ABUSE TRACKER

Prosecutors allege that a Victory Outreach pastor was informed that a church choir leader may have assaulted a teen girl in 2021 but did not report it to authorities, as state law requires

A South Bay pastor pleaded not guilty Thursday to a charge that he failed to report suspected sexual abuse of a teen girl by a church choir leader.

The case marks the first time that San Diego County prosecutors have charged someone in connection with an alleged failure to report abuse, as the law requires of people such as teachers, social workers, clergy members and several others.

The pastor of Victory Outreach in San Ysidro, Eric Manuel Merino, 43, faces up to six months in custody and a $1,000 fine if convicted of the sole count.

Asked for comment, Merino’s attorney Brian Carter said in an email that his client is “troubled” by the accusation that he…

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The Albany Roman Catholic Diocese said Saturday it found reasonable cause in a sexual abuse allegation against a priest who died almost 23 years ago following an investigation

The diocese said in a statement it will add the late Rev. J. Gregory Mulhall to its List of Credibly Accused in an abuse case of a vulnerable adult. The survivor in this case came forward with a formal complaint in 2023, sharing details needed for an investigation, the diocese said. A review board recommended to Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger that there was sufficient evidence to support the allegation as credible and the bishop has accepted the recommendation.

“Sadly, the survivor passed away before the investigation concluded,” the diocese said. 

Mulhall retired in 1985 after serving about 24 years at the Annunciation Church in the Herkimer County village of Ilion. He died Nov. 14, 2001, at the age of 90 at Our Lady of Hope Residence…

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• An investigation uncovered sexual abuse at Native American boarding schools 
• Tens of thousands were forced to the schools between 1819 and 1969  
• Read more: Mass grave found at Indigenous boarding school in South Dakota 

For over 100 years, Native American children were subjected to ruthless sexual abuse at the hands of priests and teachers after being forced to live in culture-destroying boarding schools, an investigation has revealed. 

Through a systematic effort to eviscerate Native American society, the federal government sent tens of thousands of children to over 500 boarding schools across America between 1819 and 1969. 

While the measures were intended to seize indigenous land and rid generations of Native Americans of their identity, an investigation by the Washington Post revealed how they also opened the door to sickening sexual abuse. 

Deborah Parker, a citizen of the Tulalip Tribes and the chief executive of the National Native American Boarding…

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Eleven years after he was first investigated for an “inappropriate relationship” with a minor, a Stanislaus County volunteer coach has been arrested on multiple felony charges for sex acts with a minor after he was discovered in a parked car with a girl who “looked young.”

David Odom, who volunteered as a coach two high schools and a local church, was well-known to adults for his inappropriate behavior with minor girls, including holding the hands of former students in public.

Other witnesses told investigators that Odom was fired from a position at Hughson High School due to repeated inappropriate relationships.

According to Fox 40 News:

Odom was terminated from that position after being seen holding hands with a former female student, according to Superintendent Brenda Smith.

“David Odom… was fired after staff observed him holding hands with a former female student who was 18 years old at the time,” according…

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Lawyers representing claimants against St. John’s archdiocese urge court to facilitate compensation process, saying at least nine elderly claimants have died

Lawyers representing victims of abuse by members of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John’s say they are concerned with the way the claims settlement process is going, and fear the longer it drags on, the fewer claimants will be left to bene t from it.

Many of the abuse claimants have died waiting for justice, lawyers Geoff Budden and Bob Buckingham told Justice Garrett Handrigan in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court Thursday. Related stories Survivors of abuse by members of St. John’s Archdiocese won’t see their compensation yet ‘We’re a wounded province and it delays us all from healing’: Compensation process delays for N.L. clergy abuse survivors disappointing, says advocate Lawyers concerned over delay as insurance company wants ‘11th hour, 59th minute’ involvement in St. John’s archdiocese…

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This isn’t the first time Vatican News has decided to use the controversial art.

The Vatican is once again drawing criticism for using the artwork of Father Marko Ivan Rupnik in a Vatican News article on the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 7.

Father Rupnik, a priest and artist, has been accused of spiritual, psychological, and sexual abuse of religious sisters. He was removed from the Jesuits last June, and the Vatican has announced that Rupnik will face a canonical process over the abuse allegations after Pope Francis decided to waive the statute of limitations on the claims.

Father Rupnik was briefly excommunicated in 2019 for absolving a woman with whom he had a sexual relationship in confession. His excommunication was lifted, and he continues his priestly duties in a Slovenian diocese. 

The Vatican also used Father Rupnik’s artwork recently for the Solemnity of the Most…

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As the Southern Baptist Convention prepares for its annual gathering next week in Indianapolis, few in the abuse survivor community hold any expectation that it will make meaningful progress toward protecting kids and congregants against clergy sex abuse.

It’s now been more than five years since the “Abuse of Faith” investigatory series brought national attention to the pervasive sexual abuse and cover-up problem in the country’s largest Protestant faith group. The six-part series, jointly published by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News, documented more than 700 people who were sexually abused by Southern Baptist clergy and church staff, nearly all of them children at the time of the abuse.

Survivors and advocates immediately recognized this was just “the tip of the iceberg.” And even J.D. Greear, SBC president at the time, acknowledged the number likely represented “only a fraction of the actual amount of abuse that occurs in SBC churches.”

The “Abuse of…

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On June 6, the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth (ACNA) published a resolution calling for a moratorium on ordaining women.

At an Anglican theological conference in January, UK priest and political commentator The Rev. Calvin Robinson stirred up a long-simmering controversy when he called women’s ordination a “slippery slope” akin to a “Trojan horse” and to “cancer.”

“This is how the liberal infestation of the church began,” Robinson insisted. “The doors were left open for the Marxist ideologies to gain a foothold, gender theory, queer theory, critical race theory — it all began with feminism.”

Robinson’s provocative remarks, delivered in an Anglican Church in North America diocese that ordains women, led to his removal from the remainder of the event. Months later, nearly 300 ACNA clergy have signed an open letter opposing women’s ordination to the priesthood, a wedge issue that has divided ACNA members since its inception in 2009, and an…

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Julio Sandoval was dean of students at Agape Boarding School in Cedar County before leaving to become director of ABM Ministries’ Lighthouse Christian Academy near Piedmont. 
He’s been accused in lawsuits of abusing boys, faces a federal criminal charge in California and was found to have abused or neglected students at a southwest Missouri boarding school.

Yet across the state earlier this year, Julio Sandoval was running another school, one that is now closed and under investigation for abusing students during the past two decades.

The school — Lighthouse Christian Academy, operated by ABM Ministries — shut down three months ago after its owners were charged with kidnapping a student.

Wayne County Sheriff Dean Finch said when he began investigating after a string of runaways at ABM, he was “very surprised” to see Sandoval, who was indicted in California in a case involving his side business that transported students to boarding…

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The Catholic Church organization estimates it could face between $500 million and $1 billion in liability from child sex abuse lawsuits in Maryland.

Hundreds of claims have been presented against the Baltimore Archdiocese following the passage of a new law, which eliminated the statute of limitation for the filing of child sexual assault lawsuits in Maryland, clearing the way for individuals to pursue damages from entities that enabled predators to abuse children, regardless of how long ago the incidents occurred.

Just before the Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023 went into effect last October, the Archdiocese of Baltimore declared bankruptcy in anticipation of the child sex abuse lawsuits, which required all potential claimants to file notice of their claim in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland by May 31, 2024.

According to a report by The Baltimore Sun, at least 700 claims were filed by…

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Pilgrims on the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage have been given instructions aimed at avoiding controversy over disgraced artist Fr. Marko Rupnik when they visit Washington, D.C.’s John Paul II Shrine on Saturday.

A spokesperson for the National Eucharistic Congress told The Pillar that perpetual pilgrims on the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage have been directed not to pose for photographs June 8 in front of mosaics designed and created by Rupnik, who was expelled from the Jesuit order last year, and who has been accused of sexually abusing some 30 religious sisters. 

Some of the allegations against the priest involve claims of sexual abuse which reportedly occurred directly in the context of designing and creating his works of art.

According to the spokesperson, pilgrims have also been instructed not to go together into the John Paul II Shrine’s Luminous Mysteries Chapel, in which prominent murals were designed and created by Rupnik.

They will also reportedly avoid…

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Jury selection started on Thursday morning in the trial for the former Cape Cod priest charged with rape.

Mark Hession faces two counts of rape and one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, according to the clerk’s office. A count of intimidating a witness was dropped. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in January of 2021.

Cape and Islands Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Halprin Isaacs will prosecute the case. Hession is represented by attorneys Frank C. Corso and Paolo G. Corso of Corso Law LLC.

The first pool of about 50 potential jurors filed into a Barnstable Superior Court courtroom where Judge Mark C. Gildea told them the details of the case.

Hession is alleged to have assaulted an individual with the “intent to commit rape and did commit rape upon such person” on multiple occasions between 2005 and 2008 in Barnstable County, according to…

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An update into historical abuse was released today.

CLOSE TO 300 people have reported instances of being abused by lay staff members and clergy at Spiritan schools, with the vast majority having occurred at Blackrock College and Willow Park Junior School.

The Blackrock College Union of past pupils released an update on its website today in relation to historical abuse suffered by former pupils of schools run by the Spiritan Order. These include Blackrock College and Willow Park, as well other schools such as Templeogue College and Rockwell in Tipperary. 

According to the update (from the Restore Together group), to date 49 Spiritan clergy and 12 lay members of staff have been reported for abuse by over 290 people. Two priests have been jailed, though many of the perpetrators are dead.

“The vast majority of cases relate to Willow Park and Blackrock College,” the group said. 

“As with many institutions involved…

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Florida pastor Alan Brumback believes a fence at the top of a cliff always beats an ambulance at the bottom. He takes the philosophy to heart in guarding First Baptist Church of Naples against sexual abuse.

“We take this seriously,” Brumback told Baptist Press. “We want the church to be the safest place that people can go where the vulnerable are not exploited and Christ and the Gospel are the main things.”

As a charter member of the Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention (ECAP), First Baptist Naples at least annually conducts mandatory training for all church employees, requires background checks and screenings for all staff and volunteers – with periodic updates, provides sexual abuse prevention resources and conducts a counseling ministry.

“To be a charter member of ECAP — and we really wanted to be on the frontend of this — was important for us,”…

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Two women recently told their stories of sexual abuse by a man who served as their youth pastor years ago – and now they say the same man was recently spotted at a newly-opened art studio for children in Lincoln Square.

The women are asking the City of Chicago to do something.

“His wife just opened up a children’s play space, art space business,” said Ellen Kim.

John Kim, the man who called himself youth pastor at the Salvation Army Mayfair Community Church years ago, is now a convicted felon for aggravated battery. A photo also appears to show him at the Bunny Ears Art House, at 4541 N. Lincoln Ave. in the Lincoln Square neighborhood.

His wife is the co-owner.

“For her to open a business, that in turn tells us that you are still willing to have him around you – and you’re around children,”…

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Three leaders at televangelist Mark Barclay’s Michigan church face charges of sexual assault. Now, the latest leader to be involved is facing additional charges, according to Midland County Circuit Court records.

Randy Saylor, associate pastor at Living Word International Church in Midland, Michigan, was charged with three new charges of second-degree criminal sexual conduct at a pre-exam conference on Tuesday. Two of the charges involve a minor while the other involves someone he was related to, according to court records.

In May, Saylor, was charged with two other second-degree criminal sexual conduct charges, The Roys Report (TRR) previously reported.

Saylor, 71, faces a total of five criminal sexual conduct charges that will be tried in two separate cases. All of the charges are connected to alleged acts that occurred between 2016 to 2019, according to court records.

Saylor posted a $50,000 bond on Tuesday and is due back in court…

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A South Bay pastor was arraigned in a San Diego County Court on Thursday for allegedly failing to report sexual abuse of a teenage choir member at the hands of a member of his church’s congregation, the district attorney’s office said.

Victory Outreach Church pastor Eric Manuel Merino, 43, was charged with one misdemeanor count of violating the state’s mandated reporter law, stemming from the arrest and conviction of 27-year-old Rafael Valentin Magana for sexual abuse of a teenager.

Magana was accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl back in 2021 while he was transporting her home from a baby shower held by another member of the congregation. He was found guilty in April on one felony count of a lewd act on a minor.Steele Canyon High School aide arrested for allegedly offering alcohol to students

Now, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan is turning to…

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Once again, the powerful have prevailed and the vulnerable cast aside. Such is the way with the Southern Baptist Convention.

The latest version of the sexual abuse task force has released their latest recommendations. This one weaker than the last. And why? Because those in power just want this all to go away. More words that’ll result in no real action. And they’ll place the foxes in charge of the hen house…again.

In the latest communique from the latest version of the sexual abuse task force, they began with self-praise, claiming they “worked aggressively” and “vigorously pursued” priorities and “made substantial progress.” All of that may sound good to the SBC base, and perhaps it keeps the donations flowing, but to us survivors, it sounds as though they’re using some bizarre up-is-down kind of dictionary. In reality, abuse reform progress is nearly non-existent and at best wholly stalled. Worse, the…

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Pietro Orlandi, the brother of a 15-year-old girl whose 1983 disappearance remains the most notorious unsolved Vatican mystery of the 20th century, has called a new Vatican investigation of the case announced in January 2023 a “farce.”

“I had great enthusiasm for this investigation,” Orlandi said June 4. “Unfortunately, I’ve come to understand that for me, sincerely, that investigation is a farce. They’re not doing anything.”

“I asked people close to Pope Francis to ask the pope, who requested this investigation, if he’s aware of what the people to whom he entrusted it are doing, because it’s the exact opposite of what they should be doing,” he said.

Orlandi’s comments came during a June 4 public event in Milan, where he appeared during a discussion of Italy’s femicide crisis along with Father Patrizio Coppola, a well-known Italian priest known as “Father Joystick” for having founded a video game development academy for…

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Kevin White, 67, was charged with raping a student at the school between 2008 and 2009.

A Suffolk County grand jury indicted a former Boston College High School teacher and priest on Friday for allegedly raping a student at the school between 2008 and 2009, according to Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden.

Kevin White, 62, of Weston, will be arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court on June 27 on one count of rape and abuse of a child, according to a press release from Hayden’s office. 

The release said White was a theology teacher at the school and lived outside of Massachusetts from 2010 to 2021. 

“All teachers, and all religious officials, are figures of authority and have a professional and moral obligation to always wield that authority properly and appropriately,” Hayden said in a statement. “Our office will provide this former student continual support as this case moves forward.”

Douglas…

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Kevin White was a theology teacher at Boston College High School, prosecutors said.

A Jesuit priest and former Boston College High School teacher is accused of raping a student over 10 years ago.

Kevin White, 62, was charged with one count of rape and abuse of a child, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said.

The incident happened at the school between 2008 and 2009, according to prosecutors.

Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673, and Massachusetts provides this list of statewide and resources for sexual assault survivors.

White, who lived outside of Massachusetts from 2010 to 2021, was indicted by a grand jury last week, authorities said. He will be arraigned on June 27.

The 62-year-old Weston man was a theology teacher at Boston College High School, prosecutors said.

…

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The Irish priest who heads up Vatican investigations into allegations of abuse has said he’d like to see more transparency in dealing with victims and their families.  “If I had a child who was abused by a priest, I would want to know the status of the case.”  “It’s a question that’s discussed in the office, it’s something to have in mind for the future, but not too distant of a future,” he said.

Monsignor John Joseph Kennedy from Dublin is Secretary of the Disciplinary Section of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), and is one of the Holy See’s leading authorities when it comes to investigating instances of clerical abuse and handing out punishments for abusers.

Mons Kennedy confirmed that Cardinal Fernández, after his appointment as prefect, only handles doctrinal cases such as heresy, apostasy and schism, and that “he leaves to me and the…

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Editor’s note: Names of some survivors are omitted to respect their privacy.

Since the exposure of sex abuser Pete Newman at Kanakuk Kamps in 2009, a growing community of child sex abuse survivors and justice advocates has formed. In interviews with BNG, survivors, former campers and camp counselors and other Kanakuk attendees shared that over the years, efforts have consistently been made to sweep stories of abuse under the rug.

But years later, they are telling their stories.

The website “Facts About Kanakuk” serves as an online database of information about Kanakuk-related sex crimes and offers space for survivors to share their stories. Sources told BNG they have accrued child sex abuse allegations from more than 200 survivors or sources against “about 60 unique perpetrators dating from 1958 to today.” They know of at least 17 survivor suicides.

Multiple survivors emphasized that alongside the website’s activism, investigative reporting by journalist  View Cache

On May 28, the Dallas Police Child Exploitation Squad arrested Matthew Harmon, 46, on charges of sexual assault of a child for an offense that allegedly occurred in 2007 after a yearlong investigation. The alleged incident involved a victim Harmon met while working at The Providence Christian School in Dallas, where he was a teacher and coach from 2004 to 2007.

Additional charges are possible.

Harmon was a volunteer at Trinity Christian Academy for several years, assisting with an eighth grade wilderness camp, and worked summers at Kanakuk in Durango, Colo., and Kanakuk in Branson, Mo., beginning in 1995 through the mid-2000s.

The survivor told investigators Harmon began grooming her during private tutoring sessions when she was in eighth grade, sometimes buying her gifts such as bras and underwear. When she was around 16 years old, “Harmon had intercourse with her at his apartment and various hotels,” she said.

Although the abuse…

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I have been describing my work on social problems and nightmares, and how that approach affects our understanding of mainstream American religious history. Last time I discussed the Satanism Scare of the 1980s as a critical factor in our understanding of modern evangelical and Pentecostal history. Today, I will talk about the role of clergy sexual abuse scandals as a factor in  American Catholic history.

The Roman Catholic church has long been the largest single institution in the American religious spectrum, usually claiming the adherence of around a quarter of the population. Catholic History is, naturally, a very sizable and thriving field of scholarship. But if you want to understand that history over the past half century, you absolutely have to understand the problem of clergy sexual abuse, and the financial and political impacts of successive scandals. Such scandals have utterly transformed the power, status, and…

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Living Word Church Associate Pastor Randy Saylor has been charged with three additional counts of second degree criminal sexual conduct. 

Saylor, 71, was charged with one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct of a person under 13 and one count of second-degree CSC with a relationship during his May 22 arraignment. He was freed on a $50,000 cash/surety bond.

On Monday, he was charged with the additional counts by Midland County District Court Magistrate Gerald Ladwig: Two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim under 13 and one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a relationship.

Saylor is the second pastor and third person involved with the church to be charged with sexual assault. Randy Saylor’s son, Brandon Saylor, a church volunteer, admitted to sexually assaulting four children under the age of 13 for a decade and was sentenced in April to five to 15 years in prison…

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Like dozens of his colleagues, Fresno Bishop Joseph V. Brennan plans to continue hiding important information about his clerical colleagues and underlings who have committed and concealed child sex crimes.’ How? By filing for Chapter 11 in federal court soon. Let’s make this inexcusable and irresponsible goal – even more secrecy about abuse –  more challenging for Bishop Brennan. How? By looking more closely at his diocese and some of the most noteworthy (i.e., awful) priests there who have hurt kids. Towards this end, there may be no better person to start with than Fr. Eric Swearingen.

Please read the underlined and bolded sentence below carefully. At first, you may react to it with skepticism or even disbelief. But we assure you:  it’s entirely accurate:

In 2006, after a trial, nine of 12 jurors ruled that Fr. Swearingen likely abused a boy, but Fresno church officials kept him on the job for 13 more years, moving…

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Note: when church officials initially discovered his misconduct in 2011, (now former) Pastor Jud Hendrix voluntarily renounced his ordination, which protected him from further accountability.

Recently, Into Account has been working to support members of a Presbyterian Commission in navigating an investigation into a pastor’s sexual misconduct. That man is (now former) Pastor Jud Hendrix, and he is located in Louisville, Kentucky. In addition, Into Account’s Dr. Krehbiel has been providing advocacy for survivors who reported Pastor Jud Hendrix’s sexualized violence.

As revealed by survivors and the investigation, this pastor targeted a congregation whose members and attendees included many LGBTQ+ people. Christian leaders and institutions had previously betrayed and harmed many of these folks. In addition, the investigation and survivor reports illustrated the ways Pastor Jud Hendrix manipulated that experience of betrayal and harm by creating an isolated and insular environment. There, he claimed a superior sexual ethic, one that…

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The idea of God is a hope in the life of most humans. In the heart and mind of a child, God is their connection with the purity of their innocence. A man of God violating this innocence for sexual gratification is worse than a criminal. He is an embodiment of evil. More importantly, the religious institution that has for decades covered up such demonic crimes of abuse of minors and vulnerable adults is not an institution of faith but an institution that gives home to perverted sex-starved pedophiles. And in that house of God, they allow them to prey on the innocent unknowingly but sometimes even knowingly by turning a blind eye.

As a firm believer in the teachings of Jesus, I have been greatly distraught and disturbed by the cases of sexual abuse by Catholic priests reported in India and globally. Jesus’ teachings, particularly in Matthew 18:5-6, emphasize…

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[Watch: The Vatican has decided New Zealand Cardinal John Dew can resume his duties.]

The Vatican has concluded there will be no further church investigation into an allegation of abuse against New Zealand Cardinal John Dew and he can return to normal church duties. 

The Archbishop of Wellington, Paul Martin, said in a statement that the Vatican concluded no further church inquiry is required.  

“Cardinal Dew can now resume public activities that he stood aside from under Church protocols when the allegation was brought to the attention of the Church in May last year,” Archbishop Martin said. 

“The Church became aware of an allegation of abuse being made against Cardinal Dew at about the same time as his retirement,” he continued.

“Cardinal Dew immediately stood aside from all public church activities while the police investigated the allegations.”

In March, Newshub revealed Dew had been investigated by police.  

The investigation…

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The office of Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell recently said it is seeking court approval to release a public report that would disclose the names of priests who have allegedly sexually abused children.

New England Public Media reported that a few years ago, then-Attorney General Maura Healy conducted an investigation into claims of clergy child sexual abuse in three of Massachusetts’ four dioceses: Fall River, Springfield, and Worcester. The investigation, apparently, did not look into the Archdiocese of Boston.

One survivor named Skip Shea told New England Public Media that though he met with investigators in 2021, a report with the investigation’s results was never published.

In addition to picketing outside the attorney general’s office, Shea has written to the office several times in the last few years, each time asking for the report to be published.

It wasn’t until April 26, 2024, that Shea received an…

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno announced this week that it will be filing for bankruptcy in the summer as the number of sexual abuse allegations it faces rises beyond 150.

Fresno diocese leader Bishop Joseph V. Brennan said in a statement that the Central Valley church will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August.

The diocese did not respond to calls and an email seeking comment.

The move allows the diocese “to address those claims honestly, compassionately and equitably,” Brennan’s statement said.

Brennan said the move was necessary because the diocese has been flooded with claims — 154 that it is aware of — in the three years since Assembly Bill 218 was enacted in January 2020. The deadline to file a claim closed Dec. 31, 2022, under the legislation.

AB 218 opened a three-year window for some civil sexual assault claims that previously timed…

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Defense says it’s too late to file lawsuit alleging abuse in 1970s

A judge is deciding whether a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse in the mid-1970s at a Catholic camp in New Hampshire can go forward.

The abuse allegedly happened at Camp Fatima in Gilmanton Iron Works. The Diocese of Manchester is also named in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that the abuse happened at Camp Fatima from approximately 1974-76. The defendants include the bishop of Manchester and the associated camps Bernadette and Fatima. The defense said the suit should be dismissed without a trial.

“The statute of limitations would bar his claims at this point,” said defense attorney James Armilly.

The complaint goes into graphic detail about the nature of the alleged abuse, but the defense said that’s not what’s at issue.

“There’s no dispute, your honor, the conduct that’s alleged here occurred in the mid-1970s,” Armilly said.

The defense…

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Kansas Catholic officials disclosed this week that child sexual abuse accusations against a long-time priest have been found “substantiated.” We find it very disturbing that the accusations were first disclosed in 2004, yet the cleric remained in active ministry until his retirement in 2013, and likely continued to work as a supply priest in the following years. The clergyman was not placed on the Diocese’s list of abusers until this week. We know that false accusations of child sexual abuse are extremely rare, and that those who prey on children rarely stop on their own. Our hearts ache for all the young lives that may have been endangered over the past 20 years.

The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas and St. Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, announced on May 27, 2024, that Father Roderic Giller, OSB, who retired from parish ministry in July 2013, was…

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As part of a settlement with D.H., the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Vancouver agreed to make public all the troubling evidence presented in the case

A civil trial in which a sex-abuse victim poised was to confront the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Vancouver has been called off after an out-of-court settlement.

The church agreed to settle the lawsuit late last month, with a promise to publish all documents produced in the case against Westminster Abbey in Mission, the archdiocese and the late Father Placidus, who the church has acknowledged was credibly accused of serial sexual abuse during his lengthy tenure at the B.C. Benedictine abbey’s Seminary of Christ the King for teens and young adults.

It’s the first time such a demand has been accepted in a church sexual abuse case in Canada, said Sandra Kovacs, the lawyer for the survivor identified in court documents only as D.H.

D.H. becomes…

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Their report marks the second time a proposed database for abusive pastors has been derailed.

A volunteer Southern Baptist task force charged with implementing abuse reforms in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination will end its work next week without a single name published on a database of abusers.

The task force’s report marks the second time a proposed database for abusive pastors has been derailed by denominational apathy, legal worries and a desire to protect donations to the Southern Baptist Convention’s mission programs.

Leaders of the SBC’s Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force say a lack of funding, concerns about insurance and other unnamed difficulties hindered the group’s work.

“The process has been more difficult than we could have imagined,” the task force said in a report published Tuesday (June 4). “And in truth, we made less progress than we desired due to the myriad obstacles and challenges we encountered in the…

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One of New Zealand’s most senior Catholics can now resume public activities after a Vatican-led review into sexual abuse allegations against him concluded no further inquiry is required.

Cardinal John Dew, a former Archbishop of Wellington who was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2015, was the subject of sexual abuse allegations in May last year, a day after his 75th birthday and retirement.

The allegations dated back to the 1970s.

“Cardinal Dew can now resume public activities that he stood aside from under church protocols when the allegation was brought to the attention of the church in May last year,” said Archbishop of Wellington Paul Martin.

Discover more

• Catholic Cardinal John Dew accused of sexual abuse, …
• ‘Deeply sorry’: Catholic Church apologises to sufferers …
• Destiny Church disciple stood down, police investigation …
• NZ victims of child sexual abuse in Two by…

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The Catholic school board and Diocese of Peterborough say Rev. Paul Massel wasn’t authorized to write a letter of support for former Douro teacher Thomas Christopher Cavanagh.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article contains descriptions of sex crimes against children that may be upsetting or disturbing for some readers. If you or anyone you know is in need of assistance, the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre runs a 24-hour crisis support line at 1-705-741-0260.

The Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peterborough are in damage control after Rev. Paul Massel provided the court with a letter of support for convicted child predator Thomas Christopher Cavanagh.

Cavanagh, a former Grade 4 teacher at St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School in Douro, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, transmitting sexually explicit material to a person under 18, and communicating with a person…

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UPDATE: A North Jersey school teacher who took upskirt photos and videos of female students faces at least 10 years in state prison when he’s sentenced next month.

Michael F. Wagner, 41, of Hopatcong took a deal from prosecutors rather than risk the potential outcome of a trial, admitting that he recorded female 8th graders of his at Pope John XXIII Regional High School in Sparta during class and collected child porn.

In order to secure the agreement – and whatever leniency may come at his July 26 sentencing in Newton — Wagner had to plead guilty earlier this month to first-degree child endangerment and second-degree manufacturing of child sexual abuse materials.

The first-degree endangerment conviction carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in state prison, and up to 20 years.

The second-degree conviction requires a minimum of five years in prison, although the judge will most likely allow it…

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As clergy sex abuse crisis simmers, Southern Baptists focus on ousting women pastors.

Beginning this Sunday, thousands of Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) delegates will assemble in Indianapolis, and one of the most misogynistic gatherings in all of Christendom will be on display.

Southern Baptists hold to “male headship” as the purportedly God-ordered right way. Though this has long been their belief, they’re now doubling down and seeking to enshrine the practice into their Constitution.

Southern Baptists Prepare to Purge Women Pastors … Again

The SBC’s doctrinal statement declares that “the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.” Though this language is obviously exclusionary, in recent years, many in the denomination have deemed it not effective enough in keeping women out. Some churches were interpreting it to mean only that a woman couldn’t be the head pastor of a church.

Horrors. With much metaphorical hand-wringing and hyperventilating, manly men of…

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As the church continues to address sexual abuse cases among clergy and religious, Deacon Steven A. DeMartino, director for safeguarding initiatives for the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, recently spoke with OSV News’ Charlie Camosy about the past history of these efforts and the best practices the church now has in place.

Charlie Camosy: I realize this is a big question, but would it be possible to summarize in broad strokes what has been done by Popes St. John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis with regard to sex abuse and safe environment in the Catholic Church?

Steven A. DeMartino: A good place to start is with the reality that safeguarding ministry has gradually matured in the church over the past 30 years.

This new ministry is a response to our Catholic obligation to defend life and the dignity of the human person across the life span and has been informed…

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André Denis, a retired Quebec superior court judge mandated by Pope Francis to investigate accusations of sexual abuse made against Cardinal Gérald C. Lacroix, Archbishop of Quebec, has said he found no evidence to support the accusations. But Denis noted the investigation’s conclusion was significantly impacted by the accuser’s refusal to participate — something which could change in the future — leaving the cardinal in the meantime feeling like he was “fighting a ghost.”

“The elements collected during my investigation make it implausible that the facts alleged against the cardinal occurred,” Denis wrote in his 66-page report submitted to Francis May 6. “I do not find sufficient elements to justify the holding of a canonical trial against Cardinal Lacroix and this is the conclusion that I formulated to Pope Francis.”

Denis on May 21 made public a 10-page summary of this report and held a press conference the same day to answer questions.

On Jan. 25, the cardinal, who…

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A secretive sect being probed for historical child sexual abuse is facing venue cancellations for some of its half-year meetings, held from this weekend.

The religious group known as the Two by Twos or The Truth is holding 18 events across New Zealand in June, for its 2500 members – part of its usual calendar of meetings.

Members book the venues, often as a ‘Christian fellowship group’ because the sect has no official name and is not registered as a charity.

A group of five former members of the fellowship have sent a generic email to the venues, with links to recent stories.

The links included the RNZ story as well as links to the various media that picked it up including the NZ Herald, Newshub and the Otago Daily Times.

“As ex members we are concerned that this group is still operating in community venues and schools,” the…

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The U.S. bishops’ conference has released the sexual abuse report investigating cases reported between July 2022 and June 2023.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has published a report The report contains data on sexual abuse and financial compensation within the national Church for the year 2023.

The report indicates that 1,254 victims of abuse filed a total of 1,308 complaints. Of these, the vast majority are adults who have now reported the assaults they suffered as children.

Fight against abuse in the United States

To address these cases, dioceses and eparchies in the United States provided services to 183 victims and their families to support them. At the same time, they continued to provide assistance to another 1,662 individuals whose cases had already been included in previous years’ reports.

As part of the prevention work, the Church examined the background of people working in church activities, whether they were priests,…

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

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

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

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The Catholic religious order, which runs St. Rita High School on the South Side and Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox, won’t explain why the Rev. Richard McGrath, who was accused of sex abuse and having child pornography on his phone, isn’t on the group’s newly posted public listing.

After hiding the names of sexually abusive priests and religious brothers for years, the Augustinian Catholic order has posted its first public listing of clergy members in its Chicago province deemed to have been child predators, listing five men.

The list doesn’t include the Rev. Richard McGrath, who was the longtime head of Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox until he was ousted in 2017 after a student reported seeing a nude image of a boy on the priest’s cell phone while he was a spectator at a wrestling match.

The police investigated McGrath, but the case ended up…

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(OSV News)—The U.S. Catholic bishops’ latest annual report on child and youth protection shows abuse allegations are down, while safe environment protocols have taken root in the church—but guarding against complacency about abuse prevention is critical, as is providing ongoing support for survivors.

On May 28, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection released the “2023 Annual Report — Findings and Recommendations on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.”

The 2023 report is the twenty-first since the charter was established by the U.S. Catholic bishops in 2002 as a number of clerical abuse scandals emerged. Commonly called the Dallas Charter, the document lays out a comprehensive set of procedures for addressing allegations of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy, and includes guidelines for reconciliation, healing, accountability and prevention of abuse.

Data for the report came from audits…

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Thank you to the Legislature for enacting the lookback law, and thank you to Attorney General Liz Murrill and the majority of Louisiana Supreme Court, which will reconsider their decision. I hope the specious reasoning of Justice Jeff Hughes won’t sway the court’s decision this time.

Hughes’ dissent to the reconsideration was all over the place. He mocked the consideration of the law of adult survivors of childhood abuse to survivors other crimes saying, “Adult rape victims? Holocaust survivors? Descendants of the enslaved? Which of these shall we favor?” He trivialized and disparaged every one of these people with this opinion. Hughes doesn’t see what is at stake for adult survivors of child sex abuse by clergy.

He mentioned equal protection and said that didn’t happen for children over many decades. The government gave consideration to Roman Catholic clerics and bishops. The children and teens sexually abused were just as…

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Saskatoon police and the provincial education ministry confirmed they’re investigating new allegations of assault at a private Christian school embroiled in a $25 million lawsuit claiming a history of abuse.

In a statement to CTV News on Monday, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Education said it’s aware of the allegations that a staff member at Legacy Christian Academy assaulted a young student, and it is investigating.

The Saskatoon Police Service also confirmed it was investigating a report of an assault involving a staff member of the school.

A spokesperson would not confirm details of the investigation, but said police received the report on June 1.

CTV News contacted Legacy Christian Academy about the latest allegation and has not yet received a response.

The private Christian school is at the centre of a civil lawsuit and several former staff members are facing criminal charges.

Roughly two dozen officials from Legacy…

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Hundreds of people who were sexually abused as children by employees of the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore filed in the church’s bankruptcy case ahead of Friday’s deadline for claims, but the exact figure remains unclear.

“Right now there are over 700, but the claims that were uploaded on Friday are still being counted,” Paul Jan Zdunek, chair of the committee of abuse survivors representing all victims in the bankruptcy case, told The Baltimore Sun on Monday. “It’s taking time. There was a rush at the end.”

Zdunek said that figure “will probably go up.” While it also includes non-abuse-related claims filed by insurers and other entities who did business with the archdiocese, “the majority will be abuse cases,” he added.

It could take awhile to determine the exact number of sex abuse claims filed in the case, said attorney Jonathan Schochor, who represents victims in the case, including a member…

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport has agreed to pay a settlement to a local man who claimed in a lawsuit he was sexually assaulted as a boy by the priest who was going to officiate at his sister’s wedding.

The settlement ends the last remaining civil case against the diocese claiming sexual abuse by one of its priests.

The priest accused in the case Rev. Kieran Thomas Ahearn, listed on the diocesan Credibly Accused Clergy list for Religious Order priests, was removed from ministry in 1993. He died in 1997.  

“After a few years of litigation we were able to resolve this matter with the Bridgeport Diocese,” New Haven lawyer Joel Faxon said. “The malefactor priest in this case — Thomas Ahearn — was a serial criminally convicted pedophile that the diocese flushed through several parishes until he ultimately attacked our elementary school-aged client at his sister’s…

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Religious sisters and consecrated women in collaboration with Catholic organizations launched an e-learning program recently to combat the abuse crisis in the Church.

There are more than half a million religious sisters and consecrated women worldwide. While incidents of abuse still happen in the Church, recent studies show that the number of clergy abuse incidents have decreased sharply since the 1970s and 1980s.

Launched with the help of religious sisters and consecrated women on May 24, the e-learning program helps educate women religious on how to protect children and vulnerable adults from sexual abuse situations.

“By focusing on the fundamental principles of faith, vows, and community, this initiative aims to give religious women around the world the means to defend the dignity and to protect minors and vulnerable adults in many different contexts,” the press release read.

The e-learning tool was a collaboration with…

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A spokesperson for the St. John Paul II Shrine declined to comment on questions about whether the shrine will cover mosaics by disgraced artist Fr. Marko Rupnik during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage events next month.

Rupnik, who was expelled from the Jesuit order last year, has been accused of sexually abusing some 30 religious sisters. Some of the allegations involve claims of abuse specifically in the context of creating his works of art.

The John Paul II Shrine, which is sponsored by the Knights of Columbus fraternal organization, features mosaics by Rupnik in its Redemptor Hominis Church and the Luminous Mysteries Chapel.

The shrine will serve as a stop on a national pilgrimage route early next month.  

As part of the U.S. bishops’ National Eucharistic Revival initiative, four Eucharistic pilgrimages are taking place in the weeks leading up to the National Eucharistic Congress, which will be held in Indianapolis in July.

…

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[See video.]

The priest accused of sexually abusing altar boys at a Dubuque school in the 1980′s entered a written plea of not guilty on Tuesday morning.

Father Leo Riley faces five counts of sexual abuse.

Prosecutors are accusing Riley of molesting the altar boys at the Resurrection School from 1984 to 1986.

He denies all allegations against him and is demanding a speedy trial. A trial date has not been set.

He bonded out of prison last week.

Copyright 2024 KCRG. All rights reserved.

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4 people have reported that Riley sexually abused them from 1985 to 1986 while he was associate pastor of Church of the Resurrection in Dubuque.

A former Dubuque priest has pleaded not guilty to charges of child sexual abuse related to his time at a local parish.

The Rev. Leo P. Riley, 68, of Port Charlotte, Fla., recently entered the plea in Iowa District Court of Dubuque County to five counts of second-degree sexual abuse. A trial date has not yet been set in the case.

Court documents state four people have reported that Riley sexually abused them from 1985 to 1986 while he was associate pastor of Church of the Resurrection in Dubuque.

Dubuque police began investigating the reports after being contacted by the Archdiocese of Dubuque’s Office for the Protection of Children in May 2023 about reports the office had received of alleged sexual abuse in Dubuque from…

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The trial for the former Cape Cod priest charged with rape is scheduled for June 6 in Barnstable Superior Court, according to the clerk’s office.

Mark Hession faces two counts of rape and one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, according to the clerk’s office. A count of intimidating a witness was dropped.

Hession pleaded not guilty to the charges in January of 2021. A final trial conference was scheduled to take place on Friday.

He will be represented by attorneys Frank C. Corso and Paolo G. Corso of Corso Law LLC. A phone call and email sent to the law firm seeking comment were not immediately returned.

A spokesperson for the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s office declined comment, saying the office does not comment on pending matters.

Hession is on a 2021 list compiled by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River of publicly…

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A Catholic priest who was charged in May 2019 with two counts of rape is believed to have died.

A spokesperson for the Michigan Attorney General’s Office said the office is still working to confirm the death of Jacob Vellian, a priest from India who worked at the St. John the Evangelist Parish in Benton Harbor, where he allegedly raped a girl.

The Attorney General’s Office last week released an extensive report on a number of allegations in the Kalamazoo Diocese. The report stated Vellian is believed to have died while awaiting extradition to Berrien County, Mich., from India. The AG’s office said it was notified in November 2023 of Vellian’s likely death, and is working to confirm that information.

Another priest in the Kalamazoo Diocese – Brian Stanley – was previously convicted and sentenced. Brian Stanley, a priest at St. Margaret’s Catholic Church in Otsego, was sentenced in January…

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New Orleans attorney for former priest accused of rape withdraws from case

A retired New Orleans priest accused of rape and kidnapping has lost one of his key attorneys.

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This comes as the public waits to see if Lawrence Hecker is competent to stand trial.

Attorney Bobby Hjortsberg issued the following statement when reached for comment, “I have withdrawn and I have no comment it’s a private matter between myself and the client.”

WDSU Investigates has followed this story closely.

It is unclear exactly why Hjortsberg is withdrawing from the case.

Hecker has two other attorneys. Prosecutors say the accusations date back to the 1970s.

Hecker was arrested last year. His trial continues to be delayed, but he is due back in court next month.

Stay with WDSU on this developing story.

To see our previous reports click here.

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In their days, months and years at a secluded boarding school in southeast Missouri, they say they lost their childhood. Instead of slumber parties with friends, family dinners, campouts — even prom — they spent their time outside doing labor and extensive exercises, were given ice bucket showers and forced to stand at a wall for hours when in trouble, and too often went to bed hungry when food was withheld.

All of this was at a faith-based unlicensed school where they say the smallest of students would get the worst treatment. These are not students of Circle of Hope Girls Ranch and Agape Boarding School, facilities in Missouri that were investigated in 2020 and 2021 and are now closed. They attended Lighthouse Christian Academy, yet another Missouri unlicensed boarding school that until recently operated for two decades unchecked by local and state authorities. Some were taken to the campus by…

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A priest of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) has been arrested in France on charges of sexually abusing a boy.

This comes less than two months after fellow SSPX priest Fr. Arnaud Rostand admitted in French court that he molested multiple minors.

FranceInfo is reporting that a priest accused of raping a minor from the age of 9 to 12 was arrested Tuesday at the SSPX Marie-Reine priory in Mulhouse. An investigation was launched Thursday, with authorities banning Radier from access to children and requiring him to report to police once a month.

Stella Maris Media has confirmed the priest is 64-year-old Fr. Jean-Luc Radier.

The charges stem from Radier’s time teaching at Star of the Morning (“L’Etoile du Matin”) Academy in Eguelshardt, Moselle, France, between 1993 and 1995.

Authorities conducted a search of Radier’s residence. The…

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Pope Francis’s efforts to lessen the prominence of sexuality in his Church have crashed with the resistance of conservative leaders attacking him.

Nonetheless, this time around it was him and those closest to him who crashed with the tensions created by the Church’s doctrine on sexuality.

As a nightmare of sorts, these days the Catholic Church seems to be prone to blunders. This time around, Pope Francis himself was the main character in one of such fiascos. The pontifical faux pas emerged less than six hours after Gabriel Antonio Mestre, resigned the office of archbishop of La Plata, Argentina.

Mestre got that position when Pope Francis appointed Víctor Manuel Fernández as head of the office dealing with doctrinal integrity in the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. Mestre’s resignation is the byproduct of the latest black swan in the history of the mishandling of sexual abuse cases in the…

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In deeply Catholic Timor-Leste, high-profile clergymen involved in child sex abuse scandals are supported by some of the country’s most powerful politicians while victims who come forward are labelled as ‘church haters’.

Father Richard Daschbach was sentenced to 12 years in prison by a Timorese court after he confessed to sexually abusing many young girls at the orphanage he ran for 30 years in Timor-Leste. 

Content warning: This story discusses themes of sexual abuse of children

Nobel Prize winner Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo was once the most powerful figure of the Roman Catholic church in Timor-Leste.

But in 2022, a Dutch newspaper report accused Belo of multiple rapes and sexual assaults on young boys dating back to the time he was a priest in the early 1980s.

In 2002, when the first allegations against him were raised, the Vatican discretely moved Bishop Belo to Mozambique, and then to Portugal,…

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Dr. Hermina Nedelescu is a Romanian-born neuroscientist involved in state efforts to protect adults from clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse.

Dr. Hermina Nedelescu is a Romanian-born neuroscientist. Her research work is concerned with the neurobiological control of abnormal behaviors and brain functions relevant to human psychopathology. The majority of this work is directed at understanding brain mechanisms that underly substance use and abuse with emphasis on approach and avoidance of drug-paired environments. Another line of research is directed at investigating the neurobiological dysregulation caused by sexual assault-induced PTSD and suicide with hopes to inform therapeutic treatments.

For her theological work, she is training with the Center for Theology and Natural Sciences at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, where she leverages her expertise in neuroscience to develop a theological anthropology based on the Christian Orthodox tradition. This research is focused on the topic of desire vs. dysregulated desire leading to abuse. 

She is…

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The Catholic Diocese of Fresno, facing 154 claims of abuse by its clergy over past decades, said on Tuesday it will file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection.

The bankruptcy filing, set for August, was prompted by a recently enacted state law that allows those previously barred by the passage of time from bringing forward claims of abuse suffered as children to now do so.

The bankruptcy filing would bring about a court-supervised reorganization that would compensate victims fairly, according to Bishop Joseph Brennan. 

Kern County Catholic parishes operate under the auspices of the Fresno Diocese.

Brennan issued a video statement explaining the decision, which comes on the heels of bankruptcy announcements by the dioceses of Santa Rosa, San Francisco, Sacramento and Oakland. Combined, those four dioceses face roughly 1,000 new claims of abuse, many going back decades.The Vatican’s problematic process to address clergy sex…

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The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas has substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of minors involving a retired priest, church officials announced Friday. “With deep sorrow for the suffering of victims and survivors of abuse, the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas and St. Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, announce that Father Roderic Giller, OSB, who retired from parish ministry in July 2013, has been the subject of substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of minors during the time he was serving at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish, Seneca,” said the statement published in The Leaven, the archdiocese’s official newspaper. The archdiocese and abbey first received the allegations in July 2004, the announcement said, and they were treated at the time as boundary violations would be today. Further investigation was undertaken recently “due to updated safe environment protocols and additional information,” the statement said. “A better understanding of the events has resulted in…

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This June will mark 202 years since Bishop John England started the United States Catholic Miscellany in 1822. Lies were being spread about the Faith, and Catholic immigrants were finding themselves the subject of Nativist attacks. Bishop England will forever be remembered as the first bishop to take a stand in defense of the church by starting a local Catholic newspaper.

Many other church leaders followed in his footsteps at the diocesan and the national levels. Ninety years after Bishop England, Father John Francis Noll began publishing Our Sunday Visitor, also to defend the Faith from those who were attacking it. The first print run was 35,000, and circulation peaked at over 1 million. The church in the United States was facing a crisis — an attack on both its people and on its teachings — and communication was effectively used as a tool to combat it.

The fathers of…

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As more states extend the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse, churches are finding a legal workaround.

When Teresa Lancaster was a teenager in the 1970s, she was raped by a chaplain at her Catholic high school in Baltimore. But when she and another survivor, Jean Wehner, sued the chaplain and the diocese decades later, the court rejected their case, saying too much time had passed under Maryland law. Lancaster, by then in her mid-40s, enrolled in law school with one goal: to lift the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse lawsuits.

“It was crushing,” she said about losing the lawsuit. “I had to pick myself up and decide what I was going to do. I knew if I became a lawyer, people would have to listen to me, and I could gain some respect back.”

Lancaster went on to become an attorney for victims of sexual abuse, and she…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Several acts of sexual assault…

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

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

He pleaded not guilty in January of 2021.

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

The Catholic Church suspended him five years ago for misconduct.

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Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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

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

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

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

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

The next court hearing is scheduled for June…

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

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

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

At the time, all staff had…

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

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

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

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

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

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Breaking silence. Confronting clergy abuse. 

Dear blog readers,

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

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

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

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

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

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

May you thoughtfully read…

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

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

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

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

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

Sander died…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

After the archdiocesan curia claimed…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Our son Jason was about 4…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It was hit…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He did…

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