ABUSE TRACKER

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Moreover, Maddens writes, the pope’s meeting…

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

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

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

“I regret what I did and…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

However after…

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

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

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

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

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

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Jose Alcides Vasquez served as a pastor and volunteer for several churches

A Southern California pastor has been arrested for sexually assaulting multiple young girls.

Jose Alcides Vasquez, 47, was arrested “without incident” on September 5 at his home in Menifee, the Ontario Police Department said in a press release. He faces eight charges, according to public records, including aggravated sexual assault of a minor, continuous sexual assault of a child under 14, and lewd and lascivious behavior with a child under 14.

He is being held in the West Valley Detention Center and will appear in court on Monday, according to public records.

Police began investigating Vasquez in August 2021, when a student in Ontario told an administrator at their high school that they were sexually assaulted.

Then, in July, an additional survivor came forward, giving police additional evidence they say links Vasquez to the assaults.

…

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The Diocese vowed to investigate the claims and said it continues to ‘pray for all those who have been injured by abuse’

Eleven plaintiffs — one of whom is a former Springfield resident — filed a federal lawsuit last week against the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau claiming they were sexually abused as children by church employees and that the diocese covered it up.

The suit, filed on Sept. 13, also names Bishop Edward M. Rice, who has led the diocese since 2016. The suit alleges Rice, in his official capacity, “knowingly enabled, covered up, and concealed for multiple decades” that church employees sexually abused minors. 

“Moreover, Defendants have covered up and concealed their own intentional misconduct in enabling this sexual abuse by exploiting the trusting and confidential relationships the Defendants (the Dioceses and Rice) encouraged and established with Plaintiffs while they were impressionable young children,” the suit alleges. “This shameless…

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Malaysian authorities have frozen almost 100 bank accounts linked to an Islamic business group being investigated for suspected child abuse, a senior police official said on Tuesday.

Authorities are investigating Global Ikhwan Services and Business (GISB) for allegedly running charity homes from which police last week rescued more than 400 children and youth. Police said many showed signs of sexual abuse and neglect.

The bank accounts held a total of more than 580,000 ringgit ($136,000) and the company is now being investigated for alleged money laundering as well as religious offences, the Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain told reporters.

“We are conducting our investigation transparently and fairly while protecting the rights of those concerned,” Razarudin said.

GISB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company had initially said it did not run the charity homes and denied all allegations of abuse, but then its chief executive said…

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Authorities froze US$124,000 from almost 100 accounts of a conglomerate linked to child abuse in care homes

Malaysian authorities have frozen close to 100 bank accounts belonging to a conglomerate accused of running care homes where hundreds of children were allegedly abused, police said on Sept. 17.

In what is believed to be the worst such case to hit Malaysia in decades, police arrested 171 suspects including religious studies teachers and caregivers and brought to safety over 400 children after storming 20 charity shelters.

At the heart of the investigation is the Global Ikhwan Service and Business (GISB) group, which has long been controversial for its links to the now-defunct Al-Arqam sect.

On Sept. 17, Malaysia’s police chief Razarudin Husain said authorities have frozen 96 accounts linked to the group containing approximately $124,000.

“We have also seized eight vehicles linked to the company,” he said.

In the immediate…

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Note: This story discusses self-harm. If at risk, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for support at 1-800-273-8255 or text the Suicide and Crisis Line at 988 to connect with help.

A case involving an aggravated sexual battery charge of a minor against long-time Columbia pastor David M. Baker, 57, has been abated due to the pastor’s death on Sept. 11.

Baker died by apparent suicide just a day after he was arrested and charged by the Maury County Sheriff’s Office on Sept. 10. An arrest affidavit obtained from Mt. Pleasant General Sessions Court shows Baker was charged with aggravated sexual battery involving a minor family member between the estimated timeframe of Dec. 9, 2013 and Dec. 9, 2015.

Mt. Pleasant General Sessions Judge J. Lee Bailey, III dismissed the case on Sept. 13 due to the death of Baker.

More:Columbia pastor dies of apparent suicide a…

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A Southern California pastor is out on a $500,000 bond after being arrested and charged with several child sex abuse offenses. Juan Barrios, 51, has been accused of abusing two underaged boys at his home in Riverside over the course of several years. 

Barrios had been serving as pastor of Iglesia De Dios Israelita in Fullerton, California, a small, Spanish-speaking congregation. 

ChurchLeaders has reached out to Iglesia De Dios Israelita for comment and will update this article in the event of a response. 

Barrios was arrested on Sept. 8 following a months-long investigation conducted by the Riverside Police Department. He was booked at the Robert Presley Detention Center and later released on bond. 

RELATED: Southern California Pastor Charged With 8 Counts Relating to Child Sex Abuse

Barrios has been accused of sexually abusing two brothers between 2009 and 2015 while the boys’ family was staying at Barrios’ home. Barrios was…

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A Michigan pastor has been arrested and fired after admitting to placing a hidden camera in a church bathroom, according to a church official, The Detroit News reported.

Will Johnson, 37, the former worship pastor director at 2|42 Community Church in Brighton, was arrested last Friday, according to The Detroit News. A church staffer discovered a hidden camera in “a non-public, unisex bathroom in the (Brighton church’s) backstage area,” 2|42 Community Church’s executive pastor of ministry operations Eric Rauch said, the outlet reported. Rauch reportedly alleged that Johnson confessed to installing the camera after being confronted by church leadership. He was immediately dismissed from his position, the executive pastor added, according to the outlet.

Johnson allegedly admitted the same to Livingston County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) detectives following his arrest, The Detroit News reported. He reportedly said he had intermittently installed the camera over the past two…

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A Michigan pastor has confessed to hiding a camera in a church bathroom for years, according to an email from church leadership.

Will Johnson, the former worship pastor director, made the confession after a staff member discovered the camera in a unisex bathroom in the backstage area at 2|42 Community Church in Brighton, Michigan. 2|42 is a non-denominational church with seven campuses across the state.

Church leadership immediately fired 37-year-old Johnson, the email said. They then contacted the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office, who arrested Johnson that same night.

Johnson, was arraigned Sunday in the 53rd District Court and charged with tampering with evidence, surveilling an unclothed person, a felony, and using a computer to commit a crime, according to court records.

Police told Livingston Daily News that Johnson admitted to placing the camera in the bathroom on and off for more…

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Thousands of pages of documents, millions of dollars in legal fees and dozens of contentious court hearings have finally brought the Archdiocese of New Orleans to the central questions of its four-year-old bankruptcy case: What compensation is due to people who were raped or molested by clergy decades ago? And how will the church come up with the money?

On Friday, in dueling legal filings, attorneys for the local Roman Catholic

church and the committee that represents nearly 550 survivors of clergy sex abuse laid out competing visions for how the nation’s second-oldest diocese should settle the claims against it.

Nearly $900 million separates the two sides. Under the archdiocese’s plan, people who have credible claims of sexual abuse by clergy would receive

$62.5 million, or roughly $114,000 each. The settlement plan proposed by court-appointed attorneys of abuse survivors called for a $994 million settlement, which would translate to…

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In October, the pontiff will preside over a penitential celebration asking forgiveness for abuse, sins against migrants and the environment and sins against women and young people.

A newly released schedule for the second and final session of the Vatican Synod on Synodality underlines the Catholic Church’s plan to promote dialogue with other Christian denominations, enhance transparency and take responsibility for past mistakes.

During a news conference Monday, organizers of the synod, centered around the theme “How to be a synodal church in mission?,” presented the next steps of the summit of bishops, which is scheduled for Oct. 3-27 at the Vatican.

The synodal process will soon open to the entire church, said the general secretary of the synod, Cardinal Mario Grech, adding that after a three-year journey, “it is reaching its climax.”

Pope Francis initiated the synod in 2021 asking all Catholic faithful to weigh in on the most important…

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The head of the French bishops’ council has admitted that several of its officials were aware of Abbé Pierre’s alleged sexual abuse of women for decades. And while “measures” had been put in place to address the priest’s behaviour, it continued until his death in 2007.

In an open letter published Le Monde on Monday, Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, the current head of the French bishops’ council, said that “at least some bishops” were aware as early as 1955 of Abbé Pierre’s “seriously bad behaviour” towards women.

Some measures had been taken, including “psychological therapy” and the appointment of an assistant, whose surveillance Abbe Pierre “did his best to [evade]”.

These were considered strong measures at the time, according to Moulins-Beaufort, who reiterated that the French church is committed to making sure the “truth is revealed on the facts of violence and sexual violence”.

Sexual assault accusations

Abbé Pierre, whose…

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Workers removed a statue of late French charity icon Abbe Pierre from its pedestal in a small village of eastern France on Tuesday, marking his dramatic fall from grace after a slew of abuse allegations spanning five decades.

“There was no debate” about removing the life-size resin statue, mayor Denis Mailler of Norges-la-Ville north of Dijon said.

He added that a vote last week on the village council had been “unanimous”.

Abbe Pierre, a Capuchin monk since 1932 and an ordained Catholic clergyman since 1938, died in 2007 aged 94.

Born Henri Groues, Abbe Pierre (whose name means Abbot Pierre) was an icon in France — a friend to the poverty stricken and the founder of the charities Emmaus and the Abbe Pierre Foundation.

But salvoes of abuse allegations have blackened his name in recent months, with women publicly reporting assaults ranging from groping to rape and “sexual contact with…

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The Houston Chronicle’s “Abuse of Faith” newspaper series about sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention likely would not have been possible without an earlier expose of the Roman Catholic Church published by the Boston Globe, that paper’s former editor said.

Martin Baron, former editor of the Boston Globe and the Washington Post, was keynote speaker for a 90th anniversary gala dinner sponsored by Religion News Service in New York City Sept. 10. He spoke in dialogue with RNS National Reporter Adelle Banks at Fordham University, a Catholic school.

The Globe’s 2002 series that unraveled decades of coverups of sexual abuse by priests in the Roman Catholic Church set the stage for investigations and reports into other systems of abuse, he said. “It has had a significant effect on holding other institutions accountable. The Southern Baptist Convention is an example of one institution. … It had an impact on other institutions like the Boy Scouts and Penn State, and it…

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Eliminating the statute of limitations in civil cases could deter institutions like universities or churches from covering up for the criminals among them.

Sometimes the political is personal.

In the case of Senator Joan Lovely, her efforts to eliminate the statute of limitations for survivors of child sexual abuse in civil cases have their roots in her own childhood trauma. She has spoken openly about being abused at age 6.

And so when her bill was up for a final vote in the Senate in July — after 10 years of effort — she wept.

“It’s usually much later in life that someone will get up the courage to face their abuse,” Lovely told the Globe editorial board. “Usually [survivors] bury this. I know I did. So there shouldn’t be any reason for anyone not to be able to…

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Father Anthony Odiong was arrested in July after the police found him with child pornography while investigating a sexual assault claim, according to the Waco Police Department.

A Catholic priest was indicted in Texas on felony sexual assault charges after several victims accused him of sexual and financial abuse, according to court documents and investigators.

The priest, Father Anthony Odiong, was indicted on Thursday by a grand jury in McLennan County, Texas, on two counts of second-degree sexual assault and one count of first-degree sexual assault.

He was arrested in July in Ave Maria, Fla., when investigators found him in possession of child pornography while looking into sexual assault claims reported to the police, according to a Facebook post from the Waco Police Department. He was not indicted on possession of child pornography, but could be in the future, Detective Bradley DeLange said.

The police had…

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A former Catholic priest who worked in Waco and West who was arrested in Florida two months ago was indicted Thursday in two alleged McLennan County sexual assaults.

A McLennan County grand jury indicted Father Anthony Odiong, 55, on three counts of second-degree felony sexual assault in two separate indictments alleging he sexually assaulted two women. If convicted, Odiong faces up to life in prison on one indictment because the victim is someone he was prohibited by statute from marrying. On the two counts in the second indictment he faces up to 20 years in prison for each count.

Odiong, who is alleged to have taken advantage of women during their weakest times, remains in the McLennan County Jail under bonds totaling $2.5 million. He also has a pending possession of child pornography charge.

At least eight women have come forward since his arrest saying he used his position as…

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A former seminary student who pleaded guilty to charges tied to child sexual abuse materials he uploaded using the IP address of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary has been sentenced to probation.

Judge Jennifer Branch sentenced 28-year-old Broderick Witt to five years probation; Prosecutors were seeking 12 years in prison.

In addition to the probation, Witt has been ordered to have no access to children, no access to internet or electronic devices and he must serve six months of his probation at River City Correctional.

Witt also now must register as a tier two sex offender.

He pleaded guilty on Aug. 9 to eight counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor; he’d initially faced 15 counts.

In court on Thursday, Witt addressed the court himself before Branch handed down his sentence, claiming his actions were fueled by depression.

“For most of my life, I felt that something was missing,” he…

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Pontiff admits the Vatican was aware of allegations that Abbé Pierre was a sexual predator

The Vatican is facing questions over its handling of sexual abuse allegations involving the French priest who founded the Emmaüs charity.

For the first time, Pope Francis has addressed the scandal that rocked France after seven women accused the late Abbé Pierre – often hailed as a modern-day saint – of sexual abuse, in a report published this summer.

During an in-flight press conference on his return from Asia, the Pope admitted that the Vatican was aware of allegations that Abbé Pierre was a sexual predator.

The pontiff called the founder of the anti-poverty charity Emmaüs “a terrible sinner”.

“What did the Vatican know about Abbé Pierre? I don’t know, because I wasn’t there at the time,” said Pope Francis, who was elected in 2013.

“What is certain is that after his death,…

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Belgium’s Roman Catholic bishops have chosen 15 victims of sexual abuse that will meet Pope Francis during the Pontif’s visit to Belgium at the end of the month. Around 80 people that had suffered sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic clergy had requested an audience with the Pope. Those that have not been selected to meet Pope Francis in person will be able to write a letter that will be passed on to him. 

In 2 weeks, Pope Francis will visit Belgium to mark the 600th anniversary of the foundation of Leuven University (KUL and UCL). Since the visit was announced they has been much discussion about a possible meeting between the Pontif and victims sexual abuse at the hands of Roman Catholic clergy. 

Earlier, it was announced that the Pope would meet (some of) the victims. It was up to the Belgian bishops to decide…

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Pope Francis will meet with 15 victims of clerical sexual abuse during his visit to Belgium at the end of the month, the Bishop’s Conference of Belgium has confirmed.

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

The visit of the head of the Catholic Church comes almost exactly a year after the explosive documentary Godvergeten (which roughly translates to ‘Godforsaken’) was aired by Flemish broadcaster VRT.

The documentary exposed years of sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests in Flanders, sending shockwaves through the community and giving a voice to victims of abuse perpetrated by religious figures within parish, school and family settings.

It shone a fresh light on historic abuses within the Belgian Catholic Church, and led to both the Federal and Flemish Parliaments establishing separate committees of…

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Five people claiming Catholic priests abused them in Mid-Missouri accused the diocese of covering up and sometimes encouraging their assaults over decades.

The five victims, identified only by their initials, sued the Jefferson City Diocese and Bishop Shawn McKnight in federal court on Thursday. The five plaintiffs and their attorney, Rebecca Randles of Randles Mata, accused the diocese of a “shameless cover-up” throughout the last 50 years and said it “hindered Plaintiffs from discovering their causes of action against the Defendants for their negligent and intentional conduct.”

A diocese spokesman declined to comment on the substance of the allegations while the lawsuit is in the courts.

“The Diocese of Jefferson City is aware of this lawsuit,” Jacob Luecke said in response to questions from ABC 17 News. “Out of respect for the judicial process, we will decline to comment at this time.”

The lawsuit details abuse by several members of…

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The state’s largest religious denomination, having already paid out more than $30 million in settlements, is the subject of at least 16 more cases alleging sexual misconduct by since-defrocked priests.

Vermont’s Roman Catholic Diocese, having spent more than $30 million to settle some 40 priest misconduct lawsuits dating as far back as 1950, faces another wave of court cases alleging more past child sexual abuse. 

The state’s largest religious denomination is the subject of at least 16 more civil actions, records show. Collectively, they could prove even more costly for the diocese, whose $12.5 million budget for the 2023 fiscal year included more than $1 million for ongoing settlements and $691,000 in legal fees, according to its most recent public financial statement.

“Management cannot reasonably estimate the amount of the liability that may result,” the statement noted about the newest cases. “However, the settlement of these additional lawsuits could have…

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Catholic church says it will open its records on the once-revered Emmaüs founder, who died in 2007

France’s Catholic church has said it will open its records on allegations of sexual abuse and harassment made against a priest whose campaigning for the poor and homeless resulted in him being venerated as a modern-day saint.

The Conference of Bishops of France (CEF) said their records on Abbé Pierre, the founder of the charity Emmaüs, who died in 2007, would be made available without the usual delay of 75 years from the time of death.

Seven women accused Abbé Pierre of sexual assault in July, and Emmaüs said since then it had received a further 17 testimonies including “very serious” accusations of sexual abuse on a number of victims, including at least one who was a child at the time of the alleged offences.

In a joint statement, the Abbé Pierre Foundation,…

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Anthony Odiong is accused of sexual assault by at least eight women whom the priest had been counseling

The criminal case that authorities are building against a Roman Catholic priest accused of preying on women whom he met while working in south-east Louisiana and Texas is progressing, with a grand jury in the latter state indicting him on three felony sexual assault charges.

Anthony Odiong, 55, faces two counts of second-degree sexual assault as well as one of first-degree sexual assault in the charges handed up against him recently in the McLennan county, Texas, state court.

The charges against Odiong – who was first arrested in July – involve two women. He could receive up to life imprisonment if convicted of the first-degree charge, a stiffer penalty that stems from the fact that the alleged victim in the case was a woman whom Odiong was prohibited from “marrying or purporting to…

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Special to The Seattle Times

The Seattle Times’ July 28 editorial, “Survivors of abuse by Catholic clergy deserve transparency, closure,” implied that the Archdiocese of Seattle does not understand the needs of victim-survivors and that it is shirking its responsibility to them. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

Since the mid-1980s, before any requirements were in place, the Archdiocese has worked with a group of independent, community-based experts on survivors and offenders to improve the response to victims and implement a comprehensive Safe Environment program to prevent sexual abuse.

Since 2002, the independent Review Board has met regularly, with the serving archbishop also in attendance. Each of the archbishops since 2002 has supported an expanded role for the board that also encompasses review of allegations of sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults by clergy, employees and volunteers. 

We know from survivors that their definition of justice and…

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The two sides are worlds apart, with the survivors asking for $2 million average per claimant, church offering $125,000

[SEE VIDEO]

NEW ORLEANS — With a self-imposed deadline looming to file a plan to reorganize New Orleans’ bankrupt Roman Catholic archdiocese, a committee representing about 500 survivors of clergy sexual abuse on Friday proposed that the church, its affiliated parishes, ministries, schools and their insurers should pay more than $1 billion to settle their claims.

The archdiocese quickly answered with its counterproposal: $62.5 million, or more than $900 million less.

Looking at it another way, the survivors are seeking $2 million per claim – the church is offering $125,000 on average.   

The vast majority of the money in the abuse claimants’ proposal – roughly $800 million – would come from insurance companies. Meanwhile, the archdiocese should pay $84 million and its affiliates – known as apostolates – should chip in $133 million,…

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To the Clergy, Religious, and Laity of the Archdiocese of New Orleans:

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Survivors of abuse remain in our concern and prayers daily. As I shared with you when we filed for Chapter 11 Reorganization, our main priorities are to assist the abuse survivors on a path towards healing that includes fair and equitable compensation for them while creating a more financially sustainable archdiocesan ministry for the future. Our focus is to reach a settlement agreement that accomplishes this goal.

Today, we reached a milestone in this process. It is with great hope that I share with you that we have filed the CHAPTER 11 PLAN OF REORGANIZATION FOR THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW ORLEANS, DATED AS OF SEPTEMBER 13, 2024. While there is still much work to do, this will allow us to move forward and begin to bring conclusion to these proceedings. I…

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More than four years after filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid a growing number of childhood sex abuse claims against local priests and other clergy, the Archdiocese of New Orleans filed a reorganization plan Friday that seeks to compensate abuse survivors for their decades of suffering while keeping the nation’s second-oldest diocese financially afloat.

The plan came just hours after abuse survivors submitted their own proposal, one requesting monetary compensation far greater than the amount offered by the church, highlighting the gulf that has persisted between the two sides since the case was filed in May 2020.

The church’s plan would create a $62.5 million trust for survivors, with $50 million coming from the archdiocese and $12.5 million coming from its parishes and charitable organizations, which are not technically in bankruptcy themselves.

The trust would get additional money from the sale of church-owned properties, though there is no estimate in the…

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EDMOND, Okla. (AP) — Edward J. Slattery, a retired Catholic bishop who apologized for reinstating a priest who later admitted to sexually abusing an Oklahoma boy, has died, the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma said Saturday. He was 84.

Slattery died at his home in the Tulsa area late Friday following “a series of debilitating strokes,” Vicar General Fr. Gary Kastl said in a statement from the diocese.

In 2002, amid a Catholic Church sex abuse scandal involving clergy, Slattery apologized for reinstating the Rev. Kenneth Lewis in 1995 following allegations against him. Slattery said at the time that when allegations emerged in 1994, Lewis was initially removed from the ministry but was reinstated after receiving psychiatric treatment.

“I have made mistakes along the way, and I feel terrible about it, but I do not feel guilty about it,” Slattery told the Tulsa World. “The mistakes are probably part of…

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Emmaus International, Emmaus France, and the Abbé Pierre Foundation reveal other serious offences committed by Abbé Pierre and announce several measures related to Abbé Pierre’s role within their organisations.

Last 17 July, our three organisations (Emmaus International, Emmaus France, and the Abbé Pierre Foundation) publicly shared the stories of several women who reported actions by Abbé Pierre, occurring between the 1970s and 2005, that fall into the categories of sexual harassment or sexual assault. These revelations gave rise to tremendous outrage within our organisations. Employees, volontariat workers, and volunteers from some of our member organisations were affected by Abbé Pierre’s behaviour, as were some young women outside of Emmaus.

Following these revelations, the Emmaus movement set up a support structure managed by the group Egaé. This structure received many personal accounts of inappropriate behaviour by Abbé Pierre. Seventeen of them are presented in a summary drawn up by Egaé, and concern sexual violence committed by…

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Abbé Pierre campaigned for decades against homelessness and poverty. Revelations about his treatment of women have destroyed his image as a symbol of virtue in France.

Abbé Pierre, a Roman Catholic priest who crusaded against homelessness in France, is such a celebrated figure in the country that television viewers once voted him the third-greatest French person of all time. Streets, schools and public parks are named for him. He was seen as a steady moral compass for the nation, even after he died at age 94 in 2007.

But over the past two months a much darker image has emerged: that of an accused sexual predator.

Years after his death, Abbé Pierre is facing a sudden profusion of sexual harassment and assault accusations — a stunning fall from grace that has prompted soul-searching at the social justice movement he started; raised uncomfortable questions about who knew about his…

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A McLennan County grand jury indicted a former Catholic priest this week on multiple charges.

Anthony Odiong faces three counts of second-degree felony sexual assault. He was arrested in Florida back in July and transferred to the McLennan County Jail last month.

He served as a Catholic priest at St. Peters Catholic Student Center in Waco, and St. Mary’s of the Assumption in West from 2007 to 2012.

Following his arrest this summer, Waco Police encouraged any survivors of Odiong to come forward.

25 News reported on Odiong’s arrest in July. You can see more on the case by clicking here.

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A Philippine televangelist, who calls himself the “anointed son of God” and once claimed to have stopped an earthquake, pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of abuse of minors and human trafficking in a court arraignment that’s the latest mark of his reversal of fortune.

Apollo Carreon Quiboloy and four of his co-accused were brought under heavy security to the regional trial court in Pasig city in metropolitan Manila for the human trafficking charges and was later arraigned by video from police detention by another court handling a separate non-bailable case of child abuse.

Lawyer Israelito Torreon told reporters his client Quiboloy entered not guilty pleas before the two courts because he’s innocent of the charges. Quiboloy, 74, also asked the court to allow him to be detained in a hospital due to unspecified illnesses but no immediate decision was made.

Quiboloy, the preacher and founder of the Kingdom of…

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Pope Francis will meet with fifteen victims of clerical sexual abuse in Belgium during his planned visit to the country at the end of the month, the Belgian Bishops’ conference said Friday.

Francis has made combating sexual assault in the church one of the main missions of his papacy, and insisted on a “zero tolerance” policy in the wake of multiple wide-reaching scandals.

In March, the bishops’ conference revealed the pontiff had defrocked a disgraced Belgian bishop, Roger Vangheluwe, 87, who 14 years ago had admitted to years of child abuse.

Vangheluwe was not prosecuted due to statute of limitations, but thousands of victims came forward after he resigned in 2010.

The scandal resurfaced in autumn 2023 when a documentary was broadcast, denouncing the Church’s decades-long silence on sexual assaults by clergymen.

Some of the people who spoke in the documentary will meet the pope during the visit, a source…

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After recent sexual abuse revelations concerning the Abbé Pierre, one of France’s most revered public figures,  Pope Francis said the Abbé was “a man who did so much good, but he’s also a sinner”. He added:  “Abuse is in my judgment is something demonic, because every type of abuse destroys the dignity of the person.”

Pope Francis called sexual abuse “demonic” on Friday as he weighed in on the latest sex assault revelations against a legendary French priest, Abbe Pierre, who devoted his life to advocating for the homeless.

Abbé Pierre, who died in 2007, was one of France’s most beloved public figures. The founder of the international Emmaus Community for the poor, Abbé Pierre had served as part of France’s conscience since the 1950s, when he persuaded Parliament to pass a law — still on the books — forbidding landlords to evict tenants during winter.

Emmaus International this week revealed that…

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The bishops of France have decided to release archive files related to the famous priest Abbé Pierre nearly six decades ahead of schedule amid multiple claims of sexual abuse involving the late cleric. 

Famed for his resistance work in World War II and later his founding of the poverty ministry Emmaus, Pierre died in 2007. In recent months, numerous allegations have surfaced regarding alleged sexual misconduct by the priest. 

A July 17 report released by the Emmaus Movement detailed claims from several alleged victims largely consisting of Emmaus employees and volunteers as well as young women in Pierre’s social circle. Multiple new allegations were revealed this month.

Numerous groups and organizations connected to Emmaus and to Pierre have been scrambling to address the fallout from the bombshell claims. 

The French bishops, meanwhile, are making available documents related to the priest that would otherwise not…

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The two sides are worlds apart, with the survivors asking for $2 million average per claimant, church offering $125,000

With a self-imposed deadline looming to file a plan to reorganize New Orleans’ bankrupt Roman Catholic archdiocese, a committee representing about 500 survivors of clergy sexual abuse on Friday proposed that the church, its affiliated parishes, ministries, schools and their insurers should pay more than $1 billion to settle their claims.

The archdiocese quickly answered with its counterproposal: $62.5 million, or more than $900 million less.

Looking at it another way, the survivors are seeking $2 million per claim – the church is offering $125,000 on average.   

The vast majority of the money in the abuse claimants’ proposal – roughly $800 million – would come from insurance companies. Meanwhile, the archdiocese should pay $84 million and its affiliates – known as apostolates – should chip in $133 million, according to the plan filed Friday…

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A Tennessee pastor, who worked to restore pastors caught in sexual sin, took his life hours after being released from jail on an accusation he molested a child.

Tennessee authorities said David Mark Baker, Sr., took his life on Sept. 11. The day before,  the 57-year-old married pastor was arrested on an accusation he molested a child under the age of 12, Fox 17 Nashville reported.

An affidavit filed in Baker’s case accused the minister of aggravated sexual battery by touching a child’s breasts underneath her clothing between 2013—2015.  

Missy Wray, an employee of Maury County Sheriff’s Department, said the sexual abuse allegation remains under investigation, and she could not comment on specifics.

Baker served as lead pastor of Family Baptist Church in Columbia. His name has been removed from the church’s website. Social media sites, including the church’s Facebook and YouTube, and…

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San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone responded Friday to what he heard in hours of testimony this week in bankruptcy court from survivors of Catholic clergy abuse. 

More than a year into the archdiocese’s bankruptcy case, the court, for the first time, spent two days this week hearing directly from alleged victims, with Cordileone and church lawyers in the room.

Cordileone has repeatedly declined interview requests from NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit over the past few years to discuss more than 500 child sexual abuse lawsuits that recently hit the archdiocese. Cordileone, however, released a statement Friday apologizing for “the sins of some Church ministers.”

“I attended two in-court listening sessions for survivors of sexual abuse perpetrated by priests and lay people exercising ministry in the Catholic Church,” Cordileone said in the statement. “Sadly, the sexual abuse of children and young people remains horrifically rampant in society today, and hearing such…

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With a self-imposed deadline looming to file a plan to reorganize New Orleans’ bankrupt Roman Catholic archdiocese, a committee representing about 500 survivors of clergy sexual abuse in south-east Louisiana on Friday proposed that the organization, its affiliated churches, ministries, schools and their insurers should pay more than $1bn to settle their claims.

The archdiocese quickly answered with its counter-proposal: $62.5m, or more than $900m less.

Looking at it another way, the survivors are seeking $2m per claim – the church is offering $125,000 on average.

Archdiocese’s proposal comes as survivors of sexual abuse by clergy request ‘very reasonable’ $1bn to settle claims

The vast majority of the money in the abuse claimants’ proposal – roughly $800m – should come from insurance companies, according to the plan filed on Friday in US bankruptcy court by a negotiating committee representing the abuse creditors. Meanwhile, the archdiocese should pay $84m and…

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Sunday, 15 September 2024, 12:12 am
Press Release: SNAP

Catholic Church leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand have refused to fully disclose an independent report on how they have handled abuse complaints.

Survivors of abuse by Catholic priests say the Church’s refusal to release the independent GCPS assessment report into its complaints process is another coverup.

Earlier this year, at the request of survivors of child sexual assault by Catholic priests in New Zealand, senior clerics of the New Zealand Catholic Church, Bishop Stephen Lowe and Rev. Thomas Rouse, committed to having the Church’s complaints process and compliance with policy independently assessed.

In late July this year, the GCPS assessment report called Te Aromatawai mo nga Paerewa Tiaki Tikanga, An Assessment of the Implementation of the Safeguarding Culture Standards of the Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand, was given to the church group Te Rōpū Tautoko which coordinated the New Zealand Catholic Church’s…

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KING 5 reveals the Renton Police Department has reopened a three-year-old criminal case into allegations of sexual abuse by a former pastor at a Renton-based church.

RENTON, Wash. — The KING 5 Investigators have found that in a report released last year, 37 people told Highlands Community Church investigators that they either experienced or witnessed the pastor grooming, manipulating, or sexually abusing boys and young men for two decades. The former youth pastor from the church in Renton denies engaging in any illegal activity. 

Church records show, the pastor has been fired, but to date – no one’s been held criminally accountable.

“It was just normalized because it was talked about. In many places this is happening in the dark but it was just hiding in plain sight,” said another former Highlands Church Pastor Alex Johnson, who was one of the first on record to demand accountability.

Four years ago, he…

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JACKSON COUNTY, MI – A former Jackson Lumen Christi High School priest convicted on multiple sexual assault charges died in prison this week while serving his sentence.

James Francis Rapp, 84, died of heart failure Friday, Sept. 6, at the Michigan Department of Corrections’ Duane Waters Health Center outside Jackson, MDOC Public Information Officer Jenni Riehle confirmed Wednesday, Sept. 11.

Rapp was in prison serving a 20- to 40-year sentence after pleading no contest in 2016 to three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. As part of a plea agreement, 13 charges of criminal sexual conduct were dismissed.

Rapp, who was charged by the Michigan Attorney General Cold Case Sexual Assault Project investigating abuse by clergy, was accused of sexually abusing multiple children while serving as a priest, teacher, maintenance supervisor and coach during his time at Lumen Christi…

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Summary

• Quiboloy pleads not guilty to string of criminal charges
• Victim’s lawyer says truth will come out
• Police building up more cases -spokesperson

MANILA, Sept 13 (Reuters) – Philippine celebrity pastor Apollo Quiboloy, who calls himself the “Appointed Son of God”, pleaded not guilty on Friday to several criminal charges including sexually abusing a child during arraignments in two separate courts, his lawyer said.

Quiboloy, leader of the Philippine-based Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) church which says it has six million followers worldwide, arrived at the heavily guarded Pasig court in a bulletproof helmet and vest.

He told his followers to “stay strong” before police took him into the courtroom.

“He is innocent,” his lawyer, Israelito Torreon, told reporters after his client’s first arraignment. Quiboloy also pleaded not guilty to the sexual abuse charges at a Quezon city court via teleconferencing.

Quiboloy, a longtime friend of former president Rodrigo Duterte, is on…

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Sept. 6, 2024

Dear St. Josaphat Parish and School Family,

I write to you with difficult news. The Archdiocese has been notified that the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has opened an investigation into allegations they termed child exploitation and child molestation during a public penance service against Father Martin Nyberg. Father Nyberg, who has served your parish as associate pastor from July 1, 2024, strenuously denies the allegations.

In keeping with our policies, we reported the allegations to civil authorities and offered assistance to the accusers. I asked Father Nyberg to step aside from ministry until civil authorities have completed their investigations and our Independent Review Board has presented its recommendations to me. Father Nyberg agreed to cooperate fully with this process, and we will provide him with pastoral assistance as he awaits its outcome.

We appreciate your understanding that only with an impartial and thorough effort…

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Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin Denis Nulty has assured the public that “our schools today are safe places” following the publication of the Report of the Scoping Inquiry into Historical Sexual Abuse in Day and Boarding Schools Run by Religious Orders.

The Bishop said he is “appalled at the depravity of abuse outlined” in it.

“Like everyone, I have been reading through the Report of the Scoping Inquiry into Historical Sexual Abuse in Day and Boarding Schools Run by Religious Orders and I am appalled at the depravity of abuse outlined in that report.

“It is not easy reading. Behind every sentence, paragraph and page is someone who as a child suffered hugely in the very place where they should have felt safe. I commend the survivors and their families who showed extraordinary courage in coming forward to share their story.

“While we have become accustomed to reports in recent years, it is…

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The Diocese of Buffalo, New York, this week revealed the final list of parish closures and mergers it will undertake in order to address years of shrinking budgets and declining church attendance.

Buffalo Bishop Michael Fisher had announced in May that an estimated 34% of the diocese’s parishes would be merged in a process of “rightsizing and reshaping.”

The bishop said the mergers — part of the diocesan “Road to Renewal” program — were necessitated by a shortage of priests, declining Mass attendance, aging congregations, and financial difficulties brought on by clergy abuse lawsuits.

In a press release this week, the diocese said it would see “a total of 118 worship sites remain open” following the merger review. 

“The diocese currently has a total of 196 worship sites that include 160 parishes and 36 secondary worship sites,” the release said. “Going forward the diocese…

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THERE were at last 10 Limerick victims who made allegations of abuse against schools to the just published Scoping Inquiry into abuse of children in schools run by religious orders.

And half of that number were pupils at one Limerick school – Scoil Iosagain CBS Primary School, Sexton Street – the Limerick Post can reveal.

51 allegations relate to seven alleged abusers at the CBS primary school on Sexton Street.

The Limerick Post has learned their were 10 individuals involved in making complaints against six of the schools listed in the report.

Figures for the number of accusers in the remaining 10 schools were not available at time of going to press.

Of the 2,395 allegations of historic child rape and sexual abuse in religious-run schools nationwide revealed in the shocking Scoping Inquiry report, 158 allegations were revealed relating to 47 abusers in 16 Limerick schools.

Gardaí have been briefed…

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Amid accusations of sexual abuse against late priest Abbé Pierre, France’s Catholic church has decided to open its archives on the once venerated figure decades earlier than planned.

The Conference of Bishops of France (CEF) announced on Thursday that it would make its archives on Abbé Pierre public without waiting the usual 75 years after his death.

The priest, who died in 2007, stands accused of sexual assault by multiple women.

While the church had not been due to open its records on him until 2082, it decided to make them available sooner to investigators, journalists and researchers – in particular the independent experts commissioned by Abbé Pierre’s charity Emmaus to look into how its founder’s alleged abuse went unchallenged for more than 50 years. 

The archives consist of “a fairly thin file” with “a few letters” which show that the Central Office of Cardinals at the time “took note of the behaviour” of the…

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A man who while studying to be a priest had videos of children being “kidnapped, handcuffed and raped” was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to spend six months in a lockdown sex offender treatment program.

Broderick Witt, 29, was led out of the courtroom Thursday by a sheriff’s deputy after Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Jennifer Branch imposed the sentence.

Branch listed numerous conditions Witt will have to follow once he completes the six months at River City Correctional Center. Among them: He has to continue undergoing sex offender treatment, he must wear a device that monitors his location, and he is prohibited from possessing or living in a home with any device that can access the internet.

Also during his probation term, he has to stay away from all children in his family.

Branch told Witt that if he violates any of the terms,…

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The Diocese of Rockville Centre and hundreds of survivors of clergy sex abuse are close to reaching a settlement, nearly four years after the church declared bankruptcy, sparking a lengthy court battle, officials said Wednesday.

Neither side disclosed details of the potential deal during a hearing Wednesday in federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan but both said the only obstacle to an agreement is receiving a final offer from one insurance company.

James Stang, the main lawyer representing the survivors, said he was elated that a deal was close to completion.

“I cannot overstate how extraordinary it is” that the diocese and survivors “have reached agreement on the financial terms,” he said. “I’m just flabbergasted that I can say that, and extremely pleased.”

Corrine Ball, the lead attorney for the diocese, said that “after nearly four years … we have the cornerstone of a resolution of this case and providing relief…

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Amid ongoing revelations of sexual abuse, often involving prominent clergy members, the Catholic Church must intensify its pursuit of truth, as the temptation to maintain secrecy remains strong within the institution.

“A bad conscience is easier to cope with than a bad reputation,” wrote Friedrich Nietzsche. The statement is terribly true.

So much so that every human being and every human institution prefers to save face at the expense of truth rather than tarnish its reputation. If we all walked around with our sins stamped on our foreheads, if families revealed their secrets in full light, or if businesses advertised their legal violations on billboards, life would be unbearable and absurd.

It’s appropriate that our errors, betrayals, and failures aren’t exposed without cause. And it’s only when someone else accuses us of wrongdoing that our reputation can rightfully be damaged. If we are indeed guilty, justice for the victims demands…

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For immediate release: Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024

Trial against ‘Missouri’s most notorious female predator’ is off

Over victims’ protests, she’s apparently reached a plea deal with prosecutors

In July, attorney general’s office met with victims and promised them ‘no deal’

“Once again, we’re being betrayed by those who claim to care,” one young victim says

In July, a top aide to Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey reportedly promised abuse victims that an October trial against their perpetrator would happen and that no plea deal would be offered to her.

Now apparently, Bailey’s office has done an about face.

Victims of sexual, physical and emotional abuse at largely unregulated Christian boarding schools in Missouri are “outraged” that a criminal trial against the state’s most notorious Christian boarding school abuser has been cancelled because of Bailey’s move.

For years, Stephanie Householder and her recently deceased husband worked at two Christian boarding schools…

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Warning: This story contains references to sexual abuse of children

A New York Times story details the Catholic Church’s so-called geographic solution to problematic priests – hiding them on remote Pacific islands

The legacy of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy and the tactic of moving abusers to new dioceses without addressing the problem has been well-documented for decades. But the latest story is close to home – Catholic clergy or missionaries accused of sexual abuse, who were transferred to the Pacific Islands.

Some went on to abuse more victims.

New Zealander Pete McKenzie is a freelance journalist who broke the story for the New York Times, and in today’s episode of The Detail he explains a pattern of using the Pacific as a “dumping ground” for accused or even convicted abusers.

His reporting covers the cases of 34 men from New Zealand, Australia, the US and the UK. Of those,…

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Several Hoosier women on Tuesday detailed horrific cases of rape and child molestation as they asked lawmakers to take up legislation ending the statute of limitations for some sexual assault offenses.

“I deserve the right to face my perpetrators, and a jury of my peers,” Carissa Siekmann told an interim committee.

Most sex crimes have a five-year statute of limitations in Indiana. There are exceptions for newly discovered DNA evidence, a recording of the crime or a confession. Child victims have until age 31.

The limits act as deadlines for prosecutors filing criminal charges and for victims filing civil lawsuits.

Last session’s proposal nixing such limits passed the Senate unanimously, but died when it didn’t get a committee hearing in the House. That could change in the upcoming session.

Arbitrary or necessary?

For Dr. Amber Davis, the abuse began at four years old.

A family friend from church babysat her…

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Federal lawsuit filed by 18-year-old claims she was physically, mentally, and sexually abused

The lawsuit is brought under the pseudonym Jane Doe DA, who is currently 18, against Stephanie and Boyd Householder and Circle of Hope, the Springfield News-Leader reported. It also names Jeff Ables, the pastor at Berean Baptist Church in Springfield as a defendant.

The boarding school for troubled girls closed in September 2020 after former students and even the daughter of the school’s founders reported an atmosphere of abuse. Stephanie Householder’s felony trial for child abuse and neglect is currently scheduled for October 28. Boyd Householder died in June from cardiac arrest, according to KSMU.

Jane Doe DA claims in the lawsuit that she was subjected to physical, mental, and sexual abuse in 2019 and 2020, starting when she was only 13 years old. She is seeking…

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The Messianic Jewish network Tikkun Global has commissioned a third-party investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and cover-up at the International House of Prayer-Kansas City (IHOPKC), Tikkun leaders announced today.

IHOPKC has not endorsed the investigation, but a group of advocates supporting alleged victims of IHOPKC Founder Mike Bickle has.

“With many other leaders in the Body of Messiah, we have felt that only a third-party independent investigation, where the results would be made public, could bring clarity and justice,” Tikkun said in its statement. “(W)e are entering this process in the hope that when the facts are verified, much healing could come to the Body of Christ.”

Starting last October, multiple women came forward and accused Bickle of sexually abusing them, beginning when some were just teenagers. The alleged victims also accused IHOPKC of mishandling their reports of abuse. And several refused to cooperate with a third-party investigation commissioned…

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The Roman Catholic Church played an important part in East Timor’s independence struggle. But one of its heroes from that time has been accused of sexual abuse.

Banners of Pope Francis had been unfurled across Dili, the capital of East Timor, its streets scrubbed and its walls freshly painted. Hundreds of thousands of people were expected to try to catch a glimpse of the man, who arrived on Monday. But in some corners of the city, the excitement had turned into misery.

Joana Fraga Ximenes stared at rubble in the district of Bidau that had been her home and a street stall, from which she sold sundries. Earlier this year, she said, the authorities had given her three days to move because the pope was going to be driven down her street. Eventually, they sent bulldozers.

“Why do we have to hide the poverty?” Ms. Ximenes, 42, said over…

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The law, which underpins several civil suits against Sean Combs, is the only remaining tool for reviving older claims in New York.

In New York, where state laws that extended the time to file sex abuse suits have lapsed, plaintiffs have found one remaining tool: Section 10-1105 of New York City’s administrative code.

The provision, known as the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law, has provided the basis for recent lawsuits against the Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler; the luxury real estate agents Tal and Oren Alexander; New York City’s Department of Correction; and the hip-hop mogul Sean Combs, who is a defendant in four.

“This statute continues to provide an avenue of relief for survivors,” said Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer for a woman who sued Mr. Combs under the gender-motivated violence law, accusing him and two other men of gang-raping her in a New York recording…

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The Supreme Court of Maryland heard arguments on Tuesday about the constitutionality of a 2023 law that ended the state’s statute of limitations for child sexual abuse lawsuits following a report that exposed widespread wrongdoing within the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

The arguments, which lasted several hours and often veered into highly technical legalese, largely focused on the intent of the Maryland legislature when it passed a preceding law in 2017 that said people in Maryland who were sexually abused as children could bring lawsuits up until they turned 38.

Teresa Lancaster, an abuse survivor and an advocate for others, said she was optimistic after what she heard in the courtroom.

“These crimes have harmed many, many people. We deserve our day in court. We deserve justice, and I’m very, very enthusiastic from what I heard today,” Lancaster said outside the courthouse.

A ruling from the state’s highest court is expected in the…

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A foundation that supports a prominent Catholic movement in France is changing its name after revealing nearly 20 fresh abuse allegations against the famed Abbé Pierre, a formerly beloved Capuchin priest who died in 2007. 

A Sept. 6 statement released by Emmaus International, a solidarity movement with over 400 member associations that seeks to combat poverty and homelessness worldwide, detailed new allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct by Pierre, who founded the movement in 1949.

A previous July 17 report from Emmaus had detailed allegations involving at least seven victims, including one who was a minor at the time of her alleged assault. Emmaus France said it first received a report from a woman accusing Pierre of sexual assault in 2023.

The group said it commissioned consulting firm Groupe Egaé to set up a system to allow additional…

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Charities set up by France’s most famous Catholic priest, Abbé Pierre, are distancing themselves from their founder following a fresh wave of sexual assault allegations against a man once best known for his fight against homelessness and poverty. Emmaus International – which has more than 400 organisations worldwide – announced Monday that it was looking into “some kind of compensation for victims” the same day that an investigation by Radio France raised questions about how long both the foundation and the Catholic Church had been covering up half a century of sexual abuse.

The late Capuchin monk, Catholic priest and campaigner for the homeless widely known as Abbé Pierre has been the literal face of charity for many people in France. For decades, the organisations that he helped to build, including the Abbé Pierre Foundation and the Emmaus movement, have put his name and face at the forefront of their…

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The earliest known victim of Father Robert Whyte, who taught at St. Mary’s College in the 1950s, has settled a lawsuit against the Catholic order that operated the school. Now in his late-70s, the man hopes to help others by sharing his story of abuse and healing

WARNING: The following story may be upsetting to some readers as it includes disturbing accounts of childhood sexual abuse. 

Crisis Services Canada, a 24/7 hotline, is available for victims of sexual violence at 1-833-456-4566. Local support can be found through the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres web site and youth under 18 can contact Kid’s Help Phone online or at 1-800-668-6868.

SAULT STE. MARIE – Decades of shame and guilt prompted a former Sault Ste. Marie man to seek justice through the courts after coming forward as the earliest known victim of a convicted pedophile priest who once served at St. Mary’s College…

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Delegates from several countries gathered last week in Colombia for the second encounter of the Latin American and Caribbean network of culture of care and abuse prevention.

The first was in Chile in November of 2023. Although there has been progress in several parts of the world but the region’s Church still has a long road ahead.

“We could see during the meeting that the Latin American Church is aware of the needs concerning the implementation of a culture of care. From an institutional point of view, many episcopal conferences have already formed special committees or opened offices to deal with the theme,” lawyer Ilva Myriam Hoyos, who heads the Colombian abuse prevention commission, told Crux.

However, there are significant problems to be tackled in the region, with some conferences still lacking a basic institutional structure in order to deal with the current challenges, Hoyos said.

The first meeting last year…

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The Archdiocese of Santa Fe has installed a plaque near the entrance of the Pastoral Center in Albuquerque “as a solemn acknowledgment and remembrance” of all victims of clergy sexual abuse, both living and deceased, within the archdiocese.

A brief dedication ceremony for the plaque will be held Sept. 23, “and per the request of victims in the recent Chapter 11 settlement agreement, (it) will not include any religious rite or ceremony,” an archdiocesan news release said.

In December 2022, a federal bankruptcy judge approved a $121 million reorganization plan for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe in its yearslong effort to respond to clergy sexual abuse. The settlement capped four years of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings for the archdiocese.

The inscription on the plaque reads: “In remembrance of all victims of sexual abuse, living and deceased, in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The archdiocese acknowledges your pain and apologizes for…

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The Archdiocese of Chicago announced Sept. 6 that a state investigation is underway into alleged sexual abuse by a newly ordained priest.

In letters addressed to the two churches where Father Martin Nyberg served starting in June 2023, Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich said the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, or DCFS, is looking into allegations against Father Nyberg “they termed child exploitation and child molestation during a public penance service.”

The cardinal stated in the letter the accused priest “strenuously denies the allegations.”

Father Nyberg, whom the archdiocese listed as 28 years old at his ordination in May, began his priesthood as associate pastor starting July 1 at St. Josaphat Parish in Chicago. From June 2023 through May 2024, he served as deacon at St. Paul of the Cross Parish in the western suburbs.

Cardinal Cupich said he “asked Father Nyberg to step aside from his ministry…

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A Shoreline man is suing the Seattle Catholic Archdiocese for protecting a priest he says groomed and sexually abused him in the early 1980s at St. John Catholic School.

A “John Doe” filed a negligence lawsuit against the Archdiocese on Monday, alleging repeated sexual abuse at the hands of Father Edward C. Boyle, a priest at St. John who died in 1987 at the age of 62, only a few years after the alleged abuse.

The Archdiocese has acknowledged Boyle’s abuses, publishing his name on a list of priests credibly accused of sexual abuse in the Seattle area in 2016.

Doe alleges that Boyle used his 30-year position as priest to sexually abuse him from 1983 through 1984, which he says occurred at the school. The suit further alleges the Archdiocese “knew or should have known” of Boyle’s accused sexual abuses, and failed to act…

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich and its parishes, along with its insurer Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America, have filed a joint Chapter 11 plan of reorganization as the diocese seeks to emerge from bankruptcy.

The plan includes a $30 million trust fund for survivors of clergy sexual abuse. Contributions to the proposed fund would include $3 million from the diocese, and its parishes, $4.8 million from Catholic Mutual, and millions in proceeds from the sale of several school properties including the land at St. Bernard’s which sold for $6.5 million and the Xavier property for $2.5 million.

The diocese filed for bankruptcy in July 2021, citing as many as 60 sexual abuse lawsuits against it. Since then, it has received approximately 142 additional claims from abuse survivors.

The diocese says the plan is meant to enable it to emerge from bankruptcy to continue its mission while also providing…

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• Survivor of abuse at Catholic-run schools cannot understand why church complaints body does not investigate allegations of physical assault
• Complaints body says it takes seriously all complaints of sexual abuse
• Does not say why it does not investigate physical abuse claims
• Survivor advocate calls for independent system

Warning: this story contains details of physical abuse

A man who survived and witnessed sexual and physical abuse at Catholic-run schools says the way the church investigates complaints of wrongdoing needs to change.

Brendon Bowkett reported the abuse to the church’s complaints body, but it said it only looked at sexual abuse, adding that physical abuse complaints were dealt with by the religious order involved.

Bowkett was abused when he was a schoolboy in Dunedin.

“My experience was short and sharp, so to speak, in terms of the sexual assault I experienced in the playground of St Edmund’s in the 1970s by the headmaster of that…

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A Roman Catholic priest who has served numerous communities in central and eastern Newfoundland is going to trial on a charge of sexual assault.

Forty-nine-year-old Thomas Offong was charged in December of last year following an investigation by Holyrood RCMP.

They have only said the alleged incident occurred on November 23 of 2023 in Avondale, and involved a woman. There is a publication ban on her identity.

Offong has served in Avondale, Colliers, Conception Harbour and Burin, but also the Grand Falls-Windsor area.

The Crown is proceeding by summary conviction, the less serious route, instead of by indictment in the case.

The Bishop of Grand Falls, Rev. Robert Daniels, is urging people to reserve judgement until the court process is complete.

Offong has been relieved of his duties pending the outcome of the one-day trial, which is set for March of next year.

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A former teacher’s assistant at St. Joseph Catholic School in Muskogee, 19-year-old Jonathan Wiedel, pleaded guilty to 12 counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor in Indian Country.

The superseding indictment alleged that Wiedel sexually abuse four children under the age of 12 when he was employed at the Catholic school.

The crimes happened in Muskogee County within the boundaries of Muscogee (Creek) Nation Reservation.

The charges arose from an investigation by the FBI and the Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office.

Wiedel will remain in the custody of the United States Marshal Service until his sentencing.

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In a surprising turn of events, the defamation lawsuit brought against Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and its former trustee chairman by former President Adam Greenway has come to an abrupt conclusion, with Greenway receiving none of the compensation he sought.

Seminary officials announced Monday, Sept. 9, they have signed an agreement with Greenway, who now lives in Florida, even though he has made repeated claims that his former employer defamed him and owes him millions of dollars. Part of that claim arises from his assertion that his firing from the Fort Worth, Texas, seminary left him unemployable.

Since his firing, Greenway has gone from a $300,000 annual salary at Southwestern to a variety of positions where he makes less than 10% of his former salary, according to court documents.

Greenway reportedly is working as a substitute teacher in a classical magnet school in Florida. He previously was dean of the Billy…

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There’s a prevalent misconception about abuse allegations that date back decades. Most people think that older accusations can’t ever really be proven one way or another. This is an ‘easy out’ for many – a way to throw up one’s hands, walk away, and feel OK doing so. But as we suggested when we used the word ‘misconception,’ we at Horowitz Law believe strongly that this notion – ‘No one will ever know the truth about these old allegations’ – is often simply not true.

Here’s a recent example from the ‘comments’ section of a major daily newspaper that reported about a recent abuse and cover-up lawsuit: “We face a conundrum here . . . there is no way to prove these allegations. We have nothing like DNA or a rape kit to provide the ‘smoking gun.’ It’s a shame that it can neither be proven or disproven.” Time and time again, we’ve heard and seen this sentiment expressed…

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The survivors also blasted Archbishop Cordileone’s decision to file for bankruptcy in the face of more than 500 lawsuits and said sex abuse plaintiffs are dying or giving up hope as the court process drags on.

For the first time in the San Francisco Archdiocese’s year-long bankruptcy proceedings, the court heard directly from a small group of survivors who were allegedly abused as children by Catholic clergy or while in the church’s care. 

For about two hours, standing just feet away from San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, the visibly shaken speakers recounted being sexually molested or raped by Catholic priests or other employees of the church. In many cases, it was the first time they’d publicly shared their stories.

“I’m 80 years old,” one survivor said as he addressed U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali. “I’m a retired fire chief, a former high school teacher, and I’ve been silent for over…

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Apollo Carreon Quiboloy was arrested Sunday after a two-week standoff with police

A well-known pastor in the Philippines was arrested on Sunday following a weeks-long standoff, and now the FBI is hoping to extradite him to the United States where he would face the possibility of life in prison stemming from allegations of sex trafficking and child abuse.

Apollo Carreon Quiboloy was arrested Sunday in the Philippines, according to NPR, CNN and CBS News.

Quiboloy, 74, is the founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ Church and reportedly has a long relationship with former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, dating back to when Duterte was the mayor of Davao City, where Quiboloy’s church is based.

“No one is above the law,” the country’s interior secretary Benjamin Abalos wrote in a statement on Facebook, sharing Quiboloy’s mugshot.

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Philippine televangelist Apollo Quiboloy, accused of human trafficking and sex assault — including in Hawaii, was arrested this weekend in the Philippines after a two week stand-off between law enforcement and his followers.

The FBI may have considered apprehending Quiboloy in Hawaii years ago, but his arrest in Davao ended up being one of the most dramatic law enforcement dramas in the Philippines.

Thousands of Philippine police and military were met with a human blockade of Quiboloy supporters when they came to arrest him two weeks ago at the huge Kingdom of Jesus Christ compound.

Quiboloy and several aids finally surrendered early Sunday.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. gave credit to both Quiloboy and law enforcement.

“To his credit, he was still displaying a modicum of leadership to his followers,” Marcos said. “I will stress it was a very — how we say — involved police…

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He’s a famous pastor, with longstanding ties to the highest circles of power in the Philippines. But for the past two weeks, he’s also been a fugitive, and on Sunday he was arrested. Pastor Apollo Carreon Quiboloy faces numerous allegations of trafficking and child abuse. He’s also on the FBI’s Most Wanted List.

A massive police and military force was used to hunt for Quiboloy at the sprawling compound of his church, Kingdom of Jesus Christ, in an operation that began on Aug. 24. Hundreds of the pastor’s supporters formed human barricades to block search attempts. Suspecting a network of underground bunkers, authorities deployed sensing machines used after earthquakes to detect signs of activity underground.

The weeks-long standoff transfixed Filipinos, reminiscent of the way Americans viewed the Branch Davidian impasse near Waco, Texas. As in that 1993 case, Quiboloy is accused of operating a cult and using his power to…

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The Pope has addressed a crowd of 600,000 people, roughly half the population of one of the world’s most Catholic nations — East Timor.

Pope Francis  celebrated an open-air Mass for around 600,000 people in the Southeast Asian nation of East Timor on Tuesday.

The gathering took place at the Tasitolu coastal area, a place of historic significance where Indonesian forces were known to bury killed Timorese freedom fighters.

“I wish for you peace, that you keep having many children, and that your smile continues to be your children,” Francis said.

About half of the small island nation’s population attended the Mass.

The 87-year-old pontiff is on his longest overseas journey yet — a 12-day Asia-Pacific tour spanning the four nations of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.

Why is the pope’s visit to East Timor significant?

The pope arrived on Monday for the three-day visit

East Timor gained independence…

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DILI – Catholic priests matter in East Timor. They matter a lot. Though the country is a 21st century and “modern” phenomenon, having become the first sovereign state of the 21st century when it gained its independence in 2002, it is in reality a traditional society grounded in the likes of faith, nation, community and family.

According to official figures, 98 per cent of its 1.3 million population is Catholic, and clergy here are revered, which arguably has as much to do with their priestly duties as it has with their roles as leaders and heroes of the country’s independence movement and bitter struggle for freedom.

In one sign of that deference, priests are referred to locally as Amu, a term which means “lord”. Such esteem, however, can result in a darker side, an example being how the few Timorese who come forward with charges of abuse or misconduct against clergy…

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‘We want to know what happened, what he went through,’ says daughter of Marius Tungilik.

An Inuk woman is fighting to get her father’s criminal complaint to the RCMP decades after he reported being sexually abused by a French priest.

But the police have denied Tanya Tungilik’s request under the Access to Information and Privacy Act (ATIP) even though Marius Tungilik and Johannes Rivoire are both dead.

“They want me to wait 20 years,” Tanya said from her home in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut.

“They say it is a matter of privacy.”

Tanya said the RCMP also refused a request from the Public Trustee of Nunavut, which oversees her father’s estate and applied for the file separately.

Marius, who died in 2012 at the age of 55, went to the RCMP in 1993.

He accused Rivoire, who spent 30 years preaching in Nunavut as a member of the Catholic Missionary Oblates of…

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More abuse allegations have been made against Abbé Pierre, the late French Roman Catholic priest and campaigner who was long venerated as a modern-day saint.

In July, the Emmaus anti-poverty charity which Abbé Pierre founded said it had heard allegations of sexual assault and harassment from seven women and it believed them.

Emmaus has now decided to expunge Abbé Pierre from the organisation after 17 more women spoke out about having suffered abuse at his hands.

The priest, who died in 2007 aged 94, used to regularly appear in polls as one of the most popular French people of modern times because of his tireless work for the poor and homeless.

The Emmaus movement, which he founded in 1949, operates in more than 40 countries. In France, his caped and bearded figure became an emblem of Christian self-sacrifice.

Now, following a second release of witness statements gathered by Egaé, an independent…

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Under Mr Afzal’s guidance, the CSSA introduced regular audits of dioceses and religious orders as well as practical safeguarding guidance.

The chair of the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency has stepped down at the conclusion of his three-year tenure.

Nazir Afzal was appointed chair of the agency in 2021 and has played an instrumental role in developing its structure and function.

His appointment was welcomed by members of the Catholic Survivors England group who said that they were “very encouraged” by Mr Afzal’s track record with victims and survivors.

Between 1970 and 2015, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse received more than 3000 child sexual abuse charges and complaints against about 900 individuals connected with the Church.

IICSA criticised the leadership of the Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols in November 2020 over a lack of personal responsibility and compassion towards victims.

The Bishops of England and Wales commissioned an independent review…

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A Sister of St. Andrew, Josée Ngalula is the first African woman appointed to the International Theological Commission, the church’s premiere advisory body on theology and the church’s magisterium, notably the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. She is one of just five women theologians on the 28-member pontifical commission.

A professor of dogmatic theology at the Catholic University of Congo in Kinshasa, and several institutes in Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as the Al Mowafaqa Ecumenical Institute in Rabat, Morocco, the 64-year-old is considered one of Africa’s leading theologians.

She joined the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Andrew after secondary school and took her first vows in 1983 and perpetual vows in 1993. She studied philosophy at the major seminary of Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic…

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Pope Francis received a rapturous welcome from the tiny Southeast Asian nation of East Timor, one of the world’s most Catholic countries, where almost half the population turned out for an open-air Mass on Tuesday.

The 87-year-old leader’s visit marks the penultimate stop of a marathon trip through Asia and the South Pacific. Local authorities estimate that a crowd of 600,000 gathered for the pope’s Mass, the Vatican told reporters.

By early Tuesday morning, streets in the capital Dili were packed with cheering crowds, from elderly worshippers to babies in strollers, hoping to catch a glimpse of the pope.

Photos showed a sea of people carrying yellow and white umbrellas, the colors of the Vatican, as they tried to shield themselves from the sun, and at one point a man was seen hosing down the crowd with water to cool them down.

Some attendees had been waiting in the seaside…

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News release, September 6, 2024

Watchdog group pushes for Pope to help clergy sex abuse victims in East Timor

BishopAccountability.org begs Cardinal O’Malley to intervene

The group urges pontiff: ‘Say the abusers’ names’

Francis must exhort the Timorese to stop supporting the abusers, they say

“East Timor’s victims surely feel afraid and alone,” they say

A US-based watchdog group that documents the Catholic church’s abuse crisis is pressing a top church official with close ties to Pope Francis to urge the pontiff to advocate forcefully for clergy sex abuse victims when he visits East Timor beginning Monday.

In a letter emailed late Thursday night Eastern time [see full text below], the group asked Cardinal Sean O’Malley, in his capacity as president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, to “intervene on behalf of the forsaken Timorese victims.”

“Urge the Pope to be the victims’ champion,” wrote BishopAccountability.org to Cardinal O’Malley….

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The Roman Catholic Church played an important part in East Timor’s independence struggle. But one of its heroes from that time has been accused of sexual abuse.

Banners of Pope Francis had been unfurled across Dili, the capital of East Timor, its streets scrubbed and its walls freshly painted. Hundreds of thousands of people were expected to try to catch a glimpse of the man, who arrived on Monday. But in some corners of the city, the excitement had turned into misery.

Joana Fraga Ximenes stared at rubble in the district of Bidau that had been her home and a street stall, from which she sold sundries. Earlier this year, she said, the authorities had given her three days to move because the pope was going to be driven down her street. Eventually, they sent bulldozers.

“Why do we have to hide the poverty?” Ms. Ximenes, 42, said over…

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Pope Francis received a raucous welcome Monday as he arrived in East Timor to celebrate its recovery from a bloody and traumatic independence battle, even as he indirectly acknowledged an abuse scandal involving its Nobel Peace Prize-winning hero.

Timorese jammed Francis’ motorcade route into town from the airport, waving Vatican and Timorese flags and toting yellow and white umbrellas — the colors of the Holy See — to shade themselves from the scorching midday sun.

“Viva el Papa!” they shouted as he passed by. The 87-year-old Francis seemed to relish the greeting, smiling broadly from the open-backed pickup truck and waving as he passed by billboard after billboard featuring his image and words of welcome.

The overwhelmingly Catholic East Timor, one of the world’s poorest countries, had eagerly awaited Francis’ arrival, which came on the heels of the 25th anniversary of the U.N.-backed referendum that paved the way for independence…

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