ABUSE TRACKER

A final report of the Independent Commission for the Study of Sexual Abuse of Children in the Catholic Church in Portugal revealed more than 4,800 children had been victims of clergy sexual abuse in the country from 1950 to 2022.

Responding to the report, the president of the Portuguese bishops’ conference, Bishop José Ornelas Carvalho of Leiria-Fatima, apologized to the victims and thanked the Church-sponsored commission for highlighting the abuse by Catholic clergy. He also pledged that surviving perpetrators would be removed from office.

“Zero tolerance toward abuse has to be a reality throughout the Church — we will not tolerate abuses or abusers,” Bishop Ornelas said. “This is an open wound that hurts and shames us, and we ask forgiveness from all the victims — those who courageously gave testimony, silent for so many years, and those still living with pain in the depths of their hearts.”

The report was…

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Cardinal Robert McElroy announced last week that the San Diego Diocese may have to resort to a declaration of bankruptcy in 2023 to manage the cost of hundreds of new abuse claims. The Santa Rosa Diocese in California might also declare bankruptcy, according to local media reports.

At issue, McElroy said, is a mounting number of abuse claims filed under a three-year window opened by California’s governor, which began in 2020 and expired on Dec. 31, 2022. Some of the new abuse claims brought to the diocese date back 75 years, the cardinal wrote.

More than two dozen U.S. dioceses, including two in U.S. overseas territories, have entered into bankruptcy proceedings, the vast majority in the past decade. Of those dioceses, 11 are in the midst of the proceedings as of February 2023, while 15 have completed the process.

Many dioceses have  View Cache

Yet another report has been released that shows yet another country saw thousands of their children harmed and abused by priests, nuns, and other Roman Catholic staffers. Our hearts break for the families and survivors devastated by this abuse and hope that this report leads to secular reform that will better protect children.

According to a report published by a Portuguese panel funded by the country’s Catholic bishops, approximately 5000 children were abused by Catholic clergy. According to the report, many of the molestation cases involved boys, and some of the victims were as young as two years old. One victim claimed he had been living in a “black hole” throughout his testimony. Our hearts break for him and for all the children who have endured years of abuse at the hands of adults who are supposed to be God’s trusted representatives. We commend this survivor…

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A state judge on Tuesday upheld a Maine law that eliminated the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse, allowing survivors to pursue lawsuits for sex crimes that happened decades ago.

An attorney for more than a dozen plaintiffs who have brought civil lawsuits since the law went into effect praised the decision.

“Survivors have suffered a lifetime of pain that has affected their relationships at home, at work, and in the world. Now survivors are empowered to face those who allowed such heinous abuse and hold them accountable,” attorney Michael Bigos said in a statement.

The judge ruled in a motion in the first of the new civil lawsuits, but the decision is expected to be appealed.

A lawyer for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland contended that the 2021 law was unconstitutional because it made retroactive changes that violated both vested rights and due process rights.

But Justice…

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Portugal on Monday will become the latest country to issue an independent report into clerical sexual abuse, an issue that has dogged the Catholic Church for years and undermined its moral authority.

From Australia to Ireland via the United States, thousands of priests, bishops and cardinals have been caught up in abuse scandals, as well as lay members of the Church such as Catholic school teachers or youth group leaders.

United States

The moment of reckoning in the US came in 2002 when the Boston Globe newspaper published a major investigation into abuses committed by scores of Boston priests, which were covered up by their bishops. Cardinal Bernard Law was forced to resign over the revelations.

Between 1950 and 2018, the US Catholic Church received credible complaints of child sex abuse involving 7,002 members of the clergy, according to the website bishop-accountability.org.

In a first for the Church, Pope Francis…

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Police footage of the interrogation of Florida pastor Paul Dyal and his sons, Shawn and Darrin, has been released in advance of Dyal’s trial for two counts of sexual battery on a child. Dyal was charged alongside two members of his church, Jerome Teschendorf and Vernon Williamson, last year.

Longtime pastor of The Jacksonville Assembly of the Body of Christ, Dyal has been accused of sexual and physical abuse dating back at least 30 years. His charges, along with the charges against Teschendorf and Williamson, are capital offenses. 

Dyal’s alleged abuse was perpetrated against a victim under the age of 12 at the time of the assault. The survivor told police that Dyal molested her five to six times per year for five to six years—a total of 20 to 30 individual instances of sexual assault.

Police interrupted a service at the church in March 2022 to bring Dyal and…

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Fred McCoy Gammon, Jr. free on $35,000 bail

A Wyandotte pastor accused of abusing a child sent several sexually suggestive and inappropriate text messages to a juvenile victim, including one message about “wanting to smell her underwear,” court documents show.  

Fred McCoy Gammon, Jr, 42, of Miami, is charged in Ottawa County District Court with child sexual abuse. He is free on $35,000 bail, court records show.

Gammon is still listed on the website as the reverend of Wayside Assembly of God church in Wyandotte. Gammon’s Facebook page, lists July 18, 2021, as the date he became pastor of the church. The charges of child sex abuse stem from alleged incidents in 2020 and 2021, according to an arrest affidavit.

He has denied the allegations, the affidavit states.

Jeremy Bennett and Ken Gallon, Gammon’s attorneys said in an email “Mr. Gammon maintains his innocence, but will not make any…

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A Maine judge upheld the constitutionality of a law that allows Mainers with previously-expired claims of child sexual abuse to sue their alleged perpetrators for damages.

A judge has found that a Maine law removing the statute of limitations for civil claims of childhood sexual abuse claims is constitutional.

The 2021 law has prompted more than a dozen people to sue the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, with claims stretching as far back as the 1950s. The diocese argued the law is unconstitutional because it creates new liability and exposes the church to “tens of millions of dollars” in potential claims.

Cumberland County Superior Justice Thomas McKeon’s ruling Tuesday means the cases could proceed to trial. But the pre-trial discovery process is still paused in case the diocese decides to appeal the judge’s decision to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.

Lawmakers agreed to remove all remaining…

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Three words.

Most legislators had never heard them. Most lawyers hadn’t, either.

Unless someone specializes in construction law, they’ve probably never encountered an obscure type of law known as a “statute of repose.”

Kathleen Hoke worked almost three decades as an assistant attorney general and law professor in Maryland before she bumped into the term. Now one might call her an expert.

“Being an expert in this space just means you understand it,” she said.

Hoke understands better than most the consequence of a bill passed by state lawmakers — unwittingly, some legislators say — to create a statute of repose for lawsuits over child sexual abuse. Five years later, the implications are still coming into focus.

Authorities recently told the courts they finished a nearly four-year investigation into the Archdiocese of Baltimore and uncovered a history of child sexual abuse by priests. The revelation set off…

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Independent commission reaches conclusion after hearing evidence from over 500 survivors last year

Catholic clergy in Portugal have abused nearly 5,000 children since 1950, an independent commission said on Monday after hearing hundreds of survivors’ accounts.

Thousands of reports of paedophilia within the church have surfaced around the world, and Pope Francis is under pressure to tackle the scandal.

The Portuguese inquiry, commissioned by the church in the staunchly Catholic country, published its findings after hearing from more than 500 survivors last year.

“This testimony allows us to establish a much larger network of victims, at least 4,815,” the commission head, Pedro Strecht, told a press conference in Lisbon that was attended by several senior church officials.

Strecht, a child psychiatrist, said it would be difficult now for Portugal to ignore the existence of child sexual abuse or the trauma it had caused.

Responding to the report, the head of…

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More than 100 priests suspected of child sexual abuse remain active in church roles in Portugal, according to the head of a commission investigating the issue.

The commission, which started its work in January 2022, said in its final report published on Monday that at least 4,815 children were sexually abused by members of the Portuguese Catholic Church – mostly priests – over 70 years.

It added that the findings were the “tip of the iceberg”, describing the 4,815 cases as the “absolute minimum” number of victims.

“There is an approximate (number of accused priests) and it will clearly be more than 100,” child psychiatrist Pedro Strecht, who headed the commission, told SIC television.

The commission said it was preparing a list of accused priests still working to send to the Church and to the public prosecutors’ office.

Strecht said those on the list should be removed from their roles…

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Elementos de la Procuraduría General de Justicia (PGJ) de Hidalgo detuvieron en Guanajuato al sacerdote Enrique “N”, sobre quien pesan cargos por abuso sexual a una persona menor de edad.

Hace dos semanas el sacerdote fue denunciado ante las autoridades de Hidalgo por abuso sexual en agravio de una adolescente del municipio de Tlanchinol, donde se ubica la parroquia de San Agustín, donde presuntamente ocurrió la agresión.

De acuerdo con los avances de la investigación, el sacerdote pidió el apoyo de su acólita para ayudarlo con labores de la parroquia, pero terminó por abusar de ella en más de una ocasión.

Tras la denuncia, la Procuraduría, a cargo de Santiago Nieto Castillo, obtuvo una orden de aprehensión en contra del clérigo; sin embargo, ya había abandonado la parroquia donde oficiaba misa y huyó del estado de Hidalgo.

Así transcurrieron dos semanas hasta que las autoridades lograron ubicarlo en el municipio…

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In a Sunday morning homily on sin, a Catholic Diocese of Knoxville priest condemned Knox News for its ongoing reporting on two separate sexual assault complaints against the church and the diocese’s efforts to obstruct the investigations and intimidate the alleged victims.

The message was delivered Feb. 12 during the 11 a.m. Mass at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by the Rev. David Boettner, one of the diocese’s highest-ranking clergy members and pastor of the cathedral.

He used the opening words of his homily on “sin and the choices we make” to criticize Knox News’ investigative coverage.

“So first, sin. You know, one of the things about the way the media reports about the Catholic Church is interesting because they don’t really have specialists on religion that report on the church,” Boettner said. “They usually assign a sportswriter to cover the church. So, whenever they try…

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A former Omaha priest is being investigated

Investigators from Great Britain were in Omaha last week as part of a criminal investigation.

The chancellor of the Omaha Archdiocese confirms that a former priest is under investigation. Sources tell us it surrounds his actions when he was visiting England many years ago. However, the Omaha Archdiocese says it is not under investigation.

The nature of the allegations has not been revealed.

Omaha Police confirmed that British law enforcement officers are conducting an investigation, but OPD is not involved in the case.

The British investigators left Omaha Friday.

This is a developing story. Stay with 6 News for updates.

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The Costa Rican Bishops’ Conference and the Archdiocese of San José revealed that an agreement was reached to compensate the victims of sexual abuse by ex-priest Mauricio Víquez Lizano.

“To conclude these proceedings, an agreement has been reached taking into account the procedural possibilities given by the law and which is satisfactory to all parties,” the Church indicated in a press release issued on February 1.

Four victims filed civil lawsuits and spoke of the acts perpetrated by the now ex-priest.

“According to what is established in this instrument, the content of this agreement is subject to a confidentiality clause, so no statements will be made in this regard,” the Costa Rican Bishops’ Conference said.

In August 2022, a court ruled against San José Archbishop José Rafael Quirós and the Temporal Assets of the Archdiocese of San José for covering up Viquez’s sexual abuse.

At the…

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Frank Pavone was recently dismissed from the priesthood in Dec. 2022 and allegedly committed misconduct from at least four women. According to Christian Forums, Frank Pavone has been asked to step down from his position as national director of the pro-life organization Priests for Life by two former executives of the organization. It is to provide room for an impartial investigation into his behavior. 

Call for Resignation of Frank Pavone

On Friday, Feb. 10, the two formal officials of the Priests for Life, Andrew Smith and Father Stephen Imbarrato, released an official statement. They were reportedly dismayed by Pavone’s arrogant response to his dismissal from the priesthood as well as the charges that he sexually assaulted women who worked for Priests for Life. Andrew Smith was a former staff and board member of Priests for Life, while Father Stephen Imbarrato served as a member of the organization’s pastoral team. 

As…

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Dear Parishioners of St. Francis de Sales Parish,

Last September, I informed you of new allegations the Archdiocese of Chicago received, accusing Fr. David F. Ryan of sexually abusing a minor. In keeping with our procedures, he once again was asked to step aside from his pastoral duties until a thorough investigation and process could be completed. He has fully cooperated with civil authorities and the Archdiocese of Chicago during these months. 

After numerous attempts, those making the accusations have refused to cooperate with both civil and church investigations. This was reported to our Independent Review Board (IRB). Based on this information, the IRB finds that there is not sufficient reason to suspect Father Ryan is guilty of sexually abusing a minor and recommends he be returned to ministry and that the files be closed on these two claims due to the lack of cooperation of those making the accusations….

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A Lake County priest is being reinstated after he was removed last fall because of accusations he sexually abused a minor.

Father David Ryan serves at St. Francis de Sales in Lake Zurich.

Cardinal Blase Cupich released a letter Saturday saying there is not sufficient reason to believe the accusations and the independent review board recommended the case be closed.

The latest allegations came a year after the priest was reinstated after similar allegations were also found to be untrue.

Cardinal Cupich said Father David Ryan was assigned to Maryville Academy in Des Plaines during the time of the alleged incident, which is said to have occurred approximately 25 yea

At the time, an independent review board determined that there was “insufficient reason to suspect” Fr. Ryan had sexually abused minors 25 years earlier.

The cardinal said Father Ryan is being reinstated effective immediately.

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What a difference 30 years makes.

The watchdog organization Voice of the Faithful recently ranked the Catholic Diocese of Belleville the seventh most “financially transparent” diocese in the United States.

The lay organization’s 2022 report states that, while financial transparency wouldn’t have prevented clergy sexual abuse in the past, it would have kept the Catholic Church from secretly paying cash settlements to families of child victims in exchange for their silence.

“The horror of clergy sexual abuse … would have been reported, not covered up, and abusers would have been called to account for their crimes,” the report stated. “Victims of serial abusers would have been protected.”

Recognition for transparency in the Belleville Diocese is significant, particularly considering its reputation in the early 1990s, when victims, advocates, journalists and others complained that it had kept clergy sexual abuse hidden from the public for decades.

The Belleville News-Democrat published its…

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St. Louis University has learned that two of its former priests have been “credibly accused” of sexual abuse. The regional Jesuits’ Province added the men’s names to a list tracking highly probable abuse incidents.

One priest, the late Daniel Campbell, was a faculty member in the late 1950s. The other, David V. Meconi, was working at SLU as recently as 2021. According to the Province, the timeframe of the abuse allegations against him was from 2015-2016. Meconi directed the university’s Catholic Studies center.

In a letter to the SLU community, president Fred Pestello said the university is coordinating support for those who were affected. He also urged people to report any instances of abuse.

“Our hearts are with those who have suffered from abuse, and we are committed to supporting efforts to prevent abuse from happening to anyone else,” he wrote. “When people have been victims of harm, we must…

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(For Immediate Release February 13, 2023) 

Yet another report has been released that shows yet another country saw thousands of their children harmed and abused by priests, nuns, and other Roman Catholic staffers. Our hearts break for the families and survivors devastated by this abuse and hope that this report leads to secular reform that will better protect children.

According to a report published by a Portuguese panel funded by the country’s Catholic bishops, approximately 5000 children were abused by Catholic clergy. According to the report, many of the molestation cases involved boys, and some of the victims were as young as two years old. One victim claimed he had been living in a “black hole” throughout his testimony. Our hearts break for him and for all the children who have endured years of abuse at the hands of adults who are supposed to be God’s…

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“Pope Says Homosexuality Not a Crime,” the AP headlined on Jan. 25, reporting on their interview a day earlier with the pontiff. “Pope Says Homosexuality is Not a Crime” headlined The New York Times and The Washington Post the same morning. “Pope Francis says laws that criminalize homosexuality are ‘unjust’” was the lede to the PBS Nightly News segment that evening.

It’s difficult to imagine the U.S. media would give prominence to such an obvious and vapid pronouncement by any public figure other than this pope.

“The pope says a lot of truly wonderful things in his interview with the AP. However … he has said many times that homosexual acts are sinful and that marriage is between a man and a woman – a view he repeated this past week, as well. He has also not changed the language of the Catechism of the Catholic Church [this “sexual attraction toward persons of the same…

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(ANALYSIS) MinistryWatch mostly focuses our coverage on Protestant evangelical news stories.  However, occasionally we veer out of our lane when we see a story that we think might be of interest to our core audience. Such a story came our way this week from Knoxville, Tennessee. In an unusual move, a judge said an alleged rape victim is going to have to use his legal name in his lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese there.

The Catholic Diocese of Knoxville argued that an alleged rape victim must use his legal name instead of a pseudonym protecting his identity before continuing a lawsuit he filed against the church. A judge there bought the argument.

We’ve recounted a more complete version of this story elsewhere, so I won’t tell the whole story here. I mention it now just to say that this decision could be a blow to those who want to hold powerful…

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More than 4,800 individuals may have been victims of child sex abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church and 512 alleged victims have already come forward to speak out, an expert panel looking into historic abuse in the church said Monday.

Senior Portuguese church officials had previously claimed that only a handful of cases had occurred.

Senior clergymen sat in the front row of the auditorium where panel members read out some of the harrowing accounts of alleged abuse included in their final report. There were vivid and shocking descriptions.

The head of the Portuguese Bishops Conference, Bishop José Ornelas, said church authorities would study the panel’s 500-page report before giving an official response.

“We have seen and heard things we cannot ignore,” he told reporters. “It’s a dramatic set of circumstances. It won’t be easy to get over it.”

The Independent Committee for the Study of Child Abuse in the…

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Members of the Portuguese Catholic Church sexually abused at least 4,815 children over the past 70 years, a commission investigating the issue said in its final report on Monday.

The Portuguese inquiry, commissioned by the church in the staunchly Catholic country, published the results of its investigation after hearing from more than 500 victims.

“This testimony allows us to establish a much larger network of victims, at least 4,815,” said Pedro Strecht, a psychiatrist who headed the Independent Committee for the Study of Child Abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church.

He said most perpetrators were priests, and the abuse occurred in Catholic schools, priests’ homes, confessionals and other locations.

The report found most victims were boys, barely older than 11. The youngest victim was reportedly a 2-year-old child.

It called for decisive action by the judiciary and asked for psychological care for the victims and the suspension of the statute of…

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At least 4,815 children were sexually abused by members of the Portuguese Catholic Church – mostly priests – over the past 70 years, a report by the commission investigating the issue said on Monday, adding the findings are the tip of the iceberg.

“(We want) to pay a sincere tribute to those who were abuse victims during their childhood and dared to give a voice to silence,” said child psychiatrist Pedro Strecht, who headed the commission. “They are much more than a statistic.”

Strecht said the 4,815 cases were the “absolute minimum” number of victims of sexual abuse by clergy members in Portugal since 1950.

Most perpetrators (77%) were priests and most of the victims were men, Strecht said, adding that they were abused in Catholic schools, churches, priests’ homes, confessionals, among other locations.

The majority of the sexual abuses took place when the children were aged 10-14, with the…

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An independent commission looking into the sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic Church said on Tuesday it had documented cases pointing to at least 4,815 victims.

Set up by the Portuguese Episcopal Conference to examine abuse in recent decades, the commission added this was the tip of the iceberg.

Presenting the report, the commission’s president, child psychiatrist Pedro Strecht, described its objective as “giving voice to the silence” of victims.

He paid tribute to the hundreds who contacted its staff to provide testimony.

“They have a voice; they have a name,” he said.

In all, the commission documented 564 experiences of people who said they had been victims of abuse by priests or other Church officials. The exercise looked at cases dating back to 1950.

In many cases, testimony pointed to other minors having been abused – hence the estimate of thousands of further victims.

Throughout his presentation, Mr…

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Representatives push for women to be admitted to priesthood after island-wide consultations

An assembly of the Catholic Church in Europe has been told that members in Ireland want women to be admitted to the diaconate and priesthood. In island-wide consultations “many women communicated their pain at being denied their agency in the life of the church and spoke of feelings of exclusion and discrimination. Women play a critical role in the life of the church but so many men and women have spoken of the church ‘excluding’ the fullness of the gifts of women,” representatives of the Irish church said.

In Ireland there was “a deep longing for a more inclusive and welcoming church. People wish for this enlarged tent to be experienced in liturgy, language, structures, practices and decision-making. The co-responsibility of all the baptised must therefore be recognised and practised, to overcome clericalism and to ensure full and…

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The pastor of a Catholic parish in Lake Zurich has again been reinstated to the ministry after an Archdiocese of Chicago panel found no sufficient evidence he had sexually abused a minor, Cardinal Blase Cupich announced in a letter to parishioners Saturday night.

The Rev. David J. Ryan, who stepped aside when the allegations surfaced in September, can return immediately to his duties at St. Francis de Sales Parish, Cupich wrote.

“After numerous attempts, those making the accusations have refused to cooperate with both civil and church investigations,” Cupich wrote. “This was reported to our Independent Review Board. Based on this information, the IRB finds that there is not sufficient reason to suspect Father Ryan is guilty of sexually abusing a minor and recommends he be returned to ministry and that the files be closed on these two claims due to the lack of cooperation of those making the accusations.”

…

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3rd incident involving sexual abuse allegations at St. John Catholic High School since 2019

Parents of students at a Catholic high school in Perth, Ont., are only now being told about a historic sexual abuse case, nearly half a year after the province’s regulatory body for teachers deemed it credible. 

The Ontario College of Teachers ruled last summer that Edward (Ted) Michael Oliver was guilty of professional misconduct after it investigated allegations that he sexually abused a 17-year-old female student while he was teaching at St. John Catholic High School.

The regulator revoked Oliver’s teaching certificate after verifying complaints through its internal disciplinary process.

A letter sent to parents and guardians from the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario (CDSBEO) states that “we recently learned of a decision by the Ontario College of Teachers regarding this former teacher.”

The letter is dated Feb. 1, 2023, but the college’s discipline committee reached its decision on July 20, 2022, and posted…

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As state lawmakers look to advance legislation that would require clergy to report child abuse or neglect, the Catholic Church’s lobbying arm in Washington has come out in support of the bills — but only if they provide a loophole for confessions. 

Two bills in the state Legislature — House Bill 1098 and Senate Bill 5280 — would add clergy to the list of mandatory reporters of abuse or neglect. Currently, Washington is one of a handful of states not to list clergy as such. 

But debate has begun to swirl over whether Washington should keep a clergy-penitent privilege, which allows clergy to withhold information revealed during confession or another privileged conversation. Child advocates argue it provides a gaping loophole allowing churches to hide sexual abuse by loosely defining certain communications as protected. 

Mario Villanueva, the executive director of the Washington State Catholic Conference, the public…

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Report will be made public tomorrow

The commission that in January 2022 began investigating sexual abuse in Portugal’s Catholic church has delivered its final report to the Church today.

The document which refers to “hundreds of testimonies” will be released to the media tomorrow during a presentation in Lisbon.

Pedro Strecht, the child psychiatrist who has led the commission throughout, is understood to have delivered the report to the Portuguese Catholic Bishops’ Conference (CEP), whose president, the bishop of Leiria-Fatima, José Ornelas, has scheduled a statement on its contents for 4pm tomorrow.

Says Lusa, an extraordinary plenary assembly of the Episcopal Conference has already been convened for March 3 to analyse the report.

Without giving final figures, the commission announced in its last public statement in October that it had already registered 424 validated testimonies, including cases of abuse that occurred since 1950. Victims ages were put at “between 15 and 88”.

“The members of the commission made it…

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An attorney representing a woman who alleges she was sexually abused as a child by a Catholic priest in East Hartford said they reached a settlement with the church. 

The woman’s lawyer, Mitchell Garabedian, said the claim was outside of the statute of limitations and was settled “in the low six figures.” The settlement was finalized in January, he said.

Garabedian said his client, who is now an adult, was repeatedly sexually abused by Toribio Villacastin, a priest assigned to St. Isaac Jogues Parish in East Hartford from 1969 to 1970. The abuse occurred when the woman was 8 to 9 years old, Garabedian said, and occurred in the sacristy of St. Isaac Jogues Church, as well as other locations. 

David Elliot, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Hartford, said the archdiocese does not comment on specific settlements. He noted that Villacastin was not a priest of the Archdiocese of…

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A settlement has been reached between the Archdiocese of Hartford, a priest named Fr. Toribio Villacastin, and a woman who reported she was sexually abused as a child.

The attorney for that woman said the Archdiocese of Hartford did not properly investigate and research the priest before allowing him to serve as a visiting clergyman.

He said that priest served in St. Isaac Jogues Parish in East Hartford in 1969 and 1970, and a church in Naugatuck in 1972 and 1973.

The attorney said the settlement was in the low six figures.

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Blaise Cardinal Cupich reinstated a suburban priest Saturday, after those making sexual abuse allegations against him stopped cooperating with the investigation.

Cupich wrote to parishioners of St. Francis de Sales Parish in Lake Zurich that after numerous attempts, the people making the allegations against Father David F. Ryan had refused to cooperate with civil and church authorities.

Thus, the Independent Review Board concluded there is not sufficient reason to believe Ryan is guilty of sexually abusing a minor, and thus, he is being reinstated.

The most recent allegations date from September of last year. Ryan was asked to step aside as pastor of the church during the investigation of the allegations, which were not the first.

In 2020, Ryan was also accused of sexual abuse of a minor 25 years prior – when Ryan was assigned to Maryville Academy in Des Plaines.

Maryville Academy has been…

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[Includes video with more excerpts from the interviews with survivor Anthony Dimaggio and his attorney Irwin Zalkin]

A man who says he was groomed and later sexually abused by a priest in the 1970s says he’s outraged the Catholic Diocese of San Diego is considering filing for bankruptcy.

“I feel it’s like a slap in the face to me as a victim, it’s kind of without any warning,” said Anthony Dimaggio, 59.

Dimaggio, now a resident of Tulare, Calif., said he was sexually abused by a priest from 1975-1977 in Normal Heights and at a cabin, the church leader would take altar boys to.

The diocese is facing nearly 400 lawsuits from people alleging they were sexually abused as minors by priests and other clergies.

On Friday, it announced it was considering filing for bankruptcy as it prepares to deal with the estimated more than $550 million cost of the…

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[See also Cardinal McElroy’s letter.]

The original announcement came Thursday night in a meeting with pastors and parish officials during which Cardinal McElroy answered questions and distributed a letter that will be provided to parishioners at masses over the weekend

The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego announced Friday that it may have to file for bankruptcy after roughly 400 claims were filed by alleged victims who said they were sexual abused by priests and other church members.

The earliest claim dates to 1945, with most of the events allegedly taking place 50-75 years ago, Kevin Eckery, communications director for the diocese, said at a news conference on Friday. 

Bankruptcy may be necessary in order “to provide a pathway for ensuring that the assets of the diocese will be used equitably to compensate all victims of sexual abuse,” Cardinal Robert McElroy wrote in a letter expected to be shared…

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Every group imaginable participates in a Capitol Day. Civil rights advocates, educators, unionists, nurses, hairdressers, cities and counties, you name it, every agenda gets its day.

Their purpose is to bring attention to bills under consideration by the Texas Legislature.

Sometimes they get news coverage, but mostly they get a chance to meet with specific legislators to press their agendas.

These ordinary events aren’t as easy for survivors of child sexual abuse, even those who are now adults.

It’s difficult to come forward and reporting such crimes is still rare, especially for those victimized by members of the clergy.

It can take years, even decades, for them to talk about it.

That any victims of child sexual abuse are gathering in front of the Capitol next week is a minor miracle.

But a group of Texans, including a San Antonio contingent of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests,…

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Theresa Flores plans to attend her 11th Super Bowl this year, but not necessarily because she is a football fan. 

Instead, the 57-year-old author, speaker and social worker will be in Glendale, Arizona, with volunteers from the SOAP (Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution) Project, which Flores founded to prevent human trafficking.

“A lot of kids are being trafficked during sporting events,” said Flores, who along with her team holds outreaches during large entertainment gatherings nationwide, training participants to recognize the signs of trafficking while distributing materials — including millions of bars of soap — labeled with the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline number: 888-373-7888.

Experts differ over the Super Bowl’s impact on human trafficking, but overall data shows that the problem has risen sharply across the globe. 

Some 50 million individuals worldwide were ensnared in modern slavery during 2021, according to the United Nations International Labor Organization Sept. 2022 report….

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Pope Francis met at the Vatican Thursday morning with Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who is on trial for charges related to Vatican finances.

The meeting appeared on the top of Pope Francis’ list of official audiences for Feb. 9, published by the Vatican every day at noon Rome time.

The editors of the news aggregation website Il Sismografo called the official nature of the meeting “puzzling” given that the pope and the cardinal have been in contact other times since Becciu’s fall from grace in 2020.

Becciu served as “sostituto,” or second-ranking official at the Secretariat of State, from 2011 to 2018, when Pope Francis named him a cardinal and made him head of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

Since July 2021, Becciu has been on trial in the Vatican on several finance-related charges. The trial centers on the Secretariat of State’s purchase of a London building,…

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The ministry of Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik, accused of the sexual, spiritual, and psychological abuse of women from a religious community with which he was formerly connected, was and continues to be under restrictions, according to the Jesuit order.

Those restrictions included a ban on hearing confessions and engaging in spiritual direction with women. Rupnik was also prohibited, the order said last December, from engaging in public activities without the permission of his local superior. The order did not say at the time who Rupnik’s local superior was.

Father Johan Verschueren, the major superior for the international houses of the Jesuits, told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, this week that he has been Rupnik’s superior since January 2020.

Verschueren also revealed which Jesuit priests were Rupnik’s superiors since 2004.

In religious orders such as the Jesuits, a priest is supervised by, and takes direction from, his local superior.

Father…

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A former board member of Priests for Life has called for laicized priest Frank Pavone to step down as the organization’s head, and for an independent investigation to be carried out into the allegations of sexual misconduct against Pavone.

“[F]or the good of the Church and the pro-life movement, it is necessary that an immediate, impartial and independent investigation take place into the recent allegations against Frank Pavone,” said Andrew Smith, who served as a Priests for Life employee from 2000-2004 and as a board member from 2014-2021.

In a Feb. 10 statement sent to The Pillar, Smith said he believes an investigation is needed to “ensure that a thorough examination of the conduct of Frank Pavone, his treatment of the women in his employment and the concerns surrounding financial payouts can be addressed and resolved in a fair manner.”

“It would also be appropriate for Frank Pavone to step down from…

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Two women have accused Frank Pavone — national director of the pro-life organization Priests for Life, who was dismissed from the priesthood in November — of sexual harassment, according to recent media reports.

The Pillar last month published allegations by an unnamed woman who claimed Pavone stroked her hair, put his arms around her while she sat at her computer, and engaged in other “grooming” behavior while she worked at Priests for Life.

In a second story published Wednesday, The Pillar quoted, by name, another former Priest for Life employee who makes similar claims against Pavone. Both women said they complained to the Diocese of Amarillo, Texas, where Pavone was incardinated before his laicization, but neither ever heard if any action was taken.

Pavone has denied both sets of allegations, saying in a statement to CNA Wednesday that the accusations are filled with “numerous inaccuracies, misrepresentations,…

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Push comes as Peter Hollingworth is expected to appear on final day of tribunal examining his handling of child abuse complaints as Anglican archbishop of Brisbane

Parliament will consider a new push to give the government powers to strip lucrative taxpayer-funded entitlements from former governors general found to have engaged in serious misconduct as the secret hearing against Peter Hollingworth draws to a close.

Hollingworth is expected to face the last day of a professional standards tribunal hearing in Melbourne on Thursday, which has investigated his handling of child abuse complaints against the Anglican church during his 11 years as the archbishop of Brisbane, a role he held immediately prior to his stint as governor general. The professional standards tribunal has so far not made any finding of misconduct against Hollingworth.

The tribunal has the power to defrock Hollingworth, but the evidence put before it has been cloaked in secrecy,…

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The diocese is facing of hundreds of lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by clergy. It would be the second time the diocese has sought the protections of the courts.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego is warning it may have to file bankruptcy in the future because of the potential fallout from hundreds of pending lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by clergy over the past 75 years.

The warning comes nearly 15 years to the day since the diocese last sought the sanctuary of the bankruptcy code, filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in the face of 144 claims of sexual abuse by clergy. The bankruptcy was dismissed eight months later, after the diocese reached a settlement with the victims for $198 million.

Now the diocese might have to go down the same path, said Keven Eckery, the communications director for the sprawling diocese of 1.3 million Roman Catholics in San Diego…

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego said Friday it may declare bankruptcy in the coming months as it faces “staggering” legal costs in dealing with some 400 lawsuits alleging priests and others sexually abused children.

In a letter that was expected to be shared with parishioners this weekend, Bishop Robert McElroy said the cases were filed after California lifted a statute of limitations on childhood sexual abuse claims.

Assembly Bill 218, which was signed into law in 2019, allows alleged victims to sue up until age 40. Also, beginning in 2020, it opened a three-year window for filing lawsuits without age limitations.

Most of the alleged abuse cited in the suits took place 50 to 75 years ago, and the earliest claim dates to 1945, Kevin Eckery, communications director for the diocese, said at a Friday news conference, KNSD-TV reported.

Eckery predicted that it would cost…

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That’s what an abuse survivor recently wrote to me about her call to the Southern Baptist Convention’s sexual abuse hotline. She had contacted the hotline more than seven months earlier, expecting her call would yield action. She was disappointed.

You can’t blame her for having had that expectation. The word itself — “hotline” — carries a connotation of urgency. So, that alone may lull people into expecting action.

Survivors weigh many concerns when considering whether to call the hotline. Is it safe? Is it confidential? Will a call trigger meaningful action? Will it bring accountability to the perpetrator? Will it provide help? Is it a good choice?

Although we all would like to imagine the answer to each of these questions is “Yes,” that may not be so. And there are good reasons for skepticism.

Here are some highlights of what we actually know — and don’t know — about the hotline,…

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As accusations mount against Frank Pavone, the head of Priests for Life says they ‘have already been addressed.’

A former employee says she was serially sexually harassed by Priests for Life director Frank Pavone, while Pavone himself acknowledged that he’s faced sexual misconduct allegations in the past.

The woman told The Pillar that she reported Pavone’s harassment both to Priests for Life officials – who excused Pavone’s behavior – and to the Diocese of Amarillo, while Pavone was still incardinated there as a cleric.

She is the second woman to come forward in recent weeks, alleging Pavone’s sexual advances, grooming behavior, and unwanted touching of junior employees.

For his part, Pavone told The Pillar Wednesday that he is “saddened” by recent reports which “revisit old accusations that contain numerous inaccuracies, misrepresentations, and mistruths.”

Those allegations, Pavone claims, “have already been addressed.”

Mary Worthington was an employee of Priests for Life from 2004, when…

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[Google translation followed by the French text. See also the full report on Philippe, Vanier, and L’Arche, and the synthesis (executive summary).]

CORREF read with horror and infinite seriousness the damning reports of l’Arche , “Ownership and abuse, investigation of Thomas Philippe, Jean Vanier and l’Arche”, and of Tangi Cavalin “l’Affaire, The Dominicans facing scandal of the Philip brothers. (note 1) both published on January 30.

Above all, the Conference of Religious of France salutes the very great professionalism of the researchers, their independence, their courage and that of the bodies that commissioned them, L’Arche and the Province of France of the Dominicans. All participate in this “little bit of truth” that we so need in the face of sexual violence committed in the Church and the systemic causes that made it possible.

These sums of work come to confirm – if it were still needed – the…

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The Irish branch of L’Arche, an international charity for people with intellectual disabilities, has said it is “very disappointed and saddened” following a report that found its French-Canadian founder Jean Vanier had abused as many as 25 women.

Mairead Boland Brabazon, chief executive of L’Arche Ireland, said that “thankfully, the report has shown the rest of L’Arche was not involved”. She said she was grateful that the charity’s international leadership had “thoroughly investigated the matter and acknowledged the women involved. They have taken it very seriously.”

Ms Boland Brabazon oversees L’Arche’s four centres in Ireland, at Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Kilkenny, caring for up to 170 people with day services provided to more than 100 others.

What the latest report uncovered was “completely against our values”, she said. “We work very hard for people to have a very good quality of life,” she said, adding she was thankful for all…

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We need to tread carefully when it comes to the Catholic version of stardom – very carefully, indeed

French Catholic paper La Croix has just reported on investigations into Jean Vanier and his sidekick Dominican priest Fr Thomas Philippe.

In 1946, Fr Thomas Philippe set up a ‘formation community’ called Living Water (L’Eau Vive). He sexually abused several women, who complained, and he was dismissed from the clerical state in 1956.

But because the details of his case were kept secret, he and his brother (also a priest) managed to convince people that Fr Thomas was an innocent victim of Vatican intrigues.

Then Fr Thomas met the young Jean Vanier, groomed him, and founded L’Arche with him in 1964. What followed was a horrible mess of sexual abuse fuelled by private revelations and bogus mysticism – all hidden behind excellent public relations.

Jean Vanier was venerated as a living saint,…

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Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard, the archbishop emeritus of Brussels-Mechelen and former primate of Belgium, has just published a book that will undoubtedly not go unnoticed in the Catholic world.

 L’Eglise dans tous ses états: 50 ans de débats autour de la foi (“The Church in All Its ‘States’: 50 Years of Debates Around the Faith”) is presented as an autobiographical account through which its author delivers an uncompromising analysis of the events that have taken place in the Church over the past five decades — from the theological and pastoral drifts that marked the post-Vatican II period to the current debates surrounding the Synod on Synodality and the various sexual-abuse scandals that have arisen over these years. 

Born in 1940 and ordained a priest in 1964, Archbishop Léonard was appointed bishop of Namur in 1991 and then archbishop of the Archdiocese of Brussels-Mechelen in 2010. He retired in 2015. 

His reputedly orthodox…

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Two bills that conflict directly with Catholic values and the protection of life are progressing in the Maryland General Assembly.

A bill that would legalize assisted suicide (SB0845/End-of-Life Action Act) was reintroduced Feb. 7 in the State Senate and a companion bill was expected to be introduced in the House. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Waldsteicher (D-18) of Montgomery County, essentially would legalize physician-assisted suicide in Maryland. 

The Maryland Against Physician Assisted Suicide coalition has been leading the lobbying effort against physician-assisted suicide legislation since it was first introduced in 2020.

“The proposal is the same dangerous, misguided policy that has failed repeatedly in Maryland,” directors of MAPAS said in a news release. “The Maryland Against Physician Assisted Suicide coalition remains staunchly opposed to legalizing physician-assisted suicide (PAS) for the same array of concerns, which the bill’s proponents continue to ignore. The fact that the General Assembly is being…

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After many years of clergy sexual abuse survivors only finding support for their healing outside of the Church community, Good Samaritans within the Church are approaching victims to help them bandage their wounds.

One American group of such Good Samaritans reached out to survivors and hosted several Healing Circles based on Restorative Justice principles. 

In an e-mail interview, Bill Casey, a Restorative Justice practitioner for more than 15 years, provided an explanation of what this group did, the challenges they faced and the good that came out of their efforts.

Bill Casey, a life-long Catholic, felt a call to action after January 2002 upon reading the Boston Globe’s series about the sexual abuse scandal in the Boston Archdiocese. Since then, he has interacted with hundreds of survivors and given presentations at conferences, including Boston College’s “Church in the 21st Century” and the Conference of Major Superiors of Men. Casey has practiced…

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[Via MSN]

Can we talk about the Ellis defence now?

In the highlight reel of disgraces perpetrated by the late George Pell against victims of church sex abuse, the so-called Ellis legal defence must surely be the standout. It was a cold-blooded strategy concocted between Pell and elite Sydney lawyers which had the dual effect of deterring victims from suing the church and saving the church a fortune. The strategy was so ugly that the NSW government was ultimately forced to legislate it out of existence. It has passed into infamy because it was so cruel and so unjust.

Yet no one’s been talking about the Ellis defence this week as Pell’s supporters have methodically set about washing the late cardinal’s reputation and positioning him for canonisation.

As the caravan moves on from the drama and spectacle of Pell’s burial last week, the powerbrokers have come in,…

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[Via National Catholic Reporter]

Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, the papal vicar for Vatican City State, has appointed Scalabrinian Fr. Luigi Sabbarese, a 60-year-old canon lawyer, to coordinate and verify the city state’s safeguarding efforts.

Francis established a set of guidelines in 2019 for the protection of children and vulnerable persons for the Vicariate of Vatican City, that is, for Vatican City State and the Roman Curia.

The guidelines said the papal vicar “shall appoint a contact person for the protection of minors who shall coordinate and verify the implementation of the present guidelines so that, within the vicariate, there is a community respectful and mindful of the rights and the needs of minors, as well as being vigilant in preventing any form of violence or abuse.”

The contact person also was to coordinate “the prevention and training activities of pastoral workers” and promote increased care in welcoming and supporting “those who…

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My personal feelings about the late cardinal George Pell, buried last week, are unresolved, deeply private and still raw.

George Pell was a controversial figure for decades and was a staunch defender of the church. He repeatedly touted his credentials as a person to whom the sexual abuse of minors was an abhorrent scourge on the church.

He did so as a cover to divert attention away from his record as a man who waged a covert war on victims and survivors of abuse, and who orchestrated the church’s defence to my claim — the “Ellis defence”, by which I was figuratively hanged, drawn and quartered, displayed as a warning to any other survivor who may have the temerity to seek to sue the church.

It claimed: “there is no legal entity responsible for sexual abuse in the Catholic Church”.

Pell apologised to me for that legal abuse perpetrated by the…

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He was abused by Father Samuel Penney while he was a choirboy

The victim of a paedophile priest from Burton has spoken of his horrific ordeal and how it took years before he could even speak about what happened to him. Eamonn Flanagan was 11 when he was first abused by vile Father Sam Penney, who was at the time the priest at St Mary and Modwen Catholic Church in the town.

Mr Flanagan, who has waived his right to anonymity, says he was abused while he was a choirboy at the Guild Street church in the 1970s. Speaking to his partner prompted him to speak to others and finally to the church diocese organisation, thinking action would be taken against Penney. But he was left devastated when nothing happened and Penney remained as a priest and would go on to attack other children.

Now in his fifties Mr Flanagan,…

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[Via MSN]

Every group imaginable participates in a Capitol Day. Civil rights advocates, educators, unionists, nurses, hairdressers, cities and counties, you name it, every agenda gets its day.

Their purpose is to bring attention to bills under consideration by the Texas Legislature.

Sometimes they get news coverage, but mostly they get a chance to meet with specific legislators to press their agendas.

These ordinary events aren’t as easy for survivors of child sexual abuse, even those who are now adults.

It’s difficult to come forward and reporting such crimes is still rare, especially for those victimized by members of the clergy.

It can take years, even decades, for them to talk about it.

That any victims of child sexual abuse are gathering in front of the Capitol next week is a minor miracle.

But a group of Texans, including a San Antonio contingent of the Survivors Network of those Abused…

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In 2018, the Catholic world was reeling from the one-two punch of abuse allegations against Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and the scathing Pennsylvania grand jury report exposing Catholic clergy sexual abuse of over 1,000 children over the previous 70 years. That reckoning prompted a group of researchers from 10 Jesuit institutions to mobilize to look for ways to stem a crisis of clergy sexual abuse that is now reaching its fourth decade.  

At Georgetown University, a priest began studying the healing effect of abuse survivors’ stories; an ethicist at New York’s Fordham University began investigating how Black survivors had been erased from the clergy abuse crisis; in Milwaukee, an interdisciplinary team at Marquette University started a workshop for Catholic teens on abusive power dynamics.

These projects are three of the 18 funded by an unnamed foundation and whose findings are published in Taking Responsibility, a 68-page report from Fordham University released in January.

…

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A bill that would mandate clergy report disclosures of abuse will be modified, but it may not be enough to win over its critics.

House Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, told FOX 13 News on Thursday she is amending her bill to only mandate that disclosures of child sexual abuse and exploitation be reported to law enforcement. She confirmed that would remove any requirement clergy report physical abuse.

“It focuses on child sex abuse, so clergy would have to report if it’s child sex abuse,” Rep. Romero said, adding the decision was made with the support of sexual abuse survivors and victim advocates she has been working with.

The House Minority Leader’s bill is one of four pieces of legislation that have been filed in the Utah State Legislature following recent cases of sexual abuse involving faith groups in the state, including The Church of Jesus Christ of…

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Vatican City – The umbrella group of Catholic religious orders in France is demanding church authorities assume responsibility for horrific evidence of sexual, spiritual and psychological abuse in L’Arche, once a preeminent lay community dedicated to people with developmental disabilities.

Sister Veronique Margron, president of the conference of religious orders in France, issued a devastating analysis Thursday of the implications of the findings of a two-year investigation into L’Arche, its founder, Jean Vanier, and his spiritual guru, the Rev. Thomas Philippe.

The 437-page report, published on Jan. 30, offers a detailed forensic study of how Vanier created a secretive “sect” within the heart of the Catholic Church designed entirely to feed his sexual appetites through “collective delirium” and mystical-sexual practices that he justified on spiritual grounds.

Using seduction, manipulation, secrecy and coercion, the charismatic Vanier initiated as many as 25 young women into the “mystico-sexual practices” of the sect within…

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‘I’m sure that there are going to be other conversations taking place on the top priorities of either chamber,’ Rep. Ryan Bizzarro said

After declaring victory in special elections Tuesday and claiming a majority in the Pennsylvania House, Democrats say their first order of business after reorganizing the chamber will be to vote on legal relief for sexual abuse survivors. 

The Republican-controlled state Senate last month passed a long-awaited bill that would give childhood sexual abuse survivors additional time to sue their attackers in court. 

To the dismay of the proposed constitutional amendment’s author, Rep. Jim Gregory, R-Blair, Senate Republicans packaged the measure with other proposed amendments on voter identification and gave the Legislature power to veto regulations from the executive branch.

A House Democratic spokesperson said Wednesday that House Speaker Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, plans to call votes on both a standalone version of the survivors’ amendment and…

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When The Big Problem Here is that people don’t know enough pastors, not that those pastors cause countless scandals, you’ve got a much bigger problem on your hands than a lack of trust.

Yet again, Gallup surveys show that Americans’ trust in clergy, including pastors, is eroding. In fact, that erosion has hit record levels for the second year in a row. Barely a third of Americans trust pastors any further than they can throw them. And Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) leaders think they know why. Yes, it’s so simple! People just don’t know any pastors personally, and so all they have to go on is the constant news of pastors’ scandals!

But this explanation actually causes them more problems than they think. It’s a signal flare in the sky to all beholding it: This is not a trustworthy organization at all.

Gallup delivers devastating news about…

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As fewer Americans interact with pastors on a regular basis, fewer say they trust clergy overall.

Trust in pastors fell for the third straight year and reached an all-time low. Around 1 in 3 Americans (34 percent) rate the honesty and ethical standards of clergy as high or very high, according to the latest Gallup survey.

Downward trends in church attendance accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. With more Americans staying home each Sunday, fewer personally know a local church pastor. The lack of individual knowledge means more people associate pastors as a whole with the scandals surrounding individual church leaders.

The 34 percent who believe pastors have high ethical standards marks a two-point drop from the previous historic low last year of 36 percent.

Declining trust in pastors

Previously, Americans said pastors had a high or very high ethical standard and level of honesty,…

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As a pediatrician-turned-pastor, I believe reporting suspected child harm is our civic and Christian duty.

After entering the exam room to greet a 4-year-old patient, I couldn’t help but notice bruises on her arms. Black, blue, green, and yellow—each was in a different stage of healing. Injuries on the arms and legs are typical for young children as they run, grow, and play. But her bruising pattern resembled the imprint of a wire hanger.

While looking through her medical chart, I asked what had happened. The little girl sheepishly explained that she fell while playing hopscotch with her friends. Her stepfather nodded in approval, but red flags erupted in my mind. I continued with her well-child check as if not overly concerned. But as I examined her frail body, more bruising was evident on her torso, back, and thighs—where children do not typically get hurt.

“How did you get so…

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Three bills advocating for change to Utah clergy child abuse reporting requirements are making their way through the current legislative session.

The bills include HB212, HB115 and SB 72. HB212, sponsored by state representative Brian King, was introduced to the House on Jan. 17 as Clergy Child Abuse Reporting Requirements.

The bill is meant to clarify the current option clergy members already have to report abuse revealed to them in confidential meetings.

“HB212 will make explicit what the statute already is,” King said, “which establishes a priest-penitent privilege that says you can’t require or mandate priests or clergy to report child abuse when that information comes from the perpetrators.”

The bill says one may, if they feel like they need or want to, report abuse to law enforcement, King said.

HB212 is largely trying to make sure clergy know there is no legal prohibition on reporting abuse to law enforcement…

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Survivors of clergy abuse said if the Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts, were to release the names of priests who have been accused of abusing children, it would help more people heal.

The diocese reported 173 people have made credible allegations against 54 clergy between 1950 and 2022. The report said the majority of the victims were abused as boys.

But unlike the vast majority of U.S. dioceses, Worcester doesn’t name the clergy accused of abuse.

Skip Shea, a 62-year-old from Uxbridge, said three priests from the diocese abused him from age 11 until 16. He said not making the names of accused priests public doesn’t help survivors.

“It just keeps everything still a secret, which is probably the most damaging thing you can do to any victim or survivor is to let them know that it’s still a secret,” Shea said.

Shea also wants the diocese to publish…

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Pennsylvania House Speaker Mark Rozzi is calling the chamber back into session on Feb. 21 with a plan in mind and a hope for a break in the stalemate that has prevented any legislation moving in Harrisburg.

But the Berks County Democrat said Wednesday he would would rather see adult survivors of child sexual abuse have greater opportunity to sue their abusers than continue to hold the speaker’s gavel.

“That priority is getting victims of childhood sexual assault their day in court to provide them justice, to provide them the truth, to allow them to expose their perpetrator to protect all the children in this commonwealth from ever being sexually abused by their predators ever again,” said Rozzi, who was abused as a child by a Catholic priest.

“I never wanted to be a legislator. I never wanted to be speaker but I’m here right now…

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According to The Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, a deacon at Little Flower Catholic Church is being investigated by the Florida Department of Children and Families.

The diocese said on Thursday afternoon, Feb. 2, Little Flower Catholic School received a complaint from three students regarding Deacon Tom Gordon, a deacon serving at Little Flower Catholic Church.

DCF and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office were notified on Feb. 3, and the diocese said at this time, Gordon is not serving in ministry until they receive the outcome of the investigation.

“The Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee is committed to protecting children, youths and vulnerable adults,” The Diocese said in a statement provided to WKRG News 5. “Sexual misconduct by church clergy, employees and volunteers violates human dignity and the mission of the Catholic Church. The spiritual well-being of all victims, their families, and others in the community is of particular concern to the Church.”

The…

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A leaked email has revealed a Dunedin principal said a silver lining to the deadly Auckland floods was keeping a story about her school off the front page.

A pre-dawn blessing was held at Trinity Catholic College on January 28, to mark a new era for the school after changing its name from Kavanagh College.

It followed a 2020 investigation into former Bishop of Dunedin John Kavanagh, after whom the school was named.

The investigation found that seven priests, two brothers and one lay teacher sexually abused children, and in one case an adult, during that time.

The investigation found Kavanagh knew of complaints related to two priests: Father Freek Schokker and Magnus Murray.

In the case of Murray, it was determined he admitted abuse to Kavanagh and was sent to Australia for treatment.

Kavanagh did what he was required to under canon law at the time, but the probe…

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The Catholic school board has identified a former teacher whose license was recently revoked after a disciplinary committee found he sexually abused a student in the early 2000s.

The Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario says it recently became aware that one of its former teachers, Edward Michael Oliver, had his license revoked for apparent “professional misconduct” involving the sexual abuse of a student.

The school board says Oliver was employed for 31 days as an occasional teacher at St. John Catholic High School in Perth before assuming a contract position for five months more than a decade ago.

He has not been employed by the board since that time.

According to a decision handed down by the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) in August 2022, Oliver “engaged in a personal relationship with” a student, “spent time alone” with her in his personal vehicle and in his residence, and…

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A federal judge this week said she wants to see the Archdiocese of New Orleans bankruptcy proceedings wrapped up later this year, signaling that clergy sexual abuse victims, church creditors and the New Orleans faithful may soon learn the final financial cost of the abuse crisis to the local Roman Catholic church.

At a hearing Tuesday that included arguments over raising the cap on the bankruptcy’s mounting legal fees, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Meredith Grabill told attorneys for both sides she hopes a mediation hearing scheduled for next week will move the needle forward in the case nearly three years after it was filed.

“I hope we get to 2024 and don’t have to have this conversation again,” Grabill said. “I think that is a reasonable goal…I’m optimistic about what you’re walking into next week and that it will be productive.”

Court documents, many of which have been redacted or…

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An advocacy group for survivors of sexual abuse by priests has condemned the Diocese of Worcester’s updated report on cleric abuse throughout the diocese’s history because it does not name accused clerics.

In a news release, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said the diocese and Bishop Robert J. McManus’ practice of not naming priests leaves uncertainty in parishioners.

“[U]ntil hierarchs like Bishop McManus ‘come clean’ about all the perpetrators in their dioceses – bishops, priests, and deacons – parishioners can only look up from the pews to the altar and wonder if the mass celebrants may be a threat to their children,” the statement reads.

The recent report is an update to a 2004 document by then-Bishop Daniel P. Reilly. The new report cites 209 total allegations made against clergy since the establishment of the diocese in 1950. Of those claims, 173 were deemed “credible,” or…

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Victims and defendants in all five cases were member of Jehovah’s Witness congregations; arrests follow sexual abuse charges against four different members of Jehovah’s Witness congregations in October 2022

Acting Attorney General Michelle Henry today announced the filing of criminal charges against five individuals from Pennsylvania: Marc Brown, of Allegheny County; Raymond Shultz, of Beaver County; Abimael Valentin-Matos, of Lancaster County; Kevin Isovitsch, of Butler County; and Norman Aviles, also of Lancaster County, for the sexual assault and exploitation of children. In each case, all of the defendants and their victims were members of Jehovah’s Witness congregations. These arrests follow charges filed against four other members of Jehovah’s Witness congregations in October 2022.

“The details of these crimes are sad and disturbing, facts which are made even more abhorrent because the defendants used their faith communities or their own families to gain access to victims,” said Acting Attorney General…

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We applaud Pennsylvania Acting Attorney General Michelle Henry who announced today the arrests and criminal charges in multiple child Sex Abuse cases across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The charges were returned to the Office of Attorney General by the 49th investigative grand jury.

Five men, all of whom were involved with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, were charged with sexual assault offenses involving minors, some of their own families. The charges were filed against Marc Brown of Allegheny County, Raymond Shultz of Beaver County, Abimael Valentin-Matos of Lancaster County, Kevin Isovitsch of Butler County, and Normal Aviles of Lancaster County.

We know that pursuing justice against these perpetrators would not be possible if it were not for the strength and courage of the brave victims who stepped forward by calling the Office of Attorney General to report these crimes. We understand it’s hard for victims to speak up, but that’s…

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Five members from Jehovah’s Witness congregations from across Pennsylvania are facing child sex abuse charges as the state’s acting attorney general continues to urge survivors to come forward and report their abuse.

The charges against the five men are the result of an investigating grand jury, and in each case the men and their victims were members of Jehovah’s Witness congregations, acting Attorney General Michelle Henry announced Tuesday.

Four of the men were arrested, while one man, Norman Aviles of Lancaster County, is still at large and is wanted on 20 charges, prosecutors said.

The new cases come after four Jehovah’s Witness members were charged last October by then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro with the sexual assault and exploitation of 19 children.

Ms. Henry said Tuesday those initial cases stemmed from a referral from a local district attorney’s office, which grew to a three-year investigation with 100 of hours of testimony…

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Patty Ruppert was trembling so badly she wasn’t sure she would get through her talk.

Standing in front of her fellow parishioners at the conclusion of an evening Mass in December, the faith formation director at Immaculate Heart of Mary revealed a painful secret few knew about her: she is a survivor of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

“I stand here to try to help others put a face to this horrible reality of abuse,” said Ruppert, who gave the same address at all the liturgies that weekend.

The church is more than clergy, hierarchy or stone buildings, she said, and faith is not rooted in a priest, bishop or anyone else.

“My faith,” she insisted, “is in Jesus Christ.”

When the 64-year-old lector and extraordinary minister of holy Communion finished her presentation, parishioners rose to their feet for an extended ovation. Many came up to her after Mass…

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Liz Goldman, M.D., is a board-certified psychiatrist specializing in women’s mental health care and currently serves as a Clinical Associate faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Goldman’s story has been told in the film Silent No More. This blog was originally shared with Marci Hamilton, CEO and Founder of CHILD USA, in response to the horrendous politicking that PA residents have endured for nearly two decades of dodge and delay tactics by legislators to avoid Statute of Limitation Reform.

I signed up to speak at Rep. Rozzi’s “listening tour” event on 1/27/23 as a public commenter. Unfortunately, I wasn’t selected and didn’t get that opportunity.

I stayed publicly silent for 32 years after being sexually abused as a child. Then, I shared my story with Philadelphia Magazine in 2018, detailing my life at ages 12-14 when I was groomed and then repeatedly sexually abused by a teacher at my…

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A Roman Catholic Diocese that covers central Massachusetts has published a new report about clergy sexual abuse of minors between 1950 and 2022, but unlike similar reports released by many other dioceses, the report did not include the names of the priests who were found to have committed abuse.

In the report made public Friday, Bishop Robert McManus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester said he felt releasing the names “will not accurately reflect the various concerns and outcomes.”

McManus said that in addition to reporting every allegation to law enforcement, the diocese publishes information on its website about every priest who has been placed on leave due to a credible report of abuse or who has been removed from clerical duties.

“Such lists can be a cause for deep division among many members of our Church who see this as publicly branding as guilty…

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A Massachusetts diocese has defended not publishing a list of accused clerics. Do they have a point?

The Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts, issued on Friday an updated report on clerical sexual abuse in the diocese, going back to the 1950s.

In the wake of first the Spotlight scandals of the early 2000s and then the Pennsylvania grand jury report of 2018, reports like these have become common for U.S. dioceses to release, and become an accepted part of both the Church’s reckoning with its past, and the tracking of its progress.

But the Worcester report was different from most — not for what it included, but for what it didn’t.

Unlike other dioceses, Worcester did not include the names of clergy accused of historical acts of abuse, and it does not maintain a public list of “credibly accused” clergy.

Those decisions have drawn criticism for Bishop Robert McManus, who has…

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On Jan. 26, 2023, Fordham University submitted a statement outlining an effort to better understand and prevent sexual misconduct from clergy members. The statement included a message from President Tania Tetlow where she said she sympathizes with survivors of abuse and aims to defend those from “such cruelty.” “Too many are still determined to disbelieve reality—that child sexual abuse remains rampant in many institutions with trust over children,” wrote Tetlow.

Citing her years as an attorney, Tetlow wrote about the variety of issues within the court system that occasionally turns a blind eye to such pressing issues. As a lawyer, she wrote that she has even discovered a “…frequent overlap between domestic violence and child sexual abuse.”

 “I [have] experienced the hostility of a legal system determined to disbelieve something so unpleasant. As I heard one family court judge announce, ‘litigants know not to bring claims like that into my court,’”…

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Timor Leste’s former president and four-time prime minister Xanana Gusmao has come under fire for joining the birthday party of a defrocked American priest jailed for child sex abuse.

The photos and videos showing Gusmao celebrating the 86th birthday of his long-time friend and ex-priest, Richard Daschbach, in Becora Prison in the capital Dili, on Jan. 26, sparked debates on social media.

Photos showed Gusmao, flanked by some other guests, cutting and sharing cake while smiling.

Richard Daschbach was sentenced to 12 years in jail in December 2021 for sexually abusing several minors in a childcare home he founded in the 1990s.

Supporters of the abuse victims said the incident has hurt them.

“This was very painful for the victims to see. It is a slap in the face to the victims,” a source close to the victims told UCA News on Jan 30.

She condemned…

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A former Catholic church musician anonymously alleging he was raped has been forced to identify himself by name in order to continue his legal action against the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville.

Identified only as “John Doe” in his original lawsuit alleging a seminarian raped him, the claimant refiled his lawsuit Jan. 27 under his legal name, according to the document uploaded by Pillar Media.

Knox County Circuit Court Judge E. Jerome Melson ruled in August 2022 that the claimant could not pursue the lawsuit anonymously, granting a request by the defendants, according to court records Pillar Media accessed.

Liz Evan, a Clarksville, Tenn.-area attorney and member of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Sexual Abuse Task Force, which oversaw a third-party investigation in the SBC Executive Committee’s handling of abuse claims, said the judge’s ruling could discourage alleged sexual abuse survivors from seeking justice.

“Survivors will absolutely be chilled from seeking justice through…

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The Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board (NAMB) terminated one of its church-planting leaders, Michael Crawford, on Friday amid reported “moral failure,” a NAMB spokesman confirmed to The Roys Report (TRR).

Crawford had been vice president of strategies and development for the Send Network, NAMB’s church-planting arm, since October. He also led the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware (BCMD), but resigned suddenly on Friday.

A letter to BCMD member churches stated Crawford gave notice that he was resigning as executive director “effective immediately.” He had led the organization for almost a year.

Crawford’s resignation came “due to moral failure involving marital indiscretions which disqualifies him from this position,” according to the letter from the BCMD’s president, the president of its administrative committee, and the leader of its mission board.

Crawford’s departure is the second at NAMB amid scandal within the last nine months. Last May,…

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Michael Crawford, executive director of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware, has resigned “due to moral failure involving marital indiscretions which disqualifies him from this position,” the convention’s Administrative Committee announced Saturday, Feb. 4.

“This morning we received word from Brother Michael Crawford that he is resigning his position as the executive director of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware effective immediately,” the brief statement said. “The reason for his resignation is due to moral failure involving marital indiscretions which disqualifies him from this position.”

What is not clear is Crawford’s employment status with the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board, where he also has been employed as vice president of strategy and development. That position was announced last October.

Given the unusual nature of an executive being simultaneously employed in two full-time jobs by two Baptist entities, BNG asked Crawford in October if he was, in fact, being employed by both BCMD…

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Parents who say their child was abused by a teacher at a preschool in Texas are suing the preschool where the abuse allegedly happened. They’re also suing a Christian preschool where the teacher was previously employed, claiming the school failed to report other allegations of the teacher’s abuse, allowing his abuse to continue.

The lawsuit was filed on January 26 in Dallas County District Court and seeks $100 million in damages. The Roys Report (TRR) is not naming the alleged victim’s parents to protect the alleged victim’s identity. 

The suit alleges that Thaddaeus Davidson, 34, abused the plaintiffs’ 3-year-old child while employed at Carpe Diem Private Preschool in Southlake.

The suit adds that Davidson’s previous employer, Lionheart Children’s Academy, failed to report allegations of abuse, dating back to 2021. A non-profit Christian organization founded in 2014, Lionheart operates educational childcare programs using contracted church facilities.

According to Lionheart, Davidson has…

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Bishop Georg Bätzing and Irme Stetter-Karp spoke on the first full day of Europe’s synodal continental assembly in Prague.

German Catholic leaders urged participants in Europe’s synodal continental assembly Monday to consider adopting the goals of the country’s controversial “synodal way.”

Bishop Georg Bätzing, chairman of the German bishops’ conference, and Irme Stetter-Karp, president of the lay Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), told delegates at the meeting in Prague Feb. 6 that the Church needed structural changes in response to systemic abuse.

Speaking on the first full day of the meeting, they insisted that the Church in Germany wanted to pursue reforms in unity with Catholics in other European countries, rather than taking a “special path” (Sonderweg) that critics say could lead to schism.

Bishop Bätzing said: “We started a synodal way in 2019 because a scientific investigation into abuse in our Church showed us: There is serious…

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The Florida Department of Children and Families is investigating claims made against a deacon at Little Flower Catholic Church in Pensacola, according to the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee.

The Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee says Little Flower Catholic School received a complaint from three students about the deacon, who serves at Little Flower Catholic Church.

The deacon will not serve the ministry until the investigation is complete.

The diocese says the incident did not take place at the school, and that it happened during Mass.

The Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee has alerted families of the incident. They sent WEAR News a statement, which we have provided below:

On Thursday afternoon, February 2, Little Flower Catholic School received a complaint from three students regarding Deacon [REDACTED], a deacon serving at Little Flower Catholic Church. The Florida Department of Children and Families and the Escambia County Sherriff’s Office were notified on February 3. At this time,…

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Archbishop John C. Wester has seen the Archdiocese of Santa Fe through a cataclysmic clergy abuse scandal, a bankruptcy of more than $121 million, and worst of all, the unscrubbable stain of the damage done to hundreds or thousands of New Mexico Roman Catholics, most of them children.

The clip file is huge and painful. But if you look at the calendar, much of it is in the past.

Or is it?

Not by a long shot.

My source? Archbishop John C. Wester.

“You know, sometimes people say, ‘Well, I guess we’ve settled that,’ ” Wester said in a recent interview. “I say, ‘Oh, no, we haven’t settled it at all.’ ”

His message is easy enough to discern. The archdiocese’s awful history regarding the sexual abuse of children can never again just be pages in a book; stories in a library; signatures on checks. The battle against abuse has…

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The Diocese of Rockville Centre’s proposal to offer a sexual abuse settlement of as much as $200 million raises many questions [“Diocese offers up to $200M sexual abuse settlement,” News, Jan. 28]. Church Canon law 1263 states that a bishop has the right to impose a moderate tax on each parish church.

Throughout the year, there are additional “second collections,” which are also delivered to the bishop of each diocese. My former church in Queens was recently paying an 18% tax with no accountability of where this money was being spent by the bishop.

How much money has been spent employing high-priced law firms by the diocese? When will the diocese’s financial concerns be controlled by faithful lay leaders who espouse transparency and accountability? If not now, when?

— Joe Campbell, Port Washington

St. Agnes is the patron saint of the Rockville Centre diocese. She is also the patron…

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The Australian Victorian Supreme Court has permitted a claim for damages by a secondary victim of abuse and effectively confirmed the extension of liability to secondary victims.

RWQ v The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne & Ors [2022] VSC 483 involved a claim brought pursuant to Part IX of the Wrongs Act 1958 (VIC) (the ‘1958 Act). The claim was brought by a father whose son had allegedly been abused by George Pell, the second defendant to the proceedings and a Vatican official, in 1996 when Pell was appointed as an assistant priest, bishop, auxiliary bishop and cardinal in Australia. The claim was also brought against the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne, the first defendant.

The pleadings of the plaintiff alleged that his son had turned to illicit substances at the age of 14 to deal with the trauma of the alleged abuse and that this had resulted in his fatal heroin overdose…

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The Costa Rican Bishops’ Conference and the Archdiocese of San José announced that an agreement has been reached to compensate four victims of sexual abuse by ex-priest Mauricio Víquez Lizano, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

The bishops said in a Feb. 1 statement that in order to close the legal proceedings for damages against the victims, “an agreement has been reached” that is “satisfactory to all parties.”

“According to what is established in this instrument, the content of this agreement is subject to a confidentiality clause, so no statements will be made in this regard,” the local Church said.

The bishops’ conference and the Archdiocese of San José stated that “the problem of the sexual abuse of minors is a dramatic situation in society” and added that “the Church regrets that cases have occurred in ecclesial contexts and works actively for prevention in order to provide safe environments.”

…

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I urge the Catholic Church and the Republican Party to refrain from seeking additional restrictions on abortion in the 2023 legislative session. Kansas voters rejected the imposition of Catholic teaching on abortion in August 2022, so why cause more strife in our state by debating abortion again?

Instead, the Catholic Church should focus on one of its biggest problems: the sexual abuse of boys and girls by its own Catholic priests and the coverup of these abuses by Catholic bishops. Sexual abuse and coverups occurred many times over many years, as the Kansas Bureau of Investigation documented in a report summary released Jan. 6, 2023, by the-Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

Having the Catholic Church repair its problems with bishops and priests is not the only reason for not seeking more restrictions on abortion.

Abortion is a religious and moral issue, and citizens should not be prohibited by the government or…

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The proposal, if passed, could have major financial ramifications for the Catholic Church and other institutions grappling with ongoing sexual abuse scandals

Childhood victims of sexual abuse in California would no longer face deadlines to file civil claims against their alleged abusers under a new bill announced Monday by Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay) and Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley).

The Justice for Survivors Act seeks to end the civil statute of limitations for child sexual abuse, including claims against institutions that may have enabled or covered up abuse. Under the state’s current law, survivors are required to file claims in civil court by their 40th birthday, or in some cases, within five years after discovering their abuse as an adult.

“By eliminating the civil statute of limitations for child sexual abuse, we are helping survivors come forward to seek the critical closure they need,” Addis said in a press release issued Monday….

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Advocates of clergy sexual abuse victims are slamming a new report by the Catholic Diocese of Worcester on the abuse of minors, arguing the report is a “deceptive cover-up.”

According to the report, the diocese has received 209 allegations of clerical sexual abuse since its founding in 1950, 173 of which diocesan officials have deemed credible. Since only one allegation involves abuse that occurred since 1998, the report argues the diocese has effectively prevented sexual abuse of minors in recent years.

But attorneys who specialize in clerical pedophilia are forcefully rejecting that conclusion, arguing the Worcester Diocese has a history of discouraging victims from reporting their experiences. Lawyers and advocates add that people usually wait to come forward about their experiences with sexual abuse until they’re at least about 50 years old. Therefore, they say the report does not accurately reflect more recent cases of abuse during…

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A Roman Catholic Diocese that covers central Massachusetts has published a new report about clergy sexual abuse of minors between 1950 and 2022, but unlike similar reports released by many other dioceses, the report did not include the names of the priests who were found to have committed abuse.

In the report made public Friday, Bishop Robert McManus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester said he felt releasing the names “will not accurately reflect the various concerns and outcomes.”

McManus said that in addition to reporting every allegation to law enforcement, the diocese publishes information on its website about every priest who has been placed on leave due to a credible report of abuse or who has been removed from clerical duties.

“Such lists can be a cause for deep division among many members of our Church who see this as publicly branding as guilty…

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This is the 16th installment in an 18-part serial on the unsolved 1966 murder of Buffalo Diocese Monsignor Francis J. O’Connor. Read the rest of the series.

[Includes brief video of former Buffalo News reporter Michael McKeating [who] remembers the murder of Francis O’Connor, sharing why he believes the Buffalo Diocese pressured the Buffalo police to stop investigating, and what Buffalo police homicide chief Leo J. Donovan told him about the investigation being shut down.]

Bishop James A. McNulty left no doubt who was the boss during the nine years he spent in charge of Buffalo’s Catholic Diocese.

But was he powerful enough to stop Buffalo police from investigating the murder of one of his priests? Did he?

McNulty was running the Buffalo Diocese when Monsignor Francis J. O’Connor was found dead March 13, 1966, in Scajaquada Creek.

The O’Connor murder probe was shut down suddenly –…

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What a despicable statement by the attorney for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, Gerald Petruccelli, who argued in court last week that nobody in Maine would have the “right to rest” if the statute of limitations for civil cases remained repealed. The victims of heinous crimes will never have that luxury.

It’s clear that the Catholic Church hasn’t changed. It has not accepted responsibility for decades of systemic protection of abusers and still does not exhibit compassion for the victims. Is there no limit to its hypocrisy?

Daniel Smith
Yarmouth

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