ABUSE TRACKER

The Michigan Attorney General’s Office released a report Dec. 15 detailing allegations of sexual abuse in the Diocese of Grand Rapids, the fifth of seven expected reports related to an investigation into the handling of abuse cases in each of Michigan’s Catholic dioceses.

Like Michigan’s other dioceses, the Diocese of Grand Rapids has “cooperated fully with the Office of the Michigan Attorney General since the launch of its investigation in 2018,” Grand Rapids Bishop David J. Walkowiak said in a letter to the faithful in response to the report.

“As part of the investigation, the Diocese gave the Attorney General’s Office our internal files, which they have retained for the past seven years,” Bishop Walkowiak said. “We share a common goal in this investigation — to shine a light into the darkness of sexual abuse and to better understand how we can improve our efforts to…

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[See also the full text of AG Nessel’s report, Diocese of Grand Rapids: A Complete Accounting, and a PDF of this response by Bishop Walkowiak.]

Dear Friends in Christ,

Today, the Michigan Attorney General’s Office released its report on the sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests serving in the Diocese of Grand Rapids. This report follows an investigation into all seven Catholic dioceses in the state. The investigation did not reveal any allegations of child sexual abuse regarding priests in active ministry in the Diocese of Grand Rapids.

The Attorney General’s Office explains in its opening of the report, “The allegations are summarized here, and their inclusion does not reflect a determination by the Department that the allegations are credible or otherwise substantiated or indicative of a crime” (pg. 9). This report presents detailed descriptions and is hard to read.

I want to acknowledge the courage of victim-survivors…

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The Michigan Attorney General’s Office has issued the fifth of what will eventually be seven detailed reports on the topic of Catholic church clergy abuse in the state, this time focusing on the Diocese of Grand Rapids. 

The report, released Monday, is a compilation of allegations of sexual misconduct against either children or adults since 1950 in that region. The most recent report, issued in December 2024, looked into investigations at the Diocese of Lansing. The Saginaw and Detroit reports have yet to be released. 

The Most Reverend David John Walkowiak, who was named bishop of the Grand Rapids diocese in 2013, also gave a video statement and a press conference Monday to discuss the report.

“I offer my deepest and most sincere apologies,” Walkowiak said to the victim survivors of these cases. “I am sorry that a church leader in whom you placed your…

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A 300-page report released by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel Monday details accusations of sexual misconduct against both adults and children by Catholic clergy in the Grand Rapids area since 1950.

Of the 51 priests accused, 37 have died, and none of the remaining 14 is active in ministry in the diocese, said the attorney general’s office and the Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids.

The report is the fifth in a seven-part series on allegations of abuse in each of the six Catholic dioceses in Michigan and the Archdiocese of Detroit.

Statewide, 11 cases of abuse by priests documented in the reports released so far have been charged criminally.

Nessel said none of the allegations from the Diocese of Grand Rapids have resulted in a prosecution, typically because the statute of limitations has expired, the person accused has died, the victim has declined to pursue…

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[See also the full text of AG Nessel’s report, Diocese of Grand Rapids: A Complete Accounting.]

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel today announced the release of a report by the Department of Attorney General concerning allegations of sexual abuse and other sexual misconduct that took place in the Diocese of Grand Rapids.

The report was released to acknowledge the reports of abuse from victims and to report the Department’s findings. The document is a compilation of excerpts from the information obtained from the tip line, victim interviews, police investigations, open-source media, paper documents seized from the Diocese of Grand Rapids, and the electronic documents found on the diocesan computers, as well as reports of allegations disclosed by the Diocese. 

The list of priests for which there were allegations of sexual misconduct against either children or adults since January 1, 1950, for the Diocese of Grand Rapids that was established in 1882,…

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A St. Bernard parish jury on Thursday convicted a former pastor of one count of indecent behavior with juveniles, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said.

Milton Otto Martin III, 58, awaits a Jan. 15 sentencing by Judge Darren Roy. He was booked into St. Bernard Parish jail at 5 p.m. Thursday, jail records show.

Jurors were sworn in Tuesday, and the trial concluded Wednesday afternoon, 34th Judicial District Court records show. Assistant Attorney Generals Barry Milligan and Erica Moore subpoenaed the Worldwide Pentecostal Fellowship’s custodian of records to help build a case against Martin, who in 2023 was listed as the First Pentecostal Church of Chalmette’s pastor.

Jurors acquitted Martin of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile. Martin had initially been arrested in March 2023 after Louisiana State Police determined he had sex with a child multiple times from 2010-2013, when the child was between ages…

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Funds to pay the survivors from past sexual abuse is coming from a variety of sources including the sale of its former HQ on 1st Ave. Supporters of several historic but shuttered churches in Manhattan worry their buildings will be the next to be sold to developers.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York said it establishing a $300 million fund to pay for survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of priests and lay personnel going back decades. The fund is expected to cover about 1,300 pending cases against the archdiocese from claimants who said they were abused as minors. The archdiocese also disclosed that it had agreed to engage a mediator to oversee the settlement process.

“As we have repeatedly acknowledged, the sexual abuse of minors long ago has brought shame upon our Church,” said Cardinal Timouthy Dolan, in a statement released on the feast of the Immaculate…

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The Archdiocese of New York is selling 455 Madison Avenue’s ground lease to its hotel-operating tenant to balance the books after agreeing to pay settlements to victims of sexual abuse, Commercial Observer has learned.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan notified parishioners Dec. 8 that the archdiocese would take further action to compensate victims of sexual abuse at the hands of clergy members by selling real estate assets, stating that the scandal “has brought shame upon our Church.”

The sale of the ground lease at 455 Madison to hotel operator Lotte New York Palace would generate $490 million for a $200 million disbursement to the Church’s 2016 Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program (IRCP). The remaining $290 million is slated to go toward the repayment of loans the church took out for previous settlements under the IRCP and the Child Victims Act, according to the archdiocese.

“The Archdiocese of New York has been working with victim-survivors and…

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Two leaders of a group described as “cult-like” by authorities in the Inland Empire have been arrested along with a prominent member on suspicion of murder amid multiple investigations into the disappearance of a member and a former member and the death of a 4-year-old boy many years ago.

Darryl Muzic Martin, 58, who identifies himself as the pastor of His Way Spirit Led Assemblies, and Shelley Bailey “Kat” Martin, 62, who refers to herself as a prophetess and a gifted oracle, have been arrested on suspicion of murder along with member Rudy Moreno, 43, according to Redlands police.

The leaders of the group have been under investigation in connection with the disappearance of former member Emilio Ghanem in May 2023 after visiting a Redlands Starbucks. Separately, Claremont police are investigating the disappearance of Moreno’s brother, Ruben, who was also a member, while Colton police have been probing…

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Boys in the Assemblies of God join the Royal Rangers for Bible study and backpacking. But the ministry has also drawn sexual predators, an NBC News investigation found.

This article is part of “Pastors and Prey,” a series investigating sex abuse allegations in the Assemblies of God.

The boys had been taught to obey their elders, and how to pitch tents and build campfires along the creek-lined woods of western Oregon. They could dutifully recite the motto for the Royal Rangers, a Pentecostal version of the Boy Scouts. “Ready for anything,” they chanted in unison.

But no one had prepared them for this: Adults sometimes do bad things to children. And when people in power find out, they don’t always act.

Travis Reger learned that hard lesson around 1984, at age 10. That’s when, he says, a Royal Rangers commander from his Assemblies of God church in Albany,…

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The latest proposal is the Oakland Diocese’s last-ditch effort to settle with alleged clergy abuse victims in bankruptcy court. 

Attorneys for the Oakland Diocese say they’re proposing a final offer to settle hundreds of active sexual abuse claims in bankruptcy court. Investigative Reporter Candice Nguyen explains.

Calling it the “last and final” opportunity to settle in bankruptcy court with roughly 350 alleged clergy abuse victims suing the church, the Diocese of Oakland filed a last-ditch proposal Thursday that would pay survivors a total of $242 million over five years, in addition to implementing new child protection protocols.

The previous proposal from the Diocese offered survivors $165 million but was overwhelmingly rejected. 

The latest offer comes after a months-long impasse between the Oakland Diocese and its creditors – mostly plaintiffs now suing the church over child sexual abuse claims – had the bankruptcy case on life support. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge William…

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This docuseries unpacks the horror of the crimes of John Smyth. Plus, the latest Russell T Davies, the rehabilitation of Simon Cowell, and Meghan Markle’s ‘elitist pantomime’

The title of Ben Sanderson’s two-part docuseries See No Evil makes it sound like pedestrian true crime fare, which doesn’t do it justice. It’s truly disquieting viewing, detailing the Church of England’s worst child abuse scandal, which involved more than 100 boys and was cited by Justin Welby when he resigned as archbishop of Canterbury last year.

The prominent barrister John Smyth ran Christian summer camps in Iwerne, Dorset, which were financed by the former Iwerne Trust during the 1970s and 80s and attended by pupils from the prestigious Winchester College. A charismatic figure, Smyth groomed impressionable homesick boys, making them skinny dip and subjecting them to sadistic beatings and canings – until they bled – in his shed at his family home. Smyth’s…

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Archbishop Steve Wood of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is to be tried in a church court according to a memorandum directed to members of the denomination today.

Wood faces a formal complaint submitted by ACNA clergy and laity alleging bullying of staff, misuse of funds, and two separate allegations of inappropriate advances brought by a former children’s ministry director and an anonymous complainant.

“The Board of Inquiry finds that there is probable cause to present Archbishop Wood for trial for violation of Canon 2 of this Title,” the memorandum, signed by the unnamed Board of Inquiry Chairman, reads. In ACNA governance, a presentment against a bishop is evaluated by a board of inquiry to determine if there is enough evidence to proceed to the Court for the Trial of a Bishop (a canonically established body of seven total clergy, laity and bishops elected for three year terms by…

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The Michigan Attorney General’s Office investigated the priest but declined to move forward with criminal charges. One victim said the Diocese didn’t protect her.

Despite multiple women and witnesses alleging a history of inappropriate behavior by a West Michigan Catholic priest, the Attorney General’s Office said they can’t charge him.

Victims fear that, without charges, more women could be at risk. 

13 ON YOUR SIDE first learned about the investigation into Rev. Peter Omogo this week, and one of the alleged victims detailed in the AG’s report agreed to speak with us as long as we don’t show her face and disguise her voice. 

13 ON YOUR SIDE does not identify victims of sexual abuse unless they want to identify themselves. 

The Diocese of Grand Rapids said Omogo resigned from his role effective May 2, 2025, and said his bishop recalled him to his diocese in Nigeria….

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Three days after announcing it would set up a $300 million fund to pay for a settlement it’s currently negotiating with 1,300 people who accused its priests and staff of sexual assault, the Archdiocese of New York submitted paperwork to finalize the sale of one of its most significant real estate assets for $490 million, Thursday court filings show.

A spokesperson for the archdiocese told amNewYork Law that the sale of its 455 Madison Ave. property to Lotte New York Palace, its long-term tenant, would “generate funds” to compensate victims, the majority of whom filed claims in 2020 when the state’s Child Victims Act opened up a temporary window extending the statute of limitations on sexual assault.

“[T]he Archdiocese of New York has been working with victim-survivors and their attorneys on a global settlement, a negotiated agreement to secure compensation for victim-survivors with the help of a…

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Key takeaways

• The Archdiocese of Baltimore will not assert charitable immunity in bankruptcy for sexual abuse claims.
• Over 900 survivor claims are involved in the bankruptcy case.
• Archbishop William Lori emphasized the church’s commitment to fair compensation.
• A three-day trial on charitable immunity was canceled; a status conference is set for Jan. 5.

The country’s oldest archdiocese will not seek charitable immunity to protect itself from paying sexual abuse survivors.

In a stipulation filed Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Baltimore, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore said it would not assert charitable immunity in this case or in a future bankruptcy for survivor claims. It similarly would not authorize parishes or schools to file for bankruptcy unless they also waive charitable immunity.

“Entering the stipulation now saves time and money, promotes judicial economy, and resolves a complex, legal issue obstructing progress in mediation,” Friday’s filing states.

“Saving…

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Eight Grooming Tactics Pedophile Priests Use on Abusers and Communities

Sexual grooming is widely recognized as a method that abusers employ to build trust and camaraderie with potential victims. Over time, this process lowers their target’s inhibitions and helps facilitate abuse. The abuser slowly creates trust through actions that may seem harmless or kind, furthering the abuser’s intentions of violating the child and ensuring their silence.

Research exploring these patterns among sexually abusive priests reveals that these offenders also use grooming techniques on other members of their communities. They use conscious, directed methods to establish trust with parents and community members. These tactics help reduce or eliminate skepticism or suspicion about the relationship between the offender and the victim, casting doubt on any reported impropriety.

Setting the Stage for Sexual Abuse and Assault

A retrospective content analysis of documents concerning credibly accused priests from a Catholic diocese in Illinois…

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland proposed a new $242 million settlement with hundreds of parishioners who claim they were sexually abused for years at the hands of local clergy, a plan that drew immediate pushback from the victims’ attorneys, who say it doesn’t go far enough.

The proposal, filed Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, outlined more than $700,000 in payouts to nearly 350 people who filed lawsuits against the diocese in recent years, all of them accusing church leaders of allowing priests to “terrorize” congregants for decades. The plan called for about $200 million of that total to come from the diocese itself and a corporation running its schools, and another $42 million to come from its insurers.

In its filing, the diocese’s attorneys said the offer is “fair and equitable because it would compensate survivors of sexual abuse … and would permit the diocese to continue its ministry…

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Luis Camacho is no longer a priest, according to a letter from Archbishop Ryan Jimenez which confirmed the canonical investigation into his arrest is complete and a guilty verdict has been reached.

Camacho was arrested for custodial interference in March 2015, after Guam Police Department officers patrolling Hagat found him in a vehicle at the beach with a 17-year-old girl. It later came out that Camacho and the minor were involved sexually, according to Post files.

At the time, Camacho, who was ordained a priest on November 9, 2013, was pastor of the San Dimas & Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church in Malesso’ and the San Dionisio Catholic Church in Humåtak, and was prohibited from hearing confessions and restricted from celebrating mass publicly, although he could still celebrate privately.

Following the allegations, Camacho left Guam for nine years, returning in 2024 after the canonical investigation was completed. Archbishop…

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A former Mesquite teacher and coach has been arrested and charged with child grooming, police said on Wednesday.

Mesquite police said on Oct. 2, they received a report of an alleged child grooming case at the Christian Center of Mesquite on E. Cartwright Road. 

Through their investigation, the suspect was identified as 32-year-old Matthan Lough, of Crandall, police said. Mesquite police obtained a warrant, and Lough was arrested.

The Christian Center said in a statement that Lough was not an employee and it condemns “the criminal actions that led to his arrest.”

The center also confirmed that Matthan Lough is the adult son of its former senior pastor, Kevin Lough, who resigned on Nov. 23, 2025.

Investigators discovered that Lough previously had access to children when he was employed as a teacher and coach at Pioneer Technology and Arts Academy in Mesquite. According to the news release, Lough was…

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A St. Bernard parish jury on Thursday convicted a former pastor of one count of indecent behavior with juveniles, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said.

Milton Otto Martin III, 58, awaits a Jan. 15 sentencing by Judge Darren Roy. He was booked into St. Bernard Parish jail at 5 p.m. Thursday, jail records show.

Jurors were sworn in Tuesday, and the trial concluded Wednesday afternoon, 34th Judicial District Court records show. Assistant Attorney Generals Barry Milligan and Erica Moore subpoenaed the Worldwide Pentecostal Fellowship’s custodian of records to help build a case against Martin, who in 2023 was listed as the First Pentecostal Church of Chalmette’s pastor.

Jurors acquitted Martin of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile. Martin had initially been arrested in March 2023 after Louisiana State Police determined he had sex with a child multiple times from 2010-2013, when the child was between ages…

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A Chalmette pastor arrested in 2023 for having sexual relations with multiple juveniles has been found guilty of related charges.

A jury in Chalmette found Milton Martin III, 56, guilty of indecent behavior with juveniles.

Louisiana State Police say an investigation that began in November 2022 found that Martin had sexual relations with a juvenile multiple times between 2010 and 2013, when the victim was between 14 and 17 years old. Based on the victim’s account, troopers obtained an arrest warrant in St. Bernard Parish.

Martin turned himself in on March 8, 2023, and was booked into the St. Bernard Parish Correctional Center on charges of felony sexual battery and carnal knowledge of a juvenile.

Troopers continued the investigation after the initial arrest and identified an additional victim.

According to investigators, Martin had sexual relations with a 14-year-old victim in 1991. Troopers obtained a second arrest warrant in St. Bernard…

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NEW YORK (WABC) — The Archdiocese of New York on Monday announced it will set up a $300 million fund to compensate victims of sexual abuse who have sued the church.

In a statement, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said the archdiocese would pay for the fund by reducing its budget and selling off assets, including completing the sale of its former headquarters in Manhattan, with the goal that the fund “can be set aside to provide compensation to survivors of sexual abuse.”

The archdiocese has also agreed to engage retired Judge Daniel J. Buckley as a mediator between itself and victims to reach a settlement, Dolan said.

Buckley had a similar role in negotiations between the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and more than 1,000 people there.

But experts say this is a monumental task and a mediator doesn’t have legal power, so if either side wants to walk away,…

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Bishop Sarah Mullally, who will soon be seated as Archbishop of Canterbury, is accused of mishandling a safeguarding complaint against a priest of the Diocese of London in 2019, Lambeth Palace officials said on December 11.

The Lambeth statement followed a report by Donna Birrell of Premier Christian News about a few different cases of abuse complaints, demoralized complainants, and suicide attempts in the Diocese of London during Mullally’s episcopate.

The central focus of the report is on a man designated as N by Premier that more than a decade ago, he filed abuse charges against a priest in the Diocese of London.

“Premier has seen evidence that when he filed a complaint against the accused priest, Rt. Rev. Sarah Mullally as Bishop of London, contravened the Clergy Discipline Measure code of practice by sending a confidential email about the allegations directly to the priest concerned, outside of the CDM process. She also wrote to him that the…

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Just a year into the job, Richard Henning, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Boston, is already facing his Bernie Law moment.

And, as he did 23 years ago, the Rev. Stephen Josoma, the pastor of St. Susanna’s in Dedham, is the onechallenging the archdiocese’s leadership on a core tenet of Catholic morality and teaching.

As that noted theologian and thespian Yogi Berra once observed, it’s deja vu all over again.

By refusing Henning’s request to remove a sign, ICE WAS HERE, from a Nativity scene outside his church, Father Steve is putting it to the current archbishop as he did to Cardinal Bernard Law in 2002: Where do you stand? With perpetrators and those who would excuse them, or with victims and those who would help them?

Related: Dedham pastor stands by nativity scene protesting ICE, even as Archdiocese of Boston asks…

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — One of three men arrested for sexual assault at a Jacksonville church has pleaded guilty three years after being arrested.

Jerome Teschendorf, 71, was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in the Florida State Prison system, to be followed by five years of probation.

Teschendorf pleaded guilty just under a week ago to one of the four counts of sexual battery against him, crossing out “because I am guilty” on the court document and writing in “best interest.”

He will also be designated a sexual predator, court documents show.

Action News Jax first told you in March 2022 when Teschendorf, Paul Dyal Vernon Williamson were arrested in connection with what police called decades of physical and sexual abuse at the Jacksonville Assembly of the Body of Christ Church.

In May, Dyal, now 82, pleaded guilty to child abuse and was sentenced to five years of probation, avoiding…

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The risk of child sexual abuse remains a serious concern for churches and ministries, but new tools are helping them respond proactively with clarity and confidence.

Historically, the Church struggled to implement effective preventative protocols, but there has been recent momentum toward change. But what is driving this shift?

Much of that progress is being fueled by partnerships between MinistrySafe and leading Church Management Systems (ChMS), joining forces to make it easier than ever for churches to effectively train and screen staff members and volunteers.

EFFECTIVE PREVENTION EFFORTS

Change is often driven by better education: replacing misconceptions with accurate information. Church and ministry leaders are learning that ‘stranger danger’ and child check-in systems alone will not solve the problem of child sexual abuse. Prevention requires that the church implement a comprehensive, targeted safety system to protect children from sexual abuse. MinistrySafe provides a trusted solution.

MinistrySafe System

Led by sexual…

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The Michigan Attorney General’s Office investigated the priest but declined to move forward with criminal charges. One victim said the Diocese didn’t protect her.

MONTAGUE, Mich. — Despite multiple women and witnesses alleging a history of inappropriate behavior by a West Michigan Catholic priest, the Attorney General’s Office said they can’t charge him.

Victims fear that, without charges, more women could be at risk. 

13 ON YOUR SIDE first learned about the investigation into Rev. Peter Omogo this week, and one of the alleged victims detailed in the AG’s report agreed to speak with us as long as we don’t show her face and disguise her voice. 

13 ON YOUR SIDE does not identify victims of sexual abuse unless they want to identify themselves. 

The Diocese of Grand Rapids said Omogo resigned from his role effective May 2, 2025, and said his bishop recalled him to his…

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In 1965, just shy of my junior year at Jesuit High School of New Orleans, with good potential as an offensive end, I had an epiphany in the muddy slog of August football practice. Why are you doing something you don’t like? Soon, I quit. And was trailed by guilt for a dereliction of duty. Jesuit vaunted student achievements of all kinds. I played on the golf team and did some pieces for the school paper. Jesuit fostered a fraternal culture, molding friendships I carry to this day.

For a writer, the Jesuits’ stress on Socratic thinking was a gift. Question seeks answer, answer sparks new questions, yielding synthesis as the wheel of learning turns. Picture Kevin Trower, the cerebral basketball coach, a layman teaching Latin, pacing the floor with furrowed brow, book in hand on Caesar’s Gallic Wars. “Alea iacta est. The die is cast! What does this tell us? Think, boys!…

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The Archdiocese of New York is taking steps to compensate hundreds of victims who allege they were sexually abused.

The church says it is raising $300 million and has named a mediator to help reach a settlement with accusers.

How the Archdiocese of New York plans to raise $300 million

In a letter Monday, Cardinal Timothy Dolan announced the Archdiocese of New York is making a series of difficult financial decisions to raise enough money to cover settlements for roughly 1,300 outstanding claims by victims of sex abuse.

Actions include laying off staff, reducing the operating budget by 10%, and finalizing the sale of real estate assets, which include the archdiocesan headquarters on First Avenue in Manhattan, to raise the necessary funds.

In a statement, Cardinal Dolan wrote, “As we have repeatedly acknowledged, the sexual abuse of minors long ago has brought shame upon our…

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The Archdiocese of New York will use money from real estate sales, staff layoffs and budget reductions to set up a $300 million fund to pay for a settlement with 1,300 people who accused its priests and staff of sexual assault as it enters a 60-day mediation process with victim attorneys, the country’s second-largest archdiocese announced Monday.

In a public statement, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said its his “hope and prayer,” the archdiocese can “provide victim-survivors with the most financial compensation possible to help heal [their] wounds.” Dolan said the archdiocese and victim attorneys agreed to engage retired Judge Daniel J. Buckley as a mediator to work towards a global settlement for all 1,300 victims collectively. Buckley played a similar role in last year’s $880 million settlement between the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and over 1,000 victims. 

Since its Monday announcement, the archdiocese has faced criticism from victim attorneys…

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(OSV News) — Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan announced Dec. 8 that the Archdiocese of New York would be entering into mediation and taking steps to raise more than $300 million for sexual abuse settlements.

“We have made a series of very difficult financial decisions,” Cardinal Dolan said in a letter to his flock posted by the archdiocese’s online news outlet, The Good Newsroom. 

Archdiocesan operating budget

Those decisions include reducing the archdiocese’s operating budget 10% by laying off staff and selling several properties including the archdiocese’s former headquarters in Manhattan. The cardinal said the archdiocese is working toward finalizing the reported $100 million sale of the building on First Avenue and the other properties. 

The archdiocese confirmed to OSV News Dec. 9 that the money raised would go toward settlements with the 1,300 outstanding claims made by people who have said they were sexually abused by…

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Two survivors spoke at a sentencing hearing Wednesday about years of abuse at the hands of former Jacksonville church leader Jerome Teschendorf.Transcript

Follow along using the transcript.

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The New Orleans Archdiocese will pay at least $230 million to hundreds of survivors of clergy sexual abuse under a settlement approved by a federal judge on Monday.

The settlement follows years of negotiations and includes policies intended to prevent abuse from happening in the future. The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in 2020 to avoid handling each of the more than 500 abuse claims separately.

Here is a list of some of the other large clergy abuse settlements reached by the Catholic Church in the U.S.

Los Angeles:

In 2024, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay $880 million to more than 1,000 victims of clergy sexual abuse dating back decades.

The archdiocese, which covers Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties, had previously paid more than $740 million to victims, making the total payout more than $1.5 billion.

San Diego, California:

The Roman Catholic…

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Church of England authorities are considering a complaint against the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury over her handling of an abuse allegation.

The Right Reverend Dame Sarah Mullally, who is due to take office on January 28, has been accused of improperly handling a complaint against a priest in London, where she currently serves as bishop.

Lambeth Palace officials said the complaint was initially made in 2020, but was not followed up on due to “administrative errors and an incorrect assumption about the individual’s wishes”.

Dame Sarah was not informed of the complaint at the time, church authorities confirmed.

A palace spokesman said church authorities had written to the complainant — known as N — to outline the next steps.

“Due to administrative errors and an incorrect assumption about the individual’s wishes, the complaint was not taken forward or appropriately followed up,” they said.

“The Bishop of London was unaware of…

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A sprawling collection of discovery material now made public has unearthed explosive new details and previously unknown facts regarding the Southern Baptist Convention, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and the sexual abuse allegations involving former professor David Sills and his former student, Jennifer Lyell.

The documents, stemming from Sills’ ongoing defamation lawsuit against the SBC and others, expose a staggering chasm between the supportive public statements made by key denominational leaders and the private doubts, skepticism and hostility expressed in internal communications regarding abuse allegations and the survivor community.

Although Lyell, who became an executive at Lifeway Christian Resources in Nashville, died earlier this year, the legal battle continues. Sills has declined to sue her estate but continues to seek a court judgment against the institutions and leaders he claims scapegoated him.

This article is based on publicly available discovery documents — including sworn depositions and copies of text message records — filed…

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The Mattoon Police Department arrested the pastor of a local church for child pornography.

The Coles County State’s Attorney’s Office filed the Class X felony against 51-year-old Douglas R. Overmyer. Charging documents indicate that Overmyer shared a video of an underage girl and an adult male engaging in a sex act. The documents also indicate that Overmyer committed the offense “on or about May 20, 2025.”

A source familiar with the family confirmed with WCIA that Overmyer is involved with Zion Hill Church in Mattoon and Seers See. According to the group’s website, Seers See is a “blog/site meant to teach about the seeing gift, help seers cope with their gift, and to offer guidance to those who parent them, those who are friends with them, and those who pastor them.”

WCIA reached out to Zion Hill Church for a statement, but did not immediately receive a response…

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Bradley Reynolds, the former Truett McConnell University vice president who allegedly groomed and digitally raped a student-employee at the Georgia Baptist school, was indicted Monday for lying to police about the relationship.

Reynolds faces three felony counts of “making a false statement” to Sgt. Anthony Sims of the White County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office during a March 1, 2024, interview. The maximum sentence for each count could be five years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which first reported the indictment.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Reynolds, with a bail bond set at $30,000. White County District Attorney Jeff Langley told The Roys Report (TRR) an arrest warrant for Reynolds’s extradition from Texas would be issued if he doesn’t “turn himself in.”

In May, TRR broke the story of how Reynolds, a trusted ally of then-TMU president Emir Caner, had approached Hayle Swinson, a…

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The Vatican’s Dicastery for Clergy has declared that several parishes in the Diocese of Buffalo, New York can remain open after Bishop Michael Fisher ordered their closure amid a diocesan-wide renewal plan. 

Save Our Buffalo Churches, which has advocated against church closure proposals in the diocese’s “Road to Renewal” plan, said in a Dec. 8 Facebook post that the Vatican has revoked the closures of three parishes since November, with a fourth parish receiving a temporary reprieve from the diocese itself. 

The closures and mergers of Our Lady of Peace Parish and Holy Apostles Parish have been revoked by the dicastery, the group said. 

As well, the Vatican said it will also examine the “asset appropriation” levied by the diocese against those parishes. The group confirmed to CNA on Dec. 9 that those appropriations, if collected, are meant to help fund the diocese’s ongoing bankruptcy settlement…

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One hopes the canon lawyer in Pope Leo XIV will continue a dialogue with the UN Committee for the Rights of the Child

The Holy See was one of the strongest promoters and first signatories of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted on Sept. 2, 1990. This convention is the most ratified of all the UN treaties.

Signatories are required to provide periodic reports to the Committee for the Rights of the Child every five years. The Holy See submitted its first report two years late in 1994, and its second report 16 years late in 2011. It has not submitted another report since.

There is no enforcement mechanism under the convention. As the former president of Ireland, and a canon lawyer, Mary McAleese has pointed out, the convention is meant to be a dialogue between the UN and the signatories as to…

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A priest who served at several parishes in central Minnesota is facing felony sexual assault and threats of violence charges.

Father Joseph Herzing was charged in Stearns County Court on Nov. 26. According to the criminal complaint in the case, police began investigating a report of sexual abuse in August of 2024.

Herzing is accused of having an inappropriate intimate relationship with a woman he provided spiritual guidance to over a four-year period beginning in 2018. Court documents allege Herzing physically assaulted the woman, choked her, and threatened to kill her.

St. Cloud Diocese Bishop Patrick Neary immediately place Herzing on administrative leave on Nov. 26 after hearing about the charges. Herzing’s first court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 29.

Herzing was most recently pastor of Christ the King in Browerville, St. Joseph in Clarissa, St. Joseph in Grey Eagle, St. Mary of Mount Carmel in Long Prairie, and St….

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• Mediator who helped settle record L.A. case to reprise role in New York
• Attorney for accusers says archdiocese finally giving in to pressure
• Archdiocese says efforts to pay victims complicated by insurer Chubb
• Chubb said archdiocese has refused to reveal what it knew about abusers

Dec 8 (Reuters) – The Roman Catholic Church in New York and more than 1,300 accusers on Monday announced they have agreed to mediation to settle sexual abuse claims that could result in one of the largest payouts ever by the church in the United States.

Similar cases against the Catholic Church in the United States have resulted in billions of dollars in payouts, as priests and church lay workers were found to have sexually preyed on children for decades while being protected by the church hierarchy.

With civil litigation against the Archdiocese of New York due to come to trial next year, the archdiocese agreed to negotiate…

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NEW YORK (AP) — The Archdiocese of New York on Monday announced it will set up a $300 million fund to compensate victims of sexual abuse who have sued the church.

In a statement, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said the archdiocese would pay for the fund by reducing its budget and selling off assets, including completing the sale of its former headquarters in Manhattan, with the goal that the fund “can be set aside to provide compensation to survivors of sexual abuse.”

The archdiocese has also agreed to engage retired Judge Daniel J. Buckley as a mediator between itself and victims to reach a settlement, Dolan said. Buckley had a similar role in negotiations between the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and more than 1,000 people there.

A spokesperson for the archdiocese said church officials hope the fund would cover settlements for most, if not all of the roughly 1,300 outstanding claims against…

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The Archdiocese of New York has agreed to negotiate a settlement to compensate 1,300 people who have accused priests and staff lay members of child sex abuse — and is working to raise $300 million to cover the cost.

Archdiocese officials have met with lawyers in hopes of reaching a global settlement with survivors who have accused lay members of sexually abusing them while they were minors, Cardinal Timothy Dolan announced Monday in a public letter.

The Archdiocese has begun raising $300 million to fund the settlement by dramatically cutting costs and selling real estate — including laying off staff, reducing its operating budget by 10%, and selling the former archdiocesan headquarters on First Avenue in Manhattan, Dolan said.

Roughly 1,300 abuse survivors would benefit from the settlement, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of New York told The Post.

“As we have repeatedly acknowledged, the sexual abuse of minors long…

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The archdiocese will raise at least $300 million to fund the settlement. It has agreed with its accusers on a mediator to conduct negotiations.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York said on Monday that it was raising at least $300 million as it moved to negotiate a settlement that would benefit roughly 1,300 people who have said they were sexually abused as minors by its priests and lay staff members.

The archdiocese said it had agreed with representatives of the accusers on a mediator and had begun to raise money by cutting costs and selling assets, including its headquarters and other real estate.

Jeff Anderson, a lawyer who represents 300 people who have filed abuse claims against the archdiocese, said on Monday that the archdiocese had taken “a step in the right direction,” but cautioned that the matter was far from settled.

“There is no agreement at all…

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The Archdiocese of New Orleans’ yearslong bankruptcy has officially ended.

Judge Meredith Grabill heard from church leaders, sex abuse survivors, and insurance companies over the course of two weeks and formally approved the $230 million settlement on Monday.

Last week testimony wrapped up with Grabill taking the weekend to come to her final decision on the settlement.

Attorneys for the Archdiocese said money for survivors will be ready before Dec. 31.

Nearly 150 parishes and charities will contribute approximately $65 million to the settlement fund for clergy sex abuse survivors.

The diocese will also pay about $28 million with an interest rate of a little more than 4% over 12 years to bondholders, as well as pay a portion of additional fees.

Payouts will be specific to sex abuse claims and based on a point system.

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The accepted plan would pay settlements to an estimated 600 claimants…

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NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – A settlement plan ending the yearslong bankruptcy case of the Archdiocese of New Orleans was approved Monday (Dec. 8) by a federal judge in New Orleans.

The agreement, which includes a $230 million settlement for survivors of clergy sexual abuse, was approved by U.S. District Judge Meredith Grabill. It ends one of the longest and costliest church bankruptcies in the country.

The archdiocese sought bankruptcy protection in 2020, after more than 600 claims of clergy sex abuse were brought against it.

Attorneys for the archdiocese and survivors of the alleged sexual abuse negotiated for nearly five years before agreeing to a $230 million settlement.

Today’s ruling sets in motion several things, including the creation of a fund to pay survivors and the establishment of a new set of reforms designed to strengthen child protection and protocols for reporting child abuse in the archdiocese.

Attorneys for the…

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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Archdiocese will pay at least $230 million to hundreds of victims of clergy sexual abuse under a settlement approved Monday by a federal judge that follows years of negotiations.

Richard Trahant, an attorney representing victims in the case, and a spokesperson for the archdiocese both confirmed approval of the settlement to The Associated Press by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Grabill.

Archbishop Gregory Aymond, the head of the archdiocese, told reporters outside of a federal courthouse on Monday that he’s pleased “this is the end of this process” and hopes that survivors will “find some closure.”

“We hope and pray that they will be able to not only receive what is given to them but they will know the healing of God’s love,” Aymond said.

Earlier this month, some of the survivors behind the more than 500 abuse claims testified in court, saying they are…

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NEW ORLEANS, December 8, 2025 – SNAP extends its deepest solidarity and support to all survivors of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, both those who participated in the bankruptcy proceedings and those whose voices were never heard in court. 

The process remains profoundly unjust: it forces survivors to enter a bankruptcy arena as “creditors,” reducing the widespread rape and sexual assault of children, the extensive institutional cover-ups, and the financial manipulation that enabled these crimes to mere matters of debt. By removing these cases from the hands of justice officials and placing them before a bankruptcy judge, the church forces victims into a traumatizing, degrading, and drawn-out legal battle that severely limits their ability to seek reparations.

SNAP is encouraged that documents related to the archdiocese’s management of abuse claims will be made public, an essential step toward exposing the truth. We urge continued accountability for every official – Catholic or…

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Prosecutors in the Mexican border state of Coahuila have filed child abuse charges against a priest who is currently living in Texas. Authorities are also working to file more charges in connection with a second victim and believe there may be more.

The issue first came to light late last month when a victim who was 12 at the time of the abuse came forward and filed a complaint with the Coahuila Attorney General’s Office. The victim, who was 12 at the time of the alleged sexual assault, claimed that in 2007 she was taking catechism classes at the San Antonio de Padua Church and that Father Luis Efrain “N” had been the one who had groomed her and abused her.

Since then, the priest has worked in Laredo, Texas, and reportedly became a naturalized U.S. Citizen, Mexican news outlets reported. The priest is reportedly retired and…

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BOSTON – A Greek-American allegedly a victim of abuse at St Basil Academy in Garrison, NY, Christopher Bowen is set to take his case to trial after years of discovery and delays post-COVID.

From the ages of 12 to 17, (1982 to 1987), following the passing of his mother, Christopher Bowen was a resident of Saint Basil Academy – a place designed to provide a home, and a safe and supportive environment to children in need, run by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

His experience there, however, was not one that made him feel safe, nor supported, after suffering what he claims were years of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse from mentors, and people he trusted at the residential institution.

In November of 2024, Bowen spoke in an interview with The National Herald, revealing his alleged abuser as Finley Everett Eubanks – a former music and religion teacher, dorm…

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In short:

Clerical abuse survivors from Ballarat and Newcastle meet to reflect on lives lost to suicide stemming from child abuse.

The Child Abuse Royal Commission heard scores of people linked to clerical abuse have died by suicide in Ballarat and Newcastle.

What’s next:

A public memorial for survivors is being built in Ballarat, with calls for one in Newcastle.

Interstate clerical abuse survivors have gathered in Newcastle to reflect on the past horrors of the two cities and to remember lives lost to suicide

Newcastle and Ballarat are 1,100 kilometres apart but share a dark bond — scores of suicide deaths linked to historical Catholic clergy abuse.

On Saturday, survivors from both cities met for the first time in Newcastle for a symbolic gathering to remember and reflect.

[PHOTO: Survivors from Ballarat and Newcastle and their supporters tied ribbons to reflect and remember. (ABC News: Keely Johnson)]

They symbolically tied…

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Former clergy, senior legal figures and safeguarding professionals have told Premier Christian News that, despite the Church of England’s repeated claims to have learned from past safeguarding failures, many survivors who come forward continue to be re-traumatised by the way their cases are handled.

In one case, a former child protection lawyer described the treatment of a man who raised a complaint about the Diocese of London’s handling of his abuse allegations as “the worst example of post-abuse victimisation of a CDM complainant we have ever seen”.

The man, referred to by Premier as Survivor N, told us exclusively that the response and lack of investigation from the Diocese of London and Archbishop of Canterbury-elect Dame Sarah Mullally left him in such a severe mental health crisis that he attempted to take his own life twice.

A former employee of the Diocese of London, who also asked to remain anonymous and whom we are…

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The former Bishop’s house in Newry has gone back on the market to help raise funds to provide compensation to the victims of clerical abuse.

The premises – surrounded by 27 acres of land – has lain empty since 2018 following the resignation of Dr John McAreavey as Catholic Bishop of Dromore.

Dr McAreavey vacated his position after it came to light he had celebrated Mass alongside paedophile priest Fr Malachy Finnegan in the year 2000 while aware of the allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

The contents of the Bishop’s home – based on the Armagh Road, Newry – were sold off at auction earlier this year by the Diocese of Dromore to meet compensatory liabilities due to clerical abuse victims.

According to the BBC one of the standout sales in auction included a marble-topped table, originally from Tandragee Castle, which was bought by a priest in a 1950s dispersal…

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Two former nuns have been found guilty of physically abusing vulnerable youngsters at children’s homes in Scotland more than 40 years ago.

Carol Buirds, 75, and Eileen McElhinney, 78, caused several children unnecessary suffering and injury at two homes run by the Catholic order the Sisters of Nazareth.

Retired support worker Dorothy Kane was also convicted at Edinburgh Sheriff Court of two charges of using cruel and unnatural treatment towards children.

The offences were committed at Nazareth House homes in Lasswade, Midlothian and Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, and at an unknown address in Dunbar, East Lothian between 1972 and 1981.

During a five-week trial, jurors heard how Buirds had struck, punched and kicked children in her care, forced soap and food into their mouths and locked one victim inside an unlit cellar without any food or water.

The former nun, who was known as Sister Carmel Rose, also rubbed urine-soaked bedding…

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In 2002, Americans were rocked by a news investigation that exposed widespread sexual abuse of children in one of the country’s largest Roman Catholic dioceses. As reported by The Boston Globe’s Spotlight team, numerous pedophile priests in Boston had been transferred from parish to parish in an attempt to cover up abuse.

Although the Spotlight investigation was not the first exposé of clergy sexual abuse in the United States—or in the global Catholic Church—it had an impact like no abuse revelations before it. Investigations were launched in dioceses around the world. For many Catholics, once they had learned about the abuse and cover-up, there was no going back. As Heidi Schlumpf, the author of Encyclopaedia Britannica’s article on the misconduct, writes, “The sexual abuse crisis has severely damaged the Catholic Church’s credibility and permeates every aspect of life in the church today.”

But what does that mean at the parish level? What impact did…

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A survivor of clerical abuse is calling for the Justice Minister to end or limit the use of character references in court cases, particularly in relation to sexual offences against children.

Tony Gribben, who was abused by the Catholic priest Fr Malachy Finegan, highlighted a case where two Catholic priests gave character references to a man convicted of sexual offences against children.

The priests in the Diocese of Dromore provided the references in 2022. The family of one of the victims declined to speak publicly but are understood to have been “incensed” at the move.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said it is aiming to launch a planned review of sentencing issues this month.

‘Safeguarding failure’

Mr Gribben, is the founder of the Dromore Group, which represents survivors of clerical abuse.

He described the 2022 case in the Dromore diocese as a “safeguarding failure”, which he said was…

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In new audio recording, Diocese of Chiclayo calls pope’s investigation a “joke” 

SNAP to file updated Vos estis lux mundi complaint using new evidence of cover-up

Survivors of clergy sexual abuse held a press conference this morning (Thursday December 4, 2025) to release new evidence showing Pope Leo XIV wielded his new papal authority to avoid testifying about his involvement in covering up child sex abuse in Peru.

This evidence included internal Vatican documents, emails from Pope Leo, and recordings of meetings with church officials discussing the cases of sexual abuse reported by Ana María Quispe Díaz and two other victims from the Diocese of Chiclayo in Peru. 

Quispe previously traveled to Chicago in July to testify in a press conference alongside representatives of SNAP.  

Her full statement regarding the recent updates in her case can be found here. 

Él no lo considera un delito / He doesn’t consider…

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New recordings of church officials spurred the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, to file an updated complaint with the Vatican.

Survivors of clergy abuse are calling for an investigation into Pope Leo XIV during his tenure as bishop of Chiclayo in Peru, alleging he played a role in covering up how priests and clerics accused of sexual assault were allowed to continue their roles in the Catholic Church.

Recordings of a meeting from in April between the Rev. Giampiero Gambaro with Ana María Quispe Díaz and others accusing Peruvian clerics of assault revealed the man they accused had confessed to church officials years ago, and in September was granted an “honorable discharge.”

The Chicago Sun-Times reviewed a translated version of the recordings made public by Conclave Watch.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests plans to file an updated vos estis lux mundi complaint, the church’s pathway…

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Andrea was just eight-years-old, living in a small town in Zambales, the Philippines, when her parents separated. Afterward, her mother moved in with Christopher, who soon became Andrea’s stepfather. In January 2024, when Andrea turned 11, Christopher sexually abused her. Terrified of what he might do to her and her mother, Andrea kept silent. 

It was not until a counselling session with her teacher that she found the courage to reveal the truth. 

Her disclosure set a chain of support in motion—she was referred to the municipal social worker of Castillejos, Zambales, who brought her to the Preda Foundation’s home for abused and trafficked children.

At Preda, Andrea was welcomed, affirmed, and empowered through Emotional Release Therapy.

Gradually, she found the courage to testify in court. While Christopher denied all charges, the judge believed Andrea’s testimony. Justice prevailed: Christopher was found guilty of two counts of lascivious conduct and sentenced…

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The priest named in the filing as Fr Jacek K. was one of two serving priests from the Diocese of Sosnowiec arrested in October 2024 and charged with sexually abusing children.

Prosecutors in Poland filed an indictment against a priest from a diocese that has faced recent scrutiny for child sex abuse allegations.

The priest, named as Fr Jacek K. under Polish privacy laws, from the Diocese of Sosnowiec in Upper Silesia, southern Poland, faces 10 charges, including nine counts of sexually abusing seven minors when he served as a priest and taught religion classes between 2008 and 2024. 

The tenth charge relates to pornographic videos and images of children found on the priest’s data storage devices.

The indictment was submitted to court on 5 December, a spokesman for the district prosecutor’s office in Sosnowiec told the state news agency PAP. He said the priest had exploited the children’s helplessness and…

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A former Church in Wales bishop is said to have admitted sexually assaulting a teenage boy, according to a report seen by the BBC.

Anthony Pierce, who earlier this year was jailed for historical sexual abuse of another boy, allegedly confessed to the report author what is described as a “criminal offence” while he was a parish priest.

The document was written months before he became Bishop of Swansea and Brecon in 1999 and the church held the report – which Pierce asked a “friend” to write – for 11 years before passing it to police.

The Church in Wales said it did not commission the report and the document would form part of a review into how they handled the claim.

The handwritten 25-page document said the abuse happened in 1990 and stated Pierce, who is now 84, felt “intensely guilty” and “could not escape the reality that he…

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Trial dates have been set for a former priest who allegedly sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl in his congregation in 1970.

Constantin Turcoane’s matter appeared in Brandon’s Court of King’s Bench on Tuesday, when his trial dates were set for November 2026.

The 81-year-old used to run the St. Elijah Romanian Orthodox Church in a small Westman community that sits within what is now the RM of Riding Mountain West. The church is now a part of the St. Elijah Romanian Orthodox Pioneer Museum, which is roughly 210 kilometres from Brandon.

In March 2022, a woman in her 60s reported that the priest had sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions over a period of two years while she was a parishioner at the church, RCMP said in a news release in August last year.

The woman was 11 and 12 when the alleged sexual assaults took place, police said.

The…

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A roughly 40-minute conversation shows how leaders of an Old Apostolic Lutheran Church kept an open secret quiet for so long.

This story contains graphic descriptions of sexual abuse.

There were so many details in the women’s reports to law enforcement that were hard for me to read. That they were just little girls when it happened. That a man many knew as the “fun uncle” had touched them sexually under their skirts and tops. And that it happened in church or while swimming at the lake or during games of hide-and-seek. They were as young as 5 years old, according to the police reports. Some could even remember what they were wearing when it happened: a fluffy multicolored skirt; a pair of jeans with purple flowers on them.

But by the time my co-reporter from the Minnesota Star Tribune, Andy Mannix, and I got those accounts — spanning from…

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A Chico pastor has pleaded guilty to child molestation charges.

Roger Scalice, 75, appeared in Butte County Superior Court on Thursday where he pleaded guilty to molesting a minor under 14-years-old. Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said Scalice’s charges stem from October, after the Chico Police Department received a report that Scalice had inappropriately touched a minor child with whom he had access for over a year.

Authorities say during the investigation, Scalice admitted to the conduct and was arrested at his home in Chico on October 27.

Ramsey said that because of the conduct’s nature and the prolonged abuse, Scalice was charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child. He now faces up to 16 years in state prison on his plea. The judge for his case appointed a doctor to conduct a mental evaluation before sentencing date to determine if Scalice is likely to reoffend and assess…

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A volunteer youth pastor at a church in the Houston area was arrested on suspicion of possessing child sex abuse materials. 

On Nov. 26, Carter August Thomas, a volunteer at Houston’s Second Baptist Church, was taken into custody and charged with one felony count of possessing child pornography.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office was initially made aware of the suspicions in August, according to court records, after deputies received an email from someone claiming that Thomas had confided in them that he had trouble seeking out child abuse content online.

At the time, Thomas confessed he was still officially volunteering with the youth of Second Baptist, where his duties included supervising children. According to The Houston Chronicle, Thomas’s defense attorney, Stephen Aslett, said that he was not working at the church in any capacity when…

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A volunteer who worked last summer with youth at Houston-based Second Baptist Church has been charged with possessing child sexual abuse material. The arrest marks another controversy to hit the embattled megachurch, which has been accused of stealing members’ voting rights.

Carter Thomas, 27, was arrested Wednesday for the felony, Harris County police announced on Facebook. He was first charged on Nov. 26, but police picked him up on the way to turning himself in a week later on Wednesday, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Police were first tipped off about Thomas by email in August, according to the probable cause records. The individual who tipped off police said that Thomas had admitted to struggling with viewing the materials online.

Police began an investigation into Thomas and seized his electronic devices. They found 23 nude images of children under 17 on…

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Confidential discussions underway with other parties that may also be liable for decades of harm at Mount Cashel and elsewhere

The St. John’s Roman Catholic archdiocese has received another extension of its creditor protection, as lawyers for clergy abuse survivors meet with other organizations who may also be liable for the historic harms.Article content

The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John’s (RCECSJ) has been in creditor protection since December 2021 as it sells its assets to compensate more than 300 survivors of historic abuse by Christian Brothers at Mount Cashel orphanage and other locations. 

The courts found the archdiocese vicariously liable for the abuse, and an independent claims adjudication awarded the victims $121.3 million. Article content

So far, the claimants have received just over 30 per cent of what they’re due, and the archdiocese continues its efforts to collect the funds needed. It requested and was granted a 60-day extension of…

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U.S. Catholics continue to disaffiliate from the Church at record rates, thanks in part to the nationwide legacy of mass child abuse by pedophile clerics

On Nov. 17, the Feast of St. Frances Cabrini, a group of lay Catholics, former employees of the diocese of New York, and clerical abuse survivors announced initiatives to help the victims of abuse at the hands of the Catholic Church in New York state. They want survivors to have access to the Cabrini Fund, a foundation created when the New York bishops sold their diocesan health insurance plan for $3.2 billion in 2018.

“Many survivors have been locked in a legal morass for years,” said Gary Greenberg, a Child Victims Act advocate and survivor, in a press release announcing the move. “They have been denied long-term healing resources and meaningful acknowledgment of the harm they endured.”

Abuse in the Catholic Church may have faded…

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More than a dozen survivors of alleged clergy sex abuse are demanding major reforms from the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Their demands came during hours of testimony Tuesday (Dec. 2) in the archdiocese’s bankruptcy trial. Testimony focused on the impact the abuse had on those who say they suffered at the hands of priests or clergy.

The testimony from survivors was as powerful as it was painful. The judge overseeing the bankruptcy case called it the most important part of the proceedings, because clergy sex abuse is at the core of the case. Some survivors viewed the opportunity to take the witness stand as their only chance to memorialize their account in a courtroom.

“There’s no justice for us here today, and you cannot compensate me for what you took from me. There’s no money in the world that can give me back my childhood,” said Brian Manix, a claimant…

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Judge Meredith Grabill stopped short of confirming the $230 million plan Thursday, but says she will likely confirm next week after continued ‘prayer’ and ‘meditation.’

A weekslong trial aimed at settling the Archdiocese of New Orleans bankruptcy case concluded on Thursday with a federal bankruptcy judge saying she is likely to approve the settlement worked out between the local church and survivors of child sexual abuse.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Grabill told attorneys for the church, abuse survivors and others involved in the long-running case that she planned to spend the weekend reflecting on the evidence she heard during nine days of sometimes gut-wrenching testimony and indicated that next week she intends to confirm the $230 million settlement.

Her ruling could come as soon as Monday.

“I want to sit with all of the evidence before making a final ruling,” Grabill said. “That said, I don’t see any impediment at…

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The Archdiocese of New Orleans’ yearslong bankruptcy trial will not end in a decision Thursday, according to the judge presiding over the case.

Judge Meredith Grabill heard from church leaders, sex abuse survivors, and insurance companies over the course of two weeks.

On Wednesday, testimony wrapped up with Grabill stating she needed more time to make a decision on the settlement of $230 million for sex abuse survivors.

The final approval could come as early as Monday.

Attorneys for the Archdiocese said money for survivors will be ready before Dec. 31.

Nearly 150 parishes and charities will contribute approximately $65 million to the settlement fund for clergy sex abuse survivors.

The diocese will also pay about $28 million with an interest rate of a little more than 4% over 12 years to bondholders, as well as pay a portion of additional fees.

Survivors could receive payments by next year.

Payouts…

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Attorneys for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, survivors of alleged clergy sex abuse, and several insurance companies delivered closing arguments Thursday (Dec. 4) in one of the most protracted and most expensive Catholic church bankruptcies in U.S. history.

“This is probably just one chapter closed, but I’m not done because we didn’t get what we came for,” said Brian Manix, a claimant in the bankruptcy case.

“This whole process has been one of anxiety, but it’s also been one of healing,” said New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond.

The arguments capped several days of testimony from Aymond, nearly two dozen abuse survivors, and senior financial officers of the archdiocese.

Manix, who says disgraced and now-deceased deacon George Brignac sexually abused him, said he’s relieved that the end of the case is in sight, but the trauma he endured as a child persists.

“There’s not enough money in the world to give…

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Renny Martyn revealed in archdiocese bankruptcy proceedings that priest abused her at school when she was six years old.

A woman who Big Brother fans might recognize as a contestant on an earlier season of the unscripted television competition has spoken out as a victim of New Orleans’ decades-old Catholic clergy abuse scandal.

Renny Martyn, 71, told her story toward the end of a Tuesday hearing in the federal courthouse where the Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans has been in bankruptcy protection proceedings since 2020 amid the financial fallout of the scandal.

Martyn waited for hours before recounting in court that she had been molested when she was six years old by a priest at the St Mary Magdalen elementary school in Metairie.

She was among 20 or so clergy abuse claimants who testified on Tuesday during a trial over the fairness of a proposal by the archdiocese to pay…

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A former teacher has been found guilty of grooming and sexually abusing a “vulnerable” teenager who was one of his pupils.

Edward Waller sent naked photos of himself before having sex with the girl in 2005 while he was teaching at St Anne’s Catholic School in Southampton, Hampshire, prosecutors said.

The 66-year-old, of Winter Road, Southsea, was convicted of sexual activity with a child and two counts of inciting child sexual activity, all committed by a person in a position of trust.

Sentencing at Portsmouth Crown Court was adjourned to 5 February.

The history teacher knew his victim, who was then aged 16 to 17, “was a vulnerable girl who was having significant issues at home”, prosecutors said.

He began to give her extra attention, messaging her privately and sending sexual texts and photos.

In December 2005, Waller invited the victim to his home where they had sex, prosecutors added.

…

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“I have to fuck you to save you,” said the priest.

Nuns vs. the Vatican is a documentary that tells the story of Marco Rupnik, a Jesuit priest and famous mosaic artist, whose art adorns many Catholic churches. What the nuns kept secret for decades was that he sexually and spiritually abused them. Gloria Branciani is the lead victim in this film. When she was young, after talking with this glorious priest, she decided she would join the Loyola community he had created. She was not sure she wanted to be a nun, but he warned her she would be far from God if she were not.

Rupnik started by taking off her shirt when he asked her to model for a mosaic. Then he visited her apartment when her roommate was gone. He violently forced her into oral sex, which was shocking to a young woman who did not know anything about…

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A Dublin man who reportedly had a concealed crawl space in his home has been arrested in Utah after being accused of sexually abusing two children in both states.

According to federal prosecutors, Wade Christofferson, 72, appeared in U.S. District Court in Utah on Tuesday after being federally charged with attempting to sexually exploit a minor, and coercion and enticement in Dublin, Ohio.

Charging documents state that Dublin police received a report this month alleging the sexual abuse of 7- or 8-year-old by Christofferson, who reportedly assaulted the child 15-20 times and faces at least 20 charges.

It is also alleged that Christofferson sexually abused a child in Utah and engaged in sexually explicit FaceTime call with the minor. The call reportedly referred to sexual activity with code words for body parts and other sexual content.

Additionally, a criminal complaint said Christofferson wrote the Utah victim a letter with “top…

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In a case that exposes a deeply troubling pattern of institutional failure, church leaders within the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church (OALC) are accused of knowingly concealing the crimes of a serial child sex abuser for approximately two decades, allowing him to continue preying on victims across two states.

Clint Massie, a member of the OALC community, sexually abused children over a period of about 20 years. A recent report from 20 November 2025, reveals that church leaders, including prominent figure Daryl Bruckelmyer, were aware of Massie’s actions but deliberately chose not to report him to law enforcement.

Instead of involving the police, the leaders orchestrated so-called “forgiveness sessions.” In these meetings, victims were pressured to forgive Massie and were given a devastating ultimatum: they were told that if they spoke of the abuse again, the sin would become their own. This manipulative tactic effectively silenced the victims and created a…

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Andreozzi + Foote, opens new tab, a nationally recognized law firm dedicated to representing survivors of sexual abuse, has launched the Andreozzi + Foote Fund, a corporate community sponsorship initiative that will distribute $100,000 to Pennsylvania-based organizations between December 2025 and December 2026. The Fund is designed to support organizations in the Commonwealth that empower children, support survivors of sexual abuse, and strengthen communities through education, advocacy, healing, and opportunity.

Through this effort, Andreozzi + Foote will award sponsorships ranging from $2,500 to $25,000 to nonprofits, youth programs, advocacy coalitions, schools, and community leaders supporting the safety and wellbeing of children and survivors.“

We represent survivors every day, and we see the difference it makes when communities invest in safety, healing, and prevention. This Fund allows us to support organizations doing this critical work, providing opportunities to children and ensuring survivors never have to navigate these…

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At least eight schools have sent out the letter after a 51-year-old man was charged.

A relief teacher who worked at a number of public, private and Catholic schools has been charged with child sexual offences prompting a letter to thousands of parents.

7NEWS understands the 51-year-old male teacher worked across both primary and secondary schools predominantly in Adelaide’s metropolitan area.

WATCH ABOVE: Adelaide teacher charged over alleged child sex offences.

At least eight schools have sent the letter to parents, offering support to students.

7NEWS also understands the 51-year-old was arrested and charged in November.

Parents and guardians were sent the letter on Wednesday, informing them a relief teacher who had taught at the schools has been charged with “child sexual offences”

The teacher by law is prevented from engaging in any child-related work or volunteering and has been instructed to not attend any of the schools.

A Department…

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Ursuline High School and the Diocese of Youngstown have denied the school’s football team fosters a ‘culture of hazing’ in their response to a federal lawsuit.

Ursuline High School and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Youngstown have formally responded to a federal lawsuit alleging incidents of hazing and sexual abuse within the Fighting Irish football program, denying that there is a “culture of hazing” within the team and pushing back on claims of a coverup by coaches and administrators.

In the 216-page response filed Monday in Northern Ohio U.S. District Court addresses claims from the mother of a former Ursuline player who says her son was attacked multiple times and sexually abused by his teammates during an out-of-state football camp in June. She further alleges that at least Ursuline coach dismissed her concerns and that school leaders declined to adequately investigate the incidents, to the point of allowing…

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The Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, and one of its Catholic high schools are facing multiple lawsuits over the alleged mishandling of multiple reports of bullying and student-led abuse.

Of the four lawsuits, three were filed in federal district court and the fourth was filed in a county court of common pleas. They allege that Ursuline High School in Youngstown failed to prevent the bullying and harassment of several students.

In the federal lawsuits, attorneys allege that Ursuline ignored multiple instances of harassment and bullying from the school’s football players. Ursuline was aware of the abuse, the suits claim, though administrators allegedly did nothing in order to protect “the glory of [the school’s] football team.”

One suit alleges that a football player engaged in protracted sexual harassment and eventually physical abuse of a young female student, including “asking [her] for sex and nude photos” and eventually allegedly dragging…

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Colombia said Monday it sent 26 members of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect Lev Tahor to the United States after determining that the rights of some of the children in the group were at risk.

Authorities detained the group of 17 children and nine adults on Nov. 22 following a raid on their hotel in Yarumal, a city in northwestern Colombia.

Immigration officials said that while all of the children in the group were accompanied by at least one parent, there were five children with American and Guatemalan passports for whom Interpol yellow notices had been issued. The notices are global alerts issued for people who have been reported as missing or those considered victims of parental or criminal abduction.

Colombia’s national immigration agency said the group spent the past week in one of the agency’s buildings in Medellin, where the children were provided with support from Colombia’s National Institute for…

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The incidents took place during the transportation of pastoral groups participating in the annual religious festival held in this northern Chilean town.

The Tamarugal Prosecutor’s Office has charged a 44-year-old priest with the sexual abuse of a woman, an offense committed on July 16, 2025, in the town of La Tirana, where he served as a youth pastoral advisor.

During the hearing, lead investigator Milton Torres detailed that the incidents occurred in the context of transporting pastoral groups participating in the annual religious festival held in that location.

According to the prosecutor, at a social gathering in a local residence—following the victim’s consumption of alcohol which led to a state of intoxication—the defendant, identified by the initials G.A.M., «noticed the woman’s vulnerable condition and, taking advantage of the existing trust, between 5:30 and 6:00 AM, led her to his bedroom, where he laid her on a bed and reclined beside…

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The trial for a former youth pastor at four Texas churches has been reset to April 20, 2026, granting both the prosecution and defense more time to prepare for what is expected to be a contentious case.

Luke Cunningham, 43, of Lubbock, Texas, faces charges that include 16 counts of sexual assault of a child. These charges carry a first-degree felony enhancement known as “bigamy” following a grand jury reindictment that superseded previous charges and added penal enhancements.

The statute under which Cunningham has been reindicted escalates sexual assault charges to first-degree felonies when the offender is accused of assaulting a person “whom the actor was prohibited from marrying or living with under the appearance of marriage,” as defined by Texas bigamy laws.

Prosecutors based these charges on Cunningham’s alleged promises to marry his underage victims — teenagers in his youth group at Turning Point Community Church in Lubbock — once they…

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A former youth pastor at four Texas churches is facing a slew of new criminal charges as his long-delayed trial is now set to begin Dec. 1.

The new indictment returned by a grand jury three months ago charges Luke Cunningham of Lubbock, Texas, with 16 counts of sexual assault of a child under a first-degree felony enhancement known as “sexual assault of a child — bigamy.”

Cunningham’s case has drawn national attention since Baptist News Global first reported in June 2024 that he had been arrested by U.S. marshals on initial child sexual assault charges and was under federal investigation by the FBI for possible international and interstate sex trafficking.

BNG’s original reporting revealed that federal investigators were examining allegations of abuse that occurred during out-of-state and overseas mission trips while Cunningham was employed by Turning Point Community Church, a Lubbock megachurch.

The state of that federal probe remains unclear, as…

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Media in Spain identifies the priest only as Ramón LE, the Mexican media protects him further by identifying him only as Ramón N.

Were the priest’s superiors aware of similar aggressions to the one behind his extradition? Did they inform the Mexican bishops who received him? Did the Mexican bishops investigate?

This Monday, December 1, the EFE agency and other media in Spain reports a ruling from a top national court there, the Audiencia Nacional , authorizing the extradition to Mexico of a Spaniard national who is a Catholic priest.

In accordance with current in Spain, neither EFE nor the other media offer more details than the first name and the initials of the surnames of the extradited person: Ramón LE

As far as it is possible to know, this is a case dating back to 2022 in the state of Jalisco in what the media in Spain describes…

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Critics say a deadline approaching early next year in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno’s bankruptcy case amounts to a “huge loophole” that limits clergy sexual abuse victims’ ability to pursue justice.

Any abuse victims who do not meet the Feb. 2 deadline “will be forever barred, estopped and enjoined” from suing the diocese in the future, according to a paid legal notice published Nov. 25 in The Californian.

A victims advocate noted the so-called “bar date” deadline applies not just to adults coming to terms with trauma they suffered as youth, but also to recent victims who typically do not recognize the abuse they have suffered for many years to come.

Director Dan McNevin of victims advocacy group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said Tuesday the deadline’s expiration will basically lock down the diocese’s files.

“That means society, not just the victims, society will not have visibility…

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More than a dozen people described during testimony Monday how being sexually abused as children by Catholic priests in the north country has had long-lasting and often ruinous impacts on their lives.

The people who told their stories in a federal courtroom in Albany have all sued the Diocese of Ogdensburg, the Roman Catholic organization that oversees parishes and churches from Watertown to Plattsburgh and down through the Adirondack Mountains. The survivors contend that the diocese failed to properly prevent and respond to reports of sexual abuse of children by priests in its employ over multiple generations.

Those suits, filed under New York’s Child Victims Act, were authorized by a state law passed in 2019 that briefly authorized people who had been sexually abused to seek civil judgments against their abusers and the organizations that empowered and failed to stop abuse. The Diocese of Ogdensburg is facing 138 such lawsuits.

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Spanish church leaders have criticized media treatment of a diocesan bishop who resigned over accusations of sexual abuse, amid renewed debates over the church’s historic role in the traditionally Catholic country.

“We must take into account the presumption of innocence, because sometimes the perpetrators can be the victims,” said Archbishop Jesús Sanz of Oviedo.

“This bishop asked to be relieved of his duties months ago as a cancer sufferer. Then came the complaint ─ or rather, the complaint became public ─ and this has complicated matters,” the archbishop said.

He was reacting to Pope Leo XIV’s Nov. 22 acceptance of the resignation of Bishop Rafael Zornoza of Cádiz-Ceuta, the first serving Spanish diocesan to quit over abuse claims.

Speaking to journalists, Archbishop Sanz said the church remained close to both “alleged victims and alleged perpetrators,” and urged media restraint pending full investigations.

Meanwhile, Bishop Ginés García Beltrán of Getafe, said treatment of…

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The Stearns County Attorney’s Office filed charges on Wednesday against Joseph Paul Herzing, 61, of Milaca

A Catholic priest has been charged with stalking, criminal sexual conduct and violence against a woman whom he was spiritually advising. This is the second St. Cloud-area priest accused of inappropriate conduct in the past two months.

The Stearns County Attorney’s Office filed charges on Wednesday against Joseph Paul Herzing, 61, of Milaca, for one count each of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and stalking, and three counts of threats of violence in connection with the abuse and intimidation. The abuse occurred between May 2018 and October 2022, according to the criminal complaint.

During the time of the incidents, Herzing served as a priest in Little Falls and St. Cloud, according to law enforcement. He was ordained at St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud in 1999, and later was appointed as pastor of…

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Law enforcement said Joseph Paul Herzing sexually, physically and emotionally abused an adult woman from 2018-22

A St. Cloud-area Catholic priest has been charged with stalking, criminal sexual conduct and violence against a woman he was spiritually advising.

Joseph Paul Herzing, 61, of Milaca, was charged Wednesday, Nov. 26, by the Stearns County Attorney’s Office. He faces one count each of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and stalking, and three counts of threats of violence in connection with the abuse and intimidation.

According to the criminal complaint, the abuse occurred between May 2018 and October 2022. Herzing served as a priest in Little Falls and St. Cloud during the time of the incidents.

St. Cloud police began investigating Herzing in August 2024, following a report from the woman who said she received spiritual advice, aid, and comfort in the form of confession from Herzing while in Little Falls in 2018, then…

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Charges were filed against a Catholic priest Nov. 26 for actions connected to alleged sexual abuse.

The Rev. Joseph Herzing, 61, a priest in the St. Cloud Diocese, is accused of abusing a woman he provided spiritual guidance to from about May 2018 though October 2022, according to the criminal complaint filed by the Stearns County Attorney’s Office. Stearns County prosecutors say in the criminal complaint alleged sexual acts occurred between December 2021 and October 2022. These alleged actions included kissing and touching the woman in a sexual manner.

During that timeframe, prosecutors allege in the criminal complaint “multiple individuals reported to church leadership that they observed conduct indicative of an inappropriate intimate relationship between the (two individuals).”

Herzing served as a priest at Christ Church Newman Center, St. Anthony Catholic Church and Holy Spirit Catholic Church at that time, according to a statement from the Diocese of…

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A Catholic priest in central Minnesota is charged with sexually abusing, physically assaulting and threatening a woman to whom he had given spiritual guidance.

Joseph Herzing, 61, has served as a priest in several central Minnesota communities, including St. Cloud and Little Falls. He was charged last week in Stearns County District Court with third-degree criminal sexual conduct, stalking and three counts of threatening violence. 

Court documents say St. Cloud police began investigating a report of sexual abuse in August 2024. A woman told police she received spiritual guidance from Herzing over a four-year period beginning in the fall of 2018, first in Little Falls, then in St. Cloud after Herzing moved there.

According to the criminal complaint, multiple people told church leaders they observed conduct that indicated an inappropriate intimate relationship between Herzing and the woman, including Herzing allegedly being at the woman’s residence late at night and early…

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Bishop Patrick Neary, C.S.C., of the Diocese of St. Cloud was notified Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025, that Father Joseph Herzing, a priest of the diocese, was charged in Stearns County with one count of stalking, one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and three counts of threats of violence, all involving one adult.

Bishop Neary has placed Father Herzing on leave immediately from his ministry at Christ the King in Browerville, St. Joseph in Clarissa, St. Joseph in Grey Eagle, St. Mary of Mount Carmel in Long Prairie, and St. John the Baptist in Swanville, and prohibited him from all public ministry, pending the outcome of the judicial process. The diocese is cooperating with civil authorities.

Bishop Neary has named Father Arlie Sowada, a retired priest of the diocese, as parochial administrator of the affected parishes.

In October 2022, diocesan leadership was made aware of potential inappropriate behavior between Father…

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Victims of sexual abuse accuse Church of “opacity, slowness, disrespect”

Years on from the shocking report that lifted the lid on decades of deviant behaviour by priests and officials of the Catholic Church and very little appears to have been done for the hundreds of victims.

The “process of analysis” of victims’ claims, in order to determine financial compensation, is simply taking much too long – and smacks of obfuscation.

The Silent Heart Association, which brings together victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, has had enough of waiting.

In a press release today it expresses “concern and outrage” – lamenting the lack of information, and general sloth.

“The Silenced Heart Association expresses deep concern and indignation regarding the handling of the process of analysing and compensating victims of sexual violence within the Portuguese Catholic Church,” says the release, accusing the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP, better known as the conference…

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