ABUSE TRACKER

“Hecker the pecker checker.” That’s what one survivor called him. Roman Catholic priest Lawrence Hecker, of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Louisiana, pled guilty to aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated crime against nature, and theft on December 3, 2024. He was sentenced to life in prison on December 18. He died on December 26, 2024.

Hecker was ordained a priest in 1958. Sexual assault allegations against him date back to the 1960s. Why did it take until 2024 to convict him?

This post explains that Hecker repeatedly assaulted children while remaining free from legal liability. Ramon Antonio Vargas of The Guardian, David Hammer of WWL, and Aubry Killion of WDSU provided detailed accounts of Hecker’s treatment by his archdiocese and by the courts of law throughout these difficult years. I am grateful for their stories.

1958-1960s

Hecker was ordained a priest in 1958 and quickly started molesting. One early victim was a preteen altar…

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Court finds Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation ‘intentionally and recklessly withheld knowledge of past and ongoing sexual abuse by its clergy’

The Roman Catholic archdiocese of St. John’s has lost its legal fight to have its insurance company cover some of the cost of its settlement with clergy abuse survivors.

After a trial in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court in St. John’s that began a year ago, Justice Peter Browne determined Dec. 20 the failure of the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John’s (RCEC) to disclose the sexual abuse when it applied for and renewed its Guardian Insurance policy in the 1980s, rendered the policy invalid.Article content

The RCEC has been in bankruptcy protection for three years as it sells off properties and other assets to raise money to settle the claims of survivors of sexual abuse by Christian Brothers at Mount Cashel Orphanage and other Roman Catholic clergy, for which it…

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As a consequence of the attempts of Catholic leaders to downplay its scope, the sexual abuse crisis continues with little or no expectation of change.

Today’s piece summarizes what Los Angeles Press has published over 2024 about the clergy sexual abuse crisis at the Roman Catholic Church.

The sexual abuse crisis runs the risk of getting worse in a context less willing to pressure that and other churches in the United States, Latin America and elsewhere.

2025 will be year 42 of the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the Roman Catholic Church. Back in 2023, Los Angeles Press published a piece offering a summary of the crisis going back to the early 1980s, when Jason Berry first uncovered the sorrowful stories of abused kids and gaslighting clergymen in Roman Catholic dioceses in Louisiana, United States.

The last installment of that series, linked after this paragraph, offers an estimate of the number of current victims for more…

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The leadership of the Hungarian Catholic Church has recently presented a divided picture in its handling of internal sex scandals and child protection cases. While some bishops have taken decisive steps to investigate such cases, some church statements still avoid clear apologies.

Bishop András Veres emphasised in a coldly worded statement that collective prayer and fasting were more important than empathy for the victims. At the same time, several bishops, such as Zsolt Marton and László Varga, have called for reform of the Church, with open apologies and an emphasis on the importance of prevention.

Details of a case in Balatonfüred

Recently, the case of a nun working at St Benedict High School in Balatonfüred exemplified the possibility of transparency and accountability in the Church. According to Válasz Online, the nun, who belonged to the monastic branch of the Community of the Eight Beatitudes, had worked at the institution for…

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What you need to know:

• Justin Welby resigned as Archbishop of Canterbury after failing to report John Smyth’s horrific abuse of over 130 boys and men in Christian summer camps.
• The church’s conspiracy of silence enabled Smyth to continue his abuse while receiving financial support, highlighting institutional complicity.
• Religious institutions must take responsibility for preventing gender-based violence, establish early warning systems, and empower their followers to stand up against abuse of power.

The resignation of Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury (the ceremonial head of the Anglican Church), in the second week of November passed as a whimper yet the reason for his action is significant.

He was buckling to sustained pressure arising from the independent Makin Review, which concluded that barrister John Smyth, described as “the most prolific abuser associated with the Church of England”, could have been held accountable had the Archbishop alerted the authorities in 2013 of the former’s…

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The Bishop of Newcastle has criticised the Archbishop of York’s Christmas sermon, just weeks before he takes over as leader of the Church of England.

Stephen Cottrell’s remarks capped off a turbulent end to the year for the Church, following the release of a report which accused it of covering up sexual abuse.

That prompted the resignation of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby after he was criticised for not doing enough to stop a prolific abuser.

With Mr Welby opting to break with years of tradition and miss this year’s Christmas services at Canterbury Cathedral, Mr Cottrell’s remarks were closely watched.

Helen-Ann Hartley, who as Bishop of Newcastle has been a vocal critic of Mr Cottrell, described his sermon as “empty words. I have no words more than that to describe their meaning.”

She has previously said he should resign as archbishop.

At York Minster on Christmas morning, the archbishop appeared…

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Christmas, a holiday promising peace, is turning out to be a tumultuous period for the Church of England as sexual abuse scandals threaten to derail the archbishop of York, the senior cleric charged with leading the church after the Nov. 11 resignation of Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Since then, George Carey, who held Welby’s seat from 1991 to 2002, has also agreed to no longer officiate as a priest after being accused of failing to deal with a priest accused of abuse, in the same case that has also led to demands for the resignation of  Stephen Cottrell, the archbishop of York.

The combined scandals have given momentum to those calling for the the church to give up some of its influence in the worldwide Anglican Communion and for its bishops to no longer hold seats in the House of Lords as the so-called Lords Spiritual.

…

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When Murray Jones launched the podcast Heaven’s Helpline, he had no idea he would receive responses across five continents. After a two-year investigation, he reflects on how the church has reacted, and the heartbreaking messages he’s received.

One month ago, the New Zealand Herald released the first episodes of the podcast Heaven’s Helpline − my six-part investigation into the Mormon church in New Zealand, and its mishandling of reports of physical and sexual abuse within its membership.

Since then, I’ve received more than 100 emails and responses from all over the world − Australia, the US, Canada, the UK, South Africa, Japan and beyond. The stories told in the series really seem to have struck a chord.

The thing is, we know abuse isn’t just a Mormon problem. It happens in all sorts of institutions, in all walks of life.

Just this month, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon officially apologised for decades of…

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Yes, of COURSE I remember Father Harris from my time at Mater Dei High School, 1974-8. You couldn’t miss him. He cut quite a swath across campus, elevated from charismatic religion teacher to principal by my senior year. “Father Hollywood” they called him, and “the surfing priest.” I remember him prancing around in short shorts and tee-shirt showing off his physique, bounding like a stag, always being followed around by the high school girls, knowing the latest popular songs and jokes. He reportedly came from Brea money, had his own place in Newport, and for a time there he drove a Corvette. I found him creepy and inappropriate, and I don’t think he liked me either, but I was in the minority – most of the other kids thought he was hell of cool, or, in the parlance of those times, “bitchin’.”

Some of my old school friends…

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So, at the end of 2023, I published my “Catholic Wish List” for 2024, laying out some hopes for the church that seemed, if not “easy,” then at least reasonable and doable for the truly motivated. Readers said they shared my hopes but believed I was indulging a pipe-dream.

Well, as 2024 closes, we see small signs of progress, here and there. A recent announcement that the Vatican will consider how to address “spiritual abuse,” particularly when “false mysticism” plays a part in the sexual abuse of vulnerable adults by clergy, will directly affect ongoing investigations concerning Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik and others. I’d wished for speedier investigations into such matters and men but the church is being necessarily thoughtful of the long term, here, which is a good thing.

Thoughtfulness is slow-going, though, and other parts of my “wish list” seem stuck in a stifling inertia of bureaucracy, material…

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An Anglican campaign group has published a resource guidance suggesting that the Bible supports transgender identity, claiming that “not everyone in the Bible is cisgender” and “affirms trans, intersex and queer people.”

The guidance, hosted on the website LGBT Faith UK among other resources in its “The Bible Affirms” series, claims the Bible includes “some clear queer characters” and highlights eunuchs and women engaging in traditionally masculine roles as examples.

The document’s title asserts: “The Bible affirms trans, intersex, and queer people.” It opens with the statement: “Not everyone in the Bible is cisgender. Nor is everyone in the Bible biologically or anatomically male or female.” The guidance points to eunuchs as “biblical ancestors” of trans-identified individuals, emphasizing their role in Scripture.

One key example cited is from Acts 8, where an angel directs the evangelist Philip to meet an Ethiopian eunuch reading Scripture. Philip shares…

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Rt. Rev. Lawrence Mukasa, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kasana-Luwero, has issued a powerful condemnation of child sacrifice and exploitation, calling for collective action to safeguard children’s rights. The message was delivered during the Diocesan Children’s Day celebrations at Our Lady of Fatima Queen of Peace Kasana Cathedral by Rev. Fr. Robert Kayiwa, Assistant Parish Priest of Kasana Cathedral Parish.

The event, held on Saturday, brought together hundreds of children from 22 parishes across the diocese to celebrate their importance in the community. During the celebration, 14 children took oaths and joined the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS). The Diocese also marked Holy Innocents’ Day, observed globally on December 28, which commemorates the massacre of male children in Bethlehem by King Herod, following the birth of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew.

Representing Bishop Mukasa, Rev. Fr. Kayiwa expressed the bishop’s grave concern over the alarming increase in child…

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The survivor of Lawrence Hecker’s abuse said he feels ‘vindicated’ by the former priest’s death

A 93-year-old former Catholic priest sentenced to life in prison earlier this month for raping a teenage boy has died, Louisiana authorities and his lawyer confirmed Friday.

Less than two weeks after being sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars, Lawrence Hecker died of natural causes at 3 a.m. Thursday at the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center, according to Ken Pastorick, Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections communications director.

Hecker had pleaded guilty to charges including first-degree rape and aggravated kidnapping shortly before jury selection for his long-delayed trial had been scheduled to begin earlier this month, with other victims prepared to testify against him.

The survivor of the assault to which Hecker pleaded guilty had said that Hecker raped him after offering to instruct him in wrestling moves ahead of tryouts…

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At year’s end, it’s standard journalistic practice to look back at the most important stories of the past 12 months. Since plenty of people already do that on the Vatican beat, I decided a long time ago to go another direction by offering a list of the most under-covered Vatican stories of the year.

By that, I mean stories which were important, but which, for one reason or another, didn’t generate a lot of buzz, either in the mainstream media or the specialized Catholic press. It’s not that they weren’t covered at all, simply that the volume of coverage wasn’t proportionate to the inherent merits of the story.

So, let’s begin.

Five: The Martinelli Verdict

A Vatican trial regarding alleged sexual abuse in the Pre-Seminary of St. Pius X, then located on Vatican grounds, had the misfortune of unfolding around the same time as the “Trial of the Century” pivoting…

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Fr András Pajor, a prominent advocate of the ruling Fidesz party’s “political Christianity”, was accused of abuse by former altar boys.

The sexual abuse crisis gripping the Catholic Church in Hungary has expanded to include the Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest, headed by the Hungarian primate Cardinal Péter Erdő.

Attention previously focused on a wave of suspensions and prosecutions of priests in the Archdiocese of Kalocsa-Kecskemét, which emerged over the autumn. But on 5 December, news broke of canonical and police investigations into Fr András Pajor, a priest in Budapest.

Fr Pajor is a prominent advocate of the ruling Fidesz party’s “political Christianity”. In 2023 he received Hungary’s Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit for his “role in youth education”. 

Pajor has long urged Christians to vote for the governing Fidesz-KDNP alliance. More recently, he has also become notable as a spreader of Russian propaganda, claiming…

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[See also the Michigan AG’s Lansing report.]

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

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

The list of priests for which there were allegations of sexual misconduct against either children or adults since January 1, 1950, for the Diocese of Lansing that was established in 1937, is derived from information gleaned from a search warrant that was executed against the…

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[See also the Michigan AG’s Lansing report.]

A new report by the Michigan Department of Attorney General suggests that the 1970s and 80’s were the peak decades for alleged instances of sexual misconduct involving clerics of the Diocese of Lansing – with over half of all such alleged incidents, since 1950 until now, said to have occurred during those two decades.

The report, published today, also confirms that the Diocese of Lansing has long cooperated with law enforcement in referring allegations of clerical sexual abuse of minors to the civil authorities. Such referrals have been mandatory since the adoption of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People by the U.S. Bishops in 2002 but also occurred, as today’s report confirms, in prior years too.

“Having read this long and detailed report, my heart breaks for all those who have suffered due to the evil of clerical sexual abuse which…

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[See also the Michigan AG’s Lansing report.]

More than 50 clergy — including 48 priests — in a Michigan diocese have been accused of sexual abuse dating back to the 1950s, according to a disturbing report by the state’s top prosecutor.

State Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office issued the report as part of a five-year investigation into clergy sexual abuse within the Great Lakes State’s Catholic dioceses.

In total, the investigation found that 48 priests, three religious brothers, one former religious brother and four deacons allegedly engaged in sexual misconduct in the Diocese of Lansing over the past seven decades.

Of these, 11 Catholic clergy abuse cases had charges filed and nine have resulted in convictions as a result of its statewide probe. Two cases involved priests and one religious brother from the Lansing diocese, according to the Detroit News.

Vincent DeLorenzo, a former priest, was…

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A $3.5-million settlement announced Tuesday in the case of a man allegedly abused by a former Catholic priest at Mater Dei High School decades ago is not the only such case involving the school, according to the law firm representing the victim.

Attorneys on the case held a news conference outside of Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove on Wednesday where the lawsuit against Michael Harris, a onetime Mater Dei administrator, was presented as one piece of a predatory puzzle at the private Catholic school overseen by the Diocese of Orange.

Attorney Mike Reck said there are two more cases involving Mater Dei High School that are set to go to trial next year as “bellwether” cases that could help predict the outcome of other similar lawsuits.

“More of these trials are coming,” he said. “They’re coming because survivors are tired and because the survivors deserve it.”

The settlement with the…

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Resignations by incompetent leaders like Justin Welby are welcome – but what we really need is true institutional responsibility.

In November, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby announced his resignation as the leader of the Church of England after an independent review into the crimes of John Smyth exposed his persistent failure to take the necessary steps to bring the prolific child abuser to justice. He will officially step down in early January.

The independent Makin review found that Smyth, a barrister involved in Christian ministry, abused as many as 130 boys and young men at Christian summer camps in Africa and England over four decades. Smyth, who the review found had subjected his victims to traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks, died in 2018 at the age of 75, without facing full accountability.

The abuse suffered at the hands of John Smyth was “prolific and abhorrent”, the inquiry found….

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Lawrence Hecker, an elderly and enfeebled former Catholic priest who pleaded guilty this month to raping a boy in a church gym in New Orleans nearly 50 years ago, died Thursday morning in prison only days after he began serving a life sentence.

The 93-year-old Hecker died at 3 a.m. inside Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel of “natural causes,” said Ken Pastorick, a spokesperson for the state Department of Public Safety and Corrections. Robert Hjortsberg, one of Hecker’s attorneys, also confirmed the death.

Hecker had arrived at the prison from Orleans Parish on Monday to determine his long-term placement, Pastorick said. Prior to that, he had undergone a routine medical screening at Orleans Justice Center, where he was found to be in stable condition with no signs of distress, according to Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Casey McGee.

Judge Nandi Campbell had just handed Hecker the…

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The Archdiocese of Dubuque has filed a motion to dismiss three civil lawsuits in Charlotte County, Florida involving alleged abuse that occurred in the 1980’s in Dubuque.

In October, three unnamed individuals sued former Dubuque Priest Leo Riley and the Archdiocese of Dubuque in Florida, where Riley now resides.

Riley filed a motion to dismiss the cases in November.

The Archdiocese argues that the lawsuits should be dismissed because the allegations are not connected to Florida, and forcing the case into a Florida court would violate due process.

They also stated that the abuse, which allegedly occurred between 1985 and 1986 while Riley was a priest in Dubuque, should not fall under Florida jurisdiction. The plaintiffs claim that the Archdiocese failed to investigate the abuse or recognize the risks posed by Riley.

Riley served with the Archdiocese from 1982 to 2002, when he requested to be…

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A Kansas City church deacon, who was being investigated by the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph for a sex abuse claim in a St. Louis lawsuit, has returned to full-time ministry, according to a diocese spokesperson.

Ralph Wehner, a Kansas City deacon at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Kansas City, is back to work in ministry after facing a precautionary suspension while the diocese investigated the sex abuse claim. The lawsuit, filed July 24, accuses St. Louis church officials of covering up abuse by clergy and staff for decades. Dozens of plaintiffs are listed on the suit, including one Ralph Wehner.

But even after the investigation has closed, the diocese has still not confirmed or denied whether the man accused of sex abuse is the same man working in Kansas City.

One plaintiff, W.C., alleged that “Brother Ralph Wehner” had groped and fondled him at least three times when…

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A week before Christmas, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act in a bipartisan — and nearly unanimous — vote of 373-33. Earlier in the week, the Senate passed the bill unanimously, and President Joe Biden signed it into law Dec. 23.

The bill aims to reform the troubled teen industry, which receives millions of dollars in revenue from government funds each year but lacks federal oversight. Many youth are placed in these facilities against their will, sometimes being kidnapped by employees with a parent’s consent, and subjected to behavior modification regimes in attempts to improve “whatever parents may deem wrong with their teenage kids.”

Rather than utilizing clinically based or trauma-informed care, these institutions typically employ abusive methods of control and torture against teens, including restricted access to food, sexual abuse, emotional manipulation and restricted access to communication with anyone outside the facility. In turn, these…

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After a concerted effort to conduct a thorough investigation, the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph Independent Ombudsman has discovered no additional information to corroborate the August 1, 2024, accusation against Ralph Wehner, and the complainant has withdrawn the lawsuit in which the accusation was made.

Therefore, the Independent Review Board has recommended to Bishop James Johnston that the diocese follow existing protocols and close the preliminary investigation. Bishop Johnston has lifted the precautionary suspension from exercising diaconal ministry and restored Deacon Ralph Wehner to active ministry.

The Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph is committed to accountability, action and investment of time and resources to stop the abuse of minors, prevent future abuse and foster healing for survivors and their families. Since 2002, 41,000 adults working or volunteering with the Church in our diocese have been trained in how to recognize and report child sexual abuse, establishing a strong culture of prevention.

…

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A 93-year-old former Catholic priest sentenced to life in prison earlier this month for raping a teenage boy has died, Louisiana authorities and his lawyer confirmed Friday.

Less than two weeks after being sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars, Lawrence Hecker died of natural causes at 3 a.m. Thursday at the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center, according to Ken Pastorick, Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections communications director.

Hecker had pleaded guilty to charges including first-degree rape and aggravated kidnapping shortly before jury selection for his long-delayed trial had been scheduled to begin earlier this month, with other victims prepared to testify against him.

The survivor of the assault to which Hecker pleaded guilty had said that Hecker raped him after offering to instruct him in wrestling moves ahead of tryouts for a school team in the mid-1970s.

“The only prayer I can come up with I hope…

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Former Roman Catholic clergyman dies a little more than a week after beginning life sentence, according to officials

Admitted child rapist and retired Roman Catholic priest Lawrence Hecker has died a little more than a week after he began serving a sentence of life imprisonment, officials said on Friday.

Hecker, 93, had pleaded guilty on 3 December to charges that he had kidnapped and raped a teenager at a New Orleans church in 1975. He had received a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment on 18 December and, four days later, had been transferred to a Louisiana prison known as Elayn Hunt, according to the state’s department of corrections spokesperson Ken Pastorick.

Pastorick said Hecker died at about 3am on 26 December, at Elayn Hunt, of what were described as natural causes.

Hecker’s attorney Robert Hjortsberg said Hecker was meant to eventually be sent to Louisiana’s maximum-security state penitentiary, which is nicknamed  View Cache

Anglican and Catholic churches must not forget or ignore the boys who suffered horrific abuse at the hands of predatory priests across the continent.

The Church of England is facing a long overdue reckoning in Africa.  Its leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, announced his resignation in November after an independent review brought attention to his failure to report to the authorities the barrister John Smyth, a prolific abuser of children.

Smyth is found to have physically, sexually and psychologically abused more than 100 boys and young men over four decades at Church of England-affiliated summer camps in England, South Africa and my country, Zimbabwe. He died in Cape Town, South Africa in 2018, at the age of 77, without ever being held accountable.

The independent review into Smyth’s alleged crimes, and the Church’s attempts to cover them up, makes for harrowing read.

His “appalling” abuse of boys in England…

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In short:

Retired priest Guy Norman Hartcher was arrested in Pendle Hill and charged with child sex offences on Monday.

Police allege the 77-year-old tried to meet with a teenage boy after sharing “sexually explicit photographs” and child abuse material.

What’s next?

Mr Hartcher was refused bail and is expected to appear before Parramatta Local Court on Tuesday.

A retired Sydney priest has been charged with child sex offences after he allegedly groomed a 14-year-old boy online.

NSW Police arrested Guy Norman Hartcher in Pendle Hill around 12:15pm on Monday.

According to police, Facebook had identified an account sharing child abuse material overseas that was allegedly operated by the 77-year-old.

The account was shut down and referred to the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, who referred it to NSW Police in early December.

An investigation into the religious leader was then launched under Strike Force Trawler.

Detectives purporting…

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In front of a packed courtroom, with Oakland Bishop Michael Barber looking on, eight survivors who East Bay priests sexually abused as children or teens recounted traumatic stories in front of U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge William Lafferty on Friday as part of the diocese’s ongoing bankruptcy case. 

Many of the survivors were overcome with emotion as they recalled being forced into sex acts or raped by trusted priests when they were as young as five-years-old. Some of the accused perpetrators are notorious priests with long track records of abuse allegations, like Stephen Kiesle or Don Broderson. In other cases, the alleged abuser had never been publicly accused before this recent wave of lawsuits, like the now-deceased Monsignor John McCracken.

“It meant a lot to be able to come and talk and have the judge listen,” said survivor Sherry Waterworth, who said she was abused by Stephen Kiesle when she was…

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Christmas, a holiday promising peace, is turning out to be a tumultuous period for the Church of England as sexual abuse scandals threaten to derail the archbishop of York, the senior cleric charged with leading the church after the Nov. 11 resignation of Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Since then, George Carey, who held Welby’s seat from 1991 to 2002, has also agreed to no longer officiate as a priest after being accused of failing to deal with a priest accused of abuse, in the same case that has also led to demands for the resignation of  Stephen Cottrell, the archbishop of York.

The combined scandals have given momentum to those calling for the the church to give up some of its influence in the worldwide Anglican Communion and for its bishops to no longer hold seats in the House of Lords as the so-called Lords Spiritual.

…

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A man, identified as Speaker 7, choked back tears as he recounted being molested about four decades ago, when he was just 5 or 6 years old, by Father George J. Francis of St. Bede Catholic Church in Hayward.

“He would tell the best stories, and I would sit in his lap while he was wearing just a robe,” the man said.

One day, while Father Francis was reading him a story at the priest’s home, they suddenly started what he thought was playful wrestling, and the priest held him down, Speaker 7 said.

“There was a pain in my bottom. I didn’t understand why he was hurting me. I didn’t understand I was being molested,” he said.

Over two hours at federal bankruptcy court in Oakland last Friday, eight male and female survivors of alleged childhood sexual abuse at the hands of priests in the Roman Catholic Diocese of…

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[See also the objection filed with the bankruptcy court.]

A bankruptcy court filing this month alleges that the Diocese of Oakland, California, poured tens of millions of dollars into a diocesan fund in order to avoid a payout to survivors of clergy sexual abuse. 

A Dec. 11 filing by attorneys on behalf of a committee of abuse survivors, lodged in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, claims the diocese “perpetrated a fraudulent scheme to funnel substantial assets away from what would soon become its bankruptcy estate” into the coffers of a “non-debtor alter ego,” the Oakland Parochial Fund (OPF).

In the months leading up to its bankruptcy filings, the claim alleges, the diocese “entered into a series of synthetic management and services agreements” with the fund, after which it “transferred approximately $106 million in assets” to the fund before borrowing $35 million back from it. 

Prior to those transactions, the fund “held…

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An Australian bishop who resigned in 2021 appeared in court Monday after being charged with five more sexual offenses.

Bishop Christopher Saunders, the former Bishop of Broome, did not enter a plea to the new charges during his Dec. 23 appearance at Broome Magistrates Court. But his lawyer said he planned to plead not guilty at his next court appearance.

The new charges reportedly concern allegations of sexual assault against a 24-year-old man in 2016.

The 74-year-old bishop faces a total of 33 charges. Twenty-one charges relate to alleged assaults against three victims between 2008 and 2013. Saunders has pleaded not guilty to the 21 charges.

The bishop has not yet entered a plea to a further seven firearms charges, including illegal possession of a weapon.

Saunders is due to appear in court again Feb. 3.

The bishop was arrested in February of this year following a January police raid on his…

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At a time when many long-term diocesan initiatives center on traditional concerns such as evangelization and renewal efforts, or sustainability through parish closures and mergers, the Diocese of Fall River has taken a different tact, prioritizing the well-being of its priests.

Early this month, Bishop Edgar da Cunha announced the “Stronger Priests, Stronger Parishes, Stronger Church Initiative.” The campaign, which will run from 2025-2027, is a diocese-wide effort to “meaningfully address organizational and individual obstacles impacting the successful and healthy ministry of our priests,” as described by da Cunha in a Dec. 11 letter to the faithful.

In a recent conversation with Crux, da Cunha didn’t downplay other priorities, but said that from his perspective, nothing is possible if priests are not healthy and holy.

“I have taken priests out of ministry in the last few years who are facing different problems, different issues … a lot of low morale, stress,…

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The Archbishop of York, who will effectively take over as leader of the Church of England next month, has called for change in his Christmas sermon.

Stephen Cottrell delivered his remarks as the Church faces criticism over failures in its handling of various abuse scandals.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigned last month after he was criticised for not doing enough to stop a prolific abuser. He will not preside over the Christmas service at Canterbury Cathedral.

Some victims directly affected by the abuse scandals have spoken about experiencing a difficult Christmas, saying they feel that they are still not being listened to.

One woman, who says she was sexually abused by a priest, told the BBC: “I just feel that Stephen Cottrell hasn’t really thought about how victims would feel [that he is] the voice of the Church moving into Christmas”.

Mr Cottrell, set to take over many of…

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• Bankrupt dioceses struggle to reach abuse litigation deals
• Effect of Supreme Court’s Purdue decision added new wrinkle

When a Long Island-based Catholic diocese’s restructuring plan was approved by a court, it became only the fifth religious organization—out of nearly two dozen—in five years to reach a deal to end its bankruptcy.

Diocese bankruptcies are spurred by litigation alleging decades-old child sex abuse by clergy members. The Chapter 11 cases are often drawn out amid negotiations with abuse claimants and frustrated insurers over compensation and abuse-preventing protocols. In June, the US Supreme Court introduced another factor with its Harrington v. Purdue Pharma LP decision barring litigation shields for people and entities with ties to a bankrupt company without creditor consent.

“Clients are feeling these delays are intensifying their anguish and psychological injuries,” said Judie A. Saunders, a partner at ASK LLP, who represents clergy abuse survivors outside of the bankruptcies. “They feel misinformed.”

…

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One Green Party politician described their recent election experience as being spat out by the Irish people. It is somewhat ironic that while there is general agreement that climate change is the great issue of our generation, the one political party dedicated to highlighting the problem and coming up with solutions is the one that gets completely rejected by the people. The Green Party and other climate activists desperately try to get home the message that we are in a dire situation. They have tried all kinds of ways to shock us with statistics in order to get us to change our ways. Are they being successful?

The result of the election and indeed the return of Mr ‘drill baby drill’ Trump might suggest not.

Parallel

I find a striking parallel between our attitude to climate change and how so many in our Irish Church approach the realities and challenges…

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News broke Saturday that the president of the Archdiocese of Newark’s Seton Hall University was previously found to have dealt inappropriately with accusations of sexual abuse while he was seminary rector on the same campus.

According to a Dec. 21 report from Politico, an internal investigation at the university, opened in the fallout of the 2018 Theodore McCarrick scandal, found that Msgr. Joseph Reilly had failed to follow proper procedures in two instances while rector of the Immaculate Conception Seminary — and that he was aware of a third.

The news has generated substantial criticism of Msgr. Reilly, and the decision to appoint him as president of Seton Hall earlier this year. And it re-raises questions of accountability and transparency in the Newark archdiocese, which was the epicenter of the scandal around former cardinal McCarrick, who led the archdiocese until moving to Washington in 2000.

—
In the immediate wake…

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A priest has been charged after allegedly grooming a 14-year-old boy online. 

The 77-year-old was arrested at Pendle Hill, in western Sydney, at 12pm on Monday.

He was taken to Granville Police Station where he was charged with two offences.

Use carriage service-procure under 16 years for sex with another and use carriage service to send indecent material to person under 16 were the charges.

The priest was refused bail to appear in Parramatta Local Court on Tuesday.

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A former Kentucky Catholic schoolteacher has pleaded guilty to child pornography-related charges after authorities said he photoshopped students’ faces onto nude female bodies and shared them online.

Jordan A. Fautz pleaded guilty Dec. 18 to charges including distribution of child pornography, and distribution of obscene visual representation of child sexual abuse, according to court records.

McClatchy News reached out to Fautz’s attorney Dec. 19 for comment but did not immediately hear back.

While employed as a seventh- and eighth-grade religion teacher at St. Stephen Martyr Catholic School in Louisville, Fautz shared child sexual abuse material online with an undercover FBI agent, according to a criminal complaint.

Several images Fautz shared included the yearbook photo of a St. Stephen student, believed to be between 12-15 years old, photoshopped onto the body of a nude woman engaged in sexual conduct, court records said.

An adult victim’s face, also taken from a yearbook…

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A priest who was caught sexually assaulting a sleeping man on a train has been jailed for 16 months.

Father Daniel Doherty, from Falkirk, was seen abusing the man by fellow passengers on a service to Edinburgh Waverley earlier this year.

After growing concerned, the passengers contacted police and rail staff to report what they had witnessed, before moving to a different carriage.

When questioned by train managers, the 61-year-old said “we are just friends” and claimed he had been “affirming” the victim.

During the conversation, witnesses noticed Doherty’s trouser button was undone, his belt was secured, and his trouser zip was halfway undone.

British Transport Police officers met the two men when they reached their destination.

The victim, who had woken up several times during the assault, did not disclose what had happened due to the priest standing close by, but he reported Doherty to the police two days…

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From time to time, we at Horowitz Law urge our followers, readers, and clients to widely circulate one of our blogs. This is one of those times. Many more people need and deserve to know about the crimes and whereabouts of these recently outed and still living accused Lansing area predators. Last week, Michigan’s attorney released a report listing 56 proven, admitted, and credibly accused child molesting Lansing Catholic clergy. For the sake of public safety, we’ve summarized just some of the reports and disclosures about a handful of these priests who may still be dangerous. Though they may now be elderly, psychologists tell us there’s no set age at which an abuser is suddenly ‘cured’ of the urge to sexually assault innocent children or vulnerable adults. It’s not clear where these men are living now, as best we can tell. That’s another reason we urge you to…

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Unique Beliefs and Their Role in Systemic Childhood Sexual Abuse

In the shadows of seemingly devout conservative Anabaptist communities lies a disturbing reality – the prevalence of childhood

sexual abuse. This dark truth is not merely a series of isolated incidents but a systemic issue deeply rooted in interconnected factors perpetuating a generational culture of silence and forgiveness without justice. By shedding light on why abuse persists and cycles through generations within these communities, we can begin to unravel its complexity and work toward meaningful change and accountability.

Lack of Accountability Due to Pacifistic Beliefs

The outside world often interprets the conservative Anabaptist stance on pacifism as a refusal to defend oneself physically, a rejection of taking life, and an aversion to military service. However, within the community, these pacifistic beliefs often do not manifest. Corporal punishment is widely accepted and viewed as a form of godly correction. Moreover, discussions…

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Philipp Spörry analyzes the importance of rigorous abuse investigations and victim compensation in Switzerland, and visualizes inconsistencies in the case of Fr. Joseph Kentenich

Philipp Spörry, former Chancellor of the canton of Valais in Switzerland, published an article on Kath.ch, the official website of the Swiss Catholic Bishops’ Conference, in which he critically analyzes the issue of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and the role and influence of the media in it, presenting it as a challenge for the Church.

The article begins by referring to a study carried out by the University of Zurich, commissioned by the Swiss Catholic Bishops’ Conference. It is a study on sexual abuses committed in the Roman Catholic Church in Switzerland since 1950. The study reports 510 accused individuals and 921 victims.

The publication of the investigation, says Spörry, brought about a radical change: “From a period of cover-up and concealment, we…

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A Roman Catholic Archdiocese and the order a priest belonged may be liable to a former alter server who was allegedly abused by a priest, a federal court said.

John Doe established a genuine issue of material fact that the priest’s act of abuse were within the scope of his employment, Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai said Dec. 20, for the US District Court for the District of Oregon.

Bryan Benoit belonged to Priests of the Sacred Heart from 1988 to 2018. POSH is headquartered in Wisconsin but Benoit had assignments in Texas, and then Oregon. Benoit had a drinking problem …

bpazanowski@bloombergindustry.com

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They came forward in small groups at first. And then they spoke out in waves.

Over the past two years, dozens of people, mostly men in their 50s and 60s, have reported being sexually abused at schools run by Catholic orders in Ireland.

Their accounts only hint at the magnitude of a national scandal, experts say. In September, a preliminary government inquiry identified almost 2,400 allegations of sexual abuse in religious schools between the 1960s and the 1990s, and 884 alleged abusers. Norma Foley, Ireland’s minister for education, said the scale of abuse was “truly shocking,” and has ordered a full government investigation.

While Ireland has long grappled with the legacy of abuse within Catholic church institutions, the latest revelations shed light on how dozens of schools allegedly harbored serial abusers for decades.

The fight for accountability has been led by a cohort of older men who are…

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[See also the Michigan AG’s Lansing report on Raica’s “unsubstantiated” assessment.]

Catholic bishop dismissed child sexual abuse allegations that was then settled out of court, says investigation report

The Roman Catholic bishop of Birmingham, Alabama, dismissed allegations of child sexual abuse against a priest that were later deemed credible and settled out of court by church officials, according to a new prosecutors’ report that scrutinized his work during a prior role in Michigan.

The actions of now Birmingham bishop Steven J Raica are detailed in a report published by the office of the Michigan state attorney general, Dana Nessel’s, after an investigation into the diocese of Lansing, Michigan.

As the Alabama news outlet AL.com first reported on Saturday, Raica served as a priest in the Lansing diocese for nearly four decades until he became the bishop of Gaylord, Michigan, in 2014, and later that of Birmingham in 2020. His work in Lansing at…

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[See also the archdiocese’s petition to sell the Couvent School building.]

The Couvent School building, which for centuries housed institutions serving the poor, was previously acquired by the chancery via a legal loophole.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans is moving to sell a historic property once known as a center of African-American education in Louisiana—and which may be under a no-sell restriction willed by its Black Catholic former owner.

The 178-year-old property at 1941 Dauphine St., covered in the will of the 18th-century Creole philanthropist Marie Couvent, has been named as part of a court hearing this week in proceedings for the archdiocese’s ongoing bankruptcy petition. 

The chancery is seeking to sell the Couvent School complex, which for centuries housed a succession of Catholic institutions serving the poor, to help pay for settlements among hundreds of clergy sex abuse cases dating back decades.

Originally known as…

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The Couvent School complex was once deemed the center of African-American education in Louisiana.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans plans to sell a historic Black Catholic School as it intends to file bankruptcy to pay for its clergy sex abuse settlements.

However, a will created by its Black Catholic owner, Marie Couvent, may prevent the sale. Despite this, the 178-year-old property was listed at a court history for the archdiocese’s ongoing bankruptcy petition. 

According to the Black Catholic Messenger, the Couvent School complex was once deemed the center of African-American education in Louisiana, given its generational mission to educate and serve Black orphans. Now, its selling would go toward paying off settlements for the clergy’s sex abuse cases.

Despite the archdiocese’s intentions for the property, the stipulations in its will have been upheld throughout the centuries. Couvent’s will, enacted in 1832, strictly prohibits the sale. Moreover, its words…

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Priester Hanno R., der in den sozialen Medien als moderner „Influencer für Gott“ unterwegs war, steht nach einem schockierenden Fund vor Gericht: Ermittler entdeckten auf seinen Festplatten tausende Dateien mit kinderpornografischen Inhalten. Das Urteil überrascht durch seine Milde – und lässt Fragen offen.

Der tiefe Fall des Social-Media-Priesters

Noch vor Kurzem präsentierte sich Hanno R. als die hippe Zukunft der katholischen Kirche. Doch mit der Razzia in seinem Pfarrhaus vor zwei Jahren zerbrach diese Fassade: In seinem Arbeitszimmer fanden die Ermittler auf einem halben Dutzend Festplatten Tausende Dateien mit sexuellen Gewaltdarstellungen an Kindern.

Am Montag musste sich der ehemalige Priester vor dem Landgericht Recklinghausen verantworten. Mit tief ins Gesicht gezogener Kapuze gab er an, seit der Razzia vom Dienst suspendiert zu sein – aber weiterhin monatlich 3000 Euro netto aus Kirchenmitteln zu beziehen.

Ein Teil der Dateien enthielt nach Angaben der Staatsanwaltschaft schwerste Missbrauchsdarstellungen – die Details ersparen wir euch an dieser…

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Stephen Cottrell admits situation ‘could have been handled differently’ as pressure mounts over David Tudor scandal

The archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, has come under increased pressure after reports that he twice reappointed a priest at the heart of a sexual abuse case.

A BBC investigation found Cottrell renewed David Tudor’s contract as area dean in Essex on two occasions while Cottrell was bishop of Chelmsford.

Tudor had previously been barred from ministry for five years for having sex with a 16-year-old girl who was a pupil at a school where he was chaplain. He paid her compensation and was banned from being alone with children.

Cottrell admitted that things “could have been handled differently”.

The scandal is the second high-profile crisis to envelop the Church of England in recent months.

The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, announced his resignation in November in the wake of the Makin report, which…

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In this episode, I spoke with Natalie Pucillo. She recently wrote a couple of articles about her visit to Rome during the final meeting of the Synod on Synodality. Her reflections were so good, capturing both the harm and the hope she experienced. So asked if she would be on the podcast to talk about those articles. Specifically, I wanted to know her perspective on the synod and reform in the Church. And I wanted to hear about her experiences of hope. It was a wonderful conversation.

You can listen to the episode here or on your favorite podcast app:
https://www.catholicthirdspace.com/p/9-natalie-pucillo-a-survivors-reflection

Natalie Pucillo is currently a Master of Divinity student at Loyola University Chicago’s Institute of Pastoral Studies, where she integrates her interests in Catholic liturgy and sacramental theology, ecclesiology, and trauma-informed pastoral practices. She was a cradle Catholic and served for over 10 years…

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Justin Welby and others have left in disgrace and the gaps between factions are widening. Stephen Bleach meets vicars across the country to see if the institution can be saved

The vicar Father Alex Frost surveys a small, shabby block of 1960s flats in Burnley, Lancashire. “Most people here are on drugs,” he says matter-of-factly, then nods to a spot under a concrete walkway. “I found a man living right there. He was sleeping outside, on a mattress, with nothing. Nobody else was helping him, so we did.”

If you want a picture of the Church of England at its best, Frost’s parish is a good bet. St Matthew the Apostle sits in one of the most deprived areas in the country and it intends to do something about it. The church provides free lunches and food vouchers, runs ketamine addiction and mental health support groups and half a dozen…

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According to a fresh BBC investigation, David Tudor’s contract as area dean in Essex was renewed in both 2013 and 2018.

David Tudor has been banned from ministry for life after admitting serious sexual abuse involving two girls aged 15 and 16.

Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell has said things “could have been handled differently” after an investigation reported a priest at the centre of a sexual abuse case was twice reappointed to a senior role while the archbishop was serving as Bishop of Chelmsford.

Mr Cottrell, the Church of England’s second-most senior bishop, has faced calls to resign over his handling of the case of David Tudor, who was banned from ministry for life this year after admitting what the Church of England described as serious sexual abuse involving two girls aged 15 and 16.

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California’s Diocese of Orange Settles Sex Abuse Lawsuit for $3.5m “The Diocese vigorously defended the decades-old claim and was prepared to take it to trial,” a Diocese of Orange spokesman said in a statement. “However, all parties—the plaintiff, the Diocese’s insurers, and the Diocese—agreed that a pre-trial settlement was most beneficial to everyone involved.”

The Diocese of Orange has agreed to settle a sex abuse lawsuit for $3.5 million.

According to CBS News, a spokesperson for the diocese indicated that the terms of the settlement were negotiated as early as November. The lawsuit was originally filed on behalf of a victim who claims to have been abused by Michael Harris, a former Orange priest who once served as the vice principal of the diocese’s Santa Ana school.

Diocese of Orange spokesperson Jarryd Gonzales said that, though the church was prepared to take the case to trial, it decided that settling…

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A Church of England priest at the centre of a sexual abuse case was twice reappointed to a senior role during the Archbishop of York’s time as Bishop of Chelmsford, the BBC can reveal.

A BBC investigation previously revealed how David Tudor remained in post nine years after Stephen Cottrell was first told of concerns about him.

New information shows Tudor’s contract as area dean in Essex was renewed in 2013 and 2018, at which times Mr Cottrell knew he had paid compensation to a woman who says she was abused by him as a child.

The Archbishop of York said he regrets his handling of the case, with a spokesperson saying “he acknowledges this could have been handled differently”.

They added that “all the risks around David Tudor were regularly reviewed” and that was the “main focus”.

The pressure on Mr Cottrell comes at a time of turmoil in the…

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Catholic archdiocese in St. John’s was liable for the abuse, says Justice Garrett Handrigan

Dozens of abuse victims from St. John’s to British Columbia, who had their claims for compensation rejected earlier this year, have won a victory in their ongoing legal battle against an insolvent Roman Catholic archdiocese in St. John’s.

In a decision released this week by the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, Justice Garrett A. Handrigan ruled that 59 people who had their claims disallowed under the court-approved claims process are, in fact, entitled to compensation from the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John’s (RCECSJ).

Some 367 abuse survivors applied for compensation last year to a court-appointed mediator called Global Solutions Inc., which was responsible for reviewing the submissions and determining the amount of compensation.

In July, the court approved a $105-million settlement for the victims, with an average payment of nearly $360,000 per claimant.

Dozens of claims, however, were rejected…

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Monsignor Joseph Reilly was elevated to the top position at Seton Hall just three years after stepping back from leadership.

Monsignor Joseph Reilly started as a student at Seton Hall University 45 years ago and rose the ranks of the prestigious Catholic institution, becoming one of its most influential figures. Then he left his position in 2022, with little fanfare.

Unknown to the public, Reilly had been implicated in the fallout of defrocked Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s sexual abuse scandal that rocked the church all the way up to the Vatican — called out in a secretive internal investigation that concluded Reilly knew of sexual abuse allegations that he did not report. Investigators, while not accusing him of abuse, recommended, pursuant to a responsive action plan the school’s governing body adopted, Reilly be removed as a seminary leader and member of university boards, according to interviews…

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In his previous role in Michigan, Birmingham’s Catholic bishop once ruled a sexual abuse allegation against a priest was “unsubstantiated” — a case that was later found to be credible and that the church settled, according to a new report.

Steven J. Raica, the bishop of the Diocese of Birmingham, was named in a new report by the Michigan Attorney General this week for his role at the Diocese of Lansing. The Michigan report reviewed church and tipline reports and investigated claims of clergy abuse.

Raica was a priest in the Diocese of Lansing in Michigan for nearly four decades until 2014, and then became Bishop of Gaylord before he moved to Alabama in 2020. He received multiple reports of at least 17 other priests abusing children while at the Diocese of Lansing — most of which happened years earlier – according to the report.

The report…

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The 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury has surrendered his Permission to Officiate, which makes him the second archbishop to resign this year amid abuse scandals.

The BBC had asked Lord Carey for comments about the case of the Rev. David Tudor, who was suspended and reinstated after one of many cases of his abusing girls, starting as young as 11, in one case.

“I am in my ninetieth year now and have been in active ministry since 1962 when I was made Deacon and then Priested in 1963,” Carey said in a statement.

“It has been an honor to serve in the dioceses of London, Southwell, Durham, Bristol, Bath and Wells, Canterbury, and finally Oxford.

“I give thanks to God for his enduring faithfulness but want to recognise the remarkable contribution of Eileen, whose faithfulness and support has been outstanding.”

Carey served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002. His…

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In the weeks after Father Leo Riley filed a motion to have another lawsuit dismissed in Charlotte County court, the Archdiocese of Dubuque has filed a similar request.

The Archdiocese states that Florida has no jurisdiction over a nonprofit organization in a different state and is asking the judge to dismiss the lawsuit filed. Attorneys point out that none of the cases in this recent suit are alleged to have occurred in Florida, rather the plaintiffs are from Iowa where criminal charges were dismissed against the Charlotte County priest. This claimed that Riley sexually abused five young boys in the 1980s.

Riley was a past priest at the Resurrection Church in Dubuque, Iowa. In Charlotte County, he was a Priest at Saint Charles Borromeo in Port Charlotte in the early 2000′s, and is currently assigned to San Antonio Catholic Church, also in Port Charlotte.

Following this case, civil lawsuits were…

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 In most narratives concerning Catholicism’s sexual abuse scandals, bishops generally are cast as the bad guys – insensitive bureaucrats who ignored suffering and prioritized the interests of the church over the pain of victims.

However, the nearly surreal case of Bishop Kay Schmalhausen, a former member of the Peru-based Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV), illustrates that such narratives often miss the point. To hear him tell it, institutional dynamics of denial and deflection are actually so deeply ingrained that even a bishop’s efforts to report his own abuse, and to call out cover-up, can fall on deaf ears.

The retired bishop of Ayaviri in Peru, Schmalhausen, 60, claims to have been a victim of sexual abuse by various members of the SCV during his early years in the group, and he also asserts that his later attempts to alert church authorities about problems in the SCV weren’t taken seriously.

Founded in Peru in…

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The Chamber of Deputies on Thursday approved the treaty between the Czech Republic and the Vatican in its first reading, despite concerns over its possible impact. Victims of sexual abuse in the Church opposed the adoption of the treaty because of the Seal of Confession. In an open letter sent to MPs, they argued that the article could shield abusers by extending secrecy to “pastoral workers,” who can be designated by the Church without clear criteria. They demanded that the agreement be suspended until victims’ rights are fully addressed.

Deputies from the Pirate Party also warned that the provision on secrecy of confession could obstruct justice. Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský assured MPs that the treaty is in line with the constitutional order.

The Czech Republic is one of the last European countries to sign a treaty regulating relations with the Vatican. It took two decades to agree on the wording…

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Here’s what we know about the case of a Tuscaloosa pastor who was arrested this week for electronic solicitation of a child.

Additional details have emerged after a Tuscaloosa pastor and retired business school instructor at the University of Alabama was charged with electronic solicitation of a child and traveling to meet a minor for a sex act.

As Patch previously reported, the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force announced Tuesday that James Gorman Houston III, 66, was arrested after an undercover operation conducted earlier in the day.

A deposition obtained by Patch says that Houston made contact with a profile or account on an online dating app on Monday that was operated by an undercover officer with the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force.

The undercover officer then took on the persona of a minor under the age of sixteen, before informing Houston of the minor’s age.

Houston’s…

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A Louisiana priest who pleaded guilty to raping a teenage boy decades ago will spend the rest of his life in prison, a criminal court ruled this week. 

Lawrence Hecker was handed the life sentence in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court on Wednesday. The sentence was given by Judge Nandi Campbell “without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension.” Campbell was reportedly weeping for Hecker’s victim as she ordered the life sentence. 

“He admitted to some very horrible crimes,” Hecker’s lawyer Bobby Hjortsberg told media after the sentencing. 

“He took responsibility for that and I believe that sparing the victims from having to go through the anguish of a trial should give them some closure and allow them to walk away from this knowing they got justice,” Hjortsberg added.

Hecker had pleaded guilty earlier this month to the kidnapping and raping of his teenage victim…

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The release of a new report about clergy sexual abuse by Michigan’s attorney general has survivors in New Jersey again asking when Garden State authorities will issue results of their own long-promised investigation.

“Where is the New Jersey report?” asked Mark Crawford, the New Jersey director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, in an interview. “Why are victims here still waiting without answers or information after six years? Who is standing in the way and trying to conceal the truth?”

On Monday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel released a 345-page report documenting alleged sexual abuse cases tied to clergy in the Catholic Diocese of Lansing. It was the latest in a series of reports from her office about the state’s seven dioceses.

The report included tales of abuse leveled against a former Franciscan brother, Kurt Robert Munn, 78, who served in both Michigan and New Jersey. He faces two…

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TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – Ohio’s governor is getting a pair of bills aimed at protecting children from predators.

Lawmakers sent a pair of bills to the governor that would create the crimes of sexual extortion and grooming.

House Bill 531 was named ‘Braden’s Law’ after Braden Markus, an Olentangy High School who took his own life after being a victim of a sextortion online.

He was contacted by someone posing as a 15-year-old girl. The person sent him inappropriate photos and asked for him to send some back of himself. After he sent the photos, the person demanded money and threatened to release the photo online.

Braden took his own life 27 minutes after he was contacted.

He would have graduated high school as part of the class of 2024. State Rep. Beth Lear (R-Galena), who sponsored the bill, said she hopes the bill prevents future tragedies.

“Hopefully, with the passage…

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CINCINNATI (WKRC) — Grooming children for sexual abuse is now illegal in Ohio, following the passage of House Bill 322 by the Ohio Senate on Wednesday.

This legislative move comes three years after Father Geoff Drew, a former priest in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, was convicted of rape in Hamilton County.0 seconds of 1 minute, 47 secondsVolume 90% (WKRC, file)

Drew had been accused by police and prosecutors of grooming children for decades, but no charges could be filed against him for grooming due to the absence of specific laws in Ohio. Charges were eventually brought against Drew five years ago when a victim came forward, accusing him of rape. Drew pleaded guilty to nine counts of rape for an attack that occurred before he became a priest while he was the music director at St. Jude Parish in Bridgetown.

The newly passed bill makes grooming a misdemeanor, with the possibility…

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Senate votes to make child grooming for sex a crime, as advocates praise WCPO’s reports on former Archdiocese of Cincinnati priests

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Predators who groom children for sexual abuse may soon be prosecuted as criminals after the Ohio Senate unanimously passed a bill Wednesday that now heads to Gov. Mike DeWine for approval.

Child advocates credited the WCPO 9 I-Team’s reporting on two former Archdiocese of Cincinnati priests with getting the attention of lawmakers and the public.

“After your Father Cutcher reports there was definitely an uptick of parents calling the statehouse and asking lawmakers to do something,” said Rebecca Surendorff, co-founder of Ohioans for Child Protection. “I submitted your investigative reports to all the senators in Ohio along with a link to the bill so they can understand how this plays out in our community.”

Former Dayton priest Tony Cutcher and former Cincinnati priest Geoff Drew were both mentioned…

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Ohio’s ban on sexual extortion is named for Braden Markus, an Olentangy High School student who died by suicide in 2021

Editor’s note: This story discusses suicide and sexual abuse. If you or someone you know is struggling, you can call or text 988.

Ohio will criminalize sexual extortion and the grooming of children under legislation approved Wednesday by state lawmakers.

The Ohio House and Senate voted to pass a bill named for Braden Markus, an Olentangy High School student who died by suicide after falling victim to sextortion. House Bill 531 makes sexual extortion a third-degree felony, with harsher penalties if the victims are minors, seniors or people with disabilities.

The measure also aims to make it easier for parents to access their child’s digital assets if they die as a minor − something Braden’s family struggled with after his death.

Sexual extortion occurs when someone blackmails another person over…

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Some in church case worry whether connections mean they are getting a ‘fair shake’

Links have continued surfacing between a bankruptcy case in Houston that forced a judge there to resign – while thrusting him under FBI investigation – and a contentious, costly financial reorganization being pursued by the clergy abuse-plagued Roman Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans.

Perhaps the most notable so far: a portion of a transcript from a March 2023 hearing that until now had largely gone unnoticed shows how – before corruption allegations prompted his resignation – David Jones exalted the wisdom of one of the most tendentious rulings made by fellow bankruptcy judge Meredith Grabill with respect to the New Orleans archdiocese’s chapter 11 reorganization.

Grabill months earlier had kicked four clergy abuse survivors off a committee advocating on behalf of molestation victims’ interests in the archdiocesan bankruptcy because of actions she attributed to their attorney.

Jones…

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Earlier this year, New Zealand’s Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that “Catholic Church leaders have not been accountable or transparent to their congregations and the broader community about the nature and extent of abuse and neglect by their members.” The commission also reported how such a lack of accountability has impacted the church leaders’ ability to provide an adequate response.

But now that inadequacy has reached another level as church leaders revictimize the abused and offend the entire faithful through a recently mandated “Litany of Lament.” All Massgoers were told to beg for mercy for the “crimes and sins of sexual, physical, emotional and spiritual abuse perpetrated by clergy,” and for “the failure of pastors and shepherds who did not respond to the cries of the abused.”

For innocent churchgoers (along with clerical and religious abuse survivors and…

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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — For decades, a little-known Christian sect has dealt with its abusive ministers and spiritual elders mostly in secret, shunning legal action in favor of urging victims to forgive the predators in their midst.

Forgiveness, however, was far from a cure: The abusers were often sent to live with other unsuspecting families, where they had easy access to new victims.

Now a grassroots effort by survivors has exposed the depth of the scandal — documenting allegations against more than 900 abusers in 30 countries, with cases continuing to emerge — and thrust the nameless sect into the public eye. The FBI has also launched an investigation into the group, sometimes called the “Two by Twos.”

The Associated Press interviewed more than a dozen current and former members, workers and experts, and reviewed letters, court documents and other records supporting the allegations. Several sect…

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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Nearly every detail about the religious group Lisa Webb’s family belonged to was hidden from the outside world. Its followers met in homes rather than churches. Its leadership structure was hard to discern, its finances opaque. It didn’t even have an official name.

But for decades, no secret was as closely guarded as the identities of the sexual predators inside the group known as the “Two by Twos.”

Now a growing number of public allegations from around the world have prompted a broad investigation by the FBI and placed an uncomfortable spotlight on the long-quiet Christian sect. Survivors say the group’s leaders protected child-abusing ministers by pressuring victims to forgive, ignoring legal reporting requirements and by transferring abusers to new locations to live with unsuspecting families.

Ministry leaders have publicly condemned the abuse but several declined to answer questions from The Associated Press.

For Webb, who…

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Even though New Hampshire removed the statute of limitations to allow victims of sexual abuse to bring lawsuits decades later, the old limits still apply to a man trying to sue the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester.

The man claims he was sexually abused in the 1970s by Fr. Karl Dowd, the Catholic priest in charge of the diocesan summer camps Camp Fatima and Camp Bernadette. But, in a September ruling, Belknap Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Leonard tossed out the lawsuit when she agreed with diocesan lawyers that the old limits should apply.

New Hampshire’s legislature removed the statute of limitations for child sex abuse victims in 2020, and the alleged victim filed his lawsuit in 2023. Under the old law, the man would have had to file his claim in 1986, when he was 20 years old. The alleged abuse took place in the mid 1970s.

According to Leonard’s…

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A retired New Orleans priest who walked back a public admission of sexual abuse will spend his remaining years behind bars, after pleading guilty to charges for offenses dating from 1975-1976.

Msgr. Lawrence Hecker was sentenced to life in prison Dec. 18 by Judge Nandi Campbell of the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court in News Orleans.

The 93-year-old Archdiocese of New Orleans priest had entered his guilty plea just as jury selection was about to begin in his trial Dec. 3.

He was charged with first-degree rape, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated crime against nature and theft. The rape charge, initially filed as aggravated, was later upgraded to first degree. He had been indicted in September 2023 by a grand jury.

According to New Orleans Police Department reports, Msgr. Hecker raped and kidnapped a victim, who was not named, between Jan. 1, 1975, and Dec. 31, 1976.

During a brief Aug. 24,…

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Hecker served for decades in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, which has been besieged by claims of sexual abuse.

A judge on Wednesday sentenced Lawrence Hecker to mandatory life in prison following the harrowing statements of three men who say the retired Catholic priest sexually abused them decades ago. 

Hecker, 93, unexpectedly pleaded guilty on Dec. 3 to raping one of those men nearly 50 years ago in a church gym, narrowly avoiding a trial set to begin that day in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court. Hecker has not been charged in any other alleged instances of assault. 

From the witness stand in Judge Nandi Campbell’s courtroom, the survivor at the center of the criminal case said Hecker offered to teach him wrestling moves in the weight room of St. Theresa the Little Flower in New Orleans, ahead of team tryouts at St. John Vianney Prep. “It started innocently enough,” the…

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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A judge sentenced a 93-year-old former Catholic priest Wednesday to spend the rest of his life behind bars for raping a teenage boy decades ago.

Lawrence Hecker had pleaded guilty to charges including first-degree rape and aggravated kidnapping moments before jury selection was scheduled to begin in his trial this month.

Hecker’s sentence comes as the Archdiocese of New Orleans deals with fallout from a wave of sexual abuse lawsuits and allegations that church leaders had long ignored predatory priests, leading to a long-running bankruptcy proceeding.

The survivor of the assault to which Hecker pleaded guilty said that Hecker had offered to instruct him in wrestling moves ahead of tryouts in the mid-1970s for a school team and that he recalled the training “started innocently enough,” The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported. Then Hecker raped him.

“I tried to get up. I pulled up,” the survivor…

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This week in France, a verdict is expected in what may be the world’s most widely followed case of sexual assault. Earlier this month, the head of the largest denomination in England resigned because of his complicity in a child molesting cleric’s crimes. We at Horowitz Law wouldn’t normally opine on—and don’t take—cases in other countries. However, several important lessons can be learned from these recent high-profile scandals. These two cases – against a French retiree and an English archbishop – are especially egregious and deserve more attention, especially because, as we mentioned above, a jury is expected to hand down a verdict in that matter case any day now.

First, take a deep breath before reading further, especially if you haven’t followed the trial of Dominique Pelicot, who repeatedly, over nine years, drugged his wife of 50 years, raped her, and invited dozens of strangers to rape her while…

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One survivor says local archbishop ‘should have been sitting right there next to’ abuser Lawrence Hecker at his hearing

The clergy abuse survivor who successfully pursued a child rape charge against retired Roman Catholic priest Lawrence Hecker in New Orleans says the local archbishop “should have been sitting right there next to” the serial molester clergyman at his criminal sentencing hearing on Wednesday.

A statement issued by the survivor after the 93-year-old Hecker received a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment Wednesday alluded to how New Orleans archbishop Gregory Aymond has repeatedly expressed a desire in the media to “walk with” the victims of the worldwide Catholic church’s decades-old clergy molestation scandal.

But the survivor, who requested that his name be withheld, took note of how Aymond did not appear at Wednesday’s sentencing, which capped off a legal saga that exposed how the church took steps to hide the truth about Hecker’s abusive past…

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The Post spent two years reporting on kids exploited by police officers. Here’s what we learned about the systemic failures that allow these crimes to occur.

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1. Predatory police officers are using their positions to find, groom and abuse children.
2. Law enforcement agencies are failing to take steps to protect kids and prevent additional crimes.
3. Departments are enabling predators by botching background checks.
4. School police have immense access to kids, but without the same guardrails as educators.
5. Police agencies are minimizing reports of child sexual misconduct by their officers and mishandling investigations.
6. Even when officers are convicted of crimes involving child sexual abuse, nearly 40 percent avoid prison.
7. These crimes forever change kids and damage communities’ trust in law enforcement.
8. What steps can be taken to prevent these crimes?

At least 1,800 officers. When Washington Post reporters set out to track down how…

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Attorneys for a man who settled a sex abuse lawsuit with the Diocese of Orange Wednesday called for more to be done to settle other cases ahead of bellwether trials set for next year.

The Diocese of Orange last month settled a sex abuse lawsuit involving former Mater Dei High School Principal Michael Harris for $3.5 million. The case was days away from going to trial, attorney Mike Reck said at a news conference outside Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove.

“This settlement does not get us to where we need to be, which is complete transparency by this Diocese,” said attorney Jeff Anderson, whose firm has pursued many similar lawsuits detailing abuse in the Orange and Los Angeles dioceses.

The number of cases has grown since the 2003 sex abuse scandal that shook the Roman Catholic Church, following a change in state law extending the statute of limitations.

“Most of…

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SANTA ANA, Calif. (CNS) — The Diocese of Orange has settled a sex abuse lawsuit involving a former vice principal of Mater Dei High School in 1978 for $3.5 million, a spokesman said Tuesday.

The settlement was reached last month for a victim who alleged he was sexually abused by Michael Harris, a former priest and vice principal of the school.

Diocese of Orange officials were prepared to go to trial in the case, but decided to settle, Diocese spokesman Jarryd Gonzales said.

“The Diocese vigorously defended this decades-old claim and was prepared to take it to trial,” Gonzales said. “However, all parties — the plaintiff, the Diocese’s insurers, and the Diocese — agreed that a pre-trial settlement was most beneficial to everyone involved. The Diocese’s insurers funded the settlement entirely, and we are grateful for their participation.”

The announcement came a day before the attorneys who represented the plaintiff were…

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The Diocese of Orange has agreed to pay $3.5 million to a man who alleges he was sexually abused by a former administrator at Mater Dei High School in the late 1970s.

The settlement concludes a lawsuit filed in 2019 against the diocese and brings the amount the Catholic Church has paid out in civil cases involving Msgr. Michael Harris to at least $10 million. Harris has denied molesting minors and was never criminally charged.

The man, identified in court documents as John Doe, wrote in a statement read by his attorney during a news conference Wednesday that he’s still trying to overcome the pain of the abuse he suffered more than four decades ago.

“Harris, Mater Dei and the Diocese of Orange made promises to me and promises to my parents,” the man said in the statement. “They promised I would be safe at school. They also promised I…

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The Diocese of Orange has agreed to pay a $3.5 settlement to a man who alleged he was sexually abused as a young teen decades ago while attending Mater Dei High School by former Monsignor Michael Harris, attorneys said Wednesday.

During a news conference announcing the settlement outside Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 18, victims rights attorneys alleged that their ongoing legal battle against the Diocese of Orange, which oversees Mater Dei, has unveiled “at least 13 child predators” who had worked at the campus over the years.

A once-popular and high-profile figure in Orange County, Harris served as principal at Mater Dei and Santa Margarita Catholic high schools before leaving the priesthood after the clergy scandal erupted more than two decades ago. Though Harris denied molesting minors and was never criminally charged, more than a dozen former students have accused him in lawsuits…

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A Messianic teaching ministry has become the second programmer to leave Daystar TV, following allegations the network’s president, Joni Lamb, covered up sex abuse, engaged in spiritual abuse, and entered into an “unbiblical” marriage.

Citing its “commitment to the authority of Scripture,” Love Israel, the international Bible teaching ministry of Baruch Korman, said it will sever its relationship with Daystar “as soon as possible” in a video today on YouTube.

“For us it was very clear, we cannot be who we are in the Messiah and take the positions we take in morality and in marriage and in stewardship, and continue to be associated with Daystar,” Korman said.

Previously, Canadian broadcaster Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson pulled her daily Daystar TV program, Laura-Lynn Live at the Eagle’s Nest, citing “ethical deficits” at the network.

Korman did not specify the moral issue with Daystar. However,…

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Eighteen months since Bishop Prince Singh’s two adult sons, Nivedhan and Eklan Singh, made allegations on social media that their father was guilty of physical abuse, alcoholism and emotional abuse, the head of the Episcopal Church has announced the misconduct complaints against Singh have been resolved.

Prince Singh, the former provisional bishop of the dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan who resigned in September 2023, will be suspended from ministry for at least three more years, according to the terms of an accord reached between Singh and Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe.

Singh has been the subject of two clergy misconduct complaints. One involved allegations that he physically and emotionally abused his wife at the time, Roja Suganthy-Singh, and his sons; drank alcohol excessively at home; and was publicly deceitful about facts regarding his divorce with Suganthy-Singh, now his ex-wife.

The second…

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A former priest accused of sexually assaulting one boy and groping another recently was granted a sentence modification, allowing him to return to his home country of Colombia.

Jaime Marin-Cardona, 56, appeared last week at state Superior Court in Danbury, where the disposition in his case was changed to a suspended nine-year prison sentence plus 45 months of conditional discharge.

Marin-Cardona originally was charged with — and pleaded not guilty to — three counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, three counts of risk of injury to a child and three counts of illegal sexual contact after turning himself in to Danbury police on a warrant in January 2020.

The warrant alleged that he groomed two boys over the course of four years, and sexually abused one of them over the same period of time. The abuse allegedly began in 2014 — the same year Marin-Cardona…

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Former archbishop of Canterbury George Carey has quit as a priest following an investigation into the Church of England’s handling of a sexual abuse case.

Lord Carey resigned after the BBC contacted him about allegations he allowed a priest, who had been banned over sexual abuse claims, to return to priesthood.

However, the 89-year-old mentioned his age when announcing his decision to stand down.

In his resignation letter, sent to the Diocese of Oxford on December 4, he said: “I wish to surrender my Permission to Officiate.

“I am in my ninetieth year now and have been in active ministry since 1962 when I was made Deacon and then Priested in 1963.

“It has been an honour to serve in the dioceses of London, Southwell, Durham, Bristol, Bath and Wells, Canterbury and finally Oxford.

“I give thanks to God for his enduring faithfulness but want to recognise the remarkable contribution…

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Former priest shot down a plea deal with parole Monday.

A Catholic priest with ties to West Texas, Austin and Louisiana failed to enter a plea with prosecutors before a Waco judge Monday, December 16. The disgraced religious leader is accused of sexually assaulting vulnerable members of his congregation.

In a news release issued by the Waco Police Department on July 16, former priest Anthony Odiong was arrested when child pornography was reportedly discovered in his possession during an investigation into accusations of sexual assault from former churchgoers under his spiritual advisement. According to reports from The Guardian, Odiong was set to plea guilty in exchange for a chance at parole after 20 years in prison.

Now, the once-priest is facing life behind bars, potentially without parole. In the months since they first announced Odiong’s arrest, Waco investigators uncovered at least eight alleged victims. Now, he’s facing several…

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Emotional and graphic statements were given on Friday from several survivors who are part of the sexual abuse scandal linked to the Oakland Diocese.

Their appearance in court was part of an effort by the judge overseeing the churches’ bankruptcy proceedings.

“Today’s session involved survivors of childhood sexual assault by priests at the Catholic Church giving their personal statements to the court and to the bishop,” said Attorney Rick Simons.

Simons represents numerous survivors in the sexual abuse scandal linked to the Oakland Diocese. The case was supposed to go to court last year. But the Catholic Church filed for bankruptcy in an effort to settle almost 350 claims. That paved the way for victim statements on Friday, something that doesn’t usually happen in bankruptcy proceedings.

“To give the survivors some voice in the process. We spent three years in state court with our lawsuits, with our survivors. We had…

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The Archdiocese of New Orleans, which remains locked in settlement talks for its long-running bankruptcy case, is selling three more properties as it raises cash that will eventually pay survivors of clergy sexual abuse.

The New Orleans-area properties include a historic former school in Faubourg Marigny, a vacant lot across the street from the Notre Dame Seminary and a five-bedroom Covington home along the Tchefuncte River that was used for clergy retreats. 

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Meredith Grabill approved the sales Monday, according to court filings. 

The properties will generate about $2.3 million for the nation’s second-oldest Roman Catholic diocese and come as church officials and abuse survivors work towards a financial settlement in the four-year-old case. Archbishop Gregory Aymond placed the local church under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2020 amid mounting claims of abuse, most of them decades old.

Earlier this fall, the church filed a reorganization plan, offering…

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State attorney general Dana Nessel’s investigation finds allegations dating back to 1950 against clergy in Lansing

Michigan’s top state prosecutor has issued a report outlining allegations against nearly 60 people in the Roman Catholic diocese of Lansing accused of sexually abusing children and vulnerable adults over the past seven decades.

The state attorney general Dana Nessel’s office published the report as part of a years-long investigation into clergy sexual abuse within Michigan’s Catholic dioceses.

The investigation, which began in September 2018, found that 48 priests, three religious brothers, one apparent former religious brother and four deacons are suspected of engaging in sexual misconduct in the Lansing diocese since 1950. The report includes victim interviews, tips, police investigations and documents seized from the diocese amid the reckoning with sexual misconduct among Catholic clergy.

Of the 56 people accused, 42 were ordained or incardinated by the diocese of Lansing. The number of offenders…

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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel this week released the fourth report in a series of investigations the state is conducting into abuse by Catholic clergy there. 

The attorney general’s report, released on Monday, looks at reported abuse in the Diocese of Lansing. Previous reports, released in 2022 and 2024, examined alleged abuse in the dioceses of Kalamazoo, Gaylord, and Marquette.  

As with the earlier investigations, the Lansing report looks at allegations of abuse dating back decades. The report includes “allegations of sexual abuse and other sexual misconduct, including grooming and misuse of authority against minors and adults.”

The attorney general’s office lists a total of 56 clergy and religious in its report, including two bishops, with more than 150 abuse allegations identified in the investigation.  

The majority of the individuals on the list, 37, are “known or presumed to be…

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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel released the fourth of seven reports Monday related to a years-long investigation into clergy sexual abuse within Michigan’s Catholic dioceses.

The report indicated that the investigation into the Diocese of Lansing, which began in September 2018, found that 48 priests, three religious brothers, one apparent former religious brother and four deacons may have engaged in sexual misconduct since 1950. Of the 56 total, 42 were ordained or incardinated by the Diocese of Lansing.

“By publishing these reports we are sharing their stories and validating their experiences,” Nessel said during a press conference Monday afternoon. “We hope this report provides a voice to those who have suffered in silence for so long.”

Diocese of Lansing Bishop Earl Boyea said he is deeply sorry that anyone was sexually abused or sexually assaulted by any clergy members.

“Having read this long and detailed report, my heart breaks for all…

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Just how long have Louisiana Catholic officials known about or suspected child sex crimes by their clergy? In these cases, a quarter of a century. That’s right: next month, we’ll welcome a new year – 2025 – which marks the 25th year since Louisiana bishops, chancellors, vicars general, and other top church staffers were told about reports that these clerics had hurt kids. And in each case, Catholic officials kept those reports secret for years or even decades.

1. Fr. Carmelo Ignatius Camenzuli In May of 2000, Baton Rouge church staff received a report that he assaulted at least one child in the early 1980s. Not until 2019 did the Baton Rouge bishop put his name on a church ‘credibly accused’ abusers list. Read more on Fr. Camenzuli. 
2. Fr. Patrick R. Kujawa In 2000, he was arrested in January of 2000 and charged with 62 counts…

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The lawyer for three children who were sexually abused by a MorningStar Fellowship volunteer told a judge Monday the church should not be dropped from lawsuits over claims of religious freedom

The hearing Monday was the first public court action in the case after The Herald exclusively reported last month MorningStar asked the cases be dismissed over ‘ecclesiastical doctrine’ — a claim that the separation of church and state bars the case against it.

MorningStar, located in York County near the North Carolina state line, is a large non-denominational congregation with hundreds of members. It runs MorningStar University and a K-12 school, according to its website.

Erickson Lee, 26, a former police officer in Cornelius, N.C., is serving a nine-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in September to sex crimes against children from a church youth group he ran for three years before he was arrested in 2023.

Lawyers for…

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