ABUSE TRACKER

Rev. Juan Carlos Garcia, a former associate pastor at St. Philip Catholic Church in Franklin, has been indicted by the Williamson County grand jury on one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, one count of aggravated sexual battery, four counts of sexual battery by an authority figure, and two counts of sexual battery.

Father Garcia was removed from his position at the parish and from public ministry while an investigation into reports of sexual misconduct was under way by the Franklin Police Department. The Franklin Police Department began to investigate Father Garcia after representatives of the Diocese of Nashville contacted the police department to provide information it had received regarding alleged misconduct.

Father Garcia is expected to turn himself in to the Williamson County Jail for booking.

Father Garcia, who was ordained to the priesthood in 2020, was assigned to St. Philip in July 2022. He was associate…

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Group VITA, representing victims, will present proposal imminently

Group VITA – the organisation set up by Portuguese bishops following the country’s ‘child sex abuse scandal’ – has announced it will be presenting the Church with a proposal later this month for financial compensation for victims identified this far.

In a statement marking the one-year ‘anniversary’ of the release of the report that exposed the rot that has been festering within the Church for decades, the group – led by psychologist Rute Agulhas – said that it has already received 71 requests for help, and carried out 45 consultations.

This, of course, is in addition to the hundreds of cases considered by the Independent Commission for the Study of Sexual Abuse of Children in the Catholic Church.

“The majority of the situations reported concern adults who were victims of sexual violence in childhood or adolescence, but there are also situations of especially vulnerable adults,” explains…

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Caritas Philippines yesterday urged Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) founder Apollo Quiboloy to submit to the Senate investigations on allegations of sexual abuse of women and children.

In a statement, Caritas Philippines president Kidapawan Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo yesterday said the “allegations against Mr. Quiboloy and the KOJC are deeply troubling.”

“Human trafficking, sexual abuse and other criminal activities, if proven true, represent a grave violation of human rights and fundamental dignity, especially impacting women, children and other vulnerable individuals,” Bagaforo added.

Caritas Philippines – the social arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines – emphasized the importance of due process.

“Submitting himself is crucial, not just for the sake of transparency, but for the victims who deserve justice,” Bagaforo stressed.

The Kidapawan prelate also called on Congress, particularly the Senate, not only to assert its authority but to also ensure a thorough and impartial investigation into these…

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A new bill introduced in the Alabama Legislature would make it illegal for church clergy to have sexual interactions with children and teens under 19 years old.

House Bill 125, sponsored by State Rep. Leigh Hulsey (R-Helena), creates the crime of unlawful sex acts committed by clergy.

“This bill would provide that it is unlawful for a minister, priest, rabbi, bishop, or other recognized member of the clergy in a position of trust or authority over a person to commit certain sex acts with an individual under 19 years of age, or a protected person under 22 years of age,” the bill states. “This bill would also provide for penalties.”

Specifically, the law would make it illegal for a bishop, any recognized member of the clergy, staff member or volunteer to engage in sexual intercourse or sodomy with a person under the age of 19 or 22 in…

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A JESUIT ORDER has received 93 complaints of sexual, physical and emotional abuse by the late priest and teacher Joseph Marmion.

A narrative record of Marmion’s abuse of children has been released by the Society of Jesus, documenting abuse by Marmion at schools including Belvedere College in Dublin, Clongowes Wood College in Co Kildare and at Crescent College in Limerick.

It details how the Jesuit Order dealt with the allegations and the response of the order from when the first allegation of child sexual abuse was made, up until the present day.

It also names for the first time two other priests who were the subject of numerous complaints of child sexual abuse – but who carried on working with children.

According to the report, titled ‘Fr Joseph Marmion SJ – His abuse, the harm caused, and Jesuit accountability’, more than two-thirds of the alleged abuse by Marmion took place…

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All forms of clerical abuse begin with a priest thinking he is better than others and detached from reality, Pope Francis said. Source: NCR Online.

“We can live our priestly ministry well only immersed in the priestly people from whom we come,” the Pope told about 1000 priests and bishops from 60 countries on February 8, during a conference on the continuing education and formation of priests.

“This belonging to the people – do not ever let us feel separate from the journey of the holy, faithful people of God – protects us, sustains us in our struggles, accompanies us in our pastoral concerns and saves us from the risk of becoming detached from reality and feeling omnipotent,” the Pope said. “Watch out because this is also the root of every form of abuse.”

The February 6-10 conference was sponsored by the dicasteries for Clergy, for Evangelisation and for the Eastern…

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Last week, lawmakers in Arkansas and Missouri presented new legislation aiming to expand and eliminate the statute of limitations in childhood sexual abuse cases.

Passed in 2021 in Arkansas, the Justice for Vulnerable Victims of Sexual Abuse Act temporarily changed the Arkansas statute of limitations for “vulnerable victims” (those who were minors, disabled or otherwise considered “vulnerable” at the time of abuse) wishing to seek justice for crimes committed against them. The act gave survivors, for whom the statute of limitations had already expired, a two-year window to come forward with cases against “any party who committed sexual abuse” or whose “tortious acts” led to the abuse.

The last day of this window was set to be Jan. 31, 2024.

A Feb. 6 news conference announced details of the renewal of this act, sponsored by Sen. David Wallace (R) and Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R), which provides a new two-year “lookback window” that will…

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The Vatican’s doctrinal chief says his office is working to “raise awareness and prevent” the use of Catholic spirituality as a means of abuse as in the cases of Marko Rupnik, Jean Vanier, and others. This comes as sex abuse survivors have raised concerns about Cardinal Fernández’s book, Mystical Passion, which could be used by predators to facilitate abuse.

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The High Court of Australia dismissed the Catholic Church’s bid to avoid paying damages to the father of a choirboy allegedly sexually abused by Cardinal Goerge Pell. The landmark decision confirms the decision of the Victorian Supreme Court of Appeal that victims’ families may seek compensation as secondary victims of clergy sexual abuse.

The Thursday ruling concerned RWQ  v Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne & Ors [2022] VSC 483, a case involving a father who filed a claim against the Archdiocese for the mental harm suffered as a result of being informed of the alleged sexual abuse of his late son by Cardinal Pell.

In August 2022, the Victorian Supreme Court considered whether the father of the alleged victim could bring a claim for injuries suffered as a secondary victim of the abuse his late son had suffered.  It was held that the father’s claim was…

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The victim-led petition also calls for the resignation of Prague Archbishop Jan Graubner who it alleges covered sexual abuse by a priest.

Victims of abuse by priests in the Czech Republic are urging the establishment of an independent commission to investigate sexual violence cases within the Catholic Church. 

An online petition calling for the resignation of Prague Archbishop Jan Graubner alleges that Graubner – while serving as the archbishop of Olomouc – was aware of a priest abusing children but failed to take action. 

The petition, addressed to the Czech Bishops’ Conference and the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the EU, alleges that while there are dozens of known victims of abuse by priests in the Czech Republic, there could be hundreds – possibly thousands – more.

“In numerous places around the world, bishops who covered up the perpetrators of sexual abuse against…

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Survivors and campaigners have criticised the failure to introduce mandatory reporting for child sexual abuse in England more than 15 months after it was one of the key recommendations by a public inquiry.

None of the recommendations of the seven-year independent inquiry into child sexual abuse (IICSA) has yet been implemented by the UK government, including for people working in positions of trust who fail to report allegations of abuse to face criminal sanctions.

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• Pennsylvania police have charged a local Mormon president with failing to report allegations of sex abuse made against a former bishop under his wing
• Shawn Gooden was jailed last year after pleading guilty to charges including forcible sodomy and aggravated sexual battery of a minor in Virginia
• His son, Matthew, claims the church knew of abuse allegations for two years but ‘kept it secret’ from the community, allowing his father to attend religious events

Matthew Gooden had not been born when his father, Shawn, began sexually assaulting two young relatives, aged eight and nine.

Matthew spent the first twenty years of his life blissfully unaware of the harrowing truth, leading what he thought was a normal upbringing in the Mormon church, in which his father had risen to the rank of bishop.

It was not until Gooden’s arrest in September 2022 that he was exposed as the monster he was.

But to…

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Hungary’s conservative president has resigned amid public outcry over a pardon she granted to a man convicted as an accomplice in a child sexual abuse case

Hungary’s conservative president resigned Saturday amid public outcry over a pardon she granted to a man convicted as an accomplice in a child sexual abuse case, a decision that unleashed an unprecedented political scandal for the long-serving nationalist government.

Katalin Novák, 46, announced in a televised message that she would step down from the presidency, an office she has held since 2022. Her decision came after more than a week of public outrage after it was revealed that she issued a presidential pardon in April 2023 to a man convicted of hiding a string of child sexual abuses in a state-run children’s home.

“I issued a pardon that caused bewilderment and unrest for many people,” Novák said on Saturday. “I made a mistake.”

Novák’s…

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State Bill 6298 would require priests and other ministers to become mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect. The bill was introduced to the Washington State House of Representatives on Feb. 9 after passing through the Senate.

This bill uses complex language, such as “penitential communication,” but it really boils down to the Catholic practice of confession. Information learned during confession would be exempt from reporting, but some priests are still worried this bill would violate their sacred practice.

Clergy refers to any leader of a church or religious group. All clergy would be mandated reporters for child abuse under this law. Penitential communication is the communication between a person and a member of the clergy in a confidential manner with no other party present. This is most common during the practice of confession in the Catholic Church.

Rector Darrin Connall works for the Cathedral of Our Lady Lourdes in…

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• In short: There are calls for the Vatican to speed up its decision on the future of an Australian bishop whose house has been raided by police for a second time.
• Former Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders is being investigated following allegations of sexual assault. He denies any wrongdoing.
• What’s next: Former Kimberley priest Father John Purnell says the Vatican should act on an independent report into the former bishop, which categorised him as a “predator”.

Father John Purnell is optimistic by nature.

“I’m not really sure why this particular case is taking so long,” he says.

“But I do have faith that Pope Francis will resolve this situation.”

It’s been more than four years since Father Purnell accompanied a young Indigenous man to a police station in the remote Kimberley region to make a statement.

The young man alleged he had been sexually assaulted by well-known figure Bishop Christopher Saunders,…

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Protestors called for Hungary’s conservative president to resign on Friday after it came to light she had pardoned a person convicted of covering up a child sexual abuse case.

Calls for Hungary’s conservative President Katalin Novák to resign grew Friday amid outrage over her pardoning of a person convicted of covering up a child sexual abuse case, which has unleashed an unprecedented political scandal for the long-serving nationalist government.

Novák is the first female president in Hungary’s history. She sparked indignation after it was revealed that she issued a presidential pardon in April 2023 to a man convicted of hiding a string of child sexual abuses in a state-run children’s home.

The man was sentenced to more than three years in prison in 2018 for pressuring victims to retract their claims of sexual abuse by the institution’s director, who was sentenced to eight years for abusing at least 10 children…

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This time of year Massachusetts lawmakers consider which bills will leave committees for a vote, which will not move forward, and which ones they want more time to consider.

The Joint Committee on the Judiciary has weighed in on several bills focused on the state’s charitable immunity cap, which limits damages on some cases against nonprofit charities, including Catholic dioceses.

A bill that would amend the law so it does not apply to allegations of sexual and physical abuse of a child is still being considered. The committee gave itself until April 30, 2024 to consider House bill 1446. Rep. Michael S. Day, D- Stoneham, proposed the bill. He is also the House chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary.

Bills that would eliminate the cap on all lawsuits against charities did not move forward.

The charitable immunity law generally caps damages against…

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Jaime Adolfo Gonzalez-Farias, a/k/a “Father Gonzalez,” 69, a former Catholic priest, of Laurens, was sentenced to more than 21 years in federal prison following a conviction for transportation of a minor with intent to engage in illegal sexual acts.

Father Gonzalez-Farias served as a Catholic priest since at least 1990, including in South Carolina from 2015 until his suspension by the Catholic authorities in late 2020. He most recently served at parishes in Newberry and Laurens Counties. He also served in parishes in Florida and New Jersey.

In early 2020, Gonzalez-Farias met the minor victim, an 11-year-old boy, and his family through his position as a priest. Gonzalez-Farias began giving high levels of attention to the child, including giving gifts such as a cellphone that he used to communicate with the victim. In November 2020, the child’s family reported to Catholic authorities their concern that the priest’s relationship with the child was…

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The Horror Is Not in the Past

In 2006, thanks to the tenacity and courage of 24 clergy sex abuse victims, a California-based Catholic religious order called the Franciscans was forced to release 8,500 pages of long-hidden records about horrific clergy sex crimes and cover ups.

It was, and still is, one of the most significant single document disclosures that reveals how these devastating crimes were committed and concealed in a single, large Catholic entity. (The records are available at bishopaccountability.org/franciscans/)

But sadly, that moment is unlikely to be repeated.

Now, another group of brave men and women who were sexually violated by even more Franciscans are seeking prevention, justice, healing, and truth-telling.

These survivors should have the same leverage over church officials as their predecessors had. In theory, they could force a similar disclosure of embarrassing but crucial information about clergy sex crimes and cover ups.

…

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The former leader of the International House of Prayer Kansas City is facing another sexual abuse allegation – this time for a teenager whose family attended his church more than 20 years ago.

The accusation, first reported by the Kansas City Star, came the same week the church apologized for its delayed response to an initial sex abuse claim filed against the minister this past fall by a woman who said she was 19 when he reportedly assaulted her.

Mike Bickle, 68, allegedly molested his former babysitter Tammy Woods, whose family attended his church in St. Louis before he started the 24/7 global prayer ministry, the outlet reported Thursday.

Woods is among at least two people who claim the minister sexually abused them when they were teenagers.

The first person to publicly claim Bickle molested her came forward in October with accusations dating back to the late 1990s.

In a…

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A Michigan woman is accusing International House of Prayer founder Mike Bickle of sexually abusing her 43 years ago, when she was 14 and Bickle was pastoring a church in St. Louis, the Kansas City Star reported.

The woman, Tammy Woods, told the Star that Bickle began abusing her in the early 1980s, when he was the pastor of South County Christian Fellowship, where her family attended, and Woods was Bickle’s babysitter.

According to Woods, Bickle’s abuse began with kissing, but progressed to fondling and Bickle moving on top of her “until he released.”

Woods, who’s using her maiden name, is the second woman to tell her story of alleged abuse by Bickle to the media.

The primary alleged victim, “Jane Doe,” told her story exclusively to The Roys Report (TRR) last November, and weeks later, the International House of Prayer Kansas City (IHOPKC) permanently separated from Bickle. Doe claimed…

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The more time goes by, the more concerned I get about the Southern Baptist Convention’s sexual abuse hotline.

For anyone who may be trying to make some kind of risk-benefit analysis in deciding whether to call the hotline, the balance of factors has grown more weighted toward the risk side. And the evidence of benefit is sparse.

The hotline was established in May 2022, shortly after release of the bombshell Guidepost report, which documented how, for decades, the SBC Executive Committee’s top leaders turned a blind eye to clergy sex abuse reports while stonewalling and vilifying survivors.

Something had to be done — and done fast — to shore up the SBC’s institutional image. So, the hotline was created.

I expect some will view that statement as harsh and insist the hotline was created not for PR purposes but to foster clergy accountability and aid survivors. I believe many in SBC life held…

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A Florida priest and Grammy-winning recording artist has been placed on administrative leave due to alleged sexual misconduct with a minor a decade ago.

Father Jerome Kaywell, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Punta Gorda, Florida, has been removed from his duties pending an investigation, according to a Jan. 26 letter to parishioners by Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, Florida.

The bishop said the Diocese of Venice had received notice from an unspecified law firm that the popular priest had allegedly engaged in misconduct “with someone who was a minor at the time … in the Winter of 2013/2014.

“Father Kaywell denies that the allegation is true and maintains he is innocent,” said Bishop Dewane in his letter. He urged that “anyone who believes that he or she has been the victim of sexual misconduct by someone serving in ministry for the Diocese of Venice, or any organization, should…

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A Florida diocese has placed a prominent priest on leave amid claims of sexual misconduct with a minor that allegedly occurred years ago. 

Bishop Frank Dewane of Venice, Florida, said in a letter to parishioners of Sacred Heart Parish in Punta Gorda that the diocese had “received notification from a law firm of an allegation of sexual misconduct by Rev. Jerome Kaywell with someone who was a minor at the time.”

The incident in question “allegedly occurred in the winter of 2013/2014,” Dewane wrote in the letter. 

The bishop said that upon learning of the allegation he “placed Father Kaywell on administrative leave pending a preliminary investigation,” per diocesan policy. 

The prelate said that Kaywell “denies that the allegation is true and maintains he is innocent.”

“We pray for the relief of the pain and suffering experienced by all victims,” Dewane wrote. “We pray that the Lord of…

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The Diocese of Trenton was sued by hundreds of victims, according to the complaint.

A lawsuit filed by Clyde & Co on behalf of Century Indemnity in New Jersey federal court seeks a declaration that the insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify the Diocese of Trenton or its schools and parishes against the hundreds of sex abuse claims of minors which have flooded in since the New Jersey Child Victims Act (CVA) opened a revival window for survivors.

Since the CVA opened a revival window for survivors of child sexual abuse, claims would have been time-barred. The Diocese of Trenton was sued under the CVA by hundreds of survivors of child sexual abuse, according to the complaint.

The CVA became law in December 2019. It allows survivors of child sexual abuse to bring civil lawsuits arising out of abuse until their 55th birthday. In…

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Almost two years ago, Pope Francis gave the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors a challenging assignment.

The pope asked the Vatican’s child protection body to begin producing annual reports on the Church’s global efforts to safeguard minors and vulnerable adults. 

“This might be difficult at the beginning,” he said in April 2022, “but I ask you to begin where necessary, in order to furnish a reliable account on what is presently being done and what needs to change, so that the competent authorities can act.”

“Difficult” was surely an understatement. The Catholic Church has been described as the “world’s oldest continuously functioning international institution.” It has 1.4 billion members, who belong to 24 particular churches and are present in almost every country in the world. And the Church is not known for its scrupulous record-keeping. 

So how would the commission tackle the task of creating the Church’s first worldwide safeguarding report?

…

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A former Catholic priest in South Carolina has been sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison for trying to sexually assault a boy and showing him pornography.

Jamie Adolfo Gonzalez-Farias, 69, could have faced a life sentence. Federal Judge Mary Geiger Lewis on Thursday granted part of a defense motion for a lighter prison term and sentenced the priest to 21 years and 10 months in prison, along with lifetime monitoring if he is ever released.

Gonzalez-Farias, who was known in several parishes as “Father Gonzales,” was a priest for more than 30 years after being ordained in his native Chile, according to court records.

He came to the United States in 2001 and was sent in 2020 to serve three small South Carolina churches in Newberry, Joanna and Laurens where he met the family of an 11-year-old boy, federal prosecutors said.

Gonzalez-Farias lavished attention on the boy and his…

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A man studying to be a priest with the Archdiocese of Cincinnati has been arrested on multiple child pornography charges, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office said.

Broderick Witt, 28, was arrested Friday at Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary, which is where the sheriff’s office says he resided.

He has been charged with eight counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor, which are all fourth-degree felonies.

The sheriff’s office said the Regional Electronics & Computer Investigations (RECI) section began investigating Witt in September 2023 after receiving information from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The RECI section is a task force of both sheriff’s office and Cincinnati Police Department investigators that look into internet and technology crimes.

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati released a statement saying Witt is “no longer a student of this institution, nor a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.”

“The seminary and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati…

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A now-ex-seminarian with the Archdiocese of Cincinnati is facing child porn charges.

Broderick Witt, 28, was arrested Friday on eight felony counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.

Witt’s residential address is Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary, which is where he was arrested, the sheriff’s office explained.

The charges against him stemmed from an investigation that started in September 2023, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office said Friday.

The investigation was initiated when the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force relayed information to members of the Regional Electronics & Computer Investigations section, the sheriff’s office said.

Hamilton County court records depict the graphic nature of eight videos, all of which involved minor females. Due to the contents referenced in the court documents, FOX19 NOW will not be releasing the details.

As they investigated Witt, the sheriff’s office said they found out he was…

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Even if priests, pastors, bishops or any other Utah faith leaders learn about ongoing child abuse from a perpetrator during a confession, they can report it to police, and without fear of facing civil or criminal liability.

That’s if the Utah Legislature approves Rep. Anthony Loubet’s HB432, which has advanced and is poised for a hearing Thursday before the House Judiciary Committee.

Currently, Utah law does not require clergy to report abuse they learn about in confessions — repeated attempts to erase that exemption have failed — but there is nothing on the state’s books that prevents them from notifying authorities.

A key element of Loubet’s bill is that clergy who choose to report information about child abuse they hear in confession “are protected from civil and criminal liability,” the Kearns Republican said this week. It is a way to “reward those who are already reporting abuse and neglect, and it will…

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All forms of clerical abuse begin with a priest thinking he is better than others and somehow over them, Pope Francis said.

“We can live our priestly ministry well only immersed in the priestly people from whom we come,” the pope told about 1,000 priests and bishops from some 60 countries Feb. 8 during a conference on the continuing education and formation of priests.

“This belonging to the people — do not ever let us feel separate from the journey of the holy, faithful people of God — protects us, sustains us in our struggles, accompanies us in our pastoral concerns and saves us from the risk of becoming detached from reality and feeling omnipotent,” the pope said. “Watch out because this is also the root of every form of abuse.”

The conference Feb. 6-10 was sponsored by the dicasteries for Clergy, for Evangelization and for the…

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A former Catholic priest in Laurens and Newberry counties who pleaded guilty to criminal sexual activity charges will be sentenced on Thursday afternoon.

Jamie Gonzales-Farias pleaded guilty to transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

Sentencing will take place in Columbia at 2 pm.

During his first court appearance, a US. Judge ordered that 67-year-old Catholic priest remain behind bars until his trial date.

Gonzalez-Farias, known as “Father Gonzalez”, was accused of sexually abusing an 11-year-old while serving as a priest at a Columbia church back in November 2020, according to the Associated Press.

The incident was reported to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston after Gonzalez-Farias left the country in December 2020, and parishioners were made aware of the situation in January 2021, according to The State Newspaper and AP.

Gonzalez-Farias was arrested in Miami, Florida back on November 28, 2022.

He was ordained…

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Since Maryland lawmakers eliminated the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse lawsuits last year, the number of victims suing the state’s juvenile justice agency has grown to 200.

The latest lawsuit, which was filed Thursday on behalf of 63 plaintiffs, alleges rampant abuse at 15 juvenile detention facilities. Some of them have since closed while others remain in operation.

At least 10 other complaints alleging abuse of incarcerated youth were filed previously under a Maryland law change that went into effect in October, opening the doors for victims of childhood sexual abuse to sue regardless of their age or how much time has passed. Lawmakers approved the change with the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal in mind after a scathing investigative report revealed the scope of the problem within the Archdiocese of Baltimore. But in recent months, an unexpected spotlight has settled on…

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The Washington Senate approved a compromise Wednesday that makes clergy and faith leaders mandatory reporters of child abuse with one big exception.

If the information about the abuse is obtained solely in the context of penitential communication, otherwise known as confession in the Catholic Church, then the clergy member is not required to report it.

The compromise can be seen in Senate Bill 6298’s language that says “a member of the clergy has a duty to warn” state officials or law enforcement that there is “a reasonable cause to believe a child is at imminent risk of being abused or neglected.” (A PDF of the bill can be viewed here.)

In 2023, the Senate rejected a similar bill after there was no carve out for Catholic confession with many senators saying it violates the separation of church and state.

Jean Hill, the executive…

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A former Charleston priest who pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor was sentenced to 21 years and 10 months in federal prison.

Jaime Adolfo Gonzalez-Farias received the sentence on Feb. 8, roughly six months after he confessed in court to traveling with an 11-year-old child across state lines to engage in sexual activity. 

The official charge was transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. He was also charged with aggravated sexual abuse of a child and coercion of a minor, but those charges were dropped when he pleaded guilty on Aug. 10, 2023.

Judge Mary Geiger Lewis ordered 69-year-old Gonzalez-Farias to pay $14,240 in restitution to the child’s family, and ruled that he was to be supervised upon release from prison for the rest of his life.

“It’s a terrible situation for everyone involved,” Lewis said during the Feb. 8 hearing, adding that…

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A former altar boy is suing the Diocese of Charleston after he says the church failed to protect him from being sexually abused by a priest.

Court documents state an altar boy, who was not identified by name, was groomed and later sexually abused by Father Robert Kelly at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Myrtle Beach.

The alleged abuse occurred in the early 1990s. Kelly served as the priest of St. Andrews from 1990-1994. He died in 2004.

Court documents state the Diocese and the Bishop should have known about previous “illicit and improper sexual relationships” by Kelly either before or during his time at the Charleston Diocese.

The alleged abuse began as “kissing, touching and fondling” and the plaintiff did not know it “was not common behavior” for a priest, court documents state.

Court documents state the actions later evolved into sexual abuse and misconduct.

“The Diocese allowed predatory…

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Police investigators from the Child Abuse Squad are again searching the home of the former Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders.

WA Police last month confirmed they had restarted their investigation into sexual abuse allegations against the veteran cleric.

Bishop Saunders has denied any wrongdoing.

Half a dozen police officers are again scouring the Broome property, which is owned by the Catholic Church.

WA Police said child abuse detectives were in Broome investigating historic child sex offences.

It is the second time in a month the specialised police unit has flown from Perth to interview locals and search the home on Piggott Way.

The 73-year-old resigned from his position in 2021 after almost 50 years as a priest and bishop in the remote diocese.

“The Catholic Diocese of Broome will not comment on this matter at this time, given it is an ‘ongoing investigation’,” a Church spokesperson said.

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference…

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Australia’s highest court has rejected the Catholic Church’s bid to avoid paying damages to the father of a choirboy allegedly sexually abused by Cardinal George Pell.

The father, who cannot be named, claims he suffered nervous shock after learning of allegations that the cardinal sexually abused his now-deceased son in the mid-1990s.

Cardinal Pell maintained his innocence over the allegations until his death in January 2023, and had five convictions for abusing the man’s son and another boy overturned by the High Court in 2020.

The man, known as RWQ for legal reasons, is seeking damages against the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and Cardinal Pell in Victoria’s Supreme Court.

The church had tried to excuse itself from the case by using a legal loophole, the Ellis defence, and arguing the man could not sue as he was not the direct victim of the alleged sexual abuse.

But in August 2022,…

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The Jesuit Order in Ireland has received 93 complaints of sexual, physical and emotional abuse of boys by the former priest and teacher Joseph Marmion, who it named as a child abuser two years ago.

In March 2021, the Society of Jesus asked victims of Marmion to engage with the Order and a restorative justice programme was established.

A report published by the Society of Jesus, which is a narrative record of Joseph Marmion’s abuse, says 45 of the 93 complaints received from 1977 related to child sexual abuse.

Marmion spent most of his time teaching at Belvedere College but also at two other schools: Clongowes Wood College in Co Kildare and Crescent College in Limerick.

Of the 93 complaints of abuse received against him, 14 relate to Crescent College, 14 to Clongowes Wood College and 65 to Belvedere College.

Excluding Marmion, there were 34 complaints of sexual abuse received…

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A lawsuit has been filed against the Catholic Diocese of Charleston, alleging that a former altar boy was sexually abused by a priest. The suit accuses diocesan officials of creating an environment that facilitated such abuse, causing ‘horrific damage’ to many children.

In an unfolding saga of pain and betrayal, a former altar boy of St. Andrew Catholic Church in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina has filed a lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese of Charleston. The suit alleges that the plaintiff suffered sexual abuse at the hands of a now-deceased priest, Robert Kelly, from 1990 to 1994. The church and diocese are accused of being fully cognizant of the misconduct, thus implicating them in the facilitation of the heinous acts.

Allegations of Persistent Abuse

The plaintiff narrates a tale of sustained violation during his formative years, from 1990 through 1994. The lawsuit contends that the priest in question, Robert Kelly, who…

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Another sexual abuse civil lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington is headed to trial.

[This transcript was made from the brief video report online.]

A sexual abuse case filed in 2019 against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington is heading to trial. According to Gravel & Shea, they have ten active lawsuits against the diocese. Today in civil court, attorneys met to discuss six of those cases. The plaintiff, who was a juvenile at the time of the alleged abuse wants financial compensation. The jury is expected to be selected on February 21st, with trial set to start April 8th.

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A former altar boy at a Myrtle Beach parish is filing suit claiming he and others were groomed and sexually abused by one of the church’s priests.

The lawsuit was filed on Jan. 8 by a former St. Andrew’s Catholic Church altar boy, who remains anonymous, against the Diocese of Charleston.

St. Andrew’s Catholic Church is a parish in Myrtle Beach under the Diocese of Charleston.

When he was a minor in the early ‘90s, the plaintiff said he was groomed while serving as an altar boy at St. Andrews and eventually sexually abused by Father Robert Kelly, who died in 2004.

This not only happened to him but other altar boys, who were Kelly’s prey, according to the lawsuit.

Kelly used his position as a priest to groom altar boys while they were alone and engage in sexual abuse, the lawsuit states.

“Plaintiff was a young boy and had…

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Breaking silence. Confronting clergy abuse. 

Day 3 began with another of Doe’s siblings testifying (Doe has several siblings). On this occasion, Doe’s older brother had agreed to take the stand. 

Doe’s older brother taking the stand was a great act of courage for many different reasons. One such reason, we quickly came to learn, was that this brother had also been sexually abused by Raymond Clavin but has never spoken about it publicly till today.

Older by 3 years, Doe’s brother was initially asked to recall details of their early family life. After three days in in court, I already know and have a vivid picture of Doe’s parents, confirmed yet again as a “young, exuberant, happy couple”. I heard of how their mother “doted” on their father with Doe’s brother adding, and with great feeling and emotion, that “my mother was so in love with him”.  

Consequently, you can only…

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Breaking silence. Confronting clergy abuse 

Day 2 is over and I’m very grateful that the energy in the courtroom today was far less tense than yesterday. 

Doe had survived his first day in court. 

As this morning’s proceedings unfolded, this time with no reporters and no archdiocesan personnel choosing to attend, Doe gave further evidence, speaking about his life after school, his attempts at post-secondary studies and his attempts at various jobs. He also spoke about different relationships he pursued, hindered and sadly restricted by his inability to be intimate or to enjoy sex, something nearly every sexual abuse survivor will identify with. 

What struck me –not withstanding the pressure and anxiety that Doe was feeling – was that he was incredibly articulate, speaking with poise, honesty, and clarity. 

He spoke about the many challenges that life threw at him in the wake of early childhood trauma and abuse. Of…

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The Diocese of Venice says Father Kaywell maintains his innocence and denies the allegations.

A Punta Gorda priest is facing child sexual abuse allegations, the Diocese of Venice said in a statement.

According to the statement, Reverend Jerome Kaywell, at Sacred Heart Punta Gorda, is accused of sexual misconduct with a minor in the winter of 2013/2014.

The Diocese of Venice says Father Kaywell maintains his innocence and denies the allegations.

The Diocese has not said, and NBC2 has not confirmed, whether law enforcement is actively investigating the allegation.

The following statement was released from The Diocese of Venice:

“In accordance with the Diocesan Policy for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults, upon learning of the allegation, I have placed Father Kaywell on administrative leave pending a preliminary investigation. Anyone who believes that he or she has been the victim of sexual misconduct by someone serving in ministry for…

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The concept of whether the Southern Baptist Convention is a unified church that can be held liable for sexual abuse that happens in individual congregations will be put to the test yet again in a new lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.

This suit combines claims of six plaintiffs against the SBC and four of its affiliated churches where sexual abuse is alleged to have occurred. Two other churches where abuse is alleged to have occurred are not identified.

In a novel twist, the suits files part of its claim under the Racketeers Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO. It says the SBC Executive Committee “is an association-in-fact” within the meaning of federal law and “is an ongoing entity (enterprise) that functions as a continuing unit” that “was used as a tool to effectuate defendant(s) pattern of racketeering and use its influence over…

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Conflict over sexual abuse claims at one of the largest Southern Baptist churches in Arkansas continues to make front-page headlines in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which has published 25 articles about Immanuel Baptist Church since December.

Seven of those articles have been published in the last week, as a fight between the church’s pastor and critics in the deacon body and the congregation has intensified.

In the latest move, Chairman of Deacons Greg Crain, who is senior vice president at Baptist Health in Little Rock, has demanded that all deacons sign a “recommitment form” pledging to support Pastor Steven Smith, the church’s staff and himself.

Chairman of Deacons Greg Crain has demanded that all deacons sign a “recommitment form” pledging to support Pastor Steven Smith, the church’s staff and himself.

Frank Lockwood, the reporter who has dogged the story for two months, explained Feb. 5 that at a contentious deacons’ meeting Sunday evening, Feb. 4,…

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A federal lawsuit brought by alleged abuse victims accuses the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBCEC) of “maliciously and systematically” covering up sexual abuse and seeks $10 million in damages.

The suit, filed in a U.S. District Court in Tennessee, also calls out several prominent pastors for being a part of alleged cover-ups. These include Steve Gaines, pastor of the megachurch Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tennessee, and former president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).

Named as defendants in the 20-page suit are the SBCEC and four SBC churches where plaintiffs claim they were sexually abused as minors.

The churches named in the suit are:

• Fountain Valley Baptist Church in Fountain, Colorado, where Pastor Charles Griffen allegedly molested plaintiff Candence Finch when she was 13 to 18 years old.
• Airline Baptist Church in Bossier City, Louisiana, where Assistant Pastor and Youth Director James Hoover and Minister…

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Among the cases cited in the lawsuit is a 2006 incident at Bellevue Baptist Church where Pastor Steve Gaines did not immediately fire an accused abuser.

A federal lawsuit filed in Nashville, Tennessee, accuses the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) of covering up and concealing sex abuse, and it mentions Memphis’ Bellevue Baptist Church and its senior pastor Dr. Steve Gaines.

Bellevue and Gaines are not specifically named as defendants in the lawsuit, which claims the Southern Baptist Convention leaders denied the rights of sexual abuse survivors by covering up abuse by church members and employees.

The lawsuit accuses the SBC leaders of being aware of abusers who seek employment as pastors and staff, allowing them to obtain positions of authority within the church leadership and holding influence over adults and children in the congregations. It claims convention leadership “has done little or nothing…

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A federal civil lawsuit has been filed against the “Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention,” and it mentions the senior pastor of the well-known Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova.

The lawsuit makes disturbing allegations centered around the cover-up of sexual abuse within the church.Southern Baptist leaders release secret accused abuser list

It comes after six people claimed they at one point had ties to Baptist churches across the country and stated in the complaint, “Defendants have maliciously and systematically engaged in covering up and concealing instances of sexual abuse by the church members and employees as a strategy of denying rights of sexual abuse survivors.”

None of those making the complaints in this lawsuit are from the Mid-South, but they are suing the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, which is headquartered in Nashville.

Cited in the 20-page federal lawsuit is an investigation done by newspapers out of…

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An Avondale priest charged with sexual assault had his case called for the first time in provincial court this morning.

Forty-nine-year-old Thomas Offong was charged two months ago following an investigation by RCMP in Holyrood.

They have only said the alleged incident occurred on November 23 in Avondale, and involved a woman.

There is a publication ban on her identity.

Offong is a Roman Catholic priest who has served in Avondale, Colliers, Conception Harbour and Burin, but also the Grand Falls-Windsor area.

He was not required to be in the courtroom this morning—instead represented by his lawyer on the phone, who told Judge Harold Porter that the disclosure evidence has been received, but they’ll need some time to review it.

Notably, the Crown said it will proceed by summary conviction, the less serious route, instead of by indictment.

The Bishop of Grand Falls, Rev. Robert Daniels, said in a statement…

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A second former altar boy is suing the Catholic Diocese of Charleston and the bishop of the Charleston diocese, alleging that they allowed a Myrtle Beach priest to sexually abuse him in the 1990s.

The lawsuit was filed on Jan. 8 by a John Doe who wanted to remain anonymous to protect his identity. Doe alleges that the Rev. Robert Kelly abused him in the early 1990s when Kelly was a priest at St. Andrews Catholic Church in Myrtle Beach.

“We have received a copy of the lawsuit and are currently reviewing it,” said Maria Aselage, the director of media relations with the Catholic Diocese of Charleston, in a statement sent by email. “We will respond to the pleading in due time.”

St. Andrews church did not respond to requests to comment on Sunday and Monday.

This is the second lawsuit against the Diocese alleging Kelly’s abuse…

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A Louisville Catholic school teacher is facing a federal investigation after being charged with distributing images of child pornography.

Federal investigators said Jordan Fautz, 39, photoshopped images of faces taken from St. Stephen Martyr Catholic School’s yearbook. Fautz was a seventh and eighth grade religion teacher when he sent out child sexual abuse materials to a law enforcement officer who was working undercover online.

On Saturday, St. Stephen Martyr Parish held a parent meeting with representatives from the Archdiocese and the FBI. Fautz was a part-time religion teacher and member of the maintenance staff at the parish for nine years. One year, he was a chaperone on an 8th grade school trip to Washington D.C.

“It’s just a sad thing, especially when it was someone who’s always been kind of involved with the school in some way and kind of grew up in a way it’s just a sad thing to see,” said…

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Jordan Fautz, the 39-year-old Louisville Catholic school teacher charged with distributing images of child pornography that had edited faces of students on them, will remain in custody after his attorney argued in federal court Tuesday he should be released.

The United States Department of Justice said Friday that Fautz, a seventh and eighth grade religion teacher at St. Stephen Martyr Catholic School, sent child sexual abuse materials to a law enforcement officer who was working undercover online.

Court documents say Fautz, 39, used yearbook photos of students and at least one adult from the school. The distributed images had photoshopped faces of students and the adult onto other nude images. 

Fautz was brought into the federal courtroom Tuesday in shackles and a black and white jail-issued jumpsuit. With his parents, wife and some of his alleged victims watching, attorney Frank Mascagni argued that Fautz is neither a flight risk nor…

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Breaking silence. Confronting clergy abuse. 

Its late in the evening and I’m still processing everything I heard earlier today in court – so forgive me if my thoughts are a little scattered.

Today was the opening day of a scheduled 19-day trial: John Doe versus the Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver. 

Before I go any further, I wish to truly honour the incredible courage of the plaintiff who uses the pseudonym, John Doe.  I was in awe of Doe’s presence and composure today in court. 

Doe was raped and molested by a Catholic priest, Fr. John Kilty of Holy Trinity Parish on Vancouver’s North Shore, when he was six years old. As a very young and vulnerable child whose own father had tragically died just months earlier, Doe at that time completely trusted and adored Fr. John Kilty. 

Soon after being molested and raped by Kilty, Doe was then also raped by a…

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A 55-year-old man recalls grabbing a knife after the alleged abuse, thinking “I’m going to cut his throat.” He says he was six years old at the time.

A B.C. man who says a North Vancouver priest and a coach sexually abused him has testified he became close to the clergyman before the abuse began.

“I loved him,” the 55-year-old man testified in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster on Feb. 5.

The man, whose name is covered by a publication ban, told Justice Catherine Murray his father had been killed in a dock accident on the day of his sixth birthday party.

Under questioning from his lawyer, Sandra Kovacs, the man said he was still grieving when he began attending the school at North Vancouver’s Holy Trinity Parish.

Known as John Doe in court documents, the man said he first went to Father John Kilty’s residence to get a pop.

…

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[See also a PDF of the Dewane letter.]

Dear Parishioners of Sacred Heart Parish:

The Diocese of Venice has received notification from a law firm of an allegation of sexual misconduct by Reverend Jerome Kaywell, with someone who was a minor at the time. The incident allegedly occurred in the Winter of 2013/2014. Father Kaywell denies that the allegation is true and maintains he is innocent.

In accordance with the Diocesan Policy for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults, upon learning of the allegation, I have placed Father Kaywell on administrative leave pending a preliminary investigation.

Anyone who believes that he or she has been the victim of sexual misconduct by someone serving in ministry for the Diocese of Venice, or any organization, should contact law enforcement officials. The Diocese of Venice provides a Victim Assistance Coordinator, who can be reached at 941-416-6114. As your Bishop, I wish…

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Cardinal Gerald Lacroix, who temporarily stepped down as archbishop of Quebec following abuse accusations, is in Rome for two-day meeting of the pope’s Council of Cardinals

Cardinal Gerald Cyprien Lacroix, who temporarily stepped aside from his duties as archbishop of Quebec last month after being accused of sexual assault, is in Rome this week for a two-day meeting with Pope Francis and his Council of Cardinals (C9).

The 66-year-old French Canadian cardinal, who has categorically denied the abuse accusations, is clearly visible in the photos Vatican meeting published on the first day of February 5-6 meeting. He seen sitting alongside other C9 members, including Cardinals Fridolin Ambongo of Kinshasa, Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg, Juan Jose Omella of Barcelona, Sean O’Malley of Boston and others.

The name of the Primate of the Canadian Church, as revealed by several Canadian media outlets, appeared last month in a major class action lawsuit that was filed…

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A second former altar boy is suing the Catholic Diocese of Charleston and the bishop of the Charleston diocese, alleging that they allowed a Myrtle Beach priest to sexually abuse him in the 1990s.

The lawsuit was filed on Jan. 8 by a John Doe who wanted to remain anonymous to protect his identity. Doe alleges that the Rev. Robert Kelly abused him in the early 1990s when Kelly was a priest at St. Andrews Catholic Church in Myrtle Beach.

“We have received a copy of the lawsuit and are currently reviewing it,” said Maria Aselage, the director of media relations with the Catholic Diocese of Charleston, in a statement sent by email. “We will respond to the pleading in due time.”

St. Andrews church did not respond to requests to comment on Sunday and Monday.

This is the second lawsuit against the Diocese alleging Kelly’s abuse of young boys,…

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The Archdiocese of Los Angeles last month dedicated a new “Garden of Healing” at LA’s St. Bernadette Catholic Church.

The garden is dedicated to victim-survivors of sexual abuse. It aims to be a safe space to offer some measure of peace and healing, as well as acknowledge the failures of the Church to prevent and adequately respond to abuse perpetrated by its priests, staff and volunteers.

St. Bernadette’s garden is the fourth of five planned gardens to open across the archdiocese; auxiliary Bishop Matthew Elshoff presided over an opening ceremony Jan. 17.

The idea for the healing garden came from Joe Montanez, a lifelong California resident. 

Montanez is a retired teacher of landscape design and horticulture, a husband and a father.

He is also a victim-survivor, who was sexually abused by a priest as an 11-year-old altar boy in Santa Barbara.

Montanez carried his pain alone for many years, even…

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U.S. BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION

In re: The Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco, Case No. 23-30564

Notice of Deadline for Filing Claims: February 20, 2024

YOU MAY HAVE A SEXUAL ABUSE CLAIM OR OTHER CLAIM AGAINST THE ARCHDIOCESE OF SAN FRANCISCO

On August 21, 2023, The Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco, a California corporation sole, aka Archdiocese of San Francisco (the “Debtor”), filed for protection under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”).

If you were sexually abused by any person connected with the Debtor, you must file a claim so as to be received by February 20, 2024, or otherwise you will be forever barred, estopped, and enjoined from asserting such claim against the Debtor.

Claims based on acts or omissions of the Debtor that occurred before August 21, 2023, must be filed on…

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‘John Doe’ wants punitive damages against church at civil trial claiming abuse by priest and teacher

Nearly 50 years after his first day at North Vancouver’s Holy Trinity elementary school, “John Doe” still recalls with pride the buckle shoes he wore as part of a uniform that included a red sweater, white shirt and blue pants.

He was six years old. And it was to be a year of memories Doe has spent a lifetime trying to shake — his father’s death, the sudden switch to a Catholic school, and his rape there by a physical education teacher and the priest who governed Holy Trinity’s operations.

Five decades later, the 55-year-old — whose real name is protected by a publication ban — took the stand in a B.C. Supreme courtroom in New Westminster in a bid to hold the Catholic Church accountable for the actions of Ray Clavin and Father John Kilty.

“It felt very…

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An interdisciplinary conversation about ethics, means, and the meanings of sex abuse memorials.

Featuring:

Dr. Stephanie Arel, Fordham University
Dr. Alana Harris, King’s College, London
Dr. Layla Karst, Loyola Marymount University

Taking Responsibility – Spring ’24 Webinar I

Monday, March 18, 2024 at 12:00 – 1:30 pm (Eastern time)

Registration

It was nearly 40 years ago that the first reports of clergy sexual abuse began circulating in the U.S. popular press. It has been a period of great pain, loss, and sorrow. Understandably, many in the Catholic church want to put these years behind them. They point to new policies and ongoing reform efforts to suggest the time has come for Catholics to look ahead, focus on preventing future abuse, and build the church of the future. 

Without denying the value of these efforts, others insist that the story is not over. New revelations keep coming, legal battles…

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An interdisciplinary conversation about transparency, control, and the volatility of sex abuse archives.

Featuring:
Dr. Jennifer Haselberger, JCL, Ph.D., Founder, Canonical Consultations
Dr. Kathleen Holscher, Associate Professor, University of New Mexico
Terence McKiernan, President, BishopAccountability.org
Levi Monagle, J.D., Partner, Hall, Monagle, Huffman, Wallace, LLC

Taking Responsibility – Spring ’24 Webinar II

Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at 4:30 – 6:00 pm (Eastern Time)

Registration

Springing from a recent legal settlement that promised an Abuse Documents Archive in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, this webinar asks questions about the meanings, limits, and promise of “transparency” in the effort to understand and ameliorate the Catholic clergy abuse crisis. 

What is to be learned, gained, and achieved in opening up the archives of Catholic sex abuse? What kind of healing follows from transparency, if any? Beyond respecting the wishes of survivors who prefer privacy, are there any other limitations to consider? What does transparency…

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Welcome to my website and my first ever blog… 

For this, I have chosen to address the topic of breaking silence and confronting clergy abuse. 

As a Spiritual Health Practitioner, I’m passionate about the importance of tending to our spiritual health and well-being. Whether we adhere to a particular religion, are atheist or are agnostic, maintaining good spiritual health is essential. 

Whatever spiritual practices you enjoy – be it a walk out in nature and feeling part of something bigger than us, spending time in meditation or participating in communal worship with a local faith community, these are just some of the ways we get in touch with the divine or cosmic beat of life. These are the practices that are essential to our balance, well-being, and health. 

When it comes to understanding sexual abuse of any kind, it goes without saying that for the person who has been violated, it…

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Advocates for survivors of sexual abuse by clergy are calling on the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas to address the case of an ex-priest who was investigated for possession of child pornography while he temporarily lived in Leawood.

The former priest, James Jackson, became the target of an investigation led by Overland Park police in 2022. At the time, Jackson, who spent part of his childhood in Prairie Village and attended the University of Kansas, was on supervised release for a separate federal case in Rhode Island.

Members of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, this week complained of what they called the “silence” around the allegations against Jackson along with other concerns, including the reinstatement of a priest in Lenexa who had been accused of child molestation and the hiring at Bishop Miege Catholic High School of a man who previously faced a child sex…

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Yesterday, Harrisburg, PA’s local ABC affiliate reported that Pennsylvania police had charged a local stake president of being aware of, but not reporting, child sexual assault allegations. Allegedly, the stake president knew of the abuse as early as October 2020, and appears to have learned about it from both the victim and the perpetrator (who was, himself, a local church leader). Under Pennsylvania law, clergy are “mandated reporters,” required to report suspected child abuse where they have reasonable cause to suspect that it’s happening. Failure to report is a third-degree felony in Pennsylvania, and people convicted of third-degree felonies face up to seven years’ imprisonment.

Allegations that church leaders mishandled accusations of child abuse are, unfortunately, nothing new. And my cobloggers and I have written a fair amount about abuse and the church’s reaction to it.[fn1] But until we repent and get it right, I’m afraid we’re going to have to…

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Pennsylvania State Police have charged Rhett Hintze, a lobbyist and “stake president” of seven area Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-Day Saints churches, with being aware of but not reporting child sex assault allegations against a Lebanon County church leader.

The charges were filed on Wednesday and Hintze is scheduled to be arraigned Friday.

Police expect Hintze, 50, to turn himself in. He’s charged with “failure to report or refer” allegations, a third-degree felony. In Pennsylvania, third-degree felonies generally can carry prison terms of up to seven years.

According to police documents, Hintze’s church leadership role made him a “mandated reporter” under Pennsylvania’s Child Protective Services Law, which dates to 1975 but expanded in 2014 following the Jerry Sandusky scandal to include more categories of people as mandated reporters and to increase the penalties for not reporting allegations.

Shawn Cory Gooden, who police say held…

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Greetings of Christ’s peace and love!

I would like to call your attention to the fact that the Utah Legislature once again is proposing legislation that will impact a spiritual tradition long practiced by our Catholic Church.

The Sacrament of Confession has been central to the practice of our Catholic faith for 2,000 years. This divine gift from Jesus helps us prepare to receive the Eucharist and to participate fully in our faith. During the Sacrament of Reconciliation, as it also is known, we confess and seek absolution of our sins from a priest, who sits in the confessional as our living conduit to our God.

What is said in the confessional is between the penitent and God, and is private. All priests are required by Church law (Code of Canon Law Canon 983 §1) to maintain complete secrecy about what is heard during Confession. Knowing that Confession is a…

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A former parish priest, the Diocese (Catholic) of Antigonish and Bishop Wayne Kirk- patrick are all named in a civil suit that alleges incidents of sexual assault and a failure to investig- ate.

A Sydney woman claims that between Jan. 12-14, 2022, then Father Patrick J. O’neill sexually assaulted her on two occasions in his vehicle after enticing her with alcohol in exchange for sexual favours.

At the time, O’neill was parish priest at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Sydney River. He has since left the priesthood.

According to the statement of claim, the woman was dealing with alcohol addiction at the time and was attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings when an individual recommended that she might find additional support and comfort by becoming involved in religion.

She was referred to Our Lady of Fatima Church and introduced to O’neill.

The allegations contained in the statement of claim have not…

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“Clericalism is a whip. It is a scourge. It is a form of worldliness that defiles and damages the face of the Lord’s bride,” the church, Pope Francis said to the bishops at the global assembly of Synod in Rome on Oct. 25, 2023.

In the U.S. Catholic Church, clericalism still dominates. Vatican II’s laity-elected parish councils have been euthanized, no longer called to action by pastors. The ranks of altar boys and girls and Catholic schools have decreased. Front-page abuse stories are publicly ignored by church authorities and communication with reporters stonewalled, as in staff writer Deena Yellin’s “Justice Delayed” (Jan. 28).

Protecting the truth and facts in public life is not preached as central to social and civic life. Instead of bridging opposing sides and differences, bishops and pastors put lids on them, keeping issues and parishioners separate and divided from dialoguing by choking off parish councils and…

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The US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) says that in 2023, it received 4,700 reports of content depicting child sexual exploitation generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

The problem is expected to worsen with the advance of AI technology, NCMEC told Reuters.

Child safety experts and researchers have expressed concerns about the risks posed by generative AI technology, which could increase online child exploitation.

In 2022, NCMEC received reports of some 88.3 million files.

John Shehan, senior vice president at NCMEC, said, “We are receiving reports from the generative AI companies themselves, online platforms and members of the public. It is absolutely happening.”

In a report released in June, researchers at the Stanford Internet Observatory said that abusers could use generative AI to create new images of real children, therefore repeatedly harming them.

Fallon McNulty, director of NCMEC’s CyberTipline, which receives reports of online child exploitation, said content…

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When an aid organization hired agents to investigate her father’s violence, the resulting probe became her new nightmare.

Tania Culver Humphrey has spent most of her life grappling with her father’s secrets.

In public, her father, Ellsworth Culver, cultivated a reputation as a globetrotting Christian do-gooder. He taught schoolchildren in Cuba, ran missionary programs in the Philippines, and, in the early 1980s, co-founded the humanitarian nonprofit Mercy Corps with friends from the international aid world. At Mercy Corps, including the nine years he spent as its president, he built programs across three continents, conducted informal diplomacy in conflict zones, and received a medal from North Korea for organizing food and medical aid.

In private, he was sexually abusing ­Humphrey, his youngest daughter—at times raping her, choking her, and taking explicit photos of her, according to a lawsuit she eventually filed. The abuse, she says, began as far back as she can remember and…

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A Catholic priest from the Order of Discalced Carmelites was convicted of child sexual abuse on February 16, 2022, yet the 2015 accusations against him and the conviction are only now coming to the public’s attention. SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, wonders why two Northern California dioceses, as well as the priest’s religious order, did not give this important information to the faithful earlier?

On Feb. 16, 2022, Fr. Mark Kristy pleaded no contest to one felony count of committing lewd or lascivious acts on a girl younger than 14. The abuse was apparently reported to both the Diocese of Sacramento and the Carmelites in 2015. The Cathedral of St. Eugene in Santa Rosa issued a vague warning about the priest September of 2022, according to the Sacramento Bee.

In 2002, the United States Conference of…

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Mike Bickle, founder of the International House of Prayer-Kansas City (IHOPKC), had “sexual contact” with a second, previously unreported Jane Doe victim, according to a report from IHOPKC’s highly-debated third-party investigation released last night. Bickle also “more likely than not” abused his power, the report stated.

The seven-page report by Rosalee McNamara of the Lathrop Group also confirmed that Bickle engaged in “inappropriate behavior” with a “primary ‘Jane Doe’” whose story was reported exclusively by The Roys Report (TRR) in November.

“Based on all the credible evidence, including his own acknowledgements of contact with the two Jane Does over twenty years ago, it is more likely than not that MB engaged in inappropriate behavior including sexual contact and clergy misconduct, in an abuse of power for a person in a position of trust and leadership,” McNamara’s report stated.

McNamara’s report was based on documents and interviews with some…

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The Michigan attorney general is conducting investigations of abuse allegations in each of the seven Catholic dioceses in the state.

A U.S. bishop in the state of Michigan this week announced that two priests would be forbidden from saying public Masses following the publication earlier this month of an abuse report from the state attorney general. 

Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office announced on Jan. 8 the release of the second government report on alleged Church abuse in the state. The report focused on “allegations of abuse that took place in the Diocese of Gaylord,” the office said at the time. 

The abuse allegations, many of them decades old, highlighted claims against nearly 30 priests in that diocese, the majority of whom were “known or presumed” to be dead. Of the 12 living priests, “three are in active ministry” with the diocese, the report said. 

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A Pennsylvania state representative who went public with his own experience as a sexual abuse survivor to champion causes in support of others like him is leaving politics.

Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, on Wednesday formally endorsed his one-time primary election opponent for the Office of Auditor General, Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia.

“This is going to be my last term, and after I’m done here, I’m moving forward and I’m turning the page to the next part of my life,” Rozzi said at press conference outside Reading High School before giving his full endorsement to his Democratic colleague.

Rozzi ended his own campaign for the statewide office. He previously said he wouldn’t seek reelection to the House and instead lent his support to his ex-wife, Jacklyn Rusnock, who’s courting the Democratic nomination for the 126th District.

The state Democratic Party previously voted to support Kenyatta in the spring primary. Lehigh County…

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Three additional lawsuits were filed last week against Ted Suhl and others associated with the Lord’s Ranch, alleging staff at the now-defunct northeast Arkansas behavioral health facility sexually and physically abused dozens of children and teenagers entrusted to their care over the course of several decades.

Founded by the Suhl family in the 1970s, the Lord’s Ranch sits on a 1,100-acre property near the Missouri state line north of Pocahontas. Thousands of troubled youths passed through the remote facility over the decades, many of them sent from states including Illinois, Indiana, Texas and Alaska, as well as Arkansas. It received hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicaid funding throughout the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. The Lord’s Ranch shut down in 2016 after Ted Suhl, the facility’s director for many years, was convicted of bribing a state Medicaid official and sentenced to seven years in federal prison.

Suhl was released by President Donald Trump…

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A Ruckersville pastor has been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a minor child.

Rodney Locklear, 47, the senior pastor at Victory Church in Ruckersville, is now behind bars.

“We had a kid reach out to a family friend. Word got to us and we started our investigation a couple of days ago,” investigator Matthew Harlow said.

That investigation led to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force arresting Locklear on Thursday night.

He’s charged with abduction with intent to defile and aggravated sexually battery of someone age 13 to 14.

“Victory Church is a church where they have the traditional Sunday services. They also have Bible study on Wednesdays. They’ve also been known to have different public events or cookouts, just different things involving the youth in the community in Greene County and try to bring them together,” head of investigations Capt. Kevin Freid said, “So we’re asking…

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A Louisville Catholic school teacher is charged with distributing images of child pornography that federal investigators said included photoshopped images of faces taken from the school’s yearbook.

According to a news release from the United States Department of Justice, when he was a seventh and eighth grade religion teacher at St. Stephen Martyr Catholic School, 39-year-old Jordan Fautz sent out child sexual abuse materials to a law enforcement officer who was working undercover online.

Court documents say Fautz used yearbook photos of students and at least one adult from the school. The distributed images had photoshopped faces of students and the adult onto other nude images. 

The incidents took place between March 2022 and January 2024.

“Please keep our parish and school in your prayers as we deal with this very distressing situation,” St. Stephen Martyr Pastor Rev. Peter Bucalo said in a statement on the school’s…

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A teacher at a Louisville Catholic school faces federal charges on allegations he spread altered child porn images online that included photos of local students.

Jordan A. Fautz, 39, was charged Friday with distributing obscene visual representations of child sexual abuse and distributing child pornography, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Western District of Kentucky office.

Fautz was a teacher at St. Stephen Martyr School at the time of the incidents – the charging document said he currently taught seventh and eighth grade students. A statement from the Archdiocese of Louisville said he was a “part-time religion teacher and member of the maintenance staff at the parish for 9 years.”

Fautz will not be returning to the school, the statement said, and the parish and archdiocese are “fully cooperating with the investigation.” A parent meeting will take place Saturday, with archdiocese representatives and FBI personnel on hand.

A…

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Authorities said some of these materials had been manipulated by morphing or photoshopping original child sexual abuse materials with non-explicit images of minors.

WARNING: This story contains content that could be graphic or disturbing to some readers.

A Louisville middle school teacher could spend decades in prison after being accused of using his students’ photos to create and distribute child pornography. 

While working as a 7th and 8th grade religion teacher at St. Stephen Martyr Catholic School, 39-year-old Jordan Fautz distributed child sexual abuse materials to an undercover officer, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky. Authorities said this happened in March 2022, November 2022, December 2023, and January 2024.

The Archdiocese of Louisville issued a statement on Friday afternoon saying Fautz was arrested and was a part-time religion teacher and member of the maintenance staff at the parish for nine years. 

Officials…

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A federal criminal complaint and arrest warrant were issued today charging 39 year old Michael E Stanbury, a Louisville school teacher with distributing obscene visual representations of child sexual abuse and distributing child pornography.

According to court records, in December 2023 and January 2024, Jordan A. Fautz, 39, while employed as a 7th and 8th grade religion teacher at St. Stephen Martyr Catholic School in Louisville, Kentucky, distributed child sexual abuse materials to a law enforcement officer working online undercover. Certain of these materials had been manipulated by morphing or photoshopping original child sexual abuse materials with other, non-explicit images of minors.  For example, in one such instance, the nude image of a minor victim depicted her face transposed by means of photoshop or morphing technology onto a different nude female’s body, effectively generating child sexual abuse material.

Fautz will be scheduled to make his initial appearance before a U.S….

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John Vermeer starts 14-month jail sentence after Supreme Court dismisses appeal

A former Chilliwack pastor is now in jail for child pornography charges following a lengthy, and ultimately unsuccessful, appeal process.

John Vermeer was convicted in 2021 for two charges each of accessing and possessing child pornography, after suspicious activity on his church’s network server (Main Street Church) was discovered. It was reported to police and an investigation found offences dating from 2010 to 2015.

He was found guilty of all four charges and handed a 14-month jail sentence in October 2021. Dozens of images of child porn were found on Vermeer’s personal laptop and his church office desktop computer.

“Mr. Vermeer possessed some of the most offensive, harmful and depraved forms of abuse on children,” Judge Andrea Ormiston said in reading her decision.

He appealed the convicted to the BC Court of Appeals, and released on bail. That appeal…

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When an aid organization hired agents to investigate her father’s violence, the resulting probe became her new nightmare.

Tania Culver Humphrey has spent most of her life grappling with her father’s secrets.

In public, her father, Ellsworth Culver, cultivated a reputation as a globetrotting Christian do-gooder. He taught schoolchildren in Cuba, ran missionary programs in the Philippines, and, in the early 1980s, co-founded the humanitarian nonprofit Mercy Corps with friends from the international aid world. At Mercy Corps, including the nine years he spent as its president, he built programs across three continents, conducted informal diplomacy in conflict zones, and received a medal from North Korea for organizing food and medical aid.

In private, he was sexually abusing ­Humphrey, his youngest daughter—at times raping her, choking her, and taking explicit photos of her, according to a lawsuit she eventually filed. The abuse, she says, began as far back as she can remember and…

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A Utah bishop explained the importance of the 2,000 year-old sacrament of Confession and its boundaries as his state’s legislators consider a bill that potentially could infringe on the seal of Confession. 

The “seal of Confession” means that a priest is not permitted to reveal anything the penitent discloses in the sacrament of Confession. If the priest does reveal or disclose any actions or sins confessed, he will be excommunicated. 

Currently in Utah, “religious leaders are not allowed to report a church member’s confession to law enforcement without the consent of the person confessing… House Bill 432 “would change that,” ABC 4 reported: The bill would allow clergy to “report ongoing abuse or neglect even if the perpetrator made a confession to the clergy member…”

However, it should be noted that if clergy in Utah hear of abuse outside of a confession,…

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Bishop Oscar Solis of the Diocese of Salt Lake City is urging lawmakers to protect the seal of confession when considering legislation that would change sex abuse reporting laws when the reporter is a member of clergy.

A proposed bill before the Utah Legislature would extend to members of the clergy the same legal protections when reporting sex abuse that are given to mandatory reporters. Essentially, the legislation would shield clergy from potential civil or criminal liability when reporting a potential abuser if he “reasonably believes that a child is the subject of ongoing abuse or neglect.”

Unlike similar proposals in 2020 and 2023, the bill would not make the priest a mandatory reporter and would not require the priest to report on information learned when hearing a confession. However, the protection from legal liability would extend to the priest if he were to do so.

Solis said…

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Santa Rosa Diocese goes public about Napa County Carmelite priest first accused of abusing a Rocklin girl in 2015 and later convicted of felony molestation.

In the eight-plus years since Napa County Carmelite Priest Mark Kristy was first accused of improper conduct with a girl at her Sacramento-area home, he has been arrested, convicted of a felony, jailed for six months and sentenced to five years of probation that he’s now serving in St. Helena.

His name, face, address and the legal description of his more-than-20-year-old crime — lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 — are duly posted on California’s Megan’s Law website, where sex registrants convicted of qualifying crimes are cataloged.

But until recent weeks, church officials made no effort to notify the public or parishioners about his presence in the community, despite the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ “commitment to transparency and openness” in the…

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The Catholic Diocese of Sacramento has added a name to a list of clergy members accused of sexual abuse that now includes a priest who served in another Northern California diocese but was convicted of molesting a girl while visiting Placer County.

Mark Kristy, once a priest of the religious order Discalced Carmelite Fathers, has been removed from the ministry and lives in Napa County. Kristy was convicted of child sexual molestation and sentenced in 2022 to one year in jail, according to the diocese.

Officials of the diocese were informed of the allegations against Kristy in 2015. Kristy was accused of sexually touching the girl who was younger than 14 and sexually exposing her sometime from 2001 through 2004, according to the diocese.

Diocese officials said they reported the allegation to law enforcement and cooperated with authorities in Placer County, which eventually led to Kristy’s prosecution….

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The Vatican has received a report on an investigation into allegations that members of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference tried to cover up abuse in the Catholic Church. 

The Bishop of Chur, Joseph Bonnemain, has submitted the report covering accusations of harassment and covering up alleged abuse. 

+ Why Switzerland is losing its religion

The documentation collected as part of the preliminary canonical investigation, mandated in June 2023 by the Vatican, totals 1,800 pages, the bishopric of Chur said in a press release on Friday. A 24-page final report contains a series of conclusions and recommendations for Vatican officials. 

The bishopric of Chur has not provided information on the concrete results of the preliminary canonical investigation. Questioned by the Keystone-ATS agency, Nicole Büchel, communications manager, explained that she did not receive authorisation from Rome to reveal the content of the report. 

With the submission of the report, Bonnemain’s mission is…

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The church has admitted the abuse took place but denies it acted negligently or acted in a ‘high-handed manner’ over the claims

Warning: This story contains accounts of sexual abuse that may be disturbing for some readers

A Surrey man who says he was groomed and sexually assaulted by a priest and teacher at North Vancouver’s Holy Trinity Elementary School in the 1970s is suing the Catholic Church for negligence for failing to identify and stop the abuse.

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver is named as a defendant in the lawsuit along with the estates of former priest John Kilty and a former teacher and coach.

In a response to the suit filed last summer on behalf of “John Doe,” the archdiocese admitted abuses took place but denied it was negligent or acted in “any high-handed, malicious, arbitrary or highly reprehensible manner” that could make it liable for damages. It…

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The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) called on the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, to hold an open meeting for both parishioners and the public on the recent installation of Father John Pilcher

On Thursday, SNAP – the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests – called on the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas to hold an open meeting for both parishioners and the public. The installation of Father John Pilcher at Holy Trinity is the latest reason.

The Archdiocese placed Father Pilcher – accused of sexual assault of a minor in Topeka in 2021 but never charged – at the Holy Trinity Parish in Lenexa last month.Advertisement

It is one of the larger parishes and one of the largest parochial schools in the Archdiocese.

That move caused SNAP to speak out.

“We can see absolutely no harm, and we can see nothing…

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Dear Archbishop Naumann:

We urge you, in the weeks ahead, to hold at least one joint open and public meeting with us and anyone who cares about the safety of innocent kids and vulnerable adults in your archdiocese.

The goal: to give worried parents and parishioners an opportunity to question and hear from you directly on a matter of grave importance. It would give you a chance to more thoroughly explain why you believe your actions around alleged child molesters are not reckless and callous. And it would give you an opportunity to shed much-needed light on the controversil and opaque process you follow when reports of sexual violence are made against your staff.

Such a meeting would be historic. In the 35 years of SNAP’s existence, we know of no US bishop who has show such openness and courage. It would, we believe, deepen the respect that many of…

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Group for those abused by priests calls for reassignment of Lenexa priest

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A support group for those abused by priests is calling for the reassignment of a priest appointed last month to Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Lenexa.

Archbishop Joseph Naumann appointed Father John Pilcher to Holy Trinity Catholic Church in January.

Holy Trinity Catholic Church also has a school and daycare.

Concerns from parishioners and parents stem from a 2021 allegation against the priest involving sexual abuse of a minor.

The KBI and archdiocese found the allegation unsubstantiated. He was also never charged.

On Thursday, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests or SNAP sent a letter to the archdiocese calling on Naumann to hold at least one joint open and public meeting.

Former SNAP National Director David Clohessy questioned a recent decision by the archbishop when he appointed Pilcher to Holy Trinity Catholic Church in…

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KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Advocates for survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of priests are publicly asking the Kansas City archdiocese to remove two men from their jobs in Johnson County.

One is now a priest at a Lenexa parish with a parochial school, and the other is the president at a Roeland Park Catholic high school.

Both have faced accusations of child molestation in the past. One of them faced a lawsuit, but neither of them ever faced criminal charges.

The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas said it did investigations into both men, as did law enforcement, and could not substantiate the accusations.

The advocates group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said that doesn’t justify putting them back in jobs near children.

“This notion of innocent until proven guilty, that the standard we use to lock up people and deprive them of their…

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ROME – A key Vatican department charged with prosecuting sexual abuse against minors since 2001 said this week that while it’s also responsible for cases of abuse against adults with mental deficiencies, offenses against adults considered “vulnerable” for different reasons falls outside its jurisdiction and must be handled by other departments.

In a Jan. 30 “Clarification on Vulnerable Adults,” the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) noted that a series of 2010 amendments to Pope John Paul II’s 2001 motu proprio Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela on series crimes reserved to the DDF gave the department competence over the abuse of persons with mental deficiencies.

A “dicastery,” in the argot of the Vatican, refers to a department or office. Likewise, in Vatican-speak “competence” means responsibility or jurisdiction.

According to Tuesday’s statement, with the 2010 revisions the DDF “acquired the competence to deal with crimes against the sixth commandment of the decalogue…

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ROME – A Vatican court Jan. 24 overturned the acquittal of a priest accused of sexually abusing a younger student at the Vatican’s St. Pius X Pre-Seminary, delivering a guilty verdict in a landmark case that marked the first ever to go to trial for alleged sexual abuse within Vatican walls.

Upon appeal from the prosecution, the October 2021 acquittal of Father Gabriele Martinelli, who was accused of abusing another student from 2007 to 2012 when he studied at the St. Pius X Pre-Seminary, was overturned by the Vatican’s appeals court.

Martinelli, initially acquitted due to a lack of evidence, this week was found guilty of “corrupting a minor” for sexual abuse committed between 2008-2009 and sentenced to two years and six months in prison.

The St. Pius X seminary, previously located inside a palazzo within the Vatican gardens, houses boys aged 12-18 who serve as altar boys at papal…

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Is the EC or SBC at Fault in the SBC Sexual Abuse Scandal

In a recent interview the President of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), Dr. Bart Barber, discussed the sexual abuse scandal in the SBC among other topics. In the interview Barber says,

“What the investigation found after looking hard to see if they could find a time when the convention or the executive committee knew about abuse and failed to report it, or facilitated an abuser being able to continue to abuse, they didn’t find any instances where the convention or the executive committee did that…”

Technically True

 Video Of Barber’s Remarks about the Sexual Abuse Scandal

Barber is technically correct. The Executive Committee (EC) and the SBC itself did not fail to report sexual abuse or facilitate abuse by moving ministers from place to place. While the EC and SBC as a whole…

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Two members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) gathered Thursday outside The Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Kansas City, Kansas, demanding the men to be removed from their roles and for the leader of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas to publicly address concerns about them.

The protest followed a letter Thursday to Archbishop Joseph Naumann, asking for the church leader to hold a public meeting with the group, worried parents and parishioners. In its letter to the archbishop, SNAP said a meeting of this nature could inspire similar meetings elsewhere which could lead to greater awareness of child sex crimes and hopefully even prevent them from happening.

“It would, we believe, deepen the respect that many of your flock have in you, and help create such respect where it is lacking,” the letter says.

The letter from SNAP and calls to action…

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