ABUSE TRACKER

As the Archdiocese of New York and its insurance company, Chubb, battle over who is responsible for millions in potential payouts to survivors of clergy sexual abuse, a new group has entered the picture.

Announcing its presence in November with a full page ad in The New York Times, the Coalition for Just and Compassionate Compensation, which describes itself as an “alliance of survivors of child abuse and their advocates committed to ensuring that survivors receive the restitution that they deserve”, called on Chubb to stop fighting its responsibility in court and said their behavior was “callous”.

But in letters obtained by the Daily News, Chubb says it is, in fact, the archdiocese that’s being callous— all but accusing the coalition of being in cahoots with the archdiocese amid efforts to pressure the insurer to pay up.

Both the Archdiocese of New York and the coalition deny having any connection…

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A now-former parish staff member in Cincinnati is facing charges in Wisconsin connected to alleged grooming and sexual assault of a member of the Milwaukee Children’s Choir he directed, according to court records filed Tuesday.

Marco Melendez is charged with two counts of child enticement and one count of third-degree sexual assault for alleged actions that took place between 2016 and 2019 in Milwaukee.

A warrant was filed for his arrest on Tuesday, June 25, but records do not show whether he has been arrested yet. He is not listed as an inmate in the Milwaukee County jail.

Fr. Alex McCullough, pastor of the Queen of Apostles Parish Family said in a letter to parishioners that Melendez was hired as the music director for Queen of Apostles Parish Family in February. McCullough said as of June 25, when the warrant for his arrest in Milwaukee was filed, he is no…

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Less than one week after the head of the Vatican’s communications department strongly defended his office’s continued use of the artwork of alleged serial abuser Fr. Marko Rupnik, the president of Pope Francis’ own abuse prevention commission has written to every Vatican department urging them not to use artwork of alleged perpetrators of abuse.

“We must avoid sending a message that the Holy See is oblivious to the psychological distress that so many are suffering,” read the letter sent by Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston to the heads of Vatican dicasteries on June 26. 

“Pastoral prudence would prevent displaying artwork in a way that could imply either exoneration or a subtle defense” of alleged abuse perpetrators “or indicate indifference to the pain and suffering of so many victims of abuse,” the letter stated.

Excerpts from the cardinal’s letter were included in a June 28 press release from the…

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On Friday, American Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston issued a statement saying he has asked the heads of all offices in the Roman Curia to take down the artwork of a famed priest and artist accused of abusing dozens of adult women.

The statement came from the Pontifical Commission for Protecting Minors (PCPM), for which O’Malley serves as President, and said in that capacity, the cardinal has written to the heads of all Vatican departments asking that “pastoral prudence would prevent displaying artwork in a way that could imply either exoneration or a subtle defense” of alleged abusers “or indicate indifference to the pain and suffering of so many victims of abuse.”

In his letter to Vatican prefects, dated June 26, O’Malley said, “We must avoid sending a message that the Holy See is oblivious to the psychological distress that so many are suffering.”

The statement comes after the head…

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The pope’s top adviser on sexual abuse by clergy is asking Vatican officials not to use art by a former Jesuit priest accused of sexually abusing women — even as some Church officials continue to do so. 

Cardinal Seán O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston and head of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, sent a letter to the dicasteries that govern day-to-day affairs of the Roman Curia expressing hope that “pastoral prudence would prevent displaying artwork in a way that could imply either exoneration or a subtle defense” of those of accused of abuse. 

“We must avoid sending a message that the Holy See is oblivious to the psychological distress that so many are suffering,” O’Malley wrote in a letter to leaders of the Curia on Wednesday, June 26, according to the commission he heads. 

The letter — which was made public Friday, June 28,…

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The Vatican’s media arm appears to be defying an appeal from Cardinal Seán O’Malley, who has urged the Vatican to stop using artwork created by alleged abuser Fr. Marko Rupnik. 

On the same day the cardinal’s call to all Vatican departments was made public, several of Rupnik’s alleged victims also appealed for Church institutions to remove displays of his work.

O’Malley, the head of the Pontifical Council for the Protection of Minors (PCPM), wrote a June 26 letter to the dicasteries of the Roman Curia calling for a moratorium on the display of artwork by alleged abusers.

“Pope Francis has urged us to be sensitive to and walk in solidarity with those harmed by all forms of abuse,” the Archbishop of Boston wrote in the letter, quoted in a June 28 post on the PCPM’s website. 

“I ask you to bear this in mind when choosing images to accompany the publication…

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Boyd Householder faced 78 felony charges — including rape — stemming from his years directing the Circle of Hope Girls Ranch near Humansville. Householder’s wife, Stephanie, is scheduled for her own trial in late October on 21 similar charges.

Boyd Householder died Tuesday, according to reporting by the Kansas City Star citing multiple sources.

Missouri court records show the 75-year-old Householder was set to go on trial this fall on 78 felony charges related to statutory rape, sodomy and physical abuse — along with child abuse and neglect allegations. The charges were related to Householder’s years directing a Christian boarding school near Humansville known as Circle of Hope Girls Ranch.

When he filed the charges back in early 2021, Eric Schmitt, Missouri attorney general at the time, called the allegations against Householder “extensive and horrific.”

Householder’s wife, Stephanie Householder, is also scheduled for a trial…

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The Southern Baptist Convention just took yet another step toward a dystopian handmaid’s society for Southern Baptist women.

In its June annual meeting, the Southern Baptist Convention rejected a proposed amendment to its constitution that would have designated any church that had “any kind” of a woman pastor as no longer in “friendly cooperation” with the SBC. Those churches could have then been expelled from the SBC.

Some might express surprise at this vote and wonder if Southern Baptists are changing direction on women’s issues—if they’re becoming more accepting of women in leadership.

They’re not. This vote wasn’t at all about supporting women. 

Instead, delegates to the annual meeting (“messengers” in Southern Baptist terminology) argued that, in a 2000 doctrinal statement and a 1984 resolution, the convention had already affirmed that only men could be pastors, thereby making the proposed constitutional amendment a redundancy. And these mechanisms were…

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New child sexual abuse and child pornography charges have been brought up against a Florida pastor who was arrested last week for possession of child porn and now faces 18 felony charges.

Jonathan Elwing, 43, of Palmetto, has been charged with two counts of capital sexual battery, six counts of production of child sexual abuse material and six counts of child porn possession, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

Those are in addition to the four counts of possession of child sexual abuse images he was charged with earlier this month after law enforcement received information that the pastor used cryptocurrency to purchase the images online.

A forensic search of Elwing’s cell phone found images of him sexually battering a child and the production and possession of 12 images of child pornography, reports the Sarasota-based WWSB ABC 7.

Authorities expect more charges in the…

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(Opinion)—Gateway Church Pastor Robert Morris has been exposed as an alleged child molester and defenders of John MacArthur are outraged.

“If parents come to a church & say a pastor has sexually molested their 12 year old daughter, you call the police. Full Stop,” posted Daily Wire Culture Reporter Megan Basham on X.

Similarly, prominent Southern Baptist Pastor Tom Buck posted about Morris, “Not only should he not be in ministry, he should be in jail. There should be no statute of limitations for molesting a child!”

(Please see original article for additional information.)

Podcaster Allie Beth Stuckey likewise chimed in: “Let’s (g)et something straight: repentance and restoration does not include restoring an accused abuser to a leadership position . . . He can be forgiven. He can be restored to the body of Christ. But he failed to fulfill the requirements for overseer God…

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Gateway founder Robert Morris allegedly told survivor Cindy Clemishire in 2005 to ‘put a price on it’

Texas megachurch founder and pastor Robert Morris, who recently resigned after confessing to sexually assaulted a child in the 1980s, attempted to pay his abuse survivor for her silence, according to a leaked phone transcript.

The transcript from 22 September 2005, provided to NBC by a former employee of Gateway church, shows Morris telling his victim, who recently revealed herself to be Cindy Clemishire, to “put a price on it”, when she asked to be compensated for the trauma inflicted on her.

“It is not a small number,” Clemishire said. “Money doesn’t make you happy and I can understand that. So that is not what this is about.”

The transcript allegedly shows Clemishire requesting “$2m”, at which point Morris hung up the phone.

The transcript was found when the employee was transferring files from Morris’s…

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Boris Bastidas, a Catholic high school teacher in Hollywood, Florida, who was arrested in March 2024 for sexual misconduct with a student, entered into a plea agreement on June 11, 2024. Bastidas changed his plea to guilty to charges that he used coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity and traveling in interstate or foreign commerce to engage in any illicit sexual conduct with another person. This guilty plea was accepted, and Bastidas will be sentenced on September 17, 2024, at 11:00 AM in Miami Division at the James Lawrence King Building, 99 NE 4th Street, 11th Floor, before Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks.

Bastidas’s Arrest

According to media reports, on March 14, 2024, Boris Fernando Bastidas, a 35-year-old teacher at Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory, was apprehended by the FBI Miami Child Exploitation Task Force. Bastidas was accused…

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A former Fresno priest accused of sex crimes will spend time in the Fresno County Jail.

Jesus Serna was sentenced to 365 days behind bars and five years probation.

Serna, known to his followers as “Father Antonio,” served from 2007 to 2017 at Our Lady Guadalupe Church in Fresno.

He was arrested in early 2019 following a more than year-long investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct with at least three adult parishioners.

In February, the 56-year-old pleaded no contest to nine counts of sexual assault, and one count of attempting to prevent a witness from testifying.

Twelve other counts were dropped.

Under the conditions of his sentence, Serna will not be allowed to lead any religious ceremonies.

The victims are under a 10-year protective order, and Serna was ordered to pay them restitution.

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At least one new lawsuit has been filed against the Diocese of Lafayette seeking damages from alleged sexual abuse by a priest as the state Supreme Court ruled June 12 to give abuse survivors three additional years to file lawsuits no matter how long ago the abuse occurred.

A St. Martin Parish resident, referred to by the initials C.V. in court records, filed a lawsuit June 11, the eve of the Supreme Court decision, suing the Diocese of Lafayette.

The 5-2 opinion says the “lookback window” unanimously approved by the Louisiana Legislature giving abuse survivors a three-year window to sue for damages is constitutional.

The legislature in 2021 gave abuse victims three years to sue their abusers no matter when the abuse occurred. Before that, survivors had until age 28 to sue.

The first publicized case of priest sex abuse occurred in Lafayette in the 1980s, when former…

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But Brian Boucher will soon qualify for a statutory release even though he is currently charged with sexually assaulting a fellow inmate last year.

Brian Boucher, who sexually abused two teenage boys while he was a Catholic priest in Montreal, has been denied parole as he continues to serve an eight-year prison term.

In a decision made this week, the Parole Board of Canada denied Boucher, 62, both day and full parole. It also ordered that a series of conditions be imposed on Boucher when he will soon qualify for a statutory release.Article content

Almost all offenders serving time in federal penitentiaries automatically qualify for a release after they reach the two-thirds mark of their sentence if they were not previously granted parole.

In Boucher’s case, the parole board ordered that he reside at a halfway house when he is released. He is not allowed to contact the victims of…

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Every Vatican office must be sensitive toward those harmed by abuse and should exercise “pastoral prudence” before deciding to display artwork created by an alleged perpetrator of abuse, the president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors told the Roman Curia.

“We must avoid sending a message that the Holy See is oblivious to the psychological distress that so many are suffering,” U.S. Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley of Boston said in a letter to all Vatican dicasteries on behalf of the commission.

While the presumption of innocence toward the accused during ongoing investigations into allegations of abuse must be respected, he wrote, the Holy See and its offices must “exercise wise pastoral prudence and compassion toward those harmed by clerical sexual abuse.”

The commission published only excerpts of the cardinal’s letter in a press release published June 28. The complete letter had been sent privately to the heads…

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Berlin – Another 400,000 people formally left the Catholic Church in Germany last year, though the number was down from a record set in 2022 as church leaders struggle to put a long-running scandal over abuse by clergy behind them and tackle calls for reform, official figures showed Thursday.

The German Bishops’ Conference said that 402,694 people left the church in 2023. That was down from 522,821 the previous year, but still the second-highest figure so far. At the same time, 1,559 people joined the church and another 4,127 rejoined.

In Germany, people who are formally members of a church pay a so-called church tax that helps finance it in addition to the regular taxes the rest of the population pays. If they register their departure with local authorities, they no longer have to pay that. There are some exemptions for low earners, jobless, retirees, students and others.

The country’s Catholic…

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[Includes 50-minute podcast interview]

Father Hans Zollner SJ is a Jesuit priest, theologian, psychologist, and professor at the Gregorian University. He is also one of the leading experts on safeguarding and the prevention of sexual abuse.

In March 2023, Father Zollner resigned from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, criticising the leadership of the body in a public letter.

In this 81st episode of Merely Catholic, Father Zollner discusses the issue of sexual abuse in the Church and how Catholics should respond.

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Less than one week after the head of the Vatican’s communications department strongly defended his office’s continued use of the artwork of alleged serial abuser Fr. Marko Rupnik, the president of Pope Francis’ own abuse prevention commission has written to every Vatican department urging them not to use artwork of alleged perpetrators of abuse.

“We must avoid sending a message that the Holy See is oblivious to the psychological distress that so many are suffering,” read the letter sent by Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston to the heads of Vatican dicasteries on June 26. 

“Pastoral prudence would prevent displaying artwork in a way that could imply either exoneration or a subtle defense” of alleged abuse perpetrators “or indicate indifference to the pain and suffering of so many victims of abuse,” the letter stated.

Excerpts from the cardinal’s letter were included in a June 28 press release from the…

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Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) announced an investigation into the dioceses of Spokane, Yakima and Seattle on May 9 claiming that they may have used charitable funds to hide child sex abuse allegations. Clergy abuse survivors say it’s a historic moment. 

Mary Dispenza, a survivor and co-founding member of the Catholic Accountability Project (CAP), says that accountability for the alleged use of charitable funds for abuse cover-ups could bring healing for victims. 

“For victims, being a survivor of clergy abuse and nun abuse, it’s an exciting moment,” Dispenza said. 

Dispenza says that the attorney general’s case is the first time that a sitting archbishop has been subpoenaed for covering up abuse records. 

“The attorney general is saying ‘you’re not above the law.’ So it’s a historic moment for sure,” Dispenza said. 

A state petition to enforce a subpoena against the three dioceses will be considered in King County Superior Court…

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The scandal over a famous ex-Jesuit artist who is accused of psychologically, spiritually and sexually abusing adult women came to a head Friday after some of his alleged victims and the pope’s own anti-abuse adviser asked for his artworks not to be promoted or displayed.

The separate initiatives underscored how the case of the Rev. Marko Rupnik, whose mosaics grace some of the Catholic Church’s most-visited shrines and sanctuaries, continues to cause a headache for the Vatican and Pope Francis, who as a Jesuit himself has been drawn into the scandal.

Early Friday, five women who say they were abused by Rupnik sent letters to Catholic bishops around the world asking them to remove his mosaics from their churches, saying their continued display in places of worship was “inappropriate” and retraumatizing to victims.

Separately, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, head of the pope’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, sent his own letter…

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Cardinal Sean O’Malley, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, issued a statement calling for “pastoral prudence” regarding the dissemination by Vatican offices of artwork by Father Marko Rupnik, who is the subject of numerous complaints from women accusing sexual abuse, abuse of power, and spiritual manipulation.

“We must avoid sending a message that the Holy See is oblivious to the psychological distress that so many are suffering.” These are the words of Cardinal Sean O’Malley, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, regarding the frequent use of Father Marko Rupnik’s artwork by the Vatican, particularly its Dicastery for Communications, to illustrate online Catholic content.

Artworks regularly promoted by the Vatican

Lately, Vatican News, the official Vatican website, under the supervision of the Dicastery for Communications, has regularly used the priest’s mosaics in articles related to major Catholic feasts and saints. The works of the…

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In the hours after Boyd Householder died Tuesday, former students who attended his Circle of Hope boarding school in southwest Missouri had one lingering question.

Would a judge and jury ever hear what they say went on inside the unlicensed school he and his wife, Stephanie, operated for 14 years in rural Cedar County? The brutal restraints, excessive workouts in extreme temperatures, psychological and sexual abuse and food and water used as punishment.

His death at age 75 comes four months before the Householders were scheduled for trial on 99 felony counts of child abuse and neglect, including statutory rape, sodomy and physical abuse. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office charged the couple in March 2021 and then-AG Eric Schmitt described the abuse that students suffered as “extensive and horrific.”

The charges against Boyd Householder allege that he slammed girls’ heads or bodies against walls, slapped or struck…

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Boyd Householder, set to stand trial on dozens of child abuse felonies allegedly committed at his now-closed Circle of Hope boarding school, died Tuesday, his attorney told The Star.

Adam Woody, who represents Householder and his wife Stephanie, said Tuesday evening that Boyd “went into cardiac arrest this morning” and died.

“He had been ill for quite some time related to his service for our country in the Vietnam War,” Woody said in a text message to The Star. “He had lung and heart damage from agent orange exposure and had been suffering for several years.”

Recently, Householder, 75, had been using two tanks of oxygen per day, Woody said.

Rebecca Randles, a Kansas City attorney who has filed more than 15 lawsuits against Circle of Hope and the Householders, said her office learned about the death from women they’ve represented. Another source confirmed the death to The Star and…

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A man who attended the now shutdown Agape Boarding School alleges he was physically abused, deprived of food, among other allegations in a lawsuit.

The man, identified as M.B.2, filed the lawsuit against the school and several former staff members in United States District Court of Western Missouri, Southern Division.

Named in the lawsuit are Julio Sandoval, a former dean of the school; Seth Duncan, a former staff member; Tyler Hartman, a former staff member; Elijah Reeves, a former staff member; and Brian Clemenson, another former staff member.

Allegations against former staff

M.B.2 said the school had a system where students worked their way up in rankings.

The students were differentiated by the color of shirts they wore, according to the lawsuit.

The lowest rank of students were those who wore brown shirts, and they were referred to as “brown town” students.

M.B.2 said students were sent to “brown town”…

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The First Nation, the church signed the covenant back in March

Vancouver’s Catholic archbishop says a sacred covenant signed by the diocese and Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc is not a finished document, but a “living dynamic statement of moving to the future.”

Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver shared newly published details of the Sacred Covenant on Wednesday (June 26). It is meant to be a shared path to reconciliation.

It includes seven “confirmation of truths,” as well as history of residential schools and the post-Truth and Reconciliation Commission events, specifically the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc reporting in May 2021 the preliminary findings of approximately 200 anomalies from ground-penetrating radar. Some of those anomalies may be the unmarked graves of former students.

The covenant was signed on March 30, 2024 on Easter Sunday by Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver and the diocese of Kamloops. The Kamloops Indian Residential School was…

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The Catholic Church in BC is promising to provide both financial and scientific support to Tk’emlups as part of a recently-revealed “Sacred Covenant” the two sides have signed.

“The Church was wrong, wrong, in how it complied in implementing a government, colonial policy which resulted in the separation of children from their parents and their families,” said Archbishop Michael Miller as part of a joint, online news conference he participated in on Wednesday, alongside Tk’emlups Kukpi7 Roseanne Casimir.

Signed at the end of March, details of the 31 point agreement — released this week — include a pledge to work together to identify and help repatriate any remains discovered on the site of the former Kamloops Residential School, should that ever take place.

“There is a $30 million pledge, including $2.5 million from the Archdiocese of Vancouver, to help provide grants that further healing and reconciliation,” said Miller.

For her part, Casimir…

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‘Residential school system did do great damage,’ archbishop says

WARNING: This story contains details of experiences at residential schools.

Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc and the Vancouver and Kamloops arms of the Catholic Church have released the details of a signed document agreeing to a historical record acknowledging the harms caused by residential schools and the role the church played. 

On Easter Sunday, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver, Diocese of Kamloops and the First Nation gathered to sign a Sacred Covenant outlining how it will work with the First Nation toward reconciliation. 

“The signing of this sacred covenant is a step in the right direction,” Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc Kúkpi7 Rosanne Casimir said during a news conference on Wednesday. 

“We all need to rebuild our relationships at every level and walk this journey together.”

Archbishop J. Michael Miller said the church intends to work with Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc on a path to healing.

…

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An attorney spoke Wednesday regarding a sexual abuse case involving a priest in Fall River.

Mitchell Garibedian is representing a man who claims he was sexually abused by a priest in the Fall River Catholic Diocese and said he is glad the case is finally being investigated after 11 years.

Fall River Reverend Jay Mello was placed on administrative leave last week after the diocese received what the church is calling “concerning information” alleging sexual misconduct by the priest.

“This is another example of the Diocese of Fall River and the Catholic Church practicing cover-up and sexual abuse,” Garabedian said. “And not caring about whether or not victims of sexual abuse heal and whether the public is protected from predators.”

Mello was the pastor of St. Michael’s and St. Joseph’s churches and was also the head of St. Michael’s school, serving on the school committee for the Greater Fall River Vocational…

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A prominent city priest currently on leave pending a Diocese of Fall River investigation into “sexual misconduct” has also been accused of sexual assault by at least one other person, and there may be others, an attorney for the alleged victim said. 

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who has represented multiple victims of clergy sexual abuse, claimed that in 2013 the Rev. Jay Mello sexually abused a 28-year-old man. 

“He trusted Father Mello, and Father Mello took advantage of him sexually,” said Garabedian via teleconference at a press conference held outside the headquarters of the Diocese of Fall River on Highland Avenue. “There was no consent in this sexual relationship. It was a violent incident … and my client fled.” 

Mello, the pastor of St. Michael and St. Joseph parishes in Fall River and the pastor of the pre-K to Grade 8 St. Michael’s School, was placed on…

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Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Tennessee Pastor Jeff LaBorg will be headlining a conference this fall with disgraced pastor and former Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) President Johnny Hunt.

Hunt was accused of sexually assaulting the wife of a former SBC pastor in a 2022 blockbuster report, detailing sexual abuse and cover-up within the SBC. The report by Guidepost Solutions found the allegations by the pastor’s wife “credible.”

Hunt maintains that the “encounter,” though inappropriate, was consensual, The Roys Report (TRR) previously reported.

Hunt will be one of the three main speakers at the 28th Annual Fall Jubilee Conference in Gatlinburg, Tennessee this September, according to the conference’s website.

Huckabee, the 44th Governor of Arkansas and a former minister, will also be speaking at the event alongside Hunt. Huckabee is now known for his TV show “Huckabee” and as a guest speaker on Fox News and Newsmax.

…

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Televangelist James Robison is under fire for his alleged involvement decades ago in the “restoration” of now-disgraced Pastor Robert Morris and recent statements Robison has made that appear to be false.

Morris resigned last week from Gateway Church, a megachurch in the Dallas area, following the release of shocking allegations he molested Oklahoma resident Cindy Clemishire from 1982—1986, when she was 12 to 16 years old.

In a video posted online two days ago, Robison said he was aware that Morris had “moral failure in his past” but Robison claimed he had “no idea it was a crime against a child.”

Robison also denied allegations he was involved in Morris’ restoration to ministry. And he published a letter from Clemishire’s attorney, Boz Tchividjian, stating that Robison was not at a meeting with Clemishire’s father in the 1980s in which the abuse had been revealed.

Robison’s claims come in response…

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Yet another civil lawsuit filed Wednesday against a Missouri Christian boarding school by a former student accuses staffers of forced child labor, physical abuse and tactics aimed at hiding mistreatment from authorities.

The lawsuit, filed in Missouri’s Western U.S. District Court, alleges fraud and negligence by five former employees of the now-closed Agape Boarding School.

More than a dozen other former students have settled lawsuits alleging they were abused at the southwest Missouri school.

When it shut down in 2023, it was the fourth and last unlicensed Christian boarding school to close in Cedar County since September 2020. The school’s former director, Bryan Clemensen, said the school, whose enrollment had tumbled, closed because it did not have the funding to continue.

Several people affiliated with those schools are facing criminal charges.

Advocates for victims of abuse at Missouri boarding schools in May and again on Wednesday urged the state’s attorney general to launch…

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Victims want to meet with statewide school group

And they ask Pettis Co. sheriff to investigate facility

Self-help group warns parents about local boarding school

WHAT

Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims will harshly criticize a local man who runs both a

–a boarding school for ‘troubled’ kids in Pettis County and

–a statewide industry group for owners and operators of similar facilities, at least five of which have generated headlines in recent years because of repeated prosecutions, lawsuits and news reports about the sexual, physical and emotional abuse of children at five or more of the schools.

A few months ago, the local man also spearheaded an effort to eviscerate “the few and new bare bones protections” Missouri legislators set up for these facilities, many of which are for-profit, privately-owned and ‘under the radar’ in rural counties across the state.

…

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A man who was the alleged victim of sexual abuse by a Fall River priest will be holding a press conference with his lawyer outside the headquarters of the diocese.

Rev. Jay Mello was placed on administrative leave after the diocese received “concerning information alleging sexual misconduct by the priest,” and that an initial inquiry showed “sufficient evidence” for further investigation.

Mello was the pastor of St. Michael’s Church on Essex Street and St. Joseph’s Church on North Main Street.

He was also the pastor of St. Michael’s School, a pre-kindergarten to Grade 8 Catholic School, and served on the School Committee for the Greater Fall River Vocational School District. He was also serving as the chaplain for the Fall River Police Department.

Mello is no longer residing at the parish rectory and has been “directed to refrain from exercising public priestly ministry.”

The man who is alleging the abuse, says…

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A well-known Catholic priest in Fall River was removed from his duties and placed on leave due to sexual misconduct allegations, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River announced Sunday.

Rev. Jay Mello has been a pastor at the neighboring St. Michael and St. Joseph churches in Fall River since 2016. The diocese said in an announcement that Mello, 44, was placed on administrative leave last week due to allegations of sexual misconduct.

The allegations do not involve minors, the diocese said.

The diocese said its initial investigation showed “sufficient evidence to warrant further investigation to determine whether Father Mello has violated the standards of ministerial behavior.” 

Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha wrote to parishioners over the weekend that Mello’s leave and the pending investigation is “shocking and unsettling.” 

“This situation is distressing for all of us,” he wrote. “Please know that my prayers are with all the…

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Warning: This story discusses graphic details of sexual abuse.

“What they owe me is everything – and how do you put a price on everything?”

Darryl Smith’s life – and all the opportunities and hopes contained – was stolen at the hands of the Brothers Hospitallers of St John of God.

For almost four decades, the Catholic order claimed to care for the children in Christchurch no one else would.

Marylands School, St Joseph’s Orphanage and the Hebron Trust were meant to offer refuge for some of the country’s most vulnerable children.

Instead, they were dens of depravity where innocence was stolen and lives were destroyed.

Smith was born in Christchurch.

He found himself at Marylands School in 1971 as a 7-year-old after being expelled from Russley Primary School for hitting a teacher.

He found himself at Marylands School because the Department of Education convinced his parents it was the best place for a…

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Former parish priest from Faisalabad diocese also threatened to release ‘private videos’ of the victim and kill her brother

A Catholic man in central Pakistan has filed a police complaint accusing a priest of raping his teen daughter and blackmailing and threatening his family, four months after the priest was suspended.

Zulfaqar Masih, a Catholic laborer, complained to the police on June 22 against Faisalabad diocesan Father Naveed Thomas.

Thomas was parish priest of Masih’s St Pius X parish in Chak Jhumra, a village of poor Christians.

Masih’s complaint accused the priest of repeatedly raping his 19-year-old daughter and arranging for an abortion when she became pregnant. 

When the family confronted him, Thomas threatened to release the victim’s “private videos” and kill her brother, the complaint claimed.

Police registered a rape case against Thomas.

The Faisalabad diocese suspended Thomas in February, and an inquiry was set up against…

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A court in southern Nepal convicted a controversial spiritual leader known as “Buddha Boy” on charges of sexually assaulting a minor.

Ram Bahadur Bamjan, who’s believed by some to be the reincarnation of the founder of Buddhism, was arrested by police in January on charges of sexual assault and suspicion of involvement in the disappearance of at least four of followers from his camps.

A judge at the Sarlahi District Court on Monday found him guilty of sexually assaulting an underage girl, and said sentencing will be on July 1. The charges related to the disappearances of his followers are still pending trial.

He could face at least 12 years in jail, but can still appeal his conviction.

Bamjan is believed by many Nepalese to be the reincarnation of Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in southwestern Nepal some 2,600 years ago and became revered as the Buddha. Buddhist scholars have been…

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Best-selling author and longtime pastor Rick Warren says he is “angry and disgusted” by “Robert Morris’ sexual abuse of a child,” calling it an “evil punishable by law.” Alleged victims of spiritual abuse by Warren’s successor at Saddleback Church, Andy Wood, agree. But they expressed anger that Warren has referred to their abuse as “conflict,” and never addressed years of what they say was Wood’s abuse and bullying of staff. 

“(We) have been through enough of being exploited and having our abuse covered up and minimized as ‘just conflict,’” said Lori Adams-Brown, an alleged victim of Wood’s abuse at his former Echo Church in San Jose. “Rick is no hero for abuse survivors. I urge him to deal with his own abuse coverup before pointing fingers.” 

Warren posted his comments on X last week, referring to the recently alleged child sexual abuse by now-resigned Gateway…

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The miscarriage of justice in the case of Marko Rupnik—the appalling farce it has been from the start—is sadly not an aberration under Pope Francis. The Rupnik Affair has indelibly stained this pontificate.

“Who am I to judge the Rupnik stories?”

Pope Francis’s Communicator-in-Chief, Dr. Paolo Ruffini, asked that rhetorical question on Friday in an Atlanta, GA hotel ballroom, in front of journalists, one of whom—Colleen Dulle of America Magazine, it happens—had asked him to explain his dicastery’s rationale for continuing to use reproductions of artwork by a disgraced priest who is accused of serial sexual abuse.

Well, nobody is asking Ruffini to judge the case, which—just so we’re clear on the point from the outset—is very strong.

The Rupnik Affair has been before the public for the better part of two years. The Jesuits who investigated him believe he is guilty. The CDF believes there is a case to answer but…

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EDITORIAL: The Dicastery for Communication’s conspicuous use of the priest’s art, and its recent defense by the dicastery’s prefect, appears as shockingly tone-deaf.

It was quite a coup for the Catholic Media Association to land the head of the Vatican’s communications office to deliver a keynote address during the organization’s annual conference in Atlanta last week.

In hindsight, Paolo Ruffini may wish he had stayed in Rome.

Speaking at a luncheon on June 21 sponsored by EWTN, the prefect of the Dicastery for Communication offered a well-received reflection on using Catholic media as a tool for accompanying others, building bridges and fostering communion.

“Changing the narrative towards hope, recognizing the dynamism of good, setting hearts ablaze and orienting them towards communion, witnessing a different type of storytelling, which is generative and creative,” he said, “this is the way to spread the Good News and to give a Christian interpretation to…

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This is the hour when the bishops of the United States must repent, and Fr. Rupnik’s mosaics supply the means. Each bishop should spend his vacation removing Rupnik’s mosaics.

When I was seven, my parents brought home a painting and hung it above the fireplace. They summoned my brother and me into the living room, and we looked at the painting up close. In front of us was a collection of squares in muted and faint purples, pinks, blues, and grays. My parents then had us view the painting from a distance, dimming the lights. A man appeared on the canvas. We were enchanted by this transformation. My parents didn’t tell us the name of the painting or the artist, and it was always known as “the cool painting” in our home.

Last summer, I found myself again contemplating that cool piece of art, this time as a middle-aged woman….

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Megachurch pastors in Dallas are starting to drop like flies.

On June 9, Tony Evans stepped away for an unspecified period of time from the 10,000-member Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, a church he started in his living room and led for 48 years, explaining vaguely that he fell short of a standard “a number of years ago.”

One week later, Mike Buster resigned as executive pastor of the 45,000-member Prestonwood Baptist Church with one week’s notice to the congregation. Senior Pastor Jack Graham announced to the congregation on Father’s Day, June 16, that Buster was resigning and there would be a reception for him the next Sunday. That is highly unusual in a Baptist church, especially for someone who served as the pastor’s righthand man for 35 years.

Both Buster and the church have denied any wrongdoing is behind the resignation — in response to undocumented whispers of financial wrongdoing and an FBI…

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A new lawsuit filed against Kanakuk Kamps June 24 by child sex abuse survivor Andrew Summersett of Denver seeks to expose how the “largest youth camp in the U.S. intentionally omitted critical information about known cases of child sexual abuse and discouraged a minor from reporting the incidents and pursuing a claim for damages.”

Summersett is represented by attorneys from Laffey Bucci D’Andrea Reich and Ryan, as well as the same Monsees and Mayer legal team representing Logan Yandell of Hendersonville, Tenn., in his lawsuit against Kanakuk.

The now 37-year-old Summersett reports he was sexually abused by Peter “Pete” Newman, who was sentenced to two life terms plus 30 years in prison after a 2010 confession to crimes against children. Summersett says he was abused at his home in Texas by Newman in 2001 amid “Winter Trail,” during which representatives of the Missouri camp would travel to recruit new campers, sometimes staying…

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A CATHOLIC priest who served a parish in Reading has been charged with a series of sexual offences involving a child.

Father Peter Glas, who served at St Joseph’s Church, Tilehurst, has been charged with 10 offences in total, including eight counts of gross indecency with a child and two further counts of indecent assault on a child.

The Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth confirmed that Glas had been charged in relation to offences which occurred during his time in Jersey between 2002-2008, more than a decade before he worked in Reading.

He worked at St Joseph’s until the end of last year, having spent around 7 years at the church.

Glas was also reportedly working as an exorcist, though this is not formally recognised by any of his former, and is also outspoken in his disdain on issues such as premarital sex, homosexuality, gender transition, and intellectualism.

The States of…

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A 60-YEAR-OLD Catholic priest who specialised in exorcisms and worked as a youth church leader in the Island has appeared in the Magistrate’s Court charged with ten counts of sexually abusing a child in Jersey.

Piotr Antonio Glas, known as Peter when his Polish name is Anglicised, is alleged to have committed the crimes while working for the Catholic Deanery in Jersey under Monsignor Nicholas France.

Mr Glas is accused of sexually abusing a child under the age of 16 in a northern parish between 2002 and 2007. It was the Polish priest’s first appearance in court on Tuesday.

He had been on Centenier’s bail since returning to the Island from his UK home last week.

Advocate Adam Harrison, prosecuting for the Crown, detailed the allegations forming the eight counts of acts of gross indecency with a child.

He told the court that six of the gross indecency charges related…

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Law removed the statute of limitations for Maryland child sexual abuse lawsuits, allowing claims to be pursued against perpetrators and entities that enabled the conduct, regardless of how long ago the assault occurred.

A long-anticipated challenge to the Maryland Child Victims Act will go before the state’s highest court in September, to determine whether it is constitutional for the legislature to remove the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse lawsuits in Maryland.

The Maryland state legislature passed the new law in April 2023, allowing claims to be filed against abusers and institutions that enabled the conduct, regardless of how long ago the acts occurred. The legislation has been hailed as a landmark achievement for survivors of childhood sexual abuse, since many individuals are unable to reach a point where they seek justice until long after the typical statute of limitations has expired.

The Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023 was…

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Father Liudger Gottschlich, a priest from the Archdiocese of Paderborn, has dedicated over three decades to supporting survivors of abuse, drawing from his own experience as a victim of abuse by a priest at the age of eleven. On Tuesday, June 25, he was part of a special audience with Pope Francis at the Pope’s residence, Casa Santa Marta, in the Vatican.

The meeting, described as occurring in a «unique atmosphere,» was a poignant moment for Father Gottschlich and his fellow priests who have also experienced abuse. «As priests who have been victims ourselves, we are in a challenging position within the Church,» Gottschlich explained in an interview with Vatican Radio. He highlighted the isolation often felt by these priests, noting that their presence serves as a constant reminder of unresolved issues within the Church, which can make others uncomfortable.

Father Gottschlich shared that the encounter with Pope…

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aking over one of the most troubled dioceses in the country, Bishop Artur Wazny of Sosnowiec didn’t waste time ahead of his June 22 installation.

Just days short of his official start in the diocese, Wazny announced he has established Catholic Poland’s first independent diocesan investigation commission. “It’s about the truth,” he told OSV News.

During his June 22 installation at Sosnowiec cathedral, Wazne said, “we are not a church that has fallen and can no longer rise. We want to be a church that, having experienced such great difficulties, can get up by the power of the cross of Jesus.” Presiding at his installation Mass was the papal nuncio to Poland, Archbishop Guido Filipazzi.

Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Wazny’s predecessor, Bishop Grzegorz Kaszak, after a priest organized a “sexual orgy,” as reported by Polish media. The nunciature did not indicate in an Oct. 24, 2023, statement the reasons why Kaszak resigned at age 59…

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People with disability face a much higher risk of being abused than people without. In Rome, at the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Catholic Church is leading the charge in safeguarding those with disability.

Over 200 participants, representing 55 countries around the world, gathered for the International Safeguarding Conference to directly address the gaps in the Church’s care for those with special needs.

FR. HANS ZOLLNER
Director, Institute of Anthropology
The Church has huge potential in leading the path, given that the Church runs many homes for disabled people, many institutions worldwide. In some places, it is of course very much engaged already in this type of safeguarding for and with disabled people. In other places, as we have learned here, and mainly in Africa, Asia, parts of Latin America, there is a lack of awareness and there are, surely, very few people who are prepared.

Conference participants included bishops, practicioners, academics and…

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A Kansas City Assemblies of God pastor has been placed on leave and resigned from a local school board as police are investigating sexual misconduct and grooming allegations made against him, including one by a woman who says she was a child at the time. 

Epic Church KC announced Thursday that its board of directors has independently placed Lead Pastor Bobby Hawk on administrative leave pending further review of the allegations made against him in recent days. Bobby and Vanessa Hawk planted the church in 2009. 

The church has campuses in Independence, Missouri, and Pontiac, Michigan, and also operates the EPIC Center KC.

“Our board of directors has been working diligently for the past 36 hours since allegations were made against our Lead Pastor Bobby Hawk,” the announcement reads, adding that church staff have been instructed not to engage on social media or with the news media as…

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Justice must be seen to be done, and that is the case with both Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò and Fr. Marko Ivan Rupnik.

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò was summoned to appear at the Vatican on Thursday, to face charges of schism.

The former papal diplomat and consummate Vatican Insider-turned-conspiracy-theorist almost triumphantly announced the development over social media. Official media channels of the Vatican later picked up Viganò’s announcement.

A lot of what Viganò has said and done over the past several years has been utterly unhinged, but being looney-tunes is not eo ipso a crime. It is difficult to fathom, however, how some of what he has done wasn’t criminal according to Church law.

Viganò has repeatedly expressed doubt that Francis is the legitimate pope. He has said the Vatican Council II taught heresy (at least in nuce). Viganò has been accused of illicitly ordaining at least one priest—certainly a crime and an act reeking of…

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Dear Attorney General Bailey,

To help kids who are at risk of abuse now and adults who’ve already been abused, we’ve repeatedly asked you to take a few simple steps.

Three of them you repeatedly ignore. The fourth you claim you can’t do. (We’re adding a fifth today.)

Frankly, we’re insulted and frustrated by your unwillingness to even seriously entertain our very reasonable requests.

But our feelings are secondary. The safety of children is, of course, what matters most. And in our view, you are refusing to do your civic and moral duty to protect boys and girls from unscrupulous, untrained and abusive staff at dozens of essentially unregulated, controversial, ‘under the radar’ purportedly Christian boarding schools.

Fundamentally, we believe that ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way.’ We strongly believe you can do more than you’re doing now. And we know that it’s wrong of you passively and timidly sit back,…

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Friday was a very bad day for Dr. Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, but Ruffini ought not to be the sole or even the primary focus of attention.

The Vatican communications chief, Dr. Paolo Ruffini, faces mounting criticism from voices across the spectrum of opinion in the Church after he defended—on Friday, at the premier Catholic media event of the year in the United States—the use of digital and other reproductions of artwork by the accused serial rapist, Fr. Marko Ivan Rupnik.

A worldwide public scandal

You may not have heard Rupnik’s name, but if you are a Catholic who has darkened the door of a church in the past decade, you’ve seen his work. He designed the logo for the Year of Mercy. Rupnik’s Centro Aletti studio has an interactive catalog showing where Rupnik pieces and installations are in the world.

Rupnik is accused of sexually, psychologically, and…

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Gov. Ron DeSantis Friday OK’d a process for hundreds of elderly men known as the White House Boys to apply for reparations for beatings and rapes they endured as children while in state custody.  

The governor signed the Dozier School for Boys and Okeechobee School Victim Compensation bill (HB 21), according to state Sen. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, one of the bill’s backers.

The measure provides $20 million to distribute among an estimated 400 survivors for “physical, mental, or sexual abuse” that occurred between 1940 and 1975 at the two facilities that have since been closed.

“I want to thank the governor and the Senate and House leadership for (bringing) closure in a small way to these men who’ve been coming to Tallahassee for decades, telling their stories,” Rouson said in a phone interview on Friday.

“Money will never compensate them for the actual harm…

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Dover DE – Survivors of child sexual abuse who were previously barred from filing lawsuits due to the expiration of the former civil statute of limitations may soon be able to seek damages under new legislation.

House Bill 417, introduced by Laurel-area state Rep. Tim Dukes, would permit affected individuals to file claims in Superior Court at any time. This proposed legislation revisits the Child Victims Act enacted in 2007, which eliminated the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse legal claims going forward and allowed a two-year window for retroactive lawsuits.

Rep. Dukes says he sponsored the bill after a constituent reached out, explaining that they had been sexually abused as a child but were unable to seek civil damages because they missed the two-year filing period. Dukes says while the Child Victims Act allowed claims for some survivors, it excluded those abused as children in the 1990s and…

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The prefect of the Dicastery for Communication argued that destroying the works of the mosaic artist accused of multiple rapes and coercion was not a “Christian response.” In Rome and the Vatican, more than 40 places are adorned with mosaics by the former Jesuit.

The prefect for the Dicastery for Communications has argued against removing mosaics created by Marko Rupnik, the former Jesuit artist who is accused of numerous allegations of sexual abuse and abuse of power. 

During the Catholic Media Association’s annual conference held in Atlanta, in the southeastern United States June 21, Paolo Ruffini, the prefect, attended as a guest speaker and was questioned about the Vatican’s official websites’ regular use of Rupnik’s mosaics.

The Slovenian mosaic artist, well-known in the Catholic world, was expelled from his order, the Society of Jesus, in July 2023 amid numerous complaints from women accusing him of rape, molestation, and coercion, all…

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Gerard Gorman faced unimaginable horror as an 11-year-old boarder in County Armagh. The pain haunted him for decades – then he took on the church

It was November 1970 and Northern Ireland was sliding into the Troubles, but for Gerard Gorman, a new pupil at St Colman’s College, the horror of that era began when Fr Malachy Finegan summoned him into a room, closed the door and told him to sit on a sofa.

Gorman was 11 years old and small for his age, with big blue eyes. Two months earlier, he had started as a boarder at the Catholic boys’ school in Newry, County Armagh. Staff tended to be aloof or intimidating, except Finegan, the religious education teacher, who was solicitous and avuncular.

More than half a century later, Gorman can still picture the scene on that autumn day. He had been with other boys, running to the dormitory, when Finegan beckoned…

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Known as the Two by Twos (2×2) or The Church with No Name, ministers travel in pairs to member homes to spread the gospel. But now, disturbing allegations are coming to light.

Disturbing allegations of child sex abuse within a secretive religious sect of Christianity are being brought to light after several former members came forward to share their stories.

The sect is known as the Two by Twos (2×2) or The Church with No Name, and its ministers – who are called “workers” — travel in pairs from home to home of church members to spread the gospel.

But a recent year-long investigation conducted by ABC News, which aired on the season finale of IMPACT by Nightline, revealed that hundreds of people in the religious organization were sexually abused as children.

The allegations are so widespread that the FBI has started an investigation into the church, it…

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On the final day of the Catholic Media Conference in Atlanta, the prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication addressed questions posed by journalists about the dicastery’s regular practice of posting art by Fr. Marko Rupnik — a Rome-based priest accused of sexually abusing multiple women — on the Vatican News website and social media, especially to illustrate church feast days.

“As Christian(s), we are asked not to judge,” Paolo Ruffini said to a room full of communications professionals after giving an address at the CMC June 21. He explained that while the process of a Vatican investigation into Rupnik is still ongoing, “an anticipation of a decision is something that is not, in our opinion, is not good.”

“There are things we don’t understand,” he said. Ruffini also added they “did not put in any new photos” of Father Rupnik’s art, but rather have been using what they had….

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Court documents filed to the Rapides Parish Clerk of Court on, June 11, indicate that the Diocese of Alexandria faces a civil suit for damages caused by a former priest in the 1970s.

The accuser claimed that they were sexually abused as a minor by a priest employed at the Diocese of Alexandria, identified as Father Edmund Gagné.

Father Gagné was among those named by the Diocese of Alexandria in 2019 as having been accused of sexual misconduct and abuse of minors. According to BishopAccountability, Father Gagné was ordained in 1971 and was assigned to a church in Marksville for two months in 1974. He then transferred to Houston, TX, and was removed from public ministry in 1986. Father Gagné reportedly died in 1990.

The accuser alleges that while serving as an altar boy at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral in 1971 and 1972, they were…

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The now elderly man left teaching for the priesthood and served up to recently in a busy parish in the archdiocese of Dublin

A TEACHER-turned-priest is being investigated by An Garda Siochana following historic sex abuse allegations being made against him from his time teaching in Limerick, the Leader has learned.

The alleged offences date back some 40 years when he was working in a school in the city.

The now elderly man left teaching for the priesthood and served up to recently in a busy parish in the archdiocese of Dublin.

A garda spokesperson said: “Gardaí in Limerick have received a number of complaints of historical abuse by a male, alleged to have occurred in the 1970s and 1980s.”

As this is an ongoing investigation, the spokesperson said An Garda Síochána is not providing any further comment.

The Limerick Leader / Limerick Live also contacted the Archdiocese of Dublin…

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A Catholic priest, formerly with the Fall River Diocese, was found not guilty on multiple rape charges in Barnstable Superior Court.

According to the Cape Cod Times, Mark Hession was found not guilty Friday on two counts of rape that allegedly occurred between 2005 and 2008.

There was a mistrial on one count of indecent assault and battery on a child less than 14 that allegedly took place in 2002.

Hession’s attorney stated that the prosecution’s case was based on faulty testimony from an uncredible witness.

The Cape Cod Times stated that a 36-year-old man testified that he was sexually abused in 2002 while working on a science class project at the church. 

According to a list of clergy accused of child sexual abuse that was previously issued by the Fall River Diocese, Hession has served at St. Patrick Parish in Wareham, St. Joan of Arc in Orleans, Holy Name…

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Jim Gregory and Mark Rozzi may not see their efforts pay off before departing the Legislature.

After a 2011 grand jury investigation revealed the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia had covered up the sexual abuse of dozens of young parishioners by priests, lawmakers in Harrisburg took steps to give those who remained silent about their victimization a shot at justice.

More than 13 years later, survivors are still waiting.

Two members of the state legislature, Rep. Mark Rozzi (D-Berks) and Rep. Jim Gregory (R-Blair/Huntingdon), are among survivors of child sexual abuse. They have pushed for legislation which would give adult survivors a two-year window to sue their childhood abusers.

But both will leave the General Assembly later this year, likely before the goal comes to fruition.

Rozzi is retiring to focus on his mental health. Gregory lost his May primary. And with budget negotiations a seeming final opportunity to seek a…

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Predators are quite good at targeting and preying on churches because churches are easy targets. Unfortunately, religious organizations are less effective in stopping predators in the church. That we know. So, what can Christian churches do?

Catholics have been dealing – or not dealing – with sexual abuse of children for decades. The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is taking its time finding solutions to its scandal, which is more about men attacking women than child abuse. And the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA) is dealing with its own scandal, which is smaller but equally ugly.

Sexual abuse seems rampant in the church. It makes one wonder about how Christians go about stopping predators in the church.

Are Churches Enabling Sex Abusers?

Are churches enablers? The question is akin to asking whether a rape victim is enabling the rapist. But hear me out… or rather read what an expert says.

Nate…

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The head of the Vatican’s communications department is defending his office’s use of an accused sexual abuser’s art on its website.

The Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication of the Holy See, Italian layman Paolo Ruffini, offered his defense on Friday, June 21st, in response to questions from journalists attending his keynote address at the annual Catholic Media Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

“We did not put any new photos,” Ruffini said, “we just left what [images] there were.”

“I think this is the reason,” Ruffini said. “We didn’t decide what—what wasn’t in our charge to decide.”

The artist in question is  ex-Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik, who has been accused of abusing scores of victims—most of them women religious—over several decades, much of which he spent in Rome at the Centro Aletti art institute he founded in the early 1990s.

“We’re not talking about abuse of minors,” Ruffini told a room of roughly…

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Melanie Sakoda is an important figure in cataloguing the crimes of the Easter Orthodox Church. What is happening in Orthodoxy?

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Today, we are here with Melanie Sakoda. She is a long-time – some like the term activist, some like someone working for a morally correct cause. You had a lot more time to reflect on the work on this issue. My first question: How did you originally get involved in this work? Because you have been doing this for decades.

Melanie Sakoda: We had an incident in our Church in San Francisco where there was a layman who was a child abuser with multiple convictions. They were allowing him free rein in our parish. Many children got hurt, as far as we can tell. That started it. The reaction when the families came forward was such a backlash. We thought, “Oh my goodness, we are complaining about someone who…

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The Belgian Catholic Church has announced it is opening an online survey to hear from clerical abuse victims, as the religious organisation considers how to implement recommendations recently made by government inquiries into sexual abuse.

The survey will also gauge interest from victims in meeting Pope Francis when he visits Belgium in September of this year.

A documentary aired in September of last year by Flemish national broadcaster VRT, Godvergeten (which roughly translates to ‘Godforsaken’), sent shockwaves through the Flanders community and gave voice to victims of abuse perpetrated by religious figures within parish, school and family settings.

It shone a fresh light on historic abuses within the Belgian Catholic Church, and led to both the Federal and Flemish parliaments establishing separate committees of inquiry. Both parliaments published their final reports in May of this year, each making at least 100 recommendations on how to address child abuse…

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National Catholic Reporter, Global Sisters Report and EarthBeat won 44 honors in 33 categories at the 2024 Catholic Media Awards, including a first place for Global Sisters Report’s Spanish language edition in the best Spanish-language website category and second place for NCR for best national newspaper. NCR swept the “best investigative news writing” category, with Brian Fraga winning first and third place and Katie Collins Scott getting a second-place award. NCR also won first place for best editorial on a national or international issue and first place for a column by Michael Sean Winters. EarthBeat won in several categories, including first place for electronic newsletter.

GSR international correspondent Chris Herlinger and Latin America correspondent Rhina Guidos were honored with second place and honorable mention, respectively, as writers of the year. GSR’s signature series, “Hope Amid Turmoil: Sisters in Conflict Areas,” was recognized with three…

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Before evangelical leaders say a word about the upcoming election, abortion policy or drag queens, they must look at why sexual abuse is occurring in congregations.

An epidemic of sexual abuse involving evangelical church leaders is hurting victims across the country. Even worse, churches far too often have covered up the abuse.

While the evangelical church is not a monolith and all churches should not be blamed for the failures of some, there is a pattern of abuse in a number of churches going back years, even decades.

I’m an evangelical who has attended evangelical churches my whole life. Before evangelical leaders say a word about the upcoming election, abortion policy or drag queens, they must look at why and how this is happening − for the sake of victims and for the health of the church.

Robert Morris steps down amid abuse allegations

The most recent…

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“We’re not talking about abuse of minors,” said Dr. Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication of the Holy See, on Friday, 21st June 2024, in response to questions after an address given at the annual Catholic Media Conference.

The Vatican’s chief comms officer on Friday defended his department’s use of an accused serial rapist’s art.

“We’re not talking about abuse of minors,” said Dr. Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication of the Holy See, on Friday, 21st June 2024, in response to questions from journalists gathered in the Heritage Ballroom of the Atlanta Marriott Buckhead and Conference Center.

Ruffini was there to deliver the keynote address on the last day of the annual Catholic Media Conference and had opened the floor to queries, two of which came from Colleen Dulle of America Magazine and Paulina Guzik of OSVNews.

The…

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Children with psychological or intellectual disabilities and people who are deaf, blind or autistic are up to five times more likely to suffer abuse.

Safeguarding experts and abuse survivors met at the Gregorian University this week to address clerical abuse of disabled individuals, shedding light on the scope and challenges of this often unaddressed reality.

People living with psychological and physical disabilities are disproportionately more likely to become victims of physical, psychological and sexual abuse. Disabled children are 3.1 times more likely to be sexually abused and 3.9 times more likely to be emotionally abused, according to The Safeguarding Company.

Children with psychological or intellectual disabilities and people who are deaf, blind or autistic are up to 5 times more likely to suffer abuse.

The team of 350 experts in safeguarding and abuse prevention from 55 countries met June 18-21 for the annual International Safeguarding Conference organized by the Institute…

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Global experts said at a conference that the Catholic Church must prioritize safeguarding efforts for disabled persons, addressing biased beliefs and structural barriers to better integrate and protect them within the community.

To prevent abuse across the board, the Catholic Church must place disabled persons at the center of its safeguarding efforts and ministry, speakers said at an international safeguarding conference in Rome.

Hosted by the Pontifical Gregorian University’s Institute of Anthropology: Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care, the June 18-21 conference brought global experts to Rome to discuss the relationship between safeguarding and disability.

During the conference, Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, president of the institute, told Catholic News Service that the theme for this year’s edition of the conference was selected to bridge the gap that exists between safeguarding — referring to practices meant to address and prevent emotional, physical and sexual abuse — and caring for people…

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The 2024 Catholic Media Conference ended in Atlanta on a significantly sour note when Dr. Paolo Ruffini, the prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, relentlessly defended the use and preservation of the art of the Jesuit priest and artist Marko Rupnik, despite repeated questions and objections from the audience composed mostly of Catholic journalists from the U.S. and Canada.

On Friday, June 21, Ruffini delivered the closing noon keynote conference at the Atlanta Marriott Buckhead & Conference Center, addressing uncontroversial issues regarding the importance of reaching out to a universal audience.

But it was during the following Q&A session when attending journalists focused most of their concerns and comments on what OSV News editor Paulina Guzik described as “the dicastery’s regular practice of posting art by Father Marko Rupnik — a Rome-based priest accused of sexually abusing multiple women — on the Vatican News website…

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The prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication told a group of Catholic journalists Friday that removing artwork by disgraced religious artist and alleged serial sexual abuser Fr. Marko Rupnik is “not the Christian response.”

“I don’t think we have to throw stones, thinking it is the way of healing someone,” said Paolo Ruffini, according to video footage of his remarks obtained by The Pillar. “The Christian faith is saying other things. Jesus said other things.”

Ruffini, who since 2018 has headed the Vatican communications department, spoke at a Catholic Media Conference gathering in Atlanta on June 21.

During a Q-and-A session after his talk, Ruffini was asked why his dicastery’s website continues to use Rupnik’s artwork. He was also asked what message he would like to give abuse victims.

Ruffini claimed that the Church’s closeness to victims “is clear,” but that it is necessary to wait for the Dicastery for…

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Attorneys say that despite the Archdiocese determining in 1993 Fr. Keehan had “credible” allegations of child sexual abuse, he was allowed to remain as head pastor and regularly sexually abused students

Stinar Gould Grieco & Hensley, PLLC, and Levy Konigsberg, LLP announce the filing of another lawsuit on behalf of a fourth St. Ann’s student alleging sexual abuse against the Catholic Bishop of Chicago (aka the Archdiocese of Chicago) surrounding Fr. Keehan’s tenure at St. Ann’s Elementary School and Parish in Chicago. The complaint outlines Fr. Keehan’s extensive history of abusing minors, which began in 1967, shortly after his ordination. In 1993, the Archdiocese’s Professional Fitness Review Board determined that there was at least one “credible” allegation of child sexual abuse involving Fr. Keehan, and concluded he posed too significant a danger to ever be left alone with any minors. Despite this finding, the Archdiocese allowed Fr. Keehan to continue…

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A priest in Tennessee already facing multiple sexual abuse charges has been served with two additional battery charges this month, police have revealed. 

A grand jury earlier this month returned a superseding indictment against Father Juan Carlos Garcia-Mendoza, charging him with two additional counts of sexual battery, according to a press release from the Franklin, Tennessee, Police Department. 

In February, Garcia was indicted on eight other charges, including continuous abuse of a child, aggravated sexual battery, four counts of sexual battery by an authority figure, and two counts of sexual battery.

The priest is being held in jail in Williamson County, Tennessee, on $2 million bond, the police said. He had previously served at St. Philip Catholic Church in the town of Franklin.

The Diocese of Nashville had said in a press release in January that it first learned of accusations against Garcia in November…

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Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano has been summoned to the Vatican on charges of schism, according to a statement released by Vatican-based US journalist Robert Moynihan.

The former papal nuncio to the US, Archbishop Vigano gained much public attention in 2018 when he published a letter accusing Pope Francis of covering up the allegations of sexual abuse against Theodore McCarrick. In the letter, Vigano called on everyone who covered up McCarick’s abuses, including Pope Francis, to resign from their duties.

Since then, Archbishop Vigano has garnered attention for his outspoken criticism of coronavirus restrictions, and his rejection of the Second Vatican Council. In December 2023 he opened a seminary, Collegium Traditionis, for priests and seminarians to receive formation without being “subjected to the blackmail of having to accept the errors of Vatican II.”

Archbishop Vigano responded to his summons with a public letter, saying, “I regard the accusations against me as an honor.” In his letter, he refers…

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Joyce Harper, 74, alleges in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that Oblate priest George Mahoney sexually abused her and another girl after mass at Our Mother of Sorrows Church in Centreville, Maryland, in 1960. Harper was just 10 at the time, she said.

A woman is suing the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, a Catholic order based in Delaware, for sexual abuse she says she suffered as a young girl at the hands of a priest in Maryland more than 60 years ago.

Joyce Harper, 74, alleges in a lawsuit filed Wednesday and obtained and reviewed by Inside Edition Digital that she was only 10 when Oblate Priest George Mahoney sexually abused her and another girl after mass at Our Mother of Sorrows Church in Centreville, Maryland.

Mahoney died in 1971.

The lawsuit says that in 1960, Mahoney invited Harper and three other girls to help him count…

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An associate pastor at St. Philip Catholic Church who was indicted earlier this year on sexual abuse charges is facing more charges in a new indictment.

A Williamson County grand jury returned a superseding indictment on June 5 charging Rev. Juan Carlos Garcia- Mendoza with two additional counts of sexual battery.

Garcia-Mendoza was originally indicted in February with one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, one count of aggravated sexual battery, four counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and two counts of sexual battery.

He was ordained to the priesthood in 2020 at St. Rose of Lima in Murfreesboro and was assigned to St. Philip in July 2022.

St. Philip officials reported to the Diocese of Nashville Safe Environment Office in November 2023 that a teen in the parish had made a report of improper touching involving Garcia-Mendoza, records show. The diocese said Friday that Garcia-Mendoza…

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Jim Gregory and Mark Rozzi may not see their efforts pay off before departing the Legislature.

After a 2011 grand jury investigation revealed the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia had covered up the sexual abuse of dozens of young parishioners by priests, lawmakers in Harrisburg took steps to give those who remained silent about their victimization a shot at justice.

More than 13 years later, survivors are still waiting.

Two members of the state legislature, Rep. Mark Rozzi (D-Berks) and Rep. Jim Gregory (R-Blair/Huntingdon), are among survivors of child sexual abuse. They have pushed for legislation which would give adult survivors a two-year window to sue their childhood abusers.

But both will leave the General Assembly later this year, likely before the goal comes to fruition.

Rozzi is retiring to focus on his mental health. Gregory lost his May primary. And with budget negotiations a seeming final opportunity to seek a…

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A Barnstable Superior Court jury found Mark Hession, the former Cape Cod priest accused of rape, not guilty Friday on two counts of rape alleged to have occurred between 2005 and 2008.

The jury deadlocked, however, on one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, alleged to have taken place in 2002.

Judge Mark C. Gildea declared a mistrial on the charge of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, saying the jury was “hopelessly deadlocked.” A status hearing on the indictment will be held Aug. 19 in Barnstable Superior Court.

Outside the courthouse following the verdict, Hession and his defense team, attorneys Frank C. Corso and Paolo G. Corso, and said they had no comment on the verdict.

“We believed in our case,” said Cape and Islands District Attorney Rob Galibois following the verdict. “I want to recognize the victim’s courage…

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Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children detectives arrested a Palmetto pastor Friday afternoon for possession of child pornography.

On Thursday, detectives received information that Jonathan Edward Elwing, senior pastor of Palm View Baptist Church, used cryptocurrency to make an online purchase of child sexual abuse material.

A search warrant was executed Friday at the church and Elwing’s home. Detectives found four sexually explicit images of children on his cell phone. Probable cause was developed to charge Elwing with four counts of possession of child pornography.

He was taken into custody and booked at the Manatee County Jail. Elwing resigned from his position as pastor of the church before being arrested.

The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information about potential crimes involving Elwing is asked to contact the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office at 941-747-3011, or to remain anonymous and to be eligible for a cash reward, contact Manatee County…

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A former Texas youth pastor appeared before a Lubbock County judge on Thursday on charges he sexually assaulted a child.

Luke Cunningham, 41, former student minister at Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury, was arrested Wednesday by U.S. Marshalls, according to a Lubbock County jail intake sheet.

Cunningham is accused of inappropriate conduct with a minor who is not part of the Lakeside Baptist congregation, according to a statement released by the church.

He has since been fired from Lakeside Baptist.

Prior to Lakeside, Cunningham served as the student pastor at Turning Point Community Church in Lubbock from 2016 to 2020, according to published reports.

Emails reaching out for comment to Turning Point were not returned.

However, in a statement released by Lakeside Baptist Church, church leaders said they “immediately reported” Cunningham to Texas authorities in Lubbock and Granbury. The statement added that the…

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Luke Cunningham, a former youth pastor at four Texas churches, was arrested June 19 by United States marshals in Shallowater, Texas, a small town 11 miles west of Lubbock, on one count of sexual assault of a child.

While in jail June 20, he was arrested again on two additional charges, one for sexual assault of a child and one for aggravated sexual assault of an adult.

Cunningham has served Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury, Texas; Turning Point Community Church in Lubbock; North Forth Worth Baptist Church in Fort Worth; and Agape Baptist Church (now defunct), Fort Worth.

He was arraigned on June 20, and his bond was set at $200,000, then another $300,000 was added to the bond with the new charges. He is currently being held in the Lubbock County jail. A staff member of the clerk’s office of the Lubbock County Criminal District Court indicated to Baptist News…

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Elders at Gateway Church in the Dallas area claim that until recently, they didn’t know the woman with whom Robert Morris had a “moral failing” in the 1980s was only 12 years old. However, emails released today by the attorney for the alleged victim, Cindy Clemishire, call that claim into question.

Clemishire claims Morris molested her over a four-year period in the 1980s, beginning when she was 12 years old. On Tuesday, four days after Clemishire’s claims became public, Morris resigned from Gateway Church, a multi-site megachurch in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

“Men that have over 100 counts of child molestation go to prison,” wrote Clemishire in a September 20, 2005, email to Robert Morris. “Men who pastor churches that have over 100 counts of child molestation go to prison and pay punitive damages. You have not had to do either. I do not believe that is fair or right.”

Though the…

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A secret recording reveals how church elders broke the news of Pastor Robert Morris’ resignation to staff members at the Texas megachurch he founded.

Four days after they learned of decades-old child sex abuse allegations against their senior pastor, Robert Morris, hundreds of Gateway Church employees filed into an auditorium in Southlake, Texas, on Tuesday to learn his fate.

Some staff members appeared solemn as they found their seats. Others looked angry. One attendee pulled out her cellphone and secretly hit record. Later, she shared the audio with NBC News and described the meeting in an interview. A second person who attended confirmed her account and the recording’s authenticity.

Kenneth W. Fambro II, a real estate executive who serves on Gateway’s board of elders, struggled through tears as he delivered the news that employees had come to hear: Morris, one of the nation’s most prominent evangelical leaders,  View Cache

The head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication has defended his department’s use of expelled Jesuit priest Marko Rupnik’s artwork in its official materials.

In a question-and-answer session with journalists at the annual Catholic Media Conference in Atlanta, Ga., on June 21, Paolo Ruffini, head of the dicastery, affirmed that while his department would not publish any new photos of the disgraced priest’s artwork, existing images of the art will remain on its website for now, with no plans for removal.

“To have an anticipation of a decision is something that in our opinion is not good,” Mr. Ruffini said in a question posed by America, referring to the ongoing investigation by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith into allegations of sexual and spiritual abuse by Father Rupnik.

However, according to reports, the dicastery has continued to feature Father Rupnik’s artwork in several new publications.

Mr. Ruffini attended the…

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“A deep sadness.”

That was the first emotion Jay, a member of the Gros Ventre Tribe, said he felt as he read an apology issued by the U.S. bishops for the Catholic Church’s mistreatment of Indigenous people.

Jay attended the now-closed St. Paul Mission Grade School on the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana, where he says he was sexually abused by a religious sister, often in front of a statue of Jesus, and by a priest in a remote location in the mountains. He was 11 years old.

“I thought of those small little children, younger than me, at boarding schools miles from home,” said the 70-year-old, whose nickname is being used to protect his privacy. “It’s an awful thing.”

His own horrors have not left his head or heart, he said. “I will never really get away from them. Not until I die.”

Jay was among a number of…

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SÃO PAULO, Brazil – Prosecutors in Bolivia have reopened the case of a Catalan-born Jesuit priest who spoke about hundreds of child abuse cases in his diary.

The abuse happened especially in Indigenous communities between the 1990s and the early 2000s. A number of his superiors were informed of his actions and failed to take any measure, his accusers say.

The story of late Father Luis María Roma, who died in 2019 without ever being punished, was published by Spanish newspaper El Pais on June 16.

It recalled the equally monstrous case of Father Alfonso Pedrajas, another Spanish-born Jesuit who worked in Bolivia and wrote down in his diary dozens of child abuse acts he perpetrated over decades.

The article described how Roma, known as Padre Lucho, systematically abused and took pictures of hundreds of Indigenous girls – especially members of the Guaraní people – between 1994-2005, when he was a missionary…

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Child abuse survivors may have more time as adults to file lawsuits against their perpetrators under a new law. It’s a measure meant to strengthen efforts to hold organizations such as the Catholic Church accountable for decades of mistreatment.

Louisiana’s original “lookback window” for civil suits over older child abuse allegations was set to expire Friday, but the Louisiana Legislature approved Senate Bill 246 to extend the period another three years, until June 14, 2027. Lawmakers approved the new deadline without any objections, though Gov. Jeff Landry did not sign the bill before it became law earlier this month

The proposal is the latest attempt to get relief for adults who were abused as children but are no longer able to pursue criminal charges because the perpetrator is deceased or the applicable statute of limitations has lapsed.

People who only come to terms with their mistreatment later in life often…

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“We failed to keep these children safe. We failed to listen when they spoke out. We failed to act to ensure that it did not happen again.”

Familiar words in the mouths of bishops apologising for sexual abuse by priests.

But this time it was not a bishop reading this dog-eared script, but the premier of the Australian state of Victoria, Jacinta Allen, apologising for sexual abuse by government school teachers. She was responding this week to a heart-rending report about abuse in a primary school in the bayside suburb of Beaumaris, about 20 kilometres from Melbourne.

In 1971 and 1972 four paedophile teachers coincided at Beaumaris and abused scores of children. They began their abhorrent activity in the 1960s and continued into the 1970s. A board of inquiry was set up last year by the state government to investigate their crimes. It eventually looked into all 23 schools where they had…

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Today, June 20, 2024, the disgraced former apostolic nuncio to the US, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, posted on X that an “extrajudicial trial for schism” against him is scheduled to begin today at 3:30 p.m., at the Palace of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF). He shared an image of the summons from the DDF, dated June 11 and signed by Msgr. John J. Kennedy, the Secretary for the Disciplinary Section.

Viganò states in his post that he received the notice in a “simple email” and that he is accused “of having committed the crime of schism and charging me of having denied the legitimacy of ‘Pope Francis,’ of having broken communion ‘with Him’ and of having rejected the Second Vatican Council.” He adds, “I assume that the sentence has already been prepared, given that it is an extrajudicial process.”

In the summons, Msgr….

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Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, former papal nuncio to the United States, has been charged by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith with the canonical crime of schism. 

The outspoken former Vatican diplomat published Thursday morning images of his citation in an extrajudicial process, authorized by the congresso of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s members on May 10. 

According to the citation, dated June 11, the DDF’s senior membership voted to proceed with Viganò’s prosecution via an abbreviated extrajudical process, as opposed to a full canonical trial, and have ordered the former Vatican ambassador to appeal at the dicastery in Rome to answer the charges on June 20, either in person or via formal legal representation.

The charge of schism, which is defined by canon law as the “refusal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to…

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The Vatican’s former nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, said on Thursday that he has been summoned by the Vatican to face charges of schism.

The archbishop posted the two-page decree from the Vatican’s Dicastry for the Doctrine of Faith ordering him to appear for extrajudicial trial, citing as evidence “public statements that show a denial of the necessary elements to maintain communion with the Catholic Church.”

It also cited the denial of the legitimacy of Pope Francis, breaking communion with the pontiff, and rejecting Vatican Council II.

Vigano said he regarded the accusations “as an honor.” He restated his rejection of Vatican Council II, calling it “the ideological, theological, moral and liturgical cancer of which the (Francis’) ‘synod church’ is the necessary metastasis.’’

The two-page decree dated June 11 signed by Monsignor John J. Kennedy, secretary of the disciplinary section, said he had until June 28…

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ROME – A Vatican decree published on social media by Italian Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, a former nuncio to the United States who has accused Pope Francis of abuse coverup, states that he has been accused of schism.

In a decree dated June 11, 2024, the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) ordered Viganò, who served as apostolic nuncio to the United States from 2011-2016, to present himself at the DDF offices at 3:30p.m. on Thursday, June 20, to answer to charges of schism. The decree was signed by Monsignor John Kennedy, secretary of the DDF’s disciplinary section.

The decree, published on social media by Viganò himself and broadly reported in international media, said he was summoned “so that he may take note of the accusations and evidence regarding the crime of schism of which he has been accused.”

These charges, according to the decree, are based…

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Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò on Thursday claimed that the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has initiated proceedings against him over the alleged crime of schism.

Citing a document he published on his website and posted on social media, the former papal nuncio to the United States wrote that he was summoned to Rome on June 20 to face an extrajudicial penal process for the charges.

“I have been summoned to the Palace of the Holy Office on June 20, in person or represented by a canon lawyer,” the prelate wrote on X. “I assume that the sentence has already been prepared, given that it is an extrajudicial process.”

The specific charges outlined against Viganò involve making public statements that allegedly deny the fundamental elements necessary to maintain communion with the Catholic Church. This includes denying the legitimacy of Pope Francis as the rightful pontiff…

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The founding pastor of a nondenominational church near Melbourne, Australia, is refusing to resign after a seven-month investigation by a group of interim elders found him to be disqualified from ministry on a dozen counts. In addition, more than 30 people with ties to the congregation have alleged spiritual and physical abuse and manipulation, the interim elders say.

The pastor—Larry Sebastian of Casey City Church—is also accused of covering up the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl in 2013, berating staff members, and harassing a former employee by repeatedly showing up at her home after she resigned.

Sebastian denies the allegations.

In November 2023, the interim elders presented their findings and recommendations to the congregation. In a separate meeting, they also presented the findings to a group of approximately 60 whistleblowers, victims, and allies who no longer feel welcome at the church.

In a video of the whistleblower meeting that The…

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