ABUSE TRACKER

A former West Tennessee educator and youth pastor has pleaded guilty to federal child sex charges.

Philip Stephen Plyler has been sentenced to one count of federal child exploitation. Plyler was a former educator with Humboldt, Gibson, Milan and Madison County school districts. He was also a former youth minister.

In a document filed Monday by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Philip Stephen Plyler pleaded guilty to one count of transportation of a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

In May of 2024, he was charged in a two-count indictment. The additional charge was dismissed.

SEE ALSO: Former educator indicted on federal child exploitation offenses

The former Gibson County resident is a 41-year-old from Fairmont, West Virginia. He was arrested in West Virginia in April of 2024 but then extradited to the Milan Police Department.

A federal grand jury in Jackson…

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Alluding to “mistakes made along the way” in more than 20 years of ministry, Art Lucier, one of western Canada’s most prominent charismatic pastors, pulled back from public ministry last weekend at Kelowna Harvest Church.

However, he didn’t apologize and blamed the timing of the accusations on Satan.

“Truth is, I did sin against the Lord and against heaven many times, and even against my vows and against my wife and against others,” Lucier told the church Sunday at about 90 minutes into the livestreamed service. “The enemy is now bringing up actually, though, these past sins, even though they’re under the blood.”

Since 2018, Lucier has been the pastor of Kelowna Harvest Church, in Kelowna, a lakeside town in British Columbia’s scenic Okanagan Valley. It is a part of Harvest Ministries International (HMI), a five-fold, revivalist ministry that Lucier founded and still leads as apostolic…

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“Pastor Johnny” will not be collecting $100 million from the Southern Baptist Convention as he had hoped.

Almost all Johnny Hunt’s defamation lawsuit against the SBC, its Executive Committee and Guidepost Solutions was dismissed in summary judgment March 31 by William Campbell, chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Only one count against the SBC remains active, which relates to a tweet by former SBC President Bart Barber. On December 5, 2022, Barber publicly tweeted: “Hunt was the subject of a third-party investigation in response to allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman half his age in ways that would, to my knowledge, constitute a felony in any jurisdiction in the US.”

Guidepost Solutions, the company that led the investigation into alleged mishandling of sexual abuse in the SBC and included allegations against Hunt in its final report, was relieved of all liability regarding Hunt’s claims.

…

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A church brother has been sentenced to community work after admitting sexual offending against an altar boy.

Herbert Simo Rustila, 38, appeared in the Whanganui District Court in February, having pleaded guilty to a representative charge of sexual conduct with the boy over a period of four years.

Rustila, also known as Brother Vincent, is a religious brother of the fundamentalist Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), which runs three schools and the Saint Anthony Church on its premises in Whanganui.

SSPX is a traditionalist Catholic church with about 600,000 followers across 72 countries and chapels in Auckland, Hamilton, Napier, Wellington, Whanganui and Whangārei.

The summary of facts supplied to Stuff said between 2018 and 2022, Rustila often asked the altar boy to help with cleaning and preparing for mass, offering chocolate and fizzy drink to the Saint Anthony’s School student.

Once, when they were in the church’s library, Rustila asked the victim,…

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The complainant woman said the pastor threatened her that if she made any complaints, he would post the video of the assault on social media.

Jalandhar pastor Bajinder Singh, who was convicted in a rape case, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Mohali court. The rape case was filed by a woman from Zirakpur, Mohali, in 2018. The pastor appeared in court today, and the sentence was announced against him in his presence. Pastor Bajinder was convicted by the Mohali court three days ago, then he was sent to Patiala jail.

Pastor Bajinder Singh was accused of taking the victim girl to his house on the pretext of sending her abroad. Then the priest allegedly raped her and also made a video of the assault. The priest also threatened her that if she made any complaints, he would post the video on social media.

The pastor was first booked…

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Advocates applaud the new requirements.

By May 1, all Utah organizations that provide services to children under 18 must check the names of their staffers or volunteers against two databases of registered sex offenders.

That’s according to a new law passed by the Utah Legislature and signed by Gov. Spencer Cox.

And The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the state’s largest religion and with the most youth volunteers, is rushing to comply.

The faith’s Utah area president sent a letter to all lay bishops and stake (regional) presidents telling them to check “both the Utah Child Abuse Offender Registry (also called the Utah Sex and Kidnap Offender Registry) and the National Sex Offender Public Website before allowing any individual 18 or older to hold a calling that places them into the ‘regular and repeated care, supervision, guidance, or control’ [of young people].” They are to complete this task before the…

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Beleaguered Cardinal Juan Cipriani has publicly clashed with the bishops’ conference of Peru, asking bishops to rectify a January statement that says abuse allegations against the cardinal are “verified.”

In an open letter last week, the cardinal insisted that it was a “lie” and a “grave mistake” for the country’s bishops’ conference to say his resignation as Lima’s archbishop was connected to the abuse allegations he’s facing at the Vatican.

Cipriani issued a letter to all the bishops of Peru on March 28, tracking issue with a January conference statement which addressed accusations of sexual abuse against him and his 2019 departure from office.

The cardinal said last week he written privately to the bishops’ conference leadership in January, immediately after their public statement.

But Cipriani’s March letter explained he had “waited two months since [his] last letter for a rectification [and] that has not happened” — prompting him to…

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The Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France announced Monday that the entrances to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, featuring art by the disgraced artist Father Marko Rupnik, are being covered.

Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes called the decision a “second step” after his initial decision in July 2024 to no longer light up the mosaics at night and during processions.

“You know my opinion about the presence of these mosaics on the doors of the basilica. It seemed to me, together with my collaborators, that a new symbolic step had to be taken to make the entrance to the basilica easier for all those who today cannot cross the threshold,” Micas said in an online post from the renowned Marian apparition site.

Mosaics by the alleged sexual abuser Rupnik, who is under investigation and awaiting a trial by the…

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Accusers are sparking legal questions as they seek to stop the state’s largest religious denomination from providing monthly pensions to two former priests whose files include allegations of sexual misconduct.

Accusers with unresolved clergy misconduct lawsuits are trying to stop the Vermont Roman Catholic Diocese from paying monthly pensions to two unidentified priests who the church acknowledges face credible allegations of sexual abuse.

A committee representing more than 30 people with pending civil cases discovered the retirement benefits when the state’s largest religious denomination filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court after spending $34 million on past settlements.

“The survivors here should not have to see money going to pay individuals who are part of the reason the diocese is in this bankruptcy,” committee counsel Brittany Michael said at a March 25 online court hearing.

In response, diocesan leaders argue they can’t withhold the funds — a collective monthly total…

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How can we break the taboo on sexual violence in the Catholic Church in Africa? Priest and psychotherapist Stéphane Joulain provides training, prevention and awareness-raising on sexual violence particularly on the African continent, where little or nothing has been done to hear victims and make amends. This member of the White Fathers spoke to Justice Info about the “African silence”.

JUSTICE INFO: What do we know today about sexual violence in the Catholic Church in Africa? What work, research or commissions can give us an idea of its scale?

STEPHANE JOULAIN: I was once asked this question: when will there be a CIASE [Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church, which sat in France between February 2019 and October 2021] for Africa? I replied that France is a small country that undertook to conduct this commission at a cost of several million euros, and Africa is a continent of…

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A former Jersey Catholic Priest is alleged to have exploited a child for his own sexual fantasies while he was in a position of authority.

Jersey’s Royal Court heard from Crown Advocate Carla Carvalho for the prosecution how the priest would “fulfil sexual interest involving feet”.

Piotr Antoni Glas, 60, faces eight charges of gross indecency and two counts of indecent assault for alleged activities against a boy aged between 13 and 15.

The activities are alleged to have happened between 15 January 2004 and 14 January 2007.

The prosecution said Mr Glas would take advantage of the teenager, allegedly asking the boy to walk on his back to relieve back pain before moving into sexual acts involving the boy’s feet.

Six of the charges relate to allegations that Mr Glas placed the child’s feet against his face while he masturbated.

Mr Glas also allegedly tried to kiss the boy on…

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A top official of the Catholic religious order on Wednesday said he had sent a letter offering reparations to 20 women who say a famous ex-Jesuit artist abused them sexually, psychologically, and spiritually. The Slovenian artist, Marko Rupnik, is internationally known for his religious mosaics, including some at the Vatican.

The Rev. Johan Versuchen, Rupnik’s former superior, said he wrote to the alleged victims on Tuesday, telling them his order would help each with their individual needs. The offer could include counseling, financial compensation, or help finding work, the Associated Press reported. Versuchen also said he apologized and lamented in the letter that the Catholic Church has been slow to investigate and respond to the women’s claims.

The Jesuits expelled Rupnik in 2023 after he refused to cooperate with the order’s internal investigations into abuse claims, Catholic News Agency reported. But the Diocese of Koper in…

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A Catholic priest has gone on trial on ten charges of sexually abusing a child in the Island.

Piotr Antoni Glas (61) spent years grooming the child, using his position of trust to get close to the alleged victim and their family, including lending them money, the Royal Court heard.

Mr Glas, known as Peter when his Polish name is Anglicised, denies eight counts of committing acts of gross indecency and two counts of indecent assault against the child.

He is alleged to have committed the crimes while he was working for the Catholic Deanery in the Island.

Crown Advocate Carla Carvalho, prosecuting, said the priest took advantage of the child to act on what was described in court as Mr Glas’s “foot fetish” – putting the child’s feet against his face while he masturbated, and wrestling the child until the child’s feet were on the priest’s face and the…

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A federal judge used the findings of a justice department investigation to justify expelling clergy molestation survivors from a committee trying to negotiate settlements with the New Orleans Catholic archdiocese after their lawyer tipped off a high school that its chaplain was an admitted child molester.

But now, for the first time, having obtained a long-sealed report on the matter, WWL Louisiana and the Guardian can reveal that the judge, Meredith Grabill, made that decision even after the justice department’s bankruptcy trustee specifically said the lawyer’s clients should not be punished – though the trustee believed the attorney had violated a confidentiality order in trying to protect children from an abuser.

The lawyer, Richard Trahant, has always denied violating the secrecy orders governing the New Orleans archdiocese’s bankruptcy, one of the most contentious of the 40 such cases filed by Catholic institutions across the US amid the worldwide church’s ongoing reckoning with…

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The French Bishops’ Conference is holding a special session March 31–April 1 to assess anti-abuse efforts. Although many measures have been taken since the CIASE report in 2021, blind spots and unresolved questions remain for many victims.

Communities on the margins of official bodies

What can be done when the community where one experienced abuse does not adhere to the mechanisms of reparation set up by the Church? This is the case for Myriam Remy, a former member of the Community of the Beatitudes. The community refused to join the Commission for Recognition and Reparation (CRR), created in 2021 for victims in the religious world.

Not being a religious institute but an “ecclesial family of consecrated life,” the Community of the Beatitudes is not automatically under the CRR. However, the community could have joined, as it has often been asked to do and as other communities have done. Instead, its…

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Key Points

• Across the country, Catholic dioceses have found ways to trim or stall attorney general investigations into clergy sexual abuse and alleged cover-ups.
• In New Jersey, the state Supreme Court will hear arguments in April over a challenge brought by the Camden Diocese.
• But some legal experts say there’s nothing nefarious about the church exercising its legal rights and protecting confidential records.

When a Pennsylvania grand jury released the findings of a two-year investigation in 2018, it was a watershed moment in America’s clergy sexual abuse scandals.

The report compiled evidence and allegations that 300 Catholic priests had abused more than 1,000 children over several decades, while bishops covered up the crimes.

The shocking revelations inspired an array of other states to promise their own reviews, including New Jersey. Within days of the Keystone State report, then-Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced he was establishing a task force to look into allegations…

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Abuse survivors voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bankruptcy exit plan for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, moving it closer to final confirmation.

Each of the 324 survivors who returned a ballot voted to approve the plan and consented to its terms, according to data released late last month.

The centerpiece of the 94-page bankruptcy exit plan is a $100 million fund to pay abuse survivors if they end their lawsuits against the church.

A confirmation hearing on the plan is scheduled to begin April 28 in federal bankruptcy court in Syracuse and could last for days or weeks. Some survivors are expected to provide testimony.

Wendy Kinsella, the chief bankruptcy judge for the Northern District of New York, would then either approve or reject the plan.

Survivors need to sign off on the plan since they are among the diocese’s…

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The Maryland Catholic Conference issued the following statement on March 26, 2025 on House Bill 1378:

In 2023, Delegate C.T. Wilson said the Child Victims Act would allow “victims of child sex abuse to have their voices heard in court.” That won’t happen under HB 1378 for anyone abused in a State institution.

That’s because the Child Victims Act uncovered a terrible truth: The largest employer of abusers in the State of Maryland appears to be the State of Maryland itself. Several thousand claims of abuse by State employees have been filed over the past 18 months, far exceeding those against any other organization in Maryland. Delegate C.T. Wilson has indicated that the vast number of allegations – and subsequent liability for the State – led him to seek restrictions on State victims in HB 1378.

The reports of child sexual abuse within Maryland’s Department of Juvenile Services and other…

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Nearly 1,600 victims of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church have approached the National Independent Instance for Recognition and Reparation (Inirr) since 2022, according to a report unveiled on Tuesday.

“As of March 24, 1,580 people have approached the organisation, and 1,235 are now being taken into account,” according to Inirr president Marie Derain de Vaucresson who presented the three-year activity report to the media.

Derain de Vaucresson said that on average, Inirr is approached by 10 people per month, with a peak earlier this year. 

“This is obviously a consequence of media coverage surrounding sexual violence in the church related to the Betharram affair and the revelations about Abbé Pierre last summer,” she added.

Shaken

According to Derian de Vaucresson, of the 50 or so requests made since the beginning of this year, the average age of those who contact the organisation with complaints of abuse…

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Summary

• Lourdes covers Rupnik’s mosaics amid abuse allegations
• Vatican has reopened investigation into accused priest
• Jesuits contact alleged victims over possible reparations

The sanctuary of Lourdes, one of the world’s most popular Catholic pilgrimage sites, began on Monday to cover up a series of mosaics made by a prominent priest with ties to the Vatican who has been accused of sexual abuse.

The artwork is by Rev. Marko Rupnik, an internationally known artist, who has been accused by about 25 people, mostly former Catholic nuns, of various types of abuse.

Rupnik, who was expelled from the Catholic Jesuit order in 2023 but remains a priest, is not known to have commented publicly on the accusations. The Vatican in 2023 reopened an investigation into his conduct, which is ongoing.

Mosaics by Rupnik adorn the facade of the Rosary Basilica in Lourdes, near the France-Spain border, where some five million Catholics and other faithful visit…

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A youth counselor who formerly worked at several different churches, schools and agencies throughout Richmond County pleaded guilty to three charges of child sex crimes earlier this week.

David Lawrence Schneider was originally charged with 19 felony counts related to child sex crimes during an investigation announced by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office in August of last year.

According to court documents, Schneider pleaded guilty to the following charges in a motion hearing on Monday, March 24 — one charge of aggravated sexual battery and two charges of taking indecent liberties with a child by a person in a custodial role. One of the indecent liberties charges is from an incident in February 2016, the other two charges stem from a June 2024 incident.

Court documents also show that the rest of the felony counts have been dismissed.

Schneider’s next scheduled court…

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A former Cincinnati priest will have to register as a sex offender when is released from prison next year.

A judge made the ruling after Geoff Drew’s attorney submitted a motion asking for him not to be put on the registry.

In 2021, Drew pleaded guilty to rape charges after investigators accused him of repeatedly sexually assaulting a boy in the late 1980s and early 90s.

Police said the sexual attacks happened in Drew’s office at St. Jude Church.

Once released from prison next year, Drew will be required to register as a tier-3 sex offender.

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The founder of a religious nonprofit that aims to hold the evangelical community accountable engaged in “behavioral misconduct” with a key contractor, according to a report by a firm that independently investigates Christian institutions.

The 94-page document prepared after a six-month-long investigation by Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE) identifies systemic shortcomings at The New Evangelicals (TNE). Specifically, it revealed founder Tim Whitaker’s inappropriate treatment of Adele Mulford, then-TNE creative + brand director.

The TNE board engaged GRACE to conduct the investigation in August 2024, after Mulford accused Whitaker of a “rage driving” incident that left her scared for her safety. Mulford, who is referred to as “RV” in the report, also claimed Whitaker and the TNE board mishandled her initial concerns and attempts to resolve them.

Mulford told The Roys Report (TRR) she supports the findings and conclusions of the report.

“The documentation contained…

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Yesterday, federal bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali soundly rejected arguments that there was no bankruptcy purpose for the disclosure of meeting minutes prepared by the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Independent Review Board and of anonymous claims data submitted by survivors of childhood sexual abuse in the bankruptcy. SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is grateful to the judge for his ruling, as well as to the creditors committee and their attorneys for pursuing the public release of this information.

Pachulski, Stang Ziehl & Jones attorney Brittany Michael, who represented the creditors’ committee, called the ruling “unprecedented.”  Along with the creditor’s committee co-chair Margie O’Driscoll, we hope that this decision will set a precedent so that all Catholic dioceses will be forced to be accountable and transparent about abuse, even if they file for bankruptcy.  

California SNAP leader and survivor, Dan McNevin,…

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Can the Serbian Orthodox Church survive the truth about its darkest secrets, or will silence continue to shield abuse and injustice?

On March 9, 2025, Zagreb hosted the international and interfaith conference “Faith and Reason”, organized by the association “Alliance of Christians – Croatia”. This significant gathering brought together participants from different parts of the world—including the United States and Ukraine—with the goal of analyzing how faith is used and misused in contemporary society from various professional and religious perspectives. 

However, the most critical and sensitive part of the discussion focused on sexual abuse and pedophilia within religious communities—topics that have long been taboo, shielded by institutional walls and mechanisms that protected perpetrators rather than victims. Participants emphasized that confronting this issue is the only way to ensure justice for survivors and prevent future crimes.

One of the most controversial topics discussed was the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC). Through the…

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Motivational speaker Pauline Grogan’s first book, Beyond the Veil, propelled her into the spotlight as she exposed abuse she suffered while a Catholic nun in a convent. 12 years later, her latest work – Miss adventure: healing with music – traverses Grogan’s experiences of stroke and chronic neuropathic pain that only music could alleviate. Miss adventure: healing with music by Pauline Grogan, is available now. RRP $35.

Where did you go to write, and what did you need around you to put this story down on paper?

For me, the two strokes had brought a passionately lived life to an abrupt halt.

I began to keep a daily diary as a way of coping with isolation and loss of community involvement. Would a book be possible? I fell gratefully into the arms of an experienced editor on my wavelength and navigated an onerous process with ACC to fund voice recognition…

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For years, Catholic Community Services of Utah (CCS) has been providing legal support for hundreds of unaccompanied minor children. These children had escaped dangerous situations in their home country, including abuse or trafficking.

CCS’s Refugee services guided these children through the muck and mire of immigration court so that the children could stay in the country. However, with the Trump administration’s recent announcement to slash funding for the legal representation of immigrant children, the CCS is worried that 126 children that they oversee are now going to stand alone in the courtroom.

“Some of the children that we work with are as young as five or six,” said Virginia Maynes, senior immigration attorney in CCS’s unaccompanied minors’ program. She said these kids were alone when they came to the U.S

Some of their parents had passed away, and some had abusive parents. Maynes added: “Some…

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A group has launched a database aimed at vetting the responses of Roman Catholic cardinals to claims of sexual abuse in the hopes of influencing the next papal election.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) announced on Tuesday the creation of the database, known as “Conclave Watch.”

The database has the records of six cardinals at present, five of whom were cited by SNAP as having “decision-making roles in the Roman Catholic church on the handling of clergy abuse cases,” with more to be added soon.

“Many people have asked me … ‘Why now? The pope is sick. Now is not the time,’” said Shawn Dougherty, SNAP Board president and an abuse survivor, as quoted in the announcement. “And we determined if not now, when, and if not us, who?’’

According to SNAP, members of their board traveled to Rome, Italy, a few weeks ago…

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The Catholic Church in Maryland is urging the state Legislature to treat cases of child sexual abuse in state-run facilities equal to those in private institutions following a proposed bill that would “decrease the number of civil causes of action for child sexual abuse filed against the state.”

The Maryland Catholic Conference (MCC) said in a statement on Thursday that the bill “greatly exacerbates an existing difference in treatment for victims abused in state institutions and those abused in private institutions.”

If passed, the bill would reduce the state damage cap for abuse victims to $400,000 while keeping the cap for private organizations at $1.5 million.

The “overtly unequal treatment in HB 1378 is not only poor policy for victim-survivors but also unfairly targets nonprofit and religious organizations that have long served children in this state and have implemented strong safeguards for youth protection,” the Maryland…

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The Maryland Catholic Conference issued the following statement on March 26, 2025 on House Bill 1378:

In 2023, Delegate C.T. Wilson said the Child Victims Act would allow “victims of child sex abuse to have their voices heard in court.” That won’t happen under HB 1378 for anyone abused in a State institution.

That’s because the Child Victims Act uncovered a terrible truth: The largest employer of abusers in the State of Maryland appears to be the State of Maryland itself. Several thousand claims of abuse by State employees have been filed over the past 18 months, far exceeding those against any other organization in Maryland. Delegate C.T. Wilson has indicated that the vast number of allegations – and subsequent liability for the State – led him to seek restrictions on State victims in HB 1378.

The reports of child sexual abuse within Maryland’s Department of Juvenile Services and other…

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Hoping to persuade Missouri lawmakers to end non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and the statute of limitations for child sex abuse victims, multiple survivors of abuse at two evangelical ministries testified powerfully in a hearing today.

“We waited too long to face the repressed trauma within,” said Tammy Woods, a survivor of alleged childhood sexual abuse by International House of Prayer Kansas City (IHOPKC) founder, Mike Bickle. “(We) couldn’t access the memories fast enough. And so, silence and helplessness remain our portion, while our abusers are empowered to continue their abuse.”

As reported previously by The Roys Report (TRR), Woods says Bickle assaulted her repeatedly when she was 14, and Bickle was a married pastor with children. But it took Woods 43 years to speak publicly of the alleged abuse, which is common. Studies show the average age childhood sex abuse victims come forward is 52.

Similarly, Deborah Perkins discussed how Bickle’s alleged sexual abuse…

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A former church leader is accused of raping a teen girl in his congregation more than 20 years ago, prosecutors in Utah said.

Armando Flores, now 69, is charged with one count of first-degree felony object rape and two counts of first-degree felony rape, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office said in a March 4 news release.

Flores was a “local church president” in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the time, according to a court filing provided by prosecutors.

A defense attorney wasn’t listed in court records the morning of March 5.

McClatchy News reached out to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on March 5 and was awaiting a response.

Flores is accused of assaulting the girl on three different occasions between 2002 and 2004, when she was about 14, prosecutors said.

In one instance, he drove…

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A director of worship who worked at two Ohio Catholic churches was arrested during Mass and charged with sexually abusing a minor, according to officials.

Andres Andino, 59, had outstanding warrants when his license plate showed up on Avon Lake Police’s camera system March 16, the Chronicle Telegram reported. Police arrested him outside one of the churches that employed him in Avon Lake, about a 25-mile drive west of Cleveland along the Lake Erie coastline, according to the paper.

Bodycam footage obtained by WJW and other outlets showed the arrest.

“Put your hands together like you’re praying,” an officer told Andino as they handcuffed him.

“Somebody’s going to have to tell them,” Andino said, nodding his head toward the building. “I’m in the middle of Mass.”

A grand jury indicted Andino March 21, charging him formally with rape, sexual battery and unlawful sexual conduct with a…

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The Archdiocese of Chicago filed a countersuit March 24 against two people who claimed they were sexually abused by former priest Daniel McCormack as well as five other people, alleging that the individuals were part of a yearslong conspiracy to fraudulently obtain financial settlements from the archdiocese.

The suit’s purpose is to stop fraudulent claims from being made and to protect the interests of legitimate victim-survivors of clerical sexual abuse and the archdiocese, according to James Geoly, the archdiocese’s general counsel.

“The point of this action is to protect the interests of legitimate victims,” Geoly said. “We do not want this action to deter any legitimate victim from coming forward. I would encourage anybody who’s had a problem with a priest or cleric to do that.”

“We have always and continue to encourage victim-survivors to come forward,” emphasized Leah Heffernan, senior director of the archdiocese’s Office for the Protection…

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Yesterday, federal bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali soundly rejected arguments that there was no bankruptcy purpose for the disclosure of meeting minutes prepared by the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Independent Review Board and of anonymous claims data submitted by survivors of childhood sexual abuse in the bankruptcy. SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is grateful to the judge for his ruling, as well as to the creditors committee and their attorneys for pursuing the public release of this information.

Pachulski, Stang Ziehl & Jones attorney Brittany Michael, who represented the creditors’ committee, called the ruling “unprecedented.”  Along with the creditor’s committee co-chair Margie O’Driscoll, we hope that this decision will set a precedent so that all Catholic dioceses will be forced to be accountable and transparent about abuse, even if they file for bankruptcy.  

California SNAP leader and survivor, Dan McNevin,…

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Baltimore County police said they are looking for more possible victims of a former priest now charged with sexually abusing an altar boy at Saint Agnes in the 1990s.

That victim came forward after more than 30 years. 

The former priest, William Mannion, went before a judge this week and is maintaining his innocence. 

The allegations 

The now 40-year-old victim said he was abused repeatedly for years while a student at Saint Agnes in Catonsville from 1991 to 1994, starting when he was just 7 years old.

According to charging documents, Father William Mannion, then a young priest at Saint Agnes, warned the child he “had to do these things or God would punish him” and “his parents would be condemned to hell.”

The chilling account in charging documents said Mannion would use puppets from class in the abuse—calling it a “sick puppet show”—and make the victim pray and shower…

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The founder of a religious nonprofit that aims to hold the evangelical community accountable engaged in “behavioral misconduct” with a key contractor, according to a report by a firm that independently investigates Christian institutions.

The 94-page document prepared after a six-month-long investigation by Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE) identifies systemic shortcomings at The New Evangelicals (TNE). Specifically, it revealed founder Tim Whitaker’s inappropriate treatment of Adele Mulford, then-TNE creative + brand director.

The TNE board engaged GRACE to conduct the investigation in August 2024, after Mulford accused Whitaker of a “rage driving” incident that left her scared for her safety. Mulford, who is referred to as “RV” in the report, also claimed Whitaker and the TNE board mishandled her initial concerns and attempts to resolve them.

Mulford told The Roys Report (TRR) she supports the findings and conclusions of the report.

“The documentation contained…

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For the first time ever, over the objections of the Debtor, the Judge in a Diocesan bankruptcy has mandated the disclosure of meeting minutes prepared by the Debtor’s Independent Review Board (the “IRB Minutes”) and anonymous claims data (the “Claims Data”) aggregated from proofs of claim submitted by Survivors of childhood sexual abuse (“Survivors”). The case is In re THE ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF SAN FRANCISCO and the committee is represented by law firm Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones (“PSZJ”).

Judge Dennis Montali soundly rejected arguments that there was no bankruptcy purpose for the disclosure motion. Focusing on the bankruptcy court’s unique role and the importance of nonmonetary commitments to Survivors, Judge Montali noted that there are “hundreds of claims alleging clergy abuse, all of which have been yanked out of traditional state courts and have been thrust into this bankruptcy court, at the Archbishop’s behest.” He further reasoned that a consensual plan is only…

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The Archdiocese of Chicago took an unusual step this week in response to a 2024 lawsuit alleging new counts of sexual abuse against a laicized Chicago priest, the notorious sexual abuser Daniel McCormack.

In a countersuit filed this week, the Chicago archdiocese said that several men conspired for years to commit fraud, pretending to be McCormack’s victims in order to secure settlements.

The story told by the Chicago archdiocese is extraordinary. But as the lawsuit begins, it’s worth asking what its long-term effect in the Chicago archdiocese might be on both how dioceses consider historical allegations of abuse and on how accusations against priests are handled by bishops.

According to a suit filed Monday, a group of young men worked together more than 10 years ago to coordinate a scheme in which they would falsely accuse McCormack of sexual abuse in order to secure legal settlements.

The scheme, which reportedly…

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March 27, 2025

Each cardinal, group says, is unfit to be the next pope

VATICAN CITY – After announcing a new initiative called Conclave Watch at a press conference Tuesday in Rome, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) formally delivered complaints yesterday against six cardinals to Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See. The complaints, made under Pope Francis’ 2023 decree Vos estis lux mundi, charge each cardinal with covering up and mismanaging cases of abuse.

The six cardinals named in SNAP’s Vos estis lux mundi reports charged with enabling or concealing clergy sexual abuse call for immediate investigation, public transparency, and removal from office where warranted: 

• Cardinal Péter Erdő – Read complaint
• Cardinal Kevin Farrell – Read complaint
• Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández – Read complaint
• Cardinal Mario Grech – Read complaint
• Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost – Read complaint
• Cardinal…

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Pope Francis encourages the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors to continue its precious work to ensure that the Church is a safe place for minors and vulnerable people and emphasizes the critical importance of healing survivors.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors is holding its annual Ordinary Plenary Assembly from 24- 28 March.

Pope Francis has taken the opportunity to express again his gratitude for its “precious service” which, he said in a message addressed to participants,“is like ‘oxygen’ for local Churches and religious communities, because wherever a child or vulnerable person is safe, there you serve and honour Christ.”

Established in 2014, the Commission is responsible for advising the Pope on the protection of minors and developing policies to prevent sexual abuse within Church institutions in collaboration with Vatican offices and local bishops’ conferences.

As an independent body of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the…

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Reporting Highlights

• Political Favoritism: GOP lawmakers directed millions of dollars away from longstanding Democratic-led agencies to a tiny commission controlled by Republicans.
• Religious Favoritism: Lawmakers singled out money for faith-based groups. One said, “We Christians, we’ve got to be able to support these kinds of organizations.”
• Reduced Services for Victims: Leaders of rape crisis centers say that the disruptions in funding continue to limit the services they can offer to women who seek urgent, potentially life-saving help.

These highlights were written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story. Were they helpful?

For years, North Carolina’s Republican-majority Legislature has taken steps big and small to wrench power from Democratic governors and the agencies under their control.

One move that didn’t get much attention — tucked into a 628-page budget bill four years ago — was to direct $15 million in funding for sexual assault victims away from Democratic-led agencies that had long overseen such money….

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Joshua Emmanuel lured women under the pretext of performing prayers to ward off ‘evil forces’ affecting their lives.

TIRUNELVELI: The Tirunelveli Mahila Court on Thursday sentenced a Christian priest and his driver to seven years of concurrent imprisonment for sexually assaulting several women and threatening to disseminate their explicit photographs online, in 2016.

Following trial proceedings, Mahila Court Judge T Panneerselvam convicted Joshua Emmanuel (47), a priest from Karuppur near Ettayapuram in Thoothukudi district, and his driver Vinoth Kumar (32). The court sentenced Joshua to 24 years under various sections of the IPC and IT Act, ordering that the sentences run concurrently for seven years.

He was also fined Rs 54,000. Vinoth Kumar was sentenced to 15 years under different sections, and will serve them concurrently for seven years, and was fined Rs 3,000. He was convicted of conniving with Joshua in the crimes.

Joshua Emmanuel lured women under the…

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The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) has launched a new database, “Conclave Watch,” designed to assess how Cardinals have handled sexual abuse cases within the Catholic Church.

The initiative aims to put the issue of clergy abuse at the forefront of the selection of the next pope.

SNAP describes the database as a groundbreaking effort, marking the first time any organisation has compiled such information on papal candidates.

The database evaluates Cardinals’ records regarding abuse cases using publicly available documents, evidence from victims, and testimonies from church whistleblowers worldwide.

The group’s board members traveled to Rome three weeks ago after Pope Francis was hospitalised with double pneumonia, prompting speculation that a papal conclave might be imminent. However, the Pope has since recovered and returned to the Vatican earlier this week.

“Many people have asked me, ‘Why now? The pope is sick. Now is not the time,’” said Shawn…

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ST. PAUL, Minn. (OSV News) — A possible 50% of priests are unchaste, a sociologist who studies clergy sexual abuse and sexual misconduct told a webinar audience March 24.

The actual statistic, however, is unknown, and needs further research — and ultimately the willingness of church leaders to recognize clergy sexual misconduct as a pressing issue with real victims, he said.

Stephen de Weger gave the first of three webinars on the topic of clergy sexual misconduct with adults March 24. Sponsored by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the series — titled “Unchaste Celibacy: A Webinar for Survivors and Those Who Care for Them” — continues April 28 and May 26. The first webinar focused on statistics — and the lack thereof.

He immediately admitted that “it is very difficult to actually know anything of substance” when it comes to the true scope…

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After years of trailing out hollow words, impotent task forces and phony dog-and-pony shows of purported reform, the Southern Baptist Convention’s top CEO straight-up admitted that a database of clergy sex abusers is “not a focus for us.”

This bit of truthfulness came during a February press conference when a reporter asked SBC Executive Committee president Jeff Iorg if the clergy sex abuser database was “really a dead option.”

Iorg’s answer came as no surprise, but the question I’m wondering is when exactly did the plan for a database die? Or was it dead from the get-go?

I suspect the latter.

The abuse reform task force never was designed to succeed. It was composed of volunteers who were given no significant funding and no power. So, of course, nothing would get done.

An institution serious about remediating a critical problem would not have addressed it in such an unserious manner.

But…

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A group has launched a database aimed at vetting the responses of Roman Catholic cardinals to claims of sexual abuse in the hopes of influencing the next papal election.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) announced on Tuesday the creation of the database, known as “Conclave Watch.”

The database has the records of six cardinals at present, five of whom were cited by SNAP as having “decision-making roles in the Roman Catholic church on the handling of clergy abuse cases,” with more to be added soon.

“Many people have asked me … ‘Why now? The pope is sick. Now is not the time,’” said Shawn Dougherty, SNAP Board president and an abuse survivor, as quoted in the announcement. “And we determined if not now, when, and if not us, who?’’

According to SNAP, members of their board traveled to Rome, Italy, a few weeks ago…

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The trouble with being a 21st-century Church leader in Poland is that people will always compare you to the giants of 20th-century Polish Catholicism — and find you wanting.

It’s tempting to measure the impact of contemporary Polish churchmen according to the standards set by St. John Paul II and Bl. Stefan Wyszyński. But perhaps it’s fairer to consider them in relation to their peers and the distinctive challenges of their times.

Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, one of the most influential Polish Catholics of his generation, is now moving out of the public spotlight.

In 2024, he stepped down as president of Poland’s bishops’ conference after 10 years in the post. And on March 19, the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Pope Francis accepted his resignation as the Archbishop of Poznań, just five months after his 75th birthday.

Gądecki will serve as apostolic administrator of the Poznań archdiocese until his successor, Bishop Zbigniew Zieliński…

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[Radio program: Click here to listen.]

Presented by David Marr

There are calls for law reform after the recent High Court ruling that the Catholic Church is not vicariously liable for the actions of a priest who allegedly sexually abused a child in the 1970s. The court ruled that a priest is not an employee of a church, and therefore the institution is not liable to compensate their victims. Lawyers and advocates say they will take up the issue with all states and territories.

• Guest: Judy Courtin, lawyer and advocate
• Full statement in response to the High Court judgement from Bishop Bird (December 2024)

Credits

• David Marr, Presenter

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Lawyer Judy Courtin says fighting for fair compensation for victim-survivors and their families brings “a whole new round” of trauma.(ABC News)

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Court records show he admitted to assaulting two 13-year-old girls while serving as a youth pastor in the Twin Cities in 2001.

DULUTH — The co-founder and lead pastor of a church resigned this week after it was recently revealed he had sexually abused two girls more than 20 years ago.

Ronald Allen, 59, stepped down from his position at Revive City Church of Duluth amid protests over his convictions for the assaults, which occurred while he was a youth pastor at another church in the Twin Cities.

“This decision has not come easily, but it is one that I believe is necessary for our personal journey,” Allen wrote in a social media post. “I recognize that this news may bring great pain to many, and perhaps relief to others. Regardless, I ask for your understanding and support as I embark on this new chapter.”

Court records show Allen pleaded…

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Six senior cardinals, including two considered strong contenders to be future popes, have been accused by campaigners of covering up sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.

A bombshell dossier of complaints compiled by groups representing survivors of clerical sex abuse has been handed to Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state and number two to the Pope.

The allegations were made public on Thursday as it emerged that the 88-year-old Pope Francis, who was discharged from hospital on Sunday after five weeks of treatment for double pneumonia and other infections, is still having difficulty talking.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (Snap), along with a survivors’ organisation called Nate’s Mission, allege the six cardinals either enabled or concealed sexual abuse committed by Catholic clergy, and called for the Holy See to immediately launch an…

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In 2023, Delegate C.T. Wilson said the Child Victims Act would allow “victims of child sex abuse to have their voices heard in court.” That won’t happen under HB 1378 for anyone abused in a state institution.

That’s because the Child Victims Act uncovered a terrible truth: The largest employer of abusers in the State of Maryland appears to be the State of Maryland itself. Several thousand claims of abuse by State employees have been filed over the past 18 months, far exceeding those against any other organization in Maryland. Delegate C.T. Wilson has indicated that the vast number of allegations – and subsequent liability for the State – led him to seek restrictions on state victims in HB 1378.

The reports of child sexual abuse within Maryland’s Department of Juvenile Services and other institutions, and the harm to young men and women of color who represent the majority of youth…

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Pope Francis has asked the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors to commit to working more closely with the Roman curia in a message to the body’s annual plenary assembly this week — a request likely to provoke confusion from the commission’s members.

In a message dated March 20 but released Tuesday, Francis sent greetings and praised the work being done by the commission, saying its efforts are “like ‘oxygen’ for local Churches and religious communities.”

Insisting that the work of the PCPM, founded by Francis in 2014, “cannot be reduced to protocols to be applied,” the pope called its mission “a promise: that every child, every vulnerable person, will find a safe environment in the ecclesial community.”

“This is the driving force of what should be for us an integral conversion,” said the pope, while calling for three commitments from the commission, with number one being that it…

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The Society of Jesus is offering reparations to about 20 women who say they were sexually, psychologically, and spiritually abused by the disgraced ex-Jesuit artist Father Marko Rupnik.

Rupnik is accused of having committed serious sexual, psychological, and spiritual abuse of dozens of religious sisters under his spiritual care over decades. His case is currently under investigation by the Vatican.

Father Johan Versuchen, Rupnik’s former superior and current general counsellor and delegate for the Interprovincial Houses and Works of the Society of Jesus in Rome, said he sent a letter to the women who have come forward with accusations against Rupnik, offering an open invitation to reparations, according to The Associated Press.

While the letters were not made public out of respect to the alleged victims, some excerpts were shared by Laura Sgrò, a lawyer…

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The Archdiocese of Chicago this week filed a lawsuit alleging a “racketeering enterprise” among a group of individuals who reportedly filed false abuse claims against a former priest to receive compensation from the Church there. 

The archdiocese said in a Monday statement that it had filed a lawsuit in Cook County circuit court “seeking injunctive relief and damages from participants of a wide-ranging racketeering scheme” that reportedly involved “more than a dozen” fraudulent abuse claims against disgraced former priest Daniel McCormack, who spent more than a decade in prison after pleading guilty to abusing young children.

Lawyers for the diocese did not respond to requests for comment and for a copy of the lawsuit on Wednesday morning. The diocese said in its press release that some of the participants in the alleged scheme are “convicted felons and known gang members,” including allegedly one convicted murderer.

The alleged fraudulent…

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The principal of the Regnum Christi Highlands El Encinar school in Madrid, Father Jesús María Delgado, LC, has resigned days after five complaints of sexual abuse involving Father Marcelino de Andrés, former secretary of the disgraced founder of the Legion, Marcial Maciel, were reported.

De Andrés, who served as the school’s chaplain, was arrested March 6 by Spain’s National Police and released subject to restrictions. The priest was initially accused of sexually abusing one female student but subsequently four additional complaints were received.

According to the seventh statement issued by the institution since the case broke, Delgado has resigned from his duties.

“Given the situation we are going through at the school where I am principal, which has caused profound pain and distrust in our institution, I believe I must resign as principal,” the letter begins.

Delgado said he shares the pain of “those…

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One by one, the speakers walked up to the small table early Wednesday, then sat and faced the panel of lawmakers in front of them. Several came from across the country — Michigan, Minnesota, Tennessee and Texas. For some, it was their first time in the Missouri Capitol building.

They came to testify in support of two bills under consideration by Missouri lawmakers dealing with child sexual abuse. One would eliminate the statute of limitations in lawsuits involving child sex abuse. The other would prohibit the use of non-disclosure agreements in child sex abuse settlements.

But the hearing was also a chance to share their stories.

“The child victims of Missouri, including me, ask for your help today in leveling the playing field,” said Tammy Woods, who came forward last year to allege that she was sexually abused by Mike Bickle, founder of the International House of Prayer-Kansas City, in…

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Joel Collier is accused of grooming and sexually abusing Riley Neville beginning when she was 14 and attending music camps where he taught, according to a new lawsuit.

A decade ago, the Salvation Army fired a talented young music director after discovering that he’d sent graphic sexual messages to a child — only for another branch of the ministry to hire him a year later to lead youth camps in a different part of the country, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Those camps are where the music director, Joel Collier, met then-14-year-old Riley Neville in 2017. In the years that followed, she alleges that he sexually groomed and abused her, leading her to attempt suicide. The alleged abuse included sexually explicit text messages, requests to describe her naked body, fondling and, after she turned 18, “non-consensual intercourse” and “perverse, violent, and obscene sexual acts,”…

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ROME (CNS) — The Jesuits have written to 20 women who have accused Father Marko Rupnik of sexual, psychological and spiritual abuse, offering to work with them to find a path of reparation “geared toward healing the wounds” caused by the former Jesuit priest.

Jesuit Father Johan Verschueren, the order’s delegate for Interprovincial Roman Houses and Works, and Father Rupnik’s immediate superior before he was expelled from the order, confirmed the news in an email to Catholic News Service March 26.

Laura Sgrò, a lawyer for many of the women, issued a press release earlier in the day about the letter, which she said arrived March 25.

The press release said Father Verschueren told the women that the Jesuits had “offered Marko Rupnik the opportunity to take public responsibility for his actions, to repent, to ask for forgiveness and to begin a path of purification and therapy. Following his stubborn…

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VATICAN CITY (RNS) — In a letter sent to about 20 women who said they were abused by the Slovenian artist and former Jesuit priest Marko Rupnik, the Jesuit order on Tuesday (March 25) offered to start a “process of healing” based on recognizing the order’s own responsibility and a lack of justice.

The letter, signed by the Rev. Johan Verschueren, the delegate of the Father General for the Interprovincial Roman Houses and Works, stated the Jesuit order is “uneasy” with the situation and is aware “that the various kinds of violence suffered at the time are compounded by the pain caused by the lack of listening and justice for many years.”

Verschueren wrote he has “confidence that a process of healing and inner reconciliation is possible, provided there is also a path of truth and recognition on our part.”

At least five women have sought…

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NEW YORK (AP) — Pope Francis’ Jesuit religious order is making a broad gesture of reparations to some 20 women who say they were sexually, psychologically and spiritually abused by a famous ex-Jesuit artist and have been waiting for justice for years from the Vatican.

A top Jesuit official in Rome, the Rev. Johan Versuchen, said Wednesday he had sent a letter outlining the offer to 20 people who say they were abused by the Rev. Marko Rupnik. The Slovenian artist is one of the most celebrated religious artists in the Catholic Church and his mosaics decorate churches and basilicas around the world, including at the Vatican.

The Jesuits expelled Rupnik from their order in 2023 after more than two dozen women came forward to say he had sexually, spiritually or psychologically abused them over 30 years, some while they were collaborating with him on artworks. He remains a priest and his…

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A former Catholic priest facing child sexual abuse charges is eligible for home detention before trial, a Baltimore County judge ruled Tuesday.

William “Bill” Mannion Jr., who has also been an advocate for survivors of child sexual abuse, appeared by video for a bail review hearing for offenses authorities said were committed at a Catonsville church complex more than three decades ago.

During the hearing, District Judge Krystin Richardson said she was “concerned about the nature of the allegations that have been disclosed.” Still, she ruled that Mannion, 62, of Sparrows Point, is eligible for home detention through the Baltimore County Detention Center while he awaits trial.

Richardson noted during the hearing that Mannion scored low on a risk assessment tool.

No children live with him and he does not care for minors at his job as a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, the judge added….

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The Archdiocese of Chicago this week filed a lawsuit alleging a “racketeering enterprise” among a group of individuals who reportedly filed false abuse claims against a former priest to receive compensation from the Church there. 

The archdiocese said in a Monday statement that it had filed a lawsuit in Cook County circuit court “seeking injunctive relief and damages from participants of a wide-ranging racketeering scheme” that reportedly involved “more than a dozen” fraudulent abuse claims against disgraced former priest Daniel McCormack, who spent more than a decade in prison after pleading guilty to abusing young children.

Lawyers for the diocese did not respond to requests for comment and for a copy of the lawsuit on Wednesday morning. The diocese said in its press release that some of the participants in the alleged scheme are “convicted felons and known gang members,” including allegedly one convicted murderer.

The alleged fraudulent…

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France’s independent church abuse authority has received 1,580 victim contacts and issued 852 compensation decisions since its creation in November 2021.

As of March 24, 2025, there were 1,580 people have contacted the National Independent Authority for Recognition and Reparation (INIRR) after three years of activity in France. Among them, “1,235 are being supported” by one of the 22 caseworkers, added its president, Marie Derain de Vaucresson. The institution was created in November 2021 after the publication of France’s Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church (CIASE) report. It offers victims of sexual violence in the church in France measures of financial reparation and restorative justice pathways.

Its president mentioned a “resumption of activity” in February, with 31 people reaching out to the authorities, compared to an average of 10 per month. It is “a consequence of the media coverage of sexual violence in the church linked to…

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France’s National Independent Authority for Recognition and Reparation (INIRR) has compensated nearly 850 victims of clergy sex abuse since 2021, according to its latest report released on Wednesday. 

The annual report for 2024 states that since 2021, the organization has resolved 852 cases, with 99% involving financial compensation. 

INIRR President Marie Derain de Vaucresson wrote in a statement accompanying the report that 350 cases are still pending. 

The French conference of Catholic bishops established INIRR in November 2021 after the explosive Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CAISE) report released in October of that year found at the time that hundreds of thousands of children were abused in the Catholic Church in France in the past 70 years. 

The almost 2,500-page report said an estimated 216,000 children were abused by priests, deacons, monks, or nuns from 1950 to 2020.

It added that when abuse…

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The principal of a school run by members of Regnum Christi in Spain, the lay arm of the Legionaries of Christ, resigned after a school chaplain was arrested for sexually abusing five underage girls.

“Given the situation we are experiencing at the school where I am principal, which has caused profound pain and has generated distrust in our institution, I believe I must resign,” wrote Father Jesús María Delgado, a Legionaries of Christ priest and principal of the Highlands El Encinar school in Madrid.

“I want to express to those who feel let down and dejected by the disappointment that I share their pain. I apologize for all this hurt,” he wrote.

The scandal first came to light when the school announced March 7 that police had arrested Father Marcelino de Andrés Núñez after the parents of one student filed a complaint after their daughter said the priest had done…

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The last time I spoke with Elizabeth Ann Murphy was after the 2023 death of John Merzbacher, the fiendish former lay teacher at Catholic Community School in South Baltimore who had repeatedly raped her and other students in the 1970s.

Elizabeth Ann Murphy is pictured in 2010. She died Feb. 26, 2025. (Owen Sweeney III/CR file)

Liz had long forgiven Merzbacher for his horrific crimes. I knew that from past conversations when she told me she prayed for her tormentor daily. Still, I hesitated to ask her where she found the strength to forgive – especially now that he was gone, facing an eternal accounting for his actions. Part of me feared reopening wounds.

She paused. Then, in a slow, deliberate cadence, she answered.

“We know what our Lord calls us to – and it isn’t easy,” she said, her voice cracking through the phone. “It’s not something Liz does….

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ROME (AP) — A network of clergy sex abuse survivors on Tuesday announced a database of Catholic cardinals’ records on the handling of such cases in a bid to influence the next papal conclave, while urging Pope Francis in a letter to adopt a worldwide zero-tolerance policy following the U.S. church example.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests unveiled “Conclave Watch,’’ a database on cardinals’ records on clergy sex abuse that it hopes will put the issue at the center of consideration whenever the next pope is chosen.

SNAP board members arrived in Rome three weeks ago as Pope Francis was hospitalized in life-threatening condition, with the prospect of a conclave seemingly near. He returned to the Vatican on Sunday after beating double pneumonia, with doctor’s orders to take it easy for the next two months — putting to rest at least for now notions of a papal resignation or a…

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The state’s largest religious denomination is reporting $35 million in diocesan-owned property. But creditors are requesting financial specifics about affiliated parishes and other entities that so far aren’t part of the proceedings.

Seeking “full disclosure and transparency,” claimants with unresolved clergy sexual misconduct lawsuits against the Vermont Roman Catholic Diocese have asked a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge to order the church to detail local assets that so far aren’t part of the proceedings.

The state’s largest religious denomination, which filed for Chapter 11 protection last fall in hopes of reorganizing its depleting finances, has reported $35 million in diocesan-owned property. But a committee representing creditors is seeking specifics about holdings involving not only the South Burlington administrative headquarters but also everything it oversees, starting with 63 local parishes with an estimated collective worth of $500 million.

“The committee needs this information to assess, among other matters, amounts available to pay survivors,”…

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The Archdiocese of Chicago has filed a lawsuit claiming that at least 30 men fraudulently posed as victims of former priest Daniel McCormack to secure settlements.

The Brief

• The Archdiocese of Chicago is suing 30 men, alleging they falsely claimed to be victims of former priest Daniel McCormack.
• The lawsuit accuses gang members and convicted felons of fabricating abuse stories to secure multi-million-dollar settlements.
• Recorded jail calls allegedly revealed the scheme, with some referring to it as a “lick,” or scam.

CHICAGO – The Archdiocese of Chicago has filed a lawsuit claiming that at least 30 men fraudulently posed as victims of former priest Daniel McCormack to secure settlements.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in Cook County, alleges that the individuals—many with criminal records—coached each other on fabricated abuse claims and used the money for luxury purchases rather than recovery.

What we know:

The lawsuit alleges a coordinated scheme in which the defendants, some of…

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah on Tuesday added new protections for the children of online content creators following the child abuse conviction of Ruby Franke, a mother of six who dispensed parenting advice to millions on YouTube before her arrest in 2023.

Gov. Spencer Cox signed a law under the encouragement of Franke’s now ex-husband that gives adults a path to scrub from all platforms the digital content they were featured in as minors and requires parents to set aside money for kids featured in content. Kevin Franke told lawmakers in February that he wished he had never let his ex-wife post their children’s lives online and use them for profit.

“Children cannot give informed consent to be filmed on social media, period,” he said. “Vlogging my family, putting my children into public social media, was wrong, and I regret it every day.”

The Frankes launched the now-defunct “8…

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County police say detectives arrested William “Father Bill” Mannion

CATONSVILLE, Md. — Detectives believe there could be victims of child sexual abuse by a former priest who have yet to come forward, Baltimore County police said.

County police said detectives started to investigate allegations of past sexual abuse by a former priest, identified as William “Father Bill” Mannion, 62.

The alleged abuse took place approximately from 1991 through 1994 on St. Agnes Lane, police said.

Police said detectives arrested Mannion on Monday and charged him with second-degree child abuse and multiple sex offenses.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police department’s Crimes Against Children Unit at 410-887-7720 or Child Protective Services at 410-887-8463.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore sent a statement Monday to 11 News, saying: “William ‘Bill’ Mannion left the priesthood in the late 1990s and requested to be formally removed from the clerical state for reasons unrelated…

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A former Maryland priest and one-time sexual abuse whistleblower has been arrested and charged with second-degree child abuse and multiple sex offenses, Baltimore County Police said Monday.

William “Father Bill” Mannion, 62, is accused of sexual abuse that occurred from approximately 1991 through 1994, police said in a news release.

Detectives assigned to the Baltimore County Police Department’s Crimes Against Children Unit opened an investigation into reports of past sexual abuse by a priest in October 2023. During that investigation, a survivor gave information about alleged abuse involving Mannion in the 1990s in the 600 block of St. Agnes Lane in Catonsville, police said.

There may be more victims of Mannion’s alleged abuse, according to police, who are urging others to come forward.

In a statement Monday, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Baltimore said Mannion left the priesthood in the 1990s and was laicized, or formally removed from the…

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The lawsuit is a counterclaim against several cases involving convicted child molester and former priest Daniel McCormack that were filed in late December and are still pending, according to court records.

A lawsuit filed by the Archdiocese of Chicago alleges a group of individuals conspired to bring false sexual abuse allegations against convicted child molester and defrocked priest Daniel McCormack to win millions in legal settlements.

The alleged participants — including reputed gang members and a convicted murderer — referred to the false claims as a “lick,” which is a street term for theft or robbery, the lawsuit states.

One man was recorded on a phone call while in state prison saying, “I got to get on the money train, man,” according to the suit, which was filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court. The man on the other line responded, “Hell, yeah, I need some ass-free money, too. As…

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After Spotlight was released in 2015, the name Richard Sipe exploded from a name well-known in the clergy sexual abuse reform world to one that was integral in the plot of a blockbuster film.

Sipe was one of the most influential figures in breaking down the floodgates of holding the Catholic Church accountable for the abuse and cover-up of children. Sipe died on August 8, 2018, of multiple organ failure in La Jolla, California, at the age of 85.

Yet even at 85, he was still taking on new cases to help survivors of child sexual abuse.

One of his brothers, John Sipe, said Richard “fought an uphill battle is whole life.”

Sipe’s largest, but by no means singular, contribution to the world of clergy sexual abuse was his mammoth report, published in 1990, detailing the secret world of sexual misconduct within the Catholic Church.

His most bombshell findings were that,…

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A West Side man was talking to his imprisoned cousin in 2013 when he allegedly floated the idea of adding him to a string of bogus sexual abuse allegations filed against defrocked Chicago Catholic priest Daniel McCormack, court records show.

“I think I want to put you on these cases now,” the man told his cousin, who at the time was serving a three-year term for a gun conviction.

“Hell yeah,” the cousin, Ahmond Williams, allegedly responded. “I need some ass free money too. … As long as (McCormack) ain’t got to touch me for real, I don’t give a (expletive).”

That conversation recorded on a prison line 12 years ago was included in an unusual new lawsuit filed by the Archdiocese of Chicago on Monday alleging a group of mostly West Side residents, including a convicted murderer and others associated with violent street gangs, conspired for years to bring…

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The canonical trial against Slovenian Father Marko Rupnik — a prominent artist and former Jesuit accused of spiritually and sexually abusing women for decades — is being prepared, the Vatican’s doctrinal chief said.

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has gathered, organized and studied material relating to its investigation into the priest and “now must create a tribunal for a trial,” Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, dicastery prefect, told reporters on the sidelines of a book presentation March 21.

“Now a tribunal must be found,” the cardinal said. Although a shortlist of candidates to serve on the panel has been formed, “you must find judges that have certain characteristics for something very mediatic like this.”

The cardinal said that the dicastery has begun approaching potential judges, but they are currently in the phase of considering whether to accept the role.

“Then they, who will be people external to the…

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CWN Editor’s Note: The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) has completed an investigation of Father Marko Rupnik, and is now selecting judges for his trial, reports Cardinal Victor Fernandez.

Cardinal Fernandez says that the DDF has “made a list” of potential judges, noting that they must be chosen carefully because of the sensitivity and prominence of the case. Some of the judges who have been approached have not yet indicated whether they will accept the appointment, he added.

The DDF first received complaints of sexual abuse by Father Rupnik in 2018. After an investigation—which resulted in his excommunication for the separate canonical crime of abuse of the confessional—the DDF announced that the allegations of sexual abuse were covered by the statute of limitations, and the prosecution could not proceed.

In October 2022, amid an international uproar, Pope Francis waived the statute of limitations in this case, allowing…

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The pastor allegedly handed himself over to police, after residents protested outside his home and threatened to kill him if he did not do so

A CHATSWORTH pastor has been charged with the alleged rape of a 12-year-old boy from his congregation, sparking community outrage and calls for justice.

The 54-year-old man made his first appearance in the Chatsworth Magistrate’s Court, on Thursday. He is expected to apply for bail later this week. 

The pastor allegedly handed himself over to police on Thursday, after residents protested on Tuesday outside his home and threatened to kill him if he did not do so. 

It has been alleged the pastor had molested the boy from October 2024, and groomed him by kissing and fondling him at his Bayview home.

In February this year, he allegedly raped the boy.

Brandon Pillay, chairperson of the Bayview Community Policing Forum (CPF) and director of the Bayview Ubuntu Community Centre,…

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The confirmation, more than 15 years ago, of the sexual abuse of minors committed by the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, Marcial Maciel, marked a turning point for priests, consecrated men and women, and laypeople in the Regnum Christi movement. The revelation of these painful events led to a period of discernment and renewal that for many became a path of hope.

In 1998, nine victims filed formal charges against Maciel at the Vatican, but he denied the allegations. In 2004, the investigation was resumed, and the Holy See ordered him to withdraw from active ministry, although he was never expelled from the congregation. After his death in 2008, the Legionaries of Christ publicly apologized, confirming Maciel’s double life, which also included fathering at least four children with various women.

According to a 2019 report by Regnum Christi, at least 175 minors between the ages of 11…

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Rachel Fisher’s parents sang kingdom melodies the day she was born. The sound of religion followed Fisher growing up, where her evenings began with religious studies and ended with Bible dramas lulling her to sleep.   

Fisher, a fourth-generation Jehovah’s Witness and a survivor of child sexual assault, is an inactive member of her church. She traveled to Olympia to testify in support of a bill that would require clergy members to report child abuse they learn of while performing religious duties. 

If Senate Bill 5375 passes and becomes law, religious leaders would have to report incidents to law enforcement or the Department of Children, Youth and Family Services within 48 hours, with no exemption. This would include information learned during penitential communication, such as confession in the Catholic Church or within the Committee of Elders in a Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall, among others. Failure to do so could be…

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A former Baltimore priest was arrested for child sex abuse allegations in the 1990s, according to Baltimore County police.

William “Father Bill” Mannion, 62, is facing charges of second-degree child abuse and multiple sex offenses after he was accused of the crimes from 1991 through 1994 in the 600 block of St. Agnes Lane in Baltimore.

Police started investigating sexual abuse by a priest in October 2023 when a victim reported the abuse.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore said Mannion left the priesthood in the late 1990s after requesting to be formally removed from the clerical state for reasons unrelated to the alleged abuse. 

“The Archdiocese of Baltimore is saddened to learn of allegations of abuse by Mannion and is committed to cooperating fully with law enforcement,” the Archdiocese said in a statement. “The Archdiocese of Baltimore is committed to protecting children and helping to heal victims of abuse.”

Detectives believe…

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A former Catholic priest who played a key role in bringing down the notorious child rapist John Joseph Merzbacher has been charged with sex offenses that allegedly occurred during the same time period.

Baltimore County Police said William “Father Bill” Mannion, 62, of Sparrows Point, was arrested Monday and charged with second degree child abuse and multiple sex offenses.

Police said the alleged abuse occurred from approximately 1991 through 1994 in the 600 block of St. Agnes Lane, the address of St. Agnes Church. They provided no other details.

But detectives wrote in charging documents that a man told his therapist that Mannion abused him starting when he was in second grade and continuing through fourth grade at St. Agnes School. The man said Mannion took him to the monastery, played Christian rock music and abused him using puppets from his religion puppet show.

That time period of the alleged abuse…

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March 24, 2025

In October 2023, detectives with the Baltimore County Police Department’s Crimes Against Children Unit were alerted of past sexual abuse by a former priest. During their investigation, the survivor provided information regarding sexual abuse by 62-year-old William “Father Bill” Mannion that occurred from approximately 1991 through 1994 in the 600 block of St. Agnes Lane, 21229. On March 24, 2025, Mannion was arrested and charged with second degree child abuse and multiple sex offenses.

Detectives believe there may be more victims of Mannion’s abuse and urge them to come forward. Anyone with information about these crimes can contact the Crimes Against Children Unit at 410-887-7720 or Child Protective Services at 410-887-8463.

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Even as more states try to take responsibility, lawmakers weigh the financial liability

Avery Fauntleroy was 16 years old in 2008 when he entered the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School, a juvenile detention center in Maryland.

What was meant to be a place of rehabilitation for him became something far worse.

During his three-month stay for violating the conditions of his home detention order — which was originally issued for riding a motorized dirt bike on public roads — two male correctional staff members sexually abused him at least five times, he says, in both the intake office and the shower room.

Within the first few weeks of his stay, he was placed on something called a one-to-one — a form of suicide watch that required at least one officer to be with him at all times.

“The thing that was supposed to protect me the most was actually the…

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New evidence of the global nature of the clergy sexual abuse crisis from Mexico, France, and, perhaps, Argentina and other Latin American countries.

In France, former students and professors of Bétharram tell their stories of abuse, calling students of schools associated with that order in Argentina to come forward.

Having schools in one of the dioceses most affected by clergy abuse in Argentina, chances are the order behind Bétharram will face accusations in Latin America too.

This week there is a need to acknowledge a recent Mexican case of clergy sexual abuse and to take notice of what could be the effects in Argentina and elsewhere in the Catholic world of the crisis at the French boarding school of Our Lady of Bétharram.

These, as many other cases, confirm the global nature of the clergy sexual abuse crisis. It global nature is a consequence of the structure of the Catholic…

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A young man who came forward in 2023 saying that he had been abused by a Pensacola priest while attending a private school says the case has now been settled.

The details of the settlement with the Catholic Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee are confidential and can’t be released because the alleged victim says he signed a non-disclosure agreement, but he says he is comfortable with the outcome of the settlement and is glad he reported the alleged abuse.

“With it being an old case, they did what they could do. They made it right,” the man said.

Now in his 20s, the man and his mother shared his story of alleged sexual abuse with the News Journal, claiming that in the early 2010s Pensacola priest Monsignor James Flaherty began molesting him at St. John the Evangelist, a private Catholic school.

Abuse allegations: Mother, son…

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An employee of two Northeast Ohio Catholic Churches, was indicted by a Cuyahoga County Grand jury on several sexual charges involving a minor.

59-year-old, Andres Andino was arrested on March 16th.

Court records said the incidents happened between 2/25/2013 through 2/24/2018.

He has been charged with the following:

1 count of Rape – F1

2 counts of Sexual Battery – F3

2 counts of Unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.

According to the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, Andino worked full-time at St. John Bosco Parish in Parma Heights, and part-time at St. Joseph Parish in Avon Lake.

He has been placed on unpaid administrative leave at both parishes.

The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland released the following statement about the indictment.

The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, St. John Bosco Parish (Parma Heights), and St. Joseph Parish (Avon Lake) leadership were shocked and dismayed to learn of the arrest of a parish…

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The archdiocese is fighting to keep the records private.

A San Antonio Catholic priest accused of sexually assaulting a 70-year-old female parishioner is looking to obtain the personnel records of three other clergymen in what appears to be an attempt to help his court case. The Archdiocese of San Antonio, however, is fighting to keep the records private.

In September 2023, the Rev. George Mbugua Ndungu was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault after allegations of rape emerged from a private investigation ordered by the archdiocese. Ndungu was serving at St. Rose of Lima on the far Eastside when he was arrested.

Now, Ndungu’s defense attorney, Monica E. Guerrero, wants to pull personnel records for Revs. Eric Ritter, Kevin P. Faust and Michael English, all of whom served as pastors and priests at different parishes and even a Catholic school in San Antonio.

It is unclear how Guerrero plans to use the…

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How do legal principles and theological insights intersect in addressing the ethical concerns surrounding exorcisms?

Dr. Ronald Reese Ruark, an attorney in private practice in Canton, Michigan, has nearly 35 years of legal experience and holds a Master of Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary (1984) and a Juris Doctor from Marquette University Law School (1991). Currently pursuing doctoral studies at the University of Michigan, he focuses on the influence of Enochic Judaism on Paul’s apocalyptic theology. Ruark has written on theology, law, and religious skepticism, including his Free Inquiry article, Three Exorcisms. His theological and legal expertise intersect with his deep interest in First Amendment issues, particularly religious freedom and expression. He left the ministry in 1988 and returned for two years before departing permanently in 2006. Ruark describes his journey as an intellectual evolution shaped by rigorous theological study and his legal career. His perspective highlights the ethical concerns surrounding religious practices…

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Cathy Cesnik Murder Case: Shocking New Allegations Against Maskell, Koob & Cover-Ups Exposed.

The 1969 murder of Sister Catherine “Cathy” Cesnik, a beloved nun and teacher at Baltimore’s Archbishop Keough High School, has been a mystery for over 50 years. Her brutal death, a result of blunt force trauma, has haunted the city of Baltimore, leaving her loved ones, former students, and investigators grappling with unanswered questions.

But the true story behind Cesnik’s death has proven to be even darker than anyone could have imagined. From the allegations of sexual abuse against the school’s chaplain, Father Joseph Maskell, to the haunting revelations about the involvement of Gerry Koob — Cesnik’s boyfriend and fellow priest — and the sinister connection to other unsolved murders, the truth about Sister Cathy’s death reveals a vast web of corruption, abuse, and betrayal that has shaken the foundations of the Catholic Church.

This explosive case…

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The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) will hold a press conference in Rome on Tuesday, March 25th at 11:00am to release a letter from clergy abuse survivors to be delivered this weekend to Pope Francis. The letter conveys survivors’ urgent appeals to the pope in light of his declining health and the looming transition in church leadership.

At the same time, SNAP will announce the first results of its new Conclave Watch initiative—a global vetting process examining the records of potential papal candidates on clergy sexual abuse and their commitment to zero tolerance. As part of the Conclave Watch initiative, survivors will present several complaints made under the pope’s Vos Estis Lux Mundi decree against prominent cardinals in positions of oversight and leadership of the church’s management of clergy sexual abuse.

WHEN: Tuesday, March 25th, 10:00am

WHERE: Hotel Antico Palazzo Rospigliosi, Via Liberiana 22, Rome, Italy

WHAT: A press conference of clergy abuse survivors…

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A former Catholic school teacher in Louisville has been sentenced in federal court for having child porn.

Jordan Fautz, 40, was a seventh and eighth grade religion teacher and maintenance employee at St. Stephen Martyr Catholic School, which is on Hess Lane near Poplar Level Road. Federal investigators say he sent pornographic images of children to an undercover officer.

A federal judge sentenced him to 235 months in prison. That’s 19 years and seven months behind bars followed by 30 years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. 

Fautz was also ordered to pay $28,130 in restitution to his victims. 

Court documents show Fautz used yearbook photos of students and at least one adult from the school and photoshopped the pictures on top of nude images.

“Jordan Fautz chose to abuse his position of trust by egregiously violating the privacy of innocent children. His sentencing marks…

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A North Carolina pastor was found dead a week after he was charged with multiple child sex crimes, the Union County Sheriff’s Office today confirmed with The Roys Report (TRR). Waymon Jordan Sr., the senior pastor at Greater Blessed Hope Baptist Church in Waxhaw, North Carolina, was arrested on March 6, according to an earlier statement from the police on Facebook.

Jordan, 79, was charged with four counts of statutory sex offense with a child, the statement said. Following his arrest, he was released on a bond of $200,000, police said.

The pastor was found dead last week — about a week after being released, Lieutenant James Maye told TRR. Jordan was discovered behind his church with a weapon nearby. 

While a cause and manner of death could not be revealed, Maye said police suspect no foul play in Jordan’s death. Police said that no other suspects are being sought in…

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In short:

The Anglican Bishop of Tasmania, Richard Condie, will offer an apology to the community of Deloraine, where one of the state’s most notorious paedophiles was a rector in the 1980s.

Some victim-survivors say the church still needs to “own up” to the ways it “facilitated” abuse by moving paedophiles — including former church rector Louis Victor Daniels — around, and by not acting on allegations of abuse.

What’s next?

Dr Condie says the church has finalised 84 payments, totalling $17.5 million, to survivors of sexual abuse since 2018, which is about half of what the church estimates it will need to pay over the next 10 years.

Deloraine in northern Tasmania is where one of the state’s most notorious paedophiles, Louis Victor Daniels, was rector of the local Anglican church in the 1980s.

Warning: This story contains references to child sexual abuse that may distress some readers.

“Abuse…

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After a lengthy hearing on Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Avion M. Benjamin ordered Seton Hall University to provide her with an internal report on sexual abuse claims involving clergy at the school.

“Seton Hall, in her view, violated a previous court order from a couple of years ago, where she says that they should have coughed up certain documents related to this 2019 report that’s related to former Cardinal McCarrick, into clergy abuse at Seton Hall. And they now have to give her an unredacted version of that report and related documents for her to review. And then she will decide whether portions of it are subject to attorney-client privilege, think that it should be redacted, and then she will then share that redacted version with lawyers for the plaintiffs in this broader case,” said Dustin Racioppi, New Jersey editor for Politico, in an interview with NJ Spotlight News.

Seton…

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A Jefferson County pastor and former school bus driver is being accused of sexually exploiting juveniles.

On Wednesday, Elvis Colenberg turned himself into the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.

He’s being charged with one count of exploitation of children.

Sheriff James Bailey Sr., said his department and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation are investigating the case.

According to investigators, Colenberg forced a 14-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl to have sex with each other on the school bus he was driving.

The female student told law enforcement this happened about 20 times.

“The young lady she was kind of devastated about it, traumatized,” Bailey said. “We actually were going to seek counseling for her because she said it happened so many times and she felt like she was done wrong.”

The investigation was launched back in February after the 14-year-old female student came forward to law enforcement confessing what was happening.

…

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The Orland Church of the Nazarene is no more.

The church has been closed in light of its pastor’s arrest on five counts of child molesting and subsequent removal from the church, said the leader of the District Church of the Nazarene.

Rodger Daily Strong, 69, rural Angola, was arrested on Monday for three Level 1 felony and two Level 4 felony counts of child molesting.

He was removed as pastor of the Orland Church of the Nazarene, where he had served some 40 years, on March 6 by District Superintendent Tim Kellerman.

“Upon hearing Rodger was being investigated, I met with him, removed him as pastor and subsequently closed the church the next Sunday as the seven remaining members are unable to provide the resources necessary to keep the church open,” Kellerman said.

As was reported Wednesday by KPC Media, Strong told police on March 7 that he was…

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The Vatican is collaborating with tech leaders and companies, governmental institutions, scholars, and nongovernmental organizations to fight “a war on two frontiers” — the sexual abuse and exploitation of children in person and online, including in the sphere of artificial intelligence (AI).

“We are really currently in a war at two frontiers when it comes to protecting children — the old ugly child exploitation, one-on-one, is not overcome — and now we have the new AI, gender-based violence at scale and sophistication. These are two things which are interacting,” Joachim Von Braun, president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences, said at a March 20 press conference.

“The Church,” Von Braun added, “has a role to play in both of these, and it needs to work on a science base and deeply engage in the regulatory debate, otherwise we cannot win.”

The Pontifical Academy of Sciences is…

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