ABUSE TRACKER

The founding pastor of a nondenominational church near Melbourne, Australia, is refusing to resign after a seven-month investigation by a group of interim elders found him to be disqualified from ministry on a dozen counts. In addition, more than 30 people with ties to the congregation have alleged spiritual and physical abuse and manipulation, the interim elders say.

The pastor—Larry Sebastian of Casey City Church—is also accused of covering up the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl in 2013, berating staff members, and harassing a former employee by repeatedly showing up at her home after she resigned.

Sebastian denies the allegations.

In November 2023, the interim elders presented their findings and recommendations to the congregation. In a separate meeting, they also presented the findings to a group of approximately 60 whistleblowers, victims, and allies who no longer feel welcome at the church.

In a video of the whistleblower meeting that The…

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An associate pastor at St. Philip Catholic Church who was indicted earlier this year on sexual abuse charges is facing more charges in a new indictment.

A Williamson County grand jury returned a superseding indictment on June 5 charging Rev. Juan Carlos Garcia- Mendoza with two additional counts of sexual battery.

Garcia- Mendoza was originally indicted in February with one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, one count of aggravated sexual battery, four counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and two counts of sexual battery.

He was ordained to the priesthood in 2020 at St. Rose of Lima in Murfreesboro and was assigned to St. Philip in July 2022.

St. Philip officials reported to the Diocese of Nashville Safe Environment Office in November 2023 that a teen in the parish had made a report of improper touching involving Garcia-Mendoza, records show, noting that the priest was…

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DULUTH — The Rev. William C. Graham, removed from active priest duties for nearly eight years amid allegations of sexual misconduct, marked his Vatican-approved return to St. Michael’s Catholic Church in mid-May with a media conference backed by a dozen supporters and a dry stone baptismal fountain.

He used biblical terms to describe the Catholic church discipline department’s finding that there wasn’t sufficient evidence that he was guilty of the allegations.

“Light triumphing over darkness,” Graham called it.

Now, weeks after his hard-fought return, Graham will retire June 30. He said Bishop Daniel Felton gave him the option to transfer to the Cass Lake area, appeal the transfer or retire. Graham did not say mass on Sunday morning at his home church.

A letter outlining a restructuring within Duluth’s east side churches recently went out from Felton to affected pastors.

“Subsequently to that communication, this week Father Graham informed his…

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A woman is suing the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, a Catholic order based in Delaware, for sexual abuse she says she suffered as a young girl at the hands of a priest on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Joyce Harper, 74, who now lives in Florida, alleges in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that Oblate priest George Mahoney, who has since died, sexually abused her and another girl after mass at Our Mother of Sorrows Church in Centerville more than 60 years ago.

In 1960, Mahoney invited Harper, who was 10, and three other girls to help him count the Sunday offering money, the complaint says. Mahoney allegedly took Harper and another girl to his room in the church rectory and sexually assaulted them, one at a time. According to the lawsuit, Mahoney told the girls, “If you tell anyone about this you will go to HELL.”

The Baltimore Sun does…

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A Spanish Jesuit has been discovered to have documented his abuse of hundreds of Indigenous girls while serving as a missionary in rural Bolivia — atrocities which the Society of Jesus has known about since at least 2019 and did not immediately report to the civil authorities.

Jesuit Father Luis María Roma wrote in a diary of abusing girls, whom he often lured to a river and photographed inappropriately, according to the Spanish newspaper El País. The Jesuit province in Bolivia compiled a report on Roma’s acts in 2019, but withheld it from prosecutors, according to El País, which obtained a copy of the priest’s diary and the Jesuit’s investigation.

Roma died in August 2019, shortly before the report’s completion. El País published a notarized confession by the priest signed in May 2019, which read, “I got carried away, in some situations, by libidinous acts, inappropriate for a religious person, with girls from eight to 11…

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Pastor Robert Morris admitted to “inappropriate sexual behavior” after a woman said the megachurch pastor repeatedly abused her in the 1980s.

Pastor Robert Morris, a Texas megachurch pastor who served as a spiritual adviser to former President Donald Trump, has confessed to a “moral failure” four decades ago after a woman accused him of repeatedly molesting her as a child.

The woman, Cindy Clemishire, told NBC News that Morris, now a senior pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, was staying with her family on Christmas night in 1982. She was 12; he was 21. Clemishire, now 54, said he invited her to his room, where he instructed her to lie on her back. He then touched her breasts and felt under her panties, Clemishire said — the first of several similar encounters that would span the next 4½ years, she said.

“Never tell anyone about this,” Clemishire recalled him…

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Sexual abuse survivors speak out against bankruptcy decision

The Catholic Diocese of San Diego has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday, citing the need to cover legal costs related to survivors of sexual abuse. The decision has stirred controversy, particularly among survivors who fear it could delay or deny their pursuit of justice.

Cardinal Robert McElroy informed parishioners and clergy in a letter about the decision Monday. If the court accepts this filing, all 450 childhood sexual abuse claims against the Diocese since 2019 would be suspended.

Volunteers with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) held a press conference outside the downtown bankruptcy courthouse.

“No one spoke up for us. This feels like a strategic move to avoid accountability,” said Joelle Casteix, a survivor.

Casteix settled her own lawsuit in 2005 with the Diocese in Orange County and was integral in passing a 2019 California law that…

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday for the second time, after a recent change to California law prompted 457 legal claims alleging decades-old sex abuse by the diocese’s priests.

San Diego is the site of Catholicism’s first foothold in California, through the founding of Mission San Diego de Alcala in 1769. The diocese serves 1.4 million Catholics, with 96 parishes, 204 active priests, and about 80 Catholic schools.

The diocese first filed for bankruptcy in 2007, ultimately reaching a $198 million settlement of 144 sex abuse lawsuits. That claims were triggered by a 2003 California law that allowed victims of childhood sex abuse to bring lawsuits long after the normal statute of limitations had expired.

In 2019, California again re-opened the statute of limitations and created a new three-year window for filing older sex abuse cases, causing 457 new claims to be filed…

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The Jesuits of Bolivia admitted that their actions were “negligent, indolent, and disastrous” in response to the sexual abuse of minors by priests such as the late Luis María Roma, who kept a diary and had photographs and videos of the Indigenous girls he allegedly abused. 

In another notorious case, “Padre Pica” also kept a diary in which he admitted abusing up to 85 boys and adolescents.

In a statement dated June 16, the Society of Jesus in Bolivia recognized “with deep regret that the actions of those who were in charge of addressing the complaints of sexual abuse of girls, boys, and adolescents and acting on behalf of the victims were negligent, indolent, and disastrous.”

The Jesuits in Bolivia noted that this took place “without placing the victims at the center of their attention such that those who acted in this way must be held…

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District Attorney Warren Montgomery reports that on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, former Slidell priest, Patrick Brian Wattigny, pled guilty as charged to 2 counts of molestation of a juvenile by virtue of a position of control or supervision over the juvenile.

He was sentenced by District Judge John Keller to 15 years in prison on each count, to run concurrently, with 10 of the years suspended. The Judge also sentenced Wattigny to an additional five years of probation, sex offender registration and notification, and a “no contact” order with respect to the victims. 

The D.A.’s Office did not agree to any concessions; the Court had the sole discretion in sentencing.

Wattigny, 55, a former pastor of St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church and chaplain at Pope John Paul II High School, both in Slidell had been charged in 2020, when a victim came forward to report that when he was…

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A woman accused the pastor of a North Texas megachurch over the weekend of sexually abusing her when she was 12 years old.

Robert Morris of Southlake’s Gateway Church has admitted to his congregation that his “rebellion took a form of immorality” that consisted of one night stands as a teenager. Leaked internal church documents show that he admitted to being “involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady in a home where I was staying.”

Morris resigned from Gateway Church on Tuesday after news of the alleged abuse made headlines.

The abuse started on Christmas Day 1982 and continued for more than four years in Texas and Oklahoma, accuser Cindy Clemshire told The Wartburg Watch, a blog dedicated to exposing sexual abuse in churches.

After the abuse became known to both the Clemshire and Morris families when she was 16, Clemshire’s father reportedly gave Morris an…

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Embattled Texas megachurch Pastor Robert Morris has resigned as an overseer at Church of the Highlands (COTH), the largest church in Alabama, following allegations he sexually molested a girl 40 years ago.

Morris remains a pastor at his Texas megachurch, Gateway Church. Repeated inquiries by The Roys Report (TRR) to Gateway have received no response.

In a statement released to former Baptist leader Wade Burleson, which was shared with TRR, COTH’s trustees, who are non-staff elders, stated that they were unaware of “this part of (Morris’) past.”

They added, “After being made aware of the disturbing media reports, Highlands trustees and overseers immediately initiated a due diligence process that included reaching out to Gateway’s elders. Before the scheduled follow-up meeting to determine changes in our governance structure, Pastor Morris resigned as an overseer of Church of the Highlands.”

The resignation comes on the heels of a bombshell confession that Morris allegedly sexually molested Cindy…

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The founding pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, has been accused of sexually abusing a young girl beginning in 1982, when she was just 12 years old. He was a young, married pastor with a child of his own at the time. SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, applauds this survivor for coming forward. Her courage will help to protect today’s children.

Cindy Clemishire told The Wartburg Watch that Pastor Robert Morris began sexually abusing her on Christmas Day, 1982, and that the assaults continued for four-and-a-half years. Pastor Morris said in a statement that “When I was in my early twenties, I was involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady in a home where I was staying. It was kissing and petting and not intercourse, but it was wrong. This behavior happened on several occasions over the next few years.”…

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Warren County and the United Methodist Church have agreed to pay $875,000 to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of a man who was sexually abused as a child.

Warren County and the United Methodist Church have agreed to pay $875,000 to settle a sexual abuse lawsuit filed on behalf of a man who was sexually abused as a child nearly 50 years ago by a former minister who had also been the boy’s foster parent.

The former pastor, 82-year-old Richard A. Reynolds, is a Guilderland resident who previously operated a professional clown business for more than two decades, including at area children’s events, after his retirement from the Methodist church 25 years ago, according to his online profile and attorneys in the case.

In at least two lawsuits filed under New York’s Child Victims Act, Reynolds has been accused of molesting numerous boys in the 1970s and 1980s, when he was…

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A former youth pastor out of First Baptist Church in Long Beach, who was also a former Harrison County reserve deputy, has been arrested on two counts of sexual battery and one count of touching a child for lustful purposes.

Long Beach Police Chief Billy Seal says the investigation began in November of 2022 when the family of a female victim alerted authorities, alleging that pastor John Douglas Jones was abusing the victim.

Jones was arrested after he was indicted by a grand jury. He left the church shortly after the investigation began in 2022.

Officials say Jones and the victim met through the youth program at First Baptist Church.

Harrison County Sheriff Matt Haley said Jones was also a reserve deputy with the department. Jones served from 2018 to November of 2022. He was asked to leave after the allegations were made, according to Sheriff Haley.

Reserve deputies serve…

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Dorothy Small an advocate for SNAP, Survivor Network for those Abused by Priests since 2019, was a child sex abuse victim. She also experienced sexual abuse by a clergyman as an adult. Dorothy courageously addressed the latter through successful litigation publicly disclosing her identity prior to the inception of the #Me Too movement. Victimized but not a victim she shares how she moved beyond surviving to thriving using adversity as a powerful motivator. She fortified herself with knowledge of personability disorders and tactics used by predators to help her spot wolves in sheep’s clothing. This has enabled her to feel safe in a world where safety is not guaranteed, even in institutions where one would expect it such as religious. A retired registered nurse with over forty years of clinical experience, Dorothy lives with her loving fur companions Bradley Cooper and Captain Ron, Boston Terriers. She is a self-published author, cancer…

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After being released from a 10-year prison term, an 85-year-old music director has been told in no uncertain terms that he is not welcome in any church in the Diocese of Bethlehem of The Episcopal Church.

On June 10, Bishop of Bethlehem Kevin Nichols sent a pastoral directive to all of the more than 50 congregations in the diocese, instructing them to notify Bernard Kenneth Schade,  in writing that “he is not permitted, licensed, or privileged to be upon your parish’s church property or to enter or remain in any of the parish buildings or structures.” Schade is also known by the name Ken Werner.

On June 15, Bishop Daniel Gutiérrez sent a similar pastoral directive to the more than 130 churches in the Philadelphia-based Diocese of Pennsylvania, acknowledging Nichols’s action and noting that Schade had performed at churches in the neighboring diocese.

Schade, the founder of a…

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Two commissions overseeing research into the denomination’s part in the assimilationist schools are asking Episcopal bishops to grant access to archives in their regions and to recruit research assistants of their own. 

For most Native American children in the late 19th century and early 20th, education was neither a right nor a privilege. Indigenous children from Florida to Alaska were taken away, sometimes by force, to residential schools run by the government and often by denominations that operated under government contracts.

The aim of the education was to teach the children European American ways. Anything Indian, from language to clothing and dance, was forbidden. The system left a trail of trauma and death amid a quest for mass assimilation into white settler culture.

Now the Episcopal Church, which was involved in running at least 34 of the schools, has begun to reckon with the outsized role it played in this history….

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• Clergy sex abuse victims blast SD bishop
• They call his new legal move “frightening”
• SNAP: “It’s just one more way of hiding predators”
• Diocese seeks Chapter 11 protection & end to lawsuits

WHAT

Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims will

–harshly criticize San Diego’s bishop for using bankruptcy court to “keep clergy sex abuse secrets secret and prevent abuse survivors from having their day in court,” and

–beg him to give victims a longer time to come forward, and not push for a tight deadline which re-victimizes many.

They will also call on

–Catholics to pressure top Catholic officials to “stop playing legal hardball” and fighting victims,

–other victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to step forward and report known and suspected clergy sex crimes and cover ups “so that kids receive protection and victims receive justice and healing,” and

–police, prosecutors and other officials to…

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The U.S. bishops are set to vote on a revised pastoral document for the pastoral care of indigenous peoples during their plenary assembly meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, this week.

The document was originally set to be approved by the bishops during their Baltimore meeting in November last year, but the text was suddenly pulled from the agenda during the course of the meeting.

The Pillar reported at the time that last minute concerns had been raised during the meeting that language in some parts of the document could create liability issues for the Church and needed to be revisited. 

But, with the document back on the agenda for the USCCB’s gathering this week, what’s likely to have changed?

The document, “Keeping Christ’s Sacred Promise: A Pastoral Framework for Indigenous Ministry,” was drafted by the USCCB’s subcommittee on Native American affairs, chaired by Bishop Chad Zielinski of New Ulm, following a vote…

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World’s leading coalition of clergy abuse victims forms historic collaboration with Catholic Church’s top anti-abuse experts

The two sides meet for three days in Rome to create a new “zero tolerance” norm for abusive clergy

They will jointly present their proposal in September

For the first time in the history of the clergy sex abuse crisis, a global network of clergy abuse survivors is joining forces with the church’s top anti-abuse experts to create a new “zero tolerance” mandate in the Catholic Church.

Leaders of Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA) met privately last week with Father Hans Zollner, SJ, director of the Institute of Anthropology (IADC) at the Pontifical Gregorian University, and Monsignor Peter Beer, IADC’s head of research and development.

For three days, from 6-8 June, the leaders of ECA and the IADC worked together to create a proposal for new policies and laws, including the permanent removal of clergy sex abusers…

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The Catholic order, which hid the results of its internal investigation into Lucho Roma from the civil justice systems, admits that its actions were ‘negligent, indolent and disastrous’

EL PAÍS launched an investigation into pedophilia in the Spanish Church in 2018 and has an updated database with all known cases. If you know of any case that has not seen the light, you can write to us at: abusos@elpais.es. If it is a case in Latin America, the address is: abusosamerica@elpais.es.

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The Society of Jesus in Bolivia has admitted that its handling of the pedophile case of the Spanish priest Lucho Roma — who abused and photographed at least a hundred Indigenous girls and detailed his actions in writing — “were negligent, indolent and disastrous,” according to a statement published Sunday by the Catholic congregation. The statement came hours after EL PAÍS published an investigation that uncovered how Lucho…

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NEW YORK – With the Diocese of San Diego facing about 450 lawsuits over alleged sexual abuse of minors by priests, religious, and laity, Cardinal Robert McElroy has informed the clergy and faithful that today the diocese will file for bankruptcy for the second time.

The announcement comes about 16 months after McElroy said the diocese was considering the move.

“For the past year, the Diocese has held substantive and helpful negotiations with attorneys representing the victims of abuse, and I, in collaboration with the leadership of the Diocese, have come to the conclusion that this is the moment to enter formally into bankruptcy and continue negotiations as part of the bankruptcy process,” McElroy said in a June 13 letter.

McElroy explained that bankruptcy offers the best pathway for the diocese to both justly compensate victims of sexual abuse, and to “continue the church’s mission of education, pastoral service and…

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Advocates for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) gathered on the sidewalk outside the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in downtown San Diego to protest the Catholic Diocese of San Diego’s decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

“By speaking out we have the voice that was taken away from us when we were kids,” said Joelle Casteix, survivor & advocate.

“Today’s a sad day. To be out in front of this courthouse is a sad day for all of the victims in San Diego,” said Paul Livingston, San Diego SNAP Director.

The Diocese says they are trying to be transparent.

“We have a moral obligation and we’re going to fulfill it. One of the reasons we’re going to not just fulfill it, but let people watch us fulfill it, is the transparent process of bankruptcy,” said Kevin Ecker, San Diego Diocese spokesperson.

But survivors see it differently.

…

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The Diocese of San Diego says it filed for bankruptcy to compensate survivors of abuse in the church.

Survivors of sex abuse in the Catholic church called out the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego after it filed for bankruptcy in federal court today.

Reaction came in response to the diocese’s need to pay out more than $500 million in claims from people who say they were sexually abused.

“Sheer and utter disappointment, this is the second time that they are now trying to use the bankruptcy system to silence survivors, to make sure that their crimes stay hidden,” said Joelle Casteix, a sex abuse survivor.

The Catholic Diocese of San Diego officially filed for bankruptcy in the wake of the legal claims filed by alleged sex abuse survivors. One victim says that this does nothing to stop future abuse in the church.

On the front steps…

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The Diocese of San Diego filed for bankruptcy on Thursday, the latest U.S. diocese to do so in response to hundreds of sexual abuse allegations leveled against it. 

San Diego bishop Cardinal Robert McElroy said in February 2023 that the diocese was considering declaring bankruptcy due to the “staggering” legal costs of responding to 400 new lawsuits brought during a three-year statewide expansion of the statute of limitations for child abuse cases.

In a letter to the diocese on Thursday, McElroy said that diocesan leaders have spent the past 16 months reviewing the abuse cases and that the diocese has “come to the conclusion that this is the moment to enter formally into bankruptcy and continue negotiations as part of the bankruptcy process.”

The bankruptcy filing, the cardinal said, was motivated by “the need for just compensation for victims of sexual abuse” as well as…

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Today, the Diocese of San Diego filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. This decision by Bishop Robert McElroy is an irresponsible attempt to obstruct survivors of clergy sexual abuse from obtaining justice through lawsuits filed under the California Child Victims Act.

“The Diocese of San Diego’s decision to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy demonstrates the Bishop’s priority of secrecy and self-protection,” said Jeff Anderson. “What the Bishop continues to underestimate is the strength and resilience of the survivors who will not be denied justice.”

The Diocese of San Diego is the fifth diocese to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in California following the close of the Child Victims Act on December 31, 2022. The Diocese of Sacramento (4.1.2024), the Diocese of Santa Rosa (3.13.2023), the Diocese of Oakland (5.8.2023), and the Archdiocese of San Francisco (8.21.23) have already filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in the wake of child sexual abuse lawsuits. The Diocese of…

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego, has announced their filing for bankruptcy.  The filing stems from hundreds of legal claims of sexual assault.  NBC 7’s Kelvin Henry has more on the story.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego announced on June 13, that it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid hundreds of legal claims from people accusing the diocese and its employees of sexual abuse.

“We received a letter from Cardinal McElroy and he explained the situation,” Parishioner Fran Savarese said.

The reaction from churchgoers comes only days after a local diocese spokesperson said this is a stain on the church’s reputation.

“The fact that these abuses ever took place is a stain on the Catholic Church, so we have to respond to that no matter what,” Spokesperson for the Diocese of San Diego, Kevin EcKery, told NBC 7. 

In 2007, the Diocese settled…

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In short:

• Former Bishop of Broome Christopher Alan Saunders has faced court on two new counts of unlawful and indecent assault.
• The police prosecutor told the court there were more than 200 people on the police witness list.
• What’s next: The 74-year-old will face court again in July.

The former Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders has faced court on two new charges of historical sexual offences in the Kimberley. 

The 74-year-old is facing 28 charges in total, including two counts of sexual penetration without consent, three counts of indecent dealing with a child and 16 counts of unlawful and indecent assault.

In April, police charged the former Bishop Saunders with two new counts of unlawful and indecent assault, which are alleged to have occurred in 2016. 

The other historical charges are alleged to have taken place in different towns in the Kimberley between 2008 and 2014. 

Mr Saunders arrived alone in…

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Parish representatives said the posting could help “to educate parishioners in general about how to recognise and deal with inappropriate behaviour”.

Lithuanian Catholics voiced concern at the appointment of a priest convicted on abuse charges to a prominent parish. 

The Archdiocese of Vilnius announced a series of new postings on 4 June, including the assignment of Fr Sigitas Grigas to the Parish of Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis, well known for its wide pastoral and social activities network involving minors and vulnerable persons. Fr Grigas was found guilty of possession of child abuse images in 2020 and was also subject to a canonical inquiry. 

The academic and Church commentator Paulius Subacius said it was “perverse that a strong, active community is not consulted or presented in advance with the reasons for what is clearly a controversial appointment”, especially after the archdiocese had encouraged the laity to become involved with their parish. 

“As the…

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BARNSTABLE — A former Cape Cod priest accused of rape did not take the stand before his attorneys rested their case in Barnstable Superior Court on Thursday morning.

Mark Hession served as the parish priest of Our Lady of Victory in Centerville from 2000 to 2014. He is on trial for two counts of rape alleged to have happened between 2005 and 2009 and one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 alleged to have happened sometime in 2002. A count of intimidating a witness was dropped.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges in January of 2021.

Closing statements from attorneys on both sides were expected to be delivered on Friday morning. Judge Mark C. Gildea instructs the jury about the specific laws that apply to the case before they enter into deliberations to reach a verdict.

Frank Corso, one of Hession’s two defense attorneys, declined to comment while leaving…

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A former Franklin priest who was removed from ministry back in January and then indicted on multiple charges in February has been indicted on additional counts of sexual battery, according to officials.

The Catholic Diocese of Nashville said Rev. Juan Carlos Garcia was an associate pastor at St. Philip Catholic Church in Franklin, but he was removed from his position and from active ministry while the Franklin Police Department investigated a teen’s report of improper touching involving the priest.

On Feb. 9, the diocese announced Garcia had been indicted by the Williamson County Grand Jury on one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, one count of aggravated sexual battery, four counts of sexual battery by an authority figure, and two counts of sexual battery.

Nearly four months later, on June 5, the grand jury returned a superseding indictment, charging the former priest — now…

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While church representatives acknowledged the need for change and action, no specific examples or actions were detailed during a recent meeting with victims

KIIWETINOONG, Ont. — Horrific and traumatic were the words used by NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa to describe a meeting he sat in on with some of the victims who detailed historic sexual abuse from Ralph Rowe, a former Anglican priest and scoutmaster.

The meeting included representatives of the Anglican Church of Canada and Rowe.   

In the 1970s and 1980s, Rowe worked in First Nations across Northwestern Ontario and Manitoba. Authorities believe he abused up to 500 children.

With the blessing of the victims who attended the meetings in Toronto, Mamakwa released a statement this week condemning the actions of the involved individuals, especially those of Rowe, who was convicted of numerous charges throughout the last 30 years for the abuse. 

“The impact of one man has caused immense damage, affecting survivors and…

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Robert Morris is the founder and senior pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake

The ex-Trump advisor was accused of sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl in the 80s

Morris said he engaged in ‘inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady’

A woman has accused the pastor of a Texas megachurch of sexually abusing her when she was 12, with the preacher only admitting to ‘inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady.’

Robert Morris, 62, the founder and senior pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, which claims a weekly attendance of 100,000, is facing the allegations from former family friend Cindy Clemishire.

She claimed the pastor, who was also once a spiritual advisor to former President Donald Trump, abused her from 1982 to 1987, when she was between the ages of 12 and 16.

Clemishire, who went public with her accusations and revealed her identity Friday, said that Morris was a…

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A year ago in New Orleans, the Southern Baptist Convention’s Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force unveiled what they called their Ministry Check website prototype and assured members it would eventually list the names of clergy and other church workers who have preyed on children.

A year later, no names have been posted and the task force has disbanded, unable to complete the task after working on it for two years.

Victim advocates, who have been calling for creation of a database since 2007, are disappointed. Survivors are questioning whether the nation’s largest Protestant denomination can ever be trusted again to keep its promises.

“This idea of a database was first on the table back in 2007 and 2008 and (was) rejected. … In these intervening 16 or 17 years, countless more kids and congregants have had their lives decimated, not only by abuse, but also by the ugly, blind-eyed responses…

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A blog recounting the alleged sexual abuse of a woman when she was 12-years-old by Gateway Church Pastor Robert Morris has prompted the Texas-based megachurch to acknowledge decades-old “moral failure.” However, in a statement to staff, the church did not note the age of the woman at the time of the “inappropriate sexual behavior,” referring to her simply as a “young lady.”

Gateway Church was founded in 2000 by Morris and has more than 100,000 people attending each weekend at their nine sites and online.

On Friday morning, The Wartburg Watch published a story, alleging that Pastor Morris had sexually abused Cindy Clemishire, a 54—year-old grandmother of three from Oklahoma, beginning in 1982, when she was 12.

Around 4 p.m. yesterday, Executive Lead Pastor Thomas Miller sent a statement from Gateway’s elders to church staff via the messaging platform Slack, according to sources close to the church. Those…

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The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is responding as SNAP — or Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests — seeks to add the names of five priests to the archdiocese’s disclosures regarding clergy sexual abuse of minors.

June 12, members of SNAP gathered for a news conference on the sidewalk outside the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul to address the organization’s concern that five priests have not been added to the list. SNAP had listed six priests but retracted one after learning that priest is currently listed as credibly accused on the archdiocese’s website.

SNAP activist David Clohessy said that adding names to the list “is not our job.”

“Our job is to heal ourselves and to reach out to others who are suffering in silence and shame and self-blame,” he said.

Two priests out of the five listed are alive, and the whereabouts of those…

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Herman Paul Pressler III of Houston died June 7, four days before the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, where nothing was said about his passing.

Pressler, who had just turned 94, was the co-architect of the so-called “conservative resurgence” in the SBC.

He was a leading figure in the denomination for five decades. However, he has been credibly accused of sexual abuse of boys and young men over a period of years. Those allegations put his previous status as a champion of conservatism in a new light.

Baptist News Global has confirmed the death as verified by a printed order of service from the funeral held Saturday, June 15, at George H. Lewis and Sons Funeral Home in Houston. About 70 people were reported to have attended the service.

Over the years, Pressler and his family were associated with both First Baptist Church of Houston and Second Baptist Church of…

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In 2015, when Bishop Edward Malesic was installed in the Diocese of Greensburg, he inherited a diocese still grappling with the enormity of the clergy abuse crisis. He committed to increasing transparency and outside oversight and established a Safe Environment Advisory Council. Unfortunately, since his 2020 departure, the diocese has increasingly pushed down the responsibilities and ownership of the Safe Environment mandate directly to the parishes and schools. These include many parishes with multiple churches but one pastor, who would ultimately be responsible.

If the diocese genuinely believes in Safe Environment implementation, why have they pushed away such great responsibility and why do they not have a full-time person(s) responsible for implementation? The most visible victim of the diocese’s laxity is a beloved pastor respected for his commitment to the welfare and safety of our youth.

At a hastily called diocesan meeting May 28, his parishioners were informed by Bishop…

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U.S. bishops on Friday approved new guidelines for ministering to Indigenous Catholics, a long in-the-works effort to reinvigorate the ministry and assure those communities that they don’t need to feel torn between their Native identity and their Catholic one.

“You are both. Your cultural embodiment of the faith is a gift to the Church,” states the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ document. It was completed as new details emerged during the past two years of widespread abuses inflicted on Native children over many decades at Catholic-run boarding schools.

“The Church recognizes that it has played a part in traumas experienced by Native children,” according to the new “Keeping Christ’s Sacred Promise: A Pastoral Framework for Indigenous Ministry.” The document received overwhelming support at this week’s USCCB meeting in Louisville, Kentucky.

It is meant to help bishops “refocus and invigorate ministry among Indigenous populations in the United States,” said Bishop Chad…

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Leaders of San Diego’s Roman Catholic Diocese have alerted parishioners and clergy that it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday in order to meet the need for just compensation for victims of sexual abuse, and to continue to church’s mission.

However, some are concerned that this is a strategy to protect itself from future lawsuits and from paying survivors a fair compensation.

“The fact that these abuses ever took place is a stain on the catholic church so we have to respond to that no matter what,” said Kevin Eckery with the Catholic Diocese of San Diego.

Cardinal McElroy told community members in a letter Thursday that the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy next week.

The letter states the filing is in an effort to achieve the “settlement of approximately 450 legal claims that have been brought to…

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But they stopped short of acknowledging some of the worst traumas.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops, which creates policies for the church in the United States, formally apologized on Friday for the church’s role in traumatizing Native American children at boarding schools until the mid-1900s. It’s “the most direct expression of regret to date” by church officials for forcibly assimilating Indigenous kids into white culture, according to the Washington Post, whose investigative reporters recently documented the widespread sexual abuse by priests and nuns at these schools.

“The family systems of many Indigenous people never fully recovered from these tragedies, which often led to broken homes harmed by addiction, domestic abuse, abandonment and neglect,” the bishops said in a 56-page document, which came after decades of attempts by Native Americans to demand accountability from the US government and the Catholic Church. There were more than 500 schools in the United States, and 84 of…

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Following closing statements made by the defense and prosecution Friday in the trial of Mark Hession, the former Cape Cod priest accused of rape, court was adjourned without the jury reaching a verdict.

The jury was instructed by Barnstable Superior Court Judge Mark C. Gildea to return to court Monday morning at 10:30 a.m. to continue deliberations. 

Hession, who served as the parish priest of Our Lady of Victory in Centerville from 2000 to 2014, faces two counts of rape alleged to have occurred between 2005 and 2008, and one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 alleged to have taken place in 2002. He pleaded not guilty to all charges since his January 2021 indictment.

Defense: ‘Rewriting history’

The defense team, led by attorneys Frank C. Corso and Paolo G. Corso, rested their case on Thursday without calling Hession to the stand. Paolo Corso said Friday…

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Dorothy Small is a candid person, devout believer in God, and a woman with a lot of life experience. What is her advocacy for Survivor Network for those Abused by Priests?

Dorothy Small an advocate for SNAP, Survivor Network for those Abused by Priests since 2019, was a child sex abuse victim. She also experienced sexual abuse by a clergyman as an adult. Dorothy courageously addressed the latter through successful litigation publicly disclosing her identity prior to the inception of the #Me Too movement. Victimized but not a victim she shares how she moved beyond surviving to thriving using adversity as a powerful motivator. She fortified herself with knowledge of personability disorders and tactics used by predators to help her spot wolves in sheep’s clothing. This has enabled her to feel safe in a world where safety is not guaranteed, even in institutions where one would expect it such as religious….

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While highlighting substantial progress the American Church has made to address the abuse of minors, the chair of the board created to monitor the implementation of the Dallas Charter in 2002 has called for even greater buy-in from bishops and warned against complacency.

“We must keep the child of today, the child of tomorrow, and especially that child of yesterday, at the center of all of our decision making.” Suzanne Healy, Chair of the National Review Board, said in an address to the American bishops on June 14.

“I am in awe of the many examples of compassionate, radical accompaniment occurring across the U.S,” Healy said. “Again, we cannot become complacent, and we must remain vigilant in ongoing support of these important ministries and their departments.”

Healy made the comments at the U.S. Bishops’ Conference spring general assembly.

Other than Healy’s address, the gathering’s second public session included a vote…

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego announced today that it will file for bankruptcy in the wake of hundreds of legal claims from alleged sexual abuse victims.

In a letter to parishioners and clergy, Cardinal Robert McElroy wrote that bankruptcy would help the Diocese fulfill its goals going forward, while also compensating abuse victims.

Last year, McElroy announced the possibility of bankruptcy in a separate letter, as he wrote then that the Diocese “must face the staggering legal costs” in response to lawsuits alleging abuse dating back as far as 1945.

In 2007, the Diocese settled lawsuits brought by 144 victims, but recently more than 450 claims have been made against the Diocese, according to a statement. The Diocese said more than 60% of the latest claims are for incidents that occurred more than 50 years ago.

In last year’s letter, McElroy wrote that the 144 claims were settled…

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In Friday vote, church leaders cite a “history of trauma” inflicted on Native Americans, including generations of children removed from their families to be forcibly assimilated.

U.S. Catholic bishops issued a formal apology Friday morning for the church’s role in inflicting a “history of trauma” on Native Americans, including at church-run Indian boarding schools where a Washington Post investigation published last month documented pervasive sexual abuse by priests.

The vote by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which establishes policies and norms for the church in the United States, represents the most direct expression of regret to date by church officials for past participation in a systematic effort by the U.S. government to forcibly assimilate Native Americans into White society. By a 181-2 vote, the bishops approved a document called “Keeping Christ’s Sacred Promise: A Pastoral Framework for Indigenous Ministry.” Three bishops abstained.

The document does…

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U.S. Catholic bishops apologized Friday for the Catholic Church’s part in fostering “a history of trauma” on Indigenous children at church-run boarding schools where priests sexually abused students.

Why it matters: It’s an official acknowledgment of the church’s past abuse against Indigenous children as the extent of widespread abuses inflicted on Native children over many decades has come into sharper focus.

Zoom in: The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops approved by an 181-2 vote the document “Keeping Christ’s Sacred Promise: A Pastoral Framework for Indigenous Ministry” in Louisville, Kentucky, as part of the apology.

• “The system itself left a legacy of community and individual trauma that broke down family and support systems among Indigenous communities,” the document said, referring to boarding schools.
• The document didn’t mention sexual abuse but said the church must “increase awareness and break the culture of silence that surrounds all types of afflictions and past mistreatment and neglect.”
• The document…

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A former New Orleans priest accused of rape and kidnapping a child in the 1970s will not have the results of his second mental evaluation for at least another month.

Lawrence Hecker’s attorneys were in court Thursday, where the doctor who did his evaluation last month said that it would take him weeks before he could review and release the results.

Hecker was in the courthouse but did not enter the courtroom. He was with a nurse in the hall who told his attorneys that his condition was deteriorating.

The results could decide if Hecker is competent to stand trial.

According to the doctor, there are more than 7,000 pages of medical records that he needs to review before making a decision on Hecker’s evaluation.

Hecker’s trial was supposed to start in March, but he had to undergo a mental evaluation before the trial could begin.

The doctor who completed…

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A Virginia pastor has been removed from his parish following concerns over his handling of abuse allegations against a parishioner who was also a school parent.

Father Rob Cole was dismissed effective June 12 from St. John the Apostle Parish in Virginia Beach by Bishop Barry C. Knestout of Richmond.

In a June 12 media release, the Diocese of Richmond said that Bishop Knestout had “determined that St. John the Apostle parish would benefit from new pastoral leadership.”

Father Cole had been placed on temporary leave in May after allegations emerged that an adult parishioner — later named as Vincent Jakawich — had reportedly molested two students at St. John the Apostle School a few years earlier.

Jakawich, a former Navy lieutenant and pilot, was found dead in North Carolina, having taken his own life shortly after the parents of a St. John the Apostle student publicly stated their daughter…

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A central Indiana man working as a youth pastor, substitute teacher and coach in Henry County has been arrested on child sex crime charges.

Bryan Crabtree of Sulphur Springs was arrested Thursday afternoon by the Henry County Sheriff’s Office. Detectives began investigating Crabtree after receiving reports of sexual misconduct involving children.

Crabtree is a youth pastor with the Sulphur Springs Christian Church as well as a substitute teacher and coach with the Shenandoah School Corporation, HCSO said. The church immediately fired Crabtree after his arrest.

HSCO said the school district has since been notified of his charges, police added. FOX59/CBS4 has reached out to the district for comment.

The following preliminary charges have been filed against Crabtree:

• Sexual Misconduct with a Minor – Level 4 Felony
• Child Solicitation (3 counts) – Level 5 Felony

Henry County officials said that the investigation into Crabtree is ongoing and that additional charges are…

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Ryan Kelley McElrath, a youth pastor at Fellowship Bible Church in Jackson, was arrested Tuesday morning on charges of sexual battery and statutory rape.

McElrath, 39, was arrested at a Willow Green Drive residence at approximately 9:45 a.m. After being booked into the Madison County Jail, he was released at 6:12 p.m. on $70,000 bond.

He faces the following three charges:

• Sexual battery by an authority figure
• Statutory rape
• Statutory rape by an authority figure – forcible rape

Only one individual is listed as a youth pastor on the church’s website currently and little trace of McElrath remains on the page.

According to church leadership, McElrath was terminated following the charges.

Eugene Brandt, Lead Pastor at Fellowship Bible Church, shared the following statement:

“As a church community we are absolutely devastated by this. And, as a parent, I share in our God’s outrage and grief when the innocent are harmed. We…

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A Texas pastor has been convicted of stealing three church properties worth more than $800,000 and sentenced to 35 years in prison, the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday in a statement.

Whitney Foster, 56, pastor at True Foundation Non-Denominational Church in Dallas, created fraudulent deeds for the churches and then took control of the properties, the District Attorney’s Office statement said. Foster listed fake pastors or claimed to be other church officials on his illegal paperwork.

Foster was found guilty of theft of property greater than $300,000 by a jury, though the combined amount of the properties was $800,0000, the office said. Along with his sentence, Foster received a fine of $8,000, according to records of the jury’s results.

Foster stole three north Texas churches including First Christian Church in Lancaster, Canada Drive Christian Church, and Church at Nineveh in Dallas,…

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For the first time ever, San Diego prosecutors have brought criminal charges against someone suspected of failing to report sexual abuse of a minor, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. The man charged is Eric Manuel Merino, a pastor at Victory Outreach Church in San Ysidro, California, according to a statement from the San Diego District Attorney’s Office

Merino was arraigned in court last Thursday on a misdemeanor count of not complying with the state’s mandated reporter law, the District Attorney’s Office added. If convicted, Merino faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The 43-year-old pastor has pleaded not guilty to the charges, the Union-Tribune reported.

In California, the mandated reporter law requires professionals deemed “mandatory reporters” to report any suspected cases of child sexual abuse. Clergy members, along with teachers, doctors, social workers, police officers, and other professionals who work…

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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

In February of last year, I wrote to you indicating that it was highly likely that the Diocese of San Diego would enter into bankruptcy as an effort to achieve the settlement of the approximately 450 legal claims that have been brought to court seeking compensation for victims of sexual abuse perpetrated by clergy and lay employees over the past eighty years. For the past year, the Diocese has held substantive and helpful negotiations with the attorneys representing the victims of abuse, and I, in collaboration with the leadership of the Diocese, have come to the conclusion that this is the moment to enter formally into bankruptcy and continue negotiations as part of the bankruptcy process.

The Diocese faces two compelling moral claims in approaching the settlement process: the need for just compensation for victims of sexual abuse and the need to continue the…

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In a letter to parishioners and clergy released today, Cardinal Robert McElroy, Bishop of San Diego, announced that the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday, June 17.  The action comes 16 months after Cardinal McElroy said the diocese was considering bankruptcy as a means of achieving a just settlement with abuse survivors and a year after the diocese confirmed it would seek bankruptcy and began mediation with attorneys for abuse survivors.

In his letter, the Cardinal says that, “The Diocese faces two compelling moral claims in approaching the settlement process: the need for just compensation for victims of sexual abuse and the need to continue the Church’s mission of education, pastoral service and outreach to the poor and marginalized.

“Bankruptcy offers the best pathway to achieve both,” said Cardinal McElroy.

Only the diocese is filing for bankruptcy. Parishes, Catholic Charities, parochial schools and…

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[See the document.]

U.S. bishops on Friday approved new guidelines for ministering to Indigenous Catholics, a long in-the-works effort to reinvigorate the ministry and assure those communities that they don’t need to feel torn between their Native identity and their Catholic one.

“You are both. Your cultural embodiment of the faith is a gift to the Church,” states the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ document. It was completed as new details emerged during the past two years of widespread abuses inflicted on Native children over many decades at Catholic-run boarding schools.

“The Church recognizes that it has played a part in traumas experienced by Native children,” according to the new “Keeping Christ’s Sacred Promise: A Pastoral Framework for Indigenous Ministry.” The document received overwhelming support at this week’s USCCB meeting in Louisville, Kentucky.

It is meant to help bishops “refocus and invigorate ministry among Indigenous populations in the…

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A former Franklin priest is facing new charges after being indicted this month by a Williamson County grand jury.

Juan Carlos Garcia-Mendoza, 31, of Franklin, was indicted on two additional counts of sexual battery on June 5.

In February, Garcia-Mendoza was indicted for the continuous abuse of a child, aggravated sexual battery, four counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and two counts of sexual battery. Garcia-Mendoza is a former associate pastor at St. Philip Catholic Church in Franklin.

The diocese had received reports of alleged misconduct by Father Garcia, resulting in an investigation by the Franklin Police Department and his removal from his position in early November 2023.

Garcia remains jailed in the Williamson County Jail on a $2 million bond.

The Franklin Police Department is asking the public to contact Detective Andrea Clark at 615-550-6829 or andrea.clark@franklintn.gov with information about Garcia-Mendoza.

Daniel Smithson

CONTENT PRODUCER

…

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Dana Hedgpeth and Sari Horwitz answered questions about their reporting during a live chat Tuesday.

Washington Post reporters Dana Hedgpeth and Sari Horwitz are examining the legacy of Indian boarding schools in the United States. From 1819 to 1969, the federal government forced tens of thousands of children into more than 500 boarding schools across the country in a systematic effort to destroy Native American culture, assimilate children into White society and seize tribal lands.

At least 80 of the schools were operated by the Catholic Church or its religious affiliates. The Post investigation revealed that for decades, Catholic priests, brothers and sisters raped or molested Native American children who lived at and attended some of those schools.

Dana and Sari answered questions about their reporting during a live chat Tuesday. You can read a transcript of the chat below. Questions may be edited for accuracy…

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‘This is a public safety issue,’ a SNAP leader said at a press conference outside the Cathedral of St. Paul

Five former priests who have been deemed “credibly accused” abusers by church officials and who previously worked in Minnesota aren’t listed on the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ public list, clergy abuse victims said Wednesday.

That needs to change, said organizers with the Survivor Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

Each of the five were investigated, “declared a credibly accused child molester by his own direct supervisor,” and are on an official list of credibly accused clerics in another Catholic jurisdiction, said David Clohessy, SNAP’s former national director and now SNAP’s volunteer Missouri director.

Rev. Bernard Hebda, Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, said of the five men brought to their attention by SNAP on Wednesday: “I have asked our experienced investigators to review the…

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“IMPACT” looks at the 2×2 church and abuse claims spanning generations.

[Includes an eight-minute video]

In a secretive Christian sect unknown to most Americans, a reckoning is underway. Allegations of abuse that have been insular for so long are now coming to light.

Sheri Autrey was 14 when she says she was abused by a 28-year-old man who was a minister in her church. She says her abuse happened every night for two months.

“He’d be touching me everywhere, kissing me,” Autrey, now 55, told ABC News. “And it was scary. It was scary because I knew if we got caught, I would be in trouble. I was the one doing something wrong.”

Autrey grew up in a secretive sect of Christianity known by outsiders as the 2×2 church. Within the church, members refer to it as “The Truth” or “The Way” or even call it the church that has…

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego announced Thursday that it plans to return to U.S. bankruptcy court to help manage its response to hundreds of lawsuits filed by people who say they were sexually assaulted by Catholic priests when they were young.

It is the second time San Diego church officials have gone to bankruptcy court to limit damage from claims from child sex-abuse victims.

Cardinal Robert McElroy, who serves as bishop to the 1.4 million Catholics in San Diego and Imperial counties, alerted parishioners to the decision in an open letter that was publicly released by the diocese on Thursday.

The legal action, which is expected to be filed Monday, comes after church officials acknowledged last year that they were considering a return to bankruptcy court and began mediation with survivors.

“For the past year, the Diocese has held substantive and helpful negotiations with the attorneys representing the…

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Great majority of allegations arose from incidents that took place in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s

A total of 252 allegations against Catholic Church personnel were reported to the Maynooth-based National Board for Safeguarding Children in the year to the end of March.

This is broadly in line with the 251 allegations that were received by the board in the previous 12 months.

The figures are recorded in the board’s annual report published on Wednesday.

Of the 252 allegations it received up to March 31st, 183 involved sexual abuse with an additional 26 allegations of physical abuse, 17 of emotional abuse, one allegation of neglect and one of boundary violations. There were 24 allegations of other types of abuse.

Of the clergy accused, 65 were diocesan with 187 members of religious congregations, nine of whom are in prison while 101 of the accused are deceased. Of those making the allegations,…

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Prosecutors in New Orleans hope they can prove a 92-year-old retired Catholic priest is mentally competent to answer to charges he kidnapped and raped a teenage victim.

Lawrence Hecker is charged with first degree rape, aggravated kidnapping, and other crimes. But trial at Orleans Criminal District Court has been put off while prosectors and the defense wrangles over whether the 92-year-old defendant can even stand trial.

“The state cannot force a criminal defendant to trial if he is incompetent, which means he cannot assist his counsel with his defense or understand the nature of the proceedings against him,” said Loyola Law Professor Dane Ciolino.

Ciolino said memory loss and other factors of aging could make it hard to prosecute

“It’s certainly possible he may never be confident enough to go to trial,” Ciolino said.

The Orleans District Attorney’s office secured an indictment that charges Hecker with aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping,…

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Hebda says they have already begun the process of investigating the priests

Alleged clergy abuse victims blast Catholic archbishop Bernard Hebda on Wednesday outside the St. Paul Cathedral.

This after members of The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests claimed that the Archdiocese of Minneapolis and St. Paul have not acknowledged the names of five Minnesota priests who they say committed sex crimes against minors.

SNAP support group leader Frank Meuers says the church owes it to the survivors of these five men to hold them accountable.

“I can speak for myself as an abuse victim,” says Meuers. “The abuse is over. The physical abuse is over. But the hurt, the pain, is never over.”

Meuers says this is just the first of many future efforts the group will pursue to push top church officials to be ‘more open and honest’ about outing predators.

SNAP director David Clohessy says…

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With major implication for state’s Catholic church, court allows victims to sue over decades-old abuse

[See also the Louisiana Supreme Court opinion.]

Louisiana’s state supreme court on Wednesday reversed its decision to strike down a law that allowed child-molestation victims to file civil lawsuits over long-ago abuse.

The decision affects all alleged abusers and their enablers – but it is particularly significant for Louisiana’s Roman Catholic church, which is facing hundreds of decades-old claims of child molestation in various state and federal courts.

The state supreme court’s earlier decision would have given the New Orleans church leverage to settle about 500 such claims for pennies on the dollar.

Instead, those claims all have standing to proceed under a 2021 law allowing what is known as a “lookback window”, retroactively eliminating statutes of limitations for filing such claims.

The 2021 lookback window, reinforced unanimously by the state’s legislature in 2022, was…

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The U.S. Catholic bishops are expected to approve a document at their spring meeting this week that apologizes to Catholic Indigenous communities for a “history of trauma” caused in part by their “abandonment” by the Church and proposes a way forward that takes into account the “unique cultural needs” of these communities. 

The draft document, “Keeping Christ’s Sacred Promise: A Pastoral Framework for Indigenous Ministry,” provides an updated pastoral plan to address the concerns of Catholic Indigenous communities. The preface notes the last time the bishops formally addressed these communities was 1977.

“EWTN News In Depth” acquired the draft document from a source close to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. According to that source, the document seems likely to pass in its present form without significant changes. This Friday, the USCCB is expected to vote in approval of the text at its annual spring meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. 

In the document,…

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A new church document cites a “history of trauma” inflicted on Native Americans, including generations of children removed from their families to be forcibly assimilated.

The organization that represents Catholic bishops in the United States is set to vote Friday morning on a document that apologizes for the church’s role in inflicting a “history of trauma” on Native Americans, includingat church-run Indian boarding schools where a Washington Post investigation published last month documented pervasive sexual abuse.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is expected to approve the document, called “Keeping Christ’s Sacred Promise: A Pastoral Framework for Indigenous Ministry,” at its spring meeting in Louisville.

The vote would represent the most direct expression of regret to date by seniorofficials in the Catholic Church for its participation in a systematic effort by the U.S. government spanning 150 years to forcibly assimilate Native Americans into White society.

Pope Francis traveled…

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The Rev. Gérard Tsatselam boarded the ferryboat and settled in his usual place, on a reclining seat, at the back of a cold, unlit room that would have been packed in summer. Uneasy, he sat shrouded in his large, black coat as high winter winds delayed the boat’s arrival in the village where he was trying to save the church.

Except for a quick stopover for a funeral, he had not visited his parish — in Unamen Shipu, an Indigenous reserve on the frigid, isolated coast of northeastern Quebec — in months. Mold had invaded the presbytery and left him scrambling for lodging on each visit.

Another reason behind his unease was the enduring fallout from the accusations of sexual and other abuse by a predecessor, a Belgian priest. Though the transgressions dated back decades, during what Father Gérard called the Roman Catholic Church’s “colonial” era, dealing with the parishioners’…

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[See also the Louisiana Supreme Court opinion.]

Adults abused as children decades ago will be able to sue over the mistreatment under a Louisiana Supreme Court ruling released Wednesday. 

Justices overturned their decision from March that declared a “lookback window” for lawsuits over older child abuse allegations unconstitutional. Now such cases can move forward.

The new ruling likely creates greater liability for the Catholic Church and other organizations accused of systemic child exploitation over decades. It could also affect individual schools, summer camps and other institutions that tolerated misconduct toward minors.

“I am thankful that the Court saw the error in its original opinion and was willing to reconsider this matter and find the Lookback Window to be constitutional,” Frank Lamothe, a New Orleans attorney who represents child abuse survivors in lawsuits against the Catholic Church, said in a written statement. “This is a victory for the…

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The Catholic Diocese of Richmond has concluded its investigation at St. John the Apostle. Bishop Barry C. Knestout expresses his sorrow and compassion to the victims and their families affected by this tragic situation and applauds the courage it took to come forward.

Bishop Knestout has determined that St. John the Apostle parish would benefit from new pastoral leadership. Fr. Rob Cole will no longer serve as pastor effective June 12, 2024. Bishop Knestout appreciates Fr. Cole’s dedication and service as the pastor to this community for more than 15 years. While this decision and transition will be difficult, the bishop appreciates the patience and support of the community.

Fr. Esteban De Leon, V.F., pastor of Star of the Sea Catholic Church, will continue to serve as St. John’s temporary administrator until a new pastor is assigned in the near future.

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The Diocese of Richmond announced today that, Father Rob Cole, pastor of St. John the Apostle Roman Catholic Church in Virginia Beach, is no longer in the role he held for over 15 years. The move comes after a parent was accused of sexual abuse during Fr. Cole’s tenure at the church.

Last month, Tim and Meredith Hatchell accused Vincent Jakawich of sexually abusing their child, who was a friend of Jakavich’s child.

“It was incredibly difficult for my wife and our daughter and my sons who had to learn about this all together,” said Tim Hatchell.

This was not the first offense for Jakawich. He was indicted on a felony charge of aggravated sexual battery involving a child under 13 in 2020.

The charge was later downgraded to a misdemeanor assault and battery charge that he pleaded guilty to in 2022 .

Jakawich died by suicide in Currituck County following…

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It has been a challenging week for the local Catholic community. Recently, the Diocese of Buffalo has recommended the merger or closure of numerous churches within the coming months. Currently, 25 churches in both the northern towns and downtown Buffalo face potential closure.

Conversations with several parishioners have revealed their understandable concerns about the future steps.

Parishioners have voiced concerns over the potential loss of specialty Masses, such as those conducted in Latin or Vietnamese.

The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is suggested for closure; according to the Vicar for Renewal, Father Brian Zielenieski, it predominantly serves a Vietnamese immigrant community.

St. Anthony’s, renowned for its Latin Mass, may be at risk, threatening the continuation of the only weekly Latin Mass.

“We want to make sure that there’s a continuation of the Vietnamese mass of the traditional Latin mass. We’ll still have a home. We want to make sure there’s…

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The Buffalo Diocese announced more recommended closures and mergers of parishes affecting the Southern Tier West Vicariate Tuesday night during a meeting at the Blessed Mary Angela Parish in Dunkirk.

The decision comes after the diocese’s announcement on May 28 to “rightsize and reshape” their parishes by closing or merging approximately one-third of Western New York’s 160 parishes.

The diocese is facing challenges of a priest shortage, declining Mass attendance, and financial troubles from payouts to settle child sexual abuse cases.

As of Tuesday night, 40 churches have been recommended to close or merge. The full list of affected parishes can be viewed here.

You can see the list of affected parishes within the Southern Tier West Vicariate below:

Family No. 3

• St. Anthony (Fredonia): merge with Holy Trinity and close
• St. Joseph (Fredonia): merge with Holy Trinity and close
• Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Silver Creek): close…

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Majority of allegations relate to sexual abuse in 60s,70s and 80s

One allegation of sexual abuse in 2023

A total of 252 allegations of abuse were made against 209 members of the Catholic Church in Ireland over the past year, a slight increase on the previous year, according to a new report.

The annual report of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (NBSCCI), published on Wednesday, covers the period from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, and for the first time shows type of abuse alleged and the breakdown between allegations against diocesan personnel (65) and members of religious congregations (187).

While the majority of the 252 allegations relates to sexual abuse (183) in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, four allegations relate to the year 2000 or later. Two relate to sexual abuse that is alleged to have taken place in the 2000s…

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When I was little, a lion was living in the walls outside my room. I knew this couldn’t possibly be true, but I was also terrified any time I went into the hall because I could hear him growling.

Years later, I figured out what that sound really was. Our old Victoria-style house had a turbine vent on the roof, and when it got clogged with ice during the winter, it made a deep, ominous growling noise that seemed to be emerging from the walls.

I did not tell anybody, though, because there were actually two things I was afraid of: The lion and being told I was imagining the lion. So I quaked through many nights, terrified.

I am not mad at my parents. It was the ’70s, and parenting standards were different. I’ve done the same thing to my kids—shushing their fears, telling them not to be silly—before…

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Former president Rodrigo Duterte and the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) condemned what they described as “overkill” in police operations to serve arrest warrants for accused sex offender and human trafficker Apollo Quiboloy and his accomplices.

“I strongly condemn the use of excessive and unnecessary force in serving the warrant of arrest for Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ by police officers who are not even from Davao City,” Duterte, who is also KOJC property administrator, said yesterday.

He added that the operation “is absolutely unacceptable,” having occurred in a place of worship and on school premises.

Former president Rodrigo Duterte and the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) condemned what they described as “overkill” in police operations to serve arrest warrants for accused sex offender and human trafficker Apollo Quiboloy and his accomplices.

“I strongly condemn the use of excessive and unnecessary force in serving the…

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The Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) is set to press charges against the police officers involved in what it called as ‘excessive and overkill’ serving of arrest warrants against Pastor Apollo Quiboloy and five others in Davao City.

In a statement, KOJC condemned the manner by which authorities carried the operation out, which caused tension among those present.

KOJC said the operation were conducted simultaneously at four of its properties – the KOJC compound, the Prayer Mountain and Glory Mountain in Barangay Tamayong, and another property in Kitbog, Sarangani.

“We strongly condemn the manner of implementing the arrest warrants insofar as they were not only laden with irregularities, but they were excessive and overkill. The PNP deployed special battalions who were in full battle gear, some CIDG officials were even seen wearing bulletproof vests, and hundreds of police personnel in anti-riot gear and shields strategically positioned themselves at the KOJC…

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About a hundred policemen stormed the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) Compound in Barangay Buhangin in this city to arrest Pastor Apollo Quiboloy and his companions early Monday morning.

He is wanted for child abuse, sexual abuse and qualified trafficking cases against him in Davao and Pasig courts.

Quiboloy’s followers initially met the arresting authorities with a protest at the gate, demanding justice for the pastor.

The arrest warrants were served against the fugitive televangelist and five others.

In a phone patch interview with reporters, Police Regional Office 11 – Public Information Office chief Major Catherine Dela Rey said the service of the arrest warrants was conducted around 4 a.m.

“PNP served three warrants of arrest against Quiboloy and five others issued by RTC of Davao for acts of child abuse, other sexual abuse and in-issue ng Pasig court anti-trafficking in person act of 2000,” the police official said.

She…

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The Rev. Rob Cole of St. John the Apostle Church has until Wednesday to decide if he wants to resign as pastor or take leave while he challenges his removal. This decision comes in the wake of an investigation by The Diocese of Richmond into claims made against a now-deceased parent at the parish school.

The Diocese put Rev. Cole on temporary leave last month after a parish parent went public with allegations of sexual abuse against another parishioner involving her daughter.Richmond Diocese investigating sexual abuse allegations involving Virginia Beach students

Meredith Hatchell, the mother of a St. John student, told WAVY she had notified school officials in early May that a parent, whom she later identified as Vincent Jakawich, had allegedly molested her daughter. Hatchell also informed the school that she had reported the allegation to the Virginia Beach Police Department (VBPD).

She told WAVY that on May…

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Rodney Locklear was a pastor at Victory Church where he led a children’s Bible study

A Greene County grand jury has indicted a Ruckersville pastor already charged with child sex crimes with three additional charges.

Rodney Martin Locklear, 47, was indicted in Madison County Circuit Court on March 4 on six crimes against children: abduction of a minor, sexually penetrating a minor with an object, three counts of indecent liberties with a child and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The charges stem from incidents that occurred in 2023, according to authorities. Those six charges were transferred to the Greene County Circuit Court in May.

On Monday, a Greene County grand jury indicted Locklear on additional charge: one count of abduction with the intent to defile and two counts of aggravated sexual battery by force of a 13- or 14-year-old. According to court records, the charges stem from incidents…

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A late priest from Ilion has been added to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany’s List of Credibly Accused after an investigation into allegations that he abused a vulnerable adult.

In a Saturday, June 8 release, the diocese announced that it has concluded an investigation into Rev. J. Gregory Mulhall, and determined that there is reasonable cause to a claim that he sexually abused a vulnerable adult.

The survivor filed an official complaint in 2023, and after the investigation was completed, the Review Board made the recommendation to Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger that there is enough evidence to verify that the allegation is credible. The survivor died before the completion of the investigation.

There have been three other allegations of abuse against a minor or vulnerable adult against Mulhall that have been filed with the Victims Assistance Coordinator, but none of the survivors filed formal complaints or participated in the…

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Pope Francis’s homophobic slur helped distract the attention from other sex-related blunders affecting the Catholic Church all over Latin America.

As with Pope Francis’s homophobic slur, Argentine archbishop Mestre’s sudden resignation reveals the many contradictions affecting the Catholic Church.

On top of the Roman and Argentine sex-related blunders, new details about clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church emerged in Ecuador and Bolivia in the first week of June.

By Rodolfo Soriano-Núñez

News of Pope Francis’s using a homophobic slur during a meeting with Italian bishops, back on May 20th, stressed the contradictions in Roman Catholic doctrine and practice about sexuality.

Oddly enough, it also played well to hide another blunder made by two of the closest allies of the Pontiff both in Rome and back in Argentina, while hiding from view other attempts of the Church’s hierarchy in Argentina at making themselves relevant in the public sphere.

A few…

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Victims blast LaCrosse bishop on abuse

SNAP: He leaves several predators off his ‘accused’ list

One priest pled ‘no contest’ to child sex crimes in 2021

The cleric also admitted sexual contact’

Yet church officials refuse to acknowledge his wrongdoing

“At least five other clerics should be added,” group says

SNAP: Young woman’s pending civil suit attracts no attention

 

WHAT

Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims will

• blast top LaCrosse Catholic officials for leaving several “proven, admitted or credibly accused” child molesting clerics off their ‘credibly accused’ abusers list, including a recently admitted and convicted offender,
• urge the new LaCrosse bishop to add the names of the alleged abusers, and
• prod anyone who has ‘seen, suspected or suffered’ crimes by any Catholic employee or volunteer to ‘come forward as soon as possible to trusted sources of help, like friends, family, therapists, police,…

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A volunteer at Hickory Grove Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist megachurch in Charlotte, North Carolina, was arrested last month after church leaders learned he had been accused of sexual abuse by a student at the church’s Christian school.

The student had told church officials in April that her father, Jeffrey Riesenberg, who had volunteered with the church’s student ministry for a decade and had coached in its recreation program, had assaulted her. She said she had not told other family members about the alleged abuse.

“Administration officials immediately reported this disclosure to Child Protective Services, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police were dispatched to begin an investigation,” Hickory Grove pastor Clint Pressley, currently a candidate for president of the Southern Baptist Convention, told church members in a letter dated early May.

Riesenberg was arrested and charged May 9 by the Union County Sheriff’s Office with two counts of alleged abuse,  View Cache

Increasing financial transparency, combatting sexual abuse and electing a new slate of officers were among highlights of the SBC Executive Committee’s meeting June 10 at the Indianapolis Downtown Marriott.

Financial Transparency

The EC declined to act on a pair of messenger motions from last year’s SBC Annual Meeting that would have required SBC entities to publish the information required on IRS Form 990, the IRS’s primary tool for gathering information about tax-exempt organizations. But along with its decision to decline the motions, the EC urged Convention entities to uphold all current reporting standards and promised to study how financial reporting can be improved.

The EC, “in cooperation and collaboration with SBC entities, institutions, and commissions, commits to reviewing the [SBC] Business and Financial Plan, to determine ways to enhance transparency and clarity of reporting to the Convention, and will report its findings and recommendations to the messengers at the 2025 SBC…

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A Jesuit priest and former theology teacher at Boston College High School faces an indictment for raping a student at the school between 2008 and 2009.

Kevin White, 62, of Weston, will be arraigned on one count of rape and abuse of the child on June 27, District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced on Wednesday. White, who lived in another state from 2010 through 2021, was indicted on Friday.

The DA’s office withheld additional details about the case pending the arraignment.

“All teachers, and all religious officials, are figures of authority and have a professional and moral obligation to always wield that authority properly and appropriately. Our office will provide this former student continual support as this case moves forward,” Hayden said in a statement.

Attorney Doug Brooks, who said he represents White, disputed the allegation in a statement sent via email.

“Fr. Kevin White is innocent of this charge, as…

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Katherine Archer is involved in Californian legislative efforts to criminalize clergy-based exploitation of adults. What is her work, now?

Katherine Archer has been involved in California legislative efforts to criminalize clergy exploitation of adults. Her primary interest is in trauma occurring in church settings, where one should expect to find more support for healing. She has been involved in nonprofit work with dual-diagnosis adults experiencing homelessness, human trafficking, and youth experiencing foster care. Currently, Archer is completing studies towards a Master of Theological Studies at Antiochian House of Studies. She is co-founder of Prosopon Healing, a resource center for Orthodox Christian victims/survivors of clergy abuse, and is involved in research efforts to better understand the impact of clergy-perpetrated abuse on those victimized by religious institutions. 

The series on the Eastern Orthodox Church amounts to a formal project into the clergy-related abuse in it. These publications provide a free, open-source electronically available resource for…

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The trial for the former Dubuque priest accused of sexually abusing altar boys in the 1980′s is set for July 30.

Father Leo Riley faces five counts of sexual abuse. He entered a written plea of not guilty last week.

Prosecutors are accusing Riley of molesting the altar boys when he was the associate pastor from 1984 to 1986 at the Resurrection School.

The criminal complaint details accusations from several former altar boys who claim Father Riley repeatedly abused them – often in the Sacristy. At least two described permanent medical damage connected to the abuse.

One former altar boy came forward after getting treatment for a damaged pelvic floor. A second boy also reported suffering from a damaged pelvic floor. That is a condition studies have linked to sexual abuse.

Multiple former altar boys said counseling and treatment helped to bring back specific memories of the…

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New Zealand’s retired archbishop of Wellington has been cleared to return to ministry following a Vatican inquiry into an historical abuse complaint.

Cardinal John Dew stepped aside from ministry during a review under procedural norms established by the papal document “Vos Estis Lux Mundi” and an earlier police investigation into a complaint of sexual abuse against a minor during his time as an assistant priest in the 1970s.

The cardinal strenuously denied the allegation, and a 10-month police investigation concluded earlier this year without bringing any charges against the prelate.

“Cardinal John stood aside from all public church activities during the police investigation,” Archbishop Paul Martin of Wellington said in a June 5 statement. “With the church’s procedures complete, and no further action proposed, Cardinal John can resume public church activities.”

Martin informed the archdiocese about the launch of the church investigation in an open letter March 7, following media reports about the allegations.

…

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Life: My Story Through History was published March 19, 2024. “For the first time, Pope Francis recalls his life through memories and observations of the most significant occurrences of the past eight decades,” the Amazon review noted. “Pope Francis tells the story of his life as he looks back on the momentous world events that have changed history – from his earliest years during the outbreak of World War II in 1939 to the turmoil of today.”

“The book opens with three-year-old Jorge in the kitchen with his mother in Argentina as World War II breaks out, and he goes on to witness several historic events: the fall of the Berlin Wall, the moon landing in 1969 and even the 1986 World Cup in which Maradona scored the unforgettable ‘hand of God’ goal,” the review recapped.

“Here are the frank assessments and intimate insights of a pastor reflecting on the Nazi extermination of…

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Deceased priest Rev. J. Gregory Mulhall has been added to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany’s list of clergy who has been credibly accused of sexual abuse, the diocese announced over the weekend.

Mulhall, who died in 2001, was the subject of a formal complaint last year after a survivor came forward with allegations of sexual abuse.

The diocese announced on Saturday that the organization had found reasonable cause related to the allegations of sexual abuse by Mulhall against a vulnerable adult.

The victim of the abuse passed away before the diocese’s investigation was completed.

Following the conclusion of the diocese’s investigation, the group’s review board recommended to Bishop Edward Scharfenberger that there was sufficient evidence to support the victim’s allegation as credible, according to the diocese.

Mulhall is the 53rd member of the diocese’s list of clergy removed from ministry who have been accused of sexual misconduct while serving…

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Child abuse survivors may have more time as adults to file lawsuits against their perpetrators under a new law. It’s a measure meant to strengthen efforts to hold organizations such as the Catholic Church accountable for decades of mistreatment.  

Louisiana’s original “lookback window” for civil suits over older child abuse allegations was set to expire Friday, but the Louisiana Legislature approved Senate Bill 246 to extend the period another three years, until June 14, 2027. Lawmakers approved the new deadline without any objections, though Gov. Jeff Landry did not sign the bill before it became law last week. 

The proposal is the latest attempt to get relief for adults who were abused as children but are no longer able to pursue criminal charges because the perpetrator is deceased or the applicable statute of limitations has lapsed. 

People who only come to terms with…

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The book titled “Sexual Abuses on Nuns in Africa” by the Togolese nun Mary Lembo compiles the work done for her doctoral thesis, discussed five years ago at the Gregoriana. The latest translation of the volume is in German, and it is causing discussions in Germany due to the material that the nun has collected over many years of service.

Talking about abuses by priests towards African nuns is not at all simple, also because the topic remains a taboo. “Yet abuse is a reality,” Lembo said, highlighting the role of power that the priest exercises, fueling asymmetric relationships, with nuns in close contact with priests who they rely on spiritually, asking for advice and help, considering them as fathers. Many times nuns do not imagine that a consecrated man can harm them.

The dynamic described by Sister Lembo is the one recently denounced by some victims of the…

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Rev. Mulhall served 24 years at Annunciation Church

A Catholic priest who served the last 24 of his active priesthood at Annunciation Church in Ilion has been added to the Albany Diocese’s List of Credibly Accused priests. Rev. J. Gregory Mulhall was at the valley church from 1961 to 1985, when he retired from active ministry. The incident that Fr. Mulhall is accused of involved a vulnerable adult.

According to a report in the Albany Times Union, the victim came forward with a formal complaint last year. The survivor has since passed away. A review board examined the complaint and recommended to the Bishop of Albany that the complaint be accepted for consideration.

Father Mulhall passed away in 2001 at the age of 90.

There are four allegations of abuse by Fr. Mulhall filed according to the Child Victim’s Act. The Albany Diocese urges anyone who may have been abused…

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Southern Baptists are descending on the Midwest to make decisions that will ripple throughout Christianity nationwide.

The Southern Baptist Convention is gathering in Indianapolis for its two-day annual meeting starting Tuesday to take up key legislation for the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. Some of the highest profile items include a measure to enshrine a ban on women pastors, the long-term future of abuse reform, and a resolution opposing in vitro fertilization, or IVF.

Southern Baptist voting delegates, called messengers, will elect a new SBC president out of six candidates, and former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will make an appearance. But before those events, the SBC Executive Committee is set to meet on Monday, which typically sets the tone for the business that follows in the subsequent days.

Follow along for live updates.

SBC Executive Committee faces mandate for long-term abuse reform

A nearly expired SBC task force is urging…

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Back in April, a state appeals court ruled that the insurance company Chubb may move forward with its lawsuit against the Archdiocese of New York.

Chubb is arguing its policies shouldn’t cover claims of child sexual abuse that may have been enabled and covered up by church officials.

However, advocates of child victims are pushing back and accusing Chubb and other insurers of denying and delaying payment to survivors to protect their own profits.

They are now calling on lawmakers and the State Attorney General’s office to intervene and investigate those insurance companies.

Stephen Jimenez, an advocate and survivor of childhood sexual abuse who helped pass the Child Victims Act five years ago, joined NY1 political anchor Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” Thursday to discuss more.

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Eleven years after he was first investigated for an “inappropriate relationship” with a minor, a Stanislaus County volunteer coach has been arrested on multiple felony charges for sex acts with a minor after he was discovered in a parked car with a girl who “looked young.”

David Odom, who volunteered as a coach two high schools and a local church, was well-known to adults for his inappropriate behavior with minor girls, including holding the hands of former students in public.

Other witnesses told investigators that Odom was fired from a position at Hughson High School due to repeated inappropriate relationships.

According to Fox 40 News:

Odom was terminated from that position after being seen holding hands with a former female student, according to Superintendent Brenda Smith.

“David Odom… was fired after staff observed him holding hands with a former female student who was 18 years old at the time,” according…

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Thousands will gather in Indianapolis June 11-12 for the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention.

The meeting comes at a fraught time in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. Messengers — as voting delegates are known — will vote on whether to establish a constitutional ban on churches with women pastors. They’ll hear a report — and get outside criticism — of their handling of sexual abuse among their clergy.

With membership in steady decline, they’ll hear a report on how an earlier effort to reverse that trend fell short. And they’ll vote for a new president from among six candidates.

Speaking of presidential candidates, an outside group is inviting attendees to a virtual speech by former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, at an off-site event. Proposed resolutions deal with topics ranging from Gaza to abortion and in vitro fertilization.

Here’s some of what’s facing the SBC:

WHAT’S THE…

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CLOSE TO 300 people have reported instances of being abused by lay staff members and clergy at Spiritan schools, with the vast majority having occurred at Blacrock College and Willow Park Junior School.

The Blackrock College Union of past pupils released an update on its website today in relation to historical abuse suffered by former pupils of schools run by the Spiritan Order. These include Blackrock College and Willow Park, as well other schools such as Templeogue College and Rockwell in Tipperary. 

According to the update (from the Restore Together group), to date 49 Spiritan clergy and 12 lay members of staff have been reported for abuse by over 290 people. Two priests have been jailed, though many of the perpetrators are dead.

“The vast majority of cases relate to Willow Park and Blackrock College,” the group said. 

“As with many institutions involved with educating children in Ireland, Spiritan schools have…

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