ABUSE TRACKER

A woman who was sexually abused by a Hillsong worship leader has refused to sign a settlement offer by the Australian megachurch because it included a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).  

On Thursday, Anna Crenshaw, daughter of a Pennsylvania pastor, told reporters outside of a court in Sydney, Australia, “I will not give up my voice. This has never been about money for me, but about justice and accountability, which we’ve not received this week.” 

According to NCA Newswire, the failed settlement would have required Crenshaw to sign an NDA. It also required Crenshaw to co-sign a statement saying that Hillsong had reported the assault immediately, which would conflict with her repeated statements in recent years. 

A former student at Hillsong College, Crenshaw, now 26, has stated that she was touched inappropriately by former Hillsong staff administrator Jason Mays at a party in early 2016.

In…

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Key Points:

• Christa Brown, a survivor of clergy sexual abuse and a well-known advocate for reform in the SBC, publishes new book, “Baptistland: A Memoir of Abuse, Betrayal, and Transformation.”
• In Q&A, Brown discusses how she’s grown more skeptical and less hopeful of change in the SBC despite recent steps that many others consider substantive.

It’s long passed the point at which Christa Brown gives the Southern Baptist Convention the benefit of the doubt.

A survivor of clergy sexual abuse and well-known advocate for reform, Brown initially sought change in a state Southern Baptist convention in Texas and then in 2006 shifted her attention to the entire Nashville-based SBC. Her attitude about her advocacy has changed over the years.  

“I will not apologize for my skepticism one bit. I think they have earned it, and it will be a long time before they re-earn any trust from me,” said…

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Three women are accusing the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and a megachurch in Houston of failing to protect them from a youth pastor who sexually abused them as minors, according to a lawsuit filed last month.

The women, referred to as “Jane Does,” allege the SBC and Champion Forest Baptist Church “invited, encouraged, and enabled a predator to be part of their trusted inner circle,” the lawsuit states. The women are asking for more than a million dollars in damages.

The women were 14, 15, and 16 when former youth pastor Timothy Jeltema started to sexually abuse them, the lawsuit states. The women claim the pastor took advantage of his position of power to do so.

Jeltema is currently in prison after pleading guilty to child sex crimes in 2022, The Roys Report (TRR) previously reported. He was sentenced to five years for two charges of online…

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While membership in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination is down, participation in worship and baptisms went up in 2023. But a new statistical report found that many Southern Baptist Convention churches do little to address sexual abuse.

The bad news for Southern Baptists is that the denomination, the nation’s largest Protestant group, shrunk in 2023, with a drop of about a quarter-million people.

The good news, according to the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual statistical report, is that the decline slowed from 2022. In addition, of those who remained, more went to church and more newcomers took the plunge to get baptized.

The SBC’s 2024 Annual Church Profile, released Tuesday (May 7), showed that membership dropped to 12.9 million members, the lowest since the late 1970s. Having peaked at 16.3 million in 2006, membership has been in decline ever since, with nearly 3.5 million members in total lost. About half of…

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Local committee suggests Ruyant Crescent be renamed Jak Zheii Place

A street in Inuvik, N.W.T., might soon have a new name.

Ruyant Crescent is a short residential loop in the town’s west end, named after Father Max Ruyant, a Catholic priest who ran Grollier Hall for more than 20 years. The hall was a government-funded boarding facility, established in the 1950s for children from the Sahtu, Beaufort Delta and Kitikmeot regions in the N.W.T and Nunavut.

Grollier Hall, which closed in the ’90s, was the site of “many acts of sexual and psychological abuse,” according to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. Former students have also shared stories of children who died there.

Jak Zheii Place, the suggested new name for the street, was put forward by the town’s volunteer naming committee. The name means “blueberry” in Gwich’in, and was proposed after the committee sat down and…

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Legislation needed to limit use of stay applications and ensure justice for child abuse survivors, MP says

New South Wales parliament will consider a bill to further restrict churches and other institutions from using stay applications to prevent abuse survivors having their cases heard.

Last year, Guardian Australia revealed the widespread use of stay applications to permanently halt civil cases brought by survivors where perpetrators had died.

The Catholic church and other institutions effectively used the passage of time to block survivors from having their cases heard by arguing a fair trial was no longer possible.

The tactic was adopted despite clear evidence before the royal commission that significant barriers meant survivors took, on average, 22 years to come forward, and that institutions had themselves hindered justice by concealing abuse from law enforcement and destroying records.

The high court delivered a significant blow to the use of stays in November, finding…

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Many people believe that excommunication is the Catholic Church’s equivalent of capital punishment — the worst punishment that the church can impose on a believer. Some even see it as the earthly equivalent of being cast into hell.

People call for priests who abuse children to be excommunicated because they want the priests to receive the most severe punishment available. When a serial abuser such as former Jesuit priest Marko Rupnik is excommunicated for a related offense, they are shocked to hear that his excommunication was lifted a week after it was imposed.

What is going on here?

First, not all crimes demand excommunication. If you are found guilty of one that does, in some circumstances you are not excommunicated unless you knew what you’d done is an excommunicable offense and you persisted in the offense.

Actions that can lead to excommunication include violation (desecration) of the sacred species (Eucharist),…

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A Met cop has spoken out about her role in the investigation into historic child sexual abuse by a former priest and his recent sentencing.

James Murphy, 77, of The Alders Mallow, County Cork, Ireland was sentenced on April 29, at Inner London Crown Court.

Murphy pleaded guilty on February 16, at the same court to seven offences of indecent assault relating to four victims aged between five and 11. The offending took place between 1975 and 1988.

PC Helen French spent almost five years developing the case against Murphy, after one of his victims came forward to police in 2019.

PC French said: “My colleagues on the response team started to get reports against Murphy.

“Because the allegations involved a priest, we knew it was going to be a complex case and there was the potential of a large victim base.”

As the investigation progressed, officers established that…

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A former Santa Fe priest accused of sexually abusing a minor is expected to take a plea deal. Daniel Balizan was arrested last year after being accused of sexually abusing a minor between 2012 and 2022.

Balizan is accused of committing the abuse while being a priest for the Santa Maria de La Paz Catholic Church in Santa Fe. Federal court documents show Balizan is expected to take a plea deal later this month. He is still facing two lawsuits claiming he committed the same crime to two other minors while at the Santa Fe church.

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If you’re a Catholic in the state of Florida and you’re fed up with how the church hierarchy is or is not dealing with children’s safety, predator priests, and ill-advised secrecy, know you are not alone. If you’re sick of sitting in the pews and feeling helpless, there are ways to help make a difference, and we at Horowitz Law have many ideas. Let’s start with the three best steps you can take.

3 Steps to Take for Church Reform

1. Contact your state senator and state representative and urge them to repeal or reform Florida’s archaic, arbitrary, secrecy-guaranteeing, and predator-friendly statute of limitations.
2. Join a group that’s doing something (VOTF-Voice of the Faithful, SNAP-the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, BishopAccountability.org. If you don’t feel like joining, a donation is helpful.
3. Ask fellow Catholics and ex-Catholics if they ever saw, suspected, or suffered abuse….

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A bill meant to criminalize clergy from engaging in sexual relationships with parishioners they counsel will not advance this year.

Editor’s note: Sacramento Snapshot is a weekly series during the legislative session detailing what Orange County’s representatives in the Assembly and Senate are working on — from committee work to bill passages and more.

From Sen. Dave Min, D-Irvine, the bill sought to bring California in line with several other states that have included clergy and religious counselors among the list of people — like physicians, psychotherapists and certain counselors — prohibited from engaging in sexual acts with a patient or client. It said consent could not be a defense for clergy members accused of sexual battery and established misdemeanor and felony charges.

“Religious leaders are given an incredible amount of authority — moral authority and actual authority — in temples or churches or…

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KFOX14/CBS4) — Two New Mexico law firms have filed a lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese of El Paso for sexual abuse of children by priests.

The lawsuit alleges that catholic priest Fr. Lucio Lopez from the San Miguel Parish in San Miguel County, New Mexico (south of Las Cruces) abused a child weekly for two years sometime between 1959 and 1960.

According to the lawsuit, Lopez used his position to sexually abuse the child, convincing them the abuse was normal.

Lopez reportedly told the victim they had been “‘chosen by God’ to obey him and fulfill his sexual needs.”

The lawsuit also accuses the Catholic Diocese of El Paso and the San Miguel Parish of negligence for failing to prevent the abuse and ensure the safety of parishioners.

Huffman Wallace & Monagle LLC and Davis Kelin Law Firm LLC, the two firms representing the plaintiff in the lawsuit, released…

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SÃO PAULO, Brazil – One year after the diary of a Jesuit describing more than 80 cases of child abuse came to light in Bolivia, the Society of Jesus repudiated the accusation that it’s a “criminal organization” and that it shouldn’t be blamed for the crimes.

The Bolivian Community of Survivors of Ecclesial Sex Abuse, however, reaffirmed that the Jesuits have institutional responsibility for “systematically covering up” over 400 cases, arguing that superiors and provincials were aware of the crimes.

The diary of late Spanish-born Father Alfonso Pedrajas (1943-2009), known as Padre Pica, was first mentioned in a story published by Spanish newspaper El Pais in April of 2023. The article detailed how his writings were discovered by a nephew and then handed to the newspaper.

According to Pica’s diary, the first abuse happened in Lima, Peru, in 1964. Most of his crimes, however, took place when he worked at the John…

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The Baltimore Sun took home 20 first place prizes in the annual Maryland Delaware DC Press Association awards ceremony Friday held in Annapolis. The news organization also received multiple runner-up awards.

Stories singled out with the best in show designation included The Sun’s database of those accused in the Catholic Church of abuse who are beyond Baltimore’s archdiocese by Jonathan M. Pitts, Annie Jennemann, Maya Lora, Lia Russell and Cassidy Jensen, a man who served 34 years in prison for killing a teen who now mentors youth by Alex Mann, an examination of patients with dementia who have run ins with the police by Angela Roberts and Cassidy Jensen, a profile of Jonathon Heyward, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s musical director, by Mary Carole McCauley and a way of interactively exploring the more than 800 bills that passed the Maryland Assembly by Annie Jennemann.

Stories that won first place covered topics such as a Baltimore…

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The all-encompassing nature of church life can provide predators with the ideal cover for committing sexual abuse within congregations, abuse survivor and author Christa Brown said.

“Access and trust. Pastors and churches have both access to kids and enormous trust within the community and within the church,” Brown said during a recent “change-making conversations” webinar hosted by Baptist News Global and moderated by BNG Executive Director Mark Wingfield.

Likewise, that trust makes it difficult for many to believe victims when they come forward, said Brown, who as a child was sexually abused by the youth pastor of her Southern Baptist congregation in Farmers Branch, Texas.

“People would like to believe this happens to kids who are lax in morals, but nothing could be further from the truth,” she said. “The truth is, what made me the most vulnerable to this type of predator was my own faith.”

Brown’s abuser exploited her devotion to…

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A former attorney and Mormon bishop in Vacaville is on trial for the sexual abuse of his then-11-year-old adopted daughter, and other church associates are giving some pretty damning testimony on the witness stand.

In today’s episode of It’s Often Clergy People and It’s Never Drag Queens embroiled in real-world child sexual abuse scandals, the Vacaville Reporter brings us the news of the ongoing trial of James Glenn Haskell, a former attorney and Mormon bishop who now faces 16 counts of child sexual abuse in a Solano County Superior Court. Haskell and his wife had four adopted children, all of whom have since been removed from the home.

The most troubling allegations involve the eldest daughter, who was 11 years old at the time of the alleged crimes. Wednesday’s witnesses included a Solano County Child Welfare Services employee who’d visited the home, and two friends of the family and/or church associates who…

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A New Hampshire jury awarded $38 million to the man who blew the lid off abuse allegations at the state’s youth detention center Friday, finding in a landmark case that the state’s negligence allowed him to be beaten, raped and held in solitary confinement as a teen.

David Meehan’s attorney said his client was “overwhelmed and overjoyed” by what he called the largest jury award in a civil case in New Hampshire history, though the state said the amount will be reduced to $475,000 under its law that caps damages.

“David now feels like he has a reason to live,” Rus Rilee, Meehan’s attorney, said.

Meehan, 42, went to police in 2017 and sued the state three years later. Since then, 11 former state workers have been arrested and more than 1,100 other former residents of the Youth Development Center in Manchester have filed lawsuits alleging physical, sexual and emotional abuse spanning six…

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A former Santa Fe priest has agreed to plead guilty in a child sex abuse case, according to a federal court filing earlier this week.

Federal prosecutors and defense attorneys for Daniel Balizan announced in a joint motion filed May 1 that they had arrived at a plea agreement, although the details have not yet been released.

A federal judge is scheduled to decide later this month whether Balizan, who faces charges of coercion and enticement of a minor, will await sentencing on the abuse charges from his home in Springer or in a jail cell.

Many at Santa María de la Paz say they’re keeping faith despite the “shock” of the allegations. 

Daniel Balizan is accused of enticement of a minor with the intent to engage in sexual activity. 

The former pastor at Santa Maria de la Paz Catholic Community was arrested last week on charges of sex abuse…

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An attorney closely involved with the Archdiocese of New Orleans bankruptcy case is advocating for a fresh strategy in addressing clergy abuse allegations. He proposes the appointment of a special monitor to oversee future abuse claims following alarming revelations from a recently released search warrant.

“Previous Archbishop’s knew other complaints and failed to report the abuse,” said Attorney Roger Stetter.

A search warrant affidavit signed last week by Scott Rodrigue, a special victims investigator with the State Police, detailed disturbing allegations. It revealed that certain victims were transferred among priests and recounted the ordeal of a victim of Father Lawrence Hecker, who reported his rape shortly after it happened. Despite the report, no legal action was taken.

Furthermore, the affidavit mentioned that Hecker, who is currently awaiting trial, was diagnosed as a ‘pedophile’ by a psychiatrist. Yet, he was released and reassigned to another parish.

According to Stetter, the protracted…

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Religion Unplugged believes in a diversity of well-reasoned and well-researched opinions. This piece reflects the views of the author and does not necessarily represent those of Religion Unplugged, its staff and contributors.

Over 35 years ago, when I became the director of a small but growing support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, I vowed to never “rank” the pain of any victim. 

“It’s all horrific,” I told myself.

Every survivor is hurt differently and heals differently, I quickly realized, and nothing could be gained by assuming or believing that one was “hurt worse” or was “more vulnerable” than another. Though it may seem counterintuitive, I believe, a child who was groped over his clothing once may be just as traumatized as another child who was raped repeatedly.

The first real challenge to this belief came in the early 1990s when I heard from several…

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A well-known warrior in the #ChurchToo movement reveals in a new book how she escaped from an abusive Texas home and an abusive Southern Baptist church.

Christa Brown, a former Texas appellate attorney, is revered as perhaps the best-known of the brave women (and men) who blew the whistle on abusive clergy and coverups at churches in the powerful Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). She began her quest at age 51, by bravely sharing her own story of being repeatedly sexually abused as a teen by her youth pastor, Tommy Gilmore, the man she’d gone to for counseling at her church in Farmers Branch. She first came forward as a whistleblower in 2009.

“I think I was ahead of things. That was before #MeToo and #ChurchToo and all of that,” she says. While still running a busy Austin law practice, Brown for years collected and shared stories of others who sought help…

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Defense attorney tries to introduce 32 hours of sermons into evidence

After the prosecution rested its case against a Wichita Falls pastor accused of sexually abusing three young girls, church members took the stand to testify for the defense Friday.

Ronnie Allen Killingsworth, 78, was indicted on six counts of indecency with a child in connection with incidents involving three girls between 2000 and 2011.

Killingsworth was free Friday from jail on $150,000 in bonds.

The victims testified earlier in the trial that sexual abuse happened in the pastor’s office at Rephidim Church in Wichita Falls.

Texas Ranger Matt Kelly was on the stand Friday in 78th District Court to testify about his investigation into the case.

He told the jury he talked to the suspect’s son, Allen Killingsworth, a detective with the Wichita Falls Police Department. Kelly testified Allen Killingsworth questioned the validity of the alleged victims’ accusations and…

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Authorities have expanded an investigation of clergy sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in New Orleans to include senior church officials suspected of shielding predatory priests for decades and failing to report their crimes to law enforcement.

Louisiana State Police carried out a sweeping search warrant last week at the Archdiocese of New Orleans, seeking a long-secreted cache of church records and communications between local church leaders and the Vatican about the church’s handling of clergy sexual abuse.

The search signaled a new phase of the investigation that will seek to determine what particular church leaders, including Archbishop Gregory Aymond and his predecessors, knew about claims that the warrant describes as “ignored and in many cases covered up.”

“The Archdiocese of New Orleans has been openly discussing the topic of sex abuse for over 20 years,” Bill Kearney, an archdiocese spokesman, said in a statement. “In keeping with this,…

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Priests in the Archdiocese of New Orleans allegedly transported children out of state to abuse them.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans has come under fire as the target of a Louisiana sex-trafficking probe, according to an 11-page search warrant made public Tuesday. But a recent ruling by the Louisiana Supreme Court might stand in the way of any victims seeking to hold the church accountable.

The document requested that the archdiocese hand over “ANY and ALL documents that pertain in any way to the sexual abuse of a minor by clergy members employed or otherwise associated with the Archdiocese of New Orleans,” specifying that those records violate the state’s child sex-trafficking laws.

The warrant also demands any and all communications between Gregory Aymond, the archbishop of New Orleans, and “ANY department within the Vatican pertaining to child sexual abuse.”

Aymand reportedly led a cover-up…

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Religion Unplugged believes in a diversity of well-reasoned and well-researched opinions. This piece reflects the views of the author and does not necessarily represent those of Religion Unplugged, its staff and contributors.

Over 35 years ago, when I became the director of a small but growing support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, I vowed to never “rank” the pain of any victim. 

“It’s all horrific,” I told myself.

Every survivor is hurt differently and heals differently, I quickly realized, and nothing could be gained by assuming or believing that one was “hurt worse” or was “more vulnerable” than another. Though it may seem counterintuitive, I believe, a child who was groped over his clothing once may be just as traumatized as another child who was raped repeatedly.

The first real challenge to this belief came in the early 1990s when I heard from several…

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A pastor was arrested after being accused of sexually abusing his two foster daughters, California deputies say.

Jose Manuel Lozano, 54, was booked into jail Thursday, April 25, on a continuous sexual abuse of a minor charge, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in a May 1 news release.

After investigations, deputies said they believe the Hesperia man, a pastor at a local church, sexually abused his foster daughters, ages 10 and 16.

Lozano led services at Zion Assembly Church of God Hesperia, a branch of Zion Assembly Church of God International, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Zion Assembly Church of God International did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on May 3.

A representative told the Los Angeles Times that the organization “condemns Lozano’s ‘ungodliness’ and that he was removed from office March 15, when the allegations came to…

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Authorities have expanded an investigation of clergy sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in New Orleans to include senior church officials suspected of shielding predatory priests for decades and failing to report their crimes to law enforcement.

Louisiana State Police carried out a sweeping search warrant last week at the Archdiocese of New Orleans, seeking a long-secreted cache of church records and communications between local church leaders and the Vatican about the church’s handling of clergy sexual abuse.

The search signaled a new phase of the investigation that will seek to determine what particular church leaders, including Archbishop Gregory Aymond and his predecessors, knew about claims that the warrant describes as “ignored and in many cases covered up.”

“The Archdiocese of New Orleans has been openly discussing the topic of sex abuse for over 20 years,” Bill Kearney, an archdiocese spokesman, said in a statement. “In keeping with this,…

View Cache

A well-known warrior in the #ChurchToo movement reveals in a new book how she escaped from an abusive Texas home and an abusive Southern Baptist church.

Christa Brown, a former Texas appellate attorney, is revered as perhaps the best-known of the brave women (and men) who blew the whistle on abusive clergy and coverups at churches in the powerful Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). She began her quest at age 51, by bravely sharing her own story of being repeatedly sexually abused as a teen by her youth pastor, Tommy Gilmore, the man she’d gone to for counseling at her church in Farmers Branch. She first came forward as a whistleblower in 2009.

“I think I was ahead of things. That was before #MeToo and #ChurchToo and all of that,” she says. While still running a busy Austin law practice, Brown for years collected and shared stories of others who sought help…

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Three months after a lawsuit against the Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver over alleged clerical sexual abuse was settled out of court, six more accusers have come forward and have filed their own lawsuits.

The allegations are leveled against John Kilty, a priest at North Vancouver’s Holy Trinity church and elementary school from the 1940s until the 1980s.

Kilty has since died.

Five men and one woman, who can’t be identified, are behind these latest lawsuits.

All six were students at the elementary school in the 1960s and 1970s and allege being sexually assaulted at Kilty’s home and during field trips.

Their lawyer emphasizes the six filings are separate and are not a class action lawsuit.

“We respectfully view class actions for sexual abuse survivors as highly problematic.”

The reason they are problematic, according to a report cited by the lawyer, is that in a class action, class members have a…

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Marko Rupnik is credibly accused of molesting 25 nuns, some in blasphemous occult rituals.

ope Francis is facing an avalanche of pressure to defrock Fr. Marko Ivan Rupnik, a celebrity priest and personal friend of the pope, after the ex-Jesuit’s artwork was prominently displayed at a Mass for the installation of the papal ambassador to the US on April 21.

Rupnik, a world-famous mosaic artist, has been credibly accused of sexually, physically, emotionally, and psychologically abusing at least 25 nuns — sometimes in groups, and sometimes forcing them to drink his bodily fluids from a consecrated chalice.

While global outrage over the allegations forced Francis last October to lift the statute of limitations preventing Rupnik from facing a church trial, the Vatican has thus far failed to reveal if it has begun judicial procedures against him.

Rupnik Artwork on Book of the Gospels

A cascade of complaints was unleashed on…

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A Hesperia pastor is in police custody following an investigation into allegations he sexually abused two minors under his care as a foster parent.

Jose Manuel Lozano is awaiting trial at the High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto, where he is being held in lieu of $5-million bail. Investigators described his alleged victims as girls ages 16 and 10.

The 54-year-old Hesperia resident led bilingual services for a predominately Latino and Spanish-speaking congregation at Zion Assembly Church of God Hesperia, an affiliate of Zion Assembly Church of God International, headquartered in Tennessee. A representative from the latter said in an interview that the organization condemns Lozano’s “ungodliness” and that he was removed from office March 15, when the allegations came to light. He was arrested last week.

Pastors at neighboring churches said they were shocked and dismayed upon hearing of Lozano’s arrest.

“It just reminds us of all the ways…

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The Acharya (Hindu religious teacher ) who had previously helped a rape victim in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, is now facing allegations of sexually abusing several minor boys under his care.

In a shocking revelation, Madhya Pradesh police booked a priest and a caretaker for allegedly sexually abusing minor boys at an ashram in Ujjain. 

The Ashram priest identified as Acharya Rahul Sharma was booked on Wednesday, May 1.

The Acharya (Hindu religious teacher) who had previously helped a rape victim in 2023 in Ujjain is now facing allegations of sexually abusing several minor boys under his care. According to the local police in Ujjain, 19 boys filed a complaint, who alleged instances of sexual harassment at the ashram. 

As per the police statement, the probe was launched into the matter after three boys came forward with the initial complaints, leading to Sharma’s arrest. Thakur, the caretaker, is absconding and authorities…

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Pope Francis’ motu proprio Vos estis lux undi turns five years old this month. 

First promulgated for an experimental period of three years and now in permanent force, the letter delegates the Holy See’s power to investigate Church leaders who have no superior other than the Pope himself – chief among them diocesan bishops – to a metropolitan archbishop, in cases where that Church leader has been accused either of sexual abuse or of mismanaging abuse cases.

The provisions of Vos estis concerning to metropolitans bear a strong resemblance to a plan presented to the USCCB by Chicago’s Cardinal Blase Cupich, himself a metropolitan archbishop, in 2018. 

Known as the “Metropolitan Model,” Cupich’s plan proposed that metropolitan archbishops, together with their review boards, should normally handle allegations of misconduct made against bishops within their province.

The plan was presented at the USCCB’s 2018 Fall General Assembly as an alternative to the conference’s proposal, vetoed…

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[See also the text of the search warrant.]

The Archdiocese of New Orleans has made headlines in recent days, as Louisiana police officers executed a sweeping search warrant related to a child sex trafficking investigation.

The criminal investigation involves the archdiocese’s handling of sexual abuse allegations, reaching back years.

What’s going on in the archdiocese? And what happens next? Here’s what we know:

What is included in the search warrant?

The search warrant, signed last week, instructs the archdiocese to provide all sexual abuse allegations it has received, along with relevant archdiocesan correspondence, documentation, and priest assignment records.

This includes correspondence between archdiocesan leaders and the Vatican, as well as lists of credibly accused clergy, personnel files, and financial records.

What is the reason for the warrant?

An affidavit in support of the warrant cites a years-long FBI investigation into sexual abuse allegations in the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

During…

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In just the past few weeks, there has been a lot of action and news about clergy sex crimes and cover-ups in Louisiana, especially in the New Orleans Archdiocese. 

Here’s what’s happening in the Pelican State:

• The state’s largest Catholic jurisdiction – the New Orleans Archdiocese – is in bankruptcy.
• That process has become the second-costliest and third-oldest of all the 40-odd Catholic bankruptcy cases.
• New Orleans archdiocese is target of child sex-trafficking inquiry
•  The New Orleans archdiocesan headquarters was raided by state law enforcement seeking abuse records. (Two years ago, in 2022, the FBI launched its own reportedly ‘sweeping‘ investigation.)
• The archdiocese has been issued a surprisingly broad subpoena. 
• One of the archdiocese’s most notorious predator priests – an admitted molester – won’t go on trial for his crimes.

All of this, keep in mind, has happened over just the past few weeks. But all of this news may be…

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[See also the text of the search warrant.]

The Louisiana State Police and the FBI are investigating whether Archdiocese of New Orleans officials — including archbishops — covered up child sex trafficking by clergy over several decades, with some alleged victims reportedly taken out of state to be abused and marked for further exploitation among clergy.

On April 25, the state police executed a comprehensive search warrant on the archdiocese for documents related to a widening investigation into how the archdiocese has handled allegations of abuse.

The warrant — a copy of which OSV News obtained following the document’s April 30 release — cites potential violation of the felony of “trafficking of children for sexual purposes” as the reason for its sweeping access to archdiocesan records.

Probable cause for the warrant was based on the testimony of law enforcement official Scott Rodrigue, a state police investigator also assigned to the…

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Whenever Catholics are faced with the very human failures of the institutional church, we must answer a difficult question: Why do we stay? The church is our home, the community in which we encounter Christ. At the same time, we can’t ignore the many skeletons in the ecclesial closet: clerical sex abuse, financial scandals, the dark history of residential schools, the church’s complicity with colonialism, the slave trade, and fascist regimes in Europe and Latin America. Choosing to stay in the church means existing in the tension between its grace and its fallibility, and making peace with it.

“Philomena” (2013) is a film that wrestles with one of the church’s historical failures: the Magdalene Laundries of Ireland. (The film, which is directed by Stephen Frears and written by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, is based on Martin Sixsmith’s non-fiction book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee.) Operated largely by Catholic convents from…

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A new report on the abuse crisis in the Catholic Church in England and Wales says the Church’s response to the victims and survivors of abuse “is not yet adequate or complete.”

The report issued on April 30 by Durham University is titled The Cross of the Moment, and opens by saying it explores “the impact and implications of clerical child sexual abuse (CSA) in the Catholic Church in England and Wales.”

The Day of Prayer for Victims and Survivors of Abuse was observed on April 30 in England and Wales.

A government-established inquiry into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in England and Wales said in 2020 that “real and lasting changes to attitudes have some way to go if the Roman Catholic Church is to shake off the failures of the past.”

The report from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales found that between…

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“They have done it again. It is a kind of obsessive mantra every time they need a smokescreen to distract from the real problems we have and to which they so clumsily and insidiously apply their tortuous governance.”

That is how the archbishop of Oviedo, Jesús Sanz Montes, began a letter released this week titled “The Accusing Rattle” in which he responds to the socialist government’s announcement of an exclusive plan to address sexual and power abuses committed within the Catholic Church.

In the opinion of the prelate, the country’s executive “has tried to focus in a biased and manipulative way on the problem of pedophilia as something attributable only to the Catholic Church, which represents an exclusive and improper singling out and leaves unprotected the majority of those who have suffered this terrible scourge.”

The Franciscan archbishop encouraged people to denounce “the deceitful,…

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Father Leo P. Riley, a priest working with the Diocese of Venice is facing capital sexual battery charges.

The charges stem from alleged incidents in Iowa, where he previously worked in the 1980s.

According to the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Riley was ordained a priest in 1982 in Iowa. In 2002, he requested to transfer to Florida to be closer to his parents. He moved to Venice in 2005.

Riley was a priest at Saint Charles Borromeo in Port Charlotte in the early 2000s. He is currently assigned to San Antonio Catholic Church, which is also in Port Charlotte.

Archbishop Thomas Zinkula of the Archdiocese of Dubuque in a statement said the first allegation of abuse committed by Father Riley was made in December 2014. The claim dated back to 1985.

In 2014, Riley was in Florida and the Archdiocese reported it to the Dubuque County Attorney’s Office.

“It is the…

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[See also the text of the search warrant.]

An investigation into the Archdiocese of New Orleans entered a new phase last week, when Louisiana State Police raised allegations whether former archbishops might have acted criminally by keeping the sexual abuse of children secret for decades.

The allegations, contained in documents connected to a search warrant, for the first time raised the possibility of a criminal case against former local church leaders or the archdiocese itself. Bringing such a case, however, could present a formidable challenge for prosecutors, according to legal experts and authorities on the Catholic church.

Nearly two dozen other states have empaneled grand juries and issued sweeping reports since 2018 detailing thousands of complaints against priests and deacons in local Catholic dioceses, and implicating church leaders in the coverup, according to Terry McKiernan, executive director of Bishopaccountability.org, which tracks clergy sex abuse worldwide. 

A…

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The all-male priesthood is no small matter

Otto Preminger’s film The Cardinal was released in 1963, when I was ten years old, so I guess it was some years later that it appeared on TV. I recall watching it with my mother. I watched many movies with my mother.

Early on, there’s a scene where a young priest tells his pregnant sister’s doctors that they must let her die in order to save her unborn child. I turned to my mother in disbelief. Would that really happen?

“Oh yes,” my mother assured me, placidly enough. “That’s the rule in the Catholic Church. The baby’s life comes before the life of the mother.”

Until then, I’d always pestered my mother about having another baby. I was the youngest of three and the only girl. I wanted a sister. But after seeing The Cardinal, I prayed she would never again take that risk. I knew…

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A FORMER priest from Ireland has been jailed following an investigation into the non-recent sexual abuse of young boys in London in the 1970s and 1980s.

In February, 77-year-old James Murphy, of The Alders, Mallow, Co. Cork pleaded guilty to seven offences of indecent assault relating to four victims.

At Inner London Crown Court on Monday, he was sentenced to 31 months behind bars.

The court also heard Murphy had previous convictions for 11 counts of indecent assault against five boys in 1977.

“Murphy used his position of power as a priest to prey on and take advantage of young boys — and some of their lives have been swathed with despair and anger, ridden with frustration and pain,” said PC Helen French from the Met Police.

TRUSTED FIGUREHEAD

Murphy’s offending against the four victims — aged between five and 11 years old at the time — took place between…

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A former priest who is a key witness in a sexual assault lawsuit against the Diocese of Knoxville has filed a complaint against one of the diocese’s attorneys, Knox News has learned.

The Rev. Brent Shelton, who suddenly left St. Mary’s Parish in Oak Ridge last year after he was told he was being transferred by former Bishop Richard Stika, filed a complaint April 3 with the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility. The board oversees attorney conduct.

Shelton, 53, sees the reassignment as retaliation from Stika, who resigned in June 2023 under a cloud of mismanagement accusations and questions about his mentorship of a former seminarian who is accused of raping a former church employee. Shelton was a whistleblower in that case after serving in Oak Ridge since 2015.

Shelton says diocesan attorney Gino Marchetti erred in 2022 by not filing documents Shelton had provided in a timely manner. Marchetti missed a deadline…

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[See also the text of the search warrant.]

A criminal investigation into the Archdiocese of New Orleans is based on a suspicion that it may be linked to child sex trafficking, according to allegations presented in a search warrant granted to Louisiana State Police.

The affidavit requesting the search warrant, first obtained by the New Orleans-based WWL Radio, alleges that multiple sex abuse victims provided statements that claim they were transported to other parishes and outside of Louisiana, where they were sexually abused. It further alleges a scheme within the archdiocese in which abused children were instructed to provide “gifts” to certain priests, which were meant to signal that the children were targets for sexual abuse.

According to the allegations in the affidavit, multiple victims reported that they were brought to the New Orleans Seminary, where they were instructed to “swim naked in the pool and would be sexually assaulted or abused.” It also alleges that investigators found that…

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Authorities have expanded an investigation of clergy sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in New Orleans to include senior church officials suspected of shielding predatory priests for decades and failing to report their crimes to law enforcement.

Louisiana State Police carried out a sweeping search warrant last week at the Archdiocese of New Orleans, seeking a long-secreted cache of church records and communications between local church leaders and the Vatican about the church’s handling of clergy sexual abuse.

The search signaled a new phase of the investigation that will seek to determine what particular church leaders, including Archbishop Gregory Aymond and his predecessors, knew about claims that the warrant describes as “ignored and in many cases covered up.”

“The Archdiocese of New Orleans has been openly discussing the topic of sex abuse for over 20 years,” Bill Kearney, an archdiocese spokesman, said in a statement. “In keeping with this,…

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The Catholic bishop of Monterey, whose district includes San Luis Obispo County, said his diocese could go bankrupt amid of flood of lawsuits alleging childhood sexual abuse.

In a letter to parishioners April 18, the Most Rev. Daniel E. Garcia said after the state reopened the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse in 2020, the Diocese of Monterey “received approximately 100 lawsuits alleging childhood sexual abuse” between the 1950s and 2002.

“The issue of sexual abuse of minors has been one that deeply saddens and disturbs all of us,” Garcia wrote in the letter. “It is an on-going human problem that has touched many families and all kinds of public and private organizations including, most sadly, the Catholic Church. These actions are never acceptable.”

Garcia added the diocese is committed to “helping those touched by childhood sexual abuse by those working for the Church of Monterey.”

In 2019, the…

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[See also the text of the search warrant and affidavit.]

For the first time, Louisiana law enforcement officials are digging deeply into allegations that former New Orleans archbishops, the highest-ranking officials in the state’s Catholic hierarchy, knew about child sex abuse by priests and deacons and tried to cover it up.

The claims are contained in an extraordinary 11-page affidavit supporting a search warrant that was served by State Police on the Archdiocese of New Orleans last week. In it, investigators say that, while looking into clergy sex abuse in a joint probe with the FBI, they uncovered documents that “back the claim that previous Archbishops, not only knew of the sexual abuse and failed to report all the claims to law enforcement but spent Archdiocese funding to support the accused.”

The affidavit, released Tuesday, details allegations of sex abuse dating back decades. Among the claims: That clergy transported victims…

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Louisiana state police recently served sweeping and unprecedented search warrant

The Roman Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans is the target of an active child sex-trafficking investigation, according to a sweeping and unprecedented search warrant Louisiana state police recently served on an organization that for decades has been submerged in the global church’s clergy molestation scandal.

The clerk at the state criminal courthouse where the warrant was signed released the 11-page document on Tuesday. It makes clear that troopers involved in a pending rape prosecution against one priest came to suspect that that case was part of a broader pattern of “widespread sexual abuse of minors dating back decades” that was “covered up and not reported to law enforcement”.

In a stunning assertion made under oath, troopers said they had already recovered documents that “back” the notion that “previous archbishops, the highest-ranking official in the archdiocese, not only knew of the sexual abuse…

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LSP obtained new search warrant for documents from Archdiocese of New Orleans

WDSU Investigates has obtained a copy of a search warrant from the Louisiana State Police in connection with the Archdiocese of New Orleans sex abuse scandal.

The warrant was signed last week when WDSU was there when State Police met with the Archdiocese over the warrant.

The search warrant is requesting all documents, letters, emails, transfers, and assignment records linked to the New Orleans Archdiocese sexual abuse investigation.

The warrant specifically asked for any and all complaints of sexual abuse received by the Archdiocese.

WARNING: Details from the search warrant may be considered graphic and upsetting to some. Viewer discretion is advised.

The warrant also seeks to obtain all personnel files for clergy members, which would include reassignments or transfers from those listed on the Credibly Accused list.

The warrant includes documents related to the financial records associated…

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I’m not going to copy the full article but suggest you read the whole thing. I will highlight some of the takeaways from the report.

Guardian’s New Orleans Archdiocese Story.

Louisiana state troopers are investigating child sex trafficking at the New Orleans Catholic Archdiocese. Yep, not just child sexual abuse but actual trafficking. Here’s a few quotes from the article. But like I said it’s worth reading the whole thing.

The clerk at the state criminal courthouse where the warrant was signed released the 11-page document on Tuesday. It makes clear that troopers involved in a pending rape prosecution against one priest came to suspect that that case was part of a broader pattern of “widespread sexual abuse of minors dating back decades” that was “covered up and not reported to law enforcement”.

The warrant requires the Archdiocese to turn over all communications about child sexual abuse….

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A New York state appeals court has given an insurer for the Archdiocese of New York the go-ahead to pursue a lawsuit contending it should not have to indemnify the archdiocese in hundreds of lawsuits over sex abuse the insurer claims was “expected or intended” — a ruling the archdiocese has called “extremely disappointing” and “wrongly decided.”

On April 23, five justices of the First Judicial Department of the New York Supreme Court’s Appellate Division unanimously overturned a December 2023 order from a lower court that had dismissed the lawsuit brought forward by a group of Chubb insurance entities, who had issued more than 30 liability policies to the archdiocese and several of its parishes, schools and entities between 1956 and 2003; the group anticipates having to pay out money for more than 1,500 abuse cases.

“The case is now sort of back alive, but it isn’t a determination of…

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Students were told to use confession to report abuse “to cloak the abuse in sacramental secrecy,” a notice of civil claim alleges.

A B.C. man is suing a seminary, abbey and the Vancouver Roman Catholic archdiocese for priest sexual abuse he alleges took place.

The man, now 56, and known as SCK#4 in court documents, said in a B.C. Supreme Court notice of civil claim filed April 19 he attended Grade 8 at the Seminary of Christ the King in Mission between September 1981 and June 1982.

Named as defendants are the Seminary of Christ the King; Westminster Abbey Ltd.; the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver, a corporation Sole; Harold Sander, also known as Father Rev. Placidus; Rev. Father Dunstan Massey; Francis Chan Leprozo; and B.C.’s Ministry of Education and Child Care.

Sander and Massey are deceased, according to the court documents.

SCK#4 is represented by lawyer Sandra Kovacs.

The claim said Sander was…

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The report paints a picture of a damaged community which has yet to come to terms with the scandals that have beset the Church in the past 30 years.

The culture, habits and practices of the Catholic Church have played their part in the sexual abuse crisis and so need to change, according to a new study from the University of Durham.

A fear of scandal, a tradition of silence and secrecy, together with a culture of clericalism and a lack of accountability are all highlighted in the report as helping to cause abuse remaining hidden for generations and exacerbating the trauma felt by victims. It urges not only Church leaders but the entire Catholic community to counter the habits that allowed abuse to linger for so long.

The report, The Cross of the Moment, has been produced by Durham’s Centre for Catholic Studies after four years of research which included…

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Florida’s bishops are welcoming a new law that allows public schools in the state to have volunteer chaplains.

The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, which represents bishops in the state’s seven dioceses on public policy matters, did not take a position on the bill while legislators debated it earlier this year.

“However, we recognize the good that chaplains can do in schools by helping students to address their spiritual and emotional needs. We are pleased that parents will determine the services their children will receive in districts that choose to establish chaplaincy programs,” said Michelle Taylor, associate director of communications for the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, in an email message to CNA on Tuesday.

The measure, which takes effect July 1, requires public schools and charter schools that establish such a program to publish on their websites a list of volunteer school chaplains and their religious…

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Allegations that a Charlotte County priest sexually abused children during his time in Dubuque, Iowa have dominated conversation in the Suncoast.

Leo P. Riley is facing charges in Iowa and last week a former St. Charles Borromeo student came forward. “John Doe” accused Father Riley of abuse when he was attending the Port Charlotte Catholic school in the early 2000s.

Baylor professor Dr. David K. Pooler, sat down with ABC7 to talk about the effects of sexual abuse in the church and how to prevent it and recognize it. Dr. Pooler is the Director, Adult Clergy Sexual Abuse: Advocacy & Research Collaborative at Baylor’s college of Social Work.

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The priest, of Cork, Ireland, admitted offences against boys as young as five

James Murphy, 77, carried out the assaults while based at churches across south London, including Sydenham, New Addington and South Croydon.

The cleric, of The Alders Mallow in Cork, Ireland, was jailed for 30 months in 2000 after he admitted to abusing seven boys in south London between 1975 and 1988 who were as young as five.

James Murphy, 77, carried out the assaults while based at churches across south London, including Sydenham, New Addington and South Croydon.

The cleric, of The Alders Mallow in Cork, Ireland, was jailed for 30 months in 2000 after he admitted to abusing seven boys in south London between 1975 and 1988 who were as young as five.

Murphy accepted guilt when confronted with the evidence but denied further allegations relating to one of the victims.

Officers found much of the…

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Hollywood, the USA Gymnastics team, Penn State, the Boy Scouts: Sexual abuse has proved pervasive across institutions. And when it comes to faith groups, no creed, structure, value system or size has seemed immune.

“We’ve got to stop saying that could never happen in my church, or my pastor would never do that,” said David Pooler, a professor of social work at Baylor University who researches clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse of adults.

With more victims coming forward and more research done on abuse within religious contexts, the evidence has shown that when sexual abuse happens in a place designated not only safe, but holy, it’s a unique form of betrayal — and when the perpetrator is a clergy member or spiritual leader, the abuse can be seen as God-endorsed.

As the scope of this crisis has been revealed, houses of worship and religious institutions…

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House Bill 125, which targets adult church leadership, staff members, or volunteers who make sexual contact with minors, passed both sections of the Alabama Legislature this past week and now awaits a signature into law by Gov. Kay Ivey.

HB125’s text makes it “unlawful for a member of the clergy to commit certain sex acts with an individual under 19 years of age, or a protected person under the age of 22 … under certain circumstances.” The bill also allows for penalties under the law.

This would include ordained, licensed, or commissioned minsters, pastors, priests, or rabbinical leaders. Sexual intercourse or sodomy of a minor would be a Class B felony. Solicitation, harassment, or enticement of a minor under the guidelines of the law would be a Class C felony, as would the transmission of obscene or sexual matter to that minor.

Violations could be punishable with…

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From the documents KTVE/KARD gathered, we know that on Thursday night, right before midnight, Reverend Kenneth Sapp of Arcadia was arrested after allegedly exposing himself to an undercover officer in the public restroom at the Stoner Boat Launch in Shreveport, Louisiana. The 63-year-old is the pastor of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Ruston, Louisiana.

According to police in a probable cause statement, Sapp was also found to be in possession of 30 grams of suspected marijuana, 21 grams of suspected meth, multiple glass pipes, and an unlabeled bottle of pills. Officers also found a handgun in Sapp’s possession. Sapp was booked into the Shreveport City Jail Friday morning and transferred to The Caddo Correctional Center early Saturday morning. His bond was set at $21,000 and he was booked on obscenity, open container, and 5 different drug charges.

On Monday, KTVE/KARD did reach out to Pleasant Grove Baptist Church for a…

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A Catholic priest allegedly spent $40,000 of church money on Candy Crush and slot machine apps.

A Pennsylvania Catholic priest was accused of stealing $40,000 from a parish and using the money to play games on his phone. According to CBS News, citing a criminal complaint and affidavit of probable cause, Lawrence Kozak allegedly spent over $214,000 on his Apple ID, with just under $44,000 of that amount charged to a credit card associated with the parish.

Authorities claim he racked-up the charges over a three year span, using the some of the cash to play games like Candy Crush Saga, Pokémon Go and virtual slot machines, according to the network.

Per CBS, the slot machine apps named in the complaint were the following:

• Cash Frenzy
• Willy Wonka Vegas Casino Slots
• Wizard of Oz Slot Machine Game

The network noted that these apps do not award real money for…

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 In a phone conversation between ABC7′s Jordan Litwiller and Charlotte County priest Leo Riley, he made it clear that the allegations against him are not true.

“Whenever you see a loved-one suffering, it’s painful,” said his brother Michael Riley.

Michael says these allegations don’t match up with the man he has known his whole life.

“He has a heart of gold, and he is probably one of the kindest people you can imagine,” Michael said.

Despite the five people who have claimed to be abused by Leo, Michael’s support for his brother is unwavering, saying, “People can say things, that doesn’t mean it’s true.”  

But sexual abuse victims advocate David Pooler from Baylor University says, in cases like this, it often times is.

“Generally, people don’t make up abuse stories because they themselves then have to go to court and have to testify, they have to be scrutinized by the public in various…

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For the rector of the world’s second largest church after St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Aparecida in Brazil, May 11 will be a day of celebrating the inauguration of the southern facade’s mosaics, all created by Fr. Marko Rupik.

But alleged victims of the disgraced former Jesuit and many faithful are not in celebratory mood. In the midst of a heated debate on what should be done with Fr. Rupnik’s mosaics across the globe, OSV News asked whether the art can be separated from the alleged acts of abuse by the Slovenian priest-artist and what should be done with his mosaics decorating iconic churches across the globe.

In December 2022, Rome’s Jesuit headquarters, following media reports concerning alleged abuse by Fr. Rupnik, admitted the preliminary investigation found allegations credible as early as in 2019, and in 2020 he was excommunicated for “absolution of an accomplice,” referring to when…

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Several peasant farmers claiming legal and physical harassment by a Catholic group in Peru currently under investigation by the Vatican were received by the archbishop of Lima over the weekend, shortly after receiving further complaints from the group.

On Sunday, Archbishop Carlos Castillo of Lima met with members of the peasant farming community of Catacaos in Piura, who travelled to Lima after receiving what they said were new threats from an organization associated with the scandal plagued Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV).

In a video message shared on social media, Fiorella Martinez, whose husband Guadalupe Zapata Sosa was apparently killed defending their land from outsiders seeking to drive them out, voiced gratitude for the meeting with Castillo, which took place after Mass in the city’s cathedral.

Martinez thanked God and the Peru Coordinator for Human Rights “for having given us the opportunity to present ourselves here,” saying she is still “looking for justice…

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Although a letter from Bishop Daniel Garcia of the Diocese of Monterey dated April 18 states that he’s writing “on an important topic: the sexual abuse of minors,” it’s notably about how the diocese is contemplating filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a move that church critics say would delay sexual abuse cases filed against the diocese and would likely limit what those who were abused could collect in financial compensation should they prevail in court.

The diocese was named as defendants in approximately 100 lawsuits filed between January 2020 and December 2022, Garcia reported, alleging child sexual abuse occurring between the 1950s and 2002. The lawsuits were filed during a three-year window created by California Assembly Bill 218, the Child Victims Act, which allowed people claiming to have been sexually assaulted as minors to file civil lawsuits even though the statute of limitations had previously expired.

A large volume of…

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The bishop of the Diocese of Monterey said that they are contemplating filing for bankruptcy after being named as defendants in around 100 new lawsuits alleging childhood sexual assault.

The major announcement came via a letter from Bishop Daniel Garcia to parishioners dated April 18. The letter says these incidents occurred from the 1950s to 2002.

The lawsuits were made during a three-year window from 2019 to 2022 created by the Child Victims Act, which reopened the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse victims.

Garcia now says that the diocese is considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The reasoning was that “this would allow all victims to be compensated from the limited funds the Diocese has and will be allocated in an equitable manner.”

They, along with other Catholic dioceses in California, have had to consider filing for bankruptcy due to the Child Victims Act.

Speaking in person, Deacon…

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HB125 targets adult church leaders, staff, and volunteers who make sexual contact with minors, similar to legislation directed at teachers.

House Bill 125, which targets adult church leadership, staff members, or volunteers who make sexual contact with minors, passed both sections of the Alabama Legislature this past week and now awaits a signature into law by Gov. Kay Ivey.

HB125’s text makes it “unlawful for a member of the clergy to commit certain sex acts with an individual under 19 years of age, or a protected person under the age of 22 … under certain circumstances.” The bill also allows for penalties under the law.

This would include ordained, licensed, or commissioned minsters, pastors, priests, or rabbinical leaders. Sexual intercourse or sodomy of a minor would be a Class B felony. Solicitation, harassment, or enticement of a minor under the guidelines of the law would be a…

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When someone opens up and shares that they have been sexually abused, how you respond is extremely important both for the healing of that child and for the process of investigating and uncovering the truth. There are certainly some excellent online resources that give guidance in this sensitive area. We at Horowitz Law, however, want to approach this from the opposite angle: What should you NEVER say to an abuse victim? For starters, here are the three words we believe you should avoid saying, probably ever but at least early on, to a survivor: “Why didn’t you. . .”

This question often ends with words or phrases like:

• run
• scream
• kick him
• fight back
• ask for help
• tell me sooner
• call the police

To be perfectly blunt, those are wrong words, phrases, and questions. Despite your good intentions, nearly anything you might say after opening with “Why didn’t you,“ would almost certainly be detrimental, and here’s why:

1. When someone tells you…

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New research by our Centre for Catholic Studies finds aspects of Catholic culture were implicated in how clerical child sexual abuse happened.

The four-year study listened to the voices of victims and survivors of abuse and others affected across the Catholic community.

The study suggests that aspects of the church’s culture partly explain how the response has often failed, causing further pain and harm, described by victims and survivors as ‘secondary abuse’.

Listening to victims and survivors

The report invites groups across the Catholic community to listen more deeply to the voices of those directly and indirectly affected and consider what may need to change in Catholic culture and theological understanding.

Although the report recognises that progress has been made in safeguarding practice and compassionate support for survivors, it concludes that more work is needed. It suggests learning from restorative justice and healing circle practices to find ways to heal…

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A spokesperson for the diocese said it’s been a “long, difficult mediation with the goal of compensating survivors.”

The Diocese of Rockville Centre remains locked in negotiations as it attempts to have the bankruptcy case dismissed in the wake of the clergy sex abuse scandal, Newsday reports.

The standoff comes after 3 1/2 years and $100 million in legal fees connected to hundreds of survivors of childhood sexual abuse by priests, Newsday said.

In a statement provided by the diocese, they said it’s been a “long, difficult mediation with the goal of compensating survivors while allowing the Church to carry on its charitable and religious mission.”

The Diocese of Rockville Centre could become the first diocese in the nation to have its bankruptcy dismissed amid the sex abuse scandal.

“Currently, the Creditors are demanding an unrealistic amount of money that would cripple the Church and its ministries…

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[See also a PDF of the Zinkula statement.]

On Wednesday afternoon of this week, we learned together that a former priest of the Archdiocese of
Dubuque, Father Leo Riley, has been charged with five (5) counts of 2nd Degree Sexual Abuse. The
charges arise out of allegations of abuse committed by Father Riley while he was in Dubuque during
the time-period of 1985 to 1986. These allegations were first brought forward in May of 2023. Under
our laws, Father Riley is given a presumption of innocence while the judicial process is completed. We
pray for all those involved in that process, with the intention that justice be well served.

Many people are understandably disheartened and hurt in reaction to this news. I want to address
these emotions and express my own, while also providing clarity about our efforts to seek justice
concerning the allegations against Father Riley.

Father Riley was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese…

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Durham University’s Centre for Catholic Studies has released what is being described as the first study into how the clerical child sexual abuse crisis has impacted “the whole Catholic community” in England and Wales. 

The Cross of the Moment report is based on four years of research and explores the ecclesial and cultural implications of the child abuse crisis in the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It illustrates how the abuse crisis has been experienced by different groups within the Church, most painfully by victims of abuse and their families, but also by others effected more indirectly, such as lay people, priests, deacons, bishops, religious communities and others.

The report suggests that “aspects of the culture and practices of the Catholic Church are implicated in how clerical child sexual abuse has happened”. These aspects of Catholic culture explored in the report include clericalism and the lack of practical structures of accountability….

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Michael Riley is defending his brother Leo Riley, a former Dubuque priest charged in sexual abuse cases dating back to the 1980s.

Last week, Father Leo Riley, who served in the Dubuque Diocese from 1984 to 1986, was charged with five counts of second-degree sexual abuse for incidents that the victims allege happened during that time.

Leo Riley is accused by four Iowa men, who say the abuse happened back in the 1980s when they were altar boys, as well as one man in Florida. This fifth man alleges abuse happened after Riley transferred to the state in the early 2000s.

The first allegation of abuse didn’t surface until 2014. The Catholic Church’s investigation at the time found the allegation was likely not true. The Dubuque County Attorney’s Office didn’t charge Riley then because the statute of limitations had expired by then.

In 2021,…

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Two new major studies on clergy sexual abuse reveal the Catholic Church’s efforts toward safeguarding and child protection are being met with mixed results, with attitudes and awareness varying depending on location and roles within the church.

A newly published study by Australian Catholic University’s Institute of Child Protection Studies found that Catholic clergy scored higher than lay people in their knowledge, awareness and attitudes in responding to abuse.

The research included over 180 participants across six countries and suggests that in responding to the decades long crisis of clerical abuse, reform efforts and strategies “have been largely targeted at clergy, who are seen as leaders in the Church, and thus have benefitted from the Church’s safeguarding reforms.”

In addition, researchers found that participants in Australia and the United Kingdom — countries that have had national inquiries into sexual abuse — responded with more positive attitudes…

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Port Charlotte priest was recently arrested in Florida after being placed on administrative leave one year ago with the Diocese of Venice. Father Leo Patrick Riley, 68, worked in at least 16 parishes in his home Diocese in Dubuque, Iowa, and in 2002, when predator priests began to be under great scrutiny, he moved to Florida and later began working in the Venice diocese. Floridians might have learned this much sooner, but Venice Bishop Frank Dewane is one of several US bishops who refuse to disclose the names of the child molesting clerics in his jurisdiction.

According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, Fr. Riley was arrested on April 24 and faces five capital sexual battery charges that allegedly took place in the 1980s when Riley was a priest in Dubuque, Iowa.

→In 2014, Fr. Leo Riley of the Dubuque Archdiocese was accused of sexually abusing a boy about a decade earlier.

→In 2015, a church…

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For Deanna Hampton, last week was all about confronting the past and the legacy of rampant sexual abuse within the Catholic Church and trying to ensure that families don’t suffer in the future.

It’s a deeply personal issue for Hampton. Last fall, The Sacramento Bee told the story of her son, Trevor Martin,
who was serially abused by priest Michael Kelly in Calaveras County.

Rather than face a criminal trial, Kelly fled to Ireland. Despite having a warrant issued by Sacramento’s U.S. Attorney for unlawful flight, Kelly traveled to Morocco and Mexico – known sex trafficking destinations. Kelly also led at least one tour of Ireland for members of a group of followers from California called “Friends of Father Kelly,” according to depositions.

On Wednesday, Hampton sent a letter to State Attorney General Rob Bonta accusing California’s highest law enforcement official of failing to review adequately a decision by Calaveras County…

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[Includes a 3-minute video interview with whistleblower priest Fr. Kenneth Lasch.]

Twenty years ago this month, what’s thought to be the nation’s first memorial to victims of clergy sexual abuse was unveiled at a church in a quiet corner of Morris County.

Today, two of the men who achieved that milestone at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Mendham are still challenging church leaders to acknowledge that “a lot of work still needs to be done.”

“They still don’t get it,” said Monsignor Kenneth Lasch of his fellow clergy.

Lasch, now retired, was pastor at St. Joseph’s in 1994 when victims of long-rumored sexual abuse at the church finally went public.

After the first of those survivors, Mark Serrano, came forward, “my life changed forever at that point,” Lasch said in an interview, as the U.S. marked National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

A local tragedy gained national…

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A former Dubuque priest who was arrested on sexual abuse charges on Wednesday has now bonded out of the Charlotte County, Florida jail.

Father Leo Patrick Riley, now of Port Charlotte, Florida, is charged with five counts of sexual abuse of Iowa school-aged boys in the 1980’s…

A former Dubuque priest who was arrested on sexual abuse charges on Wednesday has now bonded out of the Charlotte County, Florida jail.

Father Leo Patrick Riley, now of Port Charlotte, Florida, is charged with five counts of sexual abuse of Iowa school-aged boys in the 1980’s.

The investigation started in May of 2023, after the Archdiocese of Dubuque’s Office for the Protection of Children alerted the police about reports of “cold case” sexual abuse from 40 years ago.

The Archdiocese of Dubuque issued a statement in response to the charges on Friday, highlighting the church’s role in the investigation.

“No…

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Louisiana State Police executed a search warrant on the Archdiocese of New Orleans April 25 for documents related to a widening investigation into how the archdiocese has handled allegations of clerical sex abuse.

Louisiana State Police Trooper Jacob Pucheu, public information officer, told OSV News by email that the search took place “during a meeting with representatives and counsel for the Archdiocese of New Orleans” and the state police’s special victims unit investigators.

“The Archdiocese is actively cooperating with investigators and the terms of the search warrant,” said Pucheu in his statement. “This investigation remains ongoing, and there is no additional information available at this time.”

The Archdiocese of New Orleans had been ordered by a New Orleans criminal court to turn over the records, as part of a long-running criminal investigation involving multiple accused priests.

According to The Guardian, New Orleans Magistrate Juana M. Lombard signed off on the…

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Notre-Dame de Bétharram: 76 complaints filed by former residents of the Catholic institution

From now on, 76 complaints are accumulating in the file of the Catholic institution Notre-Dame de Bétharram, located in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Former residents speak of physical or sexual abuse. 21 people are targeted, including 11 still alive.

Former students carry the memory of the Catholic institution Notre-Dame de Bétharram (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) like a burden, yet renowned prestigious. “Our childhood was stolen from us”, testifies a former resident, anonymously. Alleged violence, rape and sexual assault that occurred between the 1970s and 1990s are discussed. The school gradually reveals its darkest secrets.

The words of entire generations are freed

A man testifies almost 40 years later. He first describes an atmosphere of terror. This brutality is, according to him, part of a well-established mechanism which led to the unspeakable. “They hurt you, but afterwards they comforted you”, he confides. Like him, others have chosen…

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The Catholic church has joined the list of stakeholders supporting the plan to phase out Charitable Children’s Institutions (CCIs) and transition children to a family-based and community care.

The outgoing chairperson of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) Archbishop Martin Kivuva said the Catholic church embraced the new law under the National Care Reform Strategy in Kenya after overwhelming scientific evidence showed that institutions are not good for children’s growth.

“Research shows that children who grow up in such homes are disadvantaged because they don’t get the kind of family love and care they need at their young age. For one reason or another, they find themselves in a place that is not exactly family,” said the archbishop.

The government-led National Care Reform Strategy for Children in Kenya seeks to phase out all children homes in a 10-year plan that runs from 2022-2032.

The idea is remove more than…

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The Regnum Christi Federation will hold its first general convention in Rome from April 29 to May 4, the first such assembly since its statutes were approved in 2019 after a long process of listening, purification, and a hopeful look toward its future.

The ecclesial movement was shaken to the core by the revelation of numerous cases of sexual abuse and abuses of power primarily involving Father Marcial Maciel, the deceased founder of the Legionaries of Christ and the Regnum Christi movement.

The Regnum Christi Federation is comprised of four vocations: the Legionaries of Christ (priests), Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, Lay Consecrated Men of Regnum Christi, and lay members.

Regnum Christi is now defined as an apostolic body and spiritual family led by a general board of directors, consisting of the directors general of the Legionaries of Christ and the Consecrated Men and Women of Regnum Christi,…

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When the always well-written and often wrongheaded New Yorker dislikes something, chances are good that I’ll like it—a principle that holds, with certain reservations, in the case of Dignitas Infinita, the 8 April “Declaration of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on Human Dignity.”

The declaration underscores the Catholic Church’s commitment to the defense of every human life from conception until natural death, calls Catholics to compassionate care for the most vulnerable among us, defends the biblical idea of the human person as defined in Genesis 1:27-28, and offers a welcome critique of gender theory and the legion of demons it spawns (this last being, predictably, was what upset the New Yorker).

What’s not to like, then? Perhaps that’s putting it too sharply. The question is whether the declaration could have been even better. I think that’s the case, and in several ways. 

The Dog That Didn’t Bark. Dignitas Infinita has 116…

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Michael Riley spoke with NBC2 Saturday evening regarding his older brother, Father Leo Riley – a Port Charlotte man who was arrested this week on multiple counts of capital sexual battery, with allegations connected to his previous tenure in the 1980s as a priest in Iowa.

Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office detectives and Dubuque, Iowa police worked together to arrest Leo P. Riley, 68, at his Port Charlotte home.Advertisement

Five days after his arrest, a 32-year-old, only identified as John Doe, stepped out to publicly share that Leo Riley sexually abused him as a child. Dubuque police also report that four individuals came forward saying they were sexually abused by Riley as alter boys in the mid-80s.

However, Michael Riley told NBC2 that “some important facts have been missed.”

He said the sole reason for his brother relocating to Southwest Florida was because their parents retired there.

He referred to…

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A New York state appeals court has found that an insurer for the Archdiocese of New York is not required to cover costs for settling hundreds of sex abuse claims — a ruling the archdiocese has called “extremely disappointing” and “wrongly decided.”

On April 23, five justices of the First Judicial Department of the New York Supreme Court’s Appellate Division unanimously overturned a December 2023 order from a lower court that would have compelled a group of Chubb insurance entities — who had issued more than 30 liability policies to the archdiocese and several of its parishes, schools and entities between 1956 and 2003 — to pay out money for more than 1,500 abuse cases.

Those claims against the archdiocese were brought under the state’s Child Victims Act of 2019 and Adult Survivors Act of 2022, both of which opened the door to hundreds of previously time-barred suits.

According to…

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The Archdiocese of New York may be forced into bankruptcy if its main insurer is allowed to go without financial responsibility in thousands of child sexual abuse lawsuits, victims’ attorneys said.

On Tuesday, the state Appellate court’s First Department reversed a ruling dismissing Chubb insurance’s assertion that its policies did not cover child sexual abuse claims that church leaders enabled and covered up for decades.

If Chubb and other insurance companies are off the hook, the Archdiocese, which covers 10 New York counties including Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island, will have no option but to file for bankruptcy, said attorney Jason Amala, whose firm filed about 75 sexual abuse cases against the Archdiocese.

Chubb insured the Archdiocese of New York, which serves 2.5 million Catholics, and its affiliated parishes and schools between 1956 and 2003.

If the cases filed under the state’s Child Victims Act proceed to trial, the financial damage…

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The Swiss Evangelical Reformed Church intends to conduct a study on sexual abuse, and it submitted an application to the church parliament this week, said President Rita Famos in an interview on Sunday. 

“The investigation should reveal the locations and frequency of abuse,” said Famos, president of the Swiss Evangelical Reformed Church, in an interview with the Sunday newspaper, the NZZ am Sonntag, which was first published online. 

The study is not only intended to uncover issues within the church. The Reformed Church hopes “the findings will also spur action against sexual abuse in other institutions,” Famos explained. It is also about addressing abuse in families, sports organisations and schools. “It is not acceptable to sit back and point the finger at scapegoats such as the Catholic Church,” continued Famos. 

Abuse is a societal issue. The Swiss Evangelical Reformed Church aims to contribute to identifying perpetrator profiles and contexts of offenses. “So that perpetrators…

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A Florida man stepped out in faith Friday, publicly sharing his history of sexual abuse.

A 32-year-old, only being identified as John Doe, spoke with his attorney, Damian Mallard, in Sarasota.Advertisement

Doe said that as a child, he attended St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School in Port Charlotte. There, he claims he was physically and sexually abused by a teacher. In a civil lawsuit filed in 2020, Doe claims he went to the Rev. Leo Patrick Riley begging for help.

Rather than reporting the crimes to the proper authorities, Doe said Riley began participating in the abuse as well. Doe said he was threatened in order to stay silent.

“I never told anybody back then. He said that if I told, he would do to my sister what he was doing to me,” Doe said. “I buried these memories very deep, but I couldn’t keep them buried forever. When…

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Father Leo Riley, age 68, continued to serve as a priest for years after a 2020 sexual abuse lawsuit was filed against him and the Diocese of Venice in Florida.

A Florida priest who was recently arrested on sex abuse charges was permitted to continue in active ministry for nearly three years after a civil sex abuse lawsuit was filed against him and the diocese in which he serves.

Father Leo Riley, age 68, continued to serve as a priest for years after a 2020 sexual abuse lawsuit was filed against him and the Diocese of Venice in Florida. 

The matter came to the forefront this week after Riley was arrested on several sex abuse charges dating back to his time serving as a priest in Iowa decades ago. 

The Charlotte County, Florida Sheriff’s Office said in a press release that deputies arrested Riley in Port…

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Louisiana State Police executed a search warrant on the Archdiocese of New Orleans April 25 for documents related to a widening investigation into how the archdiocese has handled allegations of clerical sex abuse.

Louisiana State Police Trooper Jacob Pucheu, public information officer, told OSV News by email that the search took place “during a meeting with representatives and counsel for the Archdiocese of New Orleans” and the state police’s special victims unit investigators.

“The Archdiocese is actively cooperating with investigators and the terms of the search warrant,” said Pucheu in his statement. “This investigation remains ongoing, and there is no additional information available at this time.”

The Archdiocese of New Orleans had been ordered by a New Orleans criminal court to turn over the records, as part of a long-running criminal investigation involving multiple accused priests.

According to The Guardian, New Orleans Magistrate Juana M. Lombard signed off on the…

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A former Dubuque priest who was arrested on sexual abuse charges on Wednesday has now bonded out of the Charlotte County, Florida jail.

Father Leo Patrick Riley, now of Port Charlotte, Florida, is charged with five counts of sexual abuse of Iowa school-aged boys in the 1980’s.

The investigation started in May of 2023, after the Archdiocese of Dubuque’s Office for the Protection of Children alerted the police about reports of “cold case” sexual abuse from 40 years ago.

The Archdiocese of Dubuque issued a statement in response to the charges on Friday, highlighting the church’s role in the investigation.

“No allegation of sexual abuse was known while he was actively serving our parishes. The first notice of any allegation of abuse by Father Riley was made in December of 2014. The claim related to the time-period of 1985, when Father Riley would have been in Dubuque. Particulars…

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The Alabama Senate unanimously passed a bill by State Rep. Leigh Hulsey (R-Helena) on Thursday that would make it a felony for church clergy to have sexual interactions with someone under 19 years old.

The House passed the measure on February 20. It now goes to Gov. Kay Ivey for her consideration.

The bill defines clergy as a duly ordained, licensed or commissioned minister, pastor, priest, rabbi, or practitioner of any bona fide established church or religious organization or any person who regularly, as a vocation, devotes a substantial portion of his or her time and abilities to the service of his or her church or religious organization.

The bill makes it a felony for a clergy member to engage in sexual intercourse or sodomy with a child. Under the bill,  a child is defined as a person under 19 or someone with a developmental disability under 22 

…

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The Alabama Legislature passed a new law today (April 25) making it illegal for clergy to engage in sexual behavior with anyone under 19 years old. Violations will be considered a Class B felony, which could result in two to 20 years of imprisonment.

Representative Leigh Hulsey sponsored House Bill 125, which mirrors the protections of another Alabama bill that prohibits the same for public and private school teachers. Senator Roger Smitherman sponsored the Senate version of the bill, which now goes to Gov. Kay Ivey to sign.

‘Thankful … for the courage’

“We are very thankful to Rep. Leigh Hulsey and Sen. Roger Smitherman as well as Senate and House leadership for having the courage to hold even clergy members accountable for taking advantage of minors,” Greg Davis, president and CEO of Alabama Citizens Action Program, shared with The Alabama Baptist.

“It’s a shame that it has come to…

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A residential school survivor is leading a class-action lawsuit against the Catholic Church and one of its priests.

It stems from comments allegedly made by the priest during a sermon describing evidence of unmarked graves as “lies” and “manipulation.”

Monday, a judge ruled the proposed class-action lawsuit can go forward despite efforts from lawyers representing the archdiocese of Edmonton and a religious order to have it struck down.

That decision was met with lots of tears, smiles and hugs from elder Sphenia Jones, who is leading the case.

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• Police called to incident at Edmonton church whose priest denied reports of unmarked graves

About a dozen of Jones’ family and supporters rallied Monday in support of residential school survivors and the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges priest Marcin Mironiuk said Indigenous children died of natural causes and questioned the validity of unmarked graves during a mass in 2021.

…

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Calgary court to decide whether proposed class action lawsuit by Elder Sphenia Jones will go ahead

WARNING: This story contains distressing details.

A Haida elder and residential school survivor is leading a proposed class action lawsuit against the Catholic Church and one of its priests over what she alleges are “false and deeply hurtful” denialist comments.

Sphenia Jones is scheduled to appear in a Calgary courtroom on Monday after filing a statement of claim against Edmonton priest Marcin Mironiuk, the Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton, and the Oblate Fathers of Assumption Province.

Jones is alleging that remarks Mironiuk made during a mass service in 2021 — in which he reportedly described the evidence of potential unmarked graves at residential schools as “lies” and “manipulation” — are defamatory against herself and other survivors who have spoken out about deaths at the institutions. 

She is proposing a class-action lawsuit, but the defendants from the church are asking…

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• In short: A 34-year-old man has been charged with child sex offences following a police investigation.
• The man, who worked at a Catholic school in the state’s north, was arrested on Friday and charged with two counts of penetrative sexual abuse of a child or young person.
• What’s next? The man will appear in the Launceston’s Magistrates Court in June. 

A 34-year-old man who worked at a Tasmanian Catholic school has been charged with child sex offences following a police investigation.

The man, who was a staff member at a Catholic school in the state’s north, was arrested on Friday and charged with two counts of penetrative sexual abuse of a child or young person.

Police said the alleged offences took place in 2019.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Catholic Education Tasmania said a staff member from one of its schools had been charged by Tasmania Police. 

“We understand the…

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A scathing legal loss for Cardinal Timothy Dolan has finally forced into the light what the New York prelate did not want Catholics to know: Dolan has been fighting for the “right” to sexually abuse and re-victimize minors and vulnerable adults and then have others pick up the tab.  A New York Appeals Court ruling revealed as much when it unanimously rebuffed Dolan’s bid to force Chubb Insurers to finance mounting clergy sex abuse claims, even when the abuse was enabled and covered up by Church leaders.  Likening Dolan’s scheme to an arsonist setting fire to his house and then demanding an insurance payout, Chubb argued in Court that the New York Archdiocese “alone must bear the full financial consequences of its criminal behavior.”  With Dolan and his fellow New York bishops battling more than 3,300 recently filed sex abuse cases, Dolan’s legal defeat points to a deeper crisis sweeping the Church hierarchy:…

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