ABUSE TRACKER

It took too long for Massachusetts to wrap its head around the reality of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests. That was something that only happened “elsewhere” to “other children,” and this willful blindness allowed a horrific problem to go unaddressed for far too long.

Sadly, this pattern appears to be repeating itself when it comes to efforts to protect children from being sexually abused in schools. Massachusetts has fallen behind states across the nation, and attempts to catch up are bogged down legislatively on Beacon Hill.

It has been eight years since state Sen. Joan B. Lovely, an Essex Democrat, introduced legislation that would mandate policies preventing sexual abuse of students by school employees and educating students and staff about the problem. Beacon Hill is notorious for foot-dragging, but if there is money to be made from sports gambling or marijuana it will get motivated. In this case,…

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The Archdiocese of New York said Thursday that it does not exercise operational control over a Harlem Catholic school at which a girl was allegedly raped by a lay teacher, because the school is run by a non-profit that manages urban schools in the archdiocese. 

“Mount Carmel – Holy Rosary is run by the Partnership for Inner-City Education (dba Partnership Schools), and has not been under the operational control of the Archdiocese of New York for over a decade,” archdiocesan spokesman Joe Zwilling told The Pillar May 30.

Zwilling explained the status of Mount Carmel-Holy Rosary School in East Harlem, New York, after the May 17 arrest of Daniel Haines, a former teacher at the school, who is accused of committing serial sexual assault against a 13-year-old.

The alleged sexual abuse, which includes one alleged count of rape, is reported to have taken place at the school itself. 

Several acts of sexual assault…

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A final trial conference is scheduled today in Barnstable Superior Court for the former Cape Cod priest charged with rape.

On Thursday a trial date of June 6 was set for Mark Hession on two counts of rape and one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.

He pleaded not guilty in January of 2021.

The alleged incidents happened while Hession was the priest at Our Lady of Victory Parish in Centerville.

The Catholic Church suspended him five years ago for misconduct.

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Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

An attorney for former New Orleans priest Lawrence Hecker is withdrawing from the case.

Attorney Robert Hjortsberg told WGNO Thursday that his reason for withdrawing is “a confidential matter” between himself and Hecker.New details in investigation of skull found in Bayou St. John

The 92-year-old priest faces charges of aggravated rape, kidnapping, crimes against nature and theft.

A grand jury indicted him on those charges in September 2023, after a 1999 document surfaced, containing what is believed to be his confession of sexually molesting and harming several teenagers between 1966 and 1972.Louisiana governor signs 25-foot police buffer bill into law

Hecker last appeared in court on May 23 for a competency hearing, where he was brought into the courtroom in a wheelchair with medical supplies and a space heater.

The next court hearing is scheduled for June…

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A Southern Baptist seminary has released more details about the attempted cover-up of a report about a sexual assault on campus that landed a former seminary staffer in federal court, charged with obstruction of justice.

In a statement Wednesday (May 29), David Dockery, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, said that in November 2022, Terri Stovall, the school’s dean of women, learned about an alleged sexual assault by a student. She reported the assault to campus police — who took no action on the report, according to Dockery — and kept a record of her response.

A few months later, the student accused of the assault was arrested by an outside police department. Heath Woolman, then Dockery’s chief of staff, learned about Stovall’s document from November and allegedly told her to make it “go away,” according to Dockery’s statement.

At the time, all staff had…

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For most of his life, Ed Hanratty carried a burden that he only recently began to unwrap.

When he was an altar boy at St. Francis of Assisi parish in Ridgefield Park some 35 years ago, he was sexually abused, he said.

The Rev. Gerald Sudol was a charismatic priest in his 30s who came to St. Francis in the 1980s and immediately became popular. Known for his outgoing personality, he paid special attention to the boys and cracked jokes, Hanratty said.

Hanratty said Sudol kissed him for the first time when he was 11, beginning a four-year pattern of abuse. One day, as they floated alone in his family’s backyard swimming pool, Hanratty said the priest molested him in an incident he later described as “the worst thing that I ever experienced.”

Now 47, Hanratty said he’s suffered with the fallout from his trauma: substance abuse, intimacy…

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Breaking silence. Confronting clergy abuse. 

Dear blog readers,

There is so much to reflect on in this Press Release just issued and detailed in full below. 

I did promise last week that I’d follow up and share more information and reflections on this particular case and I most certainly will do in the coming days.

But for now, I wish to honor the plaintiff, D.H., for his courageous actions in this landmark case by making it an express term of his settlement that the defendants (the Roman Catholic Archbishop and Westminster Abbey) will “make public all documents disclosed by them in this litigation.” 

Financial compensation was never D.H.’s primary motivator. Truth and transparency were.

I especially wish to honor D.H.’s own words here through this blog post and allow them to stand alone and resonate with you. 

The voice of the victim-survivor is so rarely heard.

May you thoughtfully read…

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“Placidus may have murdered my soul, yet he was unable to kill my spirit,” the victim said.

An advocate for clergy abuse victims is calling for the posthumous defrocking — the removal of clerical powers — of a dead priest following a settlement over his alleged abuse of a boy.

The complainant, known only as D.H., alleged Harold Vincent Sander, also known as Father Placidus, encouraged the 13-year-old to sketch his profile. The alleged abuse took place in Sander’s private office, according to a notice of civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court on March 14, 2022.

The suit uses the criminal name for such alleged offences in use at the time: buggery.

Named as defendants in the suit are the Seminary of Christ the King; Westminster Abbey Ltd.; the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver, a Corporation Sole; and the estate of Harold Vincent Sander a.k.a. Dom Placidus Sander.

Sander died…

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Whenever there is a whiff of bad news about the Catholic Church, the mainstream media never miss a beat in reporting it. But when there is good news, they go mute. The latest example is the news about the almost complete eradication of clergy sexual abuse. Not one secular media outlet in the United States ran a story on this issue.

Every year, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issues an annual report on clergy sexual abuse. The audit is prepared by StoneBridge Business Partners, which works in cooperation with the National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, a lay advisory board established by the USCCB.

The 2023 report, which covered allegations made between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023, found that there were 1,308 allegations involving 17 current year minors. Four of the allegations were made by males and 11 by females;…

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Midnight Friday is the deadline for sexual abuse victims to add their names to the estimated 485 claims already filed against the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore in bankruptcy court.

The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy protection last year on Sept. 29, less than 48 hours before the state’s Child Victims Act, removing the statute of limitations for suing over abuse claims, took effect.

At the time, Baltimore Archbishop William Lori said the move was the best way for the church to treat survivors equitably without the risk of massive jury awards that would leave “the vast majority of victim-survivors without compensation.”

Last year, Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown released a report that identified more than 150 priests, deacons, teachers and seminarians in the Archdiocese who were accused of assaulting more than 600 victims, going back to the 1940s.

While the bankruptcy filing mooted claims under the legislation, the…

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This is the twenty-first such report since 2002 when the U.S. bishops established and adopted the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, a comprehensive framework of procedures to address allegations of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy and establish protocols to protect children and young people.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection has released the 2023 Annual Report – Findings and Recommendations on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

The report is based on the audit findings of StoneBridge Business Partners, a specialty consulting firm headquartered in Rochester, New York, which provides forensic, internal, and compliance audit services to leading organizations nationwide. A survey conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) regarding allegations of abuse of minors and costs is also included as a part of the report.

This…

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With deep sorrow for the suffering of victims and survivors of abuse, the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas and St. Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, announce that Father Roderic Giller, OSB, who retired from parish ministry in July 2013, has been the subject of substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of minors during the time he was serving at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish, Seneca.

While the archdiocese and abbey first received these allegations in July 2004, they were treated at that time as boundary violations would be today. Further investigation was undertaken recently due to updated safe environment protocols and additional information. A better understanding of the events has resulted in the allegations being substantiated. The Catholic Church has a zero-tolerance policy for the sexual abuse of minors, which is applied in the broadest sense of the term. In making this announcement, the archdiocese and abbey reaffirm their commitment to all…

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The Italian bishops’ conference will “soon” begin a pilot program to research cases of alleged abuse against minors that were reported to diocesan authorities between 2001 and 2021, said the new president of the conference’s commission for the protection of minors.

The pilot study will be conducted by independent experts from two national-level research institutes, said Chiara Griffini, a psychologist and psychotherapist, who was named to head the commission May 24.

The experts will conduct a multidisciplinary, quantitative and qualitative study and analysis of cases reported to diocesan bishops in Italy with results expected by the end of 2025, she said May 29 during a conference on abuse against minors in Italy.

The conference, sponsored by the Italian bishops’ conference and the Italian Embassy to the Holy See, included talks from an Italian police officer whose department deals with Internet crimes, a lawyer and safeguarding expert for minors in the world of sports, and experts working with abuse hotlines for…

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Like many victims of sexual abuse, it took years for Santiago to acknowledge that he was raped as a teenager.

“You get into a kind of mental confusion there is something that is not right, but it is not clear at that time,” Santiago, who is being identified only by a pseudonym to protect his privacy, told CNN in an exclusive interview.

Four decades on, he is still waiting for a measure of justice to address his claims against Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV), a secretive Roman Catholic society founded in Peru that has been mired in scandal since its layman founder Luis Fernando Figari and other senior members were accused of sexually abusing numerous adult and minor recruits.

Santiago says that he was sexually abused by Figari at least three times in the 1970s, when he turned 17. He recalled Figari leading him to a room and raping him, saying it was “the only way to correctly see…

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“It takes some time to dismantle the denial and refusal to believe that the abuse problem is real, whether by the hierarchy or the general public.”

Reporters investigating clerical abuse in the Lithuanian Church have said that many victims remain too scared to disclose what they have experienced, for fear they could be identified.

At a public discussion at the Lithuanian National Library on 22 May, marking a year since revelations of abuse in the Archdiocese of Vilnius, researchers and academics addressed the public demand last May for an independent commission to investigate the extent of the sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable persons.

The demand came in an open letter to the Lithuanian bishops after a scandal surrounding the chancellor of the Archdiocese of Vilnius, Fr Kestutis Palikša, who was convicted for possession of children pornography and investigated for sexual abuse of a minor.

After the archdiocesan curia claimed…

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Erin Maze and Shannon Conway are no longer the children who walked the halls of St. Thomas Aquinas Elementary School in their Catholic school uniforms two decades ago. 

Maze, 32, is an outgoing lawyer and parent who talks quickly and laughs easily. Her shyer friend Conway, 31, works in political science and has a skill for diligent research.

Both women still live in Baltimore, not far from where they grew up. They share love for their respective cats, grief for a mutual friend who was killed years ago and complicated memories of the now-closed Hampden school where they were students of David A. Czajkowski, a lay teacher convicted of sexually abusing students. 

Maze and Conway are speaking out publicly for the first time about their experiences. The women submitted claims before Friday’s deadline in the bankruptcy case of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, which does not include Czajkowski on its list of credibly accused priests…

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Calls for bishop to resign; diocese says its actions were appropriate

There are calls for more action from the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland after a News 5 Investigation exposed a convicted sex offender being allowed to help lead masses. The pastor at St. Thomas More Church in Brooklyn was forced to resign, but advocates say that’s not enough.

“Father Michael Feldtz met with Bishop Malesic this week,” said a deacon during Sunday’s mass at St. Thomas More. He read word for word what News 5 Investigators have reported. “The bishop asked Fr. Feldtz for his resignation from the Office of Pastor….”

VICTIMS ADVOCATES: LETTER DOESN’T CUT IT
“This letter is not giving the parishioners of St. Thomas More the information they deserve,” said Anne Barrett Doyle from BishopAccountability.org. She told us the diocese gave no real information about why Fr. Feldtz or the diocese allowed former cantor Keith Kozak, a convicted sex…

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The Westmoreland County Detective Bureau is reviewing a request by the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg to investigate what the diocese describes as a potential conspiracy to conceal the criminal background of a now-former Irwin parish cemetery employee.

Spokesman Cliff Gorski said Tuesday the diocese has asked county detectives to determine if the alleged concealment of the worker’s criminal background rises to the level of supporting criminal charges against any of those involved.

The matter is an active and ongoing investigation for county detectives, according to Melanie Jones, spokesperson for the county district attorney’s office.

The worker in question, Shon M. Harrity, 47, of North Huntingdon, was arrested May 8 by North Huntingdon police, who have accused him of sexually assaulting a girl for two years. He is charged with rape, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault and related offenses. He faces formal arraignment June 19 in Westmoreland County Court.

The…

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The Diocese of Greensburg is requesting an investigation by Westmoreland County Detectives based on concerns of a potential conspiracy to conceal the criminal background of a parish cemetery employee. The former employee was arrested and charged with eight felonies, including sexual assault of a minor earlier this month – unrelated to his duties at the church. Despite failing a criminal background check, he was permitted to be employed at an Irwin cemetery and in parish maintenance for twelve years. 

On Wednesday, May 8, 2024, North Huntingdon Township Police arrested Shon M. Harrity, 47, of North Huntingdon, for offenses allegedly dating back to 2022. He was employed at the cemetery of Immaculate Conception Parish, Irwin, since 2023, and, prior to that, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, North Huntingdon, since 2012. 

Shortly after his arrest, the Diocese discovered Harrity’s criminal record, including guilty pleas of indecent exposure, open lewdness, obscene disorderly conduct,…

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For 150 years, the United States government sent Native American children to remote boarding schools as part of a systematic effort to seize tribal lands and eradicate culture. Dozens of these schools were run by the Catholic Church or its affiliates. A Washington Post investigation revealed widespread sexual abuse of generations of these children at many institutions.

• Amna Nawaz: For 150 years, the U.S. government sent Native American children to remote so-called boarding schools as part of a systematic effort to seize tribal lands and eradicate Native American culture. Dozens of these boarding schools were run by the Catholic Church or its affiliates. A new Washington Post investigation has revealed widespread sexual abuse of generations of these children at many of those institutions. Lisa Desjardins has the story.
• And a warning: The story contains sensitive subject material.
• Lisa Desjardins: Geoff, this report documents the sexual abuse of more than 1,000 children…

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“This is the first time our voice is heard as a group in Poland. We wanted the bishops to know – we are together.”

Survivors of clergy sex abuse have written to the Polish bishops’ conference demandingan an investigation of its president. They have accused Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda of Gdansk of negligence in handling a sexual abuse case.

“In many Polish dioceses…the welfare of institutions turns out to be more important than human suffering,” they said.

Their letter, with 46 signatories, is the largest joint initiative to date from Polish abuse survivors. One of the letter’s three authors told OSV News: “Until today, we spoke as individuals. This is the first time our voice is heard as a group in Poland. We wanted the bishops to know – we are together.”

They asked the bishops to meet them “later in 2024” during a plenary meeting, and also requested that every diocesan…

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The evangelical church is facing a crisis in leadership. According to the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), 94% of its members surveyed said that leadership failures are “negatively impacting trust.”

But the ECFA has a solution. For the first time in 45 years, the organization has added a new standard for its members.

Called the “leadership standard,” this new benchmark requires the board to discuss “at least annually how the organization can provide appropriate support in proactively caring” for its senior leader. Then, the board “must follow up with the leader at least annually on the leader’s commitment to upholding biblical integrity principles” that have been agreed on in writing. Lastly, the board must document these annual discussions about the care of the leader in its minutes.

As I’ve said before, I would love to be out of a job because there…

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The president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has weighed in with a public statement identifying the two other employees mentioned but not named in a federal indictment.

In a May 29 release, President David Dockery identified Terri Stovall, longtime-serving dean of women, as “employee 1,” the person who created a detailed report of a credible accusation of sexual abuse committed by a student. He named her, he said, with her permission. Other sources told BNG Stovall had asked to be identified by name because she believes she did the right thing.

Dockery also identified former Chief of Staff Heath Woolman as “employee 2” in the indictment, the person who allegedly told Stovall to make her report “go away.”

The indictment details a meeting that happened in January 2023 with Stovall, Woolman and Matt Queen, then serving as interim provost. According to Dockery’s account, this meeting happened after student Christian Flores had been arrested…

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The Catholic Diocese of Fresno announced on Tuesday that it plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to address 154 claims of sexual assault.

On Wednesday, we sat down with Karen Lowart, who told us her son, Jason, was molested by one of the Diocese’s priests.

She says the assault came on what was supposed to be a happy day for his grandparents, an anniversary celebration with the whole family in Fresno.

“It was their 50th wedding anniversary. And we would usually start them off with a mass. It was at their house. Don Flickinger was there. He was presiding over the mass,” said Lowart.

Lowart says that man, Priest Don Flickinger, was under the umbrella of the Fresno Diocese.

As the family celebrated the joyous occasion, she says they never thought Flickinger would be the one to do the unthinkable.

“Our son Jason was about 4…

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As of 11:59 p.m. May 31, the deadline closes for those who wish to make a claim against the Archdiocese of Baltimore for instances of sexual abuse prior to Sept. 29, 2023, by clergy or other personnel in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. 

According to Blake Roth, an attorney from Holland & Knight who represents the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Baltimore as the debtor in the case, the total number of claims will include more than just claims for abuse. It will include some duplicates or claims that were later amended and superseded.

The number also includes “some commercial claims that have nothing to do with abuse,” Roth said. In terms of duplicates, if someone first filed a regular bankruptcy claim and later amended it with the supplemental form for abuse victims provided by the court, it would be listed as two claims. The same is true if someone filled…

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Outgoing Diocese of Fresno Bishop Rev. Armando Ochoa and incoming Bishop Rev. Joseph Brennan urge victims of sexual abuse to come forward, report to police first

The Catholic Diocese of Fresno, which serves more than 1 million Catholic across the central San Joaquin Valley, will file bankruptcy in August — a move the church says is necessary to atone “for the sin of clergy sexual abuse.”

“Filing for Chapter 11 will allow us to address the substantial number of claims brought forth by victims collectively,” Bishop Joseph Brennan said in a statement and video message Tuesday. “It will allow us to address those claims honestly, compassionately and equitably.”

The diocese was already embroiled in allegations of sexual abuse among its clergy when Brennan became Bishop in 2019 — the same year it joined five other Catholic dioceses to create a compensation fund for victims of sex abuse.

It was hit…

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A Florida pastor, during his tenure as an administrator at a top Southern Baptist seminary, instructed another seminary employee to make a document about an abuse report “go away,” according to court records.

The records, filed by federal prosecutors and unsealed last week, came to light amid an ongoing U.S. Department of Justice investigation into aspects of the Southern Baptist Convention and how the SBC and its affiliated entities handled reports of abuse.

The records on the Florida pastor, who prosecutors didn’t identify, are part of the case against North Carolina pastor Matt Queen, also former administrator at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, who is accused of falsifying records in an attempt to cover up an abuse report. In a news release last week, FBI Assistant Director James Smith said Queen was part of a “conspiracy to destroy evidence related to the ongoing investigation of sexual misconduct.”

…

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The head of the Vatican office that disciplines predator priests on Tuesday called on bishops across the world to report all suspect child abuse cases to him in order “to clean up this situation”.

The Roman Catholic Church has for decades been shaken by scandals across the world involving paedophile priests and the cover-up of their crimes, damaging its credibility and costing hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.

“I want all cases brought to light, so that the Church can be transparent,” said Father John Joseph Kennedy, an Irish cleric and head of the disciplinary section of the Vatican’s doctrinal office (DDF).

“I worry for the countries and the bishops who are not sending us the cases. It would be better to have a truck arrive in front of (our office) with all the cases, we get to work and clean up this situation,” he told reporters.

He did…

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The Fresno Diocese announced today that it will file for bankruptcy in August.  SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, urges Bishop Joseph V. Brennan to reconsider this scorched earth legal tactic.

Bankruptcy is not the only way to achieve fair recoveries in all of the lawsuits against the Diocese. In the last window, universal agreements were reached between the Church and survivors and their attorneys, without the draconian consequences that bankruptcy will bring along with it.

In a bankruptcy, those who have filed lawsuits become “creditors.” The court will allow a certain period of time for other “creditors” – that is other victims — to come forward. However, once the bankruptcy proceeds to its conclusion, anyone abused before the filing date who did not come forward by the bar date is forever barred from filing a lawsuit for damages. This would include those who do not yet…

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The bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno says the diocese plans to file for bankruptcy in a matter of months.

That’s following what it calls a “Surge” in clergy sexual abuse claims.

The California sexual abuse and Cover-up Accountability Act helped bring the number of credible accusations within the Diocese of Fresno to 154 cases, dating back decades.

It’s important to clarify that none of the claims involve people currently serving in the diocese.

The bishop says the only way to resolve every claim fairly and compassionately is to file for bankruptcy.

When I hear how many lives were affected by clergy sexual abuse, my heart truly breaks,” said Bishop Joseph V. Brennan with the Diocese of Fresno.

On Tuesday, the Diocese of Fresno posted this video on YouTube addressing the many claims filed against the church for sexual abuse of a minor.

“Victims of abuse endure a…

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Brothers and Sisters,

The Catholic Church has made great progress in protecting the young and vulnerable and creating a safe environment for all, but it is still on its journey of dealing with the issue and atoning for the sin of clergy sexual abuse. Our pledge to protect our youth is an ongoing effort that will continue to be a top priority for me and our Diocese. Victims of abuse endure a lifetime of pain, and we as Catholics must commit to a lifetime of atonement.

A recent development in the journey, of which you are most likely aware, is the California State law which opened a three-year window for individuals to bring forward otherwise barred or expired claims for sexual abuse suffered as a child. Since the closing of the filing window on December 31, 2022, we have been informed of 154 cases filed against our Diocese. The reopening…

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On Tuesday a panel of experts presented a new compendium of abuse cases across Latin America, a region containing the highest percentage of the world’s Catholics, offering an analysis of some of the most prominent cases to garner global attention in recent decades.

Titled, “Abuse in the Latin American Church: An Evolving Crisis at the Core of Catholicism,” the volume was released in April and includes contributions from prominent experts across various fields who evaluate the nature of abuse in Latin America given its social and cultural context, as well as insights into paths of justice and healing for victims.

The book was authored by Latin American theologians Dr. Véronique Lecaros and Dr. Ana Lourdes Suárez.

Lecaros is a professor of theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and since 2021 has led the Archdiocese of Lima’s Listening Commission for victims of abuse in ecclesial surroundings. Suárez is a professor…

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The Diocese of Fresno has announced a plan to file for bankruptcy as it faces over 154 claims from victims of sexual abuse by clergy members.

The diocese says the first few court cases or settlements would likely wipe out its finances.

Instead, the diocese says filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy would help ensure all its creditors and victims are ‘compensated fairly and equitably.’

It says that it provides a framework to bring all parties together under the bankruptcy court’s supervision to resolve claims with the resources available.

The diocese says that an unsecured creditors’ committee would represent victims of sexual abuse, and a fund would be established for distribution to victims.

Advocates from the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, also known as SNAP, disagree with the diocese’s plan to declare bankruptcy.

“I think it’s an indication of their moral bankruptcy, not their financial bankruptcy,” said Melanie Sakoda…

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A former Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Sante Fe, N.M., ended his life ahead of a May 24 hearing on criminal charges of sexual abuse.

Daniel Balizan, who faced a possible sentence of 10 years to life if convicted, had been arrested in June 2023 after having been indicted by a federal grand jury on criminal charges of coercion and enticement of a minor.

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe confirmed Balizan’s death in a May 24 press release, stating that it was “saddened by the news of former priest Daniel Balizan having taken his life; we pray for comfort for his family and those who cared for him. May God have mercy on his soul.”

Local media reported that court documents also showed Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaymie L. Roybal, who had been assigned to prosecute the case, addressed the court and confirmed the death of Balizan, who was found…

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Pope Francis apologized Tuesday after he was quoted using a vulgar term about gay men to reaffirm the Catholic Church’s ban on gay priests.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni issued a statement acknowledging the media storm that erupted about Francis’ comments, which were delivered behind closed doors to Italian bishops on May 20.

Italian media on Monday had quoted unnamed Italian bishops in reporting that Francis jokingly used the term “faggotness” while speaking in Italian during the encounter. He had used the term in reaffirming the Vatican’s ban on allowing gay men to enter seminaries and be ordained priests.

Bruni said Francis was aware of the reports and recalled that the Argentine pope, who has made outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics a hallmark of his papacy, has long insisted there was “room for everyone” in the Catholic Church.

“The pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he…

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Born into a family of devout Catholics, Marc Floto was almost destined to be an altar boy at his local church, the former Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Baltimore County.

So when he was 5 or 6 years old, his parents “pretty much pushed” him to do just that. But they had no idea about the life-altering consequences that came with that commitment, said Floto, 62.

“When I was an altar boy, I used to go to the rectory … to get dressed in our robes and that, to get ready for Mass,” he said in an interview. “I don’t recall when, but things progressed from the priest touching me, to fondling me, amongst other things.”

Floto lives near Westminster and owns a towing business now; he’s married and has a son. But being abused as a child, he said, “caused turmoil every step of” his life. He chokes…

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A new learning tool has been created to help the over half a million religious sisters and consecrated women combat one of the greatest crises facing the Catholic Church: abuse.

This blended e-learning unit is intended to be used around the world in different cultures and contexts—all with the goal of helping these women better understand and implement safeguarding in their personal lives and work.

FR. HANS ZOLLNER
Institute of Anthropology, Pontifical Gregorian University
We need to safeguard every person, especially the most vulnerable ones, children, adolescents and vulnerable adult persons. And this is by creating safe space, living out safe relationships and following safe processes. This is safeguarding. Religious sisters will be and have already been of the greatest importance to deliver that message.

What makes this unit unique is that it was made for and with the help of religious sisters and consecrated women. This makes it a useful tool…

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Springer, N.M. —A former priest arrested last year on charges of sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy more than a decade ago, took his own life shortly before a plea hearing scheduled for Friday morning, May 24th according to his attorney.

Daniel Balizan, 62, of Springer and a former pastor of St. Patricks/St. Josephs Church in Raton and Santa Maria de la Paz Catholic Church in Santa Fe, was indicted in June of last year by a federal grand jury for a reported case of child sexual abuse in 2012, according to the indictment.

Balizan killed himself at his home in Springer the night before he was scheduled to plead to a federal charge of coercion and enticement of a minor, said Dan Cron, Balizan’s attorney. However, court documents show Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaymie L. Roybal addressed the U.S District Court in Albuquerque for the plea hearing and confirmed Balizan died.

Balizan had…

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Pope Francis is reported to have used extremely derogatory language in an incident that could have a profound impact on the way his attitude towards gay people is perceived.

When asked at the Italian Bishops’ Conference if gay men should now be allowed to train for the priesthood as long as they remained celibate, Pope Francis said they should not.

He is then believed to have continued by saying in Italian that there was, in the Church, already too much of an air of frociaggine, which translates as a highly offensive slur.

Although it was a meeting that happened behind closed doors, the Pope’s reported comments were first conveyed to the Italian tabloid website Dagospia.

Other Italian news agencies have since confirmed the Pope’s words citing numerous sources.

There has been shock at the Pope’s reported language at this private meeting, particularly as he has often talked publicly of being respectful…

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More than six months after a study of abuse in the Catholic Church, officials on Monday announced the status of planned measures. There is nothing concrete yet – “there are still many unanswered questions,” they said. For those affected, progress is too slow.

“We are not making as much progress as would be desirable or necessary,” Joseph Bonnemain, Bishop of Chur and head of the Bishops’ Conference, admitted to the media in Zurich on Monday. “However, intensive work has been done over the past six months.”

Stefan Loppacher, the prevention officer for the diocese of Chur, added that it would take time to introduce measures nationwide. He cited federalism and differences in language and culture, as well as different church structures.

In order to guarantee independent counselling for victims, church organisations are now in talks with the state-recognised victim counselling centres. For example, it needs to be clarified how their…

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• In short: Father David Lancini has had eight historical child abuse charges against him dropped.
• His lawyer told the court prosecution witnesses had colluded on fabricated statements.
• What’s next? Father Lancini says his lawyer will make further statements regarding any legal matters that may arise.

A prominent Queensland Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing a boy in the early 1970s has had all charges dropped after his lawyers told the court claims against him had been either fabricated or mistaken.

Father David Lancini appeared in Townsville Magistrates Court today, flanked by supporters. 

Father Lancini has been a priest for more than 50 years. 

His lawyer, Justin Greggery, said witnesses had colluded on “demonstrably” fabricated statements before Father Lancini was charged in December 2023 with eight counts of indecent treatment of a boy under 14 years.

He alleged one of the witnesses, who was not the complainant, had a vendetta against Father Lancini.

Mr…

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Twenty-five years ago, Eric Patterson of Conway Springs, Kansas, took his own life. He had no way of knowing, of course, that his horrific pain and desperation would transform his quiet schoolteacher mom into an incredibly powerful advocate for tens of thousands of victims of child-molesting clerics and their corrupt supervisors.

[Please click here to read David Clohessy’s tribute to the late Janet Patterson.]

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Each time another scandal related to sexual abuse erupts in the Roman Catholic Church, I find myself wondering: How many more people are being set adrift from our faith? How many others are being reconfirmed in their alienation from the sacraments?

The refuge to which these Catholics escaped I know well. It was where I fled while my abusers continued to enjoy sanctuary in the church, under cover of enablers who overlooked evil for expediency’s sake, rationalizing inexplicably a failure to protect victims from further abuse in the House of the Lord.

Yet without my faith, my healing would have been impossible. Nothing reveals the dimensions of the human person like abuse. A single act can inflict lifelong wounds on so many personal dimensions, including our hearts, minds, bodies, spirits and relationships. No single discipline can suffice in response. Only in relationship with the Creator of our complex humanity can…

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The former CEO of Orange, a leading Christian youth curriculum, has accused Orange founder Reggie Joiner of clergy sexual abuse in an email to two board members.

Former CEO Kristen Ivy writes she and Joiner did not have an “inappropriate relationship,” as initially reported in a statement by Orange announcing Joiner’s and Ivy’s resignations last month. Instead, in an email obtained by The Roys Report (TRR), Ivy labels Joiner’s actions “clergy sexual abuse.” And she adds, “I’m not the only one.”

Ivy sent the email to Orange Board Chairman Joel Manby and Board Member Jennifer Barnes on April 23—the opening day of the Orange Conference 2024. In her email to Manby and Barnes, Ivy admits that she initially labeled what had happened between her and Joiner as an “inappropriate relationship” and explains why.

“During the time of my original interview, I was prepared to protect…

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Prosecution hints that Lawrence Hecker, 92, accused of historical rape and kidnapping, is feigning illness to avoid going to trial

A dispute over whether a retired New Orleans Catholic priest technically remains hospitalized or not is the latest reason his high-profile rape and kidnapping trial has been delayed.

Lawrence Hecker, 92, a confessed serial child molester, has been residing at Bridgepoint continuing care facility in Marrero, Louisiana, a facility across the Mississippi River from New Orleans that is attached to a hospital campus.

Hecker was hospitalized elsewhere in January – three months following his arrest on rape and kidnapping charges – for delirium brought on by a urinary tract infection and Covid.

But at a hearing on Thursday that was supposed to determine Hecker’s competency to stand trial, neither his defense attorneys nor prosecutors knew who ordered his stay at Bridgepoint or for what medical reason. The judge presiding over the case,…

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An alleged victim of recently ousted worship pastor Aaron Ivey is speaking out, alleging Ivey groomed, manipulated, and sexually molested him for years when the man was a minor.  

Musician Logan Garza posted on Instagram last week that he was “one of the victims of sexual abuse” of worship pastor Aaron Ivey, who was fired in February by The Austin Stone Community Church in Austin, Texas.

Ivey is married to popular podcaster and author Jamie Ivey. And in 2021, the Iveys co-authored Complement, a book and Bible study about marriage. 

“I was groomed from the age of 15, when (Aaron Ivey) would have been twice my age, and sexually abused by Aaron from the ages of 16-20,” said Garza. “The grooming was textbook—making me feel special, hanging out privately exposing me to new and mature things like…

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The priest of an ashram was arrested Saturday for allegedly raping a four-year-old girl in Bhagalpur district. The accused Dharmanand Baba — in his forties — had fled after the crime and was caught in Asarganj area in Munger district. He was produced before a Pocso court and sent to Bhagalpur jail, police said.

Police said the crime took place Friday night when the child had gone to the ashram while searching for her father. “The girl was alone at home while her father was out at work. Her mother was in the neighbourhood. Her father frequently visited the ashram so the child went there looking for him,” local police station in-charge Safdar Ali said.

“When her mother returned home, she could not find her daughter and reached the ashram while looking for the child. On seeing her daughter partially naked, she started to call out for the locals, many of whom…

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Police and corporation officials revealed that temple priest Mahant Mukesh Goswami has illegal constructions and shops on government land which faced bulldozer action.

The authorities have booked a priest of a temple named Mahant Mukesh Goswami for allegedly installing a CCTV camera in a roofless women’s bathroom in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. The examination of the CCTV cameras placed in the area produced some startling findings. The CCTV and its DVR contained recordings of 320 women and girls.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rural) Vivek Chand Yadav, the CCTV and its DVR were discovered in the bathroom. The DVR included five days’ worth of data. The accused’s cellphone, which displayed live CCTV footage, was also examined. He is currently absconding. Two police teams have been deployed for his arrest and he has approached Allahabad High Court for anticipatory bail.

Meanwhile, police and corporation officials revealed that…

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Bishop Reed told churchgoers to stop stirring up trouble around his relationship.

A video of a Iowa bishop explaining his marriage has gone viral. Bishop Dwight Reed of Christ Apostolic Temple in Des Moines recently attempted to defend his marriage to a member of his congregation, who was 19 years old at the time. He was 63.

The clip has been circulated by several outlets and popularized on social media. It shows Reed standing behind a pulpit and giving a statement to those who stirred up trouble in his church that morning due to his marriage to the young Jordan Goodlett. According to The Des Moines Register, Goodlett was just 19 when she married the bishop.

Reed started, “And I wish some of y’all would mess with my wife, Jordan. Talking about, ‘What you gonna do if you see her?’ Well, you will see me on the news!”

He…

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A small and steadfast group of worshippers could be the blueprint for modern-day Christianity.

Approximately 25 million German Catholics are spread across the country, but only a quarter of them reside in the eastern region. Soon, these Catholics will assemble for Catholic Day, providing a glimpse into the life of a minority faith in a mostly secular society. What lessons can we learn from this dwindling community, which faces nationwide declines in membership? According to an expert, focusing solely on internal church issues won’t offer much insight.

Catholic Day is taking place in Thuringia’s Erfurt, where Christians can examine their impending fate as a diminishing religious minority. For years, Eastern Germany has struggled with its dearth of churchgoers. A study by the University of Chicago classifies the region as the least religious area worldwide. Few people are members, few infants are baptized, and many church buildings…

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A former city prosecutor turned religious school teacher has been charged with raping a 13 year-old girl, The Post has learned.

Daniel Haines, 39, an ex-Bronx and Brooklyn assistant district attorney who taught at Mt. Carmel-Holy Rosary in East Harlem, is also accused of taking cell phone videos of their sexual contact, and exchanging “multiple photos and videos of a sexual nature” via email with her, according to a criminal complaint filed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The alleged abuse took place “on multiple occasions” between April 18, 2022 and April 7, 2023, when the victim was in 7th and 8th grade, the complaint states.

He was arrested on May 17.

A partially redacted address cited in the complaint indicates the abuse occurred at Mt. Carmel, where Haines was a teacher at the time. 

The complaint alleges one act of forcible rape occurred against a desk.

Mt. Carmel principal Trista…

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Scandalous behavior that has dogged the Catholic church is becoming increasingly common in shamanic healing circles

Shamanic healing or opportunity for ritualized abuse? A lawsuit filed in New Mexico last week alleged that a “shamanic master” assaulted a woman during an “energy medicine” training session in March.

The claim, which is being investigated, could shed more light on what some say is a dark side of some trends in modern spirituality, especially those that involve the ceremonial use of often intense psychedelic treatments.

The woman in New Mexico, who was identified in the complaint only by the initials MG, says she paid thousands of dollars to the Four Winds Society and the Chi Center to become a certified energy medicine practitioner with “an extraordinary life of health, purpose and inner guidance”.

The lawsuit, first reported by the Santa Fe New Mexican, says that the woman had scheduled a session with an…

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Olivier de Scitivaux de Greische, 64, has been handed a 17-year sentence after admitting to raping and sexually assaulting four young boys during more than a decade in the 1990s and 2000s.

A criminal court on Saturday found de Scitivaux de Greische, a former senior priest in the diocese of Orléans southwest of Paris, “guilty of all the acts of rape and aggravated sexual assault” he was accused of.

The court announced the accused would have to serve a minimum of 10 years behind bars.

In a hearing behind closed doors on Friday, the former priest – who was returned to lay status at his own request – acknowledged everything “without reservation”.

“I admit, because I have to use words, to the touching, the caresses, the fellatio, the digital and penile penetrations, to all the acts,” he told the court.

The court also sentenced the accused to socio-judicial supervision, the…

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Garland Police arrested the priest after minors reported inappropriate contact during a visit to a residence.

Garland Police arrested a priest with the Catholic Diocese of Dallas on Monday, on two counts of indecency with a child.

Ricardo Reyes Mata is facing allegations of inappropriate contact after two minors reported an incident that happened when he made a visit to a residence in Garland, according to Garland Police.

Upon learning of the report, diocesan officials filed a report with Child Protective Services and law enforcement, according to a statement from the Diocese of Dallas. The 34-year-old was also immediately removed from all public ministry.

“We are grateful for law enforcement’s thorough response,” said Bishop Edward J. Burns of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas. 

Mata was ordained in 2022.

Mata was appointed Parochial Vicar of the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Dallas in July of 2023. He also…

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Ricardo Reyes Mata, 34, was arrested Monday by Garland police and charged with two felony counts. He was ordained in 2022.

GARLAND, Texas — Police want you to see his face. Many might recognize him, even if he looks different these days. 

“We received a call on a Friday, a report from the diocese as well as family members, regarding an actual offense that occurred regarding this priest,” Garland Police Public Information Officer Lt. Pedro Barineau said on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, Garland Police announced that its officers had arrested 34-year-old Ricardo Reyes Mata, a priest with the Catholic Diocese of Dallas. 

Reyes Mata is accused of inappropriately touching two minors in a Garland home. Police told WFAA, the alleged victims ages range from 10 to 17.

Versión en Español: Sacerdote de la Diócesis de Dallas fue arrestado por acciones indecentes con un niño

“You can…

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DALLAS – Police records show a Dallas priest charged with indecency with a child is accused of touching young girls under the age of 14.

Ricardo Reyes Mata, a priest with the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, was arrested by Garland Police on Monday.

Investigators believe the alleged assaults took place in April inside the girls’ home where he was visiting.

The Diocese of Dallas chose not to interview with FOX 4 on Wednesday, but it did provide a video statement in which the bishop calls the allegations “embarrassing.” He says the catholic school teacher who alerted her superiors of the allegations did the right thing.

Catholic Diocese of Dallas Bishop Edward Burns addressed the arrest of Father Mata, who most recently had been serving at Cathedral Guadalupe in Downtown Dallas.

“I learned that a child had told her Catholic school teacher about some inappropriate touching,” he said.

…

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Garland Police say the allegations against Ricardo Reyes Mata are based on reports of inappropriate contact with two juvenile between the ages of 10 and 17.

GARLAND, Texas – A Dallas priest has been charged with two counts of indecency with a child and police want to know if there are more victims out there.

Ricardo Reyes Mata, a priest with the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, was arrested by Garland Police on Monday.

Police say the allegations are based on reports of inappropriate contact with two juveniles between the ages of 10 and 17.

Investigators say the alleged encounter happened last week when Father Mata visited the children’s home in Garland.

Diocesan officials said they immediately filed a report with Child Protective Services and law enforcement.

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A Florida priest is accused of biting a woman while giving out Communion during a Mass in St. Cloud in an alleged “attempt to defend the Communion bread,” according to the charging affidavit in the case.

The priest, identified as Father Fidel Rodriguez, initially refused to give the woman Communion bread on May 19 and told her “she did not do the prior steps necessary” to receive the bread when he encountered her at a Mass held earlier that day at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, according to police.

A statement provided by the Diocese of Orlando states Rodriguez gave the woman a blessing at the 10 a.m. Mass and “advised her to receive the Sacrament of Penance (Confession) before coming back to receive Holy Communion (Eucharist).”

The woman told police she returned to the church for the noon Mass and informed the priest she had in fact done the…

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A pastor of Living Word Church in Midland, Michigan, has been charged with committing sex crimes, becoming the second clergyman and third leader from the church to be arrested on such accusations in recent months.

Randy Saylor, a 71-year-old associate pastor, was arraigned Wednesday on charges of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person younger than 13, and second-degree criminal sexual conduct. His crimes allegedly occurred in 2018.

Living Word Church has suspended Saylor from all his duties while the criminal investigation is underway, according to The Roys Report.

Living Word Church Administrator William Bailey said in a statement to the Midland Daily News that the congregation was “deeply saddened and concerned” about the situation.

“It has come to our attention that Randy Saylor, a member of our pastoral team, is under investigation for allegations of sexual abuse,” Bailey stated.

“There are…

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SPRINGER, N.M. — A former Santa Fe priest accused of child sex abuse died by suicide before a hearing set to take place Friday.

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe confirmed Daniel Balizan’s death Friday. Balizan was a former priest at the Santa Maria de la Paz Catholic Church in Santa Fe – and at St. Patrick’s-St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Raton.

Balizan faced child sex abuse charges and was going to appear at a hearing Friday. However, court documents show Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaymie L. Roybal addressed the court and confirmed Balizan died.

Balizan lived in Springer at the time of his death. Springer Mayor Boe Lopez told KOB 4 that police responded to “an unattended death” at a home Friday morning. The mayor later learned from police that the person was Balizan.

The mayor described Balizan as a “fixture in the community” and a close friend. He added that…

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May 22, 2024

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel today announced the release of a report (PDF) by the Department of Attorney General concerning allegations of abuse that took place in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. 

[Note from BishopAccountability.org: To see our cache of AG Nessel’s report on Kalamazoo, click here.]

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 Kalamazoo, 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 Kalamazoo that was established in 1971, is derived from…

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Three men who were leaders in a central Texas church youth group and part of Chi Alpha Campus Ministries were arrested on child sex abuse charges, according to county records. It’s the latest arrest in a widening sex scandal centered on former Chi Alpha mentor, Daniel Savala. 

On Thursday, the Brazos County Sheriff’s Office arrested two men, Ryan Hoffart, 25, and William Johnson, 23. The day prior, Otto “Bo” Randolph, 30, was arrested. All three men were charged with indecency with a child by exposure, a third-degree felony in Texas. In addition, Hoffart was charged with indecency with a child by sexual contact, a second-degree felony. 

The three men were booked at Brazos County Detention Center in Bryan and released on bail the same day as their arrests, a county court clerk representative told The Roys Report (TRR). Hoffart covered a $100,000 bond, and Johnson and Randolph are out on $25,000 bonds. 

The criminal charges are linked to a civil lawsuit filed by Steve Holt, who alleged that his teenage son was “groomed”…

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Bishop James Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska, on Friday encouraged Pope Francis to “familiarize himself” with the American episcopate before a prospective return to the United States, which Conley said “could be an opportunity for the Holy Father to see the Catholic Church here in a different light.”

In a column first published May 15 and posted to the diocesan website May 24, Conley described his brother bishops as “unquestionably loyal to Pope Francis, which makes his ambiguities and seeming criticisms difficult to understand.”

“In my case, life as a bishop has been a blessing, because my brother U.S. bishops have been overwhelmingly good, committed men. They have very different skills and personalities. All have strengths and weaknesses. None of them is close to perfect. But they’re faithful to the Church and devoted to their people,” Conley wrote.

Pope Francis has in…

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ALBUQUERQUE — The look on the attorneys’ faces offered the first clue Friday that a plea hearing for a former Santa Fe priest accused of child sexual abuse would not proceed as planned.

Daniel Balizan was expected to plead guilty Friday morning to charges stemming from child sex abuse accusations brought by a former parishioner at Santa María de la Paz Catholic Community. But as news of Balizan’s death by suicide spread through the federal courthouse, it was clear there would be more shock than resolution.

“I’m stunned,” Balizan’s attorney, Dan Cron, said after the hearing.

As the proceeding before U.S. District Judge Matthew Garcia began, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaymie Roybal said she had received news Balizan had died by suicide, which she verified with the FBI and local law enforcement. Balizan died in Springer, where he had been on home detention with electronic monitoring in the custody of his…

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A former Santa Fe priest arrested last year for allegedly sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy more than a decade ago took his own life shortly before a plea hearing scheduled for Friday morning, his attorney confirmed.

Daniel Balizan, 62, a former pastor of Santa Maria de la Paz Catholic Community in Santa Fe, was indicted in June by a federal grand jury for a reported case of child sexual abuse in 2012, according to the indictment.

Balizar killed himself at his home in Springer the night before he was scheduled to plead guilty to a federal charge of coercion and enticement of a minor, said Dan Cron, Balizan’s attorney.

Cron said he learned of his client’s death Friday morning while driving from Santa Fe to Albuquerque for the 10 a.m. plea hearing in U.S. District Court.

“I am shocked by this,” Cron said in a phone interview. “I had no…

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After being arrested in 2023, the former pastor of Santa Maria de la Paz Catholic Community in New Mexico – Daniel Balizan – passed away before the completion of his trial. He was expected to make a plea in the federal case.

Balizan was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2023. They accused him of attempting to knowingly persuade an underage boy to engage in sexual activity. On May 24, 2024, at a plea hearing in federal court, the assistant U.S. attorney announced that Balizan was deceased and that there would soon be a motion to dismiss the case. The United States Attorney’s Office told KRQE that Balizan was found deceased at his home but that the manner of death has not yet been determined as of Friday afternoon.

Following the news, the Archdiocese of Santa Fe responded to the death, claiming Balizan took his…

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Here we go again. Oh my gosh! Hysteria. Bishop Malone is performing confirmations. Again – sexual abuse is not excused. Malone should be banned. He resigned as bishop in Buffalo. Catholics. Sit down and decide who makes judgments on clergy. If it’s you, then show me your authority. Malone is still a bishop. You have nothing to say about his authority.

It’s been more than four years since Bishop Richard J. Malone resigned as leader of the Buffalo Diocese amid a firestorm of criticism over his role in covering up molestation claims against clergy. But this past week, he presided over confirmation ceremonies at St. Gregory the Great in Amherst, the largest parish in the Buffalo Diocese.

Pomposity is rampant in Buffalo. A priest is always a priest. While the intermediary between Christ and you, he still performs sacraments. If you can’t cope, leave. The church will survive. Priests are human and subject…

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There’s a major development after a News 5 Exclusive Investigation revealed a convicted sex offender was allowed to help lead Catholic masses at a local church.

There’s a major development after a News 5 Exclusive Investigation revealed a convicted sex offender was allowed to help lead Catholic masses at a local church. The bishop of the diocese has now asked for the pastor of that church to resign.

The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland confirms it sent a letter today to parishioners of St. Thomas More Church and the parents of children who go to St. Thomas More School asking that Father Mike Feldtz resign as pastor and that he is now on a leave of absence to focus on health problems.

The letter comes on the heels of our investigation showing how convicted sex offender Keith Kozak was permitted by Father Feldtz to be on the altar assisting with services…

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Prosecution hints that Lawrence Hecker, 92, accused of historical rape and kidnapping, is feigning illness to avoid going to trial

A dispute over whether a retired New Orleans Catholic priest technically remains hospitalized or not is the latest reason his high-profile rape and kidnapping trial has been delayed.

Lawrence Hecker, 92, a confessed serial child molester, has been residing at Bridgepoint continuing care facility in Marrero, Louisiana, a facility across the Mississippi River from New Orleans that is attached to a hospital campus.

Hecker was hospitalized elsewhere in January – three months following his arrest on rape and kidnapping charges – for delirium brought on by a urinary tract infection and Covid.

But at a hearing on Thursday that was supposed to determine Hecker’s competency to stand trial, neither his defense attorneys nor prosecutors knew who ordered his stay at Bridgepoint or for what medical reason. The judge presiding over the case,…

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Pope Francis has not done enough to stamp out clerical sex abuse and its cover-up, activists and abuse survivors said on Thursday, protesting before a Vatican-hosted World Children’s Day festival.

The Roman Catholic Church has been shaken by sexual abuse scandals around the world. Francis has tried to impose order, but his critics say more should have been done to root out abusive clergy and help their many victims.

“We want to protect young people who are attending” the festival, said Matthias Katsch, co-founder of Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA), in a press conference by the ancient Roman Castel Sant’Angelo fortress, in view of St Peter’s Basilica.

He noted that anti-Church abuse activists visited Rome in September to demand “zero tolerance” ahead of a major Vatican summit on the future of the Church, “but nothing has happened since”.

Specifically, Katsch accused Francis of failing to punish cardinals and bishops “who covered up sex…

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Since 1950, sexual misconduct claims were made against 19 priests in west Michigan diocese, with most occurring before 2002

KALAMAZOO — The Office of Michigan’s Attorney General released the third of seven expected reports into allegations of clergy abuse and misconduct in Michigan’s seven dioceses May 22, detailing its findings from an investigation into the handling of abuse claims in the Diocese of Kalamazoo.

Reports have previously been issued on the Diocese of Marquette and the Diocese of Gaylord.

Although the Diocese of Kalamazoo was established in 1971, the report said the investigation covered allegations dating back to 1950 involving current or former clergy of the Kalamazoo diocese, including religious order priests and priests of other dioceses ministering in the Kalamazoo diocese.

Since 1950, the report said, allegations of sexual misconduct have been made against 19 priests in the Diocese of Kalamazoo, of whom 12 were ordained or later incardinated…

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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has released the third of seven reports on alleged sexual abuse in dioceses throughout the state. 

The report details “allegations of abuse that took place in the Diocese of Kalamazoo,” one of seven in the state of Michigan. Previous reports focused on the Dioceses of Gaylord and Marquette.

As with the prior reports, the Kalamazoo investigation details abuse allegations that stretch back decades. The review includes allegations of misconduct “by priests who are current or former clergy for the Diocese of Kalamazoo that occurred in the diocese from Jan. 1, 1950, to the present.”

The Diocese of Kalamazoo was previously part of the Diocese of Grand Rapids; it did not become its own named diocese until 1971.

The diocese “agreed to provide reports of abuse to the Department of Attorney General,” Nessel’s office said, describing diocesan participation…

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Teresa Pitt Green is a survivor of clergy sexual abuse.

She is an advocate for abuse survivors, an expert in restorative justice, and a witness to the harm of clergy abuse, and the possibility of healing.

Pitt Green is a co-founder of Spirit Fire, which “is a fellowship of survivors of abuse within the Church who share, as part of our ongoing recovery, a spiritual practice which permits us to offer our wisdom, experience, and faith to all others who seek healing, growth, and reconciliation in the wake of the abuse of children and vulnerable adults in a faith setting – in particular in the Catholic Church,” according to the group’s website

In November 2018, she addressed the U.S. bishops’ conference, during a prayer service in the wake of the Theodore McCarrick scandal. 

“This is my story,” she told the USCCB. “Long ago — five decades ago — where the…

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As the latest chapter of a saga that began one year ago, the Vatican made a ruling last month in the case of the Arlington, Texas, Carmelites locked in a dispute with Bishop Michael Olson over allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of Mother Theresa Gerlach, who has been replaced by the Vatican as the community’s superior, even while the nuns at the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity continue to recognize her as their superior.

Of course, anyone who has followed the twists of this story knows it’s not just about sexual misconduct — the saga has included allegations of drug use, lawsuits and restraining orders, and periodic statements from Archbishop Carlo Vigano, former apostolic nuncio to the U.S.

But while there is a great deal unresolved — and still unclear — in the Arlington, Carmel saga, the Vatican’s Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life made a decision —…

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The Holy See has reinstated a Carmelite mother superior nearly a year after the bishop of Fort Worth, Texas, dismissed her after alleged inappropriate conduct with a priest. 

Bishop Michael Olson issued a decree on June 1, 2023, dismissing Reverend Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach from religious life following a nearly six-week-long investigation into the affair. 

Gerlach had previously served as the prioress of the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Arlington. Olson said at the time of the dismissal that the investigation had found her “guilty of having violated the Sixth Commandment of the Decalogue and her vow of chastity with a priest from outside the Diocese of Fort Worth.”

In a statement on Wednesday, Olson said that the Vatican’s Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life “informed me that it overturned the decree dismissing Mother Teresa Agnes” from the…

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The Archdiocese of Baltimore announced this week that more than half of the parishes in Baltimore’s historic city core will close or merge as part of a major pastoral planning process.

The final plans, announced May 22, will see 61 parishes at 59 worship sites in Baltimore City and some nearby areas of Baltimore County reduced to 23 parishes at 30 worship sites.

“These decisions, while difficult, are made with an eye toward a future goal of hope,” Archbishop William Lori said in a video message, saying the plan was put together, “guided by the Holy Spirit,” with an eye to helping the parishes prioritize announcing the Gospel and helping neighbors in need.

The many Catholic churches in Baltimore City were built to serve “a surging population that’s now lost hundreds of thousands of people,” the archdiocese says on the website for the initiative….

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Signs of the times. The Durham University report on abuse, released April 30 after a four-year study, highlights the importance of listening to abuse survivors in restoring trust and changing Catholic culture.

In a “listening Church” that tries to be synodal, it is interesting to see the kind of speakers that are placed in front of young Catholics to deliver a “commencement speech” at graduation ceremonies in Catholic colleges and universities in the United States. The controversial speech delivered on May 11 by a famous football player and traditionalist Catholic, Harrison Butker, to the class of 2024 at Benedictine College in Kansas is just one example of the bizarre situation in which the U.S. Catholic Church finds itself.

I followed the reactions to that commencement speech the same week I read “The Cross of the Moment. A Report from the Boundary Breaking Project,” the final report of the Center for Catholic…

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After the dust settled, former Bishop Richard Stika ended up having a lasting impact on the Diocese of Knoxville.

Perhaps not the type he would have envisioned. The multiple crises and lawsuits that built up under his leadership spurred the diocese to update its sexual misconduct policy.

In February, Louisville Archbishop Shelton Fabre, who served as the interim leader in Knoxville, approved the updates. They include new language and policies, including rules that church leaders can’t interfere with sex abuse investigations and the accused can’t retaliate against the accuser.

An internal diocesan review board started working on the changes in January 2023. Stika resigned in June.

Diocesan spokesperson Jim Wogan declined to say why each change was made or whether Stika’s time with the diocese influenced them.

“The diocese views this as a positive step by removing any questions about the board’s authority and ability to act independently,” Wogan wrote in…

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The Michigan Attorney General’s Office on Wednesday released its report summarizing allegations of sexual abuse involving priests within the Catholic Diocese of Kalamazoo, saying the goal of the document was to “acknowledge the reports of abuse from victims” and to make public the findings of its investigation.

“We must break down the walls of silence that so often surround sexual abuse and assault,” Attorney General Dana Nessel said during a virtual news conference Wednesday morning. “In the end, we hope that this report provides a voice to those have suffered in silence for so long and that it shines a light on those alleged offenders whose actions allowed them to evade true accountability.”

She praised the survivors who shared what happened to them.

“Their willingness to come forward helped bring attention to an issue that has affected so many in our state and our country, including, of course, children,” Nessel…

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[To see the AG’s report on the Kalamazoo diocese, click here.]

A new report is aiming to shed light on alleged abuse cases that reportedly took place within the Diocese of Kalamazoo.

Released by Attorney General Dana Nessel Wednesday, the report contains detailed descriptions of sexual abuse allegations and other sexual misconduct, including grooming and misuse of authority, against minors and adults, according to the Department of the Attorney General.

Among the findings were the names of 19 priests, 12 of which are priests for the Diocese of Kalamazoo and 7 others who ministered in the Diocese.

Of those 19 individuals, 12 are accused of abusing minors, 5 are accused of misconduct with adults and two others are accused of misconduct with both adults and minors, officials noted.

For those accused of sexually abusing minors, 10 of those are alleged to have done so within the Diocese’s nine counties,…

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The indictment is the first public acknowledgment from the U.S. Department of Justice that it is investigating the SBC and its entities.

A former Southern Baptist seminary professor and interim provost has been indicted on a charge of obstructing justice in a sexual misconduct case, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday (May 21). 

Matt Queen, who was previously an administrator and professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, allegedly gave the FBI falsified notes during an ongoing investigation into alleged sexual misconduct at the seminary, which is in Fort Worth, Texas. He was arraigned Tuesday, according to the DOJ.

“As alleged, Matthew Queen attempted to interfere with a federal grand jury investigation by creating false notes in an attempt to corroborate his own lies,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams of the Southern District of New York in a statement. “The criminal obstruction charge announced today should exemplify the seriousness of attempts by…

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Henry David Thoreau once said, “There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.” These profound words resonate strongly as we reflect on recent developments concerning the need for reform in the Catholic Church to protect children. The French bishops introduced an unusual church abuse ‘reform‘, which has garnered significant attention and raised important questions about the effectiveness of measures.

According to one newspaper, “Catholic priests in France  will be made to wear traffic-light coded identification tags to allow the public to check whether they may have faced sexual abuse charges.” These cards will include a QR code that reflects a red, orange, or green light based on the priest’s clerical status. While this innovative step aims to increase transparency and accountability, the fundamental question remains: Is this enough?

The Need for Effective Measures to Protect Children

At Horowitz Law, we…

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The former CEO of Orange, a leading Christian youth curriculum, has accused Orange founder Reggie Joiner of clergy sexual abuse in an email to two board members.

Former CEO Kristen Ivy writes she and Joiner did not have an “inappropriate relationship,” as initially reported in a statement by Orange announcing Joiner’s and Ivy’s resignations last month. Instead, in an email obtained by The Roys Report (TRR), Ivy labels Joiner’s actions “clergy sexual abuse.” And she adds, “I’m not the only one.”

Ivy sent the email to Orange Board Chairman Joel Manby and Board Member Jennifer Barnes on April 23—the opening day of the Orange Conference 2024. In her email to Manby and Barnes, Ivy admits that she initially labeled what had happened between her and Joiner as an “inappropriate relationship” and explains why.

“During the time of my original interview, I was prepared to protect…

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A third leader at televangelist Mark Barclay’s Michigan church is facing charges of sexual assault, according to Midland County Circuit Court records.

Randy Saylor, associate pastor at Living Word International Church in Midland, Michigan, is the second pastor and third person involved with the church to be charged with sex crimes.

Saylor, 71, was arraigned Wednesday on charges of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person under 13, and second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a relationship. His crimes allegedly happened around March 2018.

Living Word has suspended Saylor from all duties “pending the outcome of the investigation,” Living Word Church Administrator William Bailey said in a statement to local media. He added that there are no allegations that the abuse took place at the church or involved the church in any way.

“Living Word International Church is deeply saddened and concerned to address recent…

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The Soul Survivor Watford in the United Kingdom has hired a new associate pastor in the aftermath of an abuse scandal that led to the ouster of its founder, Mike Pilavachi. 

The Rev. Simon Nicholls will take on the new role as associate pastor, taking the reins from the former associate pastor, The Rev. Andy Croft, who departed last year due to his ties to an ongoing investigation of Pilavachi. 

The ministry announced Nicholls’ appointment during its services on May 12. Nicholls will assume the position in September. 

“Many of you will know of Si as he used to be part of the church family until eight years ago when he left to train for ordination in the Church of England,” a statement emailed to supporters reads. 

Pilavachi was investigated last year by the Church of England based on allegations of “inappropriate intimate…

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A Southern Baptist pastor who previously served as a seminary administrator has been indicted in federal court on one charge of falsifying records to cover up a report of sexual abuse.

This is the first indictment of a Southern Baptist Convention official amid several years of reckoning over sexual abuse claims and the mishandling of those claims.

The May 21 indictment of Matthew Queen, 49, in the Southern District of New York is the first visible fruit of an FBI investigation of the SBC that began in 2022. If convicted, Queen could face up to 20 years in federal prison.

Queen, now pastor of Friendly Avenue Baptist Church in Greensboro, N.C., was arraigned on the charge before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan Tuesday. He had begun serving the North Carolina church just months ago after relocating from Texas.

He is a former evangelism professor who previously held the L.R. Scarborough Chair…

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Bolivia Jesuits ask victims of two priests implicated in scandal to make formal complaint

In the developing sexual abuse of minors scandal involving Jesuits in Bolivia, a May 13 article in the Spanish newspaper El País implicated two other priests, Francesc Peris and Carlos Villamil, and also published the testimonies of eight alleged victims.

The Jesuits asked the victims to make a formal complaint with the Society of Jesus and offered their assistance in filing a complaint with the public prosecutor. 

El País broke the initial story on the scandal April 29 in a report titled “Diary of a pedophile priest,” stating that Jesuit priest Alfonso Pedrajas Moreno, who died in 2009, sexually abused as many as 85 minors in Bolivia, based on admissions found in his own diary.

Peris, known as “Checho,” and Villamil, nicknamed “Vicu,” allegedly committed the abuse in the 1980s when both priests worked at the…

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Allegations of widespread abuse against children who were said to have been forced to attend Canada’s Indian Residential Schools were uncommon before the last of them was shuttered in 1996. […]

Allegations of widespread abuse against children who were said to have been forced to attend Canada’s Indian Residential Schools were uncommon before the last of them was shuttered in 1996. That was the year the Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples alleged the existence of systemic abuse at these boarding schools, charges detailed in the 2015 Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, the body appointed to examine the history, operation, and legacy of these schools.

Indigenous activists and institutions linked to them, abetted by a compliant mainstream media preoccupied with sensational stories, began zealously promoting even more scurrilous assertions about the Indian Residential Schools, especially those administered by the Roman Catholic Church, starting…

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The president of the Polish bishops’ conference, Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda of Gdansk, has been accused of alleged negligence in a sex abuse case. The report, filed by a victim-survivor advocate under the new procedural norms established by the papal document Vos Estis Lux Mundi, was sent to the Vatican’s apostolic nunciature in Warsaw in March, according to the Polish Catholic media outlet Wiez.

On May 20, a letter was published that Polish abuse victims sent to all members of the Permanent Council of the Polish bishops’ conference May 13, asking to suspend Wojda from his duties as president of the Polish bishops’ conference “pending investigation of the alleged negligence.”

“In many Polish dioceses … the welfare of institutions turns out to be more important than human suffering,” victims said in a letter prepared by three vocal advocates of clerical sexual abuse survivors: Toska Szewczyk (not…

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A $500,000 bond set for Charlotte County priest Leo Riley, following his initial appearance at the Dubuque County Courthouse has been posted. Sources tell ABC7 the bond was posted by Riley’s brother.

Riley is facing five counts of sexual abuse allegedly committed during his time as a priest in Iowa. Last month, a local victim came forward saying he was abused by Riley in Charlotte County.

“I buried these memories very deep but I couldn’t keep them buried forever,” said an alleged victim going by John Doe.

Father Leo Riley has not been charged in Charlotte County, but is back in Dubuque to answer to five counts of capital sexual battery related to reports 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…

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Seek money & acknowledgement from Archdiocese of Baltimore

Alleged victims of sex abuse at the hands of the clergy have become creditors against the Archdiocese of Baltimore at the federal courthouse, but this is about far more than a payday.

“We’re trying to get to the goal of how can we make sure truly beyond the money, how can we make sure this doesn’t happen again,” said Committee of Unsecured Creditors Chair Paul Jan Zdunek.

A woman who we will refer to only by her first name, Rebecca, took the stand first to share details of what her abuser called their ‘little secret’ at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church in West Baltimore.

At the age of 12, Rebecca says a priest at the church began following her around to secluded areas and molesting her.

She reported it to a seminarian who she found out later was abusing children as well.

…

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The International House of Prayer-Kansas City’s Forerunner Church held its final worship service in Grandview on Pentecost Sunday as the fallout continues over the sex abuse scandal involving the global prayer movement’s founder.

The building was filled to capacity at the 10 a.m. service, with leaders saying their goodbyes and thanking those who have been part of the church, from the musicians to the youth teachers to those who served coffee and cleaned the restrooms.

“This morning our heart is really to just express gratitude to the Lord and gratitude towards those that have served and been a part of this community over the years,” senior pastor Isaac Bennett told the congregation. “We’re so grateful for this community and what the Lord has done and what the Lord is going to do in your lives. Even in the days ahead. “ …

There’s no easy way to do…

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Church administrator issues statement regarding charges

Living Word Church Associate Pastor Randy Saylor will be arraigned Wednesday on charges related to alleged 2018 sexual assaults.

Saylor, 71, is the second pastor and third person involved with the church to be charged with such crimes.

He is expected to be arraigned on charges of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person under 13, and second-degree CSC with a relationship. He is set for an 8:30 a.m. arraignment in Midland County District Court Wednesday. The crimes allegedly occurred around March 29, 2018 and were investigated by Michigan State Police.

“Living Word International Church is deeply saddened and concerned to address recent allegations of misconduct involving one of our ministers,” Living Word Church Administrator William Bailey said in a statement responding to a Daily News request for comment.

“It has come to our attention that Randy Saylor, a member of our pastoral team, is…

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A judge sentenced a North Las Vegas pastor to one year of probation on Monday, the result of a plea deal for a sex crimes case. 

Bobby Cornealius Smith will have to register as a sex offender and cannot be alone with children other than his biological children while he is on probation. Smith will continue his work as a pastor, according to defense attorney Robert Draskovich.

Smith is the pastor of New Beginnings Ministries, according to the church’s website.

Clark County District Court Judge Joe Hardy, Jr. referred to the plea deal reached between Smith and the Clark County District Attorney’s office as he sentenced Smith.

A grand jury previously indicted Smith for 11 felony charges, including nine counts of sexual assault, one count of attempted sexual assault, and one count of child abuse, neglect, or endangerment. Three women, one family member, and two women whom he referred to as…

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