ABUSE TRACKER

Through Unreconciled, Jay Sefton has provided audiences with a rare space to sit with difficult truths, laugh, reflect, and converse

When theatre audiences settle into their seats, they rarely expect to confront the raw, personal experiences of the performer before them.

Yet that is precisely the space that Unreconciled, a new one-man play by Jay Sefton, creates. The production, which will be in The Mick Lally Theatre on 31 October and November 1, is a deeply personal story which explores childhood sexual abuse, faith, and the long road toward reclaiming one’s voice.

Set in 1980s Philadelphia, the play follows Sefton’s younger self, cast as Jesus in a school Passion Play, through decades of silence, reflection, and participation in a church compensation programme.

Yet while the subject matter is undeniably heavy, the production is far from a bleak recounting of trauma. Dark humour and moments of levity punctuate the narrative, offering…

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A son of a prominent Indiana pastor faces multiple felony counts linked to child sexual abuse material after an Internet Crimes Against Children investigation led detectives to seize electronic devices containing hundreds of files.

Jonathan Wesley Peternel, 24, of Noblesville, Indiana, was arrested Oct. 23 after the Hamilton County Metro ICAC Task Force executed warrants. They stemmed from a CyberTip alerting authorities to Peternel’s uploads on Snapchat, according to a statement released by investigators.

Peternel is the son of Nathan Peternal, lead pastor of Life Church, a multi-site church based in Noblesville, Indiana. One of the campus pastors of Life Church is Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, who co-hosts a podcast with Nathan Peternel called, “Jesus, Sex & Politics.”

The shocking pornography haul included “more than 50 photos and videos” that appeared to show Jonathan’s parents nude or engaged in sex acts, according to a probable-cause affidavit reviewed by The Roys…

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A 21-year-old man is suing a prominent suburban Chicago church and its pastor for allegedly allowing an employee or volunteer with a known history of abuse to work with children, resulting in the man’s repeated abuse.

A lawsuit filed last Tuesday by “John Doe” claims that Brian Coffey, the interim lead pastor at Chapelstreet Church (formerly First Baptist Church of Geneva), turned a blind eye to Don Vanthournout’s alleged history of abuse. It says Doe, the child of missionaries, was abused multiple times by Vanthournout, an “employee and/or agent of the church,” between 2011 to 2018, while Doe’s family stayed at his home on furlough.

Doe, now 21, said that Coffey had received evidence from a previous victim of Vanthournout’s history.

“Despite Coffey’s promise to take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of the children within Chapelstreet, Coffey took no meaningful steps to warn members of the congregation about the dangerous…

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German Bishop Reinhold Nann, 65, former Prelate of Caravelí in Peru, has claimed that he stepped down from his position months before marrying, even though the Vatican has not formally released him from his clerical obligations.

Writing on his personal blog, Bishop Nann said he “resigned from episcopal and priestly ministry 13 or 9 months before getting married.” 

He stressed that his decision should not be seen as a rejection of priestly celibacy. “I think that’s a misinterpretation. I’m not against it; it just didn’t work out for me,” he wrote. He went on to claim that “tens of thousands” of priests worldwide are secretly in relationships, arguing that the rule of mandatory celibacy is driving many away from ministry.

“If the Catholic Church continues to staunchly defend celibacy in theory, it will simply lose a large part of its personnel in practice very soon,” he warned.

Bishop Nann also…

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Early this month, Tutela Minorum published its second annual report on clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church at a global scale.

Soon after, Pope Leo XIV met with ECA, a global NGO supporting victims and survivors of clergy sexual abuse.

Despite the goodwill, minor but noticeable mistakes in handling the meeting soured the perception of Leo XIV’s and his curia’s commitment to addressing sexual abuse.

Early in October, Tutela Minorum, the entity created by Pope Francis back in 2014 to prevent clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church officially published its second annual report on the state of the issue behind its very existence.

Soon after the publication of the report, on Monday October 20, Leo XIV met with Ending Clergy Abuse, a global NGO supporting victims and survivors of clergy sexual abuse.

Although there was goodwill in the meeting and in what Vatican News and other Catholic media published about the…

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Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez met with Pope Leo this month, to update the pope on the progress of a working group on the criminalization of spiritual abuse.

Among other things, the cardinal told Pope Leo that the group’s work was proceeding “fruitfully,” and petitioned the pontiff to confirm Cardinal Filippo Iannone as its chair, especially after Iannone moved positions in the Vatican last month.

The continuation of the group’s work, and the continuity of leadership, suggests Leo — himself a canonist — is at least open to an eventual new crime of spiritual abuse. But what might it look like, and how might it work?

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The issue of spiritual abuse has been present in the Church for millenia, in one form or another. So long as there has been authority in any human society there exists the possibility for abuse, and spiritual authority is no different.

To a degree, canon…

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The mission should be accepted as a sacred responsibility, says Vatican official

Pope Leo and Vatican officials have urged Catholic leaders across Asia to adopt a “zero tolerance” stance on abuse and urged them to strengthen measures to protect minors and vulnerable adults.

The appeal came during the first National Safeguarding Conference, held in the Catholic-majority Philippines from Oct. 20–24, with more than 300 bishops, religious superiors, and lay experts in attendance.

Pope Leo, in a message to the conference, reiterated that “there can be no tolerance for any form of abuse in the Church,” urging delegates to promote transparency and accountability in safeguarding policies.

“The Church is our spiritual home. Every parish and pastoral activity must be a space that glorifies God and cares for others, especially children and the vulnerable,” the pope said, according to Vatican News.

The conference, titled “Our Mission of Safeguarding: A Journey of Hope and…

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The crucial truth to remember is that when someone comes forward and tells the truth about abuse, they are not the one causing harm to the church.

Facing allegations he mishandled abuse incidents in his Anglican Church in North America’s Diocese of the Upper Midwest, Bishop Stewart Ruch wrote to then-Archbishop Foley Beach in January 2022, “Both my diocese and the ACNA got hit this summer by a vicious spiritual attack of the enemy. I believe this is the case because both entities are doing robust Gospel work, and Satan hates us.”

The extent of Ruch’s abuse mishandling was exposed in a Washington Post report last week, and he’s on trial within the church for those allegations. The Post also broke news that current ACNA Archbishop Steve Wood faces allegations of sexual harassment, bullying and plagiarism.

For Ruch and his fellow bishops, the “vicious spiritual attack” is not the abuse they have swept…

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A common complaint among the Vaticanisti has been that, so far, Pope Leo XIV has had a rather “boring” pontificate. Compared to the early days of the Francis pontificate, that could be true. Given the swirl of off-the-cuff remarks and unorthodox approach in those days that sometimes led to confusion and division in the Church, is finding Leo a bit uneventful really a problem?

Some media are eager to portray Leo as in continuity with his predecessor, perhaps a necessary step to give hope the more controversial aspects of that era have a future. While Pope Leo clearly has been intent on showing no contention with Francis’ official teaching, continuity in style and governance has appeared much different. 

An immediate contrast, however, is Pope Leo’s priority of the papacy’s mission of unity, something often threatened in Francis’ pontificate and as such resulted in a more polarized and divided church —…

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A church leader who went on to become a pastor is accused of sexually assaulting three young girls between 2012 and 2019, California prosecutors say.

Carlos Ramirez Valdez, 61, of Riverside, was sentenced to 45 years to life in prison in connection with the assaults of girls he met as a leader at Iglesia De Dios Ebenezer Church, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said in an Oct. 24 news release.

Valdez’s sentencing comes after he was convicted in August of multiple felonies, prosecutors said. McClatchy News could not immediately reach the Santa Ana church for comment on Oct. 27. Attorney information for Valdez was not immediately available.

“Churches should be safe sanctuaries not hunting grounds for child molesters,” District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in the release. “These young girls were subjected to unimaginable abuse by someone in a position of trust.”

While Valdez worked as a church leader, he’s…

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Committee of sexual abuse survivors alleges diocese made ‘fraudulent’ transfer in years preceding bankruptcy

The sales prices suggest something modest, even forgettable. But the real estate transactions are weighted with meaning.

The Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa recently gained approval to sell two small churches — one near Cloverdale, one in Hopland — as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, a judicial process now 2½ years old.

They probably won’t be the last properties liquidated by the diocese as it continues mediation talks with insurance companies and with survivors of alleged sexual abuse, whose mountain of lawsuits pushed the church’s vast North Coast jurisdiction to file for bankruptcy in April 2023.

“There’s a list of properties that have been identified, and a number of those are in process,” said Bishop Robert F. Vasa, head of the Santa Rosa Diocese. “We’re working with realtors, and in some cases with surveyors….

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German-born Bishop Reinhold Nann of Peru says he is now married.

A German news outlet reported last week that a bishop who took early retirement last year has contracted marriage civilly, despite claims that he resigned over health reasons.

The Holy See press office announced last July it had accepted the resignation of 63 year-old Bishop Reinhold Nann, the German-born prelate who led the Peruvian territorial prelature of Caravelí.

The Vatican bollettino did not give an official reason for the resignation, which came more than a decade before the usual episcopal age of retirement, though the reason cited publicly at the time was that the bishop was suffering from ill health.

But on Sunday, the German news service KNA reported that the bishop has disclosed that the actual reason for his resignation was his relationship with a local woman.

“Depression was the reason [for the resignation]; love was the cause,” the…

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• October 21, 2025

Bishop Michael W. Fisher has removed the Reverend Patrick T. O’Keefe from active ministry and suspended his priestly faculties due to allegations of sexual harassment of adults, as well as inappropriate workplace and ministerial conduct.

Fr. O’Keefe, ordained in 1996, has most recently served as Parochial Vicar of Ascension Parish (Batavia); St. Brigid Parish (Bergen); Resurrection Parish (Batavia); and Our Lady of Mercy Parish (LeRoy).

Reverend Scottston Brentwood, O. de M. serves as pastor of the Family of Parishes No. 12, and Reverend Eugene Costa, O. de M. and Reverend Matthew Zirnheld serve as the Family’s other parochial vicars.

A canonical judicial review will be conducted to examine all allegations against Fr. O’Keefe.

The Diocese of Buffalo has developed rigorous protocols for dealing with any allegation of in appropriate conduct—sexual or otherwise— for bishops, members of the clergy, deacons, employees and volunteers. All members of the…

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Buffalo, N.Y. — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo has removed a priest from Genesee County from active ministry.

Rev. Patrick O’Keefe was suspended from his priestly duties “due to allegations of sexual harassment of adults, as well as inappropriate workplace and ministerial conduct,” the diocese announced Tuesday.

No further details about the allegations were released.

Ordained in 1996, O’Keefe most recently served as parochial vicar of Ascension Parish in Batavia, Resurrection Parish in Batavia, St. Brigid Parish in Bergen and Our Lady of Mercy Parish in LeRoy.

The diocese said a “canonical judicial review will be conducted to examine all allegations” against O’Keefe.

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Another leader in the breakaway denomination has been accused of responding slowly to accusations of abuse and grooming against a lay leader.

The highest-ranking prelate of the Anglican Church in North America, a conservative denomination that broke from the Episcopal Church in 2009, has been formally accused of sexual harassment, plagiarism and bullying by former employees.

The accusations against Archbishop Stephen Wood, 62, came amid continuing turmoil in the small denomination, including the ecclesiastical trial of a bishop and other accusations of mishandling abuse.

In a document submitted to the denomination on Monday, Claire Buxton, a former employee of Archbishop Wood’s home parish, accused him of giving her an “intimate” hug and trying to kiss her in his office at the church in April 2024, according to a report in The Washington Post.

Ms. Buxton, the former children’s ministry director at St. Andrew’s Church in Mount…

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Critical Vatican, frustrated victims, absent journalists

Vatikanstadt/Rom – Pressure from the press, society and politics are decisive aspects in driving forward the reappraisal of abuse in a local church. In Italy, however, this is virtually non-existent. What’s more, the Vatican attests to cultural resistance.

“It does nothing, it does even less than the Vatican.” Francesco Zanardi sharply criticises Europe’s largest bishops’ conference, the Italian one. The Italian, who was himself a victim of abuse by a Catholic priest as a minor, has been campaigning for 15 years for this issue to be addressed. However, the process has been slow in his home country – despite or probably because of the presumably high number of cases of abuse.

With more than twice as many members and priests as in the Catholic Church in Germany, John Joseph Kennedy, head of the area for disciplinary issues in the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the…

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Pope Leo XIV has stated that there should be “no tolerance” for abuse within the Roman Catholic Church in an official statement given to the National Safeguarding Conference held in the Philippines this week

“I renew my appeal that there can be no tolerance for any form of abuse in the Church,” he said. “The Church is our spiritual home, as such every parish and pastoral activity is meant to be a space in which we glorify God and care for others, especially children and the vulnerable.”

Leo XIV also expressed his hope that the conference “deliberations will lead to the implementation of essential policies and practices that ensure transparency in dealing with cases, foster a culture of prevention and safeguard ‘these little ones’ of the Lord.”

Convened in Angeles City, Central Luzon, the conference met under the theme of “Our Mission of Safeguarding: A Journey of Hope…

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The sexual abuse scandal surrounding Jeffrey Epstein is especially outrageous inasmuch as he used his political connections (and money) to escape prosecution for so many years. But if it’s outrageous when money and power enable impunity for horrible crimes, shouldn’t it be even more outrageous when the pretense of moral authority enables someone to commit even worse crimes? I ask because an ongoing sexual abuse scandal with a more significant number of victims has been swept under the rug through the assumed holiness of its perpetrator.

I’m speaking, of course, of sexual abuse committed inside the institutions of the Catholic Church. The media silence about this atrocity, in the face of the Epstein story and the recent election of a new Pope, cuts across American political loyalties and reveals as much about the corrupt moral thinking of the left as it does about that of the right. Outrage over sexual abuse is,…

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“I renew my appeal that there can be no tolerance for any form of abuse in the Church,” Pope Leo XIV underscores in his message to the National Safeguarding Conference in the Philippines.

“I renew my appeal that there can be no tolerance for any form of abuse in the Church.”

Pope Leo XIV made this affirmation in the message he sent to the National Safeguarding Conference, held in Clark-Angeles, Philippines, from 20-24 Oct. 2025.

The Holy Father’s message was transmitted by the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Charles J. Brown, to the Chairman of the Office on the Protection of Minors of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Archbishop Florentino G. Lavarias, of San Fernando, on the Pope’s behalf.

After expressing his appreciation for the National Safeguarding Conference, Pope Leo made an emphatic appeal for effective safeguarding.

No tolerance for any form of abuse

“The Church,” he…

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Pope Leo XIV has renewed his appeal for ‘no tolerance for any form of abuse in the Church’ as Catholic leaders in the Philippines gathered to address clerical sexual abuse.

In his message for the first National Safeguarding Conference in the Philippines, the pope emphasized the need for effective safeguarding and transparency within Church institutions.

He described the Church as “our spiritual home,” where every parish and pastoral activity should be a place “to glorify God and care for others, especially children and the vulnerable.

“In this regard,” Pope Leo said, “I renew my appeal that there can be no tolerance for any form of abuse in the Church.”

His message was transmitted by Archbishop Charles Brown, apostolic nuncio to the Philippines, to Archbishop Florentino Lavarias of San Fernando, who chairs the CBCP Office on the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable People.

The four-day gathering in Clark, Pampanga, which ended…

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The private audience came days after the publication of the second annual report from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors on safeguarding across the Church.

Pope Leo held his first meeting with survivors of clerical sexual abuse since his election.

Six members of the board of directors for Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA), an international coalition of abuse survivors, visited the Pope at the Vatican on Monday morning for what they called “a significant moment of dialogue”.

“It was a deeply meaningful conversation, reflecting a shared commitment to justice, healing, and genuine change,” said ECA president Gemma Hickey, a Canadian survivor. “Survivors have long sought a place at the table, and today we felt heard.”

The hour-long meeting in the apostolic palace included discussion of ECA’s “Zero Tolerance Initiative” to promote global standards for protection. The visit originated in a letter to the newly-elected Pope introducing the group as…

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Archbishop Steve Wood, who heads the Anglican Church of North America, faces allegations of sexual harassment, bullying and plagiarism, according to an explosive report released by The Washington Post on Thursday (Oct. 23). The list of charges, signed by at least 10 individuals attesting to the allegations, is the latest in a string of crises to rock the small, conservative denomination. 

Claire Buxton, a former children’s ministry director at St. Andrew’s Church in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, where Wood serves as rector, told the Post that Wood attempted to kiss her in his office in April 2024, just before he was elected to replace Archbishop Foley Beach as head of the denomination. Buxton claims that before the incident, Wood gave her more than $3,000 from church funds and that church employees had commented on Wood’s “excessive praise and fondness” for her. Priests have also accused Wood of plagiarizing sermons and bullying…

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In October 2024, Matt Queen pled guilty to lying to the FBI in a sexual abuse investigation, and now, just a year later, Queen has been hired as a staff pastor at a prominent Southern Baptist church.

At the time of his crime, Queen was a professor and administrator at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was accused of falsifying records, providing false information to law enforcement, and trying to mislead investigators about the facts concerning a reported sexual assault at that Southern Baptist institution.

It’s worth noting that Queen also exploited God to try to legitimize his lies. He claimed that God had spoken to him in a dream, causing him to change his testimony to the FBI.

As prosecutors pointed out, Queen offered “evolving explanations for his conduct,” but when he finally pled guilty, shortly before a scheduled trial date, another Southern Baptist pastor, Matt Henslee, wrote to the judge to urge…

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• Carlos Ramirez Valdez was sentenced to 45 years to life for molesting girls as young as 4 from 2012 to 2019.
• Valdez exploited his position as an Orange County church leader to gain access to victims, whom he assaulted in a basement, his van and a backyard shed, prosecutors say.

A former Orange County pastor will spend decades behind bars after he used his trusted position as a spiritual leader to molest girls as young as 4 over the course of eight years, according to authorities.

Carlos Ramirez Valdez, 61, assaulted three children in places such as a church basement, his van and a backyard shed, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Prosecutors say he met the victims while he was church leader at Iglesia De Dios Ebenezer in Santa Ana and was hired as a pastor at another Santa Ana church, International Mission Church USA, before he…

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Lindsey Whiteside, who was previously sentenced to house arrest for sexual battery of a child, now faces federal charges for transporting a minor across state lines.

A DeSoto County woman who avoided jail time after pleading guilty to sexual battery of a minor is now in federal custody.

DeSoto County Sheriff Thomas Tuggle confirmed Thursday, Oct. 23, that Lindsey Whiteside, a former youth pastor at Getwell Church in Hernando, was arrested and charged with transporting a minor across state lines for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity, a federal crime.

“I want to emphasize that crimes against children will not be tolerated in DeSoto County,” Tuggle said. “We are committed to pursuing justice and protecting the most vulnerable members of our community, our children.”

On Oct. 13, Circuit Court Judge Andrew Howorth sentenced Whiteside to three years of house arrest and seven years of probation after she pleaded guilty…

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Delegates at the just-concluded conference on safeguarding in seminaries that was organized by the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) have committed to ensuring that Seminaries in the region uphold the highest standards of safeguarding.

In their statement at the conclusion of the October 21-23 event that was held in Kenya’s Archdiocese of Nairobi, the delegates acknowledged the existence of incidents of abuse in in the Church and called for concerted efforts to ensure the protection of the vulnerable.

“We will not relent in this responsibility,” the participants at the conference said in the statement that was read by the Local Ordinary of South Sudan’s Catholic Diocese of Yei, Bishop Alex Lodiong Sakor Eyobo, and went on to state their commitment “to uphold the highest possible standards of safeguarding” in Seminaries in the AMECEA region.

They added, “We are committed to producing future Priests who have a foundational commitment…

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• Victims’ tally unofficial, based on survivors’ accounts, judicial papers, media reports
• Majority of victims were male and underage, report finds
• Italian bishops criticised last week by Vatican panel
• Pope Leo has told bishops not to hide misconduct allegations

Nearly 4,400 people have been abused by Catholic priests in Italy in cases reported since 2020, a victims’ group alleged on Friday, renewing pressure on bishops to confront a crisis that has long plagued the world’s largest Christian faith.

The unofficial tally by Rete l’Abuso, Italy’s largest church abuse victims’ group, is based on victims’ accounts, judicial sources and cases reported by the media, the founder of the association Francesco Zanardi said.

Rete l’Abuso did not say how far back the alleged abuse cases occurred.The Italian Bishops Conference (CEI), which was criticised by the Vatican’s child protection commission last week, had no comment on the findings, a spokesperson said.

MOST ALLEGATIONS CONCERN ABUSE BY PRIESTS

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Belgium’s Catholic Church has received 59 new reports of sexual abuse between July 2024 and June 2025, according to its latest annual report, as participation in religious sacraments continues to decline.

Over the same period, a total of 112 complaints were processed, including cases carried over from the previous year. Between July 2023 and June 2024, the Church handled nearly twice as many reports (218), a spike largely attributed to the VRT documentary series Godvergeten, which gave victims of abuse within the Church a platform to speak publicly.

The majority of victims were under 21 at the time of the abuse, with 16 younger than 10. Most victims and perpetrators were male.

Although almost all cases date back to the previous century, 11 files involving alleged perpetrators still alive have been forwarded to the judiciary. So far, 59 individuals have received financial compensation from the Church.

The report also highlights…

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The Diocese of Brooklyn’s Adult Allegation Committee has substantiated a “Code of Conduct violation, grooming, and sexual harassment” allegation against Father Philip Pizzo, a retired priest in the diocese.  

Father Pizzo, 75, is infirm and has not been in ministry for six years, according to the diocese. He lives in the residence for senior priests.  

The diocese said it received an allegation of inappropriate conduct regarding Father Pizzo on July 16, and an ensuing investigation by the Adult Allegation Committee found “sufficient evidence” to substantiate claims from 2017 made by Carmine Megaro, 27, of Queens.  

Comprised of law enforcement, human resources, law, and psychology professionals, the Adult Allegation Committee investigates allegations against clergy involving an adult.   

The diocese is now working on the required canonical process to adjudicate the case and impose canonical penalties on Father Pizzo, which could include his official and permanent removal from ministry, according to…

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A federal lawsuit filed by televangelist Bishop T.D. Jakes against Pittsburgh-area pastor Duane Youngblood has been jointly dismissed, ending a year-long legal dispute that drew national attention in faith and media circles.

The voluntary dismissal was filed October 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Jakes, 68, sued Youngblood, 59, after the latter—in two explicit 2024 podcasts posted to YouTube by Atlanta pastor-broadcaster Larry Reid accused him of attempted sexual assault. Soon after the second podcast, the lawsuit says Youngblood tried to extort Jakes for $6 million or he’d sue.

Instead, Jakes denied the allegations and filed suit against Youngblood on Nov. 25, 2024, alleging defamation, misuse of likeness, and related claims tied to online statements and digital content.

A day before filing the lawsuit, Jakes suffered a heart attack while preaching at The Potter’s House, the Dallas megachurch he founded. The incident, occurring on the…

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A Lutheran youth ministry leader in Phoenix has been federally charged for producing and spending thousands on child sexual abuse materials.

The accused is Casey Goslin, 46, who worked as a youth director for several organizations tied to the Grand Canyon Synod, one of 65 in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Goslin was arrested Thursday by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Tucson police, according to a press release from HSI.

Goslin allegedly used the Skype username “live:.cid.bbdbec6f18b26922” to buy and sell the explicit materials in 2024, according to a criminal complaint. In one conversation with a suspected child sex trafficker in the Philippines, Goslin exchanged digital tokens for a photo of a toddler performing sexual acts on another toddler.

Authorities subpoenaed PayPal and discovered that Goslin allegedly spent around $3,700 in 101 payments for similar graphic images. Each transaction cost on…

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Jon Paul Sheptock, the Christian music artist born without arms who sang at a Trump rally in 2022, has been arrested on charges related to possessing and producing child pornography.

According to ABC 13, a written testimony from the Montgomery County Precinct 3 Constable’s Office in Texas accuses Sheptock, 49, of stealing a picture from a 17-year-old high school senior seven years ago. The victim claims that he stole the photo from her iCloud account.

“After the defendant (Sheptock) sent the image of the victim, he told her that he wanted more explicit images of her,” the affidavit reads.

Court documents state that Sheptock showed the victim multiple nude photographs of adults and young girls on his computer.

“The defendant (Sheptock) then sent her a video depicting someone being physically assaulted, accompanied by a statement implying that he did not want that to happen to her.”

In the affidavit, the…

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A former South Carolina youth pastor has been sentenced to federal prison after appearing in court on Tuesday.

Daniel Kellan Mayfield was sentenced to the maximum sentence of 240 months in prison on a federal charge for possessing child pornography.

The judge said he must serve 85 percent of his sentence and is also required to register as a sex offender.

Officials stated 5,344 images of child pornography were found on Mayfield’s phone.

He hid cameras and cell phones in church bathrooms and showers to record and take pictures of the victims, many of whom were minors under 12 years old.

He had been doing this for three to four years, according to officials.

According to an adult family member, Mayfield also had images and or video of her. She said she caught him recording her in the shower and when the family confronted him that night, they found the…

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A former Upstate youth pastor and wedding videographer accused of secretly recording women and children has been sentenced to federal prison.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Timothy M. Cain sentenced Daniel Kellan Mayfield, 37, of Boiling Springs, to a maximum 20 years in prison on Oct. 21, according to court documents. The former youth pastor at Gowensville First Baptist Church must register as a sex offender and go under lifetime supervision once released.

Cain counted two and a half years served in jail towards his sentence.

Mayfield pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on Dec. 4, 2024. According to court documents, Mayfield knowingly possessed material that had an image of a child under 12.

Greenville County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Mayfield in July 2023 when he was accused of recording women and children changing in private areas of the church while he was contracted as a wedding videographer in 2019 and 2021….

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Shapira interviewed the priests and former employees who wrote affidavits in the presentment against the archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America. He and Reshma Kirpalani traveled to South Carolina, where Kirpalani took videos and photos for this story.

The Anglican Church in North America — forged from the headline-grabbing conservative revolt against the Episcopal Church’s first openly gay bishop — is now confronting allegations by clergy and parishioners against two of its top leaders: One is accused of sexual misconduct, while the other allegedly abused his power by allowing men with troubling histories into the church.

The denomination’s senior-most official, Archbishop Stephen Wood, 62, has been accused by a former children’s ministry director of putting his hand against the back of her head and trying to kiss her in his office in April 2024. The incident allegedly occurred two months before he was elected to…

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The Diocese of Buffalo announced that Bishop Michael Fisher has removed the Reverend Patrick T. O’Keefe from active ministry and suspended his priestly faculties due to allegations of sexual harassment of adults, and inappropriate workplace and ministerial conduct.

According to the diocese, Fr. O’Keefe, ordained in 1996, has most recently served as Parochial Vicar of Ascension Parish (Batavia); St. Brigid Parish (Bergen); Resurrection Parish (Batavia); and Our Lady of Mercy Parish (LeRoy). A canonical judicial review will be conducted to examine the allegations against Fr. O’Keefe.

In April 2019, Fr. O’Keefe was one of three priests placed on temporary leave of absence following an incident at Saints Peter & Paul Parish Rectory in Hamburg. According to the diocese, “unsuitable, inappropriate and insensitive conversations” took place during a social gathering of seminarians and priests that some seminarians found to be offensive.

In June 2019, Fr. O’Keefe and the two other priests were…

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The Brooklyn Diocese withheld public notice of the 2019 allegation until his death in 2021, and only this week attorneys told the court he is deceased.

A lawsuit alleging child sex abuse by the late Auxiliary Bishop Guy Sansaricq of Brooklyn has been stayed after several years of inactivity, with proceedings expected to resume only after “a few months,” according to a court official.

The delay was requested after attorneys for the Black Catholic prelate notified the court of his death, which occurred in 2021. Civil cases in New York involving a party deceased since filing are stayed until a suitable party is substituted.

Sansaricq, the first Haitian-American Catholic prelate in the United States, was originally sued by Victor Petit-Phare in 2019. Court filings detail alleged abuse dating to the 1990s at St. Jerome Catholic School in Brooklyn, where Sansaricq served as a priest following his immigration to…

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A Vatican official on Tuesday urged bishops across Asia to exercise ‘decisive and courageous leadership’ in protecting minors and vulnerable adults, calling safeguarding a pastoral duty, not mere policy compliance.

Bishop Luis Manuel Ali Herrera, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, said Church leaders must act “not out of fear or obligation, but as a sacred responsibility “rooted in virtue and conversion.”

“Exercise decisive and courageous leadership,” Herrera told participants of the National Safeguarding Conference in Clark, Pampanga.

“Accept this mission not as a burden imposed from outside, but as a sacred responsibility that must be assumed as a pastoral urgency and lived with authenticity,” he said.

Herrera said every diocese must ensure that protection efforts go beyond compliance, urging bishops to align with universal norms while making safeguarding a daily pastoral commitment.

From policy to practice

Herrera called for a move “from intention to implementation,”…

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[Note: A Google translation is followed by the original in Italian.]

The ECA: “Historic and hopeful step”. In recent days the Annual Report had highlighted critical issues regarding the slowness with which we proceed in some dioceses

Pope Leo XIV he met in Vatican a group of victims of abuse which refer to theEca, the Ending Ckery Abuse, network to which the victims of abuse active mainly in the United States. 

This is the first meeting, at least among those announced, between Pope Leo and victims of abuse by the clergy. The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors presented the Annual report noting the slow pace of action in some dioceses in addressing the scourge of abuse.

ECA, the international network to which victims of abuse refer, particularly in the United States, speaks of a historic and hopeful step, towards greater cooperation’, reporting on the meeting between the Pope and the Board of Ending Clergy Abuse. The ECA represents the survivors of clergy sexual…

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Top Questions

What have been the financial implications of the sexual abuse scandal for the Roman Catholic Church?

In the United States alone, between 2004 and 2023, the church spent more than $5 billion on cases involving sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy, and three-quarters of those payments went to victims. The church in Australia paid more than $200 million to victims from 1980 to 2017. Moreover, the scandal has led to a decline in church donations and attendance.

What was The Boston Globe’s Spotlight series on sexual abuse and the Roman Catholic Church?

In 2002 The Boston Globe’s Spotlight series exposed rampant sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy in the Boston archdiocese and a cover-up by church authorities. The series found that the archdiocese knowingly reassigned abusive priests to different parishes rather than removing them from the ministry. The scandal caused Boston to become a focal point for the abuse crisis in the United States and resulted in…

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In recent days, a Vatican report had highlighted critical issues

Pope Leo XIV on Monday met for the first time with clerical sex abuse victims in the Vatican.

Leo met a group of abuse victims who belong to Ending Crime Abuse (ECA), a network active primarily in the United States, ECA Global said.

This is the first meeting, at least among those disclosed, between Pope Leo and victims of clergy abuse.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors presented its annual report a few days ago, noting the slow pace of addressing the scourge of abuse in some dioceses in Italy.

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[Note from BishopAccountability.org: We post the Google translation, followed by the Italian original.]

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors presented the Annual Report a few days ago, noting the slowness with which we proceed in some dioceses in addressing the scourge of abuse

First meeting between Pope Leo and a group of victims of abuse by priests. The Pontiff saw the activists of ECA, the Ending Clergy Abuse, a network active mainly in the United States. The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors presented the annual report a few days ago, noting the slowness with which we proceed in some dioceses in addressing the scourge of abuse. Among the critical cases, that of Italy had been reported, with the response of the CEI which had underlined what had been done in terms of training and prevention.

The Commission, led by Monsignor Thibault Verny, noted in the Report “considerable cultural resistance in…

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany faces hundreds of cases of sexual abuse in connection with members of its clergy. Colleen Garbarini, is among hundreds of survivors who are suing the church.

Garbarini, who filed an individual suit against the church, says the abuse began when she was between the ages of 6 and 7 years old, sometime in the late 1970s.

“And, actually, the grooming started on the playground of St. Paul the Apostle’s School, the person who abused me was brother Clement Murphy, he worked for Notre Dame Bishop Gibbons, which is a school right around the corner from St. Paul’s,” Garbarini said.

She says Murphy would bring a lawn chair and candy to the Schenectady school’s playground at lunch time, handing treats out while children – mostly girls – sat on his lap.

Garbarini explains that as an oldest child with many siblings, she was desperate for…

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Evangelical Lutheran Church in America proposal would direct ministers to report child abuse disclosed during confession or counseling

The practice of religious confession is again in the spotlight over the question of whether clergy should report evidence of child abuse heard during private confession or pastoral counseling—but this time within a Protestant denomination.

Next month, leaders and elected representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will vote on a church document that would direct ministers to tell authorities if they hear about child abuse during confession. Twenty-eight states already require clergy to report child abuse. But most of these states grant an exception—also called the “clergy-penitent privilege”—if a child abuser admits to their actions during private pastoral conversations.

According to the Lutheran denomination’s “Draft Social Message on Child Protection,” clergy would “have an obligation to report child maltreatment that is ongoing or that they…

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Mark O’Connell, the new Albany bishop, introduced himself to the public on Monday.

O’Connell will replace Bishop Edward Scharfenberger, who submitted his resignation to Pope Leo XIV. Scharfenberger, 77, has led the diocese since 2014, when he was appointed by Pope Francis to succeed Bishop Howard Hubbard. Born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens, Scharfenberger was ordained a priest in 1973.

“My heart is full of gratitude, first of all to Pope Leo for having appointed such a wonderful successor,” said Scharfenberger.

O’Connell is an auxiliary bishop of Boston. He was born in 1964 in Ontario and was ordained a priest in 1990 in the Archdiocese of Boston. He recently launched a podcast called Listening to Catholic Women.

“I already have some cherished memories of Albany. Little did I know or suspect that I would one day be the bishop of this place,” said O’Connell.

Monday’s announcement also follows Friday’s…

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In a historic and hopeful step toward greater cooperation, the Board of Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA Global), an international coalition of survivors and human rights advocates, met this morning with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, marking a significant moment of dialogue between the Catholic Church and advocates representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse from more than 30 countries.

“This was a deeply meaningful conversation,” said Gemma Hickey, ECA Board President and Canadian survivor of clergy abuse. “It reflects a shared commitment to justice, healing, and real change. Survivors have long sought a seat at the table, and today we felt heard.”

Today’s meeting followed a letter sent by ECA earlier this year to the newly elected Pope. In a gesture of openness, Pope Leo XIV responded positively, welcoming the opportunity for a direct and respectful conversation about the path forward.

“We came not only to raise our concerns, but also…

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Pope Leo XIV met with a coalition of survivors of abuse and victims’ advocates for the first time at the Vatican Oct. 20.

Members of the board of Ending Clergy Abuse met with the pope for about an hour in a closed-door meeting that was later confirmed by the Vatican.

“This was a deeply meaningful conversation,” Gemma Hickey, ECA board president and survivor of clergy abuse in Canada, said in a press release. “It reflects a shared commitment to justice, healing and real change.”

“Survivors have long sought a seat at the table, and today we felt heard,” Hickey said in the statement.

“Pope Leo is very warm, he listened,” Hickey said at a news conference, according to Reuters. “We told him that we come as bridge-builders, ready to walk together toward truth, justice and healing.”

While the group of six people representing ECA met with the pope, video clips…

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Survivors of sex abuse by members of the Catholic clergy have expressed hope after meeting Pope Leo at the Vatican for the first time.

Gemma Hickey, board president of Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA Global), told the BBC it spoke “volumes” he had met them so soon in his papacy.

The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy, already adopted in the US, of permanently removing a priest who admits or is proven to have sexually abused a child. The Pope acknowledged there was “resistance in some parts of the world” to this, Hickey said.

The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited the issue, which has haunted the Catholic Church for decades and the Vatican has struggled to root out.

His predecessor, Pope Francis, tried to address the problem by holding an unprecedented summit on paedophilia in the Church, and by changing its laws to explicitly…

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Organizers shared that the pope said he agreed to maintain a permanent dialogue with them, as they advocate for a zero-tolerance abuse policy in the Catholic Church

Pope Leo XIV acknowledged Monday that there is “great resistance” within the Catholic Church to adopting a universal zero-tolerance policy for clergy who abuse children.

The first American pope met with Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA), a global organization of clergy abuse survivors and advocates, and agreed to maintain a permanent dialogue with the group.

The policy calls for the permanent removal of any priest found guilty of child sexual abuse.

Tim Law, ECA co-founder, said Pope Leo recognized the challenges in implementing a universal zero-tolerance law. Law added that the organization hopes to work with the pope and the Vatican to advance the policy.

“Meeting with the pope and being heard at this level is historic,” Law said, noting that previous popes, including Francis and…

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Deep-seated cultural barriers, inadequate training, and victims’ fear of speaking out continue to hamper the Catholic Church’s efforts to combat abuse in the Philippines, church leaders said ahead of a landmark safeguarding conference.

These long-standing challenges will take center stage at the National Safeguarding Conference, a four-day gathering from Oct. 20 to 23 organized by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ Office for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons.

The first event of its kind in Asia, themed “Our Mission of Safeguarding: A Journey of Hope and Compassion,” seeks to deepen the Church’s understanding and commitment to protecting minors and vulnerable adults within its institutions.

More than 370 bishops, priests, religious, lay experts, and representatives from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM) and other Church commissions are expected to attend.

Participants from the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, and Vietnam will also…

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A federal judge is allowing a small number of sexual abuse lawsuits against the Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa to proceed to trial, despite the Diocese being in bankruptcy.

According to the Press Democrat, the Diocese filed for Chapter 11 in 2023, pausing about 260 lawsuits due to massive financial liability. The handful of cases now moving forward are intended to establish a financial benchmark, pressuring insurance companies to agree to a global settlement with hundreds of survivors.

For survivors, this decision offers a crucial chance to publicly reveal details of the abuse and cover-up—information that is often kept private during bankruptcy proceedings.

The Diocese oversees 42 parishes and has been linked to abuse at sites like the Hanna Boys Center.

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Pope Leo XIV on Monday met with members of an international organization of clergy abuse survivors and advocates at the Vatican.

Four victims and two advocates from Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA) — a coalition representing clergy sexual abuse survivors from more than 30 countries — had an hourlong conversation with Leo on Oct. 20. According to participants, it was the first time during his pontificate that the pope met with survivors of abuse.

Gemma Hickey, ECA board president and survivor of clergy abuse, said that “this was a deeply meaningful conversation. Today we all felt heard.”

The group said it was invited to the Vatican after sending a letter to the newly-elected pontiff. 

“We came not only to raise our concerns but also to explore how we might work together to ensure the protection of children and vulnerable adults around the world. We believe collaboration is possible — and necessary,”…

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Mediations can still continue between the Baltimore Catholic Archdiocese and the creditors committee, which represents the interests of people seeing funds for child sexual abuse by the church, as the archdiocese’s bankruptcy case goes forward during the federal shutdown.

However, there is still uncertainty around other functions of the case if progress is made or if the case is dismissed.

Last week, the U.S. Trustee program, an arm of the Justice Department, told the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Maryland District that it would be unable to complete its work as long as the federal shutdown is in effect.

That revelation came as a survivor asked the Trustee program to join the creditors committee, but was told that the program would be unable to act until the shutdown ended.

In the meantime, other parts of the case that don’t involve the federal government can continue.

“Everything is being done by…

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Pope Leo XIV met Monday for the first time with an organization of clergy abuse survivors and advocates, who said he agreed to maintain a permanent dialogue as they press for a zero-tolerance policy for abuse in the Catholic Church.

Ending Clergy Abuse is a global organization that has been campaigning to universalize the U.S. church’s abuse policy. Among other things, the policy calls for the permanent removal from ministry of a priest based on even a single act of sexual abuse that is either admitted to or established according to church law.

The U.S. policy, first articulated in the 1990s, was publicly adopted at the height of the scandal there in a bid to restore trust and credibility in the U.S. hierarchy after revelations of decades of abuse and cover-up. It is church law in the United States but is not embraced elsewhere.

Leo acknowledged “there was great resistance” to…

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Canadian Gemma Hickey said Leo listened to abuse survivors with empathy

Pope Leo XIV met with survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy for the first time on Monday, participants said, days after the Vatican’s child protection commission accused senior church leaders of being too slow to help victims.

Leo held a meeting with Ending Clergy Abuse, an international coalition of survivors, the group said. The encounter, which included six abuse victims, lasted about an hour and was “a significant moment of dialogue,” they said.

The 1.4-billion-member church has been shaken for decades by scandals across the world involving abuse and cover-up, damaging its credibility and costing it hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.

An unusually critical report from the Vatican’s own child protection commission, issued on Thursday, faulted senior bishops for not providing information to victims about how their reports of abuse were being handled,…

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[See also the full text of the annual report.]

The Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors on Thursday released its second annual report on the Church’s safeguarding policies and procedures, urging heightened awareness of abuse and the need to offer reparations to victims.

The second annual report launched by the commission, instituted by Pope Francis in 2014 for the protection of minors and vulnerable adults, promotes “conversional justice” — founded on the pillars of truth, justice, reparations, and institutional reforms — to be adopted by the Church across the globe and at all levels of governance.

Archbishop Thibault Verny of Chambéry, who was appointed by Pope Leo XIV in July to head the commission, spoke of the report’s efforts to emphasize the significance of “walking alongside victims and survivors” and including their voices in promoting positive change and institutional reform within the Church. 

“We have acquired the profound…

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[See also the full text of the annual report.]

At 11.30 today, a press conference was held at the Holy See Press Office, Via della Conciliazione 54, to present the second Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

The speakers were: Archbishop Thibault Verny of Chambéry, bishop of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and Tarentaise, chair of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors; Bishop Luis Manuel Alí Herrera, titular of Giubalziana, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors; Dr. Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, jurist, responsible for the Annual Report; and Professor Benyam Dawit Mezmur, jurist, member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

Teresa Morris Kettelkamp, assistant secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, was present.

The following are the interventions by Archbishop Thibault Verny and Dr. Maud de Boer-Buquicchio:

Intervention of Archbishop Thibault Verny

…

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Just days before a sexual abuse lawsuit was due to head to jury trial, The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany settled the case for $8 million.

Law firm Pfau Cochran Vertitas Amala PLLC (PVCA) called it a “landmark” settlement on behalf of Michael Harmon. It’s the first such settlement among seven lawsuits that saw the Diocese’s bankruptcy stay lifted to allow for individual cases to go to trial. Attorneys say it’s a step toward resolving more than 400 cases against the Diocese, all stayed and pending in federal bankruptcy court.

The trial over Harmon’s case was set to begin Monday in New York State Supreme Court in Albany. It was filed in March 2020 as part of the state’s Child Victims Act window for filing abuse lawsuits that would have otherwise been past the statue of limitations.

“We commend Michael’s bravery in coming forward, in standing up to the Diocese,…

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Pope Leo XIV met Monday for the first time with an organization of clergy abuse survivors and advocates, who said he agreed to maintain a permanent dialogue with them as they press for a zero-tolerance for abuse policy in the Catholic Church.

Ending Clergy Abuse is a global organization of abuse victims and activists that has been campaigning to universalize the U.S. church’s abuse policy. Among other things, the policy calls for the permanent removal from ministry of any priest who abuses a child.

Leo acknowledged “there was great resistance” to the idea of a universal zero-tolerance law, said Tim Law, ECA co-founder. But Law said he told Leo ECA wanted to work with him and the Vatican to move the idea forward.

Leo has met before with clergy abuse survivors, and was the point-person for listening to victims in the Peruvian bishops conference when he was a bishop there. But history’s…

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Pope Leo met with survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy for the first time on Monday, participants said, days after the Vatican’s child protection commission accused senior Church leaders of being too slow to help victims.

Leo held a meeting with Ending Clergy Abuse, an international coalition of survivors, the group said. The encounter, which included six abuse victims, lasted about an hour and was “a significant moment of dialogue,” they said.

The 1.4-billion-member Church has been shaken for decades by scandals across the world involving abuse and cover-up, damaging its credibility and costing it hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.

An unusually critical report from the Vatican’s own child protection commission, issued on Thursday, faulted senior bishops for not providing information to victims about how their reports of abuse were being handled, or whether negligent bishops had been sanctioned.

Gemma Hickey, a Canadian survivor who took part…

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A New York man has received an $8 million settlement from the Diocese of Albany over claims that he was abused for years by a priest when he was a child. 

The Albany-based law firm LaFave, Wein, Frament & Karic said in an Oct. 16 press release that the Albany diocese agreed to pay the seven-figure sum to Michael Harmon ahead of a planned Oct. 20 jury trial. 

The law firm said Harmon had been abused repeatedly for years, starting when he was 11 years old, by Father Edward Charles Pratt. During that period, Pratt served as vice chancellor of the Albany diocese. 

Pratt is listed on the diocese’s list of clergy who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse. He was removed from ministry in 2002, the diocese says. 

The law firm said the diocese had “received reports about Father Pratt’s sexual abuse of children before Michael was ever abused.”…

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Test cases would establish potential liability in Santa Rosa Diocese’s bankruptcy.

About 260 sexual abuse lawsuits were paused when the Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa filed for bankruptcy in 2023. That has been a frustration for survivors who want the actions of their abusers, and the failings of the powerful institution that obscured the crimes, dragged into the daylight.

Now, it looks like a few of those survivors may have their days in court.

The judge in the bankruptcy, Charles Novack of the Northern District of California, recently put a small set of lawsuits on the path to trial, where they are expected to set a baseline for the diocese’s potential financial liability.

It’s an important step, those involved say, in pushing insurance companies to enter into a global settlement with the diocese and the dozens of people who say they were harmed by predatory church figures. And it could…

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MORRISTOWN — The jury in a groundbreaking sexual assault trial spared the Delbarton School and the Catholic order that oversees it from a potentially devastating punitive damage award on Oct. 16, as the case against the exclusive Morris County prep school came to a close.

After five hours of deliberations over two days, the jury at the Morris County Courthouse decided unanimously against imposing damages beyond the $5 million compensatory award it granted last week to a Delbarton graduate who said he was abused in the 1970s.

The jury ruled in favor of the graduate, who said he has suffered trauma ever since he was assaulted as a 15-year-old by the Rev. Richard Lott, a former Delbarton teacher and maintenance director. His lawyers urged jurors to punish the school and the Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey for creating “a culture of abuse and a…

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Payout heads off trial that would have focused on ex-Bishop Howard J. Hubbard’s coverup of allegations against priests who victimized children

ALBANY — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany has agreed to an $8 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by a man who had said he was molested hundreds of times as a child by a former high-ranking priest who ultimately admitted sexually abusing young boys for years.

The deal was finalized Thursday, four days before the religious organization’s cover-up of the sexual abuse of children by priests and others was expected to be laid bare in what would have been the diocese’s first trial as a defendant in a case filed under New York’s Child Victims Act.

The case is one of seven child sexual abuse lawsuits filed against the diocese that a federal judge in March ruled would be allowed to go to trial — part of an effort…

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NEW ORLEANS — New documents have revealed graphic allegations against a former New Orleans priest who was extradited to face child sex abuse charges.

WARNING: Details in this story are graphic and may be upsetting to some. Viewer discretion is advised.

According to the U.S. Marshals, Mark Ford, 64, was arrested in September and charged with four counts of first-degree rape, two counts of second-degree kidnapping, two counts of sexual battery, and two counts of indecent behavior with juveniles.

He was extradited to New Orleans following his arrest in Indiana last month. Friday (October 17th, 2025), he made a court appearance in New Orleans where he was ordered to be held without bond.

The state asked that Ford be held without bond because he does not live here and still has access to children and a vulnerable population. Ford’s attorney argued he is not a danger or flight risk and…

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A senior Swiss bishop has claimed that the disproportionate presence of men with homosexual tendencies in the priesthood is a key factor in clerical abuse scandals.

Bishop Marian Eleganti made the comments on his personal blog, arguing that unless the issue is confronted openly, efforts to tackle abuse will remain incomplete.

He insisted that silence on the subject is no longer possible, writing that “the ‘elephant in the room’ of the abuse crisis is the widespread homosexuality among the clergy and its significance in the scandal”.

Bishop Eleganti did not equate homosexuality with abuse directly, acknowledging that many with same-sex attractions live lives of chastity and virtue, while also highlighting that his article “does not condemn people with homosexual tendencies”.

He adds: “The Church has always distinguished between the (inviolable) dignity of every human person and their inclinations, which may be disordered. Disordered sexual tendencies, which exist…

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Each officially recognised survivor of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in Belgium will receive an additional 3,000 euros in financial support, which is being funded by the country’s dioceses and religious congregations. According to Stichting Dignity, the foundation coordinating support for victims, the total allocation could exceed 2.5 million euros.

This announcement followed a meeting in Brussels on Saturday, which was part of a series of ‘encounter days’ intended to give survivors a voice in shaping policy. A total of 1,591 victims will benefit.

An urgent and necessary step towards recognition and care

National coordinator Jessika Soors explained that the measure aims to make psychotherapeutic care more accessible pending the creation of a permanent legal framework for victims of sexual abuse, both within and outside the Church. She stressed that, although the past cannot be undone, the new payment represents “an urgent and necessary step towards recognition and care”.

…

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• Los Angeles County will pay an additional $828 million to sexual abuse victims at county facilities, on top of April’s record $4-billion settlement.
• The county announced Friday that past claims brought by Downtown LA Law Group will undergo additional review following Times investigations that uncovered four plaintiffs who said they were told to make up false allegations.
• The firm has said it would never “encourage or tolerate anyone lying about being abused.”

Los Angeles County is poised to pay out an additional $828 million to victims who say they were sexually abused in county facilities as children, months after agreeing to the largest sex abuse settlement in U.S. history.

The award, posted on the county claims board agenda Friday, would resolve an additional 414 cases that were not included in the $4-billion sex abuse settlement approved this spring. Both the supervisors and the county claims board will need to…

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New documents have revealed graphic allegations against a former New Orleans priest who was extradited to face child sex abuse charges.

WARNING: Details in this story are graphic and may be upsetting to some. Viewer discretion is advised.

According to the U.S. Marshals, Mark Ford, 64, was arrested in September and charged with four counts of first-degree rape, two counts of second-degree kidnapping, two counts of sexual battery, and two counts of indecent behavior with juveniles.

He was extradited to New Orleans following his arrest in Indiana last month. Friday (October 17th, 2025), he made a court appearance in New Orleans where he was ordered to be held without bond.

The state asked that Ford be held without bond because he does not live here and still has access to children and a vulnerable population. Ford’s attorney argued he is not a danger or flight risk and this is only…

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The following story discusses sexual abuse and may be disturbing to some readers.

After years of sharing her story with no action taken, Cindy Clemishire has closure after reading a statement in court at the trial of the man who abused her, former pastor Robert Morris.  

Morris started grooming and sexually molesting Clemishire when she was just 12 years old, when he and his wife and children were staying in their home. Morris was also a pastor at the time. The abuse continued, according to Clemishire, for four years. 

The 64-year-old appeared in court on Oct. 2 and pleaded guilty on all five counts. Morris will serve six months in the Osage County jail and then be on probation for nine years and six months, according to a plea agreement outlined by Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond. He also must pay $270,000 in restitution to Clemishire. 

Facing her abuser

…

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Gateway Church has now been accused of violating a law that has been used to prosecute everything from organized crime operations to pro-life groups.

A year ago, a group of four church members from the Dallas-based church filed a financial fraud lawsuit against the controversy-ridden church. They alleged that the church fraudulently claimed that it gave 15% of its members’ tithes to global missions when in reality, it did not.

According to the suit, Gateway should have given a minimum of $15 million a year to global missions, as the church had an annual revenue of around $100 million. However, the suit claims Gateway only gave away $3 million a year.

This week, the group ramped up the seriousness of their allegations, contending that the church has violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

The amended suit said that Gateway engaged in a “pattern of racketeering activity”…

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West Belfast actress Geraldine Hughes is back in Belfast, directing a critically-acclaimed play about abuse in the Catholic Church.

Unreconciled is an autobiographical play written and performed by Pennsylvania-born Jay Sefton.

The one-man show tells the story of a teenage actor cast as Jesus in a school play directed by a parish priest.

It also chronicles his journey to speak out as a survivor of sexual abuse and navigate a reparations programme set up by the Catholic Church.

Ms Hughes said she wants to bring “important stories” to Belfast – stories she is “proud to tell and be associated with”.

She grew up in west Belfast in the 1970s and 1980s, before leaving for the USA to pursue an acting career.

“I’m really happy to be back at the Lyric Theatre,” she told BBC News NI.

“Belfast is special. Belfast is the best city.

“I travel for work, I go…

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A former teacher at a school in Southampton has been jailed after admitting non-recent sexual offences against three teenage girls.

Leo Norman, of Peartree Avenue, Southampton, was jailed for 14 months at a sentence hearing today (Friday 17 October) at Portsmouth Crown Court.

The 46-year-old was a teacher at St Anne’s Catholic School and Sixth Form College at the time of the offences, which took place between 2014 and 2019.

Norman had pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual activity with a girl 13 to 17 – adult abuse of position of trust, at a previous hearing at the same court on Monday 11 August.

Two impact statements were read out in court. They were from two of the women who were abused by Norman when they were teenage girls at the school, and they detailed the impact of Norman’s offending.

The court heard that some of the offending involved…

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English and media teacher Leo Normal, 46, has been sentenced after being found guilty of the sexual abuse of children at St Anne’s Catholic School and Sixth Form College in Southampton

A former teacher has been jailed for 14 months for the ‘shocking’ sexual abuse of three pupils at a Catholic school over a five-year period.

Predatory Leo Norman targeted the the teenage girls while working at the sixth form of St Anne’s School in Southampton, Hampshire, between September 2014 and June 2019. The English and media teacher was sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court after pleading guilty to three charges of sexual activity with a child by a person of trust.

As well as the prison sentence, the 46-year-old, from Southampton, was handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and ordered to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years. He was told he abused his his position of trust as…

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Cardinal Marx and Bishop Bätzing are expected to feature in the study

A report will be published at the end of October assessing how prominent German Catholic leaders handled abuse cases while serving in the Diocese of Trier.

Researchers from the University of Trier will present Oct. 30 an interim report on the diocese’s response to sexual abuse from 2002 to 2021.

The report will examine the period when Cardinal Reinhard Marx, now Archbishop of Munich and Freising, led the Trier diocese. Marx was the Bishop of Trier from 2002 to 2007, when he was succeeded by Bishop Stephan Ackermann, who continues to lead the diocese.

Bishop Georg Bätzing, the chairman of the German bishops’ conference, served as vicar general of the Trier diocese from 2012 until he was named the Bishop of Limburg in 2016.

Ackermann, who oversaw the German bishops’ conference’s response to abuse cases from 2010 to 2022,…

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany just agreed to pay $8 million to settle one case of sexual abuse committed by one of their former priests.

The lawsuit was scheduled to go to trial on Monday.

The victim said he was just 11 years old when the abuse began. He claims Father Edward Charles Pratt molested him until he was 16 years old.

The victim filed a lawsuit against the diocese back in 2020, shortly after New York State’s Child Victims Act went into effect. That law removed time limitations that prevented old sexual abuse claims from going forward to court.

The law firm representing the victim told NewsChannel 13 this settlement is a sign of how strong the diocese believes the case is against them.

RELATED: Abuse cases against Diocese of Albany can proceed  

RELATED: Albany Catholic Diocese files for bankruptcy

“The fact…

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The verdict came a week after the same jury awarded $5 million in compensatory damages to a former student who said a monk assaulted him at the elite Catholic school.

The New Jersey jury that made history last week by awarding $5 million in damages to a Delbarton School graduate who claimed a monk sexually assaulted him decided Thursday not to impose further penalties on the elite Catholic prep school.

The four women and two men on the panel declined to award any punitive damages to the accuser, who has been identified only as T.M. during the more than five-week trial in Morris County Superior Court.

Nevertheless, in the aftermath of Thursday’s decision, T.M. released a statement calling the case a “seismic shift towards institutional accountability.”

“My hope is that by pursuing this nearly nine-year climb to justice, I can help others understand the profound and lasting…

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The ruling means a Catholic diocese will be shielded from a 1970s child rape claim at a N.H. summer camp, and other victims could be barred from bringing similar claims to court

A lawsuit claiming the Catholic diocese in New Hampshire was negligent in its failure to protect kids from sexual abuse in the 1970s cannot proceed to trial, the state’s highest court ruled Wednesday, finding that a statute of limitations lawmakers repealed in 2020 still applies.

The plaintiff, Randy Ball, who filed his lawsuit in 2023, alleged he was about 8 years old when a priest raped him in the mid-1970s at Camp Fatima, a lakefront summer camp for boys in Gilmanton Iron Works. That priest, the Rev. Karl E. Dowd Jr., was employed by the diocese as the camp’s director despite having previously been accused of fondling a teenager in Keene, N.H.

The statute…

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PROVIDENCE — Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said he is about to send the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence a report that shows the church “did not respond well” to accusations of clergy sexual abuse of children over the past 70 years.

During an interview with Globe reporters, Neronha said he hopes to send the 400-page report to the diocese by the end of October. He said church officials are entitled to review the document before it’s released to the public, and the diocese could go to court to try to stop its release.

In 2019, the attorney general’s office and the Rhode Island State Police began a review of all files ofcomplaints of childhood sexual abuse collected by the Diocese of Providence since 1950. Over the past six years, the investigation led to new charges against a few priests, and produced…

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Mark Ford, extradited from Indiana to New Orleans jail, faces life in prison if convicted of sexual abuse charges.

NEW ORLEANS — A man working as a Roman Catholic priest in New Orleans positioned himself as a mentor to a young disabled boy grieving two family deaths – and then exploited the proximity to abuse him for years, police allege.

Those details are contained in criminal court records generated by the arrest of Mark Francis Ford in Indiana in September as well as his subsequent transfer to the Orleans Justice Center jail, a process which was completed late on Tuesday.

Ford, 64, made an initial appearance in Criminal District Court on Wednesday as he became the latest figure to come under scrutiny during the New Orleans Catholic church’s long standing clergy molestation scandal. 

A magistrate commissioner temporarily ordered Ford held without bail.

Ford is one of several men who have worked…

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[Note from BA: This is an updated version of the article posted in yesterday’s Tracker.]

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican’s child protection board said Thursday the Catholic Church has a moral obligation to help victims of clergy sexual abuse heal. Financial reparations for the abused and tougher sanctions for the abusers and their enablers are essential remedies, it said.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors focused on the issue of reparations in its second annual report — an often sensitive topic for the church, given the financial, reputational and legal implications involved.

The report was significant — an official Vatican publication prepared with the input of 40 abuse survivors from around the world. It gave a voice to their complaints of how badly the church had handled their cases and highlighted measures they need to heal.

It contained the shocking revelation that the Vatican office responsible for one-third…

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The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors publishes its second annual Report, which presents guidelines for “informed listening” and for economic, psychological, and spiritual support to victims, while highlighting the need for more transparent communication, public acceptance of responsibility by the Church, and streamlined reporting mechanisms.

The Second Annual Report on Safeguarding Policies in the Catholic Church, published on Thursday by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, offers an operational vademecum, drawn up by actively listening to those who have personally suffered abuse.

The guidelines are intended to help ecclesial communities implement “restorative measures,” following step by step the reporting process and calling for its general simplification.

Recommendations include an initial “informed listening,” access to information about one’s case, and economic, psychological, and spiritual support. All of this is to be accompanied by transparent official statements that “acknowledge the harm caused” and publicly assume responsibility.

Archbishop Thibault…

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The commission’s report highlights the difficulties Pope Leo faces in trying to end clerical abuses and ensure abusers are held to account.

A Vatican commission set up to address the clerical sexual abuse crisis said on Thursday that the Roman Catholic Church was still too slow in addressing a problem that has plagued it for decades.

The commission called on church leaders to act more quickly and more transparently, and recommended that the church listened to, and involved, survivors as it worked to build trust after decades of scandal.

“Many times I have also asked myself that same question: Why so slow?” Msgr. Luis Manuel Alí Herrera, the commission’s secretary, said at a news conference to present its latest report on the church’s progress in dealing with abuse. “Sometimes I admit that I have been discouraged because I wanted the change to be more obvious, more radical.”

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The new report is bigger and bolder than the initial pilot study.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors released its second annual global child protection report Thursday, underlining the need for reparations, sanctions for abusers, and clear communication when bishops resign after mishandling cases.

The 200-page “Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding” was released Oct. 16 in five languages and with a Vatican press conference attended by the PCPM’s new president, the French Archbishop Thibault Verny, who succeeded founding president Cardinal Seán O’Malley in July.

PCPM members believe the publication of the first annual report marked a breakthrough in the worldwide struggle against abuse in the Catholic Church. The second report is twice the length but has the same structure as the pilot study, with four sections, focusing respectively on local Churches, continental blocs, the Roman curia, and the Church’s wider child protection efforts. A 13-page executive summary accompanies the full text.

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Its report faults “the Church’s decades-long pattern of mishandling reports, including abandoning, ignoring, shaming, blaming, and stigmatizing” abuse victims.

This story has been updated.

The Catholic Church has been lax in fulfilling its “moral and spiritual obligation to heal the deep wounds” inflicted on victims of clergy sexual abuse for decades, according to a highly critical report released Thursday by the Vatican’s child protection commission.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors’ 200-page report called for tougher sanctions for abusers and their enablers; public acknowledgement of cover-up and mishandling of abuse cases; and reparations for victims going beyond financial compensation, to include invitations for them to help develop safeguarding procedures and professional psychological support for survivors.

The new report marks only the second from the commission since the late Pope Francis established it in 2014. The commission’s new report, coming a year after its first, draws on accounts from dozens…

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Vatican City (AFP) – Victims of clerical sex abuse still face “disturbing” retaliation from Catholic Church leaders for speaking out despite years of efforts to tackle the global scourge, a Vatican commission said Thursday.

In its second annual report, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors set out how local Catholic churches can better help survivors, highlighting “cultural resistance” that hinders action in many countries.

The document was drawn up with the contributions of 40 victims, who shared their personal stories — and who gave what the commission described as “disturbing accounts of retaliation” by Church leaders after they reported their abuse.

“My brother was a seminarian. The bishop told my family that my complaint could affect his ordination,” one recalled.

Another described how a priest in the local church publicly declared their family excommunicated after they reported the abuse.

Yet another recounted that the local bishop said nothing for…

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[Note from BA: This is an updated version of the Reuters article posted in yesterday’s Tracker.]

Summary

• Vatican commission criticises Church’s response to abuse victims
• Report highlights lack of transparency in bishop removals
• Italy is criticised for poor cooperation with Vatican commission

VATICAN CITY, Oct 16 (Reuters) – The Vatican’s child protection commission accused senior Catholic leaders on Thursday of being too slow to help victims of sexual abuse by clergy and implement new safeguarding efforts in an unusually critical internal report on the issue.For decades, the 1.4-billion-member Church has been shaken by scandals across the world involving abuse and cover-up, damaging its credibility and costing it hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.

The new report, only the second by a commission founded over a decade ago, faulted Church leaders for not providing information to victims about how their reports of abuse were being handled, or whether negligent bishops had…

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The study, conducted by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, is presented as a tool to assist in the creation of safe environments and advocates for a broader understanding of reparation beyond the economic issue.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors has presented in Rome its second Annual Report on Church Guardianship Policies and Procedures. It is a comprehensive study aimed at prevention, assistance and knowledge of the facts that, in this edition, has counted with a much higher number of victims of abuse in ecclesial environments in all regions of the world.

The report, whose first edition published last year, this time focused on how the Church is doing with regard to existing reparation practices in the local Churches and their pastoral and theological foundation “understood as the Church’s responsibility to accompany victims/survivors on their journey of healing and reparation”. 

40 victims participating in the study

In…

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• Summary

• Vatican commission criticises Church’s response to abuse victims
• Report highlights lack of transparency in bishop removals
• Italy is criticised for poor cooperation with Vatican commission

The Vatican’s child protection commission criticized senior Catholic leaders in an annual report on Thursday for not moving quickly enough to help victims of sexual abuse by clergy and to implement new safeguarding efforts worldwide.

For decades, the 1.4-billion-member Church has been shaken by scandals across the world involving abuse and cover-up, damaging its credibility and costing it hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.

The new report faulted Church leaders for not providing information to victims about how their reports of abuse were being handled, or whether negligent bishops had been sanctioned.

It also said the commission’s own requests for information about safeguarding protocols had not always been answered and the Italian Church had failed to provide full details.

“In many cases ……

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A Vatican commission for the protection of children has said the mishandling by the Catholic Church’s leaders of sexual abuse allegations involving clergy is causing “ongoing harm” to victims, in a hard-hitting report released Thursday.

The report also called out parts of Italy and Africa for failing to implement robust anti-abuse measures.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which released its second annual report on October 16 called for greater transparency from the Vatican and noted with “concern” that survivors often perceive the church’s central administration as “lacking in sensitivity.”

The report is the first to be released since the election of Pope Leo XIV and it sets out the scale of the challenge for the American pope in tackling the scourge of sexual abuse of children and vulnerable people inside the Catholic Church. His predecessor, Pope Francis, took some important steps to tackle the abuse crisis but  View Cache

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The Vatican’s child protection board said Thursday the Catholic Church has a moral obligation to help victims of clergy sexual abuse heal, and identified financial reparations and sanctions for abusers and their enablers as essential remedies.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors focused on the issue of reparations in its second annual report. It’s an often sensitive topic for the church, given the financial, reputational and legal implications it imposes on the hierarchy.

The report was significant — an official Vatican publication prepared with the input of 40 abuse survivors from around the world and giving voice to their complaints of how badly the church had handled their cases, and their demands of what they need to heal.

It said monetary settlements were necessary to provide victims with needed therapy and other assistance to help them recover from the trauma of their abuse.

But it…

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In a note sent to the Lusa agency, the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP) announced that the commission includes Circuit Judge Maria Amália Pereira dos Santos, president of the 3rd Civil Section of the Guimarães Court of Appeal, and Pedro Vaz Patto, Circuit Judge at the Porto Court of Appeal.

The commission also includes lawyers David Silva Ramalho, a guest lecturer at the University of Lisbon’s Faculty of Law, Francisco da Cunha Ferreira, and Paulo Câmara, a law professor at the Portuguese Catholic University.

Two other law professors round out the seven-member commission for determining financial compensation: Francisco Mendes Correia from the University of Lisbon and Rita Lynce de Faria from the Portuguese Catholic University.

According to the note from the Portuguese bishops, the permanent council of the CEP, meeting on Monday in Fatima, disclosed the composition of the entity “which is developing the proposals for the financial compensation amounts designated…

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A nearly three-hour preliminary hearing Tuesday afternoon for the former pastor of the Summit Church resulted in probable cause being found for the felony charge of soliciting a minor via computer.

The charge will now proceed to the grand jury, after Tuesday’s ruling by Randolph County Magistrate Michael Dyer.

Kevin Curtis Jones, 33, appeared in an orange prisoner’s jumpsuit in Randolph County Magistrate Court Tuesday afternoon, represented by attorney James Hawkins Jr.

Jones is also charged with one felony count of distribution and exhibiting of material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit activity. A hearing on that charge has been continued to a later date.

Jones is currently being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on two separate $50,000 cash-only bonds set by Magistrates Benjamin Shepler and Dyer.

The courtroom was full with approximately 20 people for Tuesday’s hearing, including family members of the alleged victim and a witness….

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12 News has received information after a pastor at an Elkins church was charged earlier this month with soliciting a minor and distributing material depicting minors in sexually explicit activity.

On Tuesday, 33-year-old Kevin Jones, who is a pastor at Summit Church in Elkins, appeared in Randolph County Magistrate Court for a preliminary hearing in this case. Jones’s attorney made motions to have his $50,000 cash-only bail altered and to have the charges thrown out. The magistrate denied those motions.

During Tuesday’s hearing, the alleged victim testified that she did not have sexual contact with Jones until after she turned 18 and that she wants to be in a relationship with him. Another female witness testified that she had contact with Jones when she was underage, but that the contact was not inappropriate.

An investigator in the case stated that they had found more than a million files on Jones’s…

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Deputies arrest man for crime at St. Agatha Catholic Church in Westchester

A 54-year-old man confessed to sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy at a church in Miami-Dade County’s Westchester area and said “the devil” made him do it, according to deputies.

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Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Alvaro Rios, who works as a server, shortly before 12:40 a.m. on Wednesday at his home in Cutler Bay, according to the deputies’ arrest report.

Rios followed the teenage boy to the restroom at St. Agatha Catholic Church, “rubbed” his back, “fondled his buttocks,” grabbed him by the neck, “kissed him on the lips,” and told him “he was beautiful,” according to Miami-Dade deputies’ arrest report.

“The victim explained he was disgusted by this action and ran out of the restroom,” a deputy wrote.

The teen told his mother and a family friend that the abuse happened…

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A Mooresville man has been charged with human trafficking and child sexual assault offenses after allegedly leading minors on a religious trip from Argentina to the United States, according to the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office.

On August 12, detectives learned of sexual offenses committed against two minors between May 2002 and June 2008.

The victims were both from Argentina and between the ages of 13 and 17 at the time of the offenses, officials said. They were reportedly part of a religious ministry led by the suspect, 50-year-old Luis Alberto Sosa, who was serving as a missionary pastor from Argentina.

The investigation revealed that Sosa brought the victims to the United States under the false pretense of a ministry opportunity and a “once-in-a-lifetime’ trip. At the time, Sosa was reportedly granted temporary guardianship over the children while they were traveling.

Over the course of two months, Sosa allegedly committed several…

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