ABUSE TRACKER

The Mesquite Police Department arrested a youth pastor on April 5 after receiving a delayed sexual assault of child report.

Mesquite resident Conner “Jesse” Penny, 32, was arrested after police obtained a warrant for continuous sexual abuse of a child.

For children and adults needing more information and resources regarding child sexual abuse, the Child Information Gateway lists the toll-free crisis hotline number to call as 866-367-5444.

According to a police department news release, an investigation found that Penny had sexual contact with a girl under 17 years of age on multiple occasions between 2015 and 2018. Since his arrest, additional victims have come forward alleging Penny abused them between 2013 and 2021, police said.

Penny was employed as the youth pastor at Inspiration Church, formerly known as Mimosa Lane Baptist Church, in Mesquite. Police said Penny’s previous employers include the Mesquite Independent School District and the…

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The bill was first proposed in 2012 but encountered opposition from more conservative groups in the mostly Muslim country.

Six years after deliberations first began, Indonesia’s parliament has passed a landmark bill to tackle sexual violence, aimed at providing a legal framework for victims to seek justice.

A majority of lawmakers backed the bill at the plenary session in parliament, overcoming opposition from some conservative groups in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country.

“We hope that the implementation of this law will resolve sexual violence cases,” speaker of the house Puan Maharani said.

The bill has been broadly welcomed by activists, though some have objected to its limited scope, with only some sex crimes included and the omission of a specific clause on rape which the government has said will be included in other legislation.

“This is surely a step forward,” said Asfinawati, a law expert at Jentera School of Law,…

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Protecting local Boy Scouts of America councils and troop sponsoring organizations from future liability for child sex abuse claims is critical to the national group’s reorganization plan, BSA attorneys told a Delaware bankruptcy judge Tuesday.

Attorneys opposing the plan countered that liability releases for non-debtor third parties are neither fair nor necessary, and that they infringe on the rights of abuse survivors to seek compensation for their abuse.

The Boy Scouts, based in Irving, Texas, petitioned for bankruptcy protection in February 2020, seeking to halt hundreds of individual lawsuits and create a settlement trust for abuse victims. Although the organization faced about 275 lawsuits at the time, more than 82,000 sexual abuse claims have been filed in the bankruptcy case.

The reorganization plan calls for the Boys Scouts and its 250 local councils, along with settling insurance companies and troop sponsoring organizations, to contribute some $2.6 billion in cash and…

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Since 2002, numerous bills have been introduced in the New York State Legislature to add clergy to the list of mandated reporters for child sexual abuse.

The bills — which have respected the sanctity of the confessional — long have been supported by the New York State Catholic Conference (NYSCC), which represents the state’s bishops in matters of public policy, and by Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger of the Diocese of Albany, who has been a national leader in responding to the clergy abuse crisis.

But 20 years since the first bills were introduced — which were spurred on by the sexual abuse scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston that was exposed by the Boston Globe — clergy still are not included in the expansive state list of mandated reporters that includes doctors, social workers, police officers, social service workers and most school officials. A mandated reporter is required…

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Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson wrestled with difficult decisions her whole career. She made sentencing decisions; she wrote briefs; she defended those who committed crimes — because that’s how our justice system works. Regardless of her political leanings and whether one has misgivings about her lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court, no one can argue that she hasn’t worn a heavy mantle of decision-making and judgment. Her black garment is a metaphor for the difficult decisions she has made that impact the lives of others.

Sen. Josh Hawley’s decisions also impact the lives of others. His garment, however, should be a lime green leisure suit on a hanger. He attracts a lot of attention; he’s loud; he makes a lot of statements. But he doesn’t do anything. He fist-pumped the insurrectionist mob that attempted a Keystone Kops coup. He derided the decisions that Judge Jackson made on sentencing of criminals….

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A commission investigating child sexual abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church said on Tuesday the nearly 300 testimonies of alleged victims it has collected so far were “just the tip of the iceberg”.

“There have been multiple cases of sexual abuse of children and teenagers in the past,” said the head of the commission, child psychiatrist Pedro Strecht, explaining that more than half of the 290 testimonies indicate “many more victims”.

The abuse allegations have come from people born between 1933 and 2009, from various backgrounds, from every region of the country and also from Portuguese nationals living in other European nations, the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Most of the alleged victims are men, and were sexually abused as early as when they were 2-years-old.

The commission started its work in January after a report by a commission in France revealed last year around 3,000 priests and…

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St. Brendan, one of Dorchester’s great Catholic churches, seems destined to close next month. Parishioners feel like they are paying for the sins of others.

Noreen Kelley always sits in the same pew for Sunday Mass at St. Brendan, halfway up the church, on the right side.

It’s where her mother, Rosemary O’Brien, always sat. It’s where her grandmother, Nonie Sullivan, always sat.

Noreen Kelley’s grandmother was a longtime parishioner at the church that opened in 1933, at the height of the Depression. Her mother was in the first graduating class at St. Brendan School. Her three daughters became the fourth generation of their family to worship at St. Brendan Church.

They will probably be the last. St. Brendan, one of the great Catholic churches of Dorchester, has been designated by its pastor for so-called relegation, which sounds more like the fate of an underperforming soccer team than a neighborhood…

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Families impacted by Canada’s residential school victims need more than just words from the Catholic Church, says Traditional Anishinaabe Grandmother Kim Wheatley.

Pope Francis has issued an apology for abuses by Catholic Church members in the facilities and said he hoped the journey of Reconciliation would continue when he visits Canada this summer.

“That chain [of traditional practices] that passed on knowledge and ways of life and union with the land was broken by a colonization that lacked respect for you, tore many of you from your vital milieu and tried to conform you to another mentality,” said the Pope. “In this way, great harm was done to your identity and your culture. Many families were separated and great numbers of children fell victim to these attempts to impose a uniformity based on the notion that progress occurs through ideological colonization, following programs devised in offices rather than the desire…

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How she drew on a life of private hardship to become one of the greatest actors of her generation.

For a month, Viola Davis had been stuck. In the spring of 2020, in the late nights of lockdown, she set out to write her memoir. She had her routine: Get out of bed in the middle of the night, make herself a cup of tea, start writing in her movie room, fall asleep in one of its leather recliners, wake up, write some more, nod off again. But for weeks, she couldn’t figure out exactly where to begin. Should she start with her life as a celebrity, or the beauty contest she lost when she was a child, or the fact that people always wanted to hug her when they ran into her in public? Nothing worked.

Then one night, a conversation she had years ago with Will Smith on the…

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The Rev. Joseph M. Elko, administrator of St. Martin de Porres Roman Catholic Church, has been placed on administrative leave because of a claim of sexual abuse that allegedly occurred in the 1990s.

In an email Monday, David Elliott, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Hartford, said the news was announced at Masses this weekend. The church is located at 136 Dixwell Ave.

“As a result of the receipt of that claim, pursuant to the Archdiocese’s protocol, Fr. Elko has been placed on administrative leave pending the results of the investigation of the claim,” Elliott said in the statement.

The Rev. Sebastian Kos, administrator of St. Stanislaus Church, has been appointed temporary administrator of St. Martin de Porres, and weekend Masses will continue as scheduled, Elliott said.

Elko answered the phone at the parish Monday morning but said any comment would have to come from his attorney, and that he did…

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A lay committee looking into historic child sex abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church said Tuesday it received witness statements from 290 alleged victims in its first three months of work, with cases involving children as young as two years old.

More than half the reported cases suggest many more victims were involved, said Pedro Strecht, a psychiatrist who heads the Independent Committee for the Study of Child Abuse in the Church.

The six-person committee, which includes psychiatrists, a former Supreme Court judge and a social worker, began its work in January at the behest of the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference. It promises anonymity to anyone who comes forward.

Strecht said the committee had come across signs that church officials, including current bishops he did not name, had sought to cover up abuse.

“It was often a case of moving the abuser from place to place, as if at that time…

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A Catholic priest convicted in the UK last week of sexually abusing boys in his care also came into contact with children in Timor-Leste and took them to his hotel room during visits to the country that spanned a decade, it has emerged.

Father Patrick Smythe, 79, who was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison by Leeds Crown Court on April 7, told police during an interview that he had visited Timor-Leste over a period of 10 years “sponsoring people of the country.”

He is also said to have been in contact with children of a similar age to the victims he has been convicted of abusing.

“In the course of that interview, he said he had taken the children back to his hotel room to ‘show them how the other half lives’,” Prosecutor Michael Morley was quoted as saying by the Yorkshire Evening Post.

“This has caused the police and prosecution some…

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The new Bishop-elect for the Catholic Diocese of Columbus will be installed on May 31.

At only 49-years-old, Father Earl Fernandes, currently a parish priest in Cincinnati, has, in many ways, been preparing for his new role for a lifetime.

“It is very exciting to be coming to Columbus, but at the same time, it’s terrifying,” Fernandes said.

Terrifying, and historic. He is the first person of color to be bishop in central Ohio, the first Indian American bishop in the United States. His parents and two older brothers immigrated from India and settled in Toledo.

“They came in 1970 and then, in three more years, had three more boys – (19)71, (19)72 and (19)73, so we are a family of five boys,” Fernandes said. “All boys, so my mother already did her purgatory.”

The mother, who taught them all to pray.

“Pray that you be a…

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Mamet’s remarks are “a repulsive demonization of the very people who have been the lifeline to our kids,” teachers’ union president Randi Weingarten said.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet dove headfirst into the classroom culture wars by claiming that teachers “are inclined” toward pedophilia and that students are being “groomed” for sexual abuse — while offering no evidence to back up his charges.

Echoing attack lines that Republican politicians have been using of late to push legislation that would ban discussions of sexual orientation or gender identity in classrooms, Mamet insisted “we have to take back control.”

“What we have is kids not only being indoctrinated but groomed, in a very real sense, by people who are, whether they know it or not, sexual predators,” Mamet said Sunday during a FOX News interview. “Are they abusing the kids physically? No, I don’t think so. But they are abusing them mentally…

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The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry is formally extending the scope of its Anglican investigation to include the Methodist, Presbyterian and Salvation Army faiths. 

Now known as the Protestant and Other Faiths Investigation, it will also be seeking evidence from survivors of abuse in three closed community faiths: Gloriavale, Exclusive Brethren (more recently known as Plymouth Brethren Christian Church), and Jehovah’s Witnesses.  

Since the Royal Commission started, we have been gathering evidence of abuse in the care of these faiths as part of our inquiry.  

The scope is being formally extended to recognise increased numbers of survivors from these faiths and their institutions – including schools and care homes – who have disclosed abuse to the Royal Commission.

We continue to ask survivors to come forward. Further evidence gathered will add to our existing evidence base and understanding of abuse in these faiths, and findings about…

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Secretive, closed faiths – including Gloriavale, Exclusive Brethren, and Jehovah’s Witnesses – will be formally investigated by the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care. 

The Commission’s Anglican investigation has also been expanded to include the Methodist, Presbyterian, and Salvation Army faiths. 

A spokesperson for the Commission said expanding the investigation was to recognise the large numbers of people from each organisation willing to pass on information. 

“The scope is being formally extended to recognise increased numbers of survivors from these faiths and their institutions – including schools and care homes – who have disclosed abuse to the Royal Commission.”

Newshub understands up to 60 people who left Gloriavale have engaged with the Commission’s lawyers, completing face-to-face interviews or providing written evidence. 

The Gloriavale Leavers’ Trust manager Liz Gregory said she’s very pleased with the development and the way the Commission had responded to its concerns over the past two years. 

…

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[Includes four-minute audio interview with Presbyterian Church moderator Hamish Galloway.]

The inquiry into abuse in care has extended the scope of what it called its Anglican investigation to include other Protestant churches.

The Royal Commission says it will now include the Methodist and Presbyterian churches, the Salvation Army and three closed community faiths, Gloriavale, Plymouth Brethren and Jehovah’s Witness.

The investigation will now be known as the Protestant and other faiths investigation.

The commission has held already held hearings that focused on the Catholic Church, and also some cases of abuse in the Anglican Church and Salvation Army.

Presbyterian Church moderator Hamish Galloway spoke to Susie Ferguson.

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Payments from the Vatican Secretariat of State to the Australian office of a tech security company could have been used to register a top level domain name, according to an Italian media report. 

But that possibility raises questions about why Cardinal Angelo Becciu previously described payments to the company as “confidential,” and why a key witness in the current Vatican financial trial reportedly told prosecutors that the payments were for the legal defense of Cardinal George Pell.

The payments, described as “classified” by Cardinal Angelo Becciu, have been at the center of years of speculation, since they coincided with the prosecution and trial of Cardinal George Pell.

A report published by the Italian edition of the website Daily Compass claims that payments from the Secretariat of State, totaling more that 2 million Australian dollars, were for the registration of the top level domain “.catholic” by the Pontifical Council for Social Communication. 

…

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The trial of a Catholic priest accused of sexually assaulting a Shapiro Developmental Center resident in 2017 is set to begin Monday in Kankakee County Circuit Court.

Formerly a priest at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Goodrich and longtime assistant at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Kankakee, Richard E. Jacklin, 70, is facing three felony charges that could carry a prison term of 12 to 50 years.

He is charged with aggravated sexual assault, six to 30 years; criminal sexual assault, four to 15 years; and sexual misconduct, two to five years.

Court records indicate the 39-year-old victim has an IQ of 47, has been a resident at Shapiro since 2010, and suffers from partial paralysis.

Jacklin is represented by attorneys Edward Jaquays and Frank Astrella.

On Thursday, Jaquays and Kankakee County Assistant State’s Attorney Carol Costello informed Circuit Judge Kathy Bradshaw-Elliott they were ready to go to…

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Despite widespread publicity, some alleged victims of abuse were unaware of Child Victims Act

After years of advocacy and support from lawmakers, the Child Victims Act was passed in Feb. 2019. 

Touted as a momentous piece of legislation that granted what turned into a two-year window for survivors of child sex abuse to file time-barred civil claims, it also increased the statute of limitations for the crime. 

Survivors were able to file suits until the age of 55 and press criminal charges until they were 28. Before the law’s two-year deadline closed in August, more than 10,000 complaints were filed, including claims against the Catholic Church and Boy Scouts of America. 

Still, some individuals were shut out of their day in court, either due to a lack of knowledge about the look-back window, an inability to obtain legal representation, or because their circumstances didn’t allow for them to file a…

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Chris Swartz is a tall, barrel-chested police officer. He’s not exactly the kind of guy who, at first appearance, would be envisioned spending countless hours comforting children in their times of most desperate need.

But as a member of the Johnstown Police Department, he has been providing compassion and justice for young victims of sexual and physical abuse for years.

“With me, I took this position as a juvenile detective because I care about kids,” Swartz said during an interview on April 1, just hours after a 14-month-old Johnstown girl died at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center, the victim of a homicide. “God forbid something happened, I want to be that child’s last voice. I want to fight for that kid because, honestly, children are our future. That’s one thing that I tell these kids – I’ll do whatever I can to make their lives easier.

“Obviously, me, I’m a bigger…

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Practical steps for churches to become safer spaces for all.

After speaking at a recent conference about the prevalence of childhood sexual abuse and attempting to destigmatize its presence within the Church, a pastor approached me with concerns for his niece. A child, she had been sexually abused by someone she should have been able to trust, another family member. The abuser, as is common with predators, warned her to keep the abuse a secret. Her boundaries and self-worth were stolen. Feeling as if she had no one to turn to and nothing left to lose, she began to act out and was labeled as “promiscuous.”

Her story is, sadly, not unique. We receive calls regularly that a teenager in the youth group was groomed and abused by a leader, or of a man or woman whose memory is triggered once their child enters youth ministry, and they recall incidents…

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Despite these disclosures, the Truth & Transparency Foundation, an outgrowth of MormonLeaks, didn’t really prompt the Utah-based faith to be more open about its finances.

Ryan McKnight, a former Latter-day Saint in Las Vegas, once had a lofty vision that, by exposing the inner workings of his onetime faith, he would prod it to be more transparent — a dream that now is fading due to a pandemic and a lawsuit.

A little more than five years ago, McKnight imagined a kind of Mormon “WikiLeaks,” an online website where anonymous tipsters — including those who work for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — could post internal papers by and about the Utah-based faith’s programs, policies and policymakers.

And given that his first effort — the publication in 2016 of 15 videos showing church apostles privately discussing issues including LGBTQ rights, politics and piracy — hit Latter-day Saint circles like…

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• Guest Bios
• Show Transcript

Should a woman endure abuse by an unbelieving spouse like a missionary endures persecution? 

Stunningly, this is the advice offered by Dr. John Street, chair of the graduate program of biblical counseling at John MacArthur’s school — The Master’s University and Seminary (TMUS) — and an elder at Grace Community Church (GCC). 

Street also suggests that wife’s failure to “fulfill” her husband can cause the husband to sexually abuse his children! And he says victims should report their abuse to church leaders first, and to police as a last resort.

This advice from the top counseling teacher at The Master’s is appalling. Yet it’s consistent with what our recent exposés have revealed about MacArthur and his institutions. 

In this podcast, Julie plays numerous clips by Street, showing his stunning views on abuse and abuse victims. 

And joining Julie to discuss Street’s views is Dr. Philip…

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• John Bucklin’s jury trial begins for the sexual abuse of three young boys.
• Documents show he met the boys through his Claremore church.
• Claremore police arrested Bucklin in 2018.

A jury trial started this week for a Collinsville man arrested in 2018 for the sexual abuse of three children he was mentoring through his Claremore church.

The Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) says they began investigating John Bucklin only to learn of similar crimes in Rogers County as well. Claremore police arrested Bucklin in 2018.

Court documents detail how Bucklin met a 12, 10 and 8-year-old boy through Cedar Point Church in Claremore in 2016. They say how he would take them hiking, to the mall and museums and swimming at the Claremore Rec Center. He would also have the boys spend the night at his home the night before church breakfasts.

The victims told investigators John said things like “this…

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Rev. Hans Zollner delivered this year’s annual Keeley Vatican Lecture Tuesday night at the Eck Visitor Center. The annual lecture seeks to deepen “Notre Dame’s connection to the Holy See by bringing distinguished representatives from the Vatican to Notre Dame to explore questions involving Notre Dame’s Catholic mission.”

The topic of his lecture was the sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic Church. Zollner is a German Jesuit Priest, a theologian and a licensed psychotherapist who focuses on the prevention and healing of childhood sexual abuse. He’s also a professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Zollner argued that the problem of sexual abuse is prevalent in the Church, plaguing countries all around the globe. 

“It is so very uncomfortable, but true, because we don’t realize how much of the trauma of victims of abuse is present in our minds,” Zollner said.  

Many people within and outside of the Church are…

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A lawyer for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield asked the state’s top court Monday to halt a civil lawsuit brought by the former Chicopee altar boy who suffered sexual assaults decades ago at the hands of former Bishop Christopher J. Weldon.

The high-profile case was elevated from the Appeals Court to the Supreme Judicial Court in December because the high court wanted to consider issues it raises.

They include whether the diocese, which includes all of Berkshire County, is protected by what’s known as charitable immunity, a legal protection that existed under certain circumstances at the time of the assaults in the 1960s. Also, the case tests whether the First Amendment’s protection of church autonomy renders a religious organization beyond the reach of the courts in a case like this.

State courts have so far declined to dismiss the litigation. In an earlier action March 4, Associate…

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Novo Mesto Bishop Andrej Saje, the head of the Slovenian Bishops’ Conference, apologised on Sunday to the victims of sexual abuse by clergy on behalf of the Catholic Church in Slovenia, as he marked the day of prayer for such victims.

Listening and hearing, protecting and providing support, both in an emotional and spiritual sense, are key factors, he said in a statement shared on the Church’s website.

“No victim is to blame for the evil that was done to them and should never have happened. The full responsibility lies with the perpetrator, and I advocate zero tolerance of any abuse. I express my compassion to the victims and their families,” he said.

Saje said he was aware that statements and regulations cannot heal the wounds and pain of individuals, and that unless the perpetrators, or at least those who knew of the abuses, are held accountable, it will be…

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A Catholic theologian writes about why papal apologies can be meaningful, even when some may see them as mere words.

Pope Francis apologized on April 1, 2022, to First Nations, Inuit and Métis delegations, acknowledging the harm done by residential schools in Canada and marking a crucial step in the church admitting its role in the abuse of Indigenous communities and children. Yet this apology, as important as it is, raises questions about what it means when a pope apologizes.

As a Catholic theologian who studies church authority, I’ve observed how previous papal apologies can speak for the entire church and either deny or claim responsibility.

It was once unthinkable for a pope to apologize, for admitting guilt would imply that the church was sinful. However, the Second Vatican Council, a gathering of bishops, cardinals, heads of religious orders and theologians that met from 1962 to 1965 and modernized the…

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Slade McLaughlin, 65, a Philadelphia personal injury attorney who built a stellar career representing clients in legal battles against the likes of Pennsylvania State University and its disgraced former assistant football coach, Jerry Sandusky, as well as the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, died by suicide, Sunday, April 3, near his home.

Mr. McLaughlin’s death stunned his family and colleagues in the city’s legal community who remembered him as a “larger-than-life” force who lived to seek justice for his clients, many of whom had been victimized by large, powerful entities.

On Sunday afternoon, he left a note for his wife, Caroline, and drove to a housing development under construction near his Villanova home where he died, said Paul Lauricella, who knew Mr. McLaughlin for 43 years, graduated from law school with him, and was his law partner for the last 11 years.

Mr. McLaughlin had been suffering under the weight of an…

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The Legionaries of Christ received four new allegations of sexual abuse against members of the congregation between March 2021 and March 2022, and new allegations also have been made against priests already undergoing canonical procedures after being named in previous reports.

The Legionaries’ 2021 “Annual Report: Truth, Justice and Healing” was released April 6 with updates to their ongoing effort to “give an account of their commitments to the victims of sexual abuse since the publication three years ago (December 2019) of all cases from their history.”

Since releasing its previous annual report in March 2021, the congregation received four new allegations, it said.

“One is awaiting the conclusion of civil and canonical proceedings. Three are under investigation prior to an eventual canonical trial,” the congregation said on its site, 0abuse.org, which provides updated data on cases and documents.

Concerning the status of allegations received between December 2019 and March…

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There is a reason why the Six Nations-Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) were not invited to Rome to meet the pope and secure an apology for the victims of the residential schools — we don’t want an apology, we want justice. Tens of thousands of Native children suffered abuse by the residential schools administered by the Roman Catholic Church with the compliance of the provincial and federal governments and it may well be proven thousands died either by murder or neglect by the priests. nuns and staff at the schools. I was baptized into the Church as a child at the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory. I was taken against my will to the Mohawk Institute in Brantford, Ontario, 600 kilometers (373 miles) from my home and, along with the two dozen other Akwesasronon (people from Akwesasne) endured sexual, mental and physical abuse while being denied adequate food and health care, our bodies marked by open…

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A Evansville priest has been removed from the public ministry after an allegation of sexual misconduct from 20 years ago was reported to the Diocese of Evansville.

According to the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), Father Bernie Etienne served at the Holy Rosary Catholic Church and is currently placed on administrative leave.

The Diocese did not clarify the nature of the allegations against Father Etienne, regarding the age, gender of the victim and where the sexual misconduct took place.

The Director of Communications for the Diocese said, “Civil authorities and the Diocesan Review Board have been notified. Father Bernie strongly denies the claim and, as with all accused, he is accorded the presumption of innocence during the investigation of this allegation.”

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Officials with the Catholic Diocese of Evansville say Father Bernie Etienne has been placed on administrative leave while they investigate an allegation of sexual misconduct.

According to a press release, the incident allegedly happened more than 20 years ago and civil authorities and the Diocesan Review board have been notified.

Officials say Etienne strongly denies the claim.

Mike McDonnell is the Communications Manager of SNAP, which is the ”Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.”

His organization specializes in researching and understanding abuse at the hands of clergy members.

They also understand the process that takes place after an initial accusation.

“The investigation itself is part of a canonical process,” says McDonnell, “So, it’s an internal investigation within the Diocese.”

The investigation is similar to that of a regular police investigation, with a few key differences.

They still have an investigator go out and collect information and talk to people.

…

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Father Bernie Etienne, who worked at Holy Rosary Catholic Church, has been removed from public ministry after the Diocese of Evansville received an accusation of sexual misconduct against the clergyman stemming from 20 years ago. Father Etienne is on administrative leave and is not able to act as a priest while the complaint is investigated. 

The Diocese did not expand on the nature of the accusation — where it occurred or the gender and age of the victim. The Director of Communications for the Diocese simply said, “Civil authorities and the Diocesan Review Board have been notified. Father Bernie strongly denies the claim and, as with all accused, he is accorded the presumption of innocence during the investigation of this allegation.”

However, we know that false allegations of sexual abuse are extremely rare. While it is not entirely clear whether the accusation involves a child or an adult, the fact that it…

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The Diocese of Evansville has received an allegation of sexual misconduct against Father Bernie Etienne, a priest of the diocese, which is alleged to have occurred more than 20 years ago.

Civil authorities and the Diocesan Review Board have been notified.

Father Bernie strongly denies the claim and, as with all accused, he is accorded the presumption of innocence during the investigation of this allegation.

In accord with Church norms, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, and in accord with diocesan policies, Father Bernie is on administrative leave and is not able to perform public ministry while the investigation proceeds. Father Alex Zenthoefer has been appointed temporary administrator of Holy Rosary Parish.

Father Bernie has served in the following parishes: St. Joseph, Jasper; St. Joseph, Princeton; Blessed Sacrament, Oakland City; Holy Rosary, Evansville; and Nativity, Evansville. He also served as…

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The Catholic Diocese of Evansville disclosed Wednesday that one of its priests has been accused of sexual misconduct.

In a news release, the diocese said it received an allegation of sexual misconduct against Father Bernie Etienne, who serves as pastor at Evansville’s Holy Rosary Catholic Church, 1301 S. Green River Road.

The Catholic Diocese of Evansville said it brought the complaint, which Etienne “strongly” denies, to “civil authorities” and the Diocesan Review Board.

Etienne has been placed on administrative leave. The misconduct is alleged to have happened more than 20 years ago, the release states.

From 1996 to 2006, Etienne served as pastor of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Gibson County, according to Courier & Press archives. The C&P contacted the Gibson County Prosecutor’s office, but did not hear back prior to publication. 

Evansville Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Anna Gray said the allegation had not been brought to EPD investigators, and…

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‘This is the most messed up situation regarding a church I’ve been part of, but God can make this new,’ said a reported survivor.

On Tuesday (April 5), a group of self-identified survivors and advocates who attended an Anglican church in Washington, D.C., published an open letter saying diocesan leaders mishandled their allegations of spiritual abuse. The letter asks the leaders to apologize to the reported victims and discipline the accused priest, the Rev. Dan Claire.

“Rev. Claire betrayed pastoral confidences, misused his ecclesial authority to control and manipulate people under his pastoral authority, disclosed and misused mental health histories in order to discredit people, and ostracized and slandered parishioners who attempted to challenge any of his questionable behavior,” the letter on the anti-abuse platform ACNAtoo says. It also cites allegations of “victim blaming and defamation in cases of sexual impropriety.” Claire said he isn’t permitted to speak with Religion News Service…

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In the run-up to the July papal visit, Catholic bishops in the DR-Congo have urged priests who have fathered children to seek laicization and care for their families

Since the beginning of this year nearly a dozen Catholic priests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been dismissed from the clerical state for reasons that have never been made clear.

The press releases announcing the dismissals have attracted attention precisely because of their evasiveness.

In the most recent one, at the end of March, the Diocese of Tshumbe in the center of the country said it had dismissed three priests without giving a reason.

Inquiries were met with a wall of silence.

Now it has been revealed that the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) recently issued a 19-page internal document, dated March 4, that asks priests who have fathered children to give up their priesthood to take care…

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The Catholic bishops of Switzerland have commissioned two academics to scour diocesan archives in preparation for an independent investigation into the sexual abuse of minors

The Catholic bishops of Switzerland have pledged to open up the secret archives of all six of their dioceses in order to shed light on sexual abuse perpetrated by priests.

The Church leaders made the announcement this past Monday, nearly a year after they first committed themselves to carry out an investigation.

“Many acts have been covered up and victims ignored,” admitted Bishop Joseph Bonnemain of Chur, who is chair of the abuse commission in the Swiss Bishops’ Conference (SBC).

Speaking at a press conference, the 73-year-old bishop said the goal is “to make the Church a learning organization, ready to recognize its own mistakes”.

On hand for the announcement were the Roman Catholic Central Conference of Switzerland (RKZ), which is responsible for the material…

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The independent commission that wrote the landmark report on Church-related sex abuse in France still waiting to see the pope, four months after Vatican cancelled initial meeting

Catholics in France are beginning to wonder if Pope Francis is ever going to meet Jean-Marc Sauvé and the members of the independent commission he led in a major investigation into Church-related sex abuse in their country.

It has now been six months since Sauvé’s team – the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE) – issued its shocking report. And four months have passed since December 9, the date CIASE members were supposed to have a meeting with the pope, until the Vatican abruptly canceled it.

“They shot themselves in the foot”

Truth be told, forces in the Roman Curia have never endorsed the commission’s work, which was actually contracted and authorized by the French Bishops’ Conference (CEF) and the…

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At the conclusion of the Lenten journey of Indigenous representatives to the Vatican, Pope Francis gave the delegation a laetare moment, a time to rejoice. The Pope’s poignant apology for the harm “members of the Catholic Church” did to Indigenous children in residential schools and his promise to visit Canada this summer is a major step toward healing a broken relationship.

The apology at Rome comes amid a $30-million national campaign to raise funds for healing programs for the survivors and families of former students at the schools. I was heartened to at last add our family’s donation to the $3 million our Edmonton Archdiocese has pledged to the campaign. A personal donation is a personal commitment — beyond the corporate commitment — to reconciliation.

The laetare moment came as Catholics make our way to the Cross and Resurrection, the Paschal celebration of salvation through Christ. Where is the Church on this pilgrimage? Is…

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A Catholic priest has been locked up after being found guilty of sexually abusing six boys in his care.

Father Patrick Smythe was locked up for seven and a half years after a jury reached unanimous guilty verdicts after a trial at Leeds Crown Court.

Jurors heard how Smythe, 79, preyed on three of his victims during swimming trips to the former Leeds International Pool.Smythe also targeted boys in his care while on a retreat at a hostel in North Yorkshire.

A judge who sentenced Smythe told the pensioner he had told a “pack of lies” to the court during the trial.Judge Simon Batiste said: “The offences involved six different complainants who were at the time of the offences aged between 12 and 16.

“You are a Catholic priest.

“During the trial you denied any criminal wrongdoing whatsoever.

“You took an oath on the Bible – the book that you…

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Insurance companies challenging the Boy Scouts of America’s bankruptcy plan argued Thursday that it “eviscerates” their defense rights under policies they issued and would mean grossly inflated payments of sexual abuse claims, including tens of thousands otherwise barred by the passage of time.

The arguments came on the second day of closing arguments before a Delaware judge who must decide whether to approve the reorganization plan the BSA has negotiated to compensate tens of thousands of men who say they were sexually abused as children in Scouting, while allowing the Boy Scouts to continue as an ongoing enterprise.

The Boy Scouts, based in Irving, Texas, petitioned for bankruptcy protection in February 2020, seeking to halt hundreds of individual lawsuits and create a settlement trust for abuse victims. Although the organization faced about 275 lawsuits at the time, more than 82,000 sexual abuse claims have been filed in the bankruptcy case.

The…

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 Pope Francis met with the leaders of the Spanish bishops’ conference and was briefed on the independent commission established by the bishops to investigate clerical sexual abuse in the country.

Speaking with journalists outside the Vatican press office April 7, Cardinal Juan José Omella of Barcelona, president of the conference, said the pope encouraged the bishops to continue supporting survivors of abuse.

Pope Francis “encouraged us to walk along that path of accompanying victims because they are at the center of everything, to collaborate in everything and, above all, to prevent these things from happening again,” Omella said.

In January, Omella, who was in Rome with several bishops for their “ad limina” visits, told journalists that the bishops’ conference had no plans to establish a single independent commission as in Germany, France or neighboring Portugal to conduct a nationwide investigation of the handling of cases past and present.

However, the…

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The Catholic bishops of Spain on Thursday presented their plan for an independent commission on the clerical abuse crisis to Pope Francis.

The investigation was announced soon after the Spanish Congress approved a resolution to set up its own independent commission to investigate historical allegations of abuse.

“We want someone to evaluate what we are doing, because maybe we think we are doing very well and it turns out that we are not,” said Cardinal Juan Jose Omella, president of the Spanish bishops’ conference. “That is why we have asked for an external audit, led by the Cremades-Otello law firm. They estimated that it would take them a year to evaluate what we have done so that we can rectify what we are doing wrong.” 

During a 30 minute conversation, the prelate told Crux that he believes it is “important to be humble, recognize the value of what you are doing well, without…

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As parishes throughout the archdiocese began their observances of National Child Abuse Prevention Month on the weekend of April 2-3, Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley joined the community of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Hull to highlight the importance of this month dedicated to awareness and education.

Like many parishes across the archdiocese, the parish used its weekend Masses as an opportunity to pray for victims of sexual abuse, especially children abused by clergy, and share information about available resources for child protection and advocacy.

Accompanying the cardinal at the Mass, celebrated April 3 at St. Ann Church, were Vivian Soper, director of the Office of Pastoral Support and Child Protection, and social worker Kristen Gotter, both of whom were available to speak with parishioners following the Mass.

In addition to April being National Child Abuse Prevention Month, this year marks the 20th anniversary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Charter…

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In late 2021, the Catholic Church in Switzerland instructed two historians to investigate sexual abuse within the organisation. The move followed evidence of sexual abuse on a staggering scale within the organisation in France. On 4 April 2022, a date was announced for the opening of the secret episcopal archives, reported RTS. Work will start on 1 May 2022.

The researchers running the investigation are from the University of Zurich. The organisations requesting the investigation include the Swiss Bishops’ Conference, KOVOS and RKZ, three Catholic associations in Switzerland. The written agreement to proceed with the investigation was signed in November 2021. This is the first time the three organisations have come together on the subject of sexual abuse.

The two historians from Zurich University researching the abuse will be assisted by an independent scientific committee of six others.

The work will begin on 1 May 2022 and the results are…

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Indigenous leaders in Canada say Catholic Church must take concrete action to support survivors and prevent more harm.

Warning: The story below contains details of residential schools that may be upsetting. Canada’s Indian Residential School Survivors and Family Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day at 1-866-925-4419.

Less than a week ago, Pope Francis apologised for the “deplorable” abuses that members of the Roman Catholic Church committed at residential schools that Indigenous children were forced to attend across Canada for decades.

The apology was historic and welcomed by many, but survivors of the forced-assimilation institutions and other Indigenous leaders say tangible action is needed to truly grapple with the Catholic Church’s role in what occurred.

“There is still much work [to be done],” said Gerald Antoine, who led an Assembly of First Nations delegation that travelled to Rome late last month to meet the pope to discuss the…

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Activist and Anglican priest, Reverend June Major, has taken her fight for justice for sexual assault victims to the president’s office.

On Wednesday, Major handed a memorandum to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office in Tuynhuys, Cape Town, calling for a commission of inquiry into historic child sexual offences within churches and other faith-based institutions.

The move comes as the country observes Sexual Assault Awareness Month and against the backdrop of Ramaphosa acknowledging that gender-based violence was a pandemic in the country.

In the memorandum, Major highlighted that in countries such as Ireland, Australia, Canada and Mexico, commissions of inquiry were set up to investigate sexual abuse of minors by priests.

The memorandum called for a “safe space” for victims and survivors, the majority of whom were now adults, to share their experiences.

“I recently assisted a family where a pastor (allegedly) raped a four-year-old child and another 10-year-old. Another pastor (allegedly)…

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The federal government abandoned its 2015 appeal of a court ruling that released the Catholic Church from its financial obligations to residential school survivors because it believed there was a “low likelihood of success,” according to records obtained by The Globe and Mail.

For almost seven years, Indigenous leaders have sought answers to why Ottawa dropped its legal action against the Catholic Church, which was short $21.3-million in a fundraising campaign meant to benefit survivors. Documents released last week by the Department of Justice through an access-to-information request provide some insight into the decision.

In a memorandum to then-justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould dated April 21, 2016 – five months after the appeal was abandoned – Duaine W. Simms, then an assistant general counsel and director of the Aboriginal affairs portfolio at the Department of Justice, wrote that there “would be a low likelihood of success of an appeal…

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A Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing boys told a jury he had carried out an exorcism for one of his alleged victims.

Father Patrick Smythe described how he had been invited to the complaint’s workplace in Leeds years after he is said to have indecently assaulted him.

Smythe, 79, said he had been contacted as there were concerns about a the “presence of a malevolent nature” where he had been working.

The defendant told the court that he “conducted a simple blessing with holy water” at the workplace.

Father Patrick Smythe is on trial at Leeds Crown Court. He pleads not guilty to six counts of indecent assault and one of attempted indecent assault.

As Smythe gave evidence at Leeds Crown Court, his barrister Susannah Proctor asked: “Was (the complainant) part of the process?”

Smythe replied: “Yes he was there. He was happy enough that I had been.”

The defendant…

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Appeal to Ramaphosa for inquiry into sexual misconduct by the clergy

One woman’s campaign to have a commission of inquiry into sexual offences committed by the clergy across all denominations will step up a gear on Wednesday when she hands her appeal to the office of President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Rev June Dolley-Major has been fighting for years to be heard — waging a hunger strike, a 40-day walk and now gathering signatures and letters of support. Now she is hoping for a proper response.

“On Wednesday April 6, God willing, at 12pm, I will be handing over a memorandum to the office of the presidency. This will be done at Tuynhuys, where I will be accompanied by four other people,” she told TimesLIVE.

“It has been a lengthy process and it is going to take many more years,” she said, adding that while she did not expect a face-to-face with…

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The Fort McMurray Catholic School Division has renamed Father Turcotte School after survivors of the Holy Angels Residential School in Fort Chipewyan accused the school’s namesake of sexually abusing children in the 1960s.

The Grade 1-6 school will now be called Our Lady of the Rivers. A statement from the division said the name was chosen to acknowledge the importance of the Athabasca and Clearwater Rivers in the region, “as well as the protection that Mary, mother of Jesus, provides for our school community.”

“We wholeheartedly acknowledge the sins of our forebears and will continue moving forward on the path to healing and reconciliation. By renaming the school we pray that this action shows our continual commitment to work in consultation and cooperation with the original peoples of Treaty 8,” said FMCSD board chair Cathie Langmead in a statement.

Father J.A. Turcotte was a Catholic priest who…

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In 2016, a Pennsylvania grand jury report revealed widespread sexual assault by Catholic priests in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese. One of the accounts in that report came from Shaun Dougherty who is from Johnstown, PA and survived sexual abuse by his priest when he was 10 years old.

“I’m here to share my story so it is not repeated again,” Dougherty said to an small audience in the HUB’s Ohio Room. Dougherty came to IUP as part of the University’s Six O’clock Series which are a series of guest lectures open to the public. He does not want his story to be “heavy.” Instead, he wants his story to be an inspiration for others to speak up and act.

Dougherty began his story in 2012 when he was working on building a restaurant in New York City which was one of his childhood dreams. He received a…

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Willy Rice, pastor of Calvary Church in Clearwater, Florida, and a candidate to become the next president of the Southern Baptist Convention, has removed a deacon from leadership, citing the denomination’s ban on individuals who have committed sexual abuse from church leadership roles.

“As pastors of Calvary, we believe in the resolution passed by the 2021 Southern Baptist Convention at its annual meeting that dealt with sexual abuse and said in part ‘resolve that the messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention believe that any person who has committed sexual abuse is permanently disqualified from holding the office of pastor and that we recommend that all affiliated churches apply this standard to all [positions] of church leadership,’” Rice said in an April 1 video announcement.

Rice did not identify the deacon in the video. But Religion News Service identified the man as Jeff Ford,…

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While researching some predator priests in Los Angeles, the nation’s largest Archdiocese, we at Horowitz Law stumbled on a few disturbing facts about what is really going on behind the scenes in LA.

Disturbing Fact #1: At least 355 proven, admitted, and credibly accused abusive Catholic clergy are or have been in that one jurisdiction. That’s not a typo, 355. That figure comes from perhaps the nation’s most comprehensive and trusted source of information on the church’s continuing crisis, BishopAccountability.org. The Archdiocese consists of 288 parishes, which means that, on average, every single church in the sprawling area has been ‘served’ by MORE than one child molester.

Disturbing Fact #2: Los Angeles Catholic officials have DELETED their list of predator priests at least twice over the years. They did this for the first time in November 2008. According to BA.org, “This very significant change was apparently not flagged on the archdiocesan website.” In…

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A priest in Baltimore has returned to active ministry following an investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse by the Baltimore Archdiocese.

Last year, the Archdiocese announced father Martin Demek, who was the then-pastor of Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Baltimore’s Bolton Hill neighborhood had been suspended.

The suspension came after the archdiocese learned of allegations of abuse against him from 1989.

The alleged victim, who was about 11 years old then, said the incidents took place at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church in Manchester.

The archdiocese says it interviewed close to 50 people as part of the investigation and found no evidence to substantiate the claims made by the alleged victim.

The archdiocese’s independent review board approved the decision to return Rev. Demek to the priesthood. They say he has once again taken over as the pastor of Corpus Christi Catholic Church.

Police never filed charges against Martin Demek.

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Assembly of First Nations delegate lead Dene National Chief Gerald Antoine called the scene a “divine moment” in time.

It rained for three days straight in Rome, but on Friday the clouds parted above St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City following the long-awaited apology given by Pope Francis to residential school survivors and their families.

Beams of light shone down on the Indigenous delegates addressing the media in the square. Assembly of First Nations delegate lead Dene National Chief Gerald Antoine called the scene a “divine moment” in time, and indeed it was.

The apology by the head of the Catholic Church took me by surprise. I was viewing a live feed of the Pope speaking to delegates in a private ceremony from the Vatican press office nearby and did a double-take when I heard the translator say, “I am sorry.” Those simple but powerful words had at last been uttered…

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In the two decades since U.S. bishops promised to oust credibly accused predatory priests, we know of only one still-active cleric who has been accused publicly five times without ever having been suspended from his post around kids.

That cleric is Fr. Alex R. Anderson, an active parish priest in the archdiocese of St. Louis.

Despite being accused of molesting at least five boys – none of whom know each other – and being named in at least two pending civil abuse lawsuits, Fr. Anderson has not been suspended for a single day by St. Louis Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski nor by his predecessors.

We are filing today a formal complaint against Rozanski via ReportBishopAbuse.org, the Catholic church’s official complaint portal.

Two years ago, responding to intense pressure, Pope Francis adopted a policy called Vos Estis. It requires the reporting of any bishop with conduct “consisting of actions or…

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French national Johannes Rivoire, age 93, a former priest in Canada’s residential school system, has been charged in Canada with sexual assault, that allegedly happened decades earlier.

“In September 2021, Nunavut RCMP received a complaint of sexual assault that occurred approximately 47 years ago,” Nunavut Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokesperson wrote in an email to Native News Online. “As a result of the investigation, on February 23, 2022, Father Johannes Rivoire, 93, of Lyon, France was charged with sexual assault. A Canada-wide warrant has been issued for the arrest of Father Rivoire.”

Rivoire returned to France in the early 1990s. According to CBC reporting, Rivoire worked in many Nunavut communities in the 1960s and 1970s, before returning to France. France does not extradite its own citizens. 

This isn’t the first time the priest has been charged with sex crimes against children in Nunavut. In 1998, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police issued a…

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Last week two major U.S. Catholic universities hosted conferences that engaged ongoing historical and theological research on clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

The first, a symposium titled “Gender, Sex, and Power: Towards a History of Clergy Sex Abuse in the U.S. Catholic Church,” was hosted March 27-29 by the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at the University of Notre Dame.

The second, a conference titled “‘Our transgressions before you are many, and our sins testify against us’ (Is 59:12a): Re-Imagining Church in Light of Colonization and Catholic Sexual Abuse,” took place at Gonzaga University March 31-April 3.

Although I was out of town and could not attend the Notre Dame event, I was an invited participant in the Gonzaga conference, which was sponsored in part by the “Taking Responsibility” project based at Fordham University. The primary working…

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Herry Wirawan raped girls aged between 11 and 14 from 2016 to 2021 at the school, hotels or rented apartments in the city of Bandung.

At least nine babies were born as a result of the rapes and the case has prompted public outcry.

On Monday judges at the Bandung High Court granted prosecutors’ appeal for the death penalty, saying in the ruling: “What he had done had caused trauma and suffering to the victims and their parents.

“The defendant had tarnished the reputation of Islamic boarding schools.”

Wirawan’s assets will also be seized, including a foundation he owned, and auctioned off to benefit the victims and their children.

The judges also ruled that nine children born to the victims should be handed over to the Children and Women Protection Agency with periodic evaluation “until the victims are mentally ready to care for their children, and the situation allows for…

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The former head of the Vatican’s financial watchdog testified Tuesday that the agency launched an intelligence investigation into a suspicious London real estate deal after it learned about it but had no power to stop the Vatican secretariat of state from concluding it.

The testimony by defendant Rene Bruelhart in the Vatican’s big fraud and extortion trial again put the spotlight on Pope Francis and the No. 2 in the secretariat of state, Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, who Bruelhart said made clear the deal had to be concluded “under any circumstances.”

The Vatican’s payment of 15 million euros to Italian broker Gianluigi Torzi to get full ownership of the building is at the heart of the trial into the London property, which has grown to include other financial charges. Prosecutors accuse 10 people, including Torzi, other Italian money managers and Vatican officials, of defrauding the Holy See and extorting it…

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Having been a Catholic for at least 50 years, I am very well aware of the “false teachings” that don’t align with the Bible that the Roman Catholic Church has perpetuated for so many years.

I have no issues with Catholics per se, but I have a big problem with their leadership who have been leading their flock down the wrong path, through the wide gate that leads to destruction. (Matthew 7:13-14)

We are all accountable to God, (Romans 14:12), leaders and teachers even more so. (James 3:1)

The RCC has brainwashed its all-too-trusting flock with spoon-fed theology and reverence toward the priests and their higher-ups, particularly the pope, for thousand of years.

Instead of effectively dealing with the “monster” priests they have bred and groomed, they are way more concerned with saving face, a great travesty since they affect the all-important well-being of the victimized child. Their “deny, deny,…

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Pope Francis expressed his “indignation and shame” in offering an apology to a delegation of Canadian Indigenous leaders “for the deplorable conduct of members of the Catholic Church” in relation to residential schools. Residential schools were a Canadian government policy to assimilate Indigenous children in schools largely operated by the Christian churches. Catholic religious orders operated the majority of the schools. 

“I ask for God’s forgiveness and I want to say to you with all my heart: I am very sorry,” Pope Francis said in an April 1 audience at the Vatican. 

“We accept this apology,” said Chief Gerald Antoine, head of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) delegation. 

Pope Francis delivered his apology in an address both forthright and lyrical, leaving many of the Indigenous leaders deeply moved.  

At the same time, he announced his intention of visiting Canada, likely in July, to meet Indigenous Canadians…

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The former bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany has acknowledged covering up allegations of sexual abuse against children by priests in part to avoid scandal and protect the reputation of the diocese.

Howard Hubbard made the admission during a deposition taken last year as part of a response to dozens of claims filed under New York’s Child Victims Act. A judge ordered the deposition released on March 25.

Hundreds of people have sued the Albany diocese over sexual abuse they say they endured as children, sometimes decades ago.

During the four-day deposition, Hubbard named several priests who had been accused of sexual abuse who were referred to treatment and later returned to ministry, without notification to the public. One, David Bentley, admitted to Hubbard that he had engaged in the behavior alleged.

Hubbard testified he didn’t report the allegations to law enforcement because he didn’t feel he was…

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As a theologian who studies church apologies for historical wrongs, I understand why the Pope was moved to speak this week, but I hope this was not his definitive apology.

Pope Francis made a public statement today to the delegations of Indigenous people who met with him this week to discuss personal experiences in residential schools or their harmful legacies.

His statement included the words “I am very sorry,” and is being reported as an apology for residential schools.

As a white settler theologian, it is not for me to say what the apology means to those to whom it was addressed. But as a scholar who studies church apologies for historical wrongs, and their place in processes of reconciliation, I note there are significant shortcomings to the Pope’s statement.

Abuse and criminal actions

There are several kinds of wrongs associated with residential schools. There were abusive and often criminal actions by…

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A defrocked Philadelphia priest, who had been accused of sexual abuse, was sentenced to two years of house arrest and five years of probation for lying to investigators. Robert Brennan pleaded guilty late last year for lying to the FBI during an investigation into sexual abuse by clergy.

You might be surprised by what he exclusively told Eyewitness News just moments before his sentencing on Thursday.

Eyewitness News: Are you sorry?

Brennan: Absolutely not.

That’s what Robert Brennan told Eyewitness News as the defrocked Catholic priest rushed into the federal courthouse Thursday to hear his fate for lying to FBI agents.

Eyewitness News: Why all the lies?

Brennan admitted in court last year he lied to the FBI during an investigation into sexual abuse by clergy back in 2019, falsely saying he didn’t know one of his 20 alleged victims.

A federal judge sentenced the 84-year-old Thursday to five years probation,…

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The Nativity School in Worcester is being called on to remove flags in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and the LGBTQ community and are threatened with losing the right to call itself a Catholic school. Attorney Mitchell Garabedian joined Jim Braude to discuss.

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“It is necessary to highlight the crimes of the past committed within the Roman Catholic Church. We must learn the lessons and do everything possible so that no injustice can happen again,” said Joseph Maria Bonnemain, bishop of Coire and head of the Swiss bishops’ conference.

The Swiss Catholic Church said Monday it had commissioned an independent study to shed light on sexual abuse in the Church since the mid-20th century and “learn lessons” from the past.advertisement

At a press conference Monday, the Conference of Swiss Bishops, the Central Roman Catholic Conference of Switzerland and the Conference of Unions of Orders and Other Communities of Consecrated Life in Switzerland said they mandated the University of Zurich the mandate to study past attacks.

“It is necessary to highlight the crimes of the past committed within the Roman Catholic Church. We must learn the lessons and do everything possible so that no…

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Governor demands lawmakers give issue a high priority this spring

Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday that he will schedule a special legislative session this summer if they fail this spring to pass a bill that gives victims of child sexual abuse the opportunity to sue their abusers in court.

As lawmakers prepare to deliberate over the state budget package due in June, Wolf is demanding that it include a bill that opens a two-year retroactive window for these victims to file lawsuits outside of the statute of limitations.

Wolf made the demand in the Capitol Rotunda with victims of child sex abuse accompanying him. Among them was Muhlenberg Township Democratic Rep. Mark Rozzi, a victim himself who has been pushing for the legislation for years.

“It’s been a full year since this bill passed in the House of Representatives, and the Senate needs to act now,” Rozzi said. “Many senators…

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A night dedicated to healing at Saint Leo Catholic Church. It’s the fifth annual service the archdiocese has held for survivors of abuse and their family members.

A night dedicated to healing at Saint Leo Catholic Church.

It’s the fifth annual service the archdiocese has held for survivors of abuse and their family members.

KETV Newswatch 7 was there as the archbishop led the service.

Inside st. Leo the Great Catholic Church, men, women and children sat in pews Monday night.

Surrounded by the color purple, which symbolizes strength and domestic violence awareness.

Although the victim outreach and prevention office serves as outreach for victims of clergy abuse, organizers say this healing service is much more than that.

“We realize there’s a lot of people in our community that are hurting with wounds of abuse, both from childhood through adulthood so this is for everybody,” said Mary Beth Hanus,…

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Pope Francis’s long-awaited apology to Canada’s indigenous community for more than a century of abusive residential schools, many of them run by the Catholic Church, should be followed by millions of dollars in compensation and the release of residential school records, survivors and indigenous leaders said.

Canada’s state-sanctioned schools forcibly separated about 150,000 children indigenous children from their families, subjecting many of them to physical and sexual abuse in what the Truth and Reconciliation Commission called “cultural genocide.”

“For the deplorable behavior of those members of the Catholic Church, I ask forgiveness from God and I would like to tell you from the bottom of my heart that I am very pained,” Francis said on Friday. The Pope said he hoped to visit Canada in July. read more

But for survivors, the historic apology alone isn’t enough.

Saa Hiil Thut’s former school in Kamloops, British Columbia was among several former…

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Baltimore pastor removed from ministry in 2021 amid investigation

There is no evidence to substantiate allegations against a priest who was removed from ministry over a child sex abuse investigation, the Archdiocese of Baltimore announced Sunday.

The archdiocese said Father Martin Demek is suitable to return to ministry.

The claims against him involved someone who said they were abused starting in 1989 in Manchester. The archdiocese says it worked with an investigative team and interviewed nearly 50 people to come up with its decision.

The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office also investigated the claims and did not file charges.

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Father Martin Demek is Returned to Active Ministry in the Archdiocese of Baltimore

In early 2021, the Archdiocese of Baltimore received an allegation of child sexual abuse against Father Martin Demek that was immediately reported to law enforcement. Law enforcement did not file criminal charges against Father Demek and, in April of 2021, gave permission to the Archdiocese to investigate the allegation. Father Demek was then suspended from ministry pending the outcome of the investigation. The Archdiocese released a public statement concerning the allegation and the reason for Father Demek’s suspension and invited individuals with information to contact law enforcement and the Archdiocese.

During the investigation, additional information was received by the Archdiocese and shared with law enforcement. In accordance with the Archdiocese’s policies for the protection of children and youth, the Archdiocesan Office of Child and Youth Protection, assisted by an investigative team including a former FBI…

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A Baltimore priest has returned to his ministry after an investigation into allegations that he sexually abused a child did not find any evidence to substantiate the charges, the Archdiocese of Baltimore said Sunday.

Last year, the Archdiocese announced Father Martin Demek, the then-pastor of Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Baltimore’s Bolton Hill neighborhood, had been removed of his faculties to function as a priest and suspended him from ministry, pending the results of an investigation.

The archdiocese learned of the allegations in early 2021 and contacted the police. According to the original charges, the alleged abuse began in about 1989 when the victim was about 11 years old. The incidents were said to have happened at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church in Manchester. The Rev. Demek said he was innocent of the charges and he has been not criminally charged.

The archdiocese said its investigative team included a former FBI…

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In testimony conducted over four days in April 2021, Bishop Howard Hubbard, the former leader of the Diocese of Albany, N.Y., described in unusually frank terms how he moved diocesan priests who had been accused of molesting children in and out of treatment centers and back into ministry. He admitted that the transfers were consistently made without informing local police, families of abuse victims or Catholics in Albany’s parishes, where the men were reassigned.

Bishop Hubbard testified that parishioners were told that their pastors had been removed for “treatment” with no further explanation.

“My perspective is we did not reveal the reason for his treatment,” Bishop Hubbard told Jeff Anderson, the lead attorney for one of the survivors suing the diocese, in reference to one priest.

“And the reason for his treatment was he had been accused of sexually abusing a minor, correct?” Mr. Anderson asked.

“That is correct,” answered the…

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It is no secret that clergy sex abuse and coverups are on the rise. In response to the hundreds of lawsuits filed regarding Catholic Church corruption and sexual abuse, Bishops are touting their screening process of new hires, claiming “We do much more now to screen our seminarians to stop predators from becoming priests.”  But we are skeptical, as predators are still getting into the priesthood.

If you’ve followed the clergy sex abuse and cover-up crisis, you’ve seen some variation of this many times over the past 20 years. . .But here’s what you have NOT seen over those years:

• “School districts adopt Catholic abuse screening”
• “On abuse, Protestant officials are learning from Catholic ones”
• “Summer camps, learning from the church, weed out molesters”
• “Daycare centers emulate Catholic dioceses on abuse”

The obvious point here is, that if Catholic bishops are doing such a great job of preventing abuse and “screening out” molesters, officials in other institutions…

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Daniel McCormack served five years in prison for molesting young boys. Now, he’s a free man but his legal troubles are far from over. 

WGN Investigates has learned the former priest spent hours being deposed Wednesday by attorneys in several pending civil cases. The plaintiffs allege they were sexually abused by McCormack.

“His demeanor was pretty flat and matter-of-fact,” says Attorney Gene Hollander. “To me, he didn’t show any remorse at all.”

Hollander and other attorneys asked McCormack more than 500 questions. But he repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment rights and refused to address any of the allegations.

Several of the lawsuits specifically target the Catholic Bishop of Chicago claiming the “Diocese acquiesced to McCormack’s continued involvement in school and parish activities after they knew or should have known of McCormack’s abuse.”

In 2007, McCormack pled guilty to abusing five boys during his time at St. Agatha Roman Catholic Church…

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Former church members and a church official in Texas want a formal investigation of Bishop Dwight Reed’s actions.

When the Iowa Attorney General’s Office issued a report last year about sex abuse by Catholic clergy, it also publicized a hotline for people from any denomination to call with similar concerns about that taboo topic in their own places of worship.

Since March 21, seven calls have involved the 53-year-old Christ Apostolic Temple in Des Moines.

The calls follow online chatter about the November 2021 marriage of the church’s thrice-divorced, 63-year-old bishop and pastor to a 19-year-old he had been offering special guidance to as dean of the church school.

It’s not illegal to marry someone so much younger if they’ve reached the age of legal consent, which in Iowa is 16. But Bishop Dwight Reed’s critics, some of them former church members, have taken to social media to challenge his actions,…

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SAN JOSE — A Costa Rican court sentenced a former priest to 20 years in prison Wednesday for sexual abuse of a minor, more than two years after the then-cleric was captured in Mexico for the crime, committed almost two decades ago.

A judge ruled Mauricio Viquez, who held high-level positions in the diocese of the capital San Jose, was guilty of abusing a boy who ran errands for him in exchange for meals for his family.

“My wife and my two children have supported me. Today I felt completely free. The ghost that I’d carried since I was 12 disappeared,” said the now 30-year-old victim, whose identity was kept anonymous throughout the trial.

Viquez, who was removed from the priesthood in 2019 when the accusations became known, was also accused of other abuses from before 2003. He was only charged in one case, due to the statute of limitations…

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The former pastor of Ellendale’s Philadelphia Pentecostal Holiness Church is facing multiple charges after state prosecutors say he inappropriately touched multiple women over a span of seven years.

Bishop Major Foster was once a trusted member of the Ellendale community. Beyond his role within the church, Foster co-founded the Ellendale Community Civic Improvement Association and fought for clean water for the town.

This position allowed Foster to sexually abuse three women for years, the Delaware Department of Justice said. It is also likely the reason investigators say they believe there are more victims that have not yet come forward.

According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, someone is sexually assaulted in the U.S. every 68 seconds. However, only 25 out of 1,000 perpetrators are sent to prison.

When it comes to perpetrators of sexual abuse, Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings said “there is…

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Never again.

A light of hope for healing, restoration and real reform shined a little last week on the announcement that nine Dallas-area men had settled a lawsuit alleging that they were sexually abused as students at Jesuit College Preparatory School Dallas.

The school’s president, Mike Earsing, provided a public statement that he believed the truth of the allegations that date to the 1970s and 1980s. And Mike Pedevilla, the first victim to come forward publicly and bravely, made this moving and hopeful statement: “Now, I can finally begin to heal.”

But even as the hope for healing and genuine expressions of remorse and reform are embraced by Jesuit and the Dallas Catholic Diocese, we are reminded — and should be reminded — of the depths of darkness, lies and institutional corruption that put boys in the path of men who were known to the Jesuit order to…

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There is so much to legitimately worry about in this world, real issues of life and death, race and gender, hope and fear. And then one throwback with a miter cap and staff does this:

The Catholic bishop of Worcester has demanded that a middle school remove the Pride and Black Lives Matter flags it has flown for more than a year or lose the right to call itself a Catholic school.

Until now, Nativity School of Worcester has been minding its own business, doing what it does best: God’s work. The tuition-free school — part of a Jesuit network — serves 61 boys in grades 5 through 8, almost all of them students of color and from low-income families. With longer school days and individualized attention, those kids will often leap six or seven grade levels in four years, going on to become successful high school and…

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The island’s Catholic community gathered at San Vitores Beach in Tumon to pray the the Holy Rosary commemorating the martyrs of the church and kicking off April activities for National Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

The Archdiocese of Hagåtña’s Safe Environment Office is leading Child Abuse Prevention Month activities for the Church, working with parishes and schools, according to the press release. This year’s theme is “Thriving Children & Families: Prevention with Purpose.”

Youth for Christ initiated the Coastal Rosary series locally and St. Anthony parish joined as part of the archdiocese’s World Youth Day Activities.

350 years of St. San Vitores

The Archdiocese also held Mass, led by Archbishop Michael Byrnes, in observance of the 350th year anniversary of the Jesuit martyr, Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores and St. Pedro Calungsod at the shrine erected in their honor.

Known as the “Apostle of…

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My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Each of us no doubt is reacting in different ways about revelations in the Times Union piece. I know I am not the only one who must deal with the reactions or the worry for a new wave of suffering for survivors and their families. All of us bear a burden of trying to help others even as we cope personally with our own pain and sorrow.

While the truth is often hard to bear, it might help us to remember that families where there has been abuse and betrayal cannot heal if the truth remains hidden. Families, like individuals, are “as sick as their secrets.” We know from Luke 12:2 that “there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known.” There is great hope in this terrible news and darkness because we find salvation in light, the Light…

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A child neglected or emotionally abused is a victim of abuse, in this context, clerical abuse.

In May 2021, I met with government representatives from the Irish department of children. We discussed a United Nations children’s rights committee document that calls upon the Irish State to respond to the needs of children of priests. Section 33 and 34 of the 2016 UN document states in part that the committee is concerned about the “lack of measures to ensure that children fathered by Catholic priests are able to access information on the identity of their fathers” and is encouraging the state  “ensure measures to assist children fathered by Catholic priests in upholding their right to know and be cared for by their fathers, as appropriate, and ensure that they receive the necessary psychological treatment.”

In 2022, the Irish State responded to the above request. The state’s response reads: “The Irish state…

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As Indigenous representatives hold scheduled meetings in Rome with Pope Francis, part of a series of discussions with the Catholic Church on reconciliation, many hope efforts will be made to finally bring artifacts held at the Vatican back to Canada.

First Nations, Metis and Inuit delegates have met or will meet the Pope this week to share stories from survivors of Canada’s residential school system, most of which were run by the Catholic Church.

Metis and Inuit delegates met the Pope on Monday, with First Nations representatives scheduled to meet the pontiff on Thursday. The Pope is expected to hold a general audience with all of the delegates Friday.

Along with hopes for a papal apology on Canadian soil, top of mind for delegates is access the Vatican’s collection of Indigenous cultural items.

“What they now need to recognize is that they hold things…

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First Nations, Inuit and Metis residential school survivors, knowledge keepers, elders, and youth have wrapped up meetings with Pope Francis at the Vatican with a historic apology.

The delegation was there to renew calls for the Pope to apologize for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in residential schools.

On Friday, the Pope said: “I am very sorry.” He also said he will come to Canada, but a date has not been set.

CALLS FOR AN APOLOGY

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its 94 calls to action in 2015. Among them was a request for an apology from the Pope and for the apology to take place in Canada within one year of the release of the report.

A number of individual Catholic organizations, parishes and bishops have apologized to Indigenous children and their families for the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical and sexual abuse the church inflicted on youngsters forced…

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Sorry is ‘an important milestone’ but more work must be done, according to the retired senator and former judge

The former chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is urging the Catholic Church to tackle residential school denialism following Pope Francis’s apology on Friday morning.

Church leaders who refuse to accept survivors’ truths are, right now, “the biggest source of resistance to reconciliation,” says Murray Sinclair.

“Denialism was allowed to flourish because of the silence that was coming from the Pope,” said the retired senator in an interview. “With this statement, those denying within the church — or denying in public because of the church being able to support denialism — will no longer have that ladder upon which they can stand.”

On the final day of an Indigenous delegation’s Vatican visit, the pontiff uttered a long-awaited and much-anticipated sorry “for the role that a number of Catholics” had…

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At the site of the former Mohawk Institute residential school in Brantford, the director of the Indigenous cultural centre that now occupies the building says the Pope’s apology to residential school survivors is a step in the right direction, but more action is needed.

“I don’t know if it necessarily brings closure,” said Janis Monture, Woodland Cultural Centre executive director. “Because there are still a lot of people who haven’t been held accountable for the actions that took place at these institutions.”

The Woodland Cultural centre is housed in what was once the Mohawk Institute. Considered Canada’s longest running residential school it opened in 1828 and closed in 1971.

During that time, Indigenous children were forcibly taken from their homes and forced to attend the facility where teachers and administrators attempted to strip them of their language and culture.

Across the country, around 150,000 Indigenous children were separated from their…

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This journey, Pope Francis noted, can help Indigenous peoples rediscover and revitalize their cultures, and the Catholic Church to grow in love and respect for their traditions.

Pope Francis on Friday expressed his “sorrow and shame” for the role Catholics have played in the abuse of Indigenous peoples in Canada, especially in residential schools.

During a meeting with representatives of the Métis, Inuit, and First Nations groups at the Vatican on April 1, the pope condemned colonization, saying he was sorry for the historic evil committed against Canadian Indigenous peoples.

He also said he would like to visit them in their “native lands,” indicating that he hopes to travel to Canada for the July 26 feast of St. Anne.

Pope Francis, who had private meetings with the Métis, Inuit, and First Nations delegations during the week, said “listening to your voices, I was able to enter into and be deeply grieved…

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Leaders of Canada’s main Indigenous organizations welcomed Pope Francis’s apology for the Catholic Church’s role in running residential schools, but, as one said, it was just “a fresh track” on a longer hunt for healing and reconciliation.

Chief Gerald Antoine, leading the delegation of the Assembly of First Nations at the Indigenous communities’ meetings with Pope Francis March 28-April 1, used the analogy of hunting to explain to reporters that much remains to be done.

For Antoine, a key concern is a formal recognition by the Canadian government that the residential schools were part of a systemic attempt at “cultural genocide,” or, as he explained it, an attempt “to kill the Indian in the child” and force them to assimilate.

Natan Obed, president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, told reporters, “Today we have a piece of the puzzle,” which is the papal apology.

“I was touched by the way in…

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[Includes a three-minute video of Inuit leader Natan Obed’s assessment of the delegation’s meetings with Vatican officials and the apology by Pope Francis.]

Pope Francis could play an “instrumental role” in the push for justice for Inuit victims and survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of an Oblate priest now living in France, says the head of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.

Natan Obed, president of the Inuit advocacy organization, spoke with The West Block‘s Mercedes Stephenson following a visit with the Pope at the Vatican last week.

During the visit, Pope Francis apologized for the Catholic Church’s prominent role in Canada’s residential school system, which he said left him feeling “indignation and shame.”

Obed said while he felt “great respect” for the Pope’s apology, there remains a significant amount of work to do and not all Indigenous people will be in the position to accept the apology.

“For me, I just…

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Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning and welcome!

I thank Bishop Poisson for his kind words and each of you for your presence here and for the prayers that you have offered. I am grateful that you have come to Rome despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic. Over the past few days, I have listened attentively to your testimonies. I have brought them to my thoughts and prayers, and reflected on the stories you told and the situations you described. I thank you for having opened your hearts to me, and for expressing, by means of this visit, your desire for us to journey together.

I would like to take up a few of the many things that have struck me. Let me start from a saying that is part of your traditional wisdom. It is not only a turn of phrase but also a way of viewing life: “In…

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