ABUSE TRACKER

Over 200 completed reports of over 150 abusers, 51 reporting for the first time

As Wisconsin approaches the one-year anniversary of the launch of Wisconsin’s Clergy and Faith Leader Abuse Initiative, AG Kaul is releasing additional information and highlighting the successes.

“In the year since we launched the Clergy and Faith Leader Abuse Initiative, over 200 people have reported information, and a District Attorney has criminally charged a defendant in a previously unreported case,” said AG Kaul. “We continue to encourage anyone with information about clergy and faith leader abuse to report that information.”

Wisconsin DOJ Takes Every Report Seriously

Shortly after launching the initiative, DOJ organized training for victim advocates in Wisconsin so that they would be prepared to support survivors of sexual abuse by clergy and faith leaders. The training offered live presentations by national experts on working with survivors of clergy sexual abuse. Victim advocates at DOJ…

View Cache

Wisconsin’s attorney general said his investigation into clergy sex abuse across the state has resulted in 1,000 calls to his tipline, 204 reports, and one criminal case. But there are some questions the AG is not answering.

Kaul launched his investigation into the Catholic Church in Wisconsin one year ago. On Tuesday, he provided an update on his progress.

“As of April 18, the Wisconsin Department of Justice Clergy and Faith Leader Initiative has received a total of 204 completed reports to the toll-free tip line and the online reporting tool accusing more than 150 individuals of abuse. Over 1,000 calls have been made to or from the tip line, including repeat calls from survivors who remember additional information or are looking for follow up information,” Kaul said in a statement.

Kaul said his office also received what he calls a “significant number of reports from…

View Cache

Attorney General Josh Kaul’s investigation into clergy abuse has generated about 200 reports and one criminal case in the year since it was launched, state Department of Justice officials said Tuesday.

Kaul began the investigation in April 2021, saying he wanted to develop a full picture of clergy sexual abuse over decades. He has encouraged victims to contact the Justice Department and tell their stories.

As of Monday, the agency had received 204 reports accusing more than 150 people of abuse. The investigation has resulted in one criminal case so far against a church camp counselor accused of touching a 10-year-old’s genitals in Waushara County in 2009. That case is still pending.

View Cache

A year after Attorney General Josh Kaul announced a formal investigation into abuse by members of the clergy in Wisconsin, more than 200 reports have been made to the Department of Justice. 

Those include more than 150 individuals accused of abuse, and 51 people were reporting an instance of abuse to law enforcement for the first time, according to a Tuesday morning press release.  

Kaul said in an interview that the number of survivors who reported to the department for the first time signals their trust. 

“One of our goals when we launched this was to provide a safe and trusted place for survivors to support,” he said. “Having 51 people come forward and report information who had never previously reported to law enforcement or religious authorities, to me, indicates that we have succeeded in providing a place where survivors trust the process and know they will be treated with dignity…

View Cache

Two priests who are accused of sexual abuse are suing the Buffalo Diocese.

Fathers Arthur Smith and Pat Ipolito claim the Diocese cut their pensions.

Both men receive about $2,000 a month. The lawsuit says the priests did not take part in a monitoring program, which lead to them losing all or part of their pensions.

The Diocese responded to the lawsuit tonight, saying in part, “Failure to comply entails the potential forfeiture of Diocesan financial support and/or pension benefits, as outlined by Bishop Fisher in October 2021.”

View Cache

Those who have become familiar with the fate of persons sexually abused by priests know that victims experience the indifference (or worse) of Church authorities to their abuse as a tremendous betrayal—something that does more harm than the abuse itself. They experience the Church more as Judas than the Bride of Christ. Indifference, dismissal, cover-up, and protection of the predator are common. Many books, such as Leon Podles’ Sacrilege, document that such has been the response to victims of priestly sexual abuse for nearly a century and perhaps longer.

Sadly, these deplorable responses are still with us, and even the involvement of lay people in the process has not led to the changes that are absolutely necessary for a Church that claims to be Christ’s Church.

For over a year, I have been working closely with a woman (I will call her Kate) who back in the early seventies, when she was 9 and…

View Cache

The Carmel priest who was “suspended from public ministry” in March, is suing a man who came forward with allegations about the priest’s behavior. 

James De Oreo, who was an associate pastor at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church, was suspended March 11 after allegations of “inappropriate conduct with a minor.”

The priest filed a lawsuit April 4 against the man who wrote two letters in 2021 to the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana about De Oreo’s behavior toward him when he was a teen attending St. Alphonsus Liguori Catholic Church in Zionsville. IndyStar is not naming the man because he was a minor at the time of the alleged abuse.

The man said he was considering becoming a priest, and De Oreo used his position of power to emotionally abuse, sexually harass and groom him for sexual abuse. This led to an eating disorder and PTSD as well…

View Cache

Last year, we pointed out that a Catholic religious order, the Christian Brothers, posted the worst list of child molesting clerics we have ever seen. They listed predators only because they had to. They provided ZERO information about the accused: not where they are or were, not when they were ordained, not whether they pled guilty or admitted guilt or if they were sued dozens of times. . .NOTHING. They also restricted their list to just those clerics who faced two or more abuse reports. We are happy to report that a little more light has been shone upon this secretive outfit. But the new information has surfaced not because of, but in spite of, the order’s top officials.

It comes via the same source which has done so much to protect kids and expose criminals: the secular, mainstream media. Specifically, in a series of articles over…

View Cache

Thank you, Gov. Tom Wolf, for pressing the Pennsylvania Legislature to immediately enact civil child sexual abuse statute of limitations reform so that thousands of middle-aged and older survivors can bring predators and their institutional enablers to justice.

For far too long, perpetrators and the religious institutions, schools, summer camps, athletic organizations, and medical and child care providers that enabled their abuse found refuge in an inadequate statute of limitations that rewarded them for running out the clock on victims who often need decades to come to terms with their abuse and the forces that have silenced them.

Credible statute of limitations reform must include providing a “window” to all sexual abuse survivors, no matter their age, to file civil claims against their abusers and the organizations that enable the abuse. Victims, no matter their age, must have access to justice and the right to demand accountability for…

View Cache

In May of last year, Leona Kimes accused former lead pastor of Hillsong NYC, Carl Lentz, of sexually abusing her while she was working as a nanny for Lentz’s children.

Josh and Leona Kimes, the co-pastors of Hillsong Boston, announced on Monday (April 18) that the two have “made the difficult decision to resign.” The announcement of their departure comes a week after the results of an investigation into Hillsong New York City, where the couple worked previously, were leaked to a Christian online news outlet.

The Kimes’ departure is the most recent in a slew of upheavals at the global megachurch and multimedia empire, including the resignation two weeks ago of its global senior pastor Brian Houston after allegations of sexual misconduct. Co-founded by Houston in Australia nearly 40 years ago, the church had grown to some 30 locations before scandals closed three of its U.S. churches.

The couple,…

View Cache

In a bid to keep parishes and officials, including Bishop Salvatore Matano, from answering scores of sexual-abuse allegations against church officials in state court, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester has asked for a Bankruptcy Court trial.

Known as adversarial proceedings or APs for short, such trials look to have a bankruptcy judge resolve differences between parties in a case. Parties not satisfied with a bankruptcy judge’s ruling can appeal the ruling to a federal district court.

As the Rochester Beacon previously reported, the expiration of a Bankruptcy Court stipulation putting the state court sexual-abuse claims against the church on hold came after one of the two parties who struck an agreement some two years ago to halt the state court cases declined to renew the pact. 

Previously, parties to that pact—the bankruptcy’s official creditors committee and the diocese—had renewed the March 2020 agreement 11 times. Late last month, one…

View Cache

Two retired Buffalo priests accused of sexually abusing minors are suing the Buffalo Diocese to restore their pensions, which were reduced or eliminated after the priests refused to submit to a monitoring program pushed by the State Attorney General’s Office.

The Rev. Arthur J. Smith and the Rev. Pascal D. Ipolito maintain that they are not child molesters and haven’t had a fair hearing to defend themselves against the accusations. They also said they earned the pensions that were promised to them when they became priests decades ago and when they retired a few years ago.

“Our position is that the (pension) contract clearly lays out that they have a vested right. It cannot be amended, modified, whatever it may be,” said attorney Mark J. Byrne, who filed a lawsuit Sunday in Erie County State Supreme Court.

The lawsuit might be the first of its kind in the country of…

View Cache

In an open letter, 74 bishops from North America, Africa, Italy and Australia have expressed their “growing concern” about the German Synodal Path process and content, warning about its “potential for schism.”

Joining recent letters of concern by the Nordic and Polish bishops, the “fraternal open letter to our brother bishops in Germany” said “the Synodal Path’s actions undermine the credibility of church authority, including that of Pope Francis.”

“By its destructive example, it may lead some bishops, and will lead many otherwise faithful laypeople, to distrust the very idea of ‘synodality,’ thus further impeding the church’s necessary conversation about fulfilling the mission of converting and sanctifying the world,” the letter concluded.

Signatories included Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze, South African Cardinal Wilfred Napier, Australian Cardinal George Pell, and U.S. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke.

All told, 49 bishops from the U.S., four from Canada, 19 Africans, one Italian and one Australian…

View Cache

In my wife’s home city of Wroclaw, there’s a luxury hotel named after John Paul II. It has always seemed strange that the Catholic church sanctioned this. Giant chandeliers and glitzy bathrooms weren’t really what St John Paul stood for, and since the hotel opened in 2002 it had seemed as much a monument to the church’s decline as a tribute to a saint. But everything changed with the war in Ukraine. Some 2.5 million Ukrainians have fled to Poland since Russia’s invasion and the hotel is currently home to more than 100 refugees. It’s as if the building has finally discovered its real purpose.

What’s true of the John Paul II hotel is true more widely of the Polish Catholic church. The response of Polish Catholics to the war was immediate, all-out and magnificently unbureaucratic. A vast chain of care was formed that ran from nuns offering cups of…

View Cache

Warning: This story deals with disturbing subject matter that may upset and trigger some readers. Discretion is advised.

Pope Francis could be making stops in Alberta and Quebec during his visit to Canada, Global News has learned.

“But, trip details have not been finalized yet,” a source with knowledge of the visit confirmed to Global News on Friday.

Plans for a papal visit were initially announced two weeks ago, when Indigenous delegates from Canada were in Rome.

During their visit to the Vatican, the Pope also delivered an apology for the harm caused by some clergy members who operated the church and state sponsored residential school system.

The apology came over 25 years after the last residential school closed in Canada. It has been met with mixed opinion over whether it was sufficient.

‘As a child when I was in residential school…I never thought I’d see the day that I would see the Pope…

View Cache

The independent commission created in January to investigate sexual abuse in the Portuguese Catholic church has already received 290 valid testimonies from victims and 16 cases have already been referred to the prosecutor.

In an assessment of the first three months of work, made on Tuesday at a press conference at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, the former minister of justice Alvaro Laborinho Lúcio, who is part of the commission, said that among the 290 validated testimonies, 16 have not yet been invalidated and, therefore, have been referred to the prosecutor.

Created in January to investigate sexual abuse in the Portuguese catholic church, the independent commission had already received 214 statements from victims, aged between 15 and 88, in its first month of activity.

Complaints and statements can be sent to the commission by completing an online survey at darvozaosilencio.org, by mobile phone +351917110000 (daily between 10am and 8pm),…

View Cache

Six months after the publication of the Sauvé report, which revealed the scale of sexual abuse over decades in the French Catholic Church, what effect has the crisis had on aspiring priests? Despite the atmosphere of mistrust currently enveloping the Church, some forty students at the diocese in Orléans are training to join the priesthood while attempting to learn from the errors of those before them. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24’s Emerald Maxwell.

Programme prepared by Emerald Maxwell.

View Cache

More victims are coming forward after the arrest of a Texas youth pastor on multiple charges related to child molestation, police say.

Police in Mesquite, just east of Dallas, announced Monday they had arrested Conner “Jesse” Penny on accusations he had sexual contact multiple times from 2015-2018 with a girl under 17 years old.

Penny, 32, was youth pastor at Inspiration Church, a Southern Baptist church in Mesquite, at the time of his arrest last Thursday, police stated in a press release. He had also worked for the local schools and in the city of Mesquite’s after-school program, according to police.

He’s being held on felony charges of continuous sexual abuse of a child under age 14, indecency with a child, and aggravated sexual assault of a child, according to Dallas County Jail records. Total bond has been set at $2.5…

View Cache

Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, president of the German bishops’ conference, responded Thursday to a letter warning the country’s synodal path could lead to schism by defending the process as a response to abuses in the Church.

“The Synodal Path is our attempt in Germany to confront the systemic causes of the abuse and its cover-up that has caused untold suffering to so many people in and through the Church,” Bishop Bätzing wrote April 14 to Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver. The German bishop’s letter was published April 16 at the German bishops’ conference website.

More than 80 bishops from around the world, including Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, signed an April 11 open letter sent by Archbishop Aquila that warned sweeping changes to church teaching advocated by the synodal path may lead to schism.

The Synodal Path is a process that brings together German lay people and Catholic bishops…

View Cache

A welcome and heartfelt apology for Catholics’ role in the country’s abusive residential school system.

Pope Francis has asked for forgiveness for the Roman Catholic involvement with Canada’s residential school system. His heartfelt contrition may bring some reconciliation for the indigenous people affected by this disturbing part of my country’s history and the many Canadians frustrated, saddened and embarrassed by it.

The gesture was long awaited by indigenous leaders and came after an intense week of discussions between Pope Francis and First Nations, Inuit and Métis delegations. Before an audience that included 200 bishops as well as indigenous delegates and their supporters in the Clementine Hall of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, on April 1 the pontiff expressed “sorrow and shame for the role that a number of Catholics, particularly those with educational responsibilities, have had in all these things that wounded you, and the abuses you suffered and the lack…

View Cache

“When I live a Eucharist-centered life,” says the Bishop of Crookston, Minnesota, “I can offer my struggles and difficulties in union with Jesus to the Father, and my daily life can be part of the redemption of the world.”

Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens, 53, is the Bishop of Crookston, Minnesota. He grew up in Denver, Colorado, the youngest of three children in a devout Catholic family. His father was an aerospace engineer and his mother a school teacher.

He is a graduate of Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. He was active in the pro-life organization Operation Rescue, and was arrested seven times and jailed for two weeks for physically blocking access to abortion clinics. He was also a missionary with NET ministries and is currently chairman of its board of directors. During his time as a missionary, the future…

View Cache

[From the Greenwood Commonwealth]

A former Franciscan friar convicted of sexually abusing a Greenwood grade-school student in the 1990s will have no chance at parole, according to the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office.

Paul West, 62, was found guilty by a Leflore County jury Wednesday of one count of sexual battery and one count of gratification of lust for preying on  La Jarvis Love when Love was a student at St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School. West was a teacher and later principal at the school.

“Sexual abuse of a child is a heinous crime that deserves serious punishment,” said Attorney General Lynn Fitch in a statement. “Children looked up to this man as a teacher and a priest. They trusted him and he failed them in every way. My Office will always work tirelessly to protect and defend the vulnerable from predators like this.”

West was a Franciscan brother, not a…

View Cache

[From the Greenwood Commonwealth]

This is not an uplifting Easter story. It’s more of the Good Friday variety, when mankind’s worst instincts are on display, prompting feelings of anger, betrayal and profound sadness.

Following former Franciscan friar Paul West’s conviction this past week by a Leflore County jury, I received a call from Arthur Baselice Jr., a retired Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, police detective who now lives in New Jersey.

He had been following the case of West, who was convicted and given what amounts to a life sentence for sexually abusing La Jarvis Love in the 1990s, when Love was a student at St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School and West was a teacher and later principal.

Around the same time that West was preying on Love and allegedly two of Love’s cousins, another friar from the same Wisconsin-based Franciscan province was allegedly abusing Baselice’s son and namesake, Arthur Baselice III.

…

View Cache

This could be the very last Easter Sunday service in some Roman Catholic churches in Newfoundland, but a local priest is putting this Easter in perspective.

Father Paul Lundrigan of Holy Trinity in Torbay says some parishes, including his, are grappling with the legal obligations to the victims of abuse at Mount Cashel orphanage, while trying to find a way forward in the practice of their faith.

He says it is a time of great reflection, but as COVID and other world events have taught them, there are strengths within the Church family, and the faith can survive without buildings as history has already proven.

The early Christians were ostracized and practiced their faith in homes and other places.

Lundrigan says the faith survived like that for a long time, which sends the message that it’s the gathering that matters, not where it happens.

Lundrigan also draws inspiration from the strength…

View Cache

The revelation that a priest’s debts were repaid from a fund to compensate sex abuse victims has prompted outrage in Cologne’s Catholic community.

Catholics in the archdiocese of Cologne on Saturday expressed shock that the church had paid more than €1 million to clear the private debts of a priest.

The news provoked particular outrage as it emerged that the money came from a compensation fund for the victims of sexual abuse, who have so far received only a small fraction of the amount used for the priest’s debt.

What are the revelations?

As far as has become known so far, the diocese initially paid almost €500,000 ($540,000) for the priest to clear his gambling debts.

Since the money was apparently not taxed correctly, a total of €650,000 in income tax, including interest, had to be paid in arrears. The money was said to have been paid from a social fund…

View Cache

With the strike of a gavel, Indonesia’s controversial sexual violence bill has been passed into law by parliament.

As legislators took to their feet on Tuesday to applaud the passage of the long-awaited bill, House Speaker Puan Maharani appeared visibly moved.

The legislation was “a gift for all Indonesian women,” she said.

The bill, known as RUU TPKS, has been a long time coming.

First proposed in 2012, it faced stiff opposition from conservative groups who argued over everything from its name to the contents of the law itself, requiring repeated revisions in an effort to ease its passage.

Elizabeth Ghozali, a lecturer in criminal law at Santo Thomas Catholic University in the city of Medan, told Al Jazeera that the bill was a landmark piece of legislation that finally puts the rights of victims first.

“Previously, Indonesian law was only focused on punishment in sexual violence cases. That was seen as…

View Cache

Arizona victims of long-ago child sex abuse can proceed with lawsuits against groups like the Boy Scouts of America after the state Supreme Court rejected claims that a state law extending victims’ right to sue was unconstitutional.

Arizona is among many states that have reacted to child sex abuse in recent years by allowing victims of even decades-old abuse to sue groups that didn’t protect them from predators. That has led to lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Church, Scouts and others.

The high court last week rejected appeals by Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and its affiliates in central and southern Arizona of lower court rulings that found a 2019 law extending the statute of limitations was constitutional.

The rulings appear to be the first to directly address whether the Arizona law is legal, according to Phoenix attorney Robert Pastor, who represents victims in the two cases the high…

View Cache

A former Catholic friar was sentenced to decades in prison after he sexually assaulted multiple students during the 1990s, officials say.

Following a two-day trial, Paul West, 62, from Wisconsin, was convicted of one count of sexual battery and one count of gratification of lust, according to a news release from Mississippi’s Attorney General’s Office.

West was a teacher and principal at the St. Francis of Assisi School in Greenwood, a city about 100 miles north of Jackson, from July 1993 until October 1998, according to a statement from the Catholic Diocese of Jackson.

Investigators said that West molested multiple children during his years at the school. Decades after the assaults, former students came forward and shared testimonies of “the repeated sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of West,” according to the release.

“Children looked up to this man as a teacher and a priest. They…

View Cache

Richard Eldridge stood outside of the Diocese of Fall River’s Chancery office Wednesday demanding a “substantial settlement” for abuse he allegedly suffered at the hands of Father Edward J. Byington.

Byington was one of two priests suspended by the diocese in January 2020 due to separate allegations of sexual abuse of a minor going back several decades, The Standard-Times reported.

In a statement posted to its website in December 2021, the diocese announced the allegations against Byington “have been determined to be credible” and he would not return to ministry.

At the time of his suspension, Byington was already retired and not assigned to a parish.

Eldridge, 67, told MassLive that when he was 15 or 16 years old, even though he was protestant, he attended the Roman Catholic ECHO (Encountering Christ in Others) retreat because his friends were going. He…

View Cache

A Franciscan brother, Paul West, 62, who was the subject of a major AP News investigation for his abuse of three young boys in Mississippi has been convicted of the 1990s abuse of La Jarvis Love. On Wednesday, April 13, 2022, a jury found him guilty of sexually abusing a student at St. Francis of Assisi School in the 1990s.

The Leflore County jury spent less than an hour deciding West’s fate. The verdict was loud and clear, guilty of one count of sexual battery and one count of gratification of lust, the Greenwood Commonwealth reported. West was accused of sexually abusing La Jarvis Love, now 39. Circuit Judge Ashley Hines sentenced West to 30 years on the first count and 15 years on the second count, to be served consecutively. Love began crying when the verdict was read.

Our hearts go out to La Jarvis Love and his family…

View Cache

Paul West was a teacher and principal at St. Francis School in Greenwood, Mississippi from July 1993 until October 1998. The Diocese of Jackson cooperated fully in the State of Mississippi’s recent criminal conviction of Paul West, including providing background testimony at his trial on the diocese’s list of clergy who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors. The list was first provided to the Attorney General in 2002 and then updated and released publicly in March of 2019.

The Diocese reported the initial allegation against Paul West to the Department of Human Services and the Greenwood Police Department in 1998 and reported the subsequent allegations to the Leflore County District Attorney in 2018. West was removed from ministry after the original 1998 complaint.

The Diocese of Jackson is committed to protecting children. Sexual misconduct by Church personnel violates human dignity and the mission of the Church. The…

View Cache

[From WLBT]

A former teacher and principal at St. Francis School in Greenwood will face 45 years in prison, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced Thursday.

Paul West, 62, was convicted of sexual battery and gratification of lust following a trial in Leflore County.

The Catholic Diocese says West served as teacher and principal at the school from July 1993 until October 1998, when he first faced an allegation of sexual misconduct. The Diocese says West was reported to Greenwood Police Department after the allegation and subsequently removed from the ministry.

The Diocese released a statement on West’s conviction, which says in part:

The Diocese of Jackson is committed to protecting children. Sexual misconduct by Church personnel violates human dignity and the mission of the Church. The Diocese has dedicated substantial time and resources to ensure that children being served by the Church are not at risk of sexual abuse…

View Cache

Early on in my healing work, a friend suggested that I think back to who I was before I was sexually abused.

They wondered if I might find power in remembering characteristics or aspects of myself before the abuse that are still a part of me today. When I first attempted to recall who I was before the abuse, I could not remember specific traits or memories. I was so young when the abuse started, no older than 5, and it felt like trying to recall the memories of someone who wasn’t yet a person.

The abuse occurred during my formative years, when a child’s brain develops into who they will become later in life, from our social lives to our emotions to how we show up relationally. What memories did I form first? Did that memory of learning to tie my shoes at day care come first? Or was it…

View Cache

The “ultimate antidote to scandal,” he says, is not found in “structural reforms” or in a “merely cultural Catholicism,” but in “holiness of life.”

Each year, as we draw near to Holy Thursday, the Church asks us to pray for priests, future priests, and the renewal of the priesthood Jesus instituted during the Last Supper.

The celebration of the Chrism Mass, traditionally held the morning of Holy Thursday but often anticipated earlier in Holy Week, features the moving rite in which priests renew before their bishop their dedication to unite themselves closely to Christ and strive to imitate him, to be faithful ministers of his mysteries, to celebrate the Eucharist with sincere devotion, to sacrifice worldly pleasures and ambition joyfully for the good of Christ’s flock, and to teach the Christian faith and share Christ’s peace and love.

The bishop, in turn, asks the faithful to pray for their priests and for…

View Cache

As Archbishop Christian Lépine moved through the last days of Lent toward Easter 2022, he acknowledged the worst Cross to bear in his 10 years leading Montreal Roman Catholics has been the scandal of clerical sexual abuse.

“I’m always thinking about it,” Lépine told The Catholic Register in a late March interview. “It goes so much against Jesus Christ Himself. It’s not just about the numbers. It’s about the fact that one case is too many, that priests who were there to witness to Jesus Christ, witness to the love of the Eternal Father (committed) crimes or betrayed trust. Talking specifically about the sexual abuse of minors….”

His voice trails. Even in the context of a phone conversation, it’s palpable that Christ’s help is being called for at the other end of the line. Lépine, whose 10th anniversary as Archbishop of Montreal was on March 20 and who marks 10 years since…

View Cache

I have a hot news flash for my brothers and sisters here in the Bible Belt: The individuals you should be concerned about do not include the recently confirmed Supreme Court Justice; rather, they are the people sitting next to you.

I speak as a former editor for two Christianity Today publications and for Moody Monthly, a Christian family magazine. As a young editor fresh out of college, I urged Moody Monthly to do a cover feature on child sexual abuse in the church.

At that time, mid-1980s, no one was talking about this publicly. But I had a hunch predatory sexual abuse was happening far more than we realized, in “good church families,” and that the perpetrators were fathers, uncles, brothers, and others who often held trusted positions of authority in the church—deacons, elders, religious teachers, and pastors.

My hunch proved right. I was editor of the Letters department,…

View Cache

A Catholic middle school in Massachusetts is resisting one local bishop’s attempts to have the school take down Pride and Black Lives Matter flags or the school will risk losing its Catholic affiliation.

Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester gave the directive to The Nativity School of Worcester, a Jesuit-run middle schools serving low-income students who are predominantly students of color. In a statement demanding the removal of the flags, McManus insisted that the church teaches “all lives are equal.” He continued:

“[The] flag with the emblem Black Lives Matter has at times been coopted by some factions which also instill broad-brush distrust of police and those entrusted with enforcing our laws. We do not teach that in our schools. And, while we teach that everyone is created in the image and likeness of God, gay pride flags are often used to stand in contrast to consistent Catholic teaching that sacramental marriage…

View Cache

A 74-year-old man has become the latest former Dilworth staffer to plead guilty to sexual abuse while employed at the Auckland boarding school.

The teacher, who continues to have interim name suppression, was arrested in 2020 as part of Operation Beverly, a long-running investigation into historical sexual abuse at the boys’ only school.

He was initially charged with four counts involving three men who told police they were indecently assaulted by the defendant between 1980 and 1981. All of the victims were under the age of 16 at the time. More accusers, however, have since come forward.

Appearing via audio-visual feed today in the High Court at Auckland, he pleaded guilty through lawyer Justin Harder to 11 charges – nine counts of indecency between man and boy and two counts of indecent assault on a boy under 12.

The charges carry a maximum possible punishment of either seven or 10…

View Cache

[The Field Hospital podcast is sponsored by the Viatorians. In this episode of the podcast, Juan Carlos Cruz discusses the church’s response to the clergy abuse crisis; the episode is an hour and twelve minutes long.]

Editors’ note: This episode speaks on sexual abuse, trauma, and healing, and contains content that may be disturbing to some listeners.

In 2015, Juan Carlos Cruz was one of several abuse survivors to protest Pope Francis’ appointment of Juan Barros as bishop of the diocese of Osorno in Chile. Barros, they said, had witnessed their abuse at the hands of popular priest Fernando Karadima, and helped cover it up. Initially, Pope Francis defended Barros, even going so far as to accuse Juan Carlos and his fellow survivors of calumny. But Juan Carlos continued to speak up and work for justice. Finally, Pope Francis had a change of heart and apologized to the survivors he had…

View Cache

The diocese of Oxford has commissioned an independent lessons-learned review of allegations of spiritual abuse connected with St Margaret’s, Tyler’s Green, in High Wycombe, between 1981 and 2000. Its then incumbent, the Revd Michael Hall, was said to “rule congregants with a rod of iron and a flaming temper”.

Hall died in June 2021. The diocesan safeguarding team has been investigating him since January 2020, when a former member of the congregation took their own life. That prompted Hall’s successor, the Revd Mike Bisset, to raise serious concerns about Hall’s behaviour towards other members of the congregation, too.

The allegations relate to spiritual abuse, nakedness, and sexual activity with some adult members of the congregation. The abuse is said to have taken place at St Margaret’s, in the parish rooms, and also in people’s homes, where, according to survivor accounts, it was witnessed by children and young people.

Witness statements and a comprehensive…

View Cache

Recently I have seen on social media a certain kind of claim being made. The claim usually goes something like this: Person “X” claims they grew up Christian and now, as an adult, are no longer Christian. Their upbringing, it is usually said, occurred in a “fundamentalist” Christian environment or some type of conservative Protestant, usually Evangelical, church or home.

The claimant then reveals they are now either an atheist or, at most, agnostic about religion. Now, at this point, Person “X’s” story is pretty uninteresting. After all, many people leave their Christian faith as adults, whether it be a conservative Evangelical, Roman Catholic or even liberal Protestant faith. Some, like myself, come back to faith, albeit in a different tradition, while others do not. But this is not the extent of Person “X’s” claim. There is more to it than just this (which, in itself, would not warrant writing…

View Cache

There I sat in my clerical collar and black suit, an Anglican priest confident in my political and social awareness and in that of my church. In quiet yet confident tones the Indigenous leader who was speaking that day told a personal story. He loved his grandpa very much, he told us, but never understood why this learned, kind man would never hug him. One day, when grandpa was very elderly and our speaker was an adult, he asked him why. “I could never have told you this before”, said grandpa, “but when I was a child in a residential school, a hug meant only one thing. It meant that I was going to be raped.” Pause. “That’s why I could never hug you, that’s why.” I’m sure I wasn’t alone in feeling tears come to my eyes.

But tears have never been enough, and the obscenity of the residential…

View Cache

New committee wants to purchase Holy Rosary parish, but plan has its critics

An influential committee has been formed in Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s with the goal of purchasing Holy Rosary Catholic Church, but not everyone agrees, and a dark chapter in Newfoundland and Labrador’s history hangs over the whole process.

A coalition of community groups have thrown their support behind a new arts, wellness and heritage committee in order to prepare a bid on the landmark parish property overlooking Portugal Cove and repurpose the site into a community centre.

The committee has launched a fundraising campaign, wants the town council to designate the church a heritage property, and will host a meeting Thursday evening in a bid to rally public support.

The committee has also asked the town council to write a cheque for up to $12,000 to pay for an appraisal and structural assessment of the church property, with council expected to…

View Cache

ETAN expresses shock at conviction, removes donation appeal Patrick Smythe set up on group’s website

An international group advocating human rights in Timor-Leste, of which a UK pedophile priest was a supporter, has taken down an appeal for financial support he had set up for the group following his conviction for child sex abuse last week.

“We are shocked and embarrassed that a member of the international Timor-Leste solidarity movement has committed such crimes,” John Miller, coordinator of East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN), said in an April 12 statement.

“ETAN strongly condemns all forms of sexual abuse and expresses our continuing solidarity with the victims of sexual abuse around the world.”

Father Patrick Smythe, 79, was convicted and jailed for seven and a half years on April 7 by a court in Leeds in the United Kingdom for sex offenses against boys in his care.

He…

View Cache

[Note: This public lecture is being streamed live at 7:00 pm Central on April 14, 2022. The Zoom registration link is provided below.]

Please join us for this public lecture by Professor Kevin Lewis O’Neill.

Between 1952 and 1968, a Roman Catholic religious order known as the Servants of the Paraclete sought, bought, and finally sold several small islands in the Caribbean for priests unable to stop “sin[ning] repeatedly with little children.” This talk details the Servants of the Paraclete’s mid-twentieth-century efforts at offshoring sexually abusive priests. It is an historical account that encourages scholars and activists alike to rethink the geography of clerical sexual abuse: though there is a generally agreed upon history that bishops throughout the United States transferred priests between parishes to evade suspicion and at times prosecution, this provides a previously untold account of how the U.S. Church leveraged developments in moral theology, pastoral psychology, and free market…

View Cache

In an age of rapid global communication, events in one nation inevitably impact ecclesial life elsewhere. Thus the “Synodal Path” process, as currently pursued by Catholics in Germany, has implications for the Church worldwide. This includes the local Churches which we pastor and the many faithful Catholics for whom we are responsible.

In that light, events in Germany compel us to express our growing concern about the nature of the entire German “Synodal Path” process and the content of its various documents. Our comments here are deliberately brief. They warrant, and we strongly encourage, more elaboration (as, for example, Archbishop Samuel Aquila’s An Open Letter to the Catholic Bishops of the World) from individual bishops. Nonetheless, the urgency of our joint remarks is rooted in Romans 12, and especially Paul’s caution: Do not be conformed to this world. And their seriousness flows from the confusion that the Synodal Path has…

View Cache

Over 70 bishops from four continents warn that heterodox German reform efforts risk fracturing Church unity, adversely impacting the Church globally.

Seventy-four Catholic bishops from four continents have signed a “fraternal open letter” to their episcopal counterparts in Germany, expressing concern over the German Church’s controversial “Synodal Path.”

While noting the need for reform in the life of the Church, the letter states that “Christian history is littered with well-intended efforts that lost their grounding in the Word of God, in a faithful encounter with Jesus Christ, in a true listening to the Holy Spirit, and in the submission of our wills to the will of the Father.” The letter states that Germany’s controversial “Synodal Path” — a reform effort, backed by the majority of German bishops, that calls for fundamental changes to the Church’s teaching on sexuality, blessings for same-sex sexual unions, and the priestly ordination of women — “risks…

View Cache

For the first time in history the number of people in the United States who identify as belonging to a church, mosque or synagogue is less than those who don’t associate with any established religion. Just 47% of American adults identify with a particular creed, down a prodigious 20% in just two decades.

This decline can be directly attributed to the growth of “nones.” This burgeoning group covers people who declare no religious affiliation. The decline is particularly notable in younger age groups. Only 36% of millennials express any church allegiance while 58% of baby boomers remain loyal to some religious denomination. Overall, 21% fall under the ”nones” umbrella, a larger number than any denomination, except for Protestants.

Among Christians, the decline is particularly noticeable among Catholics where the drop-off is twice the Protestant exit numbers. Non-college graduates showed a more pronounced reduction than college graduates, and among members of…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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,…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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….

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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. 

…

View Cache

[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.

View Cache

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. 

…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

• 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…

View Cache

• 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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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.”

View Cache

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.

…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

‘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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

 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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache