ABUSE TRACKER

A judge has permitted abuse survivors to pursue the inclusion of Vermont’s Catholic parishes and schools in settling claims against the Diocese of Burlington, which has been in bankruptcy proceedings since September 2024.

However, several of the parishes had earlier challenged that effort in a federal district court, saying that imposing such liability on parishes, rather than the “alleged offending priests,” is unconstitutional. 

The survivors’ committee is now seeking to have the bankruptcy court enforce an automatic stay that was previously issued by the state superior court on multiple suits brought by survivors against individual parishes. The committee is also asking the court to have the parishes’ challenge declared a violation of both the stay and the bankruptcy code.

The case highlights the ongoing issue of determining to what extent parishes, schools and affiliated Catholic entities may be held financially liable in settling abuse claims against dioceses.

Litigation to focus on…

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Two weeks after the Vatican said its canonical criminal trial of Fr. Marko Rupnik was ongoing, OSV News has learned that 22 previously undisclosed letters from women who belonged to the Slovenian Loyola Community and described alleged abuse by the famed mosaic artist are part of the records of alleged abuse.

The letters, written in 2000 at the request of the community’s superior, Sr. Ivanka Hosta, and addressed directly to Rupnik, are held in the archives of the Loyola Community, which are now in the custody of the Archdiocese of Ljubljana, Slovenia, according to people familiar with the case. In the letters, 22 women described alleged spiritual, psychological and sexual abuse by Rupnik while he was their spiritual director.

On Dec. 15, 2023, the Archdiocese of Ljubljana announced that the Vatican had ordered the Sisters of the Community of Loyola to be dissolved within one year, following a decree issued…

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Jesuit high school deal resolves lawsuit stemming from allegations of molestation by school janitor decades prior

For the second time in as many months, a prominent Catholic high school in New Orleans recently agreed to pay an out-of-court settlement to resolve a lawsuit claiming child molestation decades earlier by a janitor at the institution.

Both the plaintiff and Jesuit high school struck the agreement ahead of a late September trial date in the city’s civil district courthouse, according to 27 July legal filings reviewed by the Guardian.

That pact came after Jesuit and another plaintiff alleging child molestation by the same school janitor – as well as one of his custodian colleagues – served notice in court on 4 June that they had agreed to an out-of-court settlement.

An attorney for both of those plaintiffs, Richard Trahant, in June would not deny that the settlement in that case was worth more than…

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Every week, Bill Guelker, 78, travels 30 miles each way to attend an older Latin Mass celebrated in the woods by a retired priest.

Before Traditionis Custodes, the 2021 guidance from Pope Francis that restricted the older liturgy, Guelker was attending Little Flower parish in St. Louis, Missouri, but then that Mass was canceled, he said.

For Guelker, staying put was not an option after Little Flower switched to the more contemporary English-language liturgy, approved in the wake of the 1960s Second Vatican Council, which aimed to modernize the church.

“I accept that it’s a valid Mass, but it’s a pathetic Mass, said Guelker, who said he attends the older Latin Mass not because of nostalgia, but because the text is “much better and much more helpful in understanding the sacraments.”

Guelker is one of over a million U.S. Catholics who attend the older…

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The bishop of Maine says the Catholic diocese has arrived at “financial resolutions” with a number of clergy sexual-abuse victims.“

Even though pending cases that were decades old no longer had legal standing based on the ruling, the diocese recognizes that the harm caused by sexual abuse is not erased with time and still desired to respond with compassion,” Bishop James Ruggieri said in a statement.

Ruggieri said the payments are *intended to acknowledge, in a tangible way, consistent with our resources and obligations, the seriousness of what has been reported and the lasting impact of abuse.”

Paul Kendrick of Freeport, a spokesman for clergy sexual-abuse victims, called the bishop’s announcement “a public relations ploy designed to protect the identities of priest abusers, keep secret evidence of the church’s failure to protect children and low ball financial compensation for the lifelong harms and injuries inflicted upon victims.”

The Portland-based diocese…

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The Department of Justice (DOJ) has begun evaluating the United States’ formal request to extradite Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) founder Apollo Quiboloy, marking the first step in a legal process that could eventually lead to his surrender to US authorities.

Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez said the request, transmitted through the US Embassy and accepted by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), is now under review by the DOJ’s Office of the State Counsel, the agency tasked with handling extradition proceedings.

US asks Philippines to extradite Quiboloy

“Aaralin nang matindi ng Department of Justice through the Office of State Counsel para tingnan kung ito ay naaayon sa ating extradition law at kung iyan ay consistent sa RP-US Extradition Treaty,” Vasquez said in a DZMM interview on Saturday, August 8.

“Napaka voluminous kasi ng mga documents na pinadala ng US through the US Embassy na pinadaan nila earlier sa Department…

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Arizona justices unanimously ruled on Thursday (July 30) that trial courts couldn’t interfere in church leaders’ decision to report sexual abuse cases disclosed in confession, according to their own interpretation of religious doctrine.

The Arizona State Supreme Court ruled that church leaders do not need to report cases of sexual abuse, disclosed during confessions, to authorities, in a lawsuit brought against a man who confessed to Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bishops to sexually abusing his daughter. 

Arizona justices unanimously ruled on Thursday (July 30) that trial courts couldn’t interfere in church leaders’ decision to report sexual abuse cases disclosed in confession, according to their own interpretation of religious doctrine.

“We hold that the First Amendment generally prohibits fact finders from inquiring into a clergy member’s application of his particular religious doctrine — absent fraud or collusion for secular purposes — in determining whether reporting should be withheld…

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Decades of Vermont bishops, not just the current ones, bear responsibility for hiding clergy abuse.

Letters to the editor are brief reader responses to stories and opinion pieces published by VTDigger. Letters give voice to community members and do not represent VTDigger’s views. To submit a letter, follow the instructions here

Dear Editor,

I’m writing to thank VTDigger reporter Kevin O’Connor for shining a light on corruption in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington in its effort to prevent justice for survivors of clergy sexual abuse in Vermont. There is plenty of shame to go around.

Let’s start with Vermont’s former bishop, Christopher Coyne, and his once second-in-command, John McDermott. According to a whistleblower, a woman who applied for the position of chief financial officer of the diocese, Coyne and McDermott moved the diocese’s money so they could claim that the diocese was broke when it came time to pay the…

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A former Cheektowaga priest who was removed from the clergy because of accusations that he sexually abused children has been employed to work with seniors at a Buffalo nonprofit for the last 13 years.

David Bialkowski, the former head of St. John Gualbert Catholic Church in Cheektowaga, has been working as a Senior Service Case Manager at the Lt. Col. Matt Urban Human Service Center since 2013.

Bialkowski, who is named on the Diocese of Buffalo’s list of clergy with substantiated claims of sexual abuse and is accused in two Child Victims Act lawsuits, was removed from his parish in 2011 and kicked off the diocese’s payroll in 2020, before being removed from the clergy altogether by the Vatican at some point between 2020 and 2025 – a process known as laicization or defrocking.

In a 2020 interview with the Buffalo News, Bialkowski denied that he sexually abused any child or…

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Pope Leo XIV will meet with victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church during his planned trip to France from September 25 to 28, the Vatican said Friday. The Holy See did not immediately provide details about the meeting, which comes after the pontiff vowed to further efforts within the Church to address its sex abuse scandals.

Pope Leo XIV will meet with survivors of clergy abuse during a four-day trip to France next month that will include a visit to UNESCO headquarters, a meeting with French bishops in Lourdes and an interreligious meeting in the border city of Metz, the Vatican announced on Friday.

The Vatican issued a brief separate statement highlighting the meeting with several abuse survivors and noting that the victims themselves will be involved in preparations for the meeting. The timing and location will be provided at a later date. 

Leo met with six abuse survivors during his recent…

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Pope Leo XIV will make a four-day apostolic journey to France Sept. 25-28, with a program that stretches from the Élysée Palace and UNESCO in Paris to the Marian shrine of Lourdes and a final stop in Metz, and it will include a private meeting with victims of abuse in the Church, the Vatican has confirmed.

The Holy See Press Office released the detailed schedule Aug. 7, along with a statement to journalists saying, “During his upcoming Apostolic Journey to France, Pope Leo XIV will meet privately with several victims of abuse in the Church. The victims themselves will be involved in preparing for this event. Further details may be provided later.”

The motto of the trip, “That the world may have life,” can be clearly read through the prism of a recent vote made by French lawmakers to legalize “assisted dying,” a move that French bishops called a “radical choice.”

Paris:…

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 Pope Leo XIV will meet with survivors of clergy abuse during a four-day trip to France next month that will include a visit to UNESCO headquarters, a meeting with French bishops in Lourdes and an interreligious meeting in the border city of Metz, the Vatican announced on Friday.

The Vatican issued a brief separate statement highlighting the meeting with several abuse survivors and noting that the victims themselves will be involved in preparations for the meeting. The timing and location will be provided at a later date.

Leo met with six abuse survivors during his recent trip to Spain, where the Catholic hierarchy has only recently begun reckoning with its legacy of abuse and cover-up after long dismissing the severity of the scandal.

In France, a 2021 report estimated 330,000 children had been sexually abused over 70 years by church personnel. The pontiff last month signaled commitment to continuing the  View Cache

Pope Leo will visit Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from November 6 to ​17, the Vatican announced on Wednesday, ‌in a major trip for the Catholic leader who spent decades as a missionary and bishop in Peru ​before becoming pope last year.

The pope ​will spend November 6-8 in Uruguay, 8-11 ⁠in Argentina and 11-17 in Peru, the ​Vatican said.

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Leo, the first U.S.-born pontiff, is also ​a citizen of Peru, where he served as bishop of Chiclayo, in the northwest, from 2015 to 2023.

The ​pope will visit Chiclayo as well as ​Lima, Cusco and Pucallpa while in Peru, the Vatican said. ‌In ⁠Argentina, he will visit Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Lujan. In Uruguay, he will visit Montevideo, Paysandú and Florida.

The Vatican did not offer further ​details about ​the visits, ⁠saying the…

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A local pastor has been charged with indecency with a child, according to the Edinburg Police Department.

Police say Jorge Gonzalez Martinez, 49, was arrested Monday without incident following a police report that was filed earlier this month.

According to a police summary report obtained by ValleyCentral, Martinez was arrested at Iglesia Internacional Poder y Gloria in Edinburg.

ValleyCentral spoke to a woman who identified herself as Martinez’s wife, who said she could not comment on the case but maintained that her husband is innocent.

The alleged incidents happened between March and April 2025, according to investigators.

Edinburg police Chief Jaime Ayala said police began investigating after a girl made an outcry.

More children have come forward with allegations against Martinez, but the investigative findings did not rise to the level of more criminal offenses, Ayala said.

“Part of why we wanted to push this out, if there’s potentially any…

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Monte Chitty, 64, will be a sex offender for life

A Marathon pastor who briefly fled to Texas while facing charges of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl at his church in 2024 took a plea deal on Thursday, receiving a six-year state prison sentence.

Leer en español

Preacher-turned-fugitive Monte Chitty will now have to register as a sex offender for life. Facing a judge in Marathon on Thursday, the 64-year-old pleaded no contest to sexual battery of a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies first arrested Chitty, then 62, on March 4, 2024, one day after they said he abused the girl.

Graphic texts, searches incriminate pastor

Investigators said while serving as pastor of First Baptist Marathon, located at 200 62nd St., he provided alcohol to the victim ― who believed the beverage was “spiked” ― and she passed out…

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A complaint against Rev Canon Andrew Cornes under the Church of England’s Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM) has been upheld by a Bishop’s Disciplinary Tribunal.

Rev Canon Andrew Cornes was told in 1982 by a young man that he had been abused by John Smyth, but a Church of England disciplinary tribunal has found he failed to take appropriate action.

The Bishop’s Disciplinary Tribunal found that Canon Cornes, who was then an assistant curate at All Souls’, Langham Place, should have reported the information, made further enquiries, or taken steps to protect others after learning about the abuse.

The tribunal ruled that, although safeguarding procedures were not in place at the time, his decision to take no further action amounted to neglect in the performance of his duties as a priest.

It found the misconduct charge against him proved. A separate decision on sanction has not yet been published.

The complaint…

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A suspended Catholic priest on a tiny Caribbean island is embracing calypso to make his voice heard on topics including Gaza and sexual abuse within the church.

Father Gerard Paul, who hails from Grenada, can no longer officiate masses, funerals, weddings or baptisms after repeatedly criticizing the church and clergy. But that hasn’t stopped him from preaching via the lilting rhythms of calypso, an Afro-Caribbean music genre known for its witty lyrics and satirical social commentary.

“It’s a kind of pulpit for me,” Paul told The Associated Press in a phone interview this week.

The 64-year-old priest made his debut this year at Spicemas, Grenada’s biggest soca and calypso carnival. Like many annual carnivals across the Caribbean, it celebrates rebellion against enslavement. Paul sang his way into the finals and is scheduled to compete as “Father Paul” against 10 other singers this weekend, including “Killa B” and “Sour Serpent.”

Paul…

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Click below for video:

https://www.fox8live.com/video/2026/08/07/clergy-sex-abuse-survivors-accuse-new-orleans-archdiocese-delaying-multimillion-dollar-settlement

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Deputies arrested Deacon Kenneth Goedeke after he reportedly arranged a meeting with what he believed was a 15-year-old boy.

A deacon in the Archdiocese of Baltimore has been removed from ministry after he was arrested by law enforcement on charges of sexually soliciting a minor.

The Harford County Sheriff’s Office said Deacon Kenneth Goedeke was arrested after arranging a meeting with what he believed was a 15-year-old boy.

Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler said in an official statement on Aug. 6 that the 45-year-old Goedeke had been communicating with an undercover detective rather than an underage boy. He was charged with two counts of soliciting a minor.

Gahler in the statement said he was “angry” and “disgusted” but added that he was “deeply thankful” to detectives for “intervening before a child was harmed.”

In a separate statement on Aug. 6, the Archdiocese of Baltimore confirmed Goedeke’s…

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A former priest-in-training will serve 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to possessing child porn, according to the DeSoto County District Attorney’s Office.

Johnathan Tu Nguyen-Vuong, 25, was convicted of child exploitation involving the possession, uploading, and downloading of child sexual abuse material.

He was sentenced to 25 years, with 10 years suspended, in the Mississippi Department of Corrections, prosecutors said.Former priest-in-training pleads guilty to child sex crime

Nguyen-Vuong will have 15 years of post-release supervision and will have to register as a sex offender.

In July 2025, deputies participated in an ongoing investigation that involved the transmission of child sexual abuse material over the internet.

During the investigation, they found a device located at St. Michael’s Community House in Nesbit, Miss., that had child sexual abuse material.

Priest-in-training accused of possessing child porn

After obtaining a search warrant, Nguyen-Vuong was identified as the suspect responsible, authorities…

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Defense lawyer says prosecutors failed to prove specific acts that constituted a crime under Vietnamese law

An Ede Protestant pastor from an ethnic minority in Vietnam’s Central Highlands has been sentenced to seven years and six months in prison for allegedly undermining the policy of national unity, in a case his lawyer says failed to establish specific acts constituting a crime.

The People’s Court of Dak Lak province sentenced Pastor Y Nuen Ayun, 59, on Aug. 5 and ordered him to serve four years of probation after his release.

His wife and children attended the trial, which lasted just over two hours, according to his lawyer, Ha Huy Son.

Nuen Ayun was arrested at his home Oct. 7, 2025. Authorities accused him of using the Central Highlands Protestant Church of Christ as a cover for activities that violated national security.

Prosecutors alleged that he received more than 7.7 million dong…

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Pope Leo XIV will meet privately with survivors of clerical sexual abuse during a four-day visit to France next month. On Friday, the Vatican published the itinerary for the 25–28 September trip – the first papal state visit to the country since Benedict XVI visited in 2008.

The Holy See said the survivors themselves would help prepare the encounter, with the time and place to be confirmed later, according to Associated Press.

The meeting follows Leo’s recent trip to Spain, where he met six abuse victims and pledged that the Church would step up efforts to tackle abuse.

The issue remains raw in France, where a landmark 2021 inquiry estimated that some 330,000 minors had been abused by clergy or lay Church workers over seven decades.

French Catholic church sex abuse: nearly 1,600 compensation claims since 2022

Last month the pontiff appointed French bishop Thibault Verny to…

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In short: 

The judge in the trial of the former Catholic Bishop of Broome has instructed the jurors that it is not necessary for them to return verdicts on seven sexual assault charges. 

Christopher Alan Saunders, 76, remains accused of 19 sex offences against three young men when he was the Bishop of Broome. 

What’s next? 

Mr Saunders has chosen not to give evidence in his defence, with closing arguments scheduled to start on Monday. 

The judge presiding over the sexual abuse trial of a former Western Australian Catholic bishop has told the jury to disregard seven charges against him, because of a lack of evidence to convict him.

Christopher Alan Saunders, 76, was one of Australia’s longest-serving Catholic clerics and is accused of committing 26 sexual offences against three young men when he was the Bishop of Broome in WA’s north.

But on Friday morning, Judge Martin Flynn…

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The United States has formally asked the Philippine government to extradite Kingdom of Jesus Christ leader Apollo Quiboloy to face trial on charges including child sex trafficking and fraud that landed him on the federal most wanted list.

The US request for extradition was sent to the Department of Justice in Manila through the Department of Foreign Affairs in July, Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez said yesterday. The DFA confirmed receiving the extradition request, and said it has been endorsed to the DOJ.

One of Quiboloy’s lawyers  said yesterday afternoon that they have yet to receive any notice that the pastor, once an influential adviser to former president Rodrigo Duterte, is being sought for extradition.

“I have yet to verify that because as of the present, my office did not receive any notification to that effect, and I reserve my comments about that report pending receipt of a formal…

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Bishop Hendricken High School, an all-male Catholic prep school in Warwick, Rhode Island, has faced a string of publicly documented sexual misconduct allegations involving school leadership dating back to 1986. The accused include a principal, a vice principal, and a priest credibly accused by the Diocese of Providence, raising questions about oversight at the school across four decades.

1986: The Principal Is Arrested

On January 1, 1986, Brother John M. Walderman, then the school’s 40-year-old principal, was arrested on morals charges after allegedly soliciting a 17-year-old boy for sex, reportedly offering to pay him. He was released on his own personal recognizance and did not return to the school. Published reports indicate the charge was later dropped.

2004: A Vice Principal Is Arrested for Soliciting a Minor Online

In December 2004, Vice Principal Timothy Sheldon was arrested after allegedly holding a sexually explicit online conversation with an adult volunteer posing…

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The Archdiocese of Baltimore was informed by the Harford County Sheriff’s Office of the arrest of Kenneth Goedeke on charges of soliciting a minor. Goedeke served as a deacon at St. Margaret Parish in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and began employment at St. Ignatius Church in Hickory in July of 2026. According to communications from law enforcement officials, these charges are not related to anyone at the parishes or schools where he served.

Pursuant to Archdiocesan policy, the Archdiocese removed Goedeke’s faculties to function as a deacon and suspended him from ministry and employment, pending the results of a full investigation.

Deacon Goedeke was ordained as a deacon in 2023. He served at St. Patrick Havre de Grace and St. Joan of Arc in Aberdeen before working at St. Margaret Church in Bel Air, beginning in 2025. Goedeke previously worked at St. Isaac Jogues Church from 2005 to 2012 and…

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Popular pastor Kenny Baldwin arrested on 13 counts involving sexual exploitation of PA minor.

Kenneth Baldwin, 47, the former senior pastor of Crossroads Baptist Church in Bailey’s Crossroads, Virginia, has been arrested and charged with sexually explicit communication and conduct with a minor from York County, Pennsylvania, that allegedly started when the male victim was 15.

Baldwin faces 13 criminal charges in Pennsylvania, including two felony counts of unlawful contact with a minor, two counts of corruption of a minor, three misdemeanor counts of indecent exposure, and six misdemeanor counts of open lewdness. He was released on an $80,000 unsecured bond and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing this month. As with all defendants, Baldwin is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

Pennsylvania State Police said Baldwin sent the teen weekly explicit text messages and nude photos via text message and WhatsApp between…

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A Roman Catholic deacon who served at St. Margaret Parish in Bel Air has been arrested and charged with two counts of sexual solicitation of a minor after he allegedly arranged to meet someone he believed was a 15-year-old boy for sexual activity. The person on the other end of the conversation was actually an undercover detective, and 45-year-old Kenneth Goedeke, who lives in Bel Air, was taken into custody before any child was harmed, according to authorities.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said detectives intervened before a child was harmed, a detail confirmed by WBAL News Radio in its report on the case. The sheriff’s office reported that the church deacon was arrested on two counts of sexual solicitation of a minor after communicating and arranging to meet the undercover detective. The investigation was carried out through the sheriff’s Child Advocacy Center, which has run an Internet…

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A deacon for the Catholic Church in Maryland’s Harford County has been arrested and charged with two counts of sexual solicitation of a minor, the sheriff’s department announced on Thursday. 

Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler identified the suspect as 45-year-old Kenneth Goedeke, of Bel Air, Maryland. 

Gahler said in a statement that Goedeke was taken into custody by deputies after communicating with an undercover detective whom he believed to be a 15-year-old boy. The suspect then allegedly arrived at a location to engage in sexual activity with the child.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore released a statement confirming that Goedeke served as a Catholic Church deacon and former Catholic school teacher. It said that before Goedeke was hired, he underwent “a thorough employment screening, which included FBI/CJIS fingerprint criminal history check, and a comprehensive background and reference check.”

Archdiocese of Baltimore statement

The Archdiocese of Baltimore said it was informed by the Harford…

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A teacher and church deacon was arrested on two counts of sexual solicitation of a minor, according to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.

Kenneth Goedeke, 45, of Bel Air, was taken into custody Wednesday after communicating and arranging to meet with an undercover detective whom he believed to be a 15-year-old boy allegedly to engage in sexual activity with the child, the sheriff’s office said.

A judge on Thursday denied bail for Goedeke.

According to the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Goedeke served as a deacon at St. Margaret Parish and he started working at St. Ignatius Church in Hickory in July. Citing law enforcement, the archdiocese said the charges against Goedeke are not related to anyone at the parishes or schools where he served.

Per archdiocesan policy, Goedeke has been removed as a deacon and is suspended him from ministry and employment, pending an investigation.

The archdiocese said Goedeke was ordained…

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A former vice principal at Regis St. Mary’s School, in Stayton, has been acquitted of sexual abuse charges following a three-day trial in Marion County Circuit Court.

Christopher Wayne Seibert, 57, of Salem, was acquitted by Judge Thomas Hart on Wednesday after Hart determined there was not enough evidence to support a conviction.

The case has been closed and Seibert has no other pending criminal matters.

He was indicted July 11, 2025, on four counts of first-degree sexual abuse and one count of second-degree unlawful sexual penetration after a former student claimed Seibert allegedly touched her inappropriately. Seibert denied wrongdoing and was released on $250,000 bail.

The trial began Monday and Seibert waived his right to a jury, allowing a judge to hear evidence and determine guilt instead of jurors. Both the prosecution and the defense presented numerous witnesses including law enforcement, school employees, social workers and those who personally…

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A $30-million settlement over alleged historical abuse at two Vancouver-area Catholic schools has been approved by the B.C. Supreme Court, but the deal could unravel after the judge gave 12 former students permission to leave the class action and pursue their own lawsuits.

Justice Simon Coval acknowledged the issue of the former students opting out of the class action was “particularly thorny” because it could allow the three settling defendants — Vancouver College, St. Thomas More Collegiate and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver — to cancel the settlement.

However, in the ruling released July 30, Coval said he had “no hesitation” approving the settlement as fair, reasonable and in the best interests of class members, saying it would provide compensation more quickly through an individualized, confidential and trauma-informed process while sparing survivors a lengthy trial.

The agreement, signed Feb. 4 by the plaintiffs and the three settling defendants, does…

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Paragraph 89 is perhaps my favorite passage from Pope Leo’s encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas. It’s at the end of a short section titled “An examen for the Church,” where Pope Leo makes the case that the Church must live out its own social doctrine “within its own structures” in order to be faithful to the Gospel and to be a credible witness to the world.

In all of the teaching I’ve done about spiritual abuse in the Catholic Church, I’ve contextualized spiritual abuse within the principles and framework of Catholic social doctrine. I do this because I believe the Church’s teaching on things like human dignity, freedom, conscience, subsidiarity, structures of sin, and solidarity can not only show how gravely harmful spiritual abuse is, but also how abuse of power is a systemic problem in the Church that we all can participate in or choose to disrupt. And…

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Editor’s note: This story contains descriptions of sexual assault that may be disturbing to some readers. Sexual assault resources for victims and their loved ones are available at the bottom of this story.

A Pueblo County pastor arrested in March 2025 on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl when he was a youth pastor in Fountain was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust.

Stephen Hutto, 46, is set to be sentenced for the two felony charges in October after an El Paso County jury found him guilty on July 10.

Hutto was previously a youth pastor at Fountain Independent Baptist Church and, at the time of his arrest, was the pastor of Highlands Baptist Church in Boone in Pueblo County, according to a news release from the Fountain Police Department.

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Listen to this ABC Radio National program on the original article.

“Women religious” have led major education, health and charitable institutions. 

They’re a social media hit. Images of nuns playing sport, singing, and generally having a great time proliferate on Instagram. 

But they’ve also been victims of their own church. 

Tracy McEwan and Kathleen McPhillips of the University of Newcastle are running a new project to document the experiences of religious sisters affected by sexual and gendered violence.  

GUEST:

• Dr Tracy McEwan is a sociologist of religion and gender in the School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Sciences at the University of Newcastle

This program is recorded on the lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation

Credits

• Andrew West, Presenter
• Amanda Roberts, Producer

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The Roman Catholic congregation has been accused of using tactics that delay settling civil abuse claims and litigations by legal representatives for victims of historical childhood abuse

The Christian Brothers has denied claims it is delaying settlements, adding it has paid out over €40m to more than 200 victims of abuse.

The Roman Catholic congregation has been accused of using tactics that delay settling civil abuse claims and litigations by legal representatives for victims of historical childhood abuse.

Last week, the High Court granted permission for the publication in the Irish Independent of the names of 341 former Christian Brothers who are now co-defendants accused of a breach of duty in a civil abuse claim. They are not accused of any assaults.

The names were published on Tuesday this week in a legal notice in the Irish Independent.

In a statement to the Irish Independent on Wednesday, the Christian Brothers said its focus remained “resolutely…

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A U.S. Bankruptcy Court will allow clergy abuse claimants to sue for an estimated half-billion dollars in parish assets to fund settlements under the Vermont Roman Catholic Diocese’s current financial reorganization case.

In a written order, Burlington-based Judge Heather Cooper said creditors can pursue not only the highest-level bank and building holdings of the state’s largest religious denomination, but also the trust-sheltered local property and possessions of nearly 70 parishes — from St. Edward the Confessor in northernmost Derby Line, population 687, to St. Joachim in southernmost Readsboro, population 702.

The order doesn’t promise any parish assets, but simply permits abuse claimants to file a lawsuit — what the bankruptcy court labels an “adversary proceeding” — to determine whether they’re entitled to local holdings.

“Unless settled,” Cooper wrote of the question in her July 28 ruling, “there may be years of litigation ahead and millions of dollars spent in attorneys’…

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland has reached financial settlements with a number of people who previously sued the church, alleging they were sexually abused by Catholic priests, even though their claims were barred by Maine’s old statute of limitations.

The civil lawsuits alleged sexual abuse by Catholic priests between 1954 and 1988.

Maine no longer has a statute of limitations for civil child sexual abuse claims.

However, the claims in these cases had expired before that law changed, and in January 2025, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled that older claims could not be revived retroactively.

Despite that ruling, the Diocese of Portland announced that Bishop James Ruggieri decided to enter into settlement agreements with some survivors.

In a statement, Ruggieri wrote, “this is intended to acknowledge, in a tangible way, consistent with our resources and obligations, the seriousness of what has been reported and the lasting impact of abuse.”

It is…

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A former Southern Baptist pastor has been sentenced to six years in prison after pleading no contest in a child sex abuse case in Florida. Monty Chitty briefly fled to Texas after his initial arrest in 2024 before being recaptured. 

Editor’s note: This article contains information about sexual abuse and assault that some readers may find disturbing and/or triggering.

Chitty, 64, was pastor of First Baptist Church of Marathon, Florida, when he committed his crimes against a teen girl. In March 2024, he was arrested at the church, which was also his place of residence, after calling the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office “to get ahead” of allegations he thought might be brought against him. 

Prior to Chitty’s call, deputies received a call from an anonymous caller who overheard a 15-year-old girl say that she had been raped.

Deputies interviewed the girl, who said that Chitty had given her an alcoholic beverage…

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The Buffalo Diocese’s review board substantiated misconduct allegations against Rev. O’Keefe, recommended clerical removal for Nowak, and cleared Rev. Gatto

The Buffalo Diocese is releasing the results from its Independent Review Board (IRB) investigations into several members of the clergy.

According to the Diocese, the board looked into allegations against Reverends Joseph Gatto and Patrick O’Keefe and the federal case against Reverend Jeffrey Nowak.

The Diocese says the IRB did not start its own separate inquiry into Father Nowak, but relied on the investigation from the Department of Justice and the FBI. Nowak, who has been on leave since 2019, was arrested last month on allegations that he possessed and distributed child sexual abuse material. In response to his indictment, the IRB recommended that Nowak be removed from clerical state in an expedited manner. As of July 15, Bishop Fisher had instructed the Diocese’s Judicial Vicar to…

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In a deal that ends a criminal investigation, a prestigious New York City medical institution agreed to boost its sexual abuse prevention program after one of its star doctors was convicted of abusing patients during a decade-long span and was sentenced to life behind bars, authorities said Monday.

Weill Cornell Medicine, whose faculty treats patients at several New York-area hospitals, reached a voluntary compliance agreement with the federal government that calls for it to spend $30 million to create the Institute for Safe Patient Care and Patient Empowerment.

Weill Cornell Medicine had previously agreed to pay victims over $1 billion to settle civil claims.

The deal comes after Darius Paduch, 59, was sentenced in 2024 to life in prison for sexually abusing patients from at least 2009 to 2019, including boys as young as 13. His victims, authorities said, suffered from certain genetic conditions, along with sexual and erectile dysfunction.

The…

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Editor’s Note: This article discusses sexual assault in healthcare. 

Weill Cornell Medicine agreed to pay over $1 billion to settle civil claims of patients who were sexually abused by former assistant professor and urologist Dr. Darius Paduch, and established a $10 million yearly fund for three years to support sexual misconduct prevention, according to a U.S. Department of Justice release. 

The settlement comes after a federal investigation into Weill Cornell Medicine exposed institutional failures in how patient complaints against Paduch were handled, including a lack of centralized processes or standards for documenting or investigating complaints.

The release also states that former urology chair Dr. Peter Schlegel received several reports of Paduch’s inappropriate behavior and failed to escalate the allegations or conduct proper investigations into the claims. 

Paduch was sentenced to life in prison in November 2024 for his yearslong sexual abuse of more than 50 patients, including six minors, from at…

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A Spanish missionary priest has been appointed apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Rabat while its archbishop, Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, faces abuse allegations, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate announced.

Msgr. Mario León Dorado, a Spanish priest who serves as apostolic prefect of Western Sahara, was named to temporarily lead the archdiocese while the Catholic Church investigates accusations that Cardinal López, who has led Rabat since 2018., has been “inappropriate” toward adult women.

The appointment was announced Aug. 2 by the Oblates in a statement on its Facebook page. However, the Vatican had not issued a formal announcement on the appointment.

‘Let us accompany him with our prayers’

“We are pleased to announce that the Holy See has appointed Msgr. Mario León Dorado, OMI, as Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Rabat, Morocco,” the statement read. “Entrusted with this responsibility by the Holy Father, he will serve…

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The Bishop of Geraldton has told a court the allegations against former Broome bishop Christopher Saunders are inconsistent with the standards expected of Catholic clergy, as he continues to fight accusations he abused young Aboriginal men while working for the church.

Michael Henry Morrissey, who is a serving bishop covering a region south of Leeman up to Port Hedland, was called to provide evidence in the ongoing trial of the former Broome Bishop, who has been accused of indecently assaulting three young Aboriginal men between 2008 and 2017.

In extraordinary testimony requiring him to speak openly about the conduct expected from those serving in the Catholic Church, Morrissey said he and Saunders had been students together in an Adelaide seminary at the same time before they entered the priesthood.

“It’s more than a job, it’s an entire way of life,” he said.

Morrissey spoke about the vow of celibacy they…

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Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero has stepped back from public ministry while the Church investigates allegations of sexual abuse and inappropriate conduct involving adult women, which he denies.

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Monsignor Mario León Dorado, OMI, as apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Rabat, Morocco, after Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero temporarily stepped back from the public exercise of his ministry amid an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse and inappropriate conduct, which he denies.

The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate announced the appointment in a statement published on the order’s official Facebook page. The appointment was also confirmed to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, although it has not yet been officially announced by the Vatican.

“We are pleased to announce that the Holy See has appointed Msgr. Mario León Dorado, OMI, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Rabat, Morocco,” the Oblates said.

The statement said…

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Survivors have spent over a decade telling anyone at the State House who would listen that Massachusetts needs a law to protect children from abuse by people in their life in positions of power, and they say a provision in the fiscal 2027 state budget finally gets their pleas across the finish line.

When Gov. Maura Healey signed the spending bill on July 9, she signed into law both a policy she said addresses “abuse of power” by adults like teachers and coaches entrusted with the care of young people, and another that eliminates the statute of limitations in rape cases where new DNA evidence identifies the offender.

“I was failed — failed by Massachusetts, failed by the adults who were supposed to protect me. For a long time, the law failed kids like me too,” survivor Melissa Fares said at a press conference Friday. “This law doesn’t give me…

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About a decade ago when N. turned 16, an educator in her Western Massachusetts school started a sexual relationship with her, she said.

N., who requested anonymity to protect her privacy, was shocked when police later told her there was nothing they could do because she was 16 at the time.

That will no longer be the case in Massachusetts after more than a decade of advocacy to change the law.

This month, Gov. Maura Healey signed a law that makes it illegal for adult mandated reporters — a category that includes teachers, police officers, coaches and social workers — to have sexual contact with anyone under 18.

The age of consent is 16 in the state, and previously without an explicit carve out, a “loophole” made it lawful for those adults to have sexual relationships with 16- and 17-year-olds.

…

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For Immediate Release: August 3, 2026\

On July 30th, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that individual religious communities get to decide when their clergy must report child sexual abuse (CSA). Tim Lennon, an Arizona advocate with the Abuse Survivors Coalition (ASC), called this decision “reckless, irresponsible, and harmful” and added that children in the state will be at more risk because of this ruling.

In a decision arising out of an infamous case from the Church of Latter Day Saints, the Court sided with religious leaders and proclaimed that the state’s clergy-penitent privilege shielded communities from having to report CSA if the entity believed that the information was obtained through the institution’s own definition of confession or confidential communication. The unanimous Court further declared that any intervention by the courts would violate the First Amendment.

The ASC countered with the assertion that no…

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Law firm representing victims of urologist Darius Paduch posts video on doc

A top Manhattan hospital has agreed to pay over $1 billion to hundreds of patients sexually abused by a disgraced pedophile urologist — admitting it failed to stop the sicko doctor, federal officials said this week.

The settlement announced by the US Department of Justice Monday formally closes a criminal civil rights probe into Weill Cornell Medicine following Darius Paduch’s federal conviction and life sentence for preying on over 50 male patients — including many minors — from at least 2009-2019.

“As the public has seen time and again, when medical institutions fail to implement and enforce robust safeguards to protect patients from sexual abuse, victims suffer unspeakable harms, and the public trust in the doctor-patient relationship is undermined,” Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement.

The hospital admitted that complaints about Paduch had existed for years —…

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Superseding indictment by grand jury reveals new details in forced labor investigation

New details were released this week through an updated indictment from a Michigan grand jury in a forced labor conspiracy that allegedly collected millions through church-run call centers across multiple states while subjecting victims to abuse and exploitation.

David Taylor, 53, and Michelle Brannon, 56, were arrested in August 2025 in North Carolina and Florida in what federal officials called a nationwide takedown of their alleged forced labor organization.

According to the United States Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Michigan, Taylor, who refers to himself as “Apostle,” and Brannon, his executive director, are the leaders of Kingdom of God Global Church (KOGGC), formerly Joshua Media Ministries International.

Kathleen Klein, 53, also known as “Prophetess,” was also arrested and later charged for her alleged role as a leader of the KOGGC.

The…

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[PHOTO: Emma Medalla Santillan, director of the Salvatorian Pastoral Care for Children in Cebu, facilitates a child rights and safeguarding formation session for young participants. (Courtesy of Salvatorian Pastoral Care for Children Cebu)]

After completing a child rights formation program in her parish, a 13-year-old girl was approached by a classmate carrying a secret. The classmate confided that she was being sexually abused at home.

Instead of remaining silent, the teenager accompanied her friend to their school principal and later helped alert local authorities. For child protection advocates, this incident shows how education can empower children not only to recognize abuse but also to seek help.

“These children become our eyes and ears in the communities,” said Sr. Ruth S. Baguinon, executive director of Salvatorian Pastoral Care for Children (SPCC) and member of the Sisters of the Divine Savior.

Since its founding in 2001, the program has reached more than…

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Editor’s note: This article and headline have been updated to clarify where the priest was serving.

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A Kansas priest was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of child sex crimes, raising concerns about past victims and the justice system.

Ryan McCandless, 44, a priest with the Diocese of Salina, was taken into custody in Wichita on Wednesday night. He was wanted on a warrant for three counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child.

According to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, McCandless is accused of sexually abusing a 6-year-old child in Belleville between July and September 2025.

At the time, McCandless was serving at St. Edward in Belleville, St. George in Munden and St. Isidore in Cuba.

The arrest comes just one year after a former minister at Wichita’s Eastminster Presbyterian Church was alleged to have abused 23 minors in the late 1990s and early 2000s. McCandless’ arrest is…

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Case of woman who fell victim to horrific sexual abuse by her close relative went unreported for many years over advice from a priest

[PHOTO: Mark Laurence Zammit interviewing the abuse victim.]

A case of horrific sexual abuse on children went unreported for many years because a priest urged the victims to forgive the abuser instead of reporting him, according to one of the victims.

A year-long Times of Malta investigation has revealed that the abuse, which was rife in the 1980s, was only reported to the police in the early 2000s, more than 10 years after Dominican friar George Frendo, who later became archbishop of a diocese in Albania, learned about the abuse.

Both the woman and retired bishop George Frendo sat down for an interview about the case. Video: Antoine Farrugia Lauri

The investigation is being published in the latest episode of Times Talk, during which one of the victims recalls…

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SANGAMON COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) — A lawsuit filed in Sangamon County last week alleges the Catholic Archdiocese of Springfield enabled and concealed the sexual abuse of an altar boy by a former priest in Taylorville in the 1990s.

The lawsuit was filed by Gould Grieco & Hensley PLLC on July 22, 2026. It alleges that Father John O’Connell — who served at St. Mary’s Catholic School and Parish in Taylorville — sexually abused a young boy between 1991 and 1994. O’Connell died in 2002 at the age of 68.

During the timeframe of the alleged abuse, the young boy — referred to as John Doe — served as an altar boy and attended school.

According to the lawsuit, the alleged abuse happened during altar boy training and preparation for Mass….

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• Five former altar boys are suing the Roman Catholic Bishop of Providence for alleged abuse by a priest.
• The lawsuit claims the Rev. Armand Ventre repeatedly molested the boys at a lakeside cabin.
• The suit accuses the diocese of negligence for hiring Ventre despite a known history of abuse allegations.

Five former altar boys who grew up in the “hardscrabble” Prospect Heights public housing development in Pawtucket have joined together in suing the Roman Catholic bishop of Providence over abuse they say they suffered for years from a priest with a known history of such incidents.

The former altar boys, who are identified as John Does 1 through 5, allege they were molested repeatedly by the Rev. Armand Ventre on weekends spent at a cabin on Lake Washington in Glocester. They met Ventre during their service at the Church of St. Teresa of…

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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) – The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas is investigating what it calls a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor involving a priest who served in numerous local parishes and died more than 30 years ago.

The investigation into the Rev. Denis Pickert stems from a recent allegation published this week in The Leaven, the archdiocese’s newspaper. Pickert was 69 when he died in 1994.

Pickert served in KCK at St. Joseph Parish (now All Saints Parish); The Cathedral of St. Peter; and Christ the King Parish.

Archbishop Shawn McKnight deemed the newly reported allegation credible based on several factors, church officials said. However, the archdiocese emphasized that the ongoing investigation is not a determination of guilt and is seeking information from anyone with knowledge.

“In cases where the accused is deceased, the effects of trauma can remain with victims and survivors for many years,” a…

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The settlement involves all-boys schools Vancouver College and St. Thomas More Collegiate in Burnaby, with Justice Simon Coval finding it was ‘fair, reasonable and in the best interests of the class members as a whole.’

The B.C. Supreme Court has approved a $30-million settlement of a class-action lawsuit over historical claims of physical, psychological and sexual abuse at two private Metro Vancouver Catholic schools.

In a ruling released Thursday, the court approved the settlement involving all-boys schools Vancouver College and St. Thomas More Collegiate in Burnaby, with Justice Simon Coval finding it was “fair, reasonable and in the best interests of the class members as a whole.”

The class action was launched in 2021 and approved in 2023, brought by former students who alleged members of the Christian Brothers of Ireland, a Catholic religious worldwide order, abused them. It involved students who attended Vancouver College between…

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Suit named Vancouver College, St. Thomas More Collegiate and Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver

The B.C. Supreme Court has approved a $30-million settlement of a class-action lawsuit filed over historical claims of physical, psychological and sexual abuse at two schools in Metro Vancouver run by the Catholic Church.

The court approved the settlement against Vancouver College and St. Thomas More Collegiate and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver.

The lawsuit alleged members of the Christian Brothers of Ireland in Canada were transferred to the schools from the Mount Cashel orphanage in St. John’s, N.L., which became “notorious” for abuse suffered by children there in the 1950s to the 1970s.

• No apology included in proposed $30M settlement for Christian Brothers abuse case

The court ruling approving the settlement says four of the people transferred to Vancouver were eventually criminally convicted when the crimes at Mount Cashel were…

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Alleged sexual abuse victims of Archdiocese of Quebec closer to historic $31.5M settlement

Lawsuit covers people who say they were sexually abused by staff dating back to 1940

A Quebec Superior Court judge will decide whether a historic $31.5-million settlement in a class-action lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Quebec is approved.

The deal could end years of legal action for claimants alleging they were sexually assaulted by members of the Archdiocese since 1940.

At the Quebec courthouse on Thursday, Justice Danye Daigle heard emotional testimony from a dozen victims whose identities are under a publication ban. They shared how the alleged events had shaped their lives.

Gaétan Bégin, who has said he was sexually abused in the 1950s, is one of the plaintiffs representing 200 people who joined the class action.

Outside the courtroom, Bégin told CBC, it was a historic day.

“I’m 86 now, but the young boy who…

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Pope Leo’s changes see the first non-bishops replacing non-canonist members at the Apostolic Signatura

Pope Leo XIV appointed seven new members to the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Church’s highest canonical court of appeal, on July 25, including the first three non-bishops ever appointed as members of the tribunal.

The appointments by Leo also marked the conclusion of the five-year terms for Cardinals Joseph Tobin, C.Ss.R., of Newark and Gerhard Ludwig Müller, prefect emeritus of the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith — the only two non-canonist members of the tribunal.

The appointments and departures appear to close a practice by Pope Francis to appoint non-canon lawyers to the Signatura, while instead bringing in the first full members who are legal experts but not bishops.

Archbishop Salvatore Joseph Cordileone of San Francisco; Bishop Krzysztof Nitkiewicz of Sandomierz; Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta, secretary emeritus of the Dicastery for…

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Husted also backed a 2004 tort reform law capping noneconomic damages for sexual abuse survivors at $250,000, costing victims millions, records show.

In 2006, when he was leading the Ohio House of Representatives, Jon Husted gutted a bill intended to help survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests.

Husted, who is now running for his first full term to the U.S. Senate, has come under fire recently for accepting donations from a Jeffrey Epstein associate and having a county campaign chair who served jail time for alleged misconduct with a minor. Each of these stories has fueled a narrative that Husted is tolerant and even protective of sexual abusers.

The Ohio Senate passed SB 17, known as the clergy abuse bill, in March 2006. The legislation was led by Democratic state Sen. Teresa Fedor as a response to the Catholic clergy abuse scandal. It sought to…

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The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas is investigating what it calls a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor involving a priest who served in numerous Kansas parishes and died more than 30 years ago.

The investigation involving the Rev. Denis Pickert stems from a recent allegation, according to an announcement posted in The Leaven, the archdiocese’s newspaper, this week. Pickert died in 1994 at age 69.

“Based on several factors, Archbishop Shawn McKnight deems the newly reported allegation to have credibility, but in order to facilitate a complete and fair investigation, the Archdiocese seeks information from those who might have knowledge about this situation,” the announcement said.

“A thorough investigation of these allegations is ongoing and should not be understood as a determination of guilt. Archbishop McKnight would like to encourage anyone who may have been harmed by Fr. Pickert to come forward.”

…

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Bishop Rodríguez, along with advocates who support abuse victims, asserts the Church never condones abuse and is always on the side of victims

Pope Benedict XVI understood it. He knew that sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is not just an individual act of sin. It is a threat to faith itself.

It was from that serious foundation that Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez spoke July 24, 2026, in the Family Life Center of the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola at “Let’s Talk About Listening to Victims.” Copies of the bishop’s newly released book, “Sexual Abuse Victims: A Juridical Analysis of Due Process in Canon Law,” were available for purchase, with proceeds going toward diocesan safe environment programs. 

Other speakers included Father Kevin McQuone, associate dean for propaedeutic and discipleship formation at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach; Elizabeth Harris, retired NYPD detective in the Manhattan special…

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Suspect Groomed Children Across TikTok and Other Social Media Apps

A Catawba, Virginia man, who pled guilty in December 2025 to attempting to sexually exploit a 15-year-old child, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.

Jacob Ryan Barnett, 35, was arrested in August 2025 and pled guilty in December to one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a 15-year-old child. 

According to court documents, on May 18, 2025, Barnett used TikTok to message the Minor Victim (M.V.) and they began chatting. Barnett posed as a 17-year-old using another person’s images. As their chat progressed, Barnett sent increasingly graphic sexual messages to M.V. Ultimately, Barnett said he wanted to “use” M.V. and asked for something that he could masturbate to. In response, M.V. sent Barnett sexually explicit video of herself.

Sentencing evidence showed that Barnett used TikTok, Discord, Snapchat, and other social media apps to solicit minor girls for sexual…

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A 75-year-old Albany pastor has been charged by a grand jury for sexually assaulting a young child over the course of several months in 2000.

Albany County District Attorney Lee C. Kindlon announced Friday that Bienvenido Lopez, pastor of Iglesia Fuente Inagotable, a Spanish-speaking Pentecostal church on Herkimer Street, is charged with multiple counts of rape in the 1st degree. Lopez was arraigned on a three-count indictment in front of the Honorable Roger McDonough Friday, charging him with Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child in the First Degree, Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child in the Second Degree and Endangering the Welfare of a Minor.

The indictment alleges that between May of 2000 and December of 2000, while at an apartment located above his church at 153 Central Ave. and another residence at 602 Third St. near Bleecker Stadium, the defendant engaged in two or…

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Advocates warn the broad ruling lets predators use a ‘confessional loophole’ to escape justice

This story deals with sexual abuse and assault of minors. If you or someone you know has been a victim of this crime call 800-656-HOPE for 24/7 help and support.

The Arizona Supreme Court sided with religious leaders this week who argued the state’s clergy-penitent privilege law shielded them from reporting child sexual abuse to authorities.

And in declaring that any intervention by the courts would violate the First Amendment, the justices made clear they don’t think any changes to Arizona law aimed at forcing clergy to report abuse would be constitutional.  

“We hold that the First Amendment generally prohibits factfinders from inquiring into a clergy member’s application of his particular religious doctrine… in determining whether reporting should be withheld if ‘reasonable and necessary,’” Vice Chief Justice John R. Lopez IV wrote in…

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The Arizona Supreme Court ruled unanimously that clergy are not required to report a congregation member’s abuse of a minor if they learn of it through confession or another confidential religious communication, and if withholding it aligns with their faith’s doctrine.

The case originated in Cochise County, stemming from a 2020 lawsuit against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and two of its bishops, John Herrod and Robert “Kim” Mauzy.

Court records show Paul Adams confessed to abusing his children during a 2011 confession with Herrod, again in a second confession with Herrod and his wife, Leizza, and a third time during a church disciplinary proceeding with Mauzy. Mauzy excommunicated Adams in 2013.

Paul and Leizza Adams were indicted in 2017 on charges related to the abuse. Leizza pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Paul confessed to law enforcement but died…

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The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Thursday that it is up to the church, not a judge or jury, to decide what counts as a confidential communication, shielding clergy from the state’s mandatory child abuse reporting requirements.

The unanimous court opinion was announced Thursday, following a case of a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints admitting to child abuse during a confession with a bishop, a second time during a confession with the bishop and his wife, and a third time during a disciplinary council.

The justices ruled that courts cannot second-guess how the church interprets its doctrine when describing what constitutes confession and confidential communications.

Arizona law already protects clergy members from reporting child abuse learned through a confession or confidential communication. But if a clergy member learns about abuses outside of those incidents, they must tell law enforcement or other government authorities.

What started this?…

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Arizona’s justices ruled the church wasn’t legally obligated to report a member’s confession of child abuse.

Churches are not obligated to report suspicions of child abuse if they’re found out through religious confessions or confidential communications, the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled. 

In a unanimous ruling released Thursday, the high court sided with the defendants in a lawsuit brought against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Arizona.

Bishops of the church, as well as other defendants, were accused in a 2020 civil lawsuit of failing to report child abuse that had been disclosed to them by a church member. That member later died by suicide in jail after he was arrested by law enforcement.

The Cochise County Superior Court dismissed the lawsuit in 2023 against the church, concluding the church officials were not legally obligated to report the abuse allegations since they were disclosed during a confession…

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Snared by obsession

Not everyone has experienced the terrifying grip of an obsessed lover who won’t let them go. But imagine going through that as a 14-year-old, and that your parish priest was the one with the obsession. That’s what Mark Crawford endured from 1977 to 1983 in suburban New Jersey and what he tried to escape and recover from for decades afterward.

Picture a devoted middle class family with nine children, whose parents both volunteered extensively in their parish: Mark’s father as a bingo caller and chaperone at CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) events and his mother taking care of the liturgical linens and altar flower arrangements. Their modest house was Grand Central Station, with kids from all over the neighborhood constantly flowing in and out. 

Into this warm and loving environment came the new priest, Father Kenneth Martin, who met Mrs. Crawford setting up for Mass. A train enthusiast,…

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Click here for video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6GOS2iW31s

A new state law allowing survivors of childhood sexual abuse to sue institutions that allowed the abuse has led to dozens of lawsuits filed against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence. Amanda Milkovits from The Boston Globe joins Kayla Fish in studio to discuss her findings into this investigation.

Stay in the know with WPRI 12 News. Local news, weather, sports, and award winning investigative journalism coverage you can count on on this YouTube channel, TV, mobile app, our social channels and WPRI.com.

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Five former altar boys, represented by Grant & Eisenhofer and partner state counsel, yesterday filed a Complaint against the Diocese of Providence (DOP) and the Church of Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus, Pawtucket, to hold them accountable for the childhood sexual abuse allegedly inflicted by the late Fr. Armand Ventre, the notorious serial predator-priest whose despicable and destructive acts were documented in the state Attorney General’s investigation into decades-long, systemic Catholic clergy child sexual abuse. The filing in state Superior Court follows the first federal action brought by the legal team under the new state law allowing survivors – who to protect their privacy are entitled to anonymity – to hold accountable their abusers, and enablers, regardless of when the abuse occurred. They presently represent more than 70 survivors-plaintiffs seeking justice in State and Federal courts.

In the new state Superior Court filing (J. Does…

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A law firm hired by Interlochen, the arts school and camp, to look into alumni complaints of sexual abuse fielded dozens of disturbing accounts, primarily from decades ago.

Dozens of former students of the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan, where Jeffrey Epstein is said to have encountered some of his earliest victims, told a law firm hired by the school that they had been sexually abused by teachers, staff members, trustees and others affiliated with the institution in episodes ranging from the 1950s to the 2010s.

In a report released on Tuesday, after almost two years of interviews, the law firm presented firsthand accounts of Interlochen alumni, who said they had been subjected to misconduct ranging from grooming and flirting to intercourse. The report said that some 70 of the former students described physical abuse and identified the perpetrators as 47 adults affiliated with the center.

The report, which…

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The first few dollars felt like a lifeline.

Sitting in his home in Kumbo, the epicenter of violence in Cameroon’s troubled English-speaking north west region, John (not his real name) clicked through an online platform to which he’d been introduced.

The tasks were simple: filling out advertisement forms and completing digital engagements. Every time he clicked ‘submit’, a small payment followed, blinding him to the trap being set.

“Receiving that money made me believe that they were genuine people and that the opportunity was real,” John told Crux Now. “It built my confidence in them because I saw what looked like real proof that they wanted to support me,” he said.

“At that time, I was hoping for a better future. I wanted an opportunity to support myself, improve myself, and become more independent,” John said.

He never thought that what looked like help was actually a way of gaining his…

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Local and federal authorities arrested an Oxford man on multiple child exploitation charges following a multi-agency cyber investigation, police announced.

Aubrey Jamaal Butler, 46, faces eight counts of electronic solicitation of a child and one count of production of obscene matter of a minor, according to Oxford Police Chief Daniel Phipps.

Butler is the senior pastor of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Sylacauga.

Investigators booked the suspect into the Calhoun County Jail, where he remains held on a $108,000 bond.

The investigation launched after law enforcement received cyber tips routed through the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Detectives with the Oxford Police Department’s criminal investigation division then teamed up with several local, state and federal entities to track down the lead.

Assisting in the investigation were the District Attorney’s Office for the 7th Judicial Circuit of Alabama, the FBI, the United States Secret Service, the United States Marshals…

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A Virginia Baptist pastor and church conference speaker was removed from several ministry roles this week as he faces more than a dozen criminal charges. Prosecutors allege that Kenny Baldwin, the lead pastor at Crossroads Baptist Church in Baileys Crossroads, Va., sent sexually explicit messages to a minor. The 47-year-old pastor was charged with 13 offenses, Pennsylvania State Police said last Thursday.

Baldwin is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. He did not return calls to a local TV station that reported on the charges.

On Sunday, Crossroads Baptist Church stated that Baldwin was relieved of all ministry responsibilities. The independent Baptist church is located about a half hour outside of Washington, D.C. Baldwin served as its senior pastor since 2011, according to an archived staff webpage.

Additionally, Veritas Baptist College officials revoked Baldwin’s role on the board of directors at the online Bible college based in Lawrenceburg, Ind. While Baldwin had no formal…

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A fifth person has been arrested in the investigation related to a sex offender volunteering at a Pawleys Island church and private school.

Wednesday, Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver announced his office had arrested the church operations director, Michael Anthony Fields, and charged him with unlawfully placing a child at risk or causing a child harm; Fields serves as director of operations and missions at Pawleys Island Community Church. Officials said Fields was responsible for security across the church campus and for the safety of students at Pawleys Island Christian Academy, known as PICA.

Fields was booked into the Georgetown County Detention Center, and his bond was set to $25,000 on Thursday.

Deputies said it is in the third week of its investigation into church leadership and how convicted sex offender Warren Perry was allowed to volunteer on the campus in proximity to children for years.

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