ABUSE TRACKER

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

[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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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,…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

(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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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.

…

View Cache

[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.

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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.

[Play Video]

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.

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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,…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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,…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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.

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

“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…

View Cache

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;…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

“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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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,…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

“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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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.”

…

View Cache

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…

View Cache

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

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

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

View Cache

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Victims of abuse endure a…

View Cache

Brothers and Sisters,

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

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

View Cache

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

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

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

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

View Cache

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

View Cache

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

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

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

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

View Cache

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

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

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

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

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

View Cache

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

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

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

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

View Cache

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

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

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

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

View Cache

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

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

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

Balizan had…

View Cache

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

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

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

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

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

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

View Cache

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

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

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

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

View Cache

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mr…

View Cache

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

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

View Cache

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

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

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

View Cache

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

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

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

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

View Cache

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

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

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

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

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

View Cache

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

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

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

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

View Cache

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

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

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

View Cache

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

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

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

Meanwhile, police and corporation officials revealed that…

View Cache

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

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

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

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

He…

View Cache