ABUSE TRACKER

BRUSSELS, Sept 28 (Reuters) – The Catholic Church’s failures in responding to sexual abuse by clergy have been in focus again during Pope Francis’ visit this weekend to Belgium, with the pontiff facing calls from high-profile figures and survivors for more concrete action.

The country’s king, prime minister and a Catholic university rector led the calls, and in a two-hour meeting on Friday with more than a dozen abuse survivors, Francis heard requests in particular to provide better financial compensation for victims.

“We didn’t talk about amounts as such, but we are very clear on the fact … that what has been achieved and obtained so far is totally insufficient,” said Annesophie Cardinal, one of the survivors in the meeting at the Vatican’s embassy in Brussels.

Cardinal, who was abused as a child, spoke emotionally about the encounter, calling it “very challenging”. She said the survivors felt a responsibility “also to…

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Pope Francis has pledged to root out the “scourge” of clerical sexual abuse after Belgium’s prime minster urged him in unusually frank terms to take concrete action.

Francis was addressing political leaders on Friday at the official residence of the King of Belgium, a country where devastating clerical abuse scandals have erupted in recent years.

Before he spoke, both the Belgian king and Prime Minister Alexander de Croo raised the issue in their speeches, the latter speaking directly to the pope, in remarks that underline how the abuse crisis has come to dominate Belgian national attention.

“You are committed to a fair and equitable approach. But the road is still long,” the prime minister told Francis. “If something goes wrong, we can’t accept cover-ups. It harms the precious work done by everyone. And that’s why words are not enough today. Concrete steps are needed. The victims must be heard. They…

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After his arrival to Belgium in the rain on Thursday night, Pope Francis told civil authorities the next day to make peacemaking a priority, and voiced regret over recent scandals in the Belgian Church, including the crises of clerical sexual abuse and forced adoptions.

Speaking to national civil authorities Sept. 27, the pope highlighted the Church’s contribution to society through its charitable works, but acknowledged that the church must also reckon with “the fragility and shortcomings of her members, who are never fully up to the task entrusted to them since it is always beyond their capacity.”

Though often a force for good, the Church, he said, “lives in a specific culture, within the thinking of a given age that she sometimes helps to shape and to which at other times she is subjected; and her members do not always understand and live the message of the Gospel in all…

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BRUSSELS (AP) — On a brutal day for the frail and aging Pope Francis, the king of Belgium, its prime minister and the rector of the Catholic university that invited him here all ripped into the institution he heads for a spectrum of sins: for covering up cases of clergy sex abuse and being far behind the times on embracing women and the LGBTQ+ community in the church.

And that was all before Francis met with the people most harmed by the Catholic Church in Belgium — the men and women who were raped and molested by priests as children. Seventeen abuse survivors spent two hours with Francis on Friday evening, telling him of their trauma, shame and pain and demanding reparations from the church.

Through it all, Francis expressed his remorse, begged forgiveness and promised to do everything possible to make sure such abuses never occur again. “This is…

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Pope Francis said Friday the Catholic Church had to “seek forgiveness” for the “scourge” of child sexual abuse, during a visit to Belgium where the clergy’s dark past looms large.

In a speech to political and civil society leaders beginning his three-day visit, Francis denounced the “tragic instances of child abuse” as a stain on the Church’s legacy.

“It is our shame and our humiliation,” Francis told the gathering at the Laeken Palace royal residency.

“The Church must be ashamed and must seek forgiveness,” he said. 

The 87-year-old pontiff later met 17 clerical sexual assault victims in Brussels as part of his stay in the European nation rocked by decades of scandals and cover-ups.

“The participants were able to tell their story and their pain and express their expectations” to Francis, who “took note” of their requests, the Vatican said in a statement.

It was arranged after a hard-hitting…

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The pope thanked them for their courage in coming forward and expressed his feelings of shame for what they experienced

The Catholic Church must plead for forgiveness for the crime of the abuse of minors by its members and everything must be done to prevent such “a disgrace” from ever happening again, Pope Francis said.

He also called for clarity about the church’s role from the 1940s to 1980s in coercing unwed mothers to give up their newborns.

“Today, in the church, there is this crime” of abuse against minors, which the pope compared to King Herod’s massacre of the innocents, during a speech to Belgian authorities and local representatives at the Castle of Laeken in Brussels Sept. 27.

“The church must be ashamed, ask for forgiveness, try to resolve this situation with Christian humility” and do everything possible so “this will not happen again,” the pope said at the…

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After a four-year court battle, the Diocese of Rockville Centre has reached an agreement with hundreds of survivors of clergy sexual abuse that calls for the church to pay a total of just over $323 million, officials said in federal bankruptcy court Thursday.

While some steps remain to finalize the deal, the lead attorney for the diocese indicated that an agreement had been reached.

“After nearly four years … we do have a global resolution,” Corrine Ball told U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Martin Glenn in Manhattan.

The agreement would benefit more than 500 people who have filed lawsuits against the diocese contending they were sexually abused by clergy when they were children.

    WHAT TO KNOW

• The Diocese of Rockville Centre has reached an agreement with hundreds of survivors of clergy sexual abuse that calls for the church to pay just over $323 million.
• Some steps remain to finalize the…

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The Diocese previously offered the survivors a $200 million settlement, which was rejected.

The Diocese of Rockville Centre has reached a more than $320 million settlement with hundreds of alleged sex abuse survivors.

A law firm for the survivors says the preliminary settlement was reached Thursday in federal bankruptcy court, and includes about 600 survivors.

Richard Tollner is one of the 600 survivors and is the chairman of the Diocese of Rockville Centre Unsecured Creditors Committee.

“Today is the first victory, but it’s a victory that took a long time,” he said.

Adam Slater is an attorney who represents roughly 100 survivors.

“This is the largest diocese settlement in the history of New York state,” he said. “Hopefully, it enables the survivors to put it behind them and gives them some measure of closure.”

According to a spokesperson for the Diocese, $234.8 million will come from the diocese, parishes and…

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(Long Island, NY)— Under the New York Child Victims Act, hundreds of survivors in New York were given the chance to bring legal action and expose offenders and the truth through the legal system. Hundreds of previously unknown and unidentified offenders were exposed, along with the dangerous practices of the officials in charge.

The financial contours of the $320 million settlement were made public in today’s hearing. What was not mentioned and is the most important aspect of this case: Because of the courage, perseverance, and truth-telling of the survivors, the Diocese of Rockville Centre, the bishop, the parishes, and the schools are all required to have rigorous child protection protocols in place as part of this settlement.

“The credit for having saved so many kids in the future from the horrors inflicted on so many in the past goes to the courageous survivors for having fought, suffered, endured, and stood strong against darkness…

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Rockville Centre diocese in New York settles with more than 530 victims after proposed deal comes close to failure

A Roman Catholic diocese in Long Island, New York, announced a new bankruptcy settlement on Thursday that would pay more than $323m to about 530 sex abuse survivors who alleged they were abused by priests when they were children.

The diocese of Rockville Centre, which serves about 1.2 million Catholics in Nassau and Suffolk counties, said earlier this year that it did not think a bankruptcy settlement would be possible after abuse survivors rejected the diocese’s previous $200m settlement offer.

US bankruptcy judge Martin Glenn in Manhattan, who is overseeing the case, said the deal represented “enormous progress” after the bankruptcy came “within a hair’s breadth” of failure.

Rockville Centre will contribute $234.8m to a settlement fund, with four insurers contributing $85.3m. The settlement will also receive funding from another insurer that…

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Summary

• Belgium’s king and premier demand concrete action on clerical abuse
• Francis says Church is tackling abuse with global programme
• Survivors’ groups question effectiveness of Church’s measures

BRUSSELS, Sept 27 (Reuters) – Pope Francis was pressed firmly by Belgium’s king and premier on Friday for more concrete action to address sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, an issue once more in the spotlight as he visits.

Both King Philippe and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo raised the issue in public in unusually forceful language for a papal foreign trip, always a carefully choreographed event.

Philippe told Francis in a speech welcoming him to Belgium that it had taken the Church “far too long” to address the scandals. De Croo said it had “a long way to go” and that “words alone are not enough”.

“Concrete steps must also be taken,” the premier said.

Francis’ weekend trip to Belgium is meant to focus…

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Belgium’s authorities rather directly called on Francis to “hear the cry” of the victims of pedocriminality, as well as of “forced adoptions.” The pope, who spoke of the Church’s “shame,” is expected to meet 15.

The Belgian downpour that had greeted Francis the previous day on the tarmac of a military airport, accompanied by a warm, multicultural choir from Molenbeek, had dissipated. But at the Château of Laeken (Brussels), the royal residence where the pope addressed Belgian authorities on Friday, September 27, the atmosphere was somewhat tense, matching the gravity of the morning’s topics, during which Francis was politely questioned.

“What a joy to welcome you here among us, nearly 30 years after the visit of Pope John Paul II,” King Philippe cordially began, before quickly addressing the issue that has been stirring the Belgian press and the entire society since the airing of a Flemish television documentary featuring victims…

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Pope Francis expressed shame over the abuse of minors in Belgium, calling for the church to seek forgiveness and prevent future abuse. He also called for clarity on the church’s role in the forced adoption of babies from unwed mothers from the 1940s to 1980s.

BRUSSELS (CNS) — The Catholic Church must plead for forgiveness for the crime of the abuse of minors by its members and everything must be done to prevent such “a disgrace” from ever happening again, Pope Francis said.

He also called for clarity about the church’s role from the 1940s to 1980s in coercing unwed mothers to give up their newborns.

“Today, in the church, there is this crime” of abuse against minors, which the pope compared to King Herod’s massacre of the innocents, during a speech to Belgian authorities and local representatives at the Castle of Laeken in Brussels Sept. 27. 

“The church must…

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Pope Francis says the Church must face the “shame” of child sexual abuse, which he described once again as a “scourge”, with Christian humility and make every effort to ensure it never happens again.

The sexual abuse of children is “our shame and humiliation”, Pope Francis said on Friday, insisting that the Church “must be ashamed and try to resolve the situation with Christian humility and make every effort so this doesn’t happen again”.

In remarks to civil leaders in Belgium, Pope Francis once again described clerical sexual abuse as a scourge, comparing it to the slaughter of the Holy Innocents by King Herod when Jesus was born.

Clerical sexual abuse is “our shame”, the Pope repeated, “the shame that today we must confront and beg forgiveness and resolve the problem, the shame of abuse, of the abuse of minors”.

The Pope insisted that the Church cannot make excuses, even…

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“Concrete steps must also be taken,” Alexander De Croo told the pontiff.

BRUSSELS — Belgium Prime Minister Alexander De Croo on Friday told the Pope that the Catholic Church needs to do more to make amends for decades of clerical sexual abuse against children.

“Today, therefore, words alone are not enough, concrete steps must also be taken,” De Croo said during his meeting with Pope Francis and Belgium’s King Philippe at the Castle of Laeken in Brussels on Friday.

De Croo’s unusually blunt remarks were directed at the Pope as political and public tensions over sexual abuse overshadow the papal visit to Belgium. Several top Flemish politicians have boycotted a meeting Friday with the Pope, saying that the Church isn’t doing enough to deal with the problem.

“The victims must be heard. They should be central. They have a right to the truth. The wrongdoings must be acknowledged. And justice must…

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BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium’s prime minister on Friday blasted Pope Francis for the Catholic Church’s horrific legacy of clerical sex abuse and cover-ups in his country, demanding “concrete steps” to come clean with the past and put victims’ interests first.

Alexander De Croo’s blistering welcome speech at the start of Francis’ visit was one of the most pointed ever directed at the pope during a foreign trip, where the genteel dictates of diplomatic protocol usually keep outrage out of public remarks. But even King Philippe had strong words for Francis, demanding the church work “incessantly” to atone for the crimes and help victims heal.

Their tone underscored just how raw the abuse scandal still is in Belgium, where two decades of revelations of abuse and systematic cover-ups have devastated the hierarchy’s credibility and contributed to an overall decline in Catholicism and the influence of the once-powerful church.

Francis applauded at the end…

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Pope Francis on Sept. 27 kicked off a three-day trip to Belgium by asking forgiveness for the church’s shameful record on clergy abuse, but was met with a challenge by the country’s prime minister that “words alone do not suffice.”

“We also need concrete steps,” said Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. “Victims need to be heard. They need to be at the center. They have a right to truth. Misdeeds need to be recognized.”

The prime minister’s unusually sharp remarks spotlighted an issue that has loomed large over the pope’s visit here ever since it was first announced and where the local church is reeling from the fallout of a damning 2023 documentary on clergy abuse.

The documentary has prompted the Belgian Federal Parliament and the regional Flemish assembly to launch investigations into the church’s handling of cases and to revisit how the…

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LUXEMBOURG (AP) — Pope Francis called for Europe to be a beacon of peace in war and a welcome home for migrants and refugees as he arrived in the heart of the continent on Thursday to encourage the dwindling Catholic flock in a onetime bastion of Christianity.

Francis received a warm welcome as he landed in blustery weather that turned to rain in Luxembourg, the European Union’s second-smallest country and its richest per capita. The visit came after the 87-year-old pope canceled his audiences in recent days because of a slight flu.

Francis seemed in good form, though he skipped his traditional walk down the plane aisle to greet journalists during the trip from Rome. His spokesman said it was because of the short flight time and single aisle of the ITA aircraft, not for any health problems.

Francis was in Luxembourg for just a few hours before flying onto Belgium,…

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New indictment leaves Anthony Odiong facing seven sexual assault charges – all in connection with three women

A grand jury in Texas has handed up more felony sexual assault charges against a Roman Catholic priest accused of preying on women whom he met while ministering to them in that state as well as in south-east Louisiana, officials said.

Anthony Odiong is now facing a total of five charges of sexual assault in the first degree and two more such counts in the second degree – all in connection with three separate women – after a new indictment was handed up against him on Thursday in the McLennan county, Texas, state courthouse.

An earlier indictment against Odiong, 55, secured by the McLennan county district attorney’s office on 12 September had initially charged him in the cases of two women: with one count of first-degree sexual assault and two of second-degree sexual assault. Put another…

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One of the expelled members of the Sodalitium is emeritus archbishop Jose Antonio Eguren Anselmi, three are priests, and the other six are non-ordained males.

With them, the number of expelled members is eleven, after the decision to expel Luis Fernando Figari, the founder of the Sodalitium.

The Sodalitium is an organization with several branches, a religious holding of sorts, active in Pennsylvania and Colorado in the United States, and in several countries in Latin America.

On Wednesday, around midday, the Apostolic Nunciature in Lima, Peru, issued a statement regarding the ongoing crises in the Sodalitium of Christian Life, a religious organization resembling in some respects a religious “order” in the Roman Catholic Church, integrated by several organizations resembling a religious holding.

The statement informs about the decision of Pope Francis to definitely expel ten members of that organization. It is relevant, because all of them had denied any…

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Summary

Pontiff says ‘wealth includes responsibility’ Rare European tour includes visit to Belgium Will meet with victims of clergy abuse

LUXEMBOURG, Sept 26 (Reuters) – Pope Francis on Thursday called on leaders in Luxembourg – a small nation with a thriving economy and the highest density of millionaires per capita in the world – to devote resources to help improve conditions in developing countries.

The 87-year-old pontiff, in the landlocked state for a day visit, suggested that an increase in foreign aid could help stem the flow of refugees and migrants seeking to enter Europe.

“Let us not forget that having wealth includes responsibility,” the pontiff told a gathering of political and civil leaders at Luxembourg’s Cercle Cite, a neo-baroque palace.

“I ask for constant vigilance so that the most disadvantaged nations … may be helped to rise from their impoverished conditions.”

It is a rare European visit for Francis,…

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• Greek Orthodox priest showed no remorse 
• Mario ‘George’ Fayjloun used his church position 

A Greek Orthodox priest remains unremorseful for sexually abusing a mother and her two children, viewing repentance as something reserved for others, a magistrate said.

Mario ‘George’ Fayjloun used his church position to abuse the trust of the family and then sexually touched the three victims on six occasions during confession and at dinner.

On two instances, the 36-year-old touched the mother on her groin and breasts and forced her to touch his penis.

He also touched the eldest daughter on her inner thigh twice and kissed her on the lips, and separately placed his hand down the shirt of the younger daughter, touching her on the breast and back.

His crimes occurred at the Greek Orthodox Church in Central Mangrove, north of Sydney, and at the family’s home in the city’s south-west between August 2019 and…

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After easing his schedule at the start of the week, Pope Francis will begin his second trip of the month September 26 to Luxembourg and Belgium; a change of scenery after Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore.

A tired Pope Francis is expected to arrive in Luxembourg September 26. On Monday, many of his appointments were canceled due to a “slight flu,” and the following day’s appointments were limited to a single official meeting with the bishops of Mozambique.

However, at his weekly general audience September 25, Francis appeared smiling in St. Peter’s Square. The 87-year-old pope, who returned 12 days ago from the longest trip of his pontificate in Southeast Asia and Oceania, will honor the invitation extended to him one year ago by the King and Queen of Belgium. But why this choice when Francis recently urged the Catholic Church to shift its focus away from Europe?

…

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It was recommended the government and faith-based institutions should publish responses to the inquiry’s reports and its findings within two months of the final report. Photo: RNZ

• Government and most faith-based institutions have missed a deadline to respond to the Abuse in Care report
• Only the Salvation Army, Anglican Church and Presbyterian Support Southland met the recommended deadline
• The government says it will provide an update at November’s public apology

The government and a vast majority of faith-based institutions have missed a key deadline recommended by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.

The commissioner’s first time-sensitive recommendation was that the government and faith-based institutions should publish responses to the inquiry’s reports and its findings within two months of the final report being tabled in Parliament in July.

That deadline passed yesterday with the government and 11 of the 14 faith-based organisations failing to meet it.

• Government: Yet to respond
• Catholic…

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Pope Francis will visit Luxembourg and Belgium, two of Europe’s traditionally Catholic countries, from Sept. 26 to 29, where he is expected to speak about war and peace, the migrant crisis, ecology and secularization. He is also likely to speak about the sexual abuse of minors by clergy, a scandal that damaged the Catholic church’s standing in Belgium in 2010, and to a lesser extent in Luxembourg that same year.

It will be Francis’ 46th foreign journey since becoming pope in March 2013, and the second this month after his 12-day visit to Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Singapore and Papua New Guinea.

He will be accompanied by two cardinals, Robert Prevost, the prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, and Marcello Semeraro, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, substitute for the Secretariat of State, and Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Secretary for Relations with States, will…

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[See notice posted by Peruvian Episcopal Conference]

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis took the unusual decision Wednesday to expel 10 people – a bishop, priests and laypeople — from a troubled Catholic movement in Peru after a Vatican investigation uncovered “sadistic” abuses of power, authority and spirituality.

The move against the leadership of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, or Sodalitium of Christian Life, followed Francis’ decision last month to expel the group’s founder, Luis Figari, after he was found to have sodomized his recruits.

It was announced by the Peruvian Bishops Conference, which posted a statement from the Vatican embassy on its website that attributed the expulsions to a “special” decision taken by Francis.

The statement was astonishing because it listed abuses uncovered by the Vatican investigation that have rarely if ever been punished canonically — such as hacking someone’s communications — and cited the people the pope held responsible.

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ROME – Ten key members of a controversial lay movement in Peru have been expelled from the group as part of an ongoing Vatican investigation of charges of abuse and misconduct, including alleged financial irregularities.

Among those expelled from the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV) on Wednesday are several members with ties to a Denver parish, and one who is apparently the first Catholic to face Vatican sanction for alleged journalistic malpractice.

The announcement comes after over a year of inquiry by the Vatican’s top investigating duo, Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna, an adjunct secretary to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Spanish Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu, an official in the same department.

The expelled members include Eduardo Regal, superior of the SCV’s Denver-based community; Father Daniel Cardó, pastor of the SCV-run Holy Name parish in Denver; and Alejandro Bermúdez, a journalist and former head of the EWTN-owned ACI Group, an international media…

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A law firm claims religious archivists destroyed documents related to abuse to avoid lawsuits. Legal advice from a canon lawyer led to reducing sensitive records. Investigations later uncovered widespread document destruction, raising serious concerns about transparency and accountability within the Church.

There is no mention in the archives of the Archdiocese of Montreal “of any aggression towards women or any malicious act by once-renowned French Capuchin priest Abbé Pierre — accused of committing sexual assaults in his lifetime — during his visits to Montreal,” concluded retired judge André Denis this summer. There is also no such mention in the archives of the Archdiocese of Quebec, confirmed Auxiliary Bishop Marc Pelchat to Présence. Are documents missing or destroyed? Several observers are now asking this question.

In 1991, a specialist in canon law, now deceased, wrote an advisory to religious archivists in Quebec. This globally renowned expert recommended, among other things, “destroying certain documents”…

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Lawrence Hecker’s trial delay calls to mind other ill-fated attempts to prosecute allegedly abusive Catholic clergymen

Ajudge’s decision to remove himself from handling the child rape and kidnapping trial of a retired Roman Catholic priest in New Orleans left the victim in the case devastated, and that kind of disappointment “is why these victims don’t come forward”, said Richard Trahant, an attorney for the star witness in the case.

Judge Benedict Willard’s decision on Tuesday to remove himself from handling the trial of 93-year-old Lawrence Hecker, who has previously admitted to child molestation, stunned observers. Willard had presided over the case for more than a year after it was first filed in early September 2023, and his decision occurred on the morning jury selection was scheduled to begin.

Willard cited “disrespect” from one of the assistant district attorneys prosecuting the aging Hecker, who on Tuesday morning also happened to be hospitalized apparently with…

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Jury selection was set to begin Tuesday in the trial of a retired Roman Catholic priest facing charges of child rape and kidnapping.

NEW ORLEANS — Pedophile priest Lawrence Hecker is in the hospital as his rape and kidnapping trial was supposed to begin, and Judge Ben Willard recused himself from the case Tuesday morning. 

Hecker was transferred from a long-term care facility to UMC because of a urinary tract infection.

The judge’s clerk said Judge Willard recused himself because of conflicts between him and the prosecutor.

Williard held prosecutor Ned McGowan in contempt in another recent case

Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams was frustrated with the decision. WWL Louisiana Chief Investigator David Hammer reports that Williams was almost in tears as he talked about having to call nearly a dozen alleged Hecker victims to tell them the trial didn’t happen. 

“I can’t begin to explain the level of…

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VATICAN CITY (AP) — Fresh off a four-nation tour of Asia, where he saw record-setting crowds and vibrant church communities, Pope Francis travels to Belgium this week as the once-staunchly Catholic country again confronts its appalling legacy of clergy sex abuse and institutional cover-up.

He will receive a sobering welcome: Abuse survivors have penned an open letter to Francis, asking him to launch a universal system of church reparations and assume responsibility for the wreckage that abuse has wrought on their lives.

The open letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, will be hand delivered to Francis when he meets with 15 survivors during his four-day visit starting Thursday, according to the Rev. Rik Deville, who has been advocating on behalf of abuse survivors for over a quarter-century.

Another unpleasant welcome has come from Belgium’s parliament, which spent the past year hearing victims recount harrowing stories of predator…

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HUBBARD — An independent review board has found the Rev. Michael Swierz, former pastor of St. Patrick Church, to be “unsuitable for ministry,” according to a letter sent by Bishop David Bonnar to parishioners and staff, and a news release sent by the Diocese on Thursday.

Swierz was placed on administrative leave in June following concerns presented to the Diocese that date back to his time as associate pastor of St Rose Parish in Girard in the 1980s, where he served until 1992.

The concerns were presented immediately to Swierz, and a preliminary investigation began. The Diocese sought independent counsel to conduct a thorough investigation, according to Bonnar’s letter.

According to the bishop, Swierz made some admissions during the investigation that established violations of diocesan policy, which resulted in his resignation and eventual placement on administrative leave. Swierz hasn’t been in ministry since June 17, Bonnar said.

Findings from the…

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Investigation from the Diocese revealed a ‘disturbing’ pattern of behavior including serious boundary violations with minors, manipulation and abuse of power from Father Michael Swierz.

The Catholic Diocese of Youngstown has revealed the results of its investigation into a former pastor at Saint Patrick Church in Hubbard.

[See video]

According to a press release, an investigation from The Diocese revealed a “disturbing pattern of behavior including serious boundary violations with minors, manipulation and abuse of power” by Father Michael Swierz.

Allegations against Swierz date back to the late 1980s to early 1990s during his time as an associate pastor at Saint Rose Parish in Girard. He resigned as pastor and was placed on administrative leave in June of 2024 after the investigation began in March with a phone call to The Diocese from someone at Saint Rose.

Once the investigation was completed, the information was presented to the…

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YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — An independent review board has found Reverend Michael Swierz “unsuitable” for ministry, according to a Thursday release from the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown.

Earlier in the year, the Diocese announced Swierz was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation referencing an incident that occurred in the 1980s during his time at Saint Rose Parish in Girard. Swierz then resigned in June.

Following the Diocese’s investigation, the findings were presented to an independent review board, whose task was to review the information and to present to Bishop David Bonnar a recommendation concerning suitability for ministry of Father Swierz.

The Independent Review Board is comprised of mostly lay people, with one experienced and
respected pastor of the Diocese, according to the release. Board members have expertise in the protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults, the release adds.

The board determined the…

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NEWS RELEASE
September 19, 2024

Contact: Victor Geraci, Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, LLC, VGeraci@bdblaw.com, (216) 736-4227

YOUNGSTOWN, OH – Earlier this year, the Diocese of Youngstown reported that it was presented with concerns about the priestly ministry of Reverend Michael A. Swierz dating back to his time as a parochial vicar (associate pastor) in the 1980’s at Saint Rose Parish, Girard. Father Swierz was informed of these concerns and immediately and per the policy of the Diocese of Youngstown, a preliminary investigation began. Based on the information and additional contemporaneous evidence discovered by an independent outside investigation team, Father Swierz made some admission which established violations of Diocesan policy resulting in him resigning his pastorate and being placed on Administrative Leave.

Following the completion of the investigation, the findings were presented to the Independent Review Board whose task was to review the information and to present to Bishop David Bonnar a recommendation…

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Dublin Archbishop Dermot Farrell called on the Church of Ireland to move out of “denial” and open its eyes to the crisis of sexual violence within its ranks. Three weeks earlier, a government report revealed systemic abuse in the country’s Catholic schools since the 1970s.

“The faithful across the dioceses of Ireland named the toll of physical, sexual and emotional abuse, along with its concealment as the most urgent issue to be addressed. The ordinary faithful of our land named it for what it is: an open wound.” Three weeks after the publication of a government report on sexual violence perpetrated in Irish Catholic schools, Irish Archbishop Dermot Farrell of Dublin delivered a homily calling for real awareness in a church entangled in scandals and struggling to reform.

During the September 21 Safeguarding Sunday Mass, Archbishop Farrell openly condemned a “culture of denial” that is eating away at Irish Catholicism….

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Pope Francis’ two-week trip in Asia and Oceania showed how he continues to surprise many while also keeping the door open for constructive criticism.

A move forward

First, the papal trip signified a move forward. Despite all the news about the pope’s health, this trip has shown to the world, and most importantly to the church, that Francis is alive and sharp. He is able to push forward and to lead “into the wild.”

Throughout this trip of about 20,000 miles, the pope demonstrated his physical and mental capacities to engage with extremely diverse people and local situations. In each context, he carefully adjusted his tone and message in order to respect the intricate dynamics of each country. Diplomatic and bold, Francis invited peoples of Southeast Asia — and their powerful partners — to search for the common good and move forward.

As this long march across Asia was physically…

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A trial for a former New Orleans priest accused of molesting children will not move forward after the judge in the case recused himself.

Judge Ben Willard announced in court Tuesday that the trial against Lawrence Hecker would not move forward and recused himself.

Willard cited disrespect from the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office as his reason for recusal.

This comes after months of delays in the trial following multiple mental competency evaluations.

A doctor confirmed that Hecker does have Alzheimer’s and dementia, but a ruling was never made on whether or not he was fully competent to stand trial.

WDSU obtained records in the case. Prosecutors said Hecker is a serial child abuser, rapist, and a diagnosed pedophile who continues to possess child pornography.

According to prosecutors in this case, Hecker choked the victim until he was unconscious and then raped him. View Cache

After five years of shocking evidence emerging from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, people could be forgiven for thinking that there is nothing more to say or new to learn about the problem of child sexual abuse in church communities. But Anne Manne’s important book Crimes of the Cross, concerning the extensive and profoundly damaging sexual abuse of minors in the Australian Anglican Diocese of Newcastle, does raise some issues concerning the role that a rejection of traditional Christian sexual ethics may have played in that sordid history. It is a conversation we need to have, however uncomfortable that conversation might be.

By “traditional Christian sexual ethics”, I mean the moral teaching that sexual relations should only occur in the context of a marital relationship between a man and a woman. It is not an ethic that church leaders have always lived by. Any close…

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A new plaque outside the Pastoral Center at St. Pius X High School in Albuquerque is meant to serve as an acknowledgment and remembrance of all victims of clergy sexual abuse, both living and deceased, within the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.

Santa Fe Archbishop John C. Wester speaks Monday at the dedication of a plaque dedicated to victims of clergy sexual abuse outside the Pastoral Center on the campus of St. Pius X High School in Albuquerque. “All of us in the archdiocese are keenly aware of the importance and the need to continue to be vigilant,” Wester said. “This is something we can never think, ‘Well, we’ve accomplished that.’ … We have to constantly be looking at our policies.”

Statues of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Joseph look out from under the arches of the entrance of the Pastoral Center on the…

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A former New Orleans priest accused of rape, kidnapping, and other sex crimes is set to begin trial Tuesday (Sept. 24) morning.

It’s a high profile sex abuse case with allegations against Lawrence Hecker dating back to 1966 when he took over the archdiocese’s scouting program.

Lawrence Hecker is expected to be in the courtroom today with lawyers beginning the jury selection process in about three hours.

That’s if the judge feels confident in Hecker’s medical ability to be tried.

This case has seen months of delays because of competency. Defense lawyers have argued that Hecker is 92 years old and suffering from a mild case of dementia and short-term memory loss.

But earlier this month, court records show two expert doctors disagree, finding Hecker competent daily.

One lawyer for an alleged victim says he does not want this trial delayed any further.

The archdiocese says they’ve reported Hecker to…

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More than 200 men and women were sexually abused as children while in custody at juvenile detention centers in Illinois, according to lawsuits filed Monday, the latest in a string of complaints alleging decades of systemic child sex abuse.

Three lawsuits filed Monday detail abuse from 1996 to 2021, including rape, forced oral sex and beatings by corrections officers, nurses, kitchen staff, chaplains and others.

“The State of Illinois has caused and permitted a culture of sexual abuse to flourish unabated in its Illinois Youth Center facilities,” one lawsuit said, adding that Illinois has “overwhelmingly failed to investigate complaints, report abusive staff, and protect youth inmates.”

Overall, 667 people have alleged they were sexually abused as children at youth facilities run by the state and Cook County in lawsuits filed since May.

They’re part of a wave of complaints with disturbing allegations at juvenile facilities across the U.S., including in…

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The congregation at the Don Bosco church solemnly took the holy host after it was blessed during a Sunday service by Nancy Speeckaert — a woman. Only a week earlier, to equal excitement, she had also blessed a wedding.

On both occasions, the humble neighborhood church was filled to near capacity with generations of joyous faithful. And if a key tenet of Catholic doctrine was breached by a woman celebrating the sacrament, it was all covered by a coat of religious love.

Two miles southwest, in the center of the same town of 44,000 near Brussels, less than half of Halle’s big Saint Martin’s Basilica was filled for Sunday’s main Mass, where within minutes of the liturgy starting, words about guilt and calls of “go away, Satan” echoed among the stone pillars.

Pope Francis will be visiting Belgium from Thursday to Sunday, facing a flock ravaged by countless scandals of…

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There is likely to be another parliamentary committee of enquiry into sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy. The committee will concentrate on investigating whether there are any irregularities in Operation Chalice, the criminal investigation into sexual abuse in the Church. With all the parties currently involved in the federal coalition talks having agreed to the setting up of a commission of enquiry, it seems almost certain that one will be set up. 

Following the broadcast of ‘Godvergeten’ (Forgotten by God), a VRT documentary series about sexual abuse committed by clergy here in Belgium, 2 parliamentary committees, 1 federal and 1 Flemish, were set up. Now it seems a near-certainty that a third will follow.

The committee of enquiry will look specifically into irregularities in the Operation Chalice invesigation. Operation Chalice is a major criminal investigation into child abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in Belgium.

Critical report

The setting up…

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Lawrence Hecker would serve mandatory life imprisonment if convicted as charged.

Jury selection is set to begin Tuesday in the trial of a retired Roman Catholic priest facing charges of child rape and kidnapping.

Lawrence Hecker’s trial centers on allegations dating back decades that the local Catholic church took steps to cover up. But for the long-awaited trial to proceed as scheduled, Hecker must first clear the latest in a series of mental health evaluations.

A court-appointed doctor on Sept. 5 found Hecker, who turned 93 on Sept. 14, competent to stand trial. But the judge presiding over the case, Benedict Willard, has said he wants the physician to re-evaluate the defendant’s competence Tuesday before beginning jury selection.

Hecker has pleaded not guilty to aggravated rape, kidnapping and other charges filed against him in September 2023 in New Orleans’ criminal court.

The…

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Lawyers for people seeking compensation from the Norwich Roman Catholic Diocese for sexual abuse they say they suffered as children are accusing the diocese of taking advantage of a change required by a U.S. Supreme Court decision to reduce the compensation it previously agreed to offer.

Lawyer Kelly E. Reardon, who represents 32 of those making claims, said the diocese had previously agreed to pledge assets, which included real estate and other items, estimated to be worth a total of $29 million to $30 million to compensate the roughly 150 claimants. She said at least half the claimants allege that were abused at the Mt. St. John School for troubled boys in Deep River.

Reardon said the latest plan submitted by the diocese and other parties to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Connecticut reduces the amount of cash contributed to the settlement fund by $3.2 million, without increasing contributions of…

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Pope Francis is pressing ahead with a four-day visit to Luxembourg and Belgium despite coming down with a mild flu, in a trip expected to highlight the needs of migrants and to feature a meeting with survivors of abuse by Catholic clergy.

The Vatican said the 87-year-old pope planned to make the trip, which starts on Thursday, after cancelling some meetings on Monday because of flu-like symptoms.

The Sept. 26-29 tour is a rare European visit for Francis, who prefers going to places never visited by a pope, or where Catholics are a small minority. It comes less than two weeks after the pontiff returned from a demanding 12-day, four-country tour across Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Belgium, like many countries, has uncovered cases of clerical sexual abuse. In March, the pope expelled from the priesthood a former Belgian bishop who admitted to sexually abusing two nephews. More than 700 complaints…

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From Mexico, to Argentina, and then to Germany: clergy sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church links these three, different countries. In Mexico and Brazil, predator priests with less than ten years of service, dominate the scene; in Mexico, the U.N. calls for a national commission to address clergy sexual abuse. In Argentina, a key week for survivors of clergy sexual abuse starts today as two cases go to the courts, while in Germany a women’s group seek major changes at the incoming Synod at Rome.

Last week, media in Mexico City told once again the story of a young priest accused of clergy sexual abuse by one of his victims.

Below this paragraph, a short story broadcast by a local news channel in Mexico City provides some details about the allegations.

A story from a Mexican newscast. Audio available only in Spanish.

At this point it is impossible…

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This priest was accused of sexually abusing a boy.

His immediate church supervisors put him on leave.

They investigated the allegation.

They found that the allegations against him were ‘credible.’

They permanently removed him from ministry.

A second abuse report, by another person, was made.

The head of a different diocese put him on his ‘credibly accused’ abusers list.

Then, a third church official, the head of a different archdiocese, put him on HIS ‘credibly accused’ abusers list.

Finally, last year, he was included in a lengthy, widely-praised attorney general’s report on clergy sex crimes and cover up.

So it seems that few – if any – officials in the church or secular world doubt his guilt.

Yet in a recent – and perhaps one of the clearest – example of the Vatican’s hubris, callousness and recklessness, high ranking Catholic bureaucrats in Rome claim the evidence against this priest is…

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On a beautiful Sunday morning in early September, dozens of young men in Waco, Texas, started their day at Grace Church.

Men greeted visitors at the door, manned the information table and handed out bulletins. Four of the five musicians onstage were men. So was the pastor who delivered the sermon and most of the college students packing the first few rows.

“I’m so grateful for this church,” Ryan Amodei, 28, told the congregation before a second pastor, Buck Rogers, baptized him in a tank of water at the sanctuary.

Grace Church, a Southern Baptist congregation, has not made a conscious effort to attract young men. It is an unremarkable size, and is in many ways an ordinary evangelical church. Yet its leaders have noticed for several years now that young men outnumber young women in their pews. When the church opened a small outpost in the nearby town of…

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Francis, 87, is scheduled to visit Belgium and Luxembourg soon, trips that come within weeks of his returning from a grueling Asia-Pacific tour.

Pope Francis canceled appointments on Monday because of a mild flu, according to the Vatican, which said the move was a precautionary step as the pontiff prepares to travel to Belgium and Luxembourg this week.

The news of Francis’ illness came 10 days after the pope returned from a long trip to the Asia-Pacific region, a tour that was seen as a test of his health and endurance. During those travels, which included dozens of hours in the air and visits to humid, polluted cities, Francis, 87, often appeared lively and energetic, but the cancellation of his audiences on Monday revived concerns about his health.

Francis, who has been using a wheelchair and who lost part of a lung when he was young, canceled some commitments…

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Fifteen Catholic Church abuse victims met in Brussels on Saturday with representatives of the bishops to discuss the details of their upcoming meeting with the Pope.

The hour-long meeting is set to take place on Friday afternoon “with complete discretion”. The exact location remains undisclosed.

Father Rik Devillé, founder of the Church’s human rights working group, criticised the meeting’s organisation, comparing it to the abuse system itself.

“Victims are once again being placed in the role where nothing could be revealed,” said Father Devillé, whose work inspired the award-winning VRT documentary series ‘Godvergeten’ (God’s Forgotten). “For some, this is a painful matter, while others look forward to shaking the Pope’s hand.”

There will be no room for improvisation during the meeting, Father Devillé asserted. Clear agreements have been made about how the victims will convey their messages to the Church leader.

Each victim, comprising nine Dutch speakers and six French…

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Source: Irish Catholic Media Office

Archbishop Dermot Farrell gave the following homily during the Safeguarding Sunday Vigil Mass Vigil Mass in Saint Mary’s Pro-Cathedral in Dublin, on Saturday 21 September 2024.

On this weekend, in which the Archdiocese of Dublin brings to the attention of all the faithful the safeguarding children and vulnerable adults, we see Jesus put the welcome of the child to the forefront, not just of his ministry, but of God’s way of giving his life to us. ‘Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me’ (Mark 9:37). In the ancient world, the child had no ‘rights;’ children were even more vulnerable than in our world. For Christ, it is our welcome, and our protection, of these little ones that is the threshold of our welcome of God. Here…

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David Clohessy spoke more about what his group, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests or SNAP, are doing.

READ MORE: https://krcgtv.com/news/local/victims…

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Event Details

Wed, Oct 2, 2024 at 5:00 PM
Fairfield University, 1073 N Benson Rd, Fairfield, CT, 06824

As the Catholic Church faces significant challenges, including the clergy sexual abuse crisis and parish closures, new theological perspectives on local belonging are increasingly needed. Susan Bigelow Reynolds, PhD, an award-winning Catholic theologian at Emory University, will address these issues when she presents “Theologizing the Local After Clergy Abuse and Parish Closure,” the 24th Annual Anne Drummey O’Callaghan Lecture, on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, at 5 p.m. at Alumni House. The lecture will invite attendees to rethink local belonging through feminist and postcolonial lenses.

Dr. Reynolds, a Catholic theologian and ethnographer, specializes in the intersection of ecclesiology and lived Catholicism. Her recent monograph, People Get Ready: Ritual, Solidarity, and Lived Ecclesiology in Catholic Roxbury(Fordham University Press, 2023), provides an in-depth examination of community within a diverse church in Boston, advocating for solidarity…

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John Patrick Shanley’s superb 2005 drama “Doubt: A Parable” explored the scandal of abuse within the Catholic priesthood through the lens of a suspicious and determined sister in charge of a Catholic school in the Bronx in New York. The supremely concise play took place entirely through the lens of what for children are authority figures: a principal, a priest, a parent, a teacher. Kids were neither seen nor heard. Just discussed.

The new play by Omer Abbas Salem, “Happy Days are Here (Again),” which is set at a Catholic elementary school in Chicago in about 1980 and had its world premiere Friday night from Chicago’s ever-courageous Steep Theatre at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theatre, pays homage to that precursor, not least in its portrayal of how abusers can be careful to groom their victims and to cover up their tracks with charm. But the big difference here is that…

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*Warning – This story contains details of sexual abuse

A Fijian survivor of abuse by New Zealand Marist brothers wants the Pope to apologise to Pacific victims as well as those in New Zealand.

The New Zealand Catholic Church will not say whether it is urging Pope Francis to make a public apology following recommendations by the Royal Commission.

Felix Fremlin was 7 years old when abuse began by a New Zealand Marist brother, Bertrand Hodgkins, who taught at the Marist Brothers Primary School in Suva in 1979.

Another brother, Terence Payne, started teaching there shortly after and the abuse continued.

Fremlin said Payne offered lollies and chocolates to him and his brother John to get them into his room.

“Those are luxuries, coming from a poor family background, so usually they tempt us with it and tell us you come in and don’t tell any other guys otherwise you…

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Church has not ‘come to terms with what was done to thousands upon thousands of innocent and vulnerable people’, says Dermot Farrell

A “culture of denial” in the Catholic Church about child sexual abuse has been challenged by Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell.

The Church in Ireland “has yet fully to come to terms with what was done to the thousands upon thousands of innocent and vulnerable people over such a long period of time,” he said. “Until the abuse crisis is fully addressed, there will be no authentic, enduring renewal and reform of our Church.”

Referring to the recent report of the scoping inquiry into historical sexual abuse in schools run by religious orders, in a sermon at the Pro Cathedral to mark Safeguarding Sunday, he said that “listening to the stark and distressing testimony of this, and other reports over the last 20 years is as painful and…

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There will be no reform or renewal of the Catholic Church in Ireland until the abuse crisis has been fully addressed, Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell has said.

Archbishop Farrell said there was a “culture of denial” in the Catholic Church when it came to the issue of child sexual abuse.

He was making reference to the scoping inquiry into allegations of abuse at schools run by religious orders, which earlier this month found that there were 2,395 allegations of sexual abuse in respect of 308 schools recorded by the religious orders that ran those schools.

During a sermon at St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral last night, he said: “Listening to the stark and distressing testimony of this, and other reports over the last 20 years is as painful and difficult, as the content of those reports is outrageous and scandalous.

“While some are filled with anger, others close…

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Belgium’s secular community has criticised plans for the Pope to visit the official residence of the royal family and deliver a message “to the nation” later this month, calling it an “unprecedented” erosion of the separation of Church and State.

The Central Secular Council (CAL), which represents both French and Dutch speaking non-denominational communities across Belgium, has sharply criticised the invitation extended to Pope Francis by the Belgian monarchy.

The Pope is scheduled to visit Belgium from 26 to 29 September, at the invite of KU Leuven and UCLouvain as the universities mark their 600th anniversaries.

‘Flouting’ principle of separation

Whilst the visit will be historic for Belgian Catholics (as the first papal visit in almost 30 years), CAL has emphasised that the event “does not justify flouting the principles of separation of Church and State and of neutrality”.

Specifically, CAL is critical of an invitation extended by King…

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Boys from Joplin and Carthage and a boy and a girl from Neosho are among 11 alleged victims of past sexual abuse by Catholic Church officials cited in a lawsuit filed last week against the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau.

The diocese and Bishop Edward Rice are listed as defendants in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Springfield regarding purported abuse of children dating back as far as the late 1960s by six named and three unnamed priests, a monsignor, an unnamed youth pastor and an unnamed deacon.

The lawsuit states that the victims — all adults today — were children at the time of the abuse and suffered “shame, guilt, self-blame and depression” as a consequence. The plaintiffs are eight boys and three girls identified only by initials in the court petition.

Rice is being sued solely in his capacity as the chief executive officer and director of…

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The Child Victims Act of 2023 and its provisions were tested during a three-hour Maryland Supreme Court hearing to determine whether a past legislature could prohibit the actions of future lawmakers. 

The Maryland Supreme Court heard arguments related to the Child Victims Act last Tuesday. As previously covered on Conduit Street, the question of constitutionality was anticipated to come up following the passage of the original legislation in 2023. The arguments went on for over three hours, well longer than usual according to court administrators.

From a Maryland Matters article:

During more than three hours of oral arguments, the justices repeatedly asked about the ability of the General Assembly to pass a law that allowed for lawsuits on older allegations. They also asked if a 2017 law that preceded the Child Victims Act barred future legislatures from revisiting the issue.

Opponents of the law argued…

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A judge Thursday postponed a hearing on settlement negotiations between the Catholic Church on Long Island and hundreds of clergy sex abuse survivors, though attorneys indicated a resolution, after years of court battles and delays, could finally be near.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Martin Glenn in Manhattan put the hearing off until next week at the request of attorneys for the Diocese of Rockville Centre and more than 500 clergy sex abuse survivors.

Attorneys for both sides indicated in court last week they were close to a settlement, with issues regarding one insurance company — Interstate — being the only remaining obstacle.

Glenn last week expressed irritation with Interstate and ordered a lawyer representing the company to get its leaders to New York this week to resolve the issue.

On Wednesday, the attorneys suggested in a letter to Glenn that the issue was nearly resolved, but the postponement would give them time to wrap up the…

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The indefatigable Pope Francis willbe on the road again Sept. 26-29, less than two weeks after finishing a marathon voyage to Asia and Oceania. His destination this time is closer to home: the northern European countries of Luxembourg and Belgium.  

Western Europe has hardly been the focus of attention for Pope Francis, the first pope from the Global South, who has preferred to reach out to developing countries and the non-Catholic world. Yet this trip will qualify, in another sense, as a visit to the “peripheries” that he has always identified as his mission field.  

Once a bastion of Catholic culture, Belgium, where the Pope will spend most of his time, increasingly exemplifies the post-Christian, secular West. Fifty percent of Belgians identified as Catholic in 2022, a drop of 16% from a decade earlier, according to the country’s bishops’ conference. Only 8.9% of those attend Mass even once a month. 

…

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Lawmakers ask Department of Financial Services to act

New York lawmakers are urging the state Department of Financial Services (DFS) to investigate allegations that insurers are neglecting claims tied to the Child Victims Act (CVA).

Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal and Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal have formally requested DFS to address concerns that survivors of child sexual abuse are being denied compensation by insurance companies.

In a letter to DFS Superintendent Adrienne Harris, the two cited the ongoing complaints from abuse survivors who allege that insurers are failing to process their claims.

Separately, it was pointed out that despite the grievances being raised with DFS for months, the agency has yet to take meaningful action.

Rosenthal and Hoylman-Sigal wrote: “As authors of the Child Victims Act law of 2019, we are writing regarding disturbing reports we have received from survivors who say their claims are not being properly processed by insurers regulated…

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A pair of recent lawsuits filed under the state’s “Lookback Window” law accuse the Catholic Church of turning a blind eye decades ago when two ex- Baton Rouge priests sexually abused underage parishioners.

Both lawsuits, filed in the 19th Judicial District Court, name the Society of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge as the chief defendant. The two civil claims were filed separately by two plaintiffs who kept their respective identities confidential under a state law that shields sexually abused minors from revealing themselves publicly.

In 2021, the Louisiana Legislature created a “lookback window” that gave such victims three years to sue their perpetrators no matter when the abuse occurred. Before that, survivors had until their 28th birthday to sue.

Lawmakers revived causes of action for decades-old claims of sex abuse that previously would have been time-barred in court. In doing so, Louisiana joined 27 other states and…

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Let’s grant that Tom De Cock, a 41-year-old Flemish radio DJ, television personality and author, who’s gay and married, isn’t necessarily representative of the entire population of Belgium, a complex nation of 11.7 million people set to host Pope Francis for a three-day visit this coming weekend.

On the other hand, De Cock’s popularity suggests he doesn’t speak just for himself – and, to say the least, he’s not exactly over the moon about the looming papal visit.

In July, De Cock announced that he was renouncing a fellowship at the Catholic University of Leuven, which the pope is scheduled to visit on Friday, and would not take part in celebrations of the university’s 600th anniversary, despite being an alumnus, in protest over its welcome for the pontiff.

In a piece for the newspaper De Morgen, he said he objects to rolling out the red carpet for the head of a church which,…

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A north Texas church has fired its pastor for allegedly looking at “inappropriate materials,” despite the pastor’s denials of wrongdoing.

Lake Country Church in Fort Worth fired Senior Pastor Scott Crenshaw for allegedly viewing “inappropriate materials” during an Instagram search, according to WFAA 8, a Fort Worth television station.

Crenshaw’s lawyer, Mark Lane, says the claims are false, the station reported.  Email messages left for Lane were not returned, and the law office did not have an answering service.

Crenshaw assumed the pastor role in 2018, according to the church’s website. His name has since been removed from the church’s official webpage, and a message left for church officials was not returned.

Crenshaw’s Facebook page says “I am a follower of Jesus Christ, a father of four, husband of one. I am a seeker,…

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Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie’s documentary is all the more powerful for its measured telling

[Includes the movie trailer.]

This is what generational trauma looks like. This impactful, multistranded documentary weaves together a dogged investigation into the horrific crimes perpetrated against generations of Indigenous children at a residential school run by the Catholic church in Canada, with accounts of the trickle-down of damage, from grandparents to parents to children. It’s a remarkably courageous and exposed work, particularly for co-director Julian Brave NoiseCat and his father, Ed Archie NoiseCat, whose painful journey together in search of healing is the film’s spine. The sickening facts of the case are presented with a respectful restraint but it’s impossible to watch this and not feel a cold, hard rage on behalf of the victims.

• In UK and Irish cinemas

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Efran Menny tackles a difficult question his family wrestles with as their young children grow in the Catholic faith.

One of the proudest moments I have had as a Black Catholic parent is when my two boys received the sacrament of baptism. As a convert along with my wife, who entered the Church in 2020, transmitting the sacredness and beauty of our faith was a remarkable moment. 

When I crossed the Tiber, my thought thereafter was, “What’s next for me in the Church?” When I think about the future of our children and their faith, I wonder the same. I have always been one to think of the long road. “Begin with the end in mind” is what I tell my students at my school, but using this same logic, what ends are we potentially creating for our children so that they might have a vocation in the Catholic faith?

…

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Despite possible evidence of hundreds of graves at former schools for Indigenous children, challenges in making a clear conclusion have given rise to skeptics.

The revelation convulsed all of Canada.

Ground-penetrating radar had found possible signs of 215 unmarked graves at a former residential school in British Columbia run by the Catholic Church that the government had once used to assimilate Indigenous children forcibly taken from their families.

It was the first of some 80 former schools where indications of possible unmarked graves were discovered, and it produced a wave of sorrow and shock in a country that has long struggled with the legacy of its treatment of Indigenous people. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ordered flags to fly at half-staff, as many Canadians wore orange T-shirts with the slogan “Every Child Matters.”

Three years later, though, no remains have been exhumed and identified.

Many communities are struggling with a difficult…

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An order of Catholic monks in Quebec is facing a class action lawsuit filed by more than 80 victims, accusing the Brothers of Christian Instruction of widespread sexual assaults spanning decades. The alleged abuses, dating back as far as 1940, occurred in more than 20 schools run by the congregation, with most incidents reported between the 1950s and 1970s.

An order of Catholic monks that once ran up to 80 schools in Canada‘s Quebec province was hit Friday with accusations of sexual assaults over decades.

In a class action, more than 87 victims have come forward with allegations against the Brothers of Christian Instruction that date as far back as 1940. Several of the monks are now deceased.

In court documents, the accusers detail assaults at more than 20 schools run by the Brothers across the province of Quebec.

Most occurred between the 1950s and 1970s, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs…

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Belgium’s bishops unveiled their new point man on clerical abuse this week, days before Pope Francis begins a four-day visit to the country.

Archbishop Luc Terlinden, the 55-year-old Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, succeeds Bishop Johan Bonny, the 69-year-old Bishop of Antwerp, who stepped down in July, citing an excessive workload that he said was taking a toll on his health.

Bonny had served in the role for the past 15 years, a time of great upheaval in the Belgian Church amid clerical abuse and cover-up scandals.

The last papal visit to Belgium was in 1995, when Pope John Paul II beatified Fr. Damien De Veuster, the Apostle of Molokai. That was long before the abuse crisis overwhelmed the country, tarnishing a generation of Catholic leaders, and accelerating the local Church’s already steep post-Vatican II decline.

The motto for Pope Francis’ Sept. 26-29 visit is “En route, avec Espérance” (“On the way, with Hope”) — a notably forward-looking…

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‘If anyone could undo … the will of Louisiana … the Catholic church can and will,’ says survivor whose case is targeted

Months after Louisiana’s supreme court upheld the constitutionality of a state law that let child molestation victims sue for long-ago abuse, despite arguments to the contrary by a Roman Catholic diocese, another church organization is asking the federal government to strike the statute down.

Behind the request in question are the Dominican Sisters of Peace and a law firm that boasts about having represented Catholic institutions in Louisiana courts for more than a century. Another of the law firm’s clients in question, the archdiocese of New Orleans, is offering clergy molestation victims less than 10% of what they are requesting in a bankruptcy settlement, in part by arguing the so-called “lookback window” law doesn’t apply to more than 600 abuse claims.

The law that the Dominican Sisters and their…

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette challenged the constitutionality of a state law that let child molestation victims sue for long-ago abuse. The Louisiana Supreme Court rejected it.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans is offering abuse victims less than 10% of what they are requesting in a bankruptcy settlement, in part by arguing the so-called “lookback window” law doesn’t apply to more than 600 abuse claims filed. 

And now, a third Roman Catholic organization is taking another bite at the apple, asking a federal judge to strike down the same Louisiana law.

Behind this latest effort are the Dominican Sisters of Peace in Baton Rouge and a law firm that boasts about having represented Catholic institutions in court for more than a century. 

The law which the sisters and their Denechaud and Denechaud attorneys are targeting doesn’t exclusively apply in cases of Catholic clergy abuse. But the…

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[See also the lawsuits against the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau and the Diocese of Jefferson City.]

Two lawsuits filed this month are accusing the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau and the Diocese of Jefferson City, both in Missouri, of covering up and enabling decades of sexual abuse against minors dating back to the 1960s through the 1990s.

The two suits, filed in U.S. District Court and employing identical language in many cases, claim that diocesan officials “knowingly enabled, covered up, and concealed for multiple decades” sexual abuse perpetrated on minors, what the suits call a “shameless cover-up” that “spanned decades and allowed various bishops and other employees to access and sexually abuse numerous children.”

The suits were filed on behalf of numerous unnamed individuals identified only by their initials. The alleged victims were almost all minors at the time of the reported abuse; one plaintiff in the Jefferson City…

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The Diocese of Rockford was recently informed that Father Matthew DeBlock
is under investigation for an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor, which
allegedly occurred while Father DeBlock served at Boylan Central Catholic High School
from 2012 to 2014. According to Diocese of Rockford policies, Father DeBlock was
immediately removed from all ministry while the investigation by civil and church
authorities takes place.

Bishop David Malloy issued a statement Sept. 19 to St. John Neumann Parish, where
Father DeBlock was assigned as parochial vicar (associate pastor) as well as to Boylan
Central Catholic High School. Statements regarding Father DeBlock’s status were also
issued to all other parishes and schools where Father DeBlock had been assigned since
his ordination as a priest for the diocese in 2008.

Bishop wrote “Accordingly, and in fulfillment of the commitment of the Bishops of the
United States articulated in the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,
Father DeBlock has resigned as parochial…

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Some families of students who attended Boylan Catholic High School receive an email regarding an ongoing investigation involving a priest who taught and served as assistant principal at the school.

The letter was sent to families Sept. 19 by the Diocese of Rockford. A news release was also published Friday on the Diocese of Rockford website.

The diocese says it was “recently informed Father Matthew DeBlock is under investigation for an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor.” The diocese says the alleged misconduct reportedly happened at the time Father DeBlock served at Boylan, between 2012 and 2014.

No criminal charges have been filed against the priest at this time. Local law enforcement agencies either openly denied an investigation or shared that they would comment only if charges were announced.

According to the letter, the diocese says Father DeBlock resigned from his assignment as parochial vicar at…

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Catholic church sex abuse victims and their lawyers are speaking out after the way the Norwich Diocese tried to change a compensation plan.

The Diocese said it is actually the victims who walked away from the existing plan, but the changes- and the delays- have victims angry.

“I was lied to,” said one victim, who asked not to be identified. “I was betrayed.”

They are one of dozens saying they were sexually abused by members of the Catholic Church in the Norwich Diocese.

They say the betrayal started with the abuse. Much of that happened years ago at the Mount Saint John School for troubled boys in Deep River.

Facing all those abuse claims three years ago, the Norwich Diocese filed for bankruptcy. But the bishop at the time made a promise to abuse survivors.

“The bankruptcy court will oversee a settlement that ensures that all survivors are included and…

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On September 12, 2024, a lawsuit was filed against myself and the Diocese of Jefferson City concerning five allegations of misconduct that reportedly occurred decades ago. We are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness and investigating the allegations.

As always, our goals are to support healing and peace for any survivor of abuse, to bring abusers to justice and to implement safeguards to prevent harm.

It is important that everyone in our community is aware that none of the five priests named in the lawsuit are currently active in ministry in the Diocese of Jefferson City.

Two of the priests named — Thomas Duggan and Gerald Howard (formerly Carmen Sita) — are deceased. Both had previously been listed on our public registry of clergy credibly accused of misconduct. This list is available on our website at www.diojeffcity.org/safe-environment.

The lawsuit also names Fr. Francis Gillgannon, who died…

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The Jefferson City Catholic Diocese and Bishop Shawn McKnight are facing a lawsuit from victims, who alleged abuse happened at churches in the Capitol city.

In the last week, five survivors sued the group, accusing anywhere from four to five church officials of sexual abuse over the past few decades. In a statement to KRCG 13, Bishop McKnight said those accused includeThomas Duggan, Gerald Howard (formerly Carmen Sita),Fr. Francis Gillgannon,“Fr. Darr” and “Fr. Dave.”

According to the diocese, Duggan, Howard and Gillgannon are all deceased. Prior to the recent allegations, both Duggan and Howardhad committed other offenses, and had been listed on the diocese’s public registry of clergy credibly accused of misconduct.

Additionally,Bishop McKnight said there is no record of a “Fr. Darr” ever serving in the Diocese of Jefferson City. The diocese is currently working to identify a “Fr. Dave.” However, the church confirmed the allegation…

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A dozen Missouri priests and clergymen are accused of sexual abuse in two new federal lawsuits filed this week.

The priests are from two Dioceses: Jefferson City and Springfield-Cape Girardeau. Both of these lawsuits are asking for a jury trial, but no court date has been set.

In one of the two lawsuits filed September 13, seven priests and clergymen from the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Catholic Diocese in the 1980s and ‘90s asked for $75M in damages. The lawsuit alleges Diocese leadership knowingly covered up abuse allegations, leading to prolonged suffering for the victims.

The men accused are:

• Fr. Leonard Chambers
• Fr. John Harth
• Fr. Reeker
• Fr. Thomas McCarthy
• Fr. Thomas Reidy
• Msgr. John Westheus
• Fr. Michael McDevitt

Three plaintiffs could not recall the name of their abuser. Another plaintiff said their abuse was committed by an unnamed youth pastor.

In a statement, the diocese outlines its policy for investigating claims and says…

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The funeral of Bishop Eamonn Casey in 2017 seemed to draw a line under his scandalous affair years before. But this summer, disturbing new allegations emerged.

The funeral Mass for Eamonn Casey seemed to befit one of the best-known Catholic bishops in all of Ireland. The pageantry on that cool March day in 2017 included 11 bishops and five dozen priests, all in white, gliding as if airborne up the center aisle of the pew-packed cathedral in Galway.

Incense and awkwardness commingled. Bishop Casey, who was 89, had once been the charismatic and progressive leader of the Galway Diocese, in western Ireland. But the disclosure in 1992 that he had fathered a child with a distant American cousin, and then refused to have anything to do with the boy, had rocked the Catholic-dominant country and sent him into the wilderness.

At the funeral, a fellow bishop referred to…

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Documentary details horrific cruelty towards and abuse of First Nations children in residential schools and discovery of unmarked graves

This gripping account of the abuse of First Nations children at Catholic residential schools in Canada rightly won the jury prize for documentary direction at Sundance in January and is now an early Academy Award favourite.

Early in the film, a group of volunteers ventures into a barn on the grounds of St Joseph’s Mission residential school near the Sugarcane Reservation in British Columbia. They find heartbreaking inscriptions from desperate children. Investigators Charlene Belleau and Whitney Spearing uncover more than 50 unmarked graves nearby.

Founded in the late 19th century, St Joseph’s was one of many state-supported Catholic institutions intended to counter “the Indian problem”. The grandmother of Julian Brave NoiseCat, the film’s codirector, who was himself born in mysterious circumstances in the institution, says, “Before we went to residential school…

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The prefect for the Dicastery of Bishops, Cardinal Robert Prevost, has been publicly accused of never having opened a canonical case into alleged sexual abuse carried out by two priests in the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, which he led from 2014 until 2023, when he was called to Rome. 

As previously reported by The Pillar, the Diocese of Chiclayo has been accused of mishandling allegations made by Ana Maria Quispe and two other women, who say they were abused by Fr Eleuterio Vásquez Gonzáles. Allegations were also made against Fr Ricardo Yesquen. 

It has since emerged that the other two alleged victims are Ana Maria Quispe’s younger sisters, Aura Teresa and Juana Mercedes.

In a new statement, the alleged victims claim that Prevost failed in 2022 to open an investigation into the accusations of sexual abuse dating back to 2007. They say that any documentation that may have been sent…

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The ongoing Synod on Synodality, the plight of migrants and refugees and continued efforts to safeguard minors and vulnerable groups from abuse will be prominent topics discussed during the Canadian bishops’ 2024 Plenary Assembly in Beaupré, Que., from Sept. 23-27.

Seventy-nine bishops from Latin and Eastern churches will convene to dialogue, discern and deliberate on the issues affecting the credibility and vitality of the Canadian Catholic community.

Cardinal Mario Grech, the Synod on Synodality’s secretary-general, will deliver the keynote address virtually, just days before the resumption of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome from Oct. 2-27. The Maltese prelate is scheduled to speak at 2 p.m. EST on Sept. 23.

French Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, the Archbishop of Marseille and Pope Francis’ special envoy for the Archdiocese of Quebec’s 350th anniversary, and Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič, the apostolic nuncio to Canada, are other dignitaries speaking on…

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Assorted charges were dropped against Christopher Chell, but he has pleaded no contest to charges of felony battery and an offense against a student by an authority figure.

Chell was a physical education teacher at Saint Patrick Interparish School.

Judge David Kreider withheld adjudication and sentenced Chell to six months jail time and five years probation.

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A professor at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium has claimed the university is intentionally downplaying a looming visit by Pope Francis, driven by anger over sexual abuse scandals as well as “shame” about Catholic identity and a “business and marketing logic” which views being identified with the institutional church as potentially detrimental to enrollment.

Pope Francis is scheduled to visit the university on Sept. 27 to help celebrate its 600th anniversary, as part of a broader three-day trip to Luxembourg and Belgium.

Yet Bart Maddens, a professor of political science at the university, charged in a recent piece for the Flemish magazine Doorbraak that the papal visit is being “covered up,” noting that there’s no mention of it on the home page of the university web site, even under the “events” tab, nor is there any reference on a page dedicated to the anniversary celebrations.

Moreover, Maddens writes, the pope’s meeting…

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Testifying for the first time in a trial that has transfixed and horrified France, Dominique Pelicot said on Tuesday that he had “nothing but love” for his wife but a sex addiction controlled him, and he couldn’t stop himself from drugging her and raping her, and bringing other men into their home to rape her along with him while she was unconscious.

Mr. Pelicot, 71, added that his “perversion” was created by traumatic episodes in his childhood, notably a sexual assault he said he suffered at age 9, when he was admitted to hospital with a head injury and a nurse sexually assaulted him. His wife, he said, had saved him from that horror for a long time.

“She didn’t deserve this, I recognize that,” he said in tears sitting on the stand, his voice so weak that the court strained to hear him.

“I regret what I did and…

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Former wife of Dominique Pélicot, who allegedly recruited strangers to assault her, calls accused men ‘degenerates’

The former wife of a French man accused of recruiting strangers to rape her while she was drugged has told a court she never consented and the men who allegedly assaulted her were “degenerates”.

Appearing at the trial of her former husband, Dominique Pélicot, and 50 men he allegedly invited to rape her, Gisèle Pélicot, 72, said: “I never, even for a single second, gave my consent to Mr Pélicot or those other men.”

Dominique Pelicot, 71, has admitted drugging his then-wife with sedatives and anti-anxiety medication to render her unconscious so that he and dozens of strangers who he recruited in online chatrooms could allegedly rape her between 2011 and 2020.

The 50 men, aged between 26 and 74, with professions ranging from fire officer to journalist, are alleged to have been recruited…

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Eight area catholic churches are named in a federal civil lawsuit filed last week by 11 plaintiffs who say they were sexually abused by clergy members more than 20 years ago.

The plaintiffs, who are adults now, say that when they were children in the ’70s and ’80s — they were subjected to sexual abuse by priests, and that the diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau turned a blind eye to the abuse.

Catholic churches listed in the lawsuit are St. Peter’s and St. Mary’s in Joplin, St. Ann’s in Carthage, Sacred Heart in Webb City, St. Canera’s in Neosho, along with Catholic churches in Mount Vernon, Pierce City, and Wentworth.

Plaintiffs are listed only by initials in the civil suit but include one girl and two boys from Neosho, a boy from Joplin, and one from Carthage.

Six men who formerly served as parish priests are named in the suit along…

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In a federal lawsuit filed by 11 individuals, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau and its Bishop Edward Rice in his official capacity are accused of enabling and concealing sexual abuse of minors by employees that took place over decades.

Filed Sept. 12 in U.S. District Court’s Western District of Missouri, the lawsuit demands $75 million for the victims, who allege they experienced sexual abuse in the 1980s and 1990s. The lawsuit names seven different priests and clergy, only one of whom appears on the diocese’s published list of clergy with allegations of abuse, which was last updated September 2023.

“The Diocese and Bishop did not act in any manner to protect the young children of its parishes, churches, community, and other organizations within its (area of operation),” the complaint filed in court reads. “To the contrary, the Bishop and Diocese engaged in several decades of intentional misconduct…

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Michael O’Keeffe, a former pupil of a school for the visually impaired, has chosen to speak out after the recent scoping inquiry revealed a high level of abuse in special education schools

Michael O’Keeffe first witnessed the beating of a child when he was a boy attending St Joseph’s School for the Visually Impaired in Drumcondra on the northside of Dublin.

The retired academic who specialised in lecturing students in special and inclusive education was born with a mild visual impairment in 1959 and sent to the Dublin school from his home in rural Limerick at the age of eight.

Doctors had “constantly said to my mother that this child should be ‘sent away’”, he recalled. And so he was.

He and his mother took the train to Dublin and St Joseph’s in Drumcondra, run by the Rosminian religious congregation. He said he “settled into this new…

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In July, Johan Bonny resigned after 15 years as the Belgian bishops’ commissioner for abuse. Now another bishop is taking over. Meanwhile, the Pope is planning a symbolically important meeting during his upcoming visit to the country.

The new abuse commissioner of the Belgian Bishops’ Conference is its chairman, Archbishop Luc Terlinden. He provisionally succeeds Bishop Johan Bonny, who stepped down from this position in July after 15 years, the bishops announced on their website. Terlinden admitted that there had been a “culture of secrecy and silence” in the Church in the past, which made each of these tragedies even more difficult to bear.

It was also said that Pope Francis wanted to meet 15 victims of sexual abuse during his visit to Belgium. At the express request of several victims, the meeting will take place in complete discretion. Therefore, neither the place nor the time of the meeting will be disclosed,…

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The Archdiocese of New Orleans has proposed a bankruptcy settlement as part of its plan for addressing sexual abuse by clergy, offering a $62.5 million payout to victims of abuse even as the victims themselves are demanding hundreds of millions more. 

The archdiocese’s Chapter 11 plan of reorganization, filed last week in U.S. bankruptcy court, proposes a $50 million cash transfer from the archdiocese to a settlement trust, along with a $12.5 million payment from affiliated “non-debtor Catholic entities,” mostly parishes within the archdiocese itself. 

In a statement announcing the plan, Archbishop Gregory Aymond said the archdiocese’s “main priorities are to assist the abuse survivors on a path towards healing that includes fair and equitable compensation for them” while “creating a more financially sustainable archdiocesan ministry for the future.”

Acknowledging that there is “still much work to do,” Aymond said the proposal will nevertheless “allow…

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Dungannon Crown Court was informed that further charges involving three other males has been added

A Co Tyrone priest charged with two counts of historic sex offences involving two males has had a further three charges added.

Canon Patrick McEntee (70) from Esker Road, Dromore requested a leave of absence in 2022 while a serious safeguarding investigation was carried out.

Last year he was charged with sexual offences against two males which allegedly occurred in the Co Fermanagh area.

Canon McEntee is a former teacher, governor and college president at St Michael’s College in Enniskillen.

He was also college president between 1994 and 2000, moving on to take up the post of parish priest at St Davog’s Church in Dromore, in 2001, where he has remained until his recent leave of absence.

He faced a total of of five counts of indecent assault dating back to the 1980s.

However after…

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Three women accused the Chiclayo Diocese of failing to punish two priests for sexually abusing them as minors

Three women have alleged a Peruvian diocese failed to punish a pair of priests, who they accuse of sexually abusing them as minors.

The Diocese of Chiclayo denied the accusations of a coverup, saying in a Sept. 10 statement the victims were personally attended to by the then-bishop, Cardinal Robert Prevost — now prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops — in April 2022.

Their accusations and the findings of a local investigation, the diocese said, were sent to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, which investigates accusations of clerical sexual abuse, in July 2022. The Vatican investigation found insufficient evidence, according to the diocese.

Peruvian prosecutors also investigated but found insufficient evidence and ruled the statute of limitations had passed. The accusations were reported Sept. 8 by the television news…

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