ABUSE TRACKER

After the death of a classmate, it is natural for teachers to listen to their students and be patient and understanding of the ways they grieve. What isn’t a reasonable response is to use the death of the classmate to their advantage.

Carlos Franco-Leon, 44, a former teacher and coach at Morris Catholic High School, did just that when he offered his support to two 15-year-old heartbroken students, one whom he admitted in a plea hearing in October to touching her buttocks in his classroom and another who he had a sexual relationship with for years.

“It absolutely astonishes me the complete lack of understanding or comprehension of the offense and the lack of empathy for the victims,” Superior Court Judge Stephen Taylor said of Franco-Leon, who stood before the Morris County judge on Friday for his sentencing.

Taylor sentenced Franco-Leon to nine years in jail: six years for charges…

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One of the lawyers defending victims of a scandal-ridden Peruvian lay group has voiced confidence that the civil case he is leading against several of its members will move forward, and he believes the organization could soon be dissolved.

Speaking to Crux, José Ugaz, a named partner with the Benites, Vargas & Ugaz law firm in Peru, said they are “very interested in the dissolution of this institution, which has had a criminal vocation among the highest ranks of its leadership.”

“We also know that at the level of the church, this is being evaluated and it’s possible that the church will make a decision in the coming months,” he said.

The group in question is the Sodalitium Christinae Vitae (SCV), one of the largest and most prominent Catholic lay groups in Latin America. It was founded by Peruvian layman Luis Fernando Figari in the 1970s.

Figari, who is accused of physical, psychological,…

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The deposition of former Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany bishop Howard J. Hubbard, who served in that role from 1977 to 2014, is now public after attempts to conceal it by his lawyers.

In his own words, the former bishop says by not reporting sexual abuse claims to law enforcement he was hoping to avoid scandal and retain the “respect for the priesthood”. When asked by an attorney why he did not inform parishioners, specifically parents, about troubled priests, Hubbard said, “by the standards I was using in the 70s and 80s, I didn’t think that was a necessity.”

Hubbard was deposed over a series of several days in April 2021. According to the deposition, between 1977 and 2002, the bishop was made aware of at least 11 priests who had been accused of sexually assaulting children.

During his tenure, Hubbard sent some of those priests away for “treatment” after…

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After a months-long investigation into allegations of sexual abuse against the late father Léon Lajoie, who worked in Kahnawake for over 30 years, the results were shared with community members last Friday.

The executive summary of the report prepared by King International Advisory Group (KIAG), the firm commissioned by the Jesuits of Canada to carry out the investigation, stated that unless more information comes to light, KIAG’s conclusions “do not currently support any allegation of childhood sexual abuse by Father Leon Lajoie, S.J. in Kahnawà:ke during the period between 1956-1990.”

The summary presents a general overview of how the investigation into the former priest of the St. Francis-Xavier Mission Catholic Church was conducted and the findings that resulted, with no identifying information included.

It states that three alleged victims were identified, and two agreed to participate in the investigation.

“We did get a strong outpouring of people from the community…

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In a lengthy article in “La Civiltà Cattolica”, former Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi SJ says bishops showed “great courage” in commissioning independent report

Father Federico Lombardi, the Jesuit priest who served as Vatican spokesman under the last two popes, has praised the Catholic bishops of France for their courageous decision to entrust an independent commission with investigating Church-related sex abuse in their county.

Lombardi, writing in the latest issue of La Civiltà Cattolica (LCC), gave an extensive evaluation of the report that the commission – known as the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE) – issued last October.

LCC is a Jesuit journal whose articles are approved by the Holy See’s Secretariat of State, and the former spokesman’s 13-page evaluation is the first study published by a periodical institutionally linked to the Vatican.

Instrumental figure in Vatican’s response to abuse

Lombardi, now 79, has been instrumental…

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Church of Grace and Resurrection church member Juanita Faulkner is suing Rev. Gilberto Hinds for $2 million for emotional distress and financial losses.

A Queens clergyman had an unholy reaction to a member of his flock, accusing her of trying to seduce him and slamming her as “disgusting” and “stupid,” according to a lawsuit.

Juanita Faulkner claims her time at Episcopal Church of Grace and Resurrection became a living hell in 2018, when Rev. Gilberto Hinds began haranguing her.

“You are the most disgusting person that I have ever met,” Hinds allegedly told Faulkner, in front of others.

At another point, the interim priest at the Elmhurst church allegedly told her, “I have developed an aversion towards you” and “Whenever you and I are in the same room, I feel a desperate need to move to the other end,” she claims in a Queens Supreme Court lawsuit against Hinds and…

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The pastor identified as Pondson John, a priest from the Orthodox Church at Koodal, repeatedly sexually abused a 17-year-old minor girl.

On Thursday, an orthodox church priest was arrested for sexually abusing a minor girl in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala.

According to reports, the pastor identified as Pondson John, a priest from the Orthodox Church at Koodal, repeatedly sexually abused a 17-year-old minor girl. The priest sexually abused the 17-year-old girl when she was left in his care for counselling.

The victim’s parents had sought the help of the priest for counselling her, as she was facing academic troubles.

As per the police complaint, the accused misbehaved with her two times at two different locations on March 12 and 13. At first, the priest sexually abused the victim at the church. Following the incident, the girl refused to go to the church the next day. However, the…

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How one organization—our own—got it wrong in responding to sexual harassment. And how we can do better.

I joined Christianity Today as its president and CEO in May of 2019. In August of the same year, it came to my attention that one of our editorial leaders had treated his female reports unprofessionally, engaging in unwanted touch despite repeated communications that such behavior was wrong, unwelcome, and needed to stop. I gathered more information about the history of the issue, and it was clear that earlier incidents with this individual had been addressed primarily through one-on-one conversations.

Without any written warnings in place, our options in August of 2019 were limited. We disciplined him, we documented it, and we warned him that he would be suspended or fired if it should happen again. No further allegations of unwanted touch or other inappropriate conduct arose between then and his retirement.

However,…

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Preserving ‘respect for the priesthood’ was behind efforts to conceal sexual abuse, Hubbard said

Former Albany Bishop Howard J. Hubbard testified under oath last year that the diocese systematically concealed incidents of child sexual abuse, did not alert law enforcement agencies when they discovered it, and that their actions were, in part, intended to avoid scandal and preserve “respect for the priesthood.”

The testimony of Hubbard was made public Friday after a judge recently ordered the release of a lengthy deposition that took place last April. The former bishop was questioned for four days that month by attorneys representing dozens of individuals who filed claims under the state’s Child Victims Act alleging they had been sexually abused by priests or others associated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany.

During his deposition, which took place over Zoom, Hubbard was pressed by one attorney about why he didn’t call the police…

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Testimony Lays Bare Bishop’s Lies in August 13, 2021, Op-ed and Reveals Nearly Four Decades of Danger

Bishop Howard Hubbard’s deposition was released publicly today as a result of a recent decision by Albany County Supreme Court.  For months Bishop Hubbard and his attorneys fought vigorously to keep the deposition sealed and out of the public eye.  Jeff Anderson, one of the attorneys for the survivor who sought the release of the deposition had this to say:

“Bishop Hubbard’s testimony reveals decades of decadence, denial and deception at the peril of so many innocent, trusting children, in his own words.“

This is the first time that Bishop Hubbard’s testimony about his more than three-decade-long practice of protecting accused perpetrators instead of children has been revealed.  Hubbard was the Bishop the Diocese of Albany New York for 37 years.  Cynthia LaFave, who also represents the survivor in the case, said:

“The testimony will…

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Spain’s Church said on Friday it had discovered 506 cases of child sex abuse through a complaints procedure launched in 2020, stressing its desire for “truth” as the nation opened its first official investigation

Unlike in many other nations where the government or the Church itself has opened a probe into the scale of such abuses, this has never happened in Spain.

But this week, lawmakers backed the creation of an independent expert committee to investigate the abuses, with the Church on Friday offering a fresh update on case numbers.

“In the past two years… we have received information or complaints about 506 cases,” Luis Arguello, secretary-general of the CEE Episcopal Conference that groups Spain’s leading bishops, told a news conference.

In 2020, Spain opened 202 “child protection and abuse prevention” offices following an order from the Vatican requiring every Catholic diocese around the world have an office or system…

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Hillsong Atlanta’s Lead Pastor Sam Collier has resigned from the global Hillsong church, citing the recent scandals and explaining “it’s become too difficult to lead and grow a young Church in this environment.”

As CBN News reported, Collier and his wife Toni, have led the Hillsong Atlanta church since 2021. 

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Collier, 33, wrote:  “This one hurt my heart deeply. I love @Hillsong, it’s leaders and believe God will pull them through this season.”

“It is with great sadness that I inform you of my departure from Hillsong,” he continued. 

“I have appreciated the Hillsong family and want to thank the Houstons for the love they have shown Toni and me,” Collier wrote. 

“My greatest reason for stepping down as Pastor of Hillsong Atlanta is probably not a secret to any of you. With all of the documentaries, scandals, articles, accusations, and the…

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Australia’s biggest evangelical church said on Wednesday its founder had resigned after acting inappropriately towards two women, another blow to an influential organisation already reeling from charges the leader had covered up sex abuse.

Hillsong Church said an internal investigation into complaints from two women had found that its global senior pastor, Brian Houston, had breached worshippers’ trust.

“We understand there will be much emotion at this news, and we all share these feelings,” Hillsong said in a statement on its website.

“We acknowledge that change is needed. We have committed to an independent review of our governance structure and processes, understanding that this is a time of humble reflection.”

The church said Houston, 68, had sent unacceptable text messages to a female staff member and had entered the hotel room of, and spent time with, another woman who was also involved with the church after an event.

Houston was…

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Attorney says she has reports of abuse from other churches in multi-state network

Some of the women who say they were abused at a north Jacksonville church went back to the church campus Wednesday with their attorney to share their stories. Attorney Cynthia Crawford told News4JAX she is a former member of the church as well, which is why the women trust her.

She joined them at the former site of the Jacksonville Assembly of the Body of Christ Church off Old Kings Road on Wednesday. The pastor of the church and two other members were arrested and charged with capital sexual battery this month.

The women who shared their stories with News4JAX were at the church at different times and described the changes and abuse they witnessed and experienced — spanning over 20 years.

“To think that it’s still standing or maybe they just replaced it, like…

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Spain’s parliament has approved the creation of a commission of inquiry to shed light on the sexual abuse of minors in Catholic-run institutions and churches

Spain’s parliament has voted to create an independent commission of experts to conduct an official investigation into pedocriminality in the Spanish Catholic Church.

The move on Thursday marks a major step in the fight against Church-related abuse in Spain and effectively by-passes the country’s bishops who have long been accused of trying to hide the phenomenon.

The new and unprecedented initiative, which was spearheaded by the ruling Socialists and the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), was approved by a wide majority in the Chamber of Deputies.

Two hundred seventy-seven of the 350 elected members voted in favor of setting up the abuse commission.

The vote comes after the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE) announced on February 21 that it was launching its own independent audit on sexual…

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German history is instructive in helping us understand the trajectory of the Church’s reckoning with the abuse crisis

In the history of the papacy, Benedict XVI marks a caesura or a break, something quite ironic, given the fact that many traditionalist Catholics identify his pontificate with the “hermeneutics of continuity”.

This caesura is not only tied to his decision in 2013 to voluntarily resign the papal office, but even more so to the fact that he has now been retired longer than he actually served as Bishop of Rome.

This has marked an extraordinary moment in the life of the Church and now Benedict’s recent penitential letter concerning historical cases of sex abuse in the Munich archdiocese he briefly led (1977-1982) must be added to the picture.

The letter was in response to a report on clergy abuse cases between 1945-2019 that said the former pope mishandled at least four…

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 The Rhode Island House Judiciary Committee is considering a bill to eliminate the time limit on sex abuse claims.

On Thursday it heard emotional testimony from sexual abuse survivors.

The civil statute of limitations is currently 35 years, or 7 years after an adult becomes aware of past abuse.

Now, lawmakers are trying to end the time limit on these specific types of cases.

South Kingstown Representative Carol Hagan MacEntee sponsors the bill and wants to strengthen the law, saying it would better protect children and provide support for victims.

Many speakers publicly shared their emotional stories of abuse.

Mary Banks says in the 1970s she was sexually abused by a priest at the age of 16 in Maine.

She kept it a secret until 2020 when she reported it to the Diocese.

Last year, Maine passed legislation to end the statute of limitations on sex abuse claims.

Mary…

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The bankruptcy case of the Catholic Diocese of Rochester could take a potentially significant turn.

A legal stipulation in the case expired at midnight. It allows victims abused by priests to now sue individual parishes.

The bankruptcy case, which is seeking to settle with the victims suing the diocese, is now in its third year. One legal expert tells 13WHAM it could be one of the longest cases on record.

Brian Delafranier is among 500 people who filed lawsuits under New York’s Child Victim’s Act against the diocese.

Facing potentially massive payouts to victims, the diocese filed for bankruptcy in 2019.

The case has dragged on for almost three years and that could prove costly.

A legal stipulation in the bankruptcy case staying the sexual abuse cases from moving forward expired at midnight on March 23, 2022. It had been renewed 11 previous times.

The expiration could potentially take the…

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Nearly five years after her son’s suicide, Patricia Osorio remains in pursuit of the identity of the priest who abused 11-year-old Daniel when he was a student at one of the most prestigious Catholic schools in the Colombian capital.

“I am leaving because I am tired of the life I have … As a boy I was abused at school. They wanted to make me a prostitute,” Daniel – by then a university student – wrote his mother when he swallowed pills in an unsuccessful attempt at suicide.

Looking back, Patricia, herself a teacher by profession, speaks of Daniel’s enrollment at Colegio San Viator as if he fell into the hands of criminals.

Blond and blue-eyed, Daniel “had the face of an angel,” his mother tells Efe while holding a photo album full of images from his youth.

Like many victims of clerical sexual abuse, Daniel was the child of…

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When friends ask Rose-Alma McDonald, “How can you still go to that church?” – and they ask often – the 68-year-old Mohawk from Akwesasne knows exactly what they’re getting at.

For much of last year, the doors of her Catholic church were surrounded by hundreds of baby shoes, reminders of the unmarked graves located around the site of a former Catholic Church-run residential school in Kamloops last June.

“Yeah, it tested my faith,” said Ms. McDonald, a lay minister. “It made me feel bad.”

Like many of Canada’s 11 million Catholics, Ms. McDonald will be watching the developments from an Indigenous delegation’s visit to the Vatican later this month with nervous anticipation. While she hopes the trip, along with a widely anticipated papal apology on Canadian soil, can begin to reverse the church’s troubled relationship with Indigenous people, she knows junkets and regret alone won’t cut it.

“It’s a good…

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The Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) community on Montreal’s South Shore is going to the polls this weekend to decide what do to with the remains of Jesuit priest Father Leon Lajoie.

It’s an issue dividing many community members.

Lajoie was buried on the grounds of the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in the community 23 years ago.

Last year, allegations of sexual assault surfaced. Now, the community will decide via referendum whether the priest’s remains will remain on the territory.

“It’s a very important issue so please take the time to make your voice heard,” said Mohawk Council of Kahnawake chief Tonya Perron in a video message on Facebook.

King International Advisory Group identified three complainants who had come forward with allegations, however, KIAG noted that “as many as 20 individuals had come forward to members of a community protest group that had formed following the May 2021 Kamloops discovery [of a…

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The Archdiocese of Agaña and parties working with sex abuse survivors announced they are “inches” close to reaching a settlement amount.

“I would say 30 days ago — even two weeks ago — we were a mile or two apart, and now I would measure the distance apart by inches,” said attorney Edwin Caldie, who’s representing the survivors and creditors in discussions with the Archdiocese.

Following a ruling made by Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood, the parties involved were scheduled to discuss a settlement amount Friday morning.

The ruling made on Feb. 26 allowed the archdiocese to use funds from the Catholic schools and parishes to help pay survivors of sexual abuse.

Settling

Although the set amount was not reached, attorneys on both sides said after productive discussions since the ruling was made, an amount should be settled in the coming months.

“We’re getting to a point where I think the…

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While not coming up with a new specific dollar amount yet to offer survivors of clergy sexual assault, the Archdiocese of Agana and its creditors on Friday announced they are “close” to submitting a “consensual joint plan.”

That plan is about compensating nearly 300 abuse survivors and getting the archdiocese out of bankruptcy without closing any Catholic parish, school and other ministries.

“I’m happy to hear that you made progress from being miles apart to inches apart,” U.S. District Court Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood said Friday morning.

The judge gave parties up to April 8 to present their settlement agreement.

Previously, the archdiocese indicated it could pay up to $34.8 million, while the creditors’ committee has been proposing a payment plan of at least $100 million and real estate assets. The archdiocese’s initial offer was lower.

A key trial in February cleared the way for the archdiocese to include assets of…

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“What every institution needs to do is welcome survivors into their midst, to listen to them and act accordingly.”

Nazir Azfal, chair of the Church’s safeguarding agency, has asked survivors of clerical abuse to contact him directly, warning that “some people still don’t get it”.

In his made the comments in an opinion column for the Birmingham Mail’s BirminghamLive, Afzal asks survivors of clerical abuse to contact him directly through his email, chair@catholicsafeguarding.org.uk, stating that he’d learnt over many years that “the experiences of survivors drive change”. In particular, he requested those interested in participating in a survivors reference panel to get in touch.

“What every institution needs to do is welcome survivors into their midst, to listen to them and act accordingly.” And, Afzal added, “I do not want to hear anyone say that “we haven’t got a problem” because they are deluding themselves and endangering victims.”

Warning that “some…

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The bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dodge City will resume his duties after church and civil investigations into a sexual abuse allegation did not support charges against him, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann announced Wednesday.

Bishop John Brungardt, 63, voluntarily stepped away when an allegation of sexual abuse of a child was lodged against him in February 2021, The Kansas City Star reported.

Naumann, who leads the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, said in a statement that the KBI investigated the allegations and prosecutors declined to file charges.

Naumann said church authorities also dismissed the case against Brungardt after their investigation concluded the evidence did not support the allegation.

Naumann said Brungardt “vigorously” denied the allegation and cooperated with both investigations.

The KBI is in its fourth year of investigating reports of sexual abuse in the four Catholic dioceses in Kansas and the…

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Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas today announced that Bishop John Brungardt will be resuming his duties as the Bishop of the Diocese of Dodge City.  Bishop Brungardt does so after a 14 month period during which he stepped aside after an allegation of sexual abuse was made against him.  Bishop Brungardt voluntarily withdrew from public ministry to facilitate the investigation of the allegation.  During that period, the allegation was fully investigated by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), following which civil authorities declined prosecution.

Following the KBI investigation, Church authorities conducted their own separate investigation of the allegation.  The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican has now determined that the allegation against Bishop Brungardt is not supported by the evidence and the case against him has been dismissed.

Bishop Brungardt has vigorously denied the allegation throughout, and he fully…

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The bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dodge City who stepped down 14 months ago during an investigation into a sexual abuse allegation is resuming his duties, a church official announced Wednesday.

Bishop John Brungardt will return to his role as bishop after investigations by Kansas’ top law enforcement agency and church authorities, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas said in a statement.

“Bishop Brungardt voluntarily withdrew from public ministry to facilitate the investigation of the allegation,” Naumann said. “During that period, the allegation was fully investigated by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), following which civil authorities declined prosecution.”

Brungardt had stepped down as bishop in February 2021 after the allegation of sexual abuse of a minor was lodged against him.

Naumann said church authorities conducted their own investigation of the allegation after the KBI’s was completed.

“The Congregation for the…

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For immediate release: March 23, 2022

Seminarian accused of rape now at SLU

He recently lived with two former archdiocesan leaders

Bishop bizarrely claims that the alleged victim is really the perp

The same bishop, from St. Louis, also fired an investigator

SNAP to leaflet students warning of 20 SLU accused predators

Group wants SLU to post names of predators who worked here

WHAT: Handing out leaflets and holding signs, clergy abuse victims will warn St. Louis University students and staff about a seminarian who allegedly raped, assaulted, and spread defamatory rumors about a young man in 2019. The accused now attends the university and faces a recently filed civil lawsuit.

Victims will also prod SLU officials to post on their website the names of credibly accused child molesting clerics (like the archdiocese does). Their leaflet will name at least 15 priests who have been publicly accused of abuse and have…

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A survivor of clerical sexual abuse who quit the Vatican’s advisory group on abuse said she believes new reforms of the Roman Curia will further erode the independence of the body.

Marie Collins, whose advocacy led to an Irish government inquiry into the handling of abuse allegations in the Dublin Archdiocese, was one of the founding members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in 2014.

She quit in 2017, warning that “the reluctance of some in the Vatican Curia to implement recommendations or cooperate with the work of a commission, when the purpose is to improve the safety of children and vulnerable adults around the world, is unacceptable.”

Collins told The Irish Catholic newspaper that the Curia reorganization unveiled by Pope Francis March 19, which will see the commission become part of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, will further undermine the work of the…

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Archbishop Georg Gänswein, private secretary of retired Pope Benedict XVI, has defended his boss and criticized the Munich abuse report, which made international headlines when it was released in January.

The report alleges misconduct by Munich Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict, in dealing with four abusers during his time as head of the archdiocese from 1977 to 1982. The lawyers who conducted the investigation on behalf of the archdiocese accused the retired pope of misconduct in four cases. The allegations included the transfer of clerics who had committed criminal offenses and were allowed to continue pastoral care elsewhere.

“Not one of the allegations stood up to scrutiny of the files,” Archbishop Gänswein said in an interview with the newspaper Die Zeit, published March 17. The German Catholic news agency KNA said Archbishop Gänswein told Die Zeit the report was “in reality an indictment.”

Archbishop Gänswein told Die Zeit the…

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The deeply evil abuse of vulnerable children that happened at the Marylands School in Christchurch, and at St Joseph’s Orphanage and the Hebron Trust, was “the darkest chapter of the Catholic Church’s history in New Zealand”.  

That’s what was stated in the closing submission filed by Te Rōpū Tautoko, on behalf of the Bishops and Congregational Leaders of the Catholic Church of New Zealand, on the last day of the case study hearing into Marylands School by the Royal Commission on Abuse in Care. 

Marylands School operated from 1955 to 1984, and was run by the Hospitaller Brothers of St John of God.  

The royal commission hearing, which ran from February 9-17 this year, heard testimony from 22 abuse survivors, as well as from survivor advocates, a Police representative, a Government official, a lawyer, Brother Timothy Graham of the St John of God brothers, and Archbishop Paul Martin, SM, the…

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A Franciscan friar who pleaded guilty to sexual battery earlier this month in Jefferson County has been sent to jail.

David Morrier was sentenced March 11 to stay in a Steubenville residence until his paperwork allows a transfer to Pennsylvania. According to court documents, he couldn’t stay where he originally was to go. With no other residence available, he suggested being held in jail until a place could be found for him.

Judge Joseph Bruzzese agreed.

According to the Franciscan Friars of the Third Order Regular from Loreto, Pa., Morrier is still considered a friar, but is not permitted to engage in public ministry. He was charged with sexual battery in relation to crimes involving a student between 2010 and 2013.

David Morrier was sentenced March 11 to stay in a Steubenville residence until his paperwork allows a transfer to Pennsylvania. According to court documents, he couldn’t stay…

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A December complaint sent through the U.S. bishops’ abuse reporting system alleges that a now-retired Brooklyn auxiliary bishop put minors at risk, by enabling a priest to be in contact with teenage girls despite allegations of grooming behavior.

Bishop Raymond Chappetto retired last month as auxiliary bishop and vicar general in the Brooklyn diocese. He is now the subject of a Vatican-ordered investigation under the terms of Vos estis lux mundi, the 2019 policy promulgated by Pope Francis on investigating abuse or administrative misconduct allegations against bishops.

The complaint, a copy of which was obtained by The Pillar, alleges two instances of administrative misconduct on the part of Chappetto. Both concern a Brooklyn priest, Fr. ​​Uririoghene Okrokoto, who was prohibited from contact with minors in August 2019, after allegations of “boundary violations and grooming” with teenage girls, according to the complaint filed against the bishop.

After he was sent to the St. Luke’s…

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After years of anticipation, Pope Francis issued Saturday a plan to restructure the Roman Curia, the central administrative offices and institutions charged with assisting the pope in leading the Catholic Church, and referred to commonly as the Vatican. 

Pope Francis wrote March 19 that his reforms aim to ensure that curial offices serve the needs of diocesan bishops and the mission of the papacy, and emphasized “transparency and coordinated action” — pointed responses to the pope’s longstanding concern that Vatican offices can seem territorial, opaque, and inflexible. 

The norms themselves, published in the apostolic constitution Praedicate evangelium, task the Vatican Secretariat of State with administrative coordination, while overhauling and combining related but long-independent offices. The pope himself took on responsibility for the missionary and evangelization departments of the Roman Curia, while elevating the status of the papal almoner, who coordinates Vatican charitable works. 

The text also states directly that lay people…

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Vatican officials on Monday defended the last-minute rollout of Pope Francis’ reform of the Holy See bureaucracy while also painting it as one of the most consequential moves of his pontificate since it recognizes that any believer, male or female, can head a Vatican office.

The new apostolic constitution “Praedicate Evanglium,” or “Proclaiming the Gospel,” was released Saturday after nine years of work with no advance warning and only in Italian. It replaces the previous 1988 founding blueprint of the Holy See which, among other things, made clear that only ordained priests, bishops and cardinals can head Vatican offices because they alone enjoyed the “power of governance” in the Catholic Church.

While the change potentially impacts just a few Vatican offices, the rationale behind it — as explained by officials at a Vatican press conference Monday — is significant and in keeping with Francis’ efforts to make the church less…

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When you string together all that’s alleged or known about Diocese of Knoxville Bishop Richard Stika and the purported seminarian who is now accused of sexually assaulting a church employee, it paints a pretty damning picture.  

None of these facts or allegations, in isolation, is of course conclusive proof of wrongdoing. But taken together, they sure don’t pass the smell test. 

A young Polish Catholic man moves to the U.S., and no explanation is offered. He joins the Jesuits. He’s apparently kicked out because of sexual misconduct allegations.  

Then, a bishop brings him to Knoxville and presents him as a seminarian even though he’s not yet in seminary.  

When he does attend seminary out of state, he is reportedly ousted for the same reason: sexual misconduct accusations. 

After the alleged crime in Knoxville, Stika reportedly gives the accuser an unexpected and unexplained gift. He sets up a meeting between the accuser and…

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On Monday a Peruvian archbishop who belongs to a scandal-ridden lay group and who has long been investigated by Peruvian media, met with Pope Francis at the Vatican as civil land disputes continue in his archdiocese.

On the list of papal appointments for Monday, March 21, was a meeting with Archbishop José Antonio Eguren Anselmi of Piura, Peru, who is a prominent member of the Sodalitium Christinae Vitae (SCV), founded by Peruvian layman Luis Fernando Figari in the 1970s.

Figari is accused of physical, psychological, and sexual abuses within the community, including against minors. He was sanctioned by the Vatican in 2017 and prohibited from having further contact with members of the group, and he is currently living in exile.

The Vatican did not publish details about the pope’s meeting with Eguren, which was private, and which marks the second one-on-one meeting the pope has had with him in less than four…

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St. Augustine once said in his Easter Sermon, 227: “If we receive the Eucharist worthily, we become what we receive.” If the Eucharist encompasses all virtues of justice, compassion, care for the oppressed, and commandments of love of God and love of neighbour, the commandments Jesus himself taught his disciples.

Today, the clamour for justice from the parish level — the clamour from the parishioners themselves who make up the church congregation — falls on deaf ears.

This clamour is related to the protection of their interest as parishioners, as the very people that helped put together the church properties that include buildings for worship and related faith activities. It includes as well Family Aid that is meant to assist parishioners and all other people that are in need.

These assets of the church are now for sale. Some of the parishes have been shut, thus depriving the parishioners of…

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Glenn Whiffen’s recent reflection on the Mount Cashel Crimes and the slow grinding of the wheels of justice should be required reading for every Catholic, whether clergy or laity.

Mr. Whiffen reminds us that the victims in this whole miserable failure are the children who were victimized, physically and sexually abused by those who were responsible for their welfare. ‘The Brothers’ went back to Ireland, but we’re still here.

We, parishioners of the St. John’s Archdiocese, may feel that we are unfairly drawn into the case as ‘vicarious defendants’, we who (most of us) never ill-treated a child in our lives. We may feel like victims, and it’s true that some priests have shared that feeling with their parishioners. Mr. Whiffen reminds us that most of us were never used and abused as disgracefully as those children in the Mount Cashel Boys’ Home.

We may experience some…

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Will faith without buildings be all that’s left for the faithful?

I know a lot of people in Newfoundland and Labrador who profess to be Roman Catholic. Many of them good friends, some are former partners, some are work colleagues, some are teammates and some are acquaintances.

Great people. Kind, real.

I’ve also, off and on as a reporter for 30 years, covered the physical and sexual abuse cases of Christian Brothers and priests who destroyed young boys’ lives — right from the Hughes Inquiry to the actual trials of the Mount Cashel Christian Brothers and priests in the early 1990s.

I’ve also met, spoke with and interviewed a number of victims — mostly men, and mostly still young men at the time, with their hearts and lives torn apart. Watched them crumble in front of me.

Some I still speak to from time to time. They are still struggling….

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Canada’s bishops have voiced hope that when delegations of Canadian Indigenous meet with Pope Francis next week, the meetings will be an opportunity to reflect on the tragedies of the past and take steps toward further healing and reconciliation.

Speaking to Crux, Johnathan Lesarge, a spokesman for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), expressed sorrow and remorse for the trauma experienced by Indigenous communities, and for the church’s role in the suffering they endured through the residential school system.

The bishops, Lesarge said, are “honored” that the pope has decided to meet with Indigenous representatives during individual and group audiences at the Vatican, “where they have the opportunities to tell their stories and share their perspectives.”

“We expect that these encounters will allow the Holy Father to meaningfully address both the ongoing trauma and legacy of suffering faced by Indigenous people to this day, as well as the role of…

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Survivors express optimism that senior German cleric grasps scale of issue

Cardinal Reinhard Marx: has yet to address a key accusation in the Munich abuse report, that former pope Benedict, during his time as archbishop of Munich, was aware of abusing priests in his archdiocese. Photograph: Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images 

German cardinal Reinhard Marx has conceded that confronting the legacy of clerical sexual abuse and its cover-up in the Catholic Church can only happen when “systemic questions” are asked of the institution and its hierarchy.

Two months ago a report commissioned by Cardinal Marx, as archbishop of Munich and Freising, documented nearly 500 cases of clerical sexual abuse of children and youths and at least 235 perpetrators in the archdiocese in the postwar decades – with the true number likely to be much higher.

“Through…

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Lawsuit claims church’s culture silences witnesses and whistleblowers while enabling abusers

WARNING: This article contains graphic content and may affect those who have experienced​ ​​​sexual violence or know someone affected by it. 

A former student who attended a Mission, B.C. seminary in the 1970s has filed a lawsuit against the school, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver, and the estate of a dead monk who he claims sexually assaulted him decades ago.

The alleged victim, who is applying to keep his identity anonymous, was one of three complainants in a 1990s criminal sexual assault trial that ended in the acquittal of Benedictine monk Vincent Harold Sander, known as Father Placidus.

According to a notice of civil claim filed this week in B.C. Supreme Court, the man claims Sander fondled his genitals and penetrated him anally when he was a 13-year-old student at the Seminary of Christ the King.

The lawsuit claims the church…

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Pope Francis released his long-awaited reform program of the Holy See bureaucracy on Saturday that envisages greater decision-making roles for the laity and gives new institutional weight to efforts to fight clerical sex abuse.

The 54-page text, titled “Praedicate Evanglium,” or “Proclaiming the Gospel,” replaces the founding constitution “Pastor Bonus” that was penned by St. John Paul II in 1988.

Francis was elected pope in 2013 in large part on his promise to reform the bulky and inefficient Vatican bureaucracy, which acts as the organ of central governance for the 1.3-billion strong Catholic Church. He named a Cabinet of cardinal advisers who have met periodically since his election to help him draft the changes.

Much of the reform work has been rolled out piecemeal over the years, with offices consolidated and financial reforms issued. But the publication of the new document, for now only in Italian, finalizes the process and…

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Pope Francis has overhauled the Vatican’s central bureaucracy for the first time in over 30 years, dramatically expanding the number of top leadership roles lay men and women can hold and reorganizing Vatican departments under the central priority of evangelization. 

The 54-page text of the new Apostolic Constitution was released on March 19 — 9 years to the day of Francis’ inauguration as pope in 2013 — and fulfills a top priority of the College of Cardinals, who made clear their desire to improve and decentralize church governance when they gathered in Rome to name a successor to the then-recently retired Pope Benedict XVI.  

Under the title of Praedicate Evangelium (“Preach the Gospel”), the new document stresses that evangelization is the central task of the church. 

“The reform of the Roman Curia is also placed in the context of the missionary nature of the church,” states the preamble to the text….

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People often ask SNAP leaders “What specifically can I do to help?” Here are some quick and easy ways you can prevent future abuse, and help already wounded survivors to heal.

Always ask yourself “Does this make it easier for victims to find help and come forward?” because that’s the fundamental question. Kids are safe, abusers are exposed and parents are warned ONLY when victims are able to report their crimes. If victims and witnesses stay silent, nothing changes.

1) Learn about “safe touch.” Make sure your kids know about it. Encourage your school, athletic league, YWCA, and other youth groups to offer such prevention programs.

2) Report suspected abuse, no matter how vague it might seem or how long ago it might have happened.

3) Support legislative reform efforts that make it easier for victims to report crimes and pursue their abusers in court. Especially important are extending/eliminating the civil…

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It wasn’t until Fr David Vard reluctantly took a trip to France to help the sick and vulnerable get a blessing at the Lourdes Baths that the Newbridge native saw another side of Catholicism

Ireland’s youngest priest has opened up on his journey to the priesthood despite the numerous scandals that engulfed the Catholic Church.

The mother and baby homes, the Tuam babies scandal, and the global child abuse revelations were all present as Fr David Vard went through his formative years.

The barrage of “bad news” even forced him out of the church after making his confirmation.

Fr Vard, Ireland’s youngest priest at 30 years of age, told The Tommy Tiernan Show he left the church as a youngster because he “didn’t want anything to do with it”; due to the numerous scandals that engulfed it

It wasn’t until he reluctantly took a trip to France to help the…

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A December complaint sent through the U.S. bishops’ abuse reporting system alleges that a now-retired Brooklyn auxiliary bishop put minors at risk, by enabling a priest to be in contact with teenage girls despite allegations of grooming behavior.

Bishop Raymond Chappetto retired last month as auxiliary bishop and vicar general in the Brooklyn diocese. He is now the subject of a Vatican-ordered investigation under the terms of Vos estis lux mundi, the 2019 policy promulgated by Pope Francis on investigating abuse or administrative misconduct allegations against bishops.

The complaint, a copy of which was obtained by The Pillar, alleges two instances of administrative misconduct on the part of Chappetto. Both concern a Brooklyn priest, Fr. ​​Uririoghene Okrokoto, who was prohibited from contact with minors in August 2019, after allegations of “boundary violations and grooming” with teenage girls, according to the complaint filed against the bishop.

After he was sent to the St. Luke’s…

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Vancouver’s Roman Catholic archbishop, a Mission Catholic seminary and a dead priest have been named as defendants in a lawsuit alleging sexual and physical abuse dating to 1977.

The complainant, known only by his initials, alleges Harold Vincent Sander, also known as Father Placidus, encouraged the 13-year-old seminary student to sketch his profile.

It was in Sander’s private office that the boy’s pants and underwear were lowered to his ankles, according to a notice of civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court on March 14.

The claim said Sander fondled the boy’s genitals and then anally penetrated him.

Named in the suit are the Seminary of Christ the King; Westminster Abbey Ltd.; The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver, a Corporation Sole; and the estate of Harold Vincent Sander a.k.a. Dom Placidus Sander. He died in October 2021.

The suit, filed by lawyer Sandra Kovacs, asserts Sander was in a position of power and trust…

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New efforts come amid the Catholic Church’s groundbreaking investigation.

Florent Varak had been a pastor for nine years in 2001 when a 15-year-old church attendee disclosed that his father had been sexually abusing him.

“I was just stunned,” said Varak, who at the time pastored Église protestante évangélique de Villeurbanne-Cusset (Evangelical Protestant Church of Villeurbanne-Cusset) in Lyon.

Since the attendee was a minor, Varak believed this revelation required immediate legal action. He called the father into his office and explained that the man would either write a letter to the procureur de la République, the district attorney, denouncing himself, or Varak would.

Varak wrote the letter, and the trial took place almost two years after a government investigation revealed that the abuser’s actions were not limited to his son. Varak attended the three-day trial and testified as a key witness. The father was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Two decades…

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Over the past few years, members of the LGBTQ Catholic community around the globe have been watching how Germany’s church leaders, organizations, and laity are leading the way on progressive measures for LGBTQ equality. Inevitably, the question arises: “How is that happening there when in other places we still struggle?” 

Bondings 2.0 editors asked Dr. Michael Brinkschröder, one of the leaders of the Catholic LGBTQ movement in Germany, to provide an analysis of  what has been happening in the church in that nation that has allowed it to move so far forward on LGBTQ issues. Dr. Brinkschröder, a theologian and sociologist, is a member of #OutInChurch and co-chair of the German Catholic LGBT+ Committee. The following is his response. 

Introduction: Waves of Solidarity and Support

In January of this year, 125 LGBTIQ church workers in Germany came out by issuing a statement “#OutInChurch” and by having a documentary “Wie Gott uns schuf”…

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[Via Kilgore News Herald]

Archbishop Michael Jude Byrnes on Friday issued a much stronger call for the Catholic community to pull together more existing assets to help pay nearly 300 survivors of Guam clergy sexual assault because it’s the “right thing” to do, and it would end the Archdiocese of Agana’s three-year bankruptcy.

Many of these assets must be contributed, he said.

The archdiocese is under a March 25 deadline to offer a revised settlement offer to the creditors’ committee that represents mostly abuse survivors.

Otherwise, the clergy sex abuse cases could go to trial.

The archbishop’s open letter gives a glimpse into the mixed sentiments within the Catholic community on the use of Catholic school, parish, chancery and other archdiocese assets to help pay abuse survivors.

“I acknowledge the many intense emotions of our Catholic faithful during this journey of atonement, reparation and reorganization. You are angry, saddened, frustrated…

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The friendship between then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires and Father Gustavo Zanchetta took root during 2005-2011, when the future pope led the Argentinian Bishops’ Conference and the younger priest served as executive undersecretary of that body. 

And after the election of the Church’s first Latin American pope in 2013, the strength of that bond was clear to all when Pope Francis, in one of his first episcopal appointments, named Father Zanchetta the new bishop of Orán in northern Argentina. 

The announcement prompted protests in the bishop-elect’s former Diocese of Quilmes, where lay leaders accused him of mishandling financial matters. It would be the first of many such complaints against Bishop Zanchetta that appeared to fall on deaf ears. Media reports and comments from Francis himself have documented the close bond between the two men and the fact that the accused remained in ministry for five years after allegations of sexual…

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A committee representing several Catholic entities in the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy has reached a settlement with the BSA and is withdrawing its objections to its proposed reorganization plan, attorneys told a judge Friday.

The announcement came on the fifth day of a trial to determine whether the Delaware judge will approve the BSA’s reorganization plan.

Under the settlement, virtually every Roman Catholic entity nationwide, including parishes, schools, dioceses and archdioceses, that was involved with Scouting would be considered a “participating chartered organization” in the bankruptcy.

That would release them from liability for all Scouting-related child sex abuse claims against them from 1976 to the present, and for all pre-1976 claims subject to coverage by insurance companies that have reached their own settlements in the BSA bankruptcy. They also would be granted 12 months to negotiate financial contributions to a settlement fund for abuse victims in exchange for a…

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Entering the season of Lent can seem like a blessed relief. The harsh mark of ash on the forehead, the stark words of truth, “you are dust,” the stripping away of the distractions and pleasures of our earthly life to stare our mortality square in the face — all these can be received with a bracing joy.

But as Ash Wednesday passes and the Sundays of Lent are one by one ticked off, we begin to feel the full weight and heft of our sin. We embark on Lent thinking it will act like a spiritual cold shower. Before long we are reminded that we are walking the Way of the Cross, and this isn’t some spa treatment we have signed up for.

This year marks 20 years since a group of journalists, part of an investigative team at The Boston Globe dubbed Spotlight, broke the story of the widespread and long-standing…

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Former Franciscan University chaplain Fr. David Morrier was sentenced to five years probation and a lifetime of sex offender registration Friday, after pleading guilty in a Jefferson County, Ohio, courtroom to one count of sexual battery. 

But while the priest’s conviction ends his time in the courtroom, the canonical case against Morrier is only beginning. And questions remain about what university administrators and the priest’s provincial leaders knew about allegations against him, and how they responded.

Morrier was charged in April 2021 with rape and sexual battery against a university student he is alleged to have groomed for years before engaging in serial sexual abuse. He received a plea bargain with the approval of his victim, the Steubenville Herald-Star reported, because she wanted to ensure he would be registered as a sex offender, in order to prevent him from committing new acts of abuse. 

According to a chilling statement from…

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Rome – Gabriel Boric, the charismatic former student activist who swept to the presidency in Chile last December and is now the second-youngest head of state in the world, marked the end of his first week in charge on Friday.

There’s at least one group in Chile clearly put on notice there’s a new sheriff in town – the country’s Catholic bishops, who presided over the most massive clerical abuse crisis anywhere in Latin America.

On Saturday, following his inauguration and in keeping with tradition, Boric took part in an ecumenical prayer service held in Santiago’s cathedral and led by Spanish-born Cardinal Celestino Aos, who’s still relatively new himself.

On Sunday, the president was again in the spotlight for the conclusion of his installation, and the 36-year-old left-leaning politician gave a hint as to what his relationship with the bishops will be during the next four years.

“There is something…

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A new lawsuit accuses a Charleston priest of sexual abuse.

Reverend Father Bryan Babick has been named in a federal lawsuit along with the diocese of Charleston and the Bishop of Charleston brought by a former seminary student.

Babick has been the parish administrator at Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Folly Beach. The defendant was also a former chaplain at Bishop England High School

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff “John Doe 197,” was a seminary student. He says he was being advised by Babick at the time of the alleged abuse in 2019.

Babick was a priest he says he’s known since his days as a Bishop England student.

While home on a break from his studies, the student says he met Babick for dinner.

The suit alleges that Doe lost consciousness and awoke to Babick performing sex acts on him. Afterward the suit alleges that Babick…

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[This letter refers to the Winter Report. See Gordon A. Winter et al., The Report of the Archdiocesan Commission of Enquiry into the Sexual Abuse of Children by Members of the Clergy (aka “The Winter Report”), Volume 1, Volume 2, and Conclusions and Recommendations, commissioned by Archbishop Alphonsus L. Penney of the Archdiocese of St. John’s, Newfoundland, June 1990]

When will people get it?

I refer to the assertion (since Vatican 2 in the 60s) that “WE are the Church.” Because, to be clear, it is not the building, it’s not the cemetery, it’s not even the parishioners who “chased the ace!” The church refers to the people. Humanity. All faiths. It resides within us.

So when I read about people being upset about the Diocese of the RC church having to sell its property and hand over monies raised for other purposes to the survivors of sexual abuse by…

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In many regards, it was entirely unremarkable: a short and simple memo, detailing some personnel decisions in a sparsely populated diocese far-removed from any significant source of worldly power.

But for the faithful in the beleaguered Diocese of Crookston, Minn., Bishop Andrew Cozzens’ letter of last week was nothing short of a pastoral revolution — and for Catholics more widely, it’s an instance of the kind of clarity the laity are increasingly expecting, though often lacking, from their leaders.

Issued on March 7, Bishop Cozzens’ letter was addressed to both the clergy and lay faithful of Crookston, a diocese that recently suffered through an acrimonious, multi-year investigation of its previous bishop, Michael Hoeppner, who only last April was forced to resign for grossly mishandling allegations of clergy sex abuse. Bishop Cozzens, who was installed to lead Crookston just 3 months ago, clarified in his letter that his predecessor would not be…

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A retired Catholic priest in Perth has been found guilty of sexually abusing a young girl more than 40 years ago.

Key points:

• The charges stem from incidents between 1979 and 1982
• The abuse began when the victim was six
• Doyle will be sentenced in May

Richard Doyle, 85, was found guilty of four charges of indecent dealings with the girl when she was between the ages of six and 10.

The District Court in WA was told the girl’s mother was a devout Catholic with a strong involvement in the church.

She first met Doyle in Bruce Rock where he was a parish priest.

When the family moved to Perth in 1978, Doyle visited their home uninvited.

The court heard Doyle would visit frequently between 1979 and 1982, and would often stay for dinner.

“If you knew my history of growing up, my parents, my grandparents would never turn…

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Dunedin’s Kavanagh College will be renamed after an investigation found its namesake failed to take appropriate action over claims of abuse.

The school will become Trinity Catholic College from 1 January 2023, with the Bishop of Dunedin saying the church had previously let survivors down badly.

An investigation began in 2020 after a number of abuse victims in the Dunedin diocese complained that former Catholic Bishop of Dunedin John Kavanagh had failed to act on claims of sexual abuse by priests.

Bishop Kavanagh died in 1985.

The Catholic Church’s National Office for Professional Standards (NOPS) engaged independent Christchurch senior investigator Micky Earl of the firm Corporate Risks to conduct an investigation into abuse complaints while Bishop Kavanagh was in office from 1957 to 1985.

In a statement, Metropolitan Archbishop of Aotearoa-New Zealand Cardinal John Dew said records showed that seven priests, two brothers and one lay teacher sexually abused children,…

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Vulnerable students at a British boarding school had sex in front of another pupil and others were able to sneak out and drink themselves unconscious because they were so poorly supervised, inspectors have found.

“Serious failures” were identified at Ampleforth college, a Catholic boarding school in North Yorkshire that charges £37,905 a year.

Ofsted inspectors found that arrangements to safeguard vulnerable pupils were ineffective, particularly outside the classroom.

“Some younger pupils, whose vulnerabilities include Send [special educational needs and disability], were able to engage in penetrative sexual activity, observed by another pupil, because levels of staff supervision were not sufficient to protect them,” the Ofsted report says.

The school denies that any sex took place, saying that police investigated and found “no implication of penetration”. It says a witness to the incident, which occurred when the children were getting changed for PE, reported “a three-second incident in which both [students] were…

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[Includes 15-minute video of the press conference announcing the lawsuit.]

On Tuesday, March 15, attorneys Jessica Arbour and Jacques Bezou, Jr. hosted a press conference regarding the filing of what they say is a “new child sexual abuse and coverup lawsuit.”

The suit has been filed on behalf of Larry Polizzi, a man who claims he was sexually abused as a child at Hope Haven, a church-run home for orphans and troubled youth.

Court papers report Polizzi was molested during a court-ordered stay at Hope Haven in 1976. Polizzi was 14 when the allegations happened.

This case follows a 2018 allegation filed against nearly 60 members of the clergy after what the Archdiocese of New Orleans said were ‘credible accusations of sexual abuse.” This included 8 members who worked at Hope Haven.

The 2018 case was filed by 4 men who stayed at Hope Haven as children in…

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A Catholic priest who sexually assaulted a parishioner while she visited him on Christmas Day has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register.

Father Martins Enegbuma pounced on the woman as she delivered a festive meal for him at his home next door to the Our Lady Mother of the Church in Edinburgh.

Enegbuma, 44, ran his hands over the victim’s body, rubbed her foot and kissed her on the mouth during the attack.

The disgraced priest, originally from Nigeria, denied the sex attack but was found guilty following a trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month.

He was back in the dock for sentencing yesterday where a sheriff described the offence as “a serious breach of trust”.

Following the conviction the Catholic Church issued an apology to the woman and praised her for coming forward to report the assault.

Previously the court heard the woman, who is in her…

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[Note from BishopAccountability.org: The “Disclosure Statement” appended to this article (see below) does not mention that Fr. Llywelyn works in the Jesuits’ West Province, which has released a list of 112 Jesuits credibly accused of sexual abuse. That list is not mentioned in this article, although Fr. Lewellyn does write: “Like those in other Catholic orders, Jesuit priests around the world have been accused of sex abuse. A recent church report in Spain, for example, identified 96 abusers, most of whom had already died.”]

I am a scholar of Catholicism and a priest who belongs to the Society of Jesus (more commonly known as the Jesuits) – often considered one of the Catholic Church’s most influential religious orders.

But the Jesuits are also among the church’s more controversial groups: They have sometimes run afoul of Catholic groups holding different opinions or church authorities, and they also have been accused of conniving in politics….

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[Via Crux]

Hamburg – Archbishop Georg Gänswein, private secretary of retired Pope Benedict XVI, has defended his boss and criticized the Munich abuse report, which made international headlines when it was released in January.

The report alleges misconduct by Munich Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict, in dealing with four abusers during his time as head of the archdiocese from 1977 to 1982. The lawyers who conducted the investigation on behalf of the archdiocese accused the retired pope of misconduct in four cases. The allegations included the transfer of clerics who had committed criminal offenses and were allowed to continue pastoral care elsewhere.

“Not one of the allegations stood up to scrutiny of the files,” Gänswein said in an interview with the newspaper Die Zeit, published March 17. The German Catholic news agency KNA said Gänswein told Die Zeit the report was “in reality an indictment.”

However, he said, the former pope was…

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[Includes a video with excerpts from survivors’ statements and a link to Senate bill 420 and Senate bill 75.]

Survivors of child sexual abuse are urging Kansas lawmakers to pass a bill getting rid of the age limit on when victims can come forward and seek justice.

“As more and more people have realized that from the time the crime happens to the time that a victim is able to talk about it…sometimes years even decades can go past,” Sen. Cindy Holscher, a democrat from Overland Park, said. “It’s called the age of disclosure, which on average, is the age of 52.”

Holscher, along with other democratic lawmakers held a press conference with survivors on Thursday at the Kansas statehouse. Two bills introduced this session would address reform for child sexual abuse victims. One of the proposals, Senate bill 420, would eliminate the deadline for filing civil lawsuits…

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An appeal court in India has overturned the conviction of the Revd Jonathan Robinson, a priest from the UK, for the abuse of a teenage boy (News, 17 August 2018).

A district judge in Tirunelveli, Jacinta Martin, ruled that the court was “highly satisfied that the charge against the accused is not proved and the accused is acquitted”.

The appeal-court decision brings to an end more than a decade of a legal battle by Mr Robinson, who was accused in September 2011 of abusing a pupil at the school run by the charity he founded in India, the Grail Trust.

His legal counsel submitted to the appeal court that there had been a “gross miscarriage of justice” in the original case. The boy at the centre of the case retracted his statements against Mr Robinson during the original trial, saying that he had made them only after coercion from the Child…

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Forgiveness is not an easy choice, for anyone. But forgiveness is a basic component of the Christian story, and the Christian life.

Still, for many people, forgiveness is a confusing subject — when is forgiveness enabling? Are Christians required to forgive? How we do it?

The Pillar’s Charlie Camosy spoke this week with two forgiveness experts: a priest and a psychologist. Fr. Thomas Berg and Dr. Timothy Lock – who work together at St. Joseph Seminary in New York – have co-written “Choosing Forgiveness: Unleash the Power of God’s Grace,” a new book that explores the meaning of forgiveness, and its importance.

Berg and Lock have a lot to say about what forgiveness really means. If you need to forgive – or be forgiven – you might find their remarks worth reading.

Living a Christian life, almost by definition, means making countercultural choices. Yet it seems like the possibility of forgiveness in…

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The head of a Massachusetts parish soup kitchen was placed on administrative leave on March 11 after allegations were made to the diocese that for years he has coerced vulnerable women who use the soup kitchen’s services into sex.

The complaint was made against Billy Riley, who has been the food for the poor coordinator for St. John’s Catholic Church in the Diocese of Worcester since 2013. A spokesperson for the diocese confirmed that the complaint was made on March 11.

“The coordinator is being placed on administrative leave and, given the seriousness of the allegations, an independent third-party investigator will be retained for a thorough investigation about this complaint,” Ray Delisle, the Diocese of Worcester chancellor and director of communications told Crux on March 11.

Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester declined to comment on the allegations citing that the complaint was recently received. Father John Madden, pastor of St. John’s, declined…

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A 14-year-old boy caught skipping school was ordered to attend a church-run facility for orphans and troubled youths outside New Orleans where he said a Catholic priest and nun sexually abused him.

Now he’s suing — roughly 46 years later.

Louisiana lawmakers lifted the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse cases last year, giving survivors a brief window of opportunity to seek justice in the courts against their alleged abusers. Larry Polizzi is among those taking advantage of the law, which expires in 2024.

Polizzi said in court documents that he was abused at the hands of religious leaders during a brief but “nightmarish” stay in 1976 at Hope Haven, a Catholic orphanage and residential youth facility.

“Our client has waited a very long time for the opportunity for justice and accountability for those responsible for him when he was a vulnerable child in their care,” Jessica Arbour with…

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A 35-year-old priest attached with a Syrian Orthodox Church in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala was arrested on Thursday morning, March 17, for allegedly sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl. He has been identified as Pondson John, priest of the Syrian Orthodox Church at Koodal.

According to IANS, the arrest was based on the complaint of the school girl who confided to her friend about the incident. Her friend, in turn, informed the school authorities. Later, after the school authorities informed the local Child Line officials, they got in touch with the local police. The Pathanamthitta Vanitha police, after a preliminary probe, took the priest into custody on Thursday morning.

According to the complaint, the girl was taken for counselling to the residence of the priest, on March 12, by her mother. The child’s mother had sought the help of the priest for counselling her, as she was facing troubles with her…

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This article is part of The Conversation with America Media, offering diverse perspectives on important issues in the life of the church. Read another perspective on social justice movements here.

One of the great difficulties for any thoughtful Catholic is to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff in assessing secular social movements and causes, particularly those whose leaders often make accurate observations about the moral failings of our society. You may find, as I have on occasion, your natural inclination for justice stirred—while at the same time recognizing, or not wanting to recognize, flaws in the way in which those who champion these causes frame their advocacy (or issues attendant to that advocacy).

It is not easy being a conscientious Catholic in an age of political tribalism. I confess that I sometimes find myself drawn to views and positions simply because it seems that the “wrong people” hold the opposite…

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A Boston Archdiocese priest has been accused of sexually abusing a student at least 100 times in the late 1970s at a Catholic school in Everett, one of the many places where he was assigned by the archdiocese, according to the alleged victim’s lawyer and the official Catholic Directory.

The late Rev. Michael J. Regan allegedly abused the girl from approximately 1977 to 1980, when she was about 14 to 17 years old and the priest was a teacher at Pope John XXIII High School, Mitchell Garabedian said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Regan allegedly threatened to prevent her from graduating if she did not comply with his sexual demands, said Garabedian, who has represented hundreds of clergy sex abuse victims worldwide.

“My client was terrified,” he said.

Since she was often called to Regan’s office during the 2-½ years, Garabedian said, it’s probable that the school’s administrators knew…

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Lawyers for victims not so flexible, however, when it comes to church-owned school properties

Uncertainty about the fate of cemeteries in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John’s has been put to rest following an agreement in principle that excludes the sacred properties from a historic and ongoing liquidation process.

Evelyn Grondin-Bailey, a member of the St. Patrick’s cemetery committee in Burin, said Monday she was “absolutely elated” that the restored cemetery in her community will not be sold.

“We were extremely happy to get that news,” she said.

But lawyers for the dozens of survivors of sexual abuse at the former Mount Cashel orphanage say they won’t be as lenient when it comes to the roughly 35 schools owned by the Catholic Church that were seized by the government after the dismantling of denominational education in the 1990s.

“If churches are being seized and sold to satisfy judgments, what about…

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[Via Catholic World Report]

One of the former seminarians who was the victim of sexual abuse by Argentine Bishop Emeritus Gustavo Zanchetta of Orán says the powerful prelate manipulated young men under his authority with clothing, computers, and other gifts, discriminated against darker-skinned seminarians, and “bragged about being friends” with Pope Francis.

“The truth is that we had a bad time. Although we all entered with the illusion of being priests, of serving people in the name of God, we lived through very hard times, of a lot of discrimination, of a lot of mistreatment and pain because the Church tried to hide everything that happened,” the former seminarian, identified only as “M.C.” told journalist Silvia Noviasky of the newspaper El Tribuno in an exclusive interview.

“M.C.” and another one-time seminarian, identified in court documents as as “G.G.F.L.,” claimed that Zanchetta had made “amorous proposals” and asked them to give…

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Officials are asking for anyone with information to come forward after a Catholic priest in Carmel was suspended following accusations of inappropriate conduct with a minor.

The Catholic Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana said Father James De Oreo, of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, was suspended from public ministry beginning Friday. A preliminary investigation is ongoing, and precautionary measures are in place, said the diocese, which added that the accusations were reported to Indiana Department of Child Protective Services.

The diocese asks that anyone aware of misconduct during Father De Oreo’s ministry as a priest or seminarian report the incident in the following manner:

• Make a report to Child Protective Services by calling 800-800-5556 or local law enforcement.
• Call Jackie Montrie M.A., LMFT, LMHC Victim Assistance Coordinator of the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana at (765) 464-4988.

“The safety and wellbeing of our children and young people are of the utmost importance,”…

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 A Wichita priest who was accused of sexual exploitation of a child will return to public ministry after the district attorney said he could not file charges.

Father Michael Schemm, from the Church of the Resurrection, was placed on administrative leave in November 2021 after allegations surfaced. The allegations reportedly occurred between 1993 and 1996, when Schemm was assigned to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Wichita.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or “SNAP” are taking issue with Diocese of Wichita’s decision to reinstate Schemm back into his position. 

“The Diocese is not only putting others at risk by returning Fr. Schemm into ministry,” the network stated in a press release. “But it is also re-traumatizing the brave survivor who came forward, as well as any other victims who may not yet be able to speak out about their abuse.”

The release goes on to say “SNAP supports…

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A woman who says she was sexually abused by a Roman Catholic priest who taught at her high school in Massachusetts has reached a financial settlement with the church, her lawyer said Tuesday.

The settlement with the Archdiocese of Boston reached late last year “was in the high five figures,” attorney Mitchell Garabedian said at a news conference.

The priest, the late Rev. Michael J. Regan, has not previously appeared on any list of credibly accused clergy, including the archdiocese’s own list, Garabedian said. He died in 2020.

“No substantiated claim of abuse was received while he was living,” the archdiocese said in a statement.

The now 60-year-old woman was sexually abused multiple times from 1977 until 1980 when she was from 14 to 17 years of age and attended the now-closed Pope John XXIII High School in Everett where Regan taught economics, Garabedian said.

Ordained in 1962, he served…

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A former Franciscan University priest was sentenced on Friday for sexual battery.

David R. Morrier, while working as a priest at Franciscan University, allegedly convinced a student he was counseling that having sex with him was necessary for mental health treatment purposes.

The prosecution said a pattern of rape and sexual battery occurred from 2010 to 2013, until Morrier was “transferred” to Texas.

Morrier pleaded guilty to a single count of sexual battery on the victim. According to the Herald-Star Prosecutor Jane Hanlin said the victim agreed to the plea deal because “What she wanted from Day 1 was to be able to prevent him from hurting anyone else.”

Morrier will be on probation for five years and must register every 90 days for life as a sex offender and he will be under house arrest with an ankle monitor until he is registered in his home state.

Franciscan University released…

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The Nassau County District Attorney’s office is investigating an associate pastor at a Levittown church for possible possession of child pornography. The church is under the umbrella of the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

The Rev. Joseph Nohs is being probed and is not permitted to serve as a priest at St. Bernard’s Church in Levittown until the outcome of the investigation is complete.

Requests for comment from the diocese were not returned at press time.

Anyone with information concerning the abuse of a minor can contact law enforcement and the Diocesan Office for the Protection of Children and Young People at (516) 594-9063.

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The Center Harbor school where several boys were reportedly molested by members of the disgraced Roman Catholic religious order, the Legionaires of Christ, is no longer a defendant in the federal lawsuits brought by the survivors.

Five men filed lawsuits against the order and the school last year in the United States District Court of Connecticut accusing the order of negligence for effectively facilitating and covering up the abuse.

Judge Kari Dooley dismissed the Immaculate Conception Apostolic School, or ICAS, from the lawsuit last month based on the argument that it is a separate entity based in New Hampshire. The Legionaries of Christ order is registered as a non-profit in Connecticut and it was headquartered in Connecticut for decades.

“ICAS’s principal place of business is in New Hampshire, where it operated, at the times relevant to the Complaint, a private, Roman Catholic boarding school,” Dooley wrote. “ICAS’s students attended class,…

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I don’t know were to begin.

My head is still spinning with the events of the weekend.

People have told me that it’s narcissistic of me to be traumatized by the Morrier case, and they’re probably right, but I can’t help it.  I was already suffering from religious trauma before I saw the news of his indictment last April, and I am worse off now. The only thing I know how to write about is me: my experiences, my life, my day, the things I am passionate about. I wish I had another person here to show you. But there is only me, one of thousands of victims of the Charismatic Renewal, unable to talk about whatever I should talk about, traumatized when I shouldn’t be, never getting better, never doing what I ought.  And the religious trauma is all I can think of today. I will try to give you…

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A Carmel priest was “suspended from public ministry” after allegations of “inappropriate conduct with a minor.”

Bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana Timothy Doherty announced James De Oreo’s suspension to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church parish at the end of mass on Sunday. De Oreo was an associate pastor at the church. 

Doherty said the suspension by the diocese was effective Friday, March 11.

De Oreo has not been charged with a crime as of 6 p.m. Monday, March 14, according to online court records. 

Doherty and the diocese didn’t provide specific details about the allegations or if there were previous investigations into De Oreo’s conduct.

In addition to the church, Our Lady of Mount Carmel has a K-8 school of about 600 students, according to state data from the 2020-21 school year.

IndyStar’s attempt to reach De Oreo by phone on Monday afternoon was unsuccessful.

“The diocese received allegations of inappropriate conduct…

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Under new laws that opened Louisiana’s window for victims of child sexual abuse to pursue civil claims, a lawsuit has been filed against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge. The suit has been filed by a man claiming former Baton Rouge and New Orleans priest, the now-deceased Rev. John Anthony Weber, sexually abused him in the 1970s. According to the petition for damages, which was filed in East Baton Rouge Parish District Court, the man claims he was sexually abused by Weber at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Baton Rouge beginning when he was about 13 years old. The church was also named in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit is the first clergy sexual abuse claim that the Diocese of Baton Rouge has faced since releasing a list in 2019 of its clergy members who were credibly accused of sexual abuse and worked in the diocese throughout its six-decade history. Father Weber was…

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Rick Prashaw launching book in April at Twiggs

Former Sudbury priest Rick Prashaw has published a faith memoir full of stories from his childhood, church and other careers.

Titled Father Rick, Roamin’ Catholic, the book covers seven decades of Prashaw’s life and has earned high praise from NDP politicians, faith leaders and fellow scribes.

“The eyes of some friends gloss over at the mention of faith,” noted Prashaw, who served as a priest in the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie from 1980 to 1991, including five years at St. Andrew the Apostle parish in New Sudbury. 

“Then they dive into the stories, enjoying the joy, mischief, irreverence, miracles, good works and good people, alongside the sobering commentary on the troubles plaguing religion.” 

Father Rick, Roamin’ Catholic is “an eye-opening memoir shining a light on faith, religion, and the little-known life of priests,” according to the book’s back cover. 

“My faith…

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Part of worldwide Catholic movement on synodality

Questions to be considered during synod discussions in archdiocese

• What in the church fills me with life? How is the Holy Spirit working in my life to deepen my faith and inspire me to be a better disciple and witness of Christ’s love others?
• As a community of believers, what experiences of the Catholic Church have brought joys or revealed wounds? And how can these experiences help us grow together in faith and offer the hope and healing of Christ to the greater community in which we live?
• As a Catholic community, we are expressly enjoined invite others into a life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ. When we dream about how best to accomplish this, what steps is the Holy Spirit inviting the Church in western Oregon to take?In Catholic parishes around western Oregon, Catholics have gathered over the past six weeks to…

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Cape Town – The Anglican Diocese of Niger has terminated the appointment of one of its priests, Reverend Canon Lumenkriti Ebo, for allegedly getting a woman who came seeking help pregnant, according to Malawian online news publication the Maravi Post.

Deputy Chancellor/Registrar of the Diocese on the Niger, Anglican Communion, Ben Uzuegbu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), stated this during a press conference held at the Secretariat complex of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Anambra State Council, Awka.

While the church accused Ebo of impregnating a lady who went to his adoration ministry by telling her she had to sleep with him to get healing, Ebo also accused the church of taking his legally married wife and accommodating her outside her matrimonial home, according to local media.

According to the church, Reverend Ebo made himself a god contrary to his mandate to be a role model, with the…

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The same forces that stalled a national transformation ended up fueling it.

Early in the pages of We Don’t Know Ourselves, Fintan O’Toole’s masterful “personal history” of modern Ireland, I came upon a moment in O’Toole’s life that intersected unexpectedly with my own. The date was Tuesday, March 8, 1966. In a Dublin bedroom in the chill dark of early morning—1:31 a.m. exactly—O’Toole’s mother, given to premonitions, awoke and exclaimed, “God, what was that?” Then came the sound of a distant explosion.

I, too, heard the explosion. My American family had moved from the United States to Ireland for several years. I was a schoolboy, a little older than O’Toole; our home was a mile or so from his. As everyone soon learned, an IRA splinter group had blown off the top of Nelson’s Pillar, an imposing column in O’Connell Street that some saw as a symbol of British oppression but…

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The platform can be quicker at recommending groups built around child predation than it is to remove them.

While trying to map the extent and impact of place-based Facebook groups where QAnon and allied disinformation spread, I went looking for Facebook groups with names including 10, 11, or 12. This was part of my work with the Pitt Disinformation Lab, and I was thinking of the 10th, 11th, or 12th wards of the city of Pittsburgh. What appeared instead was a group named “Buscando novi@ de 9,10,11,12,13 años.” Looking for a nine-year-old girlfriend? What?

The page’s aesthetic was cartoon cute: oversized eyes with long lashes, hearts and pastels. The posts that made explicit references to photographed genitalia were gamified and spangled with emoticons: “See your age in this list? Type it into the replies and I’ll show ‘it’ to you.”

Most often posts were just doorways to connection, the real danger offstage. “Looking…

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Congress has renewed a 1990s-era law that extends protections to victims of domestic and sexual violence, updating the landmark Violence Against Women Act nearly three years after partisan disagreements caused it to lapse.

It passed this week as part of a $1.5 trillion government funding package and capped years of work by members of the House and Senate. It is certain to win the signature of President Joe Biden, who worked on the law during his days in the Senate.

Passage of the legislation brought a rare moment of bipartisan agreement in the Congress, achieved partly on the strength of the personal connections that lawmakers have to domestic violence and its devastating effects.

For North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer, the connection is his adopted son whose biological mother was murdered by her husband. For Sen. Lisa Murkowski, it’s the need to expand the tribal jurisdiction over non-Indian offenders in her…

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A former Roman Catholic priest and teacher who abused his position and authority to sexually exploit a fearful male pupil at a boarding school, has been jailed at the age of 88.

As Father Anthony Barker, he served as a priest in County Durham until 20 years ago and has been living recently in retirement in Queensway, Hexham, Northumberland.

Durham Crown Court heard that a complaint arose in recent years from another pupil of the defendant who has since died.

While investigating those allegations, police spoke to a schoolboy friend of the original complainant who stated that he had been sexually abused at the hands of the defendant, as a child.

He said the abuse began about 50 years ago, during climbing lessons, when he was 12 or 13 and the defendant would have been in his 30s, and slightly later when Barker took him canoeing, as well as in the shower…

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Retired Auxiliary Bishop Edward M. Grosz kept a low profile in the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo since being accused last summer of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in 1990.

At least that was the case until Monday, when Grosz was on the altar for the funeral of Bishop Emeritus Donald W. Trautman in St. Peter Cathedral in Erie, Pa.

Grosz’s participation in the funeral Mass alongside several other bishops has sparked outrage on social media among survivors of clergy sexual abuse who thought the church had suspended him from public ministry while it investigated the abuse claim.

“I find it extremely offensive,” said Kevin Brun, who along with other abuse victims called the diocese chancery to complain about it. “You would think out of an abundance of caution they would refrain from allowing Bishop Grosz to be on the altar.”

Grosz, who retired in 2020, has not been suspended from…

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