vatican offices multiple times to deposit damning documents and demand action be taken against his abuser and the bishops who allegedly covered for him. But for 15 years, he had received no justice from the church.

While Francis’ decision to hear his story was laudable and pastorally sensitive, it was also evidence that the church’s in-house system to deal with abuse isn’t working…

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The state Attorney General’s Office may have subpoenaed three Catholic bishops in Washington state seeking “abuse-related documents and evidence,” the Catholic Accountability Project said at a news conference Tuesday, Feb. 13.

The subpoenas were delivered in late August, according to the group who said they learned of the AGO’s involvement through a “highly credible source.”

“If this is true, (Attorney General) Bob Ferguson has joined 23 other state attorneys general, both Democrats and Republicans, in investigating sexual abuse in faith-based organizations since 2018,” said Tim Law, a Catholic Accountability Project (CAP) founding member.

The Attorney General’s Office declined to comment or confirm whether or not an investigation has in fact been opened.

“As a longstanding policy, the Attorney General’s Office generally does not comment on ongoing investigations, including confirming or denying their existence,” said Brionna Aho, communications director for the office.

CAP is an advocacy and support group for survivors…

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A much-heralded $100 million plan for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse to pay abuse survivors and end scores of lawsuits against the church may be in trouble.

A government-appointed trustee has asked a judge overseeing the diocese’s bankruptcy case to reject a proposed reorganization plan in part because she said the diocese doesn’t appear to have enough money to pay its share of the $100 million compensation plan.

Another possible hurdle is a key part of the plan — the requirement for survivors to waive their right to sue the diocese before they get money — is being challenged at the U.S. Supreme Court in an unrelated case.

Erin Champion, an assistant U.S. trustee, told the judge during a four-hour hearing in Syracuse last week that the diocese’s math “just doesn’t add up.”

The diocese, as of November, only had assets with a liquidation…

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Bishop Robert Deeley, who has led the diocese in Maine for the past decade, will be succeeded by the Rev. James T. Ruggieri.

Bishop Robert Deeley is retiring in May after a decade of leading the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland.

Pope Francis accepted Deeley’s resignation and has appointed the Rev. James T. Ruggieri as the 13th bishop for the diocese, which encompasses the whole state and includes more than 275,000 Catholics, the church announced Tuesday.

“I want to make it clear that it has been an honor and a joy for me to serve as the bishop of Portland for these last 10 years,” Deeley, 77, said during a news conference.

Deeley has led the diocese through ongoing lawsuits alleging the institution is responsible for dozens of cases of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of priests and other diocesan employees that predate Deeley’s tenure.

He was appointed by…

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[The article includes a brief video with a clip from the press conference including remarks by the newly appointed bishop.]

Pope Francis has named former pastor Father James T. Ruggieri as the 13th bishop of the Diocese of Portland, Maine, to be installed in May.

The Diocese of Portland, Maine, will be under new leadership come May. Pope Francis has appointed Father James T. Ruggieri, a priest of the Diocese of Providence, as the 13th bishop of Portland. He will replace outgoing Bishop Robert Peter Deeley, 77, who has served the only diocese in Maine since 2013. 

Bishop Deeley will continue to lead the Diocese of Portland until Bishop-Elect Ruggieri’s ordination and installation ceremony, on May 7, 2024. According to Rhode Island Catholic, the diocesan newspaper of Bishop-Elect Ruggieri’s native Diocese of Providence – where he was born, raised, and has practiced his ministry since he…

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The Rev. James T. Ruggieri, whose leadership style helped accelerate the departure of some more progressive parishioners from St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, has been appointed bishop of Portland, Maine.

The Diocese of Providence announced Ruggieri’s planned move in a Tuesday morning press release.

“In my brief time in Providence, I have come to appreciate and admire Father Ruggieri’s personal humility, authenticity, and remarkably fruitful priestly ministry,” Providence Bishop Richard G. Henning was quoted as saying. “That ministry has wide-reaching effects upon the people and clergy of this diocese. For these reasons, among others, I see the wisdom of the Holy Father’s choice even as I feel the pang of the loss to us.”

Why Ruggieri’s tenure in South Providence was controversial

Ruggieri, a native Rhode Islander and graduate of Providence College, has been the pastor at St. Patrick’s, on Smith Hill, since 2003. He took charge at St….

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The bill would not require clergy to report on private confessions but would provide legal protections for those who do

The Utah House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to pass a bill that would shield clergy from criminal and civil liability if they report ongoing child abuse and neglect discovered during religious confessions.

The bill, HB432, advanced to the Senate with a 64-0 vote Friday afternoon, marking broad consensus on the effort to protect both children and clergy-penitent privilege in the state. It will now proceed to the Senate for committee consideration.

“This bill aims to increase child protection while maintaining respect for religious liberty,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Anthony Loubet, R-Kearns, prior to the final vote.

The bill would amend the state’s child abuse reporting requirements to include legal protections for members of the clergy who report cases of ongoing abuse or neglect learned through a…

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An Indiana Catholic husband and wife are petitioning the Supreme Court to hear their case after the state government removed their child from their home after he began identifying as “transgender.”

Mary and Jeremy Cox refused to accept their son’s self-declared female identity in 2019, instead seeking therapy to address what they saw as underlying mental health concerns.

The Indiana government in 2021 began investigating the Cox family after learning that they refused to address their son by his chosen identity. The government subsequently removed their son from their home, placing him in another home that “affirmed” his transgender beliefs.

The state government subsequently dropped abuse allegations against the couple, though it still argued that the “disagreement over gender identity” was distressing to the child and was contributing to an ongoing eating disorder. Subsequent court decisions upheld the decision to keep the child out of the Coxes’ custody.

On Thursday…

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It is believed to be the largest civil settlement by a public school district in New Jersey since the state passed a law in 2019 that extended the statute of limitations.

Winslow Township Schools has reached a $6 million settlement with two former students who alleged they were sexually assaulted for years by a former high school teacher who plied them with money and fancy restaurant outings.

It is believed to be the largest civil settlement by a public school district in New Jersey since the state passed a law in 2019 that extended the statute of limitations to allow victims of child sexual abuse to sue their abusers up until they turn 55.

“These are important settlements,” said John Baldante, a Haddonfield attorney representing both victims who will receive $3 million each in a structured settlement. “These victims of child sex abuse now have a voice.”

“I feel like…

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The church faces a crisis of faith as allegations of sexual abuse and cover-ups surface. Meanwhile, the community of midtown Little Rock mourns the loss of Otis Schiller, known as the ‘Halloween King’, whose elaborate displays brought joy to generations.

In a world where trust is a currency more valuable than gold, the recent revelations surrounding the church’s handling of sexual abuse cases have bankrupted many people’s faith in religious institutions. The heart of the matter lies in the accusation that Pope Francis, a beacon of hope for many, has allegedly opposed reforms aimed at addressing clerical sexual abuse. This, coupled with harrowing accounts of priests assaulting nuns and coercing them into abortions, paints a grim picture of the Vatican’s failure to take meaningful action. On the home front, the community mourns the loss of Otis Schiller, known affectionately as the ‘Halloween King’ of midtown Little…

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A man who was studying to be a priest was arrested on child pornography charges at a Cincinnati seminary Friday.

New video released by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office shows 28-year-old Broderick Witt being taken into the Hamilton County Justice Center last Friday.

According to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Witt was charged with eight counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor.

On Saturday, Witt was arraigned. His bond was set at $25,000 for each felony offense.

“Bond on each of these charges, there are eight, all felony offenses. Bond will be set at $25,000 secured for each of them. Should that bond be posted, the total is $200,000,” the judge said.

The judge also stipulated that Witt should have no access to a computer and be placed on home incarceration with electronic monitoring as a condition of the bond.

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati released a statement Friday,…

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A child sex abuse survivor has got justice 40 years after he was groomed and sexually assaulted by a paedophile who went on to commit other offences against boys in Holland and a girl in Kent.

Philip Saunders, 67, was sentenced to six years in jail, with the judge saying only a rule that sentences had to reflect the law in the 1980s stopped him from giving him an even longer sentence.

Keith Hinchliffe, now 54, was abused at Saunders home, in his car, in his office at night, at Wembley Stadium and his predator was given open access to Grafton Close children’s home in the London borough of Richmond to take him out to abuse him when he was put in care.. The abuse continued for three years starting when he was 12 until he turned 16. Saunders was 27 at the time.

His case raises questions again about…

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New information shared with KOMO News indicates that leaders of Washington’s Catholic dioceses were subpoenaed, but KOMO directly asked the Attorney General’s office, which declined to comment.

Two groups, Ending Clergy Abuse and Catholic Accountability Project (CAP) gathered outside the Attorney General’s office in Olympia, calling for action.

“It’s time for truth-telling. If not now – when? I’m 83 years old. I want to see change,” said Mary Dispenza, with the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

Dispenza told KOMO News she was just seven when a priest raped her. She is now working alongside others demanding change and investigations by the Attorney General.Skip about:blank

“The victims can’t do it on their own,” said Tim Law, a…

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The victim is unnamed, identified only as Doe 68.

Raised in a devout Roman Catholic family and a parishioner of the Church of St. Gregory the Great in Hamilton Square within the Diocese of Trenton, he — or she — was allegedly sexually abused by a priest more than 50 years ago. That abuse began at the age of 8 until “Doe 68″ was 11-years-old, according to a lawsuit filed in state Superior Court under a two-year window that extended the amount of time victims of sexual abuse had to sue.

The priest is now deceased. The complaint, one of hundreds filed against the diocese, remains in litigation more than two years after it was filed. And last week, the insurance carrier that provided liability coverage for the diocese went to federal court saying it had made repeated requests for the information necessary to analyze…

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A former Minnesota pastor has been charged with several felony sex crimes for allegedly sexually touching a girl in a school basement and at his church office, beginning when she was 14, court records show.

Luverne Daniel Zacharias, 46, former pastor of Owatonna’s Christian Family Church (CFC), reportedly told the girl she was his “kryptonite,” according to records from the Steele County District Court. And when the victim reported the matter to the head pastors, they reportedly discouraged her from going to police, telling her to think about how that would affect his own kids, records show.

Zacharias is being charged with six counts of criminal sexual conduct, including charges related to penetration, sexual touch, and abusing his position of authority, court records show. Zacharias was the victim’s youth pastor at the time of the abuses and was also the principal of El Shaddai Christian School, a school…

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Last week, a Michigan woman came forward with a bombshell story, accusing International House of Prayer Founder Mike Bickle of sexually abusing her, beginning when she was 14. Now, that woman, identified by her maiden name Tammy Woods, has released the following letter, addressed to Mike (and Diane) Bickle.

Woods said she wrote the letter on Jan. 30, after realizing she could no longer keep the alleged abuse secret. Woods told The Roys Report (TRR) that she never sent the letter. But the process of writing it was cathartic, and eventually helped her come forward to her pastors, lawyer Boz Tchividjian, police, and the Kansas City Star. Woods’ sister contacted TRR this morning, asking if we would publish the letter, showing her sister’s “heart and her appeal to make things right.” After confirming with Woods that that was her wish, we agreed. 

January 30, 2024

Dear Mike…

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Pope Francis accepted the resignation Wednesday of a 51-year-old French auxiliary bishop. 

But while the local Church has insisted Bishop Gilles Reithinger resigned for “health reasons,” the bishop was also engulfed by a scandal surrounding the Paris Foreign Missions Society.

The Holy See press office announced Feb. 14 — Ash Wednesday — that the pope had accepted the resignation of Bishop Reithinger from the office of auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Strasbourg. It did not offer an explanation for the step.

The Strasbourg archdiocese, which traces its roots to the 4th century, has a distinctive status thanks to the Concordat of 1801, according to which episcopal moves are jointly approved by the Vatican and the French president.

The French state therefore also announced Wednesday that the president had agreed to Reithinger’s resignation. It did not provide an explanation for the resignation.

Archbishop Philippe Ballot, the Bishop of Metz and the apostolic…

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The former teacher and church choirmaster of St Augustine’s Roman Catholic School has been jailed

A former South West school teacher has been jailed for four years for historic child sex offences. Robert Kalton, 88, of Ashby Road, Burton upon Trent, was sentenced at Salisbury Crown Court for the offences which took place in the 1970s.

The former teacher and church choirmaster of St Augustine’s Roman Catholic School in Trowbridge pleaded guilty to four counts of gross indecency with a boy under the age of 14 and two counts of gross indecency with a boy under the age of 16 at a previous hearing at Salisbury Crown Court on November 24.

Kalton was sentenced to four years in prison for one count of indecent assault on a boy under 14. On three further counts of indecent assault on a boy under 14 he received sentences of 20 weeks, two years,…

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When Sen. Noel Frame, D-Seattle, learned how Jehovah’s Witness elders in Spokane had covered up child sexual abuse for years, she looked to the law for answers.

Frame found that, under Washington State law, clergy members have no responsibility to report what they suspect to be child abuse. Washington is one of five states that has yet to change this rule.

Frame says she experienced abuse as a child, and it was only once after her teacher, a “mandatory reporter,” said something to her guardians that the abuse stopped.

If SB 6298 passes, clergy members will be required to report their suspicions to either the Department of Children, Youth or Families (DCYF) or law enforcement. Teachers, law enforcement, medical professionals, therapists and more are already designated as mandated reporters in Washington.

Following objections from Catholics, an amendment was made to the bill that now exempts clergy members from having to…

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A South Korean pastor once hailed as a hero for smuggling out hundreds of North Koreans has been jailed for sexually abusing teenage defectors.

Chun Ki-won, 67, has been sentenced to five years for molesting minors at his boarding school in Seoul.

The pastor had been viewed as a saviour figure for decades with people calling him an “Asian Schindler” and his operations an “Underground Railroad” for those fleeing the North’s regime.

He was arrested in Seoul in September.

Police accused him of molesting six North Korean teenagers, including defectors sleeping in the dormitories of the alternative school he had founded at his Durihana mission.

Chun had denied the charges but a court on Wednesday ruled the victims’ evidence as irrefutable.

“The victims are making consistent statements and it includes content that cannot be stated without first-hand experience of the circumstances”, Judge Seung-jeong Kim of the Seoul Central District Court…

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Two men are seeking justice after they claim they were sexually abused by a former employee of the First Baptist Church of Benton when they were teens.

The lawsuit filed in Pulaski County alleges the church and the entire Southern Baptist Convention knew or should have known the man posed a danger to the youth.

Lawsuit filed against The Lord’s Ranch youth facility in central Arkansas, claiming staff member sexually abused its children

The lawsuit claims the two men were sexually abused starting in 1994 by a former church employee who was fired after being arrested for 54 counts of sexual indecency in 2009. 

The 2009 arrest involving four juveniles associated with the church led to a 10-year sentence for the former church employee. That arrest and conviction were for a case that does not involve the two men filing this current lawsuit.

Mary Lui with Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis &…

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Ramón Benito Ángeles Fernández, a respected bishop in Santo Domingo, faces a Vatican investigation due to a 1994 sexual abuse allegation involving a 14-year-old victim. The church’s response and the Vatican’s investigation will shape the narrative of accountability within the Catholic community.

In the heart of Santo Domingo, a story unfolds that intertwines faith, power, and the vulnerability of innocence. Ramón Benito Ángeles Fernández, an esteemed auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo, finds himself at the epicenter of a Vatican investigation following grave allegations. At the core of this inquiry is an accusation dating back to 1994, involving a 14-year-old victim who claims to have been sexually assaulted by Fernández at the Seminario Menor de La Vega in the Dominican Republic. Despite these serious allegations surfacing in 2018, Fernández’s ecclesiastical career advanced when he was appointed as an auxiliary bishop in August 2017.

The Allegations Surface

The accusations…

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A former Trowbridge school teacher and church choirmaster has been convicted of 32 sexual offences against at least six young boys.

Robert Kalton, 88 and of Ashby Road in Burton upon Trent, worked at St Augustine’s Roman Catholic School.

He was sentenced to four years in prison for the non-recent child sex offences at Salisbury Crown Court on 15 February.

Kalton pleaded guilty to four counts of gross indecency with a boy under the age of 14 and two counts of gross indecency with a boy under the age of 16 at a previous hearing at Salisbury Crown Court on 24 November.

The court heard that at the time the investigation commenced Kalton was already serving a four-year prison sentence for similar offending.

His crimes span two decades and he operated in various locations across the UK.

The victim in this case came to police in December 2019 and reported…

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La Arquidiócesis dio fe de la trayectoria del obispo auxiliar, de su trabajo pastoral, social, educativo y ético Un medio digital español publicó que el obispo dominicano era investigado en la Santa Sede por “agresión sexual”

La Arquidiócesis de Santo Domingo se pronunció este viernes sobre una supuesta investigación que realiza el Vaticano a monseñor Ramón Benito Ángeles Fernández, obispo auxiliar de Santo Domingo, por presunta agresión sexual a una menor de edad, según el medio español InfoVaticana.

En un comunicado emitido mediante la oficina de prensa y comunicación, la Arquidiócesis señaló que no tienen evidencias de la supuesta investigación, divulgada originalmente por un medio de comunicación digital de España que “no pertenece a instancia eclesial alguna”.

“Entendemos que la citada publicación busca dañar la reputación de Mons. Benito Ángeles y de nuestra Iglesia“, continúa el comunicado.

La Arquidiócesis dio fe de la “trayectoria fidedigna” del obispo auxiliar, de su trabajo pastoral, social, educativo y ético en favor…

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Tras varios meses de investigación, InfoVaticana ha podido confirmar por varias fuentes que el obispo auxiliar de la archidiócesis de Santo Domingo (República Dominicana) Ramón Benito Ángeles Fernández está siendo investigado por el Vaticano por agresión sexual a un menor.

El Vaticano tuvo conocimiento de estos hechos, que más adelante detallaremos, en el año 2018. La denuncia llegó a Roma un año después de su ordenación episcopal. Lo más curioso, es que mientras el Vaticano investigaba la denuncia, fue designado rector de la Universidad Católica Santo Domingo en el año 2020.

Mons. Ramón Benito Ángeles Fernández estudió en la Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), donde obtuvo su título en Filosofía. Concluyó sus estudios teológicos en el Seminario Pontificio Santo Tomás de Aquino (SPSTA), recibiendo el título de licenciado en Ciencias Religiosas.

Fue profesor en la facultad de Teología y vicerrector académico del Seminario Pontificio Santo Tomás de Aquino. También llevó…

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Murphy plays a man who witnesses Ireland’s church’s abusive workhouses for unwed mothers in an absorbing Dickensian story based on recent history

As producer and lead actor, Cillian Murphy has brought to the screen a piercingly painful and sad story with a very literary intensity, juxtaposing the detail of the present with flashback memories of the past. It is about Ireland’s notorious Magdalene Laundries: the church’s homes for unwed mothers who were made to work in an atmosphere of wretchedness and shame and had their babies taken away and sold to foster parents. Enda Walsh has adapted the much admired novel by Claire Keegan and the director is Tim Mielants.

This subdued but absorbing and eventful film is rather different from Peter Mullan’s extravagant The Magdalene Sisters – which also featured Eileen Walsh in its cast – and different also from Stephen Frears’ bittersweet dramedy Philomena. Murphy shows…

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Nine years after leaders at First Baptist Church of Houston were told about allegations against Paul Pressler for sexually abusing boys and young men, the Texas House of Representatives passed a lengthy resolution of praise for the Houston judge and Baptist layman.

Pressler, co-architect of the so-called “conservative resurgence” in the SBC, and a key figure in attacking denominational leaders while calling for theological purity, recently settled out of court a lawsuit brought by one of his alleged victims — one of multiple accusers who have come forward with similar stories.

Court documents filed in the case brought by Duane Rollins against Pressler and others and brought to light by the Texas Tribune last year detail “repeated accusations of sexual misconduct and assault dating back to at least 1978, when (Pressler) was forced out of a Houston church for allegedly molesting a teenager in a sauna.”

Paul Pressler (left) and Paige Patterson,…

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ECCLESIASTICAL INSURANCE, one of the main insurers for Church of England bodies, will not participate in the National Redress Scheme for victims of church-based abuse, it was confirmed this week.

A General Synod briefing paper published last Friday indicated that “one of the insurers serving many of the Church of England’s local bodies” had withdrawn from participation in the scheme.

On Wednesday, a spokesperson for Ecclesiastical Insurance confirmed the decision, saying that a redress scheme “falls outside of the insurance contractual obligations to parishes and churches. We have given the Church’s request for us to participate in its proposed redress scheme serious consideration and engagement.

“However, there are a combination of legal and commercial reasons why this is extremely challenging and complex for any insurer, and we are therefore unable to participate in the scheme. We will continue to honour our obligations to our policyholders.”

There is no debate…

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• Juan Martin Gonzalez is charged with lewd and lascivious molestation
• An appeals court ruled a recorded church meeting could be used as evidence
• Attorneys could appeal a recent decision to the Florida Supreme Court 

A man accused of molesting a 12-year-old girl in 2020 who admitted he had “sinned” to the leaders of a Florida church remains at the center of a legal battle that could have a bearing on whether confessions made in a religious setting can be held against criminal defendants.

Juan Martin Gonzalez was recorded on video addressing a group of church leaders about the accusations that was turned over to authorities. He’s scheduled to return to court in Pinellas County on lewd and lascivious molestation charges next month.

A trial judge threw out the video as evidence citing clergy-penitent privilege. Prosecutors appealed the decision, and it was overturned by Florida’s Second District…

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• In short: Justen Shawn Orford, 49, has been sentenced after pleading guilty to 15 child exploitation charges.
• The Townsville District Court heard Orford had photographed students to make exploitation content.
• What’s next? Orford will be released from prison in July after serving four months.

A North Queensland court has heard a primary school principal with a 30-year career in children’s education photographed unknowing students to make child exploitation material.

Justen Shawn Orford, 49, was stood down from St Joseph’s Catholic School in Townsville and arrested in July 2021 after parents and teachers raised concerns about his conduct.

He was charged with 14 offences including making and possessing child exploitation material and using a carriage service to access child abuse material.

Orford pleaded guilty to all counts in September last year.

Students photographed

During sentencing in the Townsville District Court on Friday, Orford pleaded guilty to an additional charge of possessing…

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A former Trowbridge school teacher has been sentenced to four years imprisonment for non-recent child sex offences.

Robert Kalton, 88, of Ashby Road, Burton upon Trent, was sentenced at Salisbury Crown Court today (15/02).

The former teacher and church choirmaster of St Augustine’s Roman Catholic School pleaded guilty to four counts of gross indecency with a boy under the age of 14 and two counts of gross indecency with a boy under the age of 16 at a previous hearing at Salisbury Crown Court on November 24.

At the hearing today Kalton was sentenced to four years for one count of indecent assault on a boy under 14. On three further counts of indecent assault on a boy under 14 he received sentences of 20 weeks, two years, and two years respectively. On two counts of indecent assault on a man aged 16 or over he received one year and one…

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A judge has ordered the Anglican church pay $2.4 million to a sexual abuse survivor, ruling an earlier settlement made by the organisation was heavily motivated by a desire to protect its reputation.

The man, who was abused in the 1980s as a child several times by now-jailed former priest Louis Victor Daniels, brought civil action against the Tasmanian diocese of the church.

He argued a deed he signed in 1994, which forced Daniels to pay him $34,000 and included a confidentiality clause, should be made void.

The church didn’t deny Daniels sexually abused the man, but argued the deed should stand.

Supreme Court of Tasmania judge Michael Brett ruled the deed should be set aside in the “interests of justice”.

He found the 1994 settlement and deed giving effect to it was “heavily influenced” by the church’s desire to protect its reputation.

Justice Brett said responsible members of the…

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The Kentucky Supreme Court has sided with four Southern Baptist Convention entities that — among others — sought to deny a sexual abuse victim an extension of the statute of limitations to file a claim against those she believes knew of her abuse and did not act.

Samantha Killary sought to file legal claims against her father, Sean Jackman; as well as his girlfriend, Linda Thompson; her grandfather, Rick Jackman; and the Louisville Metro Police Department, where both Jackman and Thompson worked. The case involves alleged abuse that occurred from 1997 to 2009.

She made her claim May 2, 2018, which was nine years beyond the last alleged abuse. At the time, Kentucky’s statute of limitations to file sexual abuse claims was only five years — significantly less than most states, which are typically 10 to 21 years.

However, while Killary’s case was still in process on appeal, the Kentucky Legislature…

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Activists say pontiff also ‘turning a blind eye’ to priests who assault nuns and force them to have abortions

Pope Francis has been accused of opposing reforms that would seriously address the problem of clerical sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults, while “turning a blind eye” to priests who assault nuns and force them to have abortions.

Francis promised to “spare no effort” to bring to justice paedophile priests and the bishops who covered up their crimes at an unprecedented summit in February 2019, an event that was supposed to mark a turning point in the handling of a scandal that has embroiled the Catholic church for decades.

A week before the summit, Francis became the first pontiff to publicly admit that priests had also sexually abused nuns, some of whom shared testimony during the event, and pledged to do more to fight the problem.

Three months later, the  View Cache

• In short: A man has launched legal action against the Toowoomba Catholic Diocese after he was allegedly raped by a priest in the late 2000s.
• The boy was in mid-primary school at the time.
• What’s next? A statement of claim has been filed in the Supreme Court in Toowoomba, where that matter will progress. 

Police did not investigate allegations a southern Queensland priest had sexually abused a young school student because the alleged offender had already died, the Queensland Police Service says.

The former primary school student, who the ABC can’t identify, is suing the Toowoomba Catholic Diocese for $1.7 million in damages for the alleged abuse dating back to the late 2000s.

The man, now in his 20s, alleges well-known priest Father James Byrne raped him multiple times at the Sacred Heart Church after school mass.

In the statement of civil claim filed to the Supreme Court in Toowoomba,…

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Pope Francis is accused of opposing reforms that would seriously address the problem of clerical sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults, while “turning a blind eye” to priests who assault nuns and force them to have abortions. Bishop Accountability cites 10 cases allegedly showing the pope favored accused bishops and clerics over their victims. Marko Rupnik is atop the list.

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An economic fund to help nuns who abandon religious life after having suffered abuse from religious, priests and/or bishops. This is the request made by former German consecrated woman Doris Reisinger – herself a victim of sexual and spiritual abuse by a priest – to Pope Francis in a press conference organized by the anti-abuse platform BishopAccountability.org “The Pope has recognized abuses against nuns, but he has not acted accordingly,” said the researcher and activist, aware that Francis already addressed the issue of abuse and exploitation in female consecrated life in 2019, when he admitted having knowledge of cases of “slavery” and “even sexual slavery” Reisinger also demanded that the Vatican create another fund for the care of children fathered by priests – to prevent them from “a life of poverty and shame”, as he stressed -, as well as the expulsion of clerics who force women to abort. those who…

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Almost two years ago, Pope Francis gave the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors a challenging assignment.

The pope asked the Vatican’s child protection body to begin producing annual reports on the Church’s global efforts to safeguard minors and vulnerable adults. 

“This might be difficult at the beginning,” he said in April 2022, “but I ask you to begin where necessary, in order to furnish a reliable account on what is presently being done and what needs to change, so that the competent authorities can act.”

“Difficult” was surely an understatement. The Catholic Church has been described as the “world’s oldest continuously functioning international institution.” It has 1.4 billion members, who belong to 24 particular churches and are present in almost every country in the world. And the Church is not known for its scrupulous record-keeping. 

So how would the commission tackle the task of creating the Church’s first worldwide safeguarding report?

…

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Advocacy group claims Catholic Bishops were subpoenaed to produce abuse-related evidence

New information shared with KOMO News indicates that leaders of Washington’s Catholic dioceses were subpoenaed, but KOMO directly asked the Attorney General’s office, which declined to comment.

Two groups, Ending Clergy Abuse and Catholic Accountability Project (CAP) gathered outside the Attorney General’s office in Olympia, calling for action.

“It’s time for truth-telling. If not now – when? I’m 83 years old. I want to see change,” said Mary Dispenza, with the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

Dispenza told KOMO News she was just seven when a priest raped her. She is now working alongside others demanding change and investigations by the Attorney General.

“The victims can’t do it on their own,” said Tim Law, a founding member of the Catholic Accountability Project.

Victim advocacy groups said the Washington State Attorney General’s Office issued statewide subpoenas. However,…

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Two decades ago, John Devine worked with the law firm of Paul Pressler and Jared Woodfill, later defendants in a Southern Baptist abuse case.

In 2022, the Texas Supreme Court declined to kill a high-profile sex abuse lawsuit against former Southern Baptist Convention leader Paul Pressler and his longtime law partner, Jared Woodfill.

For Justice John Devine, the case involved some familiar names: Years before taking the bench, he had worked at Woodfill and Pressler’s small Houston law firm. In fact, Devine’s tenure at the firm overlapped with the time that the plaintiff, a former employee of the firm, was allegedly molested by Pressler.

Two other justices, who previously worked for the law firm representing the plaintiff, recused themselves. Devine didn’t — and instead dissented from the court’s 5-2 decision that allowed the suit to go forward after a challenge to its statute of limitations.

The lawsuit would eventually make public numerous  View Cache

A statement from Royalhouse Chapel said the allegations by a self-styled fetish priest lack merit and should be treated with the contempt it deserve

The Apostle General and founder of Royalhouse Chapel, Most Rev Sam Korankye Ankrah, has denied allegations of sexual misconduct and alleged involvement in rituals.

A statement from the leadership of the church is in response to allegations made by fetish priest Osofo Samuel Kojo Bentil Odoom in a social media video that the church’s founder engaged in sexual misconduct with a five-year-old nearly three decades ago.

According to the statement released on Wednesday, (14 February) by Royalhouse Chapel, the fetish priest also accused Sam Korankye Ankrah of using the victim’s blood to build his church and engaging in sexual misconduct with church members.

It said these claims by the priest are false and deliberately calculated to tarnish the hard-earned reputation of the esteemed Apostle General Sam Korankye…

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On February 14, the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross reported on its new collaboration agreement with the Commission for the Protection of Minors to prevent abuse in the Church.

The signing of the agreement between the University and the Pontifical Commission (Copyright: Pontifical University of the Holy Cross).

– Supernatural Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (PUSC, for its acronym in Spanish) and the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (Tutela Minorum) announced that they will collaborate to fight against the abuse of minors and vulnerable adults in the Catholic Church.

The agreement was signed by Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, President of the Commission, and Luis Navarro, Rector of the University. It is composed of 7 articles that specify the nature of this collaboration between the two entities.

The agreement between the PUSC and Tutela Minorum

First, the two parties undertake to carry out a “regular update of initiatives…

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Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila is once more inviting all clergy and the laity of the Archdiocese of Denver to offer prayers and fasting for survivors of sexual abuse on the first Friday of Lent.

In 2019, the archbishop designated the first Friday of Lent as a day of voluntary prayer and fasting for the healing of sexual abuse survivors and in reparation for all sins against the dignity of persons and life. All faithful of the archdiocese are invited to partake in this on Feb. 16 this year.

“We have made significant progress in addressing this grave evil within the Church, but we cannot let that progress cause us to forget the psychological, physical and spiritual wounds it has caused,” Archbishop Aquila wrote in a 2019 letter. “On this designated day once per year, I would urge you to also fast and set aside some extra moments of prayer…

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A Dakota County court is still considering claims of negligence and negligent supervision by the school stemming from allegations made by two recent graduates.  By Louis Krauss Star Tribune FEBRUARY 14, 2024 — 5:47PM

Most of the claims were dismissed in a lawsuit against St. Thomas Academy, but two for alleged negligence and negligent supervision are still being considered in court.

A Dakota County judge has dismissed most of the seven claims made against St. Thomas Academy in a civil lawsuit by two graduates, who alleged they endured a “frat-like” school culture that administrators ignored.

However, the all-boys Catholic preparatory and military school in Mendota Heights isn’t out of the legal woods yet and still faces two remaining claims.

According to the suit filed in January 2023 in Dakota County District Court, plaintiffs Joseph Kolar and Tucker Bakko alleged they were groped by senior students while…

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Pope Francis needs to set up a fund for nuns who quit religious life after abuse from priests and prelates, activists say, calling for greater attention on a long-neglected issue in the Catholic Church.advertisement

There are more than 600,000 nuns globally, and their exploitation and abuse has come to the fore in recent years, including in articles by the Vatican’s official newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.

Francis acknowledged the problem in 2019. Speaking of a specific women’s religious order that was dissolved by his predecessor Benedict XVI in 2005, he talked of cases of “slavery” and “even sexual slavery.”

German researcher and former nun Doris Reisinger, herself a victim of sexual and spiritual abuse by a priest, made the request during a press conference on Tuesday organized by abuse tracking group BishopAccountability.org.

“The pope has admitted abuse of nuns but he has not acted on it,” she said.

“And we have never…

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Belgium’s justice minister said he would send the Vatican pornographic images found on Roger Vangheluwe’s computer to add to the case against him.

The Vatican has asked Belgium’s bishops to provide a new dossier on accusations against the former Bishop of Bruges Roger Vangheluwe, following their repeated requests that Rome laicise him.

Vangheluwe stepped down in 2010 at 73 after admitting he had molested his own nephew, and later confirmed he had also abused another nephew. The scandal also damaged the reputation of the late Cardinal Godfried Danneels, who covered up for Vangheluwe.

Bishop Johan Bonny of Antwerp revealed last September that Belgian bishops had pleaded with Vangheluwe, now 87, to quit the priesthood and even asked the Vatican to laicise him. This came shortly after it emerged that Vangheluwe had written to Rome, but he refused to reveal what he said in his letter.

The apostolic nuncio to Belgium,…

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The plaintiff says he was repeatedly abused by Father John Kilty while he was a student at Holy Trinity Elementary School in North Vancouver, B.C. (Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver)

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver has settled a lawsuit brought by a B.C. man who says he was groomed and sexually assaulted by a priest and a teacher at North Vancouver’s Holy Trinity Elementary School when he was six years old.

The settlement was reached Tuesday, the seventh day of a trial in which plaintiff “John Doe” described his alleged abuse at the hands of Father John Kilty and teacher Raymond Clavin in the 1970s.

Before the civil trial began, the church admitted the abuse occurred, and admitted its vicarious liability for the men’s actions. However, the church denied that it knew or ought to have known at the time that the priest and teacher posed a risk to…

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Anthony Brown, a Black Catholic, is leading the charge to uncover abuse in Maryland locations of the (Arch)dioceses of Washington and Wilmington.

The office of Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown is actively seeking testimony from victims of child sex abuse in Maryland locations of the Archdiocese of Washington and the Diocese of Wilmington for its ongoing probe into the Catholic Church.

“Our investigations into the Archdiocese of Washington and the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware, are ongoing,” Brown’s office said in a statement provided to Maryland Matters this week.

“We are grateful to all survivors who have come forward and we encourage those who haven’t yet, but may be ready to do so now.”

In April 2023, Brown’s office released a 463-page interim report on its investigation of child sex abuse by clergy in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The investigation started under former attorney general Brian Frosh, a…

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A Tennessee Catholic priest has been indicted for inappropriately touching a child and faces several years behind bars if convicted. 

In a statement published Friday, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee, announced that Rev. Juan Carlos Garcia, who formerly served as an associate pastor at St. Philip Catholic Church in Franklin, was indicted by a grand jury on several counts related to sexual abuse and battery.

Specifically, a Williamson County grand jury indicted Garcia on one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, one count of aggravated sexual battery, four counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and two counts of sexual battery. 

Garcia, ordained to the priesthood in 2020, was assigned to his position at St. Philip in July 2022 after working at St. Rose of Lima Church in Murfreesboro for two years. The diocese became aware of Garcia’s alleged wrongdoing in early November…

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The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver (RCAV) has reached a settlement with a B.C. man who says a North Vancouver priest and a coach sexually abused him.

“I cannot find the right words to explain how the sexual abuse I endured at age six has impacted my life,” said the man known as John Doe in court files. ”The stain of these traumatic events has permeated all facets of my life experience and caused me immense suffering, including a period of profound suicidality. I am fortunate to have survived that darkness.

“While the process was difficult and triggering, the defendant did in the end come to the table and this resolution allows me to put my connection with that institution in the proverbial rear-view mirror,” he said.

The undisclosed settlement came after six-and-a-half days of trial.

The man, whose name is covered by a publication ban, told B.C. Supreme Court…

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Lawyer for ‘John Doe’ says case highlights need for public inquiry into abuse within Catholic church

The lawyer for a man who claims he was sexually assaulted decades ago by a priest and teacher at a Catholic elementary school says a settlement in the case is proof of the need for a public inquiry into abuse within the church.

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver — a legal entity representing the church — settled with the 55-year-old man known as ‘John Doe’ on the seventh day of a trial aimed at exposing what the victim claimed was a culture enabling the abuse that has hobbled him for years.

At the beginning of proceedings in New Westminster B.C. Supreme Court, Doe testified he was raped as a six-year-old by Father John Kilty, the priest who governed operations at North Vancouver’s Holy Trinity Elementary School, and physical education teacher Ray Clavin.

The church admitted the abuse…

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The office of Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) is actively seeking testimony from victims of child sex abuse in Maryland locations of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., and the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware, for its ongoing probe into the Catholic Church.

“Our investigations into the Archdiocese of Washington DC and the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware, are ongoing,” the attorney general’s office said in a statement provided to Maryland Matters this week. “We are grateful to all survivors who have come forward and we encourage those who haven’t yet, but may be ready to do so now.”

In April 2023, the attorney general’s office released a 463-page interim report on its investigation of child sex abuse by clergy in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The investigation started under former Attorney General Brian Frosh (D) in 2018 following the airing of the 2017 Netflix series, “The Keepers,” which uncovered a history of child sex…

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Two decades ago, John Devine worked with the law firm of Paul Pressler and Jared Woodfill, later defendants in a Southern Baptist abuse case.

In 2022, the Texas Supreme Court declined to kill a high-profile sex abuse lawsuit against former Southern Baptist Convention leader Paul Pressler and his longtime law partner, Jared Woodfill.

For Justice John Devine, the case involved some familiar names: Years before taking the bench, he had worked at Woodfill and Pressler’s small Houston law firm. In fact, Devine’s tenure at the firm overlapped with the time that the plaintiff, a former employee of the firm, was allegedly molested by Pressler.

Two other justices, who previously worked for the law firm representing the plaintiff, recused themselves. Devine didn’t — and instead dissented from the court’s 5-2 decision that allowed the suit to go forward after a challenge to its statute of limitations.

The lawsuit would eventually make public numerous  View Cache

A Connecticut pastor is facing drug charges after police reportedly found crystal methamphetamine in the pastor’s car. According to local news station WFSB, police believe the pastor was providing the illegal substance in exchange for watching couples have sex.

Police arrested Herbert Irving Miller, pastor of Woodbury United Methodist Church in Woodbury, Connecticut, on Feb. 9, after police found the meth, in both rock and liquid form, in Miller’s car, a state police report states.

Police initially pulled over the 63-year-old pastor because he was driving with a suspended registration and had failed to maintain insurance requirements, the report said.

Police investigated Miller’s car and then discovered the drugs. The liquid meth was in a hypodermic needle prepared for injection, the report said.

Miller was charged with use of drug paraphernalia, possession with intent to sell or dispense narcotics, possession of a controlled…

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A disgraced former Catholic priest who has repeatedly been accused of child sexual abuse pleaded guilty Tuesday to molesting a 15-year-old girl suffering from cancer.

Luis Barajas, 76, entered the plea to one count of gross sexual imposition, a fourth-degree felony. Prosecutors dropped five additional counts of the same charge in exchange for his plea.

Barajas must register as a sex offender once a year for the next 15 years.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Andrew Santoli is set to sentence Barajas on Feb. 27.

Barajas was arrested Oct. 23 after a Catholic priest called Westlake police and said that a retired priest was performing private, Spanish-language spiritual ceremonies for Hispanic families.

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

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A Brownsville priest was arrested on several charges of trafficking and sexual abuse of a child, according to a news release from the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office.

The news release identified the suspect as Fernando Gonzalez Ortega, a priest at St. Luke’s Catholic Church in Brownsville. 

Ortega was arrested on Monday on charges of continuous sexual abuse of a child, continuous trafficking of persons, sex assault of a child and sexual performance of a child, the news release stated.

Details on the investigation against Ortega were not provided by the district attorney’s office. 

In a statement, Rev. Daniel E. Flores of the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville said Ortega was removed from his ministry and prohibited from exercising “any priestly ministry anywhere” on Feb. 3, after receiving the sexual misconduct allegation.

READ THE FULL STATEMENT HERE 

“The diocese will fully cooperate with the investigation,” the release…

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The Catholic Diocese of Brownsville announced that a priest has been removed from his duties after he was accused of sexual misconduct with a minor.

In a statement released on the diocese’s website Tuesday, Bishop Daniel E. Flores said that a report was made against Father Fernando Gonzalez through the Victim’s Assistance Coordinator on Feb. 2.

“On February 3, in keeping with diocesan policy, I removed him from active ministry and have prohibited him from exercising any priestly ministry anywhere,” Flores said in the statement. “The individual who came forward, who is now an adult, spoke to the Diocesan Victim’s Assistance Coordinator, and was advised to report the allegation to the police.”

He said that the investigation is currently in the hands of law enforcement, and that the diocese will fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation.

The Catholic Diocese of Brownsville did not provide any other details regarding the allegations or…

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A Michigan priest was convicted of eight felonies Friday, after a jury found he stole more than $830,000 from elderly priests for whom he supposedly helped to care.

Fr. David Rosenberg was convicted by a jury in Clinton County in a decision rendered Feb. 9, in which he faced charges of three felony counts of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult of more than $100,000, as well as felony charges of larceny, taking money under false pretenses, and perjury.

Rosenberg, 72, a priest of the Diocese of Lansing, was convicted of all charges and now faces potentially decades in prison.

He was originally charged in December 2022 with multiple counts of criminal embezzlement, committed against priests living in a Dewitt, Michigan, priests’ retirement home.

From 2015, Rosenberg served as director of a diocesan retreat center adjacent to a diocesan-run home for retired priests.

In a statement Saturday, the Lansing diocese emphasized…

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A Tennessee priest has been indicted by a grand jury on multiple child sexual abuse charges, Church officials have announced. 

Father Juan Carlos Garcia has been indicted by a grand jury in Williamson County, Tennessee, “on one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, one count of aggravated sexual battery, four counts of sexual battery by an authority figure, and two counts of sexual battery,” the Diocese of Nashville said in a statement.

The diocese had taken the allegations to local police after being made aware of them in November. The priest was removed from his associate pastorship and from public ministry while the investigation was carried out, the diocese said. 

The priest was associate pastor at St. Philip Catholic Church in Franklin at the time the allegations were made against him. The diocese said a teenager in the parish “had made a report of improper…

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New information shared with KOMO News indicates that leaders of Washington’s Catholic dioceses were subpoenaed, but KOMO directly asked the Attorney General’s office, which declined to comment.

Two groups, Ending Clergy Abuse and Catholic Accountability Project (CAP) gathered outside the Attorney General’s office in Olympia, calling for action.

“It’s time for truth-telling. If not now – when? I’m 83 years old. I want to see change,” said Mary Dispenza, with the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

Dispenza told KOMO News she was just seven when a priest raped her. She is now working alongside others demanding change and investigations by the Attorney General.

“The victims can’t do it on their own,” said Tim Law, a founding member of the Catholic Accountability Project.

Victim advocacy groups said the Washington State Attorney General’s Office issued statewide subpoenas. However, Brionna Aho with the Attorney General’s Office told KOMO News that…

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A former Dowling Catholic High School teacher is now pleading guilty after being charged for an alleged sexual relationship with a student.

Online court records show Kristen Gantt, 36, entered a written plea of guilty Friday to one count of sexual exploitation by a school employee. The charge is a misdemeanor.

She had originally been charged in February of 2023 with two counts of sexual exploitation by a school employee, one a class D felony and one a misdemeanor. Gantt faces a prison sentence of up to two years and a fine of up to $8,500. She’ll also be placed on the Sex Offender Registry.

Investigators with the West Des Moines Police Department said Gantt sexually exploited a 17-year-old male student during February and March of 2023. Court documents claim that she and the student exchanged messages on their school email accounts, private emails, and Instagram.

Court…

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Pope Francis appointed a new bishop to lead the Diocese of Portland on Tuesday. Bishop-elect James Ruggieri will succeed the retiring bishop Robert Deeley, who has led the Catholic Church in Maine for a decade.

Bishop Ruggieri comes from both Saint Michael the Archangel Parish and Saint Patrick Parish in Providence, RI. In his tenure, Ruggieri helped establish St. Patrick’s Academy, a co-ed Catholic secondary school.

“I recognize the importance of Catholic education [on] all levels, but especially at a secondary level,” said Ruggieri at a press conference on Tuesday. “Because it’s still an age of formation for our young people.”

The lifelong Rhode Islander will oversee almost 50 parishes, eleven schools, and two colleges in Maine. Ruggieri says his former parish in Providence had a sizeable membership from the Hispanic and African communities. He expressed his hope to use that experience to work with immigrant communities here in Maine.

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Activists say pontiff also ‘turning a blind eye’ to priests who assault nuns and force them to have abortions

Pope Francis has been accused of opposing reforms that would seriously address the problem of clerical sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults, while “turning a blind eye” to priests who assault nuns and force them to have abortions.

Francis promised to “spare no effort” to bring to justice paedophile priests and the bishops who covered up their crimes at an unprecedented summit in February 2019, an event that was supposed to mark a turning point in the handling of a scandal that has embroiled the Catholic church for decades.

A week before the summit, Francis became the first pontiff to publicly admit that priests had also sexually abused nuns, some of whom shared testimony during the event, and pledged to do more to fight the problem.

Three months later, the Vatican established…

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The head of the Jesuits in Ireland has said he is “ashamed” at the order’s failure to confront abuse after the release of a new report revealing 93 complaints of sexual, physical and emotional abuse against a now deceased priest.

The order also revealed the names of two other members of its Irish province against whom it says it has received credible allegations of abuse, and admitted that it was slow to prioritize safeguards even when the church in Ireland adopted binding norms in 1996.

According to the provincial, Jesuit Fr. Shane Daly, the order has received 93 complaints against now-deceased priest and teacher Fr. Joseph Marmion, who was named as a child abuser three years ago. It has so far paid out over $7.55 million in compensation and set aside more resources for future claims.

In March 2021, the Society of Jesus invited complainants against Marmion to engage with…

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The chilling reality that sexual abuse, a heinous act we habitually associate with secrecy, occurs out in the open, in full view of others, has once again come to the forefront. Recent allegations against a high-ranking religious figure and the reactions to this news underscore the complex nature of abuse and challenge our conventional understandings. While we will never understand the dynamics of abuse carried out “in front of” others, let us explore why predators might choose to operate in plain sight and the implications this has for our understanding of abuse.

Understanding the Unthinkable

Just last week, reports emerged about Fr. David Nicgorski, a Chicago native and previously the head of an international religious order, accused of sexually assaulting a nun and engaging in predatory behavior towards others. One accuser shockingly noted that Fr. Nicgorski, “in front of other sisters,” engaged in inappropriate physical contact. She stated that…

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An alleged “inappropriate relationship” between two top pastors has led to a major shake-up at Neuma Church—a multi-national megachurch, based in Australia.

Last Sunday, Jacomi Du Preez, a board member at Neuma Church in Melbourne, Australia, announced during a livestreamed service that global senior pastors Corey and Simone Turner had abruptly resigned. Du Preez said the reason for the resignation was that “their health and wellbeing is such that they are no longer able to function in these roles.”

However, in a statement to church members on Friday, which was obtained by The Roys Report (TRR), the Neuma board divulged that a church member had come forward with an allegation that Pastor Corey Turner was in “an inappropriate relationship with Pastor Stacey Hilliar.” As a result of the allegation, Pastor Hilliar has resigned, as well.

According to her website, Hilliar and her husband, Jai, serve on the Executive…

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Two former St. Matthew Catholic High School students in Ottawa have launched a $220-million class action lawsuit against the Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB) and former teacher Rick Despatie, a.k.a. Rick Watkins, over the latter’s sexual abuse of students and the former’s handling of it.

Despatie was convicted last September of four counts of sexual assault, four counts of sexual interference, two counts of criminal harassment and one count of sexual exploitation. He was sentenced to two years in prison. Despatie is appealing his conviction.

According to a statement of claim filed in December, the suit alleges the school board received numerous complaints about Despatie’s actions over many years but refused to act on them.

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• Ottawa Catholic board launching review after longtime…

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The Austin Stone Community Church, a prominent megachurch with a popular worship band in Austin, Texas, announced the dismissal of its worship pastor, Aaron Ivey, on the grounds of “predatory manipulation, sexual exploitation and abuse of influence” with multiple men and at least one minor.

According to the church’s statement, Ivey’s alleged misconduct began as early as 2011. Along with adult males, one alleged victim is said to be a minor, whom Ivey met “outside (the church’s) formal programming.” The church’s statement indicates the abuse of the minor “involved inappropriate and explicit communications, indecent exposure and the use of alcohol and illegal substances.” Church leadership has announced it has contacted local law enforcement and its church abuse prevention training provider, MinistrySafe.

Aaron Ivey and his wife, Jamie, are well-known podcasters and authors. In 2020, the couple launched a podcast titled “On the Other Side.” One September 2021 episode featured the story of a survivor…

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A Connecticut pastor has been arrested on allegations that he sold crystal meth out of his church’s rectory, police said.

The reverend of a United Methodist Church in Woodbury was taken into custody Friday after police received a tip about the drugs, authorities said.

The pastor was charged with possession of narcotics with intent to sell, possession of a controlled substance and use of drug paraphernalia, among other charges.

The reverend was released on $10,000 bail and was ordered to appear in Waterbury Superior Court on Feb. 23.

Phone and email messages were left Monday for the pastor and the church.

State police said in a news release that the pastor was found in possession of crystal methamphetamine in both rock form and that had been liquefied into a hypodermic needle.

Police said they arrested the pastor at the site of a purported drug deal set up by a cooperating…

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A DeWitt priest who stole more than three quarters of a million dollars from three retired priests has been convicted of eight felony charges. 

David Rosenberg, 72, was found guilty during a bench trial before Clinton County Circuit Court Judge Cori Barkman. 

Rosenberg took about $780,000 from the retired priests between 2015 and 2021, while he was employed as Director of the Lansing Catholic Diocese’s St. Francis Retreat. The victims lived in apartments at the retreat at the time but have since died. 

Rosenberg was convicted of the following charges:

Three counts of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult $100,000 or more, one count of false pretenses $100,000 or more, one count of false pretenses $20,000-$50,000, one count of perjury, one count of uttering and publishing, and one count of larceny. 

“Mr. Rosenberg stole massive sums of money from these elderly and vulnerable men living in the Retreat Center apartments while…

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Federal prosecutors have filed an appeal with a Miami judge seeking to overturn a Denver court’s decision that allowed an American man accused of sexually abusing boys at a Haitian orphanage to be sent to a halfway house until trial.

Earlier this month, Magistrate Judge Scott Varholak in Colorado denied a request by federal prosecutors to detain Michael Karl Geilenfeld, 71, after he was indicted on Jan. 18 by a grand jury in Miami.

Geilenfeld, who was arrested in Denver, is accused of traveling from Miami to Haiti 14 times between November 2006 and December 2010 to engage in “illicit sexual conduct with another person under 18.” If convicted Geilenfeld faces a maximum sentence of 30 years.

Rather than order Geilenfeld to remain behind bars Varholak ordered him to be sent to a halfway house and outfitted with a GPS monitoring device. Varholak held off on having Geilenfeld released from…

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Friday evening, a jury in Clinton County returned guilty verdicts on eight felony charges against David Rosenberg, 72, of DeWitt, for embezzling or stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from retired priests, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. The trial was held over nine days before Judge Cori Barkman in the 29th Circuit Court in Clinton County. The verdict was announced shortly before 8:00 p.m.

Rosenberg was employed as Director of the Lansing Catholic Diocese’s St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt between 2015 and 2021. He embezzled or stole approximately $780,000 from three priests and gave the stolen funds to his charitable foundation, FaithFirst, formerly the Rosenberg Family Corporation. The 95-acre Retreat Center property includes apartments that house retired priests. The three victims resided at the Retreat Center apartments until their deaths.

Rosenberg was found guilty of the following crimes: 

• Three counts of Embezzlement from a Vulnerable Adult $100,000…

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After the Synod on Synodality, women in the church are still asking to be heard.

In September 2023, five women who had made abuse allegations against Slovenian artist and former Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik publicized an open letter in response to the Vicariate of Rome’s positive report on the Centro Aletti, the art and theology school Rupnik founded. The women expressed their hurt and frustration, stating that they were left speechless by the report, which, they said, “ridicules the pain of the victims, but also of the whole Church, mortally wounded by such blatant hubris.” According to the women, Pope Francis never responded to letters from Rupnik’s victims.

Although Rupnik was excommunicated in 2020 and expelled from the Jesuit order in 2023, Pope Francis initially opted not to waive the statute of limitations for the women’s claims. Following the open letter and a general outcry over the handling of this…

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A PRIEST has been returned for trial accused of historic sexual abuse against two males, one of which allegedly dates back over 40 years.

Appearing for a committal hearing was Canon Patrick McEntee (69) from Esker Road, Dromore who requested a leave of absence last year while a serious safeguarding investigation was carried out.

He is charged with four counts of indecently assaulting one complainant on dates between 1988 and 1989.

There is also a single count indecently assaulting another complainant between 1980 and 1981.

No details surrounding the circumstances of the alleged offences were disclosed during the short hearing although it is understood they relate to Canon McEntee’s time in Fermanagh.

A prosecuting lawyer told Enniskillen Magistrates Court there is a case to answer which was agreed by District Judge Alana McSorley.

Canon McEntee spoke only to confirm his identity and that he understood the charges against him.

He declined to…

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A former priest accused of molesting a 15-year-old girl with cancer while performing a “blessing” is scheduled to stand trial on Tuesday.

Luis J. Barajas, 76, a Colombian national, was indicted in November on six counts of gross sexual imposition in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.

In October, he went to a Westlake home to pray with a 15-year-old girl who had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy, according to Westlake police.

Police said Barajas touched the girl inappropriately during the blessing and used a blanket to cover up the assault.

Authorities said Barajas was ordained in 1982, and that he was accused of sexual misconduct against juveniles in the Catholic diocese in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1989. He was then sent back to Colombia, according to investigators.

He is believed to have been removed…

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On 8 February 2024, the High Court of Australia refused to grant the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne (Archdiocese) special leave to appeal from the Victorian Court of Appeal’s decision in The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne v RWQ (a pseudonym) [2023] VSCA 197 on the basis that the proposed appeal had insufficient prospects of success.

The Victorian Court of Appeal had refused to grant the Archdiocese leave to appeal from the Supreme Court of Victoria’s decision in RWQ v The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne & Ors [2022] VSC 483 (First Instance Judgment).

Therefore, damages claims made by secondary victims of child abuse (for example, the parents of the victim child) are captured by the Legal Identity of Defendants (Organisational Child Abuse) Act 2018 (the Act), meaning nongovernment organisations must nominate a proper defendant to incur any liability arising from such claims.

FACTS

RWQ alleges that he is entitled to recover damages from the Archdiocese for nervous shock…

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The order admitted it was slow to prioritize safeguards even when the church in Ireland adopted binding norms in 1996

The head of the Jesuits in Ireland has said he is “ashamed” at the order’s failure to confront abuse after the release of a new report revealing 93 complaints of sexual, physical and emotional abuse against a now-deceased priest.

The order also revealed the names of two other members of its Irish province against whom it says it has received credible allegations of abuse, and admitted that it was slow to prioritize safeguards even when the church in Ireland adopted binding norms in 1996.

According to the provincial, Jesuit Father Shane Daly, the order has received 93 complaints against now-deceased priest and teacher Father Joseph Marmion, who was named as a child abuser three years ago. It has so far paid out over $7.55 million in compensation and set…

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The Austin Stone Church, a multicampus evangelical church in Austin, Texas, announced on Sunday that it had dismissed its head worship pastor after discovering he had engaged in “inappropriate and explicit ongoing text messages with an adult male,” according to a statement from the church’s elders.

Aaron Ivey, the pastor of worship and creativity and an elder at the megachurch, was fired last Monday for what the statement called a “disqualifying situation,” which the elders said they became aware of the previous day.

“Several elders were made aware of this situation on the evening of Sunday, February 4th and after reviewing the explicit nature of these messages, it was clear that termination of Aaron’s eldership and employment was necessary in accordance with the clear biblical standards outlined in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and 1 Timothy 5:19-20,” according to the statement. The first passage,…

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