ABUSE TRACKER

Reader advisory: Some accounts of sexual assault in this story contain explicit details and strong language that some may find upsetting or objectionable.

Since this story first published in 2020, Jesús Antonio Castañeda Serna pleaded no contest to nine counts of sexual battery and one count of attempt to dissuade a witness. The rest of the charges were dropped.

At a hearing in Fresno County Superior Court in April, he apologized to the survivors and the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin.

“I ask that they forgive me for what I did,” Castañeda said through a translator. “I did not know of the impact that it was to them, because of everything that I caused them, emotionally, humanly and as a Christian.”

A judge had ordered the priest be sent to prison for up to 90 days for an evaluation to determine whether he should be given probation or…

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A former priest who was raped as a teenager by a vicar has called for the Archbishop of York to resign.

Matthew Ineson was abused in the 1980s by Trevor Devamanikkam, who was a priest at St Aidan’s Church in Bradford at the time.

Mr Ineson told senior clergy, including the then Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, about his experiences in 2013, but the Church of England’s own review later found it had failed to act on his claims and Lord Sentamu was removed from ministry last year.

Current archbishop Stephen Cottrell, who, in October, called for Lord Sentamu to be re-admitted, told the BBC he took his “commitment” to survivors of child sexual abuse “very seriously”.

Devamanikkam was charged with six sex offences after Mr Ineson told the police the vicar had raped him as a 16-year-old, but took his own life in June 2017 before the case reached…

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Case seeks compensation for victims of Father Angus McRae

A class-action lawsuit attempting to hold the federal government responsible for sexual abuse suffered by children at the hands of a military priest at an Edmonton army base has been certified in the Alberta courts.

The case alleges that the federal government allowed a Canadian Armed Forces chaplain, Capt. Angus McRae, to sexually abuse children who were living on armed forces bases with their families. McRae, who died in 2011, served at bases across Canada before he was convicted of sexual crimes against children. 

The representative plaintiff, Bobby Bees of Vancouver, wants to hold the federal government accountable for failing to stop the abuse, the dark memories of which torment him daily.  

“I went through so much hell,” said Bees, 52, in an interview with CBC. “My entire childhood after that was just torn apart.” 

The $60-million claim seeks to hold…

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Investigation into the 38-year-old man began when a missionary couple reported finding spy cameras inside their mobile home, police say.

An associate minister in Grapevine has been arrested by police, who are accusing him of possessing child pornography and using spy cameras in a home, officials said.

Arturo Alarcon, the 38-year-old associate minister at 121 Community Church in Grapevine, was charged with possession of child pornography and invasive visual recording, according to police.

Investigation began, police say, when a missionary couple reported finding spy cameras inside their mobile home, which is used by the church to house families in need.

According to the arrest affidavit, the family staying there found two alarm clocks and two wall plugs labeled “Bug Control” containing hidden cameras inside the devices. Another associate minister with the church, Elvis Gallegos, reportedly told police these items weren’t provided by the church and he wasn’t sure who put…

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There is a need for impactful revision and action on clerical sexual abuse under canon law

In 2021, the Vatican announced revisions to the Code of Canon Law’s Penal Sanctions in the Church — which includes clerical sexual abuse (CSA) and other crimes — considered the most profound, following much deliberation and earlier patchy reforms.

The reforms seek to restore justice, reform offenders, and repair scandals. They stem primarily from survivors, backed by rights-based movements, media and national justice systems demanding decisive Church action.

Church experts, too, have been canvassing more substantive changes to earlier reforms.

However, three years after the last revisions, CSA continues with impunity, especially in the Global South. Theologically, sexual abuse is defined as a sin against God and humans (moral failing), and not a crime committed in a society (legal concept).

Sin is a matter of conscience that compromises the relationship with God. It can…

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Daniel Mayfield still facing over 160 charges across multiple counties in SC

Daniel Kellan Mayfield, a former youth pastor at First Baptist Church Gowensville in South Carolina, this week pleaded guilty to federal charges for possessing illegal child sexual abuse images.

The 36-year-old pleaded guilty on November 21 to one count of possession of illegal child sexual abuse images, according to reporting by The Christian Post. The crime carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Mayfield is also facing over 160 charges across multiple counties in South Carolina.

In the summer of 2023, Mayfield was arrested for voyeurism for filming a victim while she was showering in her mother’s home. The victim noticed a light shining outside the window, and when she stepped outside to investigate, she saw Mayfield in the yard.

The victim’s sister arrived in…

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A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed against the Diocese of Jefferson City on Thursday due a lack of action by the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit, filed in September by five Missouri adults, accused Jefferson City-area Catholic priests of sexual abuse. Four of the plaintiffs claim they were abused as children, and the fifth said they were abused as an adult.

The lawsuit named the diocese and Bishop Shawn McKnight as defendants. After it was filed, McKnight sent a statement saying none of the priests in question are were active in the diocese at the time of filing.

In a ruling Thursday, Judge Douglas Harpool said the plaintiffs had not met deadlines set by another judge for serving the defendants with court papers. They also did not meet a deadline for responding to an order to show cause.

For those reasons, Harpool dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice, meaning…

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One man among a group suing the Archdiocese of St. Louis for allegations of sexual abuse, and its cover-up, has dismissed his claim that a man alleged to now be a Kansas City deacon abused him in the 1980s, online court records show.

However, Ralph Wehner, a Kansas City deacon, remains suspended from ministry while church officials investigate the claim, a Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese spokesperson said. A man identified as W.C. in court documents dismissed his claim of abuse by Wehner on Nov. 21.

The lawsuit, filed July 24, accuses St. Louis church officials of covering up abuse by clergy and staff for decades. Dozens of plaintiffs are listed on the suit.

One plaintiff, W.C., alleged that “Brother Ralph Wehner” had groped and fondled him at least three times when W.C. was a teenager.

The plaintiff’s attorney, Todd Mathews, said in an email that W.C. voluntarily dismissed…

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In 2012, Boz Tchividjian, grandson of famed evangelist Billy Graham, drove to the Lynchburg, Virginia, airport in his family minivan to pick up Stephen Jones, great-grandson of fundamentalist Bob Jones Sr.

The meeting, though planned, was highly improbable.

Known for banning interracial dating into the 21st century and having rules too rigid even for Graham, a former student who left after one semester, Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina, is typically wary of outsiders. So it was a shock when Stephen Jones, then president of Bob Jones, invited Tchividjian’s nonprofit Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment, known by its acronym GRACE, to examine the university’s handing of sexual abuse allegations.

The invitation came in the wake of the 2011 Penn State sex abuse scandal and amid nationwide conversations about institutional cover-up of sexual abuse. While BJU never stated a specific reason for…

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The B.C. Supreme Court lawsuit alleges the plaintiff was abused by a clergyman and Scout leader in Bella Bella.

A B.C. man is alleging a priest and Scout master sexually abused him as a child in Bella Bella.

Bertram Wayne Brown names the United Church of Canada and Scouts Canada in a Nov. 18 B.C. Supreme Court notice of civil claim signed by Preszler Law lawyer Christopher McDougall.

The claim alleges Father Tom York, also allegedly a Scout leader, abused Brown at Darby Memorial Church in Bella Bella, 500 km northeast of Vancouver.

It alleges York abused Brown between the ages of seven and nine at the church and while on Scout outings “on a repeated basis, increasing in frequency, nature and intensity as time progressed.”

“The perpetrator’s behaviour constituted sexual abuse, sexual battery, and sexual assault,” the claim said. “The institutional defendants are vicariously liable for the wrongful actions of the…

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The good news is that a number of the most prolific and problematic San Diego predator priests are dead. The bad news, though, is that they’ve left in their wake countless deeply wounded and very likely still struggling victims. One of those predator priests is Fr. Gregory Sierra Sheridan, a native of Spain.

Most child molesters gravitate towards a specific gender. Sometimes, an abusive priest who targets girls is caught and is then transferred to an all-boys school, for example, in the naïve hope that maybe his sexual compulsions will be magically cured or at least held in check (because the gender he seems to prefer is less available). History has shown that this approach rarely works, of course.

But Fr. Sheridan seems to be among a smaller group of abusers: the ones who are more indiscriminate and assault both boys and girls in similar numbers.
That means…

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A court has approved a Roman Catholic diocese’s settlement with sexual abuse survivors, which is the largest such payment in New York state history. 

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, based on Long Island, New York, published a statement Wednesday noting that it had reached a $323 million settlement with survivors of sexual abuse: “We are grateful to God that on December 4th, the court confirmed the Plan that resolves and ends the Bankruptcy Case for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, all our parishes, and related ministries.” 

“For the sake of abuse survivors and the [Catholic] Church’s mission on Long Island, we pray that the Plan brings some measure of healing to survivors and allows the [Catholic] Church to carry on the saving mission of Jesus Christ,” a spokesperson for the diocese added. “Victim survivors of child abuse deserve our respect, our prayers, and our pastoral support….

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The Diocese of Rockville Centre on Wednesday said a bankruptcy court had approved its record abuse settlement of $323 million, which officials said will bring “some measure of healing to survivors” of clergy abuse.

The New York diocese announced in September that it had reached the massive settlement for abuse victims after a four-year-long process that included an earlier offer that the survivors had rejected.

On Wednesday U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn approved the settlement, greenlighting the payout that includes contributions from insurers and diocesan churches.

The Rockville Centre Diocese said in a statement that it was “grateful to God” for the approval.

“For the sake of abuse survivors and the Church’s mission on Long Island, we pray that the plan brings some measure of healing to survivors and allows the Church to carry on the saving mission of Jesus Christ,” the statement said.

“Victim survivors of child abuse deserve…

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A Catholic diocese on New York’s Long Island has seen its long-running bankruptcy filing finally concluded, enabling hundreds of sexual abuse claims to be settled.

“We are grateful to God that on December 4th, the court confirmed the Plan that resolves and ends the Bankruptcy Case for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, all our parishes, and related ministries,” said the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, in a statement.

Chief Judge Martin Glenn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York signed off on the settlement, preliminarily announced in September and said by the diocese to total “just over $323 million.”

That amount includes “insurance contributions, Diocesan assets and sale proceeds from Diocesan property, and contributions from parishes and other related entities,” said the diocese in its statement. “The Diocese, parishes and other related entities contributed a total of $234.8 million. Insurance companies contributed a total…

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Jesuit Father Hans Zollner — the founder and director of the Institute of Anthropology at the Pontifical Gregorian University and a former member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors — joined several safeguarding experts in releasing a joint proposal in Rome Nov. 18 advocating a change in church law on the handling of sexual abuse cases.

Specifically, the proposal — co-written by members of the institute and the Seattle-based Ending Clergy Abuse human rights organization — called for a global extension of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ protocol of permanently removing from ministry credibly accused priests or deacons.

That norm, established in 2002 alongside the USCCB’s “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” with the Vatican’s permission, at present only applies to the Catholic Church in the U.S.

In a Dec. 3 email to OSV News, Father Zollner shared his insights regarding the challenges…

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Richard Tollner says he was sexually abused by a priest at the age of 15 back in 1975. Almost half a century later, he says he is happy to see victims finally getting compensation.

Back in 2019, the New York Child Victims Act allowed abuse victims to temporarily file lawsuits – even if the statute of limitations had expired.

Richard Tollner says he was sexually abused by a priest at the age of 15 back in 1975.

Almost half a century later, he says he is happy to see victims finally getting compensation.“A little bit of bittersweet justice, it has taken four years to get to today, but at this point enough victims have waited for justice have achieved the justice,” says Tollner.

The $323 million settlement effects roughly 600 alleged sexual abuse victims in the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

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The Leon County Sheriff’s Office arrested a church employee for allegedly assaulting a teenager who attended the church he served at.

Hunter Eubanks, 30, was arrested Wednesday on charges of sexual assault of a minor, cruelty toward a child, aggravated battery on a child, use of a computer to lure a child, obscene communication and travel to meet after using a computer to lure a child. He is being held in the Leon County Detention Facility.

According to a LCSO news release, Eubanks committed “multiple sexual acts” on a 16-year-old, which occurred on church grounds between July and October.

Detectives have been investigating since Oct. 9 before issuing a warrant for his arrest.

As of Thursday, mentions of Eubanks were scrubbed from Morningside Church’s leadership page on the church’s website.

While LCSO originally referred to Eubanks as a “youth pastor,” the church’s website from November listed him as “a worship…

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The archbishop of Banterbury could have used his speech to express remorse to victims of abuse. But then there wouldn’t have been any room for lolz

I imagine the outgoing archbishop of Canterbury doesn’t have a tattoo. But if he did, he’d have that one beloved of so many insouciant people: “ONLY GOD CAN JUDGE ME.” As it goes, people with this tattoo frequently appear in court. In fact, sentencing guidelines for people with auto-satirical body art is one of only about three subjects that Justin Welby didn’t make some public comment about in his tenure as the archbishop of Canterbury.

But the great pontificator is now turning in his badge and mitre, and yesterday could be found delivering a quite staggeringly tone-deaf final speech as the archbishop of Canterbury in the House of Lords. As a reminder, Welby’s resignation was called for because he definitely knew about victims of John Smyth,…

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Three years ago, James McDowell, a former principal at the Hillcrest School in Jos, Nigeria, used a post in a Facebook group for the school’s alumni to confess to molesting two students. That led to more allegations of abuse and calls from former students at Hillcrest for an independent investigation.

On Sunday, an alumni group representing survivors announced that eight Christian organizations have agreed to help fund an investigation into the allegations. Founded in 1942 by Church of the Brethren missionaries, Hillcrest educated both the children of missionaries, Nigerian students, and international students with the help of other denominations. 

The Hillcrest alumni group has identified about 50 cases of alleged sexual abuse at the school.

The former students negotiated with 15 different faith groups that sent missionaries and students to Hillcrest over the years, coming to agreement with funders from the North American Baptist Conference; the…

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The clergyman oversaw the Diocese of Oakland for 26 years and served on several national committees

UPDATED: December 4, 2024 at 2:02 PM PST

OAKLAND – John S. Cummins, the second and longest-serving bishop of Oakland, died Tuesday. He was 96.

The Diocese of Oakland confirmed Cummins’ death, writing in a statement that the retired bishop emeritus “leaves a legacy of service to God through his priesthood and episcopacy.”

“Our diocese has lost a father, grandfather, shepherd and true priest of Jesus Christ,” Bishop Michael C. Barber said. “May Christ the Good Shepherd welcome Bishop John into the eternal reward prepared for him who served the flock of Oakland so well.”

Cummins was born on March 3, 1928, and raised in Berkeley. After receiving a Master of Divinity degree from St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, he was ordained on Jan. 24, 1953, at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the…

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The settlement between the Diocese of Rockville Centre and sexual abuse survivors brings an end to a bankruptcy process that lasted more than four years. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost

A four-year court battle pitting hundreds of clergy sex abuse survivors against the Catholic Church on Long Island came to an end Wednesday in federal bankruptcy court as both sides officially signed off on a $323 million settlement.

The deal between the Diocese of Rockville Centre and about 600 survivors is one of the largest in the United States for Catholic dioceses in bankruptcy because of the clergy sex abuse scandal, officials said. Nearly 99% of survivors who cast votes on the deal approved it, according a lawyer who represented them.

Some survivors said they hope it marks the start of a new chapter in lives left traumatized by abuse at the hands of priests.

“It’s a good day for survivors. They waited many years for this justice,” said…

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A years-long legal battle between Long Island’s Catholic diocese and hundreds of alleged sex abuse victims came to an end Wednesday, with a bankruptcy judge in Manhattan approving a plan that finalizes a $323 million settlement.

As part of the settlement, the Diocese of Rockville Centre will begin making payments next year to nearly 600 victims of child sex abuse in the church.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Martin Glenn said he was “extremely pleased” with the deal, according to Newsday.

“The true heroes are the survivors who have persisted through decades of trauma, hardship and immeasurable resilience,” said Jeff Anderson, an attorney for the victims. “Today’s ruling provides momentum towards a resolution that is long overdue.”

Diocese leaders had originally offered a $200 million settlement, while the victims had sought $450 million. The approved plan marks the largest Catholic…

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The new Bridge Dialogues program in Milwaukee utilizes a restorative justice style initiative for abuse survivorsBy 

Two years ago, Sally dropped a letter in the mail, never expecting a response. 

Three pages long and handwritten, it was addressed to a leader in the Catholic church who had sexually abused her from when she was 17 until 19. When she sent the letter, she was 56 years old and had never spoken about the abuse to anyone. Not even her husband. 

In the letter, Sally described the burden she had been carrying for decades.  

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One week later, she received a response. The abuser asked to apologize in person. 

“​​Those words of, ‘Will you meet me so I can look at you in the eyes?’ just put a fire in me,” Sally told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.”…

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A former headteacher has been charged with alleged child sexual abuse against a previous student at a catholic school.

James Edwin Rouse, 48, has been charged following allegations of child sexual abuse against former pupils at St. Anne’s Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Southampton, in 2006.

Rouse, of Lowford Hill Close in Southampton, will appear at Portsmouth Magistrates Court on January 13, 2025, has been charged with abuse of position of trust: sexual activity with a child.

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary’s specialist Operation Marmion team conducted a ‘robust’ and ‘thorough’ investigation.

A spokesperson for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said: “We would encourage anyone who has been a victim of child sexual abuse to contact police on 101 where you can speak with a police officer in confidence referencing Op Stonecrop.”

You can also submit information online…

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A former head teacher has been charged with non-recent child sexual abuse offences at a city school.

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary said the charges against James Rouse, 48, followed allegations of child sexual abuse, by those in a position of trust, against former pupils at St Anne’s Catholic School and Sixth Form College in Southampton, in 2006.

Four former teachers currently remain under investigation following similar reports of non-recent child sexual abuse at the school.

Mr Rouse, of Lowford Hill Close in Southampton, will appear at Portsmouth Magistrates Court on 13 January.

‘Deeply disturbing’

“We are deeply saddened and shocked by the allegations of historic sexual abuse linked to former members of our staff body,” a spokesperson for St Anne’s Catholic School and Sixth Form College said.

“This is clearly deeply disturbing news for all of our community.

“We have only ever wanted St Anne’s to be a…

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ST. LOUIS — One of the dozens of people suing the Catholic church here over allegations of sexual abuse has dismissed his claim that a man believed to be a Kansas City deacon abused him at a St. Louis-area church in the 1980s.

Kansas City church officials, however, said Tuesday that the deacon, Ralph Wehner, remains suspended from ministry amid an investigation into the claim.

The Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph put Wehner on a “precautionary suspension” in August after an advocacy group raised concerns he was the same “Ralph Wehner” accused of abuse here in a lawsuit filed against the Archdiocese of St. Louis days earlier.

The lawsuit was one of five against the archdiocese accusing church officials of covering up abuse by dozens of clergy and staff from the 1940s to as recently as 2015. One plaintiff alleged a “Brother Ralph Wehner” groped and fondled him while he…

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Sklba once characterized secretly returning abusers to ministry as an “experiment”

Group wants incoming archbishop to remove Sklba’s name from yearly church award given to middle school children

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 12-3-2024

Survivors of clergy sexual abuse and their advocates will gather for a press conference at 11:30am before the funeral of Bishop Richard Sklba, a figure deeply implicated in decades of child sexual abuse and cover-up within the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Over 10,000 court-ordered released internal church documents, dozens of depositions, and scores of victim testimonies revealed Sklba’s central role in managing and concealing well over 50 cases of abusive priests in Southeastern Wisconsin spanning over three decades. 

WHEN: Wednesday, December 4th, 11:30am

WHERE: Outside the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, 812 N Jackson St, Milwaukee, WI

WHO: Survivors of clergy abuse and advocates

WHAT: Survivors and advocates will hold an 11:30am press conference outside the Downtown Milwaukee…

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New revelations expose decades of sexual abuse by a Piarist priest in Senegal, shocking communities. Victims’ testimonies highlight abuse of power, while the Order of the Pious Schools acknowledged the crimes, pledging accountability and support for survivors.

The Catholic commission defending minors sexually abused in the Catholic Church in Senegal Church has revealed new cases of sexual abuse committed by a member of the Piarist religious order. In the Diocese of Ziguinchor, where the accused operated for more than a decade, the faithful and local populations remain in shock.

“We feel almost guilty for having lacked vigilance as parents,” said André Manga, reeling from the revelations of sexual abuse committed by Piarist clergy in Mlomp, his village in southern Senegal. “It is shocking to learn that such things happened here, right under our noses, without us suspecting anything,” lamented the Sacred Heart parishioner.

Between 1992 and 2005, several Senegalese children…

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A disgraced 93-year-old New Orleans priest pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges involving the sexual assault of a teenage boy in 1975.

Lawrence Hecker, who left the ministry in 2002, had been scheduled to stand trial Tuesday. Hecker’s eyes were focused on the ground as a sheriff’s deputy pushed him toward Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Judge Nandi Campbell’s courtroom, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported.

Hecker entered his plea to aggravated kidnapping, aggravated crime against nature, first-degree rape and theft before Campbell, moments before jury selection was scheduled to begin, multiple news outlets reported. Sentencing was set for Dec. 18. He faces life in prison.

The trial had been delayed for months over concerns about Hecker’s mental competency and because District Judge Ben Willard recused himself from the case, citing a conflict with prosecutors. The case was reassigned to Campbell, who ordered Hecker to undergo routine physical and psychological evaluations…

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A former student who suffered severe injuries at Asbury University in Kentucky last year has filed a lawsuit for negligence, breach of contract and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Isabella Willingham was found unconscious in her room in November 2023 with cuts, bruises and other injuries. Even her acrylic nails had been ripped off. She stopped breathing on her own for 23 minutes, according to a Lex18 report.

The lawsuit, filed in state court in Kentucky, states that Willingham enrolled as a student at Asbury in August 2023 and was required to live in an on-campus dormitory.

During a phone call with Willingham on Nov. 27, 2023, her mother said Willingham began to lose focus and said that her head was hurting, for which her roommate had given her medication, ostensibly ibuprofen.

Not long after, the phone call ended abruptly and the mobile location services associated…

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During Thanksgiving week, I watched two movies: Wicked and Gladiator II. Both movies reminded me of evangelicals up to their television satellites and steeples in secular politics.

I watched the citizens of Oz pour into the streets, singing, “The wicked old witch is dead.” When Galinda the “good witch” tried to temper the frivolous bacchanal, the citizen chorus belted out, “No one mourns the wicked.”

I couldn’t stop thinking of the evangelical treatment of Kamala Harris.

Evangelical preachers and MAGA partisans knew no bounds for their descriptions of Kamala Harris. Her skin isn’t green, but she is biracial. Sexist and racist epitaphs were hurled at her. She was called a “commie,” “Joe’s boss,” “Nasty,” “Kneepads,” “Madam Swallow,” “Heels Up,” and “The San Francisco Treat.” Colorado televangelist Lance Wallnau said Harris had “the Jezebel spirit.” Steve Swofford, pastor of First Baptist Church in Rockwall, Texas, asked in a sermon, “Jezebel Harris? Isn’t that her name?”

…

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Lawrence Hecker, who was indicted last year on charges related to a sexual assault in the 1970s, pleaded guilty on Tuesday just before jury selection for his trial was set to begin.

A retired Roman Catholic priest who was indicted last year in Louisiana on charges related to the sexual assault of a teenage boy in the 1970s pleaded guilty to the crimes on Tuesday, his lawyer said, just before jury selection for the trial was set to begin.

The retired priest, Lawrence Hecker, 93, pleaded guilty to state charges of first-degree rape, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated crime against nature, and theft over $500, said his lawyer, Bobby Hjortsberg. The charges came after allegations surfaced last year that the Archdiocese of New Orleans had known about accusations against Mr. Hecker for decades.

“Him ultimately taking responsibility for it was the right thing to do, and the necessary thing to do at…

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A former New Orleans priest accused of rape and kidnapping entered a guilty plea ahead of his expected trial Tuesday.

Lawrence Hecker entered his plea just moments before jury selection was slated to begin in his trial.

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He pleaded guilty to aggravated kidnapping, aggravated crime against nature, first-degree rape, and theft.

Hecker’s sentencing will be Dec. 18, and he faces life in prison.

The trial had been delayed for months over concerns of Hecker’s mental competency as well as the case being moved to Section G of court after Judge Ben Willard recused himself.

A doctor confirmed that Hecker does have Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, but Hecker was found competent to stand trial, according to his attorney Bobby Hjortsberg.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued the following statement regarding Hecker’s guilty plea:

“It is our hope and prayer that today’s court proceedings bring healing and peace to…

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Hecker, 93, had instead been scheduled to stand trial on Tuesday.

Lawrence Hecker, the geriatric former priest accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy nearly 50 years ago, pleaded guilty as charged Tuesday, abruptly ending a case boondoggled for months by the defendant’s declining health and a judge’s unusual recusal.

A grand jury indicted 93-year-old Hecker last year following an investigation that revealed the clergyman had confessed to molesting multiple juveniles over his decades of service with the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

The charges brought against him, however, stemmed from a single incident. Prosecutors alleged that Hecker choked, then raped a boy sometime between 1975 and 1976.

Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams’ office charged Hecker with first-degree rape, aggravated crime against nature, aggravated kidnapping and theft. He faces life in prison.

Hecker had been scheduled to stand trial beginning on Tuesday before he entered his guilty plea in front…

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“Erin” was one of millions of believers whose faith in God was so transformed by the Brownsville Revival of the mid-1990s that she accepted a secretarial job at the revival’s ministry school in Pensacola, Florida. But in 2002, the 21-year-old suddenly cleared her desk, quietly left the state, and has struggled with her faith ever since.

Erin told The Roys Report (TRR) she left because she felt trapped when revival leader and FIRE School of Ministry founder Michael Brown—a man she called “Dad”—would frequently cross physical boundaries. He’d hold her hand, kiss her on the lips, and slap her bottom, she said.

“He was supposed to be a spiritual father,” Erin said. “He was supposed to look after me.”

TRR keeps alleged victims of sexual harassment and clergy sexual abuse anonymous, so Erin is a pseudonym. However, we confirmed her identity with former FIRE staff Kris Bennett and former FIRE missionary…

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Investigation into boarding school abuse is set

Church agencies reach funding deal with survivors

Both liberal and evangelical Protestant groups are involved

Survivors set precedent, command seat at the table

For almost four years, dozens of adults have lobbied over 15 church agencies to investigate the sexual, physical, racial, psychological and spiritual abuse they say they suffered as kids at a Christian boarding school in Africa.

Now, finally, their efforts seem to be paying off. Eight religious groups that sent missionaries to Hillcrest have agreed to fund and cooperate with an independent probe into the alleged abuse at the school from its founding in 1942 until the present.

“This hard-won commitment means that decades of crimes and cover ups by church staff, volunteers and supervisors will be fully and finally examined and exposed – not by biased church insiders but by credible outside investigators,” said Letta Cartlidge of Colorado, who…

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Pope Francis has once again demonstrated his commitment to reform within the Catholic Church by addressing a deeply sensitive and controversial issue: the potential recognition of “spiritual abuse” as a formal crime under Church law. This proposed move seeks to address instances where clergy exploit their spiritual authority, often invoking mystical or supernatural experiences, to manipulate, control, or harm others. Such behaviour, while not new, has long remained outside the purview of formal ecclesiastical accountability, leaving many victims without recourse and perpetuating cycles of abuse cloaked in religious guidance.

Last week, Cardinal Victor Fernandez, head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, met with Pope Francis to discuss the matter, signalling the Vatican’s intent to delve into the complexities of spiritual abuse. For Pope Francis, who has prioritised addressing various forms of clerical misconduct during his papacy, this step is consistent with his broader vision of a…

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The Belgian state has been found guilty of crimes against humanity for the forced removal of five mixed-race children from their mothers in colonial Congo.

In a long-awaited ruling issued on Monday, Belgium’s court of appeal said that five women, born in the Belgian Congo and now in their 70s, had been victims of “systematic kidnapping” by the state when they were removed from their mothers as small children and sent to Catholic institutions because of their mixed-race origins.

“This is a victory and a historic judgment,” Michèle Hirsch, one of the lawyers for the women, told local media. “It is the first time in Belgium and probably in Europe that a court has condemned the Belgian colonial state for crimes against humanity.”

Monique Bitu Bingi, who was removed from her mother aged three, told the Guardian that justice had been done. “I am relieved,” she said. “The judges have recognised that…

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Among the many horrors perpetrated by the Belgians on their African colony Congo, was the abduction of children born to black African mothers and white Belgian fathers.

The Brussels Court of Appeal on Monday held the state accountable for the systematic
abduction of “metis” children, those of mixed European and African heritage, from their mothers during the colonial era in Belgian Congo.

The case was brought by five women who were forcibly separated from their mothers in the Belgian Congo before the age of seven. The court found that their abductions were part of a deliberate and systematic plan orchestrated by the Belgian state to remove children born to black mothers and white fathers from their families.

“Their abduction is an inhumane and persecutory act constituting a crime against humanity under the principles of international law,” the court said in a press statement.

The Belgian state was ordered by the court to compensate…

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ROME – Former members of the women’s branch of the Peru-based Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV) say that among the other consequences of the abuse they suffered is a loss of careers and income, and they’re asking for compensation.

Most of the roughly 30 former members of the Marian Community of Reconciliation (MCR) with whom Crux has spoken said they were either prevented from studying, or their studies were drawn out to the point that when they left, sometimes after decades in the group, they still had not completed degrees, leaving them with no financial means of support.

Most of the women agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity, using pseudonyms.

One former member named “Gianna,” who spent 18 years in the MCR without completing her studies, said that many women in the group “never worked in anything formal [that was] paid, after repeatedly, explicitly asking to do so, but at the same time…

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A bishop who called for Justin Welby to resign over the Church of England’s worst child abuse scandal has said she has been ‘frozen out’ over her comments.

The Bishop of Newcastle broke ranks to call for the Archbishop of Canterbury to step aside over failures that meant serial abuser John Smyth was never brought to justice.

Helen-Ann Hartley said she has been ‘frozen out’ by the Church and has been ‘isolated’ by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York since speaking out.

She also criticised other senior clergy for staying silent over the Church’s safeguarding failures due to ‘careerism’ and a desire to become the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

And she called for the CofE to be placed in ‘special measures’ over its safeguarding provision, with an independent review of failures taken out of the Church’s hands.

Dr Hartley was the only bishop to publicly call for Dr Welby to resign…

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Belfast court jails 89-year-old in sexual abuse cases after long PSNI investigation

PAUL DUNLEAVY, a Christian Brother and former school principal, was sentenced in Belfast last week to 10 years imprisonment, after being found guilty of 36 non-recent sexual abuse offences relating to nine victims. The sentence will begin in May 2026 at the conclusion of his current sentence for similar offences.

Dunleavy, now 89, has been convicted for a total of 72 non-recent sexual abuse offences from 1964-1991 involving 18 victims who were aged between seven and 14 years old at the time.

Offences include indecent assault, attempted buggery and gross indecency with or towards a child.

Head of the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Public Protection Branch, Detective Chief Superintendent Lindsay Fisher said: “Dunleavy was a teaching Christian Brother of the Catholic Church. He taught in four different primary and secondary schools in Belfast, Newry and Armagh from…

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Kelly-Anne Jennings, 40, rearrested on Oct. 24 for allegedly breaching bail conditions

An Ontario school teacher accused of multiple sexual offences involving students has been again released on bail after she was rearrested for allegedly breaching her bail conditions, CBC News has learned.

Kelly-Anne Jennings is on unpaid leave from her job as a Grade 8 teacher at St. Anthony Catholic Elementary School in Port Hope, Ont., as she faces 18 sex crime charges, including sexual assault on a boy under 14.

Jennings, 40, is accused of both making child pornography and distributing sexually explicit material to a minor, according to court records seen by CBC. All offences are alleged to have occurred between June 2022 and April 2024 in Port Hope, part of Northumberland County, east of Toronto.

Port Hope police Insp. Katie Andrews told CBC that Jennings spent five days in custody following her most recent arrest on Oct. 24 on charges…

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Decades of clergy sex abuse scandals are an “existential threat” to the Catholic Church and can only be remedied through transparency and prioritizing survivors, according to the outgoing Australian ambassador to the Vatican.

“Clerical abuse has resulted in lost credibility, a mounting devotional crisis and, it would not be hyperbolic to say, a real existential threat for the Catholic Church,” said Ambassador Chiara Porro.

The ambassador gave her remarks in a Nov. 21 lecture at the Pontifical Gregorian University. The event offered the Australian diplomat an occasion to offer public reflections on the theme of safeguarding, which had been one of her top priorities during her four-year posting here.

“Talking about child sexual abuse can be confronting and challenging. But as I have often said, it is absolutely indispensable, because child sexual abuse thrives on silence,” she said. “Breaking that silence is a vital step to drive the society-wide effort…

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A Church of England bishop has accused fellow bishops of “careerism” over their failure to condemn a church cover-up of abuse, claiming they have stayed silent because they want to be the new archbishop of Canterbury.

After the publication of the Makin review last month into the church’s failure to stop the serial abuser John Smyth, the Right Rev Helen-Ann Hartley, the bishop of Newcastle, called for Justin Welby to quit over the scandal days before he did so.

Since then, Hartley said, she has been frozen out by fellow bishops. “Some are certainly silent I think because they do see themselves, sadly, as potentially taking over from Archbishop Justin,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Sunday programme. “There is definitely some careerism.”

Hartley said the church’s failure to stop Smyth, who abused 130 boys and young men in three countries over several decades, showed it should be put under special measures…

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Spanish bishops rejected a call from the national ombudsman for the Church to contribute to a state compensation fund for abuse victims. Ángel Gabilondo, who published a report in October 2023 estimating that 200,000 adults may have been abused by priests or religious in Spain, told a congressional committee that the Church should pay into a central fund which would compensate victims of abuse in all settings. 

Speaking at the bishops’ conference plenary meeting last week, its secretary general Bishop César García Magán, an auxiliary in the Archdiocese of Toledo, insisted the Church would maintain its own scheme despite criticisms. “We have come a long way,” he said. “We may have made a slow start, but we have made progress when others have not even begun.” The bishop argued that “the issue of the abuse of minors is a social problem” and called for “renewal in all areas of social…

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La mayoría de los grupos parlamentarios acogen la recomendación de reparar a los afectados, aunque discrepan si debería ser la jerarquía eclesial la que deba pagar la factura millonaria de los abusos

EL PAÍS puso en marcha en 2018 una investigación de la pederastia en la Iglesia española y tiene una base de datos actualizada con todos los casos conocidos. Si conoce algún caso que no haya visto la luz, nos puede escribir a: abusos@elpais.es. Si es un caso en América Latina, la dirección es: abusosamerica@elpais.es.

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La tribuna del Congreso de los Diputados se ha llenado este jueves de víctimas de pederastia de la Iglesia católica, durante años invisibilizadas, para escuchar, por primera vez en la historia de la democracia española, un debate parlamentario sobre el escándalo de los abusos relacionados con el clero. Un año después de terminar su Informe sobre abusos sexuales en el ámbito de la Iglesia católica…

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A Saskatoon priest accused of sexual assault says he meant to encourage and reassure a young girl when he hugged and kissed her during an encounter in 2023. He recounted the incident in his testimony at Saskatoon Provincial Court Friday.

As the only defence witness, Janko Kolosnjaji, 71, used a walker to approach the testimony stand two weeks after having hip surgery Friday during the trial which resumed after two months of delays and adjournments.

Kolosnjaji is accused of hugging and kissing a then 13-year-old, who can’t be named because of a publication ban, in a supply room at St. George’s Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral on March 11, 2023. He was charged on April 19, 2023, and placed on leave shortly afterwards.

During his testimony, Kolosnjaji detailed various religious ceremonies and traditions where the “kiss of peace” is customary to show support and appreciation in Greek Catholic religion, like kissing a…

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Proposals have been announced to demolish a County Down parochial house in which the late priest Fr Malachy Finegan was accused of carrying out multiple sexual assaults.

The building on the Castlewellan Road in Hilltown is currently vacant and is partially boarded up, having been damaged in an arson attack in 2023.

The building’s future has been uncertain since 2018, when Hilltown man Sean Faloon told the BBC that Fr Finegan had abused him on a regular basis from the age of 10 and that some of the sex assaults took place in the parochial house.

Several years prior to the 2023 arson attack, an anonymous threat was issued warning that it would be burned down.

‘Time to reflect’

The current parish priest of Clonduff, Fr Charlie Byrne, revealed the demolition proposal during mass in St John the Evangelist Church Ballymaghery in Hilltown on Saturday evening.

“The last two years has…

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A former school chaplain and rector has pleaded guilty to making indecent images of a child.

Samuel Erlandson, 36, from Ruabon, Wrexham, admitted two charges at Mold magistrates’ court on 23 November.

He has since been dismissed as chaplain of St David’s College – a boarding school in Llandudno, Conwy county. It is understood the charges do not involve pupils at the school.

Erlandson is due to appear at Llandudno Magistrates’ Court for sentencing on 30 December.

Erlandson had also been rector of St Hilary’s Church Llanrhos and St Paul’s in Llandudno.

St. David’s College said it was “deeply shocked and distressed by the news”

“When we were told about his arrest we immediately took steps to ensure he had no further engagement with the school community, and as soon as we heard he had pleaded guilty we dismissed him from his role.”

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A new court date has been set for a former Romanian Orthodox priest, charged in connection with a historical sexual assault in the Russell area.

In June, Russell RCMP say a woman in her 60’s reported that a priest at a church in Lennard, Manitoba, had sexually assaulted her multiple times over the course of two years, in the early 1970’s.

The victim was between the ages of 11 and 12 at the time of the alleged assaults.

81-year-old Constantin Turcoane of Regina had his matter heard in Russell Court yesterday (Wed), where it was adjourned to February 26.

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“Tatort: Schweigen” has Inspector Falk investigate a case of systematic abuse in the Catholic Church. What real case does the plot allude to and what is the truth of the allegations?

Since 1970, “Tatort“, Germany’s favorite crime show, has repeatedly tackled phenomena and crises in the country in the form of socially relevant 90-minute episodes. It is therefore all the more surprising that there has not yet been a case about the abuse scandals in the churches.

The Catholic Church in particular has been in the spotlight since 2010. Was the abuse of children and young people in the church really systematic in nature?

How did this system work? Did the church cooperate in the film project? And what will happen with the new loner detective Falke (Wotan Wilke Möhring)?

What was it all about?

Hamburg detective Thorsten Falke (Wotan Wilke Möhring) retreated to a monastery for a while after…

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A victim of sex abuse predator Christian Brother Paul Dunleavy has told how he was targeted as soon as he stepped into the classroom for the start of his final year of primary school.

Brian Ellison was preyed on in the first weeks after starting his 11+ year at the Abbey Primary School in Newry, Co Down.

The 66-year-old was at Belfast Crown Court on Thursday as Dunleavy was jailed for further offences.

Dunleavy, with an address at Glen Road in Belfast, was found guilty of 36 charges against former pupils in September.

The offences were committed on dates between 1964 and 1991 while the 89-year-old worked at four schools in Belfast, Newry and Armagh.

He is already serving a prison sentence having been previously convicted on two separate occasions of sexual offences against children in his care.

Speaking after sentencing to The Irish News Mr Ellison said:…

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A number of adaptations to the liturgy in Masses of Indigenous communities in the Mexican state of Chiapas were approved by the Vatican earlier this month.

Not only the celebrations can be conducted in their original languages, but also a few parts of the Mass were changed in order to respond to the cultural traditions of those groups.

Some of those modifications have been in place over more than five decades, being gradually incorporated by parishes and Catholic communities, according to the spirit of the Second Vatican Council. But the Diocese of San Cristobal de las Casas only began to work on an official systematization in 2007, Jesuit Father Felipe Ali Modad told Crux.

“Late Bishop Samuel Ruiz came back from the Second Vatican Council and promoted the work of inculturation of the liturgy. Translations of sacraments and prayers and the incorporation of new rites have been carried out since then,”…

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The Catholic-raised rapper-turned-mogul is behind bars on federal charges and awaits a May 2025 trial that could land him in prison for life.

The latest sex abuse lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs has come just as he was denied bail this week on federal charges that led to his arrest in September.

First reported by Deadline, the rapper-turned-mogul has been accused of beating Bryana “Bana” Bongolan and dangling her over the balcony of a 17-story high-rise in Los Angeles in 2016. She is seeking some $10M in damages for emotional distress, according to a complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday by attorney James R. Nikraftar.

The apartment in question belonged to Cassie Ventura, Diddy’s ex-partner who sued him for rape, sex trafficking, and physical abuse in November 2023. The Catholic-raised businessman settled the very next day, precipitating an avalanche…

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In recent years, the German Synodal path emerged as a shock to German Catholics (mainly lay people and religious life) after the scandal caused by sexual abuse in the church and the lack of action against these crimes by the hierarchy. It was a process that began in 2019, which was finally joined by the bishops, and which proposed a series of measures that frightened many pastors and set off all the alarms in the Vatican.

Almost in parallel, sponsored by Pope Francis, the Synod on Syodality was launched which, in two phases and after previous and unprecedented consultations in diocesan, national and continental phases, took place in two historic assemblies held in the Vatican in October 2023 and October 2024.

The development of both initiatives – one at a key national level, the other at a universal level – crossed paths: the German Synodal Path held a total of…

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A popular New York City priest accused the Diocese of Brooklyn of a “witch hunt” after the diocese announced Nov. 18 that he had been relieved of parish duties after an investigation that uncovered evidence of mishandled parish funds.

“It’s causing scandal to the church,” said Msgr. Jamie Gigantiello, pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel-Annunciation Parish in Brooklyn.

The diocese said the priest transferred nearly $2 million in parish funds to a businessman who was the former chief of staff to embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

In a 30-minute interview with National Catholic Reporter on Nov. 19, Gigantiello challenged the diocese’s characterizations of his financial dealings.

The diocese said Gigantiello did not inform diocesan officials nor seek required approval for the transfers, which Gigantiello arranged between January 2019 and November 2021, the diocese said.

In addition, the diocese said its review identified other instances where the priest used and…

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The Archdiocese of New York has announced staff cuts and a major revamp of its pastoral offices, as it sheds its longtime headquarters building and wrestles in court with its insurer to cover abuse claim payouts.

In a Nov. 8 letter, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York told the faithful that the archdiocese had begun “a restructuring of its pastoral offices,” following a monthslong “examination of these pastoral ministries and offices” initiated by the cardinal and directed by the archdiocesan vicar general.

“As a result of this study and consultation, several offices and responsibilities are being merged, and a number of programs and ministries returned to a more local and parish-based focus,” said Cardinal Dolan in the letter.

He said that “many of the pastoral office programs will now operate on more of a parish or local level,” an arrangement that “responds to a long-standing preference expressed by our…

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Paedophile Christian Brother handed fresh 10-year sentence

A victim of former Christian Brother Paul Dunleavy has described his abuser as “evil” after he was handed a ten-year jail term for sexually abusing children.

The 89-year-old was found guilty in September of 36 charges of historical sexual abuse against nine boys.

The charges included indecent assault and gross indecency with or towards a child.

The sexual offences took place between 1964 and 1991 while Dunleavy worked at four schools in Belfast, Newry and Armagh with the victims aged between seven and 14 at the time.

• Paul Dunleavy victim says abuse ‘destroyed my life’Opens in new window
• Paul Dunleavy: Former Christian Brother guilty of historic sex offences against school boysOpens in new window

Before Thursday’s hearting Dunleavy was already behind bars after he was previously convicted on two separate occasions of sexual offences against children.

…

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Retired priest charged in August with rape will plead not guilty if case goes to trial: lawyer

Warning: This story deals with allegations of sexual assault and discussion of suicide.

Shelley Trubiak says she suffered in silence for 52 years — but two years ago decided she couldn’t do that anymore, after she started having flashbacks of the abuse by a priest she says she suffered while growing up in her small western Manitoba community.

Trubiak, who is now 66, went to the RCMP in 2022, triggering a two-year investigation that led to the issue of an arrest warrant in August for Constantin Turcoane, who was 81 at the time.

The retired priest was charged with rape and sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 14, after Trubiak alleged he sexually assaulted her in the early 1970s, when she was 12 years old and a parishioner at his church in…

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Woman accusing former rural Manitoba priest of repeated sex assaults when she was a child confronted him more than a half-century later

More than 50 years after she says she was sexually assaulted by a church leader in rural Manitoba, Shelley Trubiak filed a report with the RCMP and then confronted the man, who was later charged.

The angry encounter took place at a furniture store in Regina, where former priest Constantin Turcoane made his living after leaving the church, she said.

“I was scared nothing was going to be done about the report I filed, and so I confronted him about what he did to me,” Trubiak, 66, said Thursday, recalling the summer day in 2022 when she walked into Turcoane’s business.

“That took a lot of weight off of me. I told him, ‘I hope you burn in hell.’”

Trubiak, who had filed a formal complaint with police…

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A former school chaplain and rector has pleaded guilty to making indecent images of a child.

Samuel Erlandson, 36, from Ruabon, Wrexham, admitted two charges at Mold magistrates’ court on 23 November.

He has since been dismissed as chaplain of St David’s College – a boarding school in Llandudno, Conwy county. It is understood the charges do not involve pupils at the school.

Erlandson is due to appear at Llandudno Magistrates’ Court for sentencing on 30 December.

Erlandson had also been rector of St Hilary’s Church Llanrhos and St Paul’s in Llandudno.

St. David’s College said it was “deeply shocked and distressed by the news”

“When we were told about his arrest we immediately took steps to ensure he had no further engagement with the school community, and as soon as we heard he had pleaded guilty we dismissed him from his role.”

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Clerics named in the review subject to safeguarding reviews

A FORMER Bishop of Durham, the Rt Revd Paul Butler, is among the clergy who have been asked to “step back” from ministry while safeguarding reviews prompted by the Makin review are conducted, it was confirmed this week.

The Makin review concluded that John Smyth’s abuse became an “open secret amongst a whole variety of people connected with the Conservative Evangelical network” (News, 7 November). The individuals named in the report, running into dozens, range from those who actively covered up the abuse in the 1980s to those who learned of it in the past decade, after survivors made disclosures to the diocese of Ely.

On Sunday, the Bishop of Newcastle, Dr Helen Ann Hartley, wrote on social media: “It’s clear from the 100s of emails I continue to receive that there’s a crisis of trust in the episcopate (not surprising, and not…

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In a letter published November 25, Cardinal Victor Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, announced the creation of a working group aimed at defining “spiritual abuse” as a crime to combat “false mysticism.”

The Vatican aims to strengthen its tools against spiritual abuse. Through a letter dated November 22 and released three days later, Cardinal Victor Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, announced the establishment of a working group to define “spiritual abuse” and codify it as a crime in canon law.

Currently, abuses of conscience and trust are treated as aggravating circumstances in other canonical offenses. However, the prefect of the dicastery seeks to “codify” spiritual abuse as a distinct crime. “False mysticism appears in the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s regulations in a very specific context: that of issues related to spirituality and alleged supernatural phenomena,”…

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A priest found guilty of sexually abusing minors has been sentenced to a lifetime ban from ministry by a church tribunal established by the Catholic Church in response to sexual abuse scandals, according to a statement published November 28.

A church tribunal established to address sexual abuse scandals has sentenced a priest from Tours, France, who led a renowned youth choir, to a lifetime ban from ministry due to sexually abusing multiple children.

“Father Bernard Tartu, a priest of the Archdiocese of Tours, has been found guilty of sexual abuse of minors by the National Canonical Penal Tribunal (TPCN),” the archdiocese said in a press release published November 28, confirming information initially reported by the French newspaper, Le Parisien.

The statement read that the 80-year-old priest has been sentenced to a “perpetual ban on the public celebration of any liturgical act or sacrament,” except the right to celebrate Mass privately.

He…

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Three former residents of the Bronx have filed a lawsuit against Fordham University and the Archdiocese of New York that accuses both institutions of negligence in a priest’s sexual abuse of children on Fordham’s Rose Hill campus in the mid-to-late 1970s. 

The lawsuit, filed by Stinar Gould Grieco & Hensley, PLLC, and Laffey Bucci D’Andrea Reich & Ryan, LLP., represents three anonymous plaintiffs identified only as John Doe 1, John Doe 2 and Jane Doe 1. The suit alleges that plaintiffs experienced multiple instances of sexual abuse on campus by Father John Joseph McCarthy, who worked at Fordham from 1956 to 1992.

According to the lawsuit, McCarthy would invite neighborhood children from the Bronx to play handball and other games on campus. “After the children were done partaking in these activities, Father McCarthy would take them to get ice cream and candy elsewhere on campus, including in his on-campus residence,”…

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St. Francis Xavier Catholic School System also fires Superintendent for ‘failing to meet reporting requirements’

The principal of a Catholic high school in Appleton was fired this month for violating a Diocese of Green Bay policy related to preventing sexual abuse of minors or at-risk individuals.

Mike Mauthe, longtime principal of the Xavier High School, was fired effective Nov. 14 after he was placed on administrative leave by the St. Francis Xavier Catholic School System.

Mauthe was placed on leave after a complaint against him was filed with the Diocese of Green Bay’s Office of Safe Environment, which later determined that he violated the diocese’s “Our Promise to Protect” policy, according to a letter sent to parents Friday and obtained by WLUK-TV.

The policy is the diocese’s pledge to create an environment that protects minors and at-risk individuals from harm by complying with laws around…

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The federally appointed group will help decide the outcome of a request by the state’s largest religious denomination for Chapter 11 financial protection after an onslaught of priest misconduct lawsuits.

A federal trustee has appointed five abuse claimants to an official committee representing creditors in the Vermont Roman Catholic Diocese’s effort to reorganize its depleting finances in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

The claimants — VTDigger doesn’t typically identify alleged victims of abuse without their consent — are part of a pool of more than 30 people whose unresolved priest misconduct lawsuits against the state’s largest religious denomination sparked the church to seek Chapter 11 protection this fall.

Under federal law, the diocese will present the court with a tally of its financial assets and liabilities as part of its bankruptcy petition. Judge Heather Cooper, based in Burlington, will then decide if church leaders can develop a reorganization plan that would require approval…

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Trump’s pick to become the next health secretary made the baseless comments in resurfaced footage

Vaccine skeptic Robert F Kennedy Jr compared medical institutions like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to a “Nazi death camp” in resurfaced footage from autism conferences for parents.

Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services also compared vaccinating children to “sex abuse in the Catholic church” during remarks at the events.

The comments resurfaced in footage, first reported by NBC News, of RFK Jr speaking at a series of conferences put on by the group AutismOne, which has adopted the slogan “Make our Children Healthy Again.”

At one of the conferences in 2013, RFK Jr was asked by a member of the audience: “Why hasn’t the CDC acknowledged autism?”

RFK Jr said it was not for him to say “why someone else is…

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Paul Dunleavy, 89, is already serving time in prison having been previously convicted on two separate occasions of sexual offences against children.

A former teacher and school principal convicted of historical child sex abuse has been handed a further 10 years in prison.

Former Christian Brother Paul Dunleavy, 89, with an address in Glen Road, Belfast, was found guilty in September of 36 charges of historical sexual abuse against nine boys.

The charges included indecent assault and gross indecency with or towards a child.

The offences were committed between 1964 and 1991 while Dunleavy worked at four schools in Belfast, Newry and Armagh.

The victims were aged between seven and 14 at the time.

Dunleavy briefly bowed his head in the dock of Belfast Crown Court as sentence was passed on Thursday afternoon.

He is already serving a prison sentence having been convicted previously on two separate occasions of sexual offences against children in his…

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A Christian Brother and former school principal is expected to die in prison after being sentenced to a further 10 years in jail for historical child sex abuse.

Paul Dunleavy, with an address at Glen Road in Belfast, was found guilty of 36 charges against former pupils in September.

The offences were committed on dates between 1964 and 1991 while the 89-year-old worked at four schools in Belfast, Newry and Armagh.

He is already serving a prison sentence having been previously convicted on two separate occasions of sexual offences against children in his care.

He will begin serving his latest sentence in May 2026 when his current sentence ends.

In total, he has been convicted of 72 counts involving 18 victims across three trials.

Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Det Ch Supt Fisher said that “there is no doubt that Dunleavy’s victims were let down by those who should have…

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Three Mandan Catholic school officials who were charged in criminal cases that were later dismissed assert in recently filed documents that potential damage to their professional reputations — and the school — is sufficient grounds for a judge to order case records sealed from public view.

Those assertions were made in affidavits filed by Christine and David Fleischacker and Thomas Hoopes. All three were charged with failing to act as mandatory reporters in connection with alleged sexual assaults made by a male student against female students at the School of the Holy Family during a period beginning in 2020 and ending in

2023. During that period, David Fleischacker was the school’s principal, Hoppes served as assistant principal and Christine Fleischacker was the school’s director of science, according to an affidavit. Charges against them ultimately were dismissed in favor of them attending training on reporting abuse to the proper authorities, which…

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The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Dicastery for Legislative Texts are setting up a working group to study how “spiritual abuse” can be defined and punished in church law, a note from the doctrinal office said.

With the approval of Pope Francis Nov. 22, the note said, Archbishop Filippo Iannone, prefect of the office dealing with church law, will set up the working group with members nominated by his office and the office of Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the doctrinal dicastery.

The doctrinal dicastery’s norms for discerning and making judgments about alleged supernatural phenomena, which were published in May, included a line saying, “The use of purported supernatural experiences or recognized mystical elements as a means of or a pretext for exerting control over people or carrying out abuses is to be considered of particular moral gravity.”

The new note, published on the doctrinal office’s website in…

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A survivor of alleged child sex abuse said she is thankful her case is moving forward following a recent court ruling that will allow 17 cases filed against the Diocese of Buffalo to proceed.

The 17 “test cases” are among hundreds that were filed in state court as a result of the Child Victims Act. The Diocese asked its federal bankruptcy court judge to keep those cases on hold for further mediation. But Judge Bucki wrote in his 16-page decision “(T)he parties have had ample opportunity to work for a resolution. With each passing day, the lack of settlement suggests the need to try a different approach. Litigated disputes are often settled on the courthouse steps. By pushing litigants closer to a trial of tort claims, we hope that the parties may better appreciate their risks and the benefits of a consensual plan.”

“This has happened in the Catholic Diocese…

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a dark view of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2019, he called the federal agency’s vaccine division a fascist enterprise and accused it of knowingly hurting children. He also compared what he saw as a widespread conspiracy to hide harms from the child vaccination program to the cover-up of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. 

“The word ‘fascism’ in Italian means a bundle of sticks, and what it means is the bundle is more important than the sticks,” Kennedy said in previously unreported remarks in 2019 to a private audience at AutismOne, a conference for parents of autistic children. “The institution, CDC and the vaccine program, is more important than the children that it’s supposed to protect.

“It’s the same reason we had a pedophile scandal in the Catholic Church,” he continued. “Because people were able to convince themselves that the…

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The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has commissioned a study group to consider how “spiritual abuse” could be classified as a distinct and particular crime under canon law.

While spiritual abuse and the deployment of “false mysticism” is already recognized by the Church as a potential aggravating factor in other penal matters, it is not specifically listed as a crime which can be prosecuted in its own right in the Code of Canon Law.

Evidence from many cases suggests that a period of spiritual abuse can precede other forms of abuse, but often it can be seen as subjective or inconclusive when reported.

So could a delict of “spiritual abuse” actually make it into law — and if it does, how easy would it be to prosecute?

In a Nov. 22 audience with Pope Francis, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith Cardinal Víctor…

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Facing a swath of scandals involving founders and other charismatic individuals who have committed abuse under the guise of false spiritual and mystical experiences, the Vatican is establishing a study group to more clearly define the crime in church law.

A communique signed Nov. 22 by Cardinal Argentinian Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), and approved by Pope Francis, addressed a longstanding dispute among canonists on the concept of “false mysticism.”

Traditionally, “false mysticism” has been considered a crime against the faith, under the competency of the DDF, but without a clearly defined legal standard.

Article 10 of the 1995 edition of the DDF’s Regulation, signed by then-prefect Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, states that the disciplinary section within the DDF “deals with crimes against the faith, as well as the most serious crimes, in the judgement…

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Bond reduction denied for ex-Central Texas Catholic priest indicted in sexual assault cases

A former Central Texas Catholic priest indicted in several sexual assault cases was denied a reduction of his $5.5 million bond on the same day the court learned he shares a child with one of his accusers.

Father Anthony Odiong was indicted in September on three counts of sexual assault in two separate indictments alleging he sexually assaulted two women.

In addition to the revelation of the child Odiong shares with one of the victims, the court also learned a lot more details about Odiong from detective Bradley DeLang, who uncovered more than 700,000 emails of conversations between Odiong and parishioners. The detective also obtained text messages, lab results and much more evidence.

DeLang said nine victims have come forward.

He alleges Odiong has a child with one of the victims in the United…

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New DNA evidence presented in court Tuesday revealed that former Waco Catholic priest Anthony Odiong is the biological father of a child conceived through an alleged sexual assault, according to the Waco Police Department.

The findings, described “with a certainty of [more than] 99.99%” by laboratory analysis, were presented at Odiong’s bond hearing in Waco where prosecutors also revealed that the child was born within the past year.

Odiong, 55, faces three McLennan County grand jury indictments for sex assault – one first-degree charge and two second-degree charges – and one pending potential indictment of possession of child porn, according to Waco PD. The Guardian, which has been following this case since February, said he faces a total of five charges of sex assault in the first degree and two more in the second degree in connection to three separate women.

Lead investigator…

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Revelation emerges at hearing for Anthony Odiong, 55, charged with several counts and held in Texas on $5.5m bail

A Roman Catholic priest with links to Texas and Louisiana who is facing criminal charges for allegedly abusing his position of authority within the church to pursue sex with vulnerable women fathered at least two children with victims of his behavior, authorities have alleged.

The stunning information about Anthony Odiong surfaced at a bail hearing on Tuesday in Waco, Texas, where prosecutors have charged him with several counts of sexually assaulting women to whom he ministered.

Odiong requested a reduction of the $5.5m bail on which he is being held in custody. But a judge denied that request after prosecutors established Odiong had communicated plans to flee to his native Nigeria if he were released – while simultaneously airing the most complete account yet about the alleged double life he had built.

Authorities are…

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The superintendent of a Wisconsin Catholic school system has been fired along with a high school principal after officials there reportedly found violations of diocesan safe environment protocols meant to protect children from sexual abuse. 

Kate Heim, the interim president of St. Francis Xavier Catholic School System in Appleton, Wisconsin, said in a letter to parents last week that Xavier High School Principal Mike Mauthe and St. Francis Xavier Catholic School System superintendent John Ravizza were both let go by the school system after an investigation by the diocese. 

In the letter, obtained by Fox affiliate WLUK-TV, Heim told parents that the Diocese of Green Bay Office of Safe Environment had received “a complaint” that initially led to Mauthe’s being put on administrative leave. 

After an investigation, Mauthe was found to have violated the diocese’s “Our Promise to Protect” safe environment policy. Mauthe was…

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After first threatening to excommunicate two Peruvian laypeople for filing criminal charges against a papal investigator, Pope Francis apparently met with the pair over the weekend and annulled their excommunication decree, though it remains unclear under what circumstances.

In a video published on social media Saturday, the pair, Giuliana Caccia and Sebastian Blanco, said “the Holy Father Francis received us in a private audience.”

“He gave us the opportunity to inform him of how the facts really were that brought us to this possible excommunication,” they said.

“With much joy, the Holy Father signed in his own handwriting a document in which this excommunication was annulled, revoked,” they said, adding the pope gave them a blessing and “encouraged us to keep going forward.”

Caccia and Blanco, who have actively discussed their case on social media despite an earlier request from the pope to refrain from public comment, said they would…

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Officials with the Diocese of Springfield announced Tuesday that a deceased priest has been added to a list of credibly accused clergy named in sexual abuse of minors, while two others also had additional incidents added to their files.

While two of the three spent time in Berkshire County churches, none of the reports alleged abuse during their local tenure. 

The late Rev. Ronald Lussier was added to the list based on findings by a diocesan Review Board, the diocese said in a statement. The board also noted an additional credibility finding of abuse against the late Rev. John Koonz and three more findings against the late Franciscan Rev. Placid Kaczorek.

Koonz, who served in parishes in Dalton, Stockbridge, and West Stockbridge, and Kaczorek already had been published on the diocese’s list of credibly accused.

Lussier was ordained in 1952 and died in 2002, the diocese said in a statement.

…

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Parliamentary inquiry warns it may run out of time to work through backlog of cases due to significant hold ups and surge in applications

Abuse survivors are at serious risk of being denied justice from the church and other institutions because of extraordinary delays with the national redress scheme, a parliamentary inquiry has warned.

The delays to processing claims for redress are so significant that the inquiry has recommended the federal, state and territory governments agree to extend the life of the scheme, or risk “running out of time” to work through the backlog of cases.

The national redress scheme has been operating since 2018, one year after the royal commission’s damning final report, offering capped compensation and apologies to survivors of abuse in churches, orphanages, children’s homes, schools, sports clubs and other institutions.

But survivors’ groups and advocates have for years warned delays with the scheme were causing…

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When a bishop moves a Catholic priest often, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the priest is a predator. However, there seem to be few bishops who keep a predator priest in the same assignment for an extended period of time. And when a predator priest is transferred to a new assignment, he often ends up in a position with roughly the same or even greater access to kids. There’s plenty of evidence of these patterns – especially movements across diocesan and even national boundaries – when one looks at child molesting San Diego clerics.

International Movement of Priests

First, take a look at some of the countries from which several San Diego predator priests have come or are later transferred, especially AFTER a report of child sexual abuse is made against them.

• Ireland: Fr. Patrick J. Kearney, Fr. James Creaton, Fr. Thomas Moloney, Fr. Michael K. Higgins, Fr. Michael O’Connor, Fr. Patrick J. O’Keeffe, Fr. Malachy M. McGinn, Fr….

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A man who previously volunteered as a coach at a Christian private school in Addis is now facing domestic battery charges in addition to prior accusations of indecent behavior.

He was previously arrested in June for allegedly having an inappropriate relationship with a student.

Records show Dennis Clinton Kennamer Jr., 39, of Brusly, was charged with domestic abuse with strangulation.

He was arrested by the Brusly Police Department in June on the charges of one count of computer aided solicitation of a minor, two counts of indecent behavior with juveniles, one count of molestation of a juvenile or a person with a physical or mental disability, and two counts of carnal knowledge of a juvenile.

Kennamer is accused of committing sexual acts with a 16-year-old girl between January and February 2024.

Arrest records state he used email to communicate with the teen.

The assistant chief of Brusly Police Department told…

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Rep. Ann Johnson filed legislation to eliminate the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits

Currently, in the state of Texas, survivors of child sexual abuse have 30 years from their 18th birthday to sue their perpetrators in civil court.

State Representative Ann Johnson, D-Houston, wants to eliminate that restrictive timeline and bring it in line with the criminal side, where there is no statute of limitations.

Rep. Johnson said it seemed like an easy fix, but it’s been anything but.

And she hopes H.B. 179 will at least get a hearing during the 89th legislative session that starts in January.

“This is now the third session in a row where we have offered this legislation. And I hope, for the first time, that we will get a hearing so that other Texans can hear from the victims who have suffered abuse at the hands of individuals, oftentimes that…

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Last chance for restitution!

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of California, has set a final deadline of FEBRUARY 3, 2025, for the Diocese of San Diego to receive claims from survivors of sexual abuse by clergy or others. This is your last chance for restitution. If you do not file a claim and the bankruptcy proceeds to its conclusion, you will be permanently barred from taking action against the Diocese.

You can find the forms for filing a claim at this link.

Do not let this opportunity slip away! File your claim before FEBRUARY 3, 2025.

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Nearly 30 former members of a Peru-based women’s lay group who have lodged allegations of psychological, emotional and sexual abuse have asked the pope to suppress the spiritual family they belonged to, and to help them obtain just compensation.

In the letter, the former members of the Marian Community of Reconciliation (MCR) said, “With deep respect and hope, we turn to you as a group of ex-members of the Marian Community of Reconciliation (MCR), a community born from the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae.”

“We turn to you to share our experiences and to ask for your guidance and support in the search for justice and healing,” they said.

The MCR, established in 1991, is one of four entities founded by Peruvian layman Luis Fernando Figari, including its male branch, the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV), a group of nuns called the Servants of the Plan of God (SPD), and an ecclesial movement called the Christian…

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Recently, I saw the movie, “Small Things Like These,” about Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries. There is a pivotal scene when the mother superior stuffs a Christmas card with cash and gives it to the protagonist for his wife. The unsubtle message conveyed is that it’s recompense for his silence about an abuse event he had just witnessed.

That scene came to mind when I read the diocesan response to questions raised recently by News 5 Cleveland WEWS-TV regarding Cleveland Bishop Edward Malesic’s handling of specific abuse-related cases, including in Cleveland. In my view, there is an unsettling defensive tone in the response.

Reform advocates estimate that U.S. Catholic dioceses have paid $5 billion in settlements, including a recent Los Angeles diocesan agreement to pay out $880 million. Many of the settlements are confidential, so the laity are completely in the…

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Pope Francis has asked the Vatican to study whether the Catholic Church should classify “spiritual abuse” as a new crime in order to address cases where priests use purported mystical experiences as a pretext for harming others.

A statement from the Vatican’s doctrinal office announcing the move did not name any specific cases of such abuse, but the Vatican has had to deal with several in recent years.

Cardinal Victor Fernandez, the Church’s lead doctrinal official, met with Francis to discuss the proposal for a new crime of spiritual abuse on Nov. 22, according to the statement. The pope directed Fernandez to work with another Vatican office to consider the issue, it said.

The release quoted from new Vatican norms, approved in May, on evaluating alleged supernatural events, saying it was “morally grave” to use purported spiritual experiences to exert control over others.

One high-profile case involving accusations of abuse…

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When I saw this lede on a Reuters news story this week, my sense of déjà vu was overwhelming:

A former top Vatican official who dealt with clergy sexual abuse issues joined victims on Monday in urging Pope Francis to enact a zero-tolerance law throughout the global Catholic church so any cleric found guilty of abuse would be removed from ministry.

Really?! Are we really still talking about “zero tolerance” for abuse at this late date? Maybe the Reuters report misrepresented the talk by Father Hans Zollner, who heads a program at the Gregorian University on curbing abuse. Maybe the term “zero tolerance” has simply become a shorthand expression, intended to cover all sorts of efforts to protect children.

”Zero tolerance” was the policy the US bishop endorsed during their Dallas meeting in 2002. “Zero tolerance” is the approach that Pope Francis demanded when speaking to reporters in…

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[In the podcast audio, the discussion of sexual abuse begins at minute 54.]

This week I talked with Fr. Chris Kellerman SJ about his excellent and challenging book, “All Oppression Shall Cease: A History of Slavery, Abolitionism, and the Catholic Church.” In our conversation he presents a brief history of the Church’s involvement with, and teachings about, slavery. Fr. Chris also responds to still repeated misconceptions and revisionist histories about the Church’s participation in the slave trade. Finally, we talk about how this relates to the priest abuse crisis and how confronting the evils in the Church impacts our own faith.

Listen to the episode here: https://www.catholicthirdspace.com/p/7-fr-chris-kellerman-sj-slavery-and

Also, I apologize for the audio quality of this episode, I didn’t realize I was using the wrong microphone until after the recording was over.

Fr. Chris Kellerman, SJ, is Secretary of Justice and Ecology for the Jesuit Conference…

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Francis called for a “safer and more compassionate Church” that will provide “comfort and assistance” to victims with “justice, healing, and reconciliation.”

Pope Francis insists on support for victims of sexual abuse committed within the Church, in a message published earlier this month, on November 13, 2024. The occasion for his note was a European conference promoting the fight against pedophilia, organized in Rome by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM). 

The event, which took place from November 13 to 15, brought together ecclesiastical leaders and authorities responsible for the protection of minors in dioceses and religious congregations from more than 20 European countries.

Various members of the PCPM — the Vatican structure founded in 2014 to promote the fight against sexual abuse in the Church — spoke, including to present the commission’s first annual report, published on October 29.

Effective…

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A St. Jude relic traversing the United States came to a stop this week, while the priest organizing the tour faces an Illinois police investigation over alleged inappropriate conduct involving children.

The priest, Fr. Carlos Martins, is well-known for ”The Exorcist Files,” a 2023 podcast series featuring dramatic audio portrayals of allegedly demonic encounters Martins claims to have experienced in ministry as an exorcist.

According to a statement from Queen of the Apostles parish in Joliet, Illinois, Martin was accused Thursday of an unspecified “incident” involving students which prompted Fr. Michael Lane, parish moderator, to contact the police. 

Martins “was confronted with the information,” Lane wrote, and “we informed the priest that he must depart from our parish and our diocese.”

While Lane’s statement did not provide details about the allegations, the parish priest aimed to assure parishioners that “all involved in this incident are safe.” 

“A police investigation is still…

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[Click here to see video.]

1 Wide of the press conference room

2. Close of the Ending Clergy Abuse logo projected on screen

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Denise Buchanan, Ending Clergy Abuse founding member and human rights consultant:

++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON PREVIOUS SHOT AND IS OVERLAID BY SHOT 4-6++

“We are in a pivotal moment where we can change the trajectory of the lives of children in the church and throughout society. Church can take a leadership role. Because of the lack of care and trauma I experienced in childhood, because of the clergy sex abuse I experienced, I was never able to have children. So I carry with me a photo of my one-year-old self as a constant reminder of why this work is important. No child should ever experience sexual violence, especially in the church. It is in our hands to make sure no one does.”

4. Banner…

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