ABUSE TRACKER

On June 1, the Vatican accepted the resignation of Indian Bishop Franco Mulakkal, almost five years after police arrested him on charges of raping a nun. 

The Vatican “requested” his resignation, said a statement from the apostolic nunciature in India, adding that this action should not be seen as a “disciplinary measure imposed upon” the bishop.

The Mulakkal case has once again revived the demand for speedy and transparent action into allegations of clerical abuse in India as delays can lead to embarrassment for  Christians, who make up 2.3 percent in the Hindu majority nation of 1.4 billion people.

The Vatican’s move in the Mulakkal case came 18 months after a lower court acquitted him, and when an appeal against the acquittal is pending in a higher court.

Mulakkal is the fourth Catholic bishop to resign over allegations of sexual abuse in India — all in the…

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In a recent podcast, Bishop Joseph E. Strickland of Tyler, Texas, denied any wrongdoing related to the Vatican inquiry into his conduct and that of his diocese and said the recent apostolic visitation was “not fun.” 

The Vatican’s delegates were “looking at everything,” Strickland told a prerecorded show of the “Bishop Strickland Hour,” scheduled to be broadcast by Virgin Most Powerful Internet Radio on July 25.

“There have been some administrative issues, and I’m sure people are concerned,” the bishop said. “I’m sure there are people saying that there must be something really bad, and something’s really gone wrong for this apostolic visitation [to happen].”

“I’ve got nothing to hide,” he said in a show excerpt posted to YouTube.

Strickland said the apostolic visitation was “not fun” and compared it to “being called to the principal’s office.”

An apostolic visitation is a specific form of canonical visitation…

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A court in Vatican City has set a date for hearing the lawsuit filed by the former auditor general Libero Milone, and set a deadline for lawyers to make written submissions before judges hear their oral arguments.

Milone, the first-ever person to hold the office of auditor general for the Holy See, has argued he was forced from office by senior Vatican officials because he found evidence of widespread corruption, including among serving cardinals. He was originally joined in the suit by his former deputy, Ferrucio Panicco, who died last month of cancer, after blaming Vatican officials for seizing personal medical records which delayed his treatment. 

The eventual day in court could prove pivotal: Milone has submitted to the court hundreds of pages of documents he claims prove financial corruption by senior cardinals, which he has threatened to release publicly in the event he determines he cannot get a fair…

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Cardinal Angelo Becciu insisted again Tuesday that he was innocent of all charges as the Vatican’s long-running finance trial continued to draw to a close. 

“I am innocent and I will not tire of repeating it,” he said in a July 25 statement. “I am innocent not only because I never stole a penny nor did I enrich myself or my family members. The investigators’ thorough checks on our bank accounts have proven it.”

The cardinal, who is accused of fraud, embezzlement, abuse of office, conspiracy, and attempting to pervert the course of justice, issued the statement as Alessandro Diddi, the Vatican City State’s promoter of justice, renewed his summing up the case against the trial’s 10 defendants. 

The court case revolves around a luxury property deal in London, England, which the prosecutor said had lost the Vatican up to 189 million euros (around $212 million).

After two weeks of…

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The U.S. Center for SafeSport said it is willing to work with the U.S. Soccer Athletes Council to address concerns about the organization tasked with protecting athletes from abuse.

The U.S. Soccer Athletes Council sent a letter to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives this week signed by more than 100 current and former national team players, including the entire U.S. team playing in the Women’s World Cup.

“As athletes, we want to take a lead in collaborating with Congress and National Governing Bodies of Sport in order to create a safe and supportive environment that allows soccer players — and all other athletes in the Olympic movement — to thrive both on and off the field. We are committed to working with you and other stakeholders to make the necessary changes to ensure that players are safe and protected from abuse. And that means that…

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The athletic director of Kolbe Cathedral High School has been charged with sexually assaulting one of his former female students, police said.

Roderick Ricketts, 44, who has also served as a physical education teacher and coach at the Roman Catholic high school since 2003, was charged by Stratford police with fourth-degree sexual assault.

He was released after posting $50,000 bond pending arraignment on Monday in Superior Court. Ricketts’ lawyer, John R. Gulash, declined comment.

Police said a 19-year-old woman complained that Ricketts molested her on June 7 while she was babysitting his children at his Stratford home.

“The diocese has been made aware that Mr. Rod Ricketts, athletic director at Kolbe High School, has turned himself in to Stratford Police relating to a charge of 4th degree sexual assault,” diocese spokesperson Brian Wallace said. “He has denied the allegation and has fully cooperated with police. Mr. Ricketts, a 20-year employee of Kolbe…

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Editor’s Note: In support of the sixth strategic action of Vision 2025 adopted by messengers to the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting, Baptist Press will continue to report every instance of sexual abuse related to Southern Baptist churches, entities, institutions or leaders of which we are made aware.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (BP) – A school volunteer in Missouri was arrested earlier this month on sex-related charges. Jennifer Cecil was a volunteer at a local Christian school and a member of Concord Baptist Church in Jefferson City. The school, Lighthouse Preparatory Academy, is not affiliated with Concord Baptist Church.

Cecil was charged with first-degree sexual abuse, sexual contact with a student, second-degree statutory rape and second-degree statutory sodomy, according to local media reports. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges and posted $15,000 bond.

Concord Baptist released a statement after learning of the alleged abuse. One of the church’s pastors received a…

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Sabrina Bittencourt, a Brazillian activist whose investigation led to John’s arrest, had stated that her organization has spoken to couples on 3 different continents who have claimed that they bought babies from John for as much as $50,000.

On a fateful day, July 10, 2023, the courtroom was filled with a mix of anticipation and despair as the notorious Brazilian faith healer, João Teixeira de Faria, commonly known as ‘John of God,’ received an additional sentence of 99 years for his heinous sexual crimes. The air was heavy with the weight of justice as the judge declared him guilty of the ‘rape of vulnerable persons’ and ‘sexual violation through fraud’ against eight victims who sought his spiritual help between 2010 and 2018.

The sentence brought his total prison time to an unprecedented 370 years, 9 months, and 15 days. Additionally, he has been ordered to pay R$ 100…

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Healing cannot begin without transformative and restorative justice, hundreds of Catholics involved in Native American ministry were told.

Nearly 400 people gathered for four days starting July 19 for the Tekakwitha Conference, which aims to be the “voice, presence and identity” of indigenous Catholics of North America and is named for St. Kateri Tekakwitha.

The theme of this year’s conference was “gathering for healing through living waters,” but keynote speaker Samuel Torres, deputy chief executive officer of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, said healing cannot take place until there is justice. Torres is Nahua, who are indigenous to Mexico.

“Truth and justice have to be where we begin for that healing to be realized,” Torres said. “It is going to require generations of care and attention to attain restoration and perhaps reconciliation. But it is worthy of our…

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An 83-year-old former pastor has been charged with the kidnapping and murder of a neighboring pastor’s daughter in 1975, Pennsylvania officials announced Monday.

The suspect, David Zandstra, was arrested on July 17 in Cobb County, Georgia, where investigators say he confessed to killing 8-year-old Gretchen Harrington nearly five decades ago when he was a pastor in Marple Township, Pennsylvania, according to the Delaware County District Attorney’s office in Pennsylvania.

His confession came after investigators presented him with new evidence gathered early this year, which came from an interview with a confidential informant and a diary entry the informant wrote in 1975 when she was a 10-year-old girl, the district attorney’s office said in a news release.

Zandstra has been charged with criminal homicide, murder, kidnapping of a minor and the possession of an instrument of crime, the release said.

“Justice has been a long time coming, but…

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We’re doing something a bit different today. Much of this blog exposes what the Catholic hierarchy does wrong regarding child sex crimes and cover-ups. Today, however, we highlight a handful of church officials taking small but perhaps significant steps in the right direction. As noted, most Catholic bishops disclose the bare minimum of information about their child-molesting clerics. But a few precious bishops provide the public with more than the bare minimum. These men deserve mention. 

1: Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento stands out in at least three ways regarding his ‘credibly accused’ list. He includes a category called “last known location.” (This helps prevent future child sex crimes.) He lists not only the year of birth for each predator but also where he was born. (This helps minimize the chance of a non-predator being confused with a predator.) He also provides the most details about a clerics’…

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A bishop who was forced out of office because he covered up clergy sex abuse wants to minister in St. Louis. Catholic officials should not let this happen.

Bishop Richard Stika just resigned, in part, because of considerable controversy over how he dealt with two recent predatory clerics in his Knoxville diocese.*

Stika has publicly said that he plans to move home and do some church work in his native St. Louis (where, for years, he played a prominent role in dealing with predator priests).

If this happens, it will be a reckless and callous move. St. Louis Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski should immediately and public prohibit Stika from working here. If he refuses, Pope Francis should do this.

Here’s why: Those who commit abuse largely CANNOT be deterred. They are driven by a deeply-rooted, extraordinarily strong compulsion that overpowers their capability to think rationally. But those who conceal abuse CAN be deterred. But only…

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The Jesuits on July 24 said that a famous artist priest is definitively expelled from the religious order for sexually, spiritually and psychologically abusing women, and lamented they couldn’t prosecute him more vigorously under the Vatican’s internal procedures.

The priest and artist Father Marko Rupnik, accused of the physical and psychological abuse of numerous religious sisters, was dismissed from the Jesuits last month according to the religious order. In a June 15 statement from the Society of Jesus, Rupnik was expelled due to his “stubborn refusal to observe the vow of obedience.”

In response to complaints that Rupnik is still a priest, Father Johan Verschueren, Communication Officer Jesuit Curia (Rome) stated that the Vatican’s current laws “precluded an investigation that could have led to a harsher penalty,” according to the AP. In June 2021, the Vatican updated its regulations to make clergy abuse of…

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In June of 2023, the Diocese of Oakland tried to use the federal bankruptcy court to conceal the names of priests accused of sexual abuse—even those still working with children and posing a public safety threat.

According to NBCBayArea:

“Attorneys representing the Diocese of Oakland in its ongoing bankruptcy case are seeking to seal the names of priests and other church employees accused of sexually abusing children or aiding in alleged cover-ups.”

“The Diocese’s attorneys declined an interview request from NBC Bay Area at a hearing Tuesday but argued in a recent motion that confidentiality will protect accused clergy against the disclosure of a ‘scandalous’ and deeply personal matter in publicly filed court documents.”

Oakland’s Threat to Public Safety

Keeping the names of predators accused in our civil justice system is a public safety threat. Need proof? Two days after the diocese attempted to seal names, NBCBayArea reported that two…

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A month after announcing the expulsion of the artist-priest Father Marko Ivan Rupnik, accused of sexually abusing several adult women, on the grounds of disobedience, Pope Francis’s own Jesuit order confirmed the decision Monday.

Father Johan Verschueren, the permanent delegate of the Society of Jesus for houses, works and inter-provincial Jesuits in Rome, who oversaw the order’s investigation into allegations against Rupnik, made the announcement in a July 24 letter.

Verschueren said that since the 30 days under church law allowing Rupnik to appeal his June 14 decree of expulsion had passed, “We can declare today that he is no longer a Jesuit religious.”

The confirmation means that Rupnik is no longer a Jesuit, though for the moment he remains a Catholic priest. In terms of what the future might bring, Verschueren told Crux the order is wondering too.

“We are actually living with the same questions,” he said. “Fr….

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Standing outside Deerfield Academy, the director of a nonprofit assisting sexual abuse survivors and a lawyer present on a Zoom call announced the settlement of a credible sexual abuse claim regarding an Athletics Department member at the private school.

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian announced Tuesday that he settled a childhood sex abuse claim with the school on behalf of a victim who alleged longtime Deerfield Academy Athletics Department employee Norman Therien sexually abused him in the athletic stockroom when he was 8 or 9 years old, in approximately 1991 or 1992. The victim was never a Deerfield Academy student, but he was the child of a school employee and was living on campus at the time.

“My client, who is a brave and courageous survivor, was concerned about the healing of sexual abuse victims and the safety of children and I admire him greatly,” Garabedian said. “We settled my client’s claim in…

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A Catholic religious order in Poland has been ordered to pay 500,000 zloty (€113,000) in compensation to a 31-year-old man for physical and emotional abuse – including rape – he suffered as a child in a religious-run residential care home.

Taking the case was a 31-year-old man identified only as Paweł who sought one million zloty (€226,000) in compensation and a monthly pension to cover the cost of lifelong medical treatment.

He was just 18 months old when he was handed over to the Special Care Centre in the town of Zabrze, 100km northwest of Krakow in southern Poland, run by the Sisters of Mercy of St Borromeo.

“The sisters beat us for everything: bad grades, wetting the bed, laughing, sometimes they would assign older boys to punish younger ones by saying ‘he is yours’ or ‘teach him a lesson’,” said Paweł.

Established in 1893 as a residential home for…

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Two key Vatican investigators have begun an audit in Peru’s capital of a secretive Roman Catholic society with chapters across South America and in the U.S. following allegations that its founder sexually molested young recruits

Two key Vatican investigators have begun an audit in Peru’s capital of a secretive Roman Catholic society with chapters across South America and in the U.S. following allegations that its founder sexually molested young recruits.

Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna and Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu, from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, questioned the society’s spokespeople along with alleged abuse victims and journalists who have written on the case. Tuesday’s questioning took place in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lima.

The scandal at the Peru-based Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, or Sodalitium of Christian Life, has close parallels to other cases of charismatic Catholic leaders in Latin America being accused of sex abuse — as well as the…

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Even after two decades of clergy sexual abuse horror stories, it’s hard not to be affected by what Skip Shea says he experienced as a teen, after landing a job mowing lawns at a retreat center for priests.

It was called the House of Affirmation – a place whose name promised emotional support and healing for troubled priests, including pedophiles.

Two years ago, Shea told investigators from the state attorney general’s office that starting in 1974, at the age of 14, he was given alcohol by priests at the House of Affirmation – and sexually abused at least eight times over a few years. The facility was only a year old.

Today, Shea wants to know whether the public will ever learn what the attorney general’s office discovered, as it pursued what’s believed to have been a wide-ranging inquiry into how Catholic dioceses in Springfield, Fall River and…

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The Rev. William O’Malley, a former McQuaid Jesuit High School faculty member who gained fame with a role in the 1973 blockbuster “The Exorcist,” and infamy when he was accused in lawsuits of sexually abusing students during his time at the all-boys Catholic school, has died at age 91.

O’Malley died July 15 at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton, Massachusetts, McQuaid wrote on its website and in statement issued Monday.

A Buffalo native and graduate of College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, he worked at McQuaid from 1966 to 1986, teaching English, Latin and theology and leading its drama department.

His good looks, wit and charisma made him a standout on campus, his role as Father Joseph Dyer in “The Exorcist” added to the mystique, and admired by parents, he became one of McQuaid’s most celebrated teachers. Consequently, the sexual abuse accusations stunned many who knew him from his…

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At first glance, the Catholic faith today in Portugal seems as central a part of everyday life as when the conservative dictator António de Oliveira Salazar’s autocratic regime ruled the country with the tacit approval of the hierarchy in the mid-20th century. 

Adults and young children alike still attend traditional festas and participate in religious processions, often carrying aloft life-size flower-adorned statues of Jesus, Mary and Sao Antonio de Lisboa, the 13th-century Portuguese Franciscan friar who is known to most Catholics the world over as St. Anthony of Padua. Priests and bishops are still called upon to bless fishing fleets or new bridges, and the roads into Fatima are often jammed with religious pilgrims. 

Even so, when Pope Francis arrives in Lisbon on Aug. 2 for the 42nd international trip of his papacy and his fourth World Youth Day — a major gathering of Catholic youth that takes…

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Pope Francis has been dining out on a paper revolution that made it easier to prosecute crimes of abuse and coverup, and trading on promises to take the abuse of adults seriously.

Marko Rupnik is no longer Fr. Marko Rupnik SJ, which is the way he wants it. Well, he gets it. I don’t like it any more than you. Marko Rupnik is still—intolerably—Fr. Marko Rupnik, though without faculties—unless a bishop or other religious institute takes him. The disgraced celebrity muralist cum inveterate pervert and abuser of mostly religious sisters is radioactive these days, so I suppose it is unlikely, but stranger things have happened.

I was about to ask if maybe there’s a job open in APSA, but then I remembered Bishop Zanchetta and realized there doesn’t need to be a job open for him to get it.

The statement from the superior of the Jesuits’ international houses, Fr. Johan…

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Anti-cultists claim that the cases of child sexual abuse among the Jehovah’s Witnesses are higher than among Catholic priests. The claim is false.

On July 24, an anti-Jehovah’s-Witnesses organization called JZ Help is holding a web press conference on the theme “Jehovah’s Witnesses: Child Abuse Worse than in the Catholic Church?” From the presentation of the press conference, we learn that “Australian activist Lara Kaput and activist Steven Unthank from saysorry.org,” after having met with the German Reappraisal Commission in Berlin on June 20, will “share their experience” with the Australian Royal Commission. “At the press conference,” we read, “they [the anti-Jehovah’s-Witnesses activists] will present data from the Royal Commission’s investigation, which show that the number of victims within Jehovah’s Witnesses is many times higher than within the Catholic institutions studied. Based on the number of victims in Australia, an estimate of possible numbers of victims among Jehovah’s…

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The Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, says it has received allegations of child sexual abuse against a retired priest, with law enforcement investigating the claims as the priest remains removed from public ministries. 

The Richmond Diocese — the larger of the two in the state in front of the Diocese of Arlington — said in a July 1 press release that it had “received a recent report of alleged child sexual abuse against Father Walter Lewis.” 

“The allegation reports that the abuse took place in the 1980s while Father Lewis was serving as pastor of St. Anne Catholic Church, Bristol,” the diocese said. “The allegation has been reported to law enforcement.”

Bristol is located in the extreme southwestern part of the state near the Tennessee border. Lewis served at the parish from 1983–1995. 

Bishop Barry Knestout “immediately prohibited Father Lewis from any public ministry in the diocese” for the…

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“I can’t do this.”

It was a wail from the bowels of the Archdiocese of Detroit chancery office by a promising young priest, tasked with framing the agonies of failed marriages into bloodless canonese so that couples might please the powers in Rome to grant their annulment. It was a necessary penance and rite of passage for the clerically upward bound, chosen ones already by virtue of this assignment, some fantasizing about that oh-so-tall bishop’s miter that could someday be theirs — when it would be received, of course, “in all humility.”

For Fr. Thomas Gumbleton, it was 1960 and priests simply and unquestionably did what the archbishop bid them do. Better known to his seminary classmates as scrappy, hard-charging “Gump” — a guy who could take it as well as he could dish it out in hockey, football or even handball — he certainly was not a hierarchical climber….

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Exception only for court dates as part of tough $800,000 bail conditions

Kenyan Roman Catholic priest Lawrence Muvengi who is facing sexual abuse charges allegedly involving a 12-year-old schoolgirl, is not to return to the parish of St Catherine except for court, as part of conditions attached to his $800,000 bail.

The clergyman was granted bail by Parish Judge Natalie Creary-Dixon following a bail application on his behalf in the St Catherine Parish Court last week.

The judge ordered that Muvengi should report to the Matilda’s Corner Police Station in St Andrew three times weekly, and he is not to be seen in the parish of St Catherine on days when he is not in the parish for court appearances.

Further, the Kenyan was ordered to surrender his travel documents to the authorities, and a stop order has been imposed at all ports of entry nationally.

The case is to…

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2 insurance companies to agree to pay $50.75 million

Sexual abuse survivors in the Diocese of Rochester’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case have reached a settlement with two insurance companies totaling $50.75 million, an attorney for the survivors announced Friday.

The settlement is with the Interstate and First State insurance companies, according to attorney Jeff Anderson, whose firm has been involved in lawsuits against the diocese.

The settlement still needs court approval and be voted on by the survivors.

The Diocese had filed for bankruptcy protection in 2019 after 475 survivors brought lawsuits against the Diocese under the New York Children Victims Act. Rochester was the first to declare bankruptcy as a result of potential claims against it from victims.

The Diocese includes Livingston County, where some victims have filed claims.

Previously, survivors had reached a $75.6 million settlement from the Diocese and another insurer, LMI.

The three settlements total $126.35…

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[Via CTV News]

Geraldine Shingoose was shocked when she opened a report probing what should be done to protect potential unmarked grave sites at former residential schools for Indigenous children.

Of the thousands of former students who detailed the abuses they suffered to an adjudicator tasked with determining their eligibility for compensation under the historic Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, only about 30 have sought to have copies of their words archived.

Shingoose — an Indigenous elder and residential school survivor — is among that small group. She said she’s heartbroken to think thousands of records will be destroyed within five years unless more survivors also request their preservation, an option she fears most are not even aware of.

“That’s history,” she said in a recent interview.

“Those are sacred stories.”

The debate surrounding the future of these records has gained momentum since more First Nations began seeking answers about…

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On a frigid February morning in 2013, Sr. Renelle Lasalle sat next to her friend Monique A. Papatie in a hotel conference center in Val-d’Or, a mining town in the western Quebec region of Abitibi where the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (known as TRC) was holding a two-day hearing. 

A retired educator and a respected figure in the nearby Algonquin Anishinaabe,  Papatie was there to share her experience as a student at an Indian residential school in the 1950s and the impact it had on the rest of her life. (Canadians refer to boarding schools as residential schools.)

A decade later, Canada’s reconciliation still feels elusive, but Lasalle remembers that day vividly. It was not just the horror stories she heard. It was also the love she felt from the women who had invited her to attend. 

“They said, ‘We are going to…

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The Jesuits said Monday that a famous artist priest is definitively expelled from the religious order for sexually, spiritually and psychologically abusing women, and lamented they couldn’t prosecute him more vigorously under the Vatican’s internal procedures.

The Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik remains a Catholic priest but is no longer a Jesuit priest, after he didn’t appeal his June expulsion decree, said Rupnik’s former superior, the Rev. Johan Verschueren.

Rupnik, a Slovenian priest, is one of the most celebrated religious artists in the Catholic Church. His mosaics decorate churches and basilicas around the world, including at the Vatican.

Late last year, the Jesuits acknowledged Rupnik had been accused by several women of sexual, spiritual and psychological abuse over 30 years. He had largely escaped punishment until then, apparently in part because of his exalted status in the church and at the Vatican, where even Pope Francis’ role in the…

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(ABC 6 News) – A lawsuit filed on Wednesday claims a former Lourdes High School student was sexually assaulted multiple times by a former clergyman with the Diocese of Winona-Rochester nearly 50 years ago.

According to court documents, the alleged abuse took place from 1972 to 1974, when the plaintiff was between the ages of 14-16 years old.

The suit names Father Joseph Cashman as the alleged perpetrator, who was first ordained by the diocese in 1960 before having his ministerial privileges suspended in 1992 after he was accused of making sexual approaches to several children prior to 1986.

Cashman worked at Lourdes High School between 1970-1977.

The lawsuit claims the Diocese of Winona-Rochester and Rochester Catholic Schools “knew or should have known that Father Cashman was a danger to children before he sexually molested Plaintiff.”

This suit is just the latest claim of clergy child sex abuse against the…

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 ST CATHERINE, Jamaica— The Kenyan Roman Catholic priest accused of assaulting a 12-year-old girl was granted $800,000 bail in the St Catherine Parish Court in Spanish Town on Wednesday.

Lawrence Muvengi is to return to court on September 27. He was given bail with up to two sureties and was also ordered to surrender his travel documents.

The priest is to report to the Matilda’s Corner Police Station on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and is not to be seen in the parish of St Catherine, except for court.

The court is alleging that Muvengi sexually assaulted the child on the church premises.

The incident reportedly happened last March but was not reported until last month. The child is said to have been a member of the church for several years.

Muvengi is charged with having sexual intercourse with a person under 16 years, sexual touching of a child, grievous sexual…

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Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) – Lourdes High School, the Rochester Catholic Schools system, and the Catholic Diocese of Winona-Rochester have been named in a new clergy abuse lawsuit.

The negligence case was filed this week in Olmsted County Court by attorney Jeffrey Anderson on behalf of an anonymous former Lourdes student who alleges he was sexually abused when he was 14 to 16 years old in the early to mid-1970s by then priest Joseph Cashman. The lawsuit claims the defendants were negligent in protecting the juvenile plaintiff from being victimized by Cashman, who was suspended from his ministerial privileges as a priest in 1992. He died in 2014.

According to a biography on the diocese website, in 1986 the church became aware of “inappropriate sexual contact” between Cashman and an adult seminarian. It goes on to say that the diocese was later informed of allegations of “sexual…

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Another $50.75 million was added to the total settlement reached by survivors in the Diocese of Rochester’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case Friday.

According to the law firm Jeff Anderson & Associates, the total settlement is now up to $126.35 million. That includes $55 million from the diocese and parishes, $20.6 million from insurers LMI and LMI Underwriters, $50 million from insurer Interstate, $750,000 from insurer First State, and the latest $50.75 million sum.

Victims also retain the option to pursue legal action against Continental Insurance Company, which has not settled in the case.

The settlement has not yet been approved by a court.

More than 450 sexual abuse claims were filed in the case against the diocese after the Child Victims Act extended the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse cases. 

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Legal Battles Remain Against Continental Insurance Company

Today it was announced that the survivors in the Diocese of Rochester Chapter 11 bankruptcy case have reached a settlement with two additional insurance companies, Interstate and First State, totaling $50.75 million.  This is in addition to the $75.6 million in settlement money from the Diocese and another insurer, LMI, who both previously settled with the survivors. The Diocese filed for bankruptcy protection after approximately 475 courageous survivors brought lawsuits against the Diocese under the New York Child Victims Act.

The Diocese of Rochester partial settlement consists of five main components: 1) a $55 million payment from the diocese and parishes; 2) a $20.6 million settlement with insurers LMI and LMI Underwriters; 3) a $50 million settlement with the insurer Interstate; 4) a $750,000 settlement with the insurer First State; and 5) the ability to litigate against the remaining non-settling insurer, Continental Insurance Company.

…

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Sponsor of bill that created window to sue over decades-old abuse says constitutional amendment may be needed

One afternoon last month, Miranda and Jennifer Wetzler answered a call from their attorney in shock: The Colorado Supreme Court had blocked the sisters’ chance to right a decades-old wrong after their alleged abuser had walked free more than 30 years earlier.

“When I heard the news, I started crying and I just thought, ‘Not again,’” Miranda Wetzler said. “I thought maybe this time we could get the justice we deserved.”

Colorado’s Child Sexual Abuse Accountability Act, which took effect Jan.1, 2022, provided a three-year window for adults who were sexually assaulted as children to bring forward lawsuits over abuse they allege happened between 1960 and 2022, even if the statute of limitations for criminal charges had long since expired.

The Wetzler sisters were preparing to file a lawsuit under the act when…

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An African-born Roman Catholic priest in Jamaica, accused of assaulting a 12-year-old girl in Portmore, St. Catherine, was released on J $800,000 bail Wednesday after an appearance at St Catherine Parish Court.

Father Lawrence Muvengi, who is from Kenya, is now required to report to Matilda’s Corner Police Station on specified days, surrender travel documents, and not be seen in St Catherine, except for court.

The allegations state that Father Muvengi sexually abused a 12-year-old schoolgirl who attends his church and whom he befriended.

The alleged assault occurred on church premises at the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Portmore, Jamaica. in March but was only reported to the police in June.

Father Muvengi, 39, faces charges of sexual intercourse with a minor, sexual touching, grievous sexual assault, and child abduction. He was positively identified by the complainant, leading to the filing of charges.

The JCF emphasized its commitment to ensuring…

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The Rev. William J. O’Malley, a McQuaid Jesuit High School teacher who became a Rochester celebrity for his supporting role in the 1973 horror film “The Exorcist,” and was later accused of sexually abusing students, has died. He was 91.

O’Malley died at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Massachusetts on July 15.

His death was confirmed by McQuaid Jesuit High School, which posted a brief statement on its website. The school noted that O’Malley taught English, Latin, and theology, and headed the drama department during his tenure from 1966 to 1986.

For years after his Hollywood turn, O’Malley was a man about town and one of the best-known members of the local Roman Catholic clergy. His affable demeanor and flair for theatrics made him a frequent guest on talk shows locally and nationally.

O’Malley was also a prolific author, having written more than three dozen books on the Catholic faith…

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La diócesis balear ofrece cubrir los gastos en terapia, que la denunciante estima en 1.500 euros mensuales durante 26 años. Sería la indemnización más alta conocida en la Iglesia española

EL PAÍS puso en marcha en 2018 una investigación de la pederastia en la Iglesia española y tiene una base de datos actualizada con todos los casos conocidos. Si conoce algún caso que no haya visto la luz, nos puede escribir a: abusos@elpais.es. Si es un caso en América Latina, la dirección es: abusosamerica@elpais.es.

El obispado de Mallorca ha ofrecido una compensación económica a la víctima de un sacerdote condenado por abusos, un caso que ha admitido esta semana, y le ha pedido que calcule sus gastos en terapia: ascienden a casi medio millón de euros, según confirma esta mujer a EL PAÍS. Esa cantidad resulta del dinero invertido durante 26 años en terapia y medicinas, con una media de 1.500 euros…

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A retired Catholic priest who served at a number of parishes throughout Virginia has been accused of child sex abuse, according to the Catholic Diocese of Richmond.

The allegations against Fr. Walter Lewis stem from an incident that occurred in the 1980s when he was serving as a pastor of St. Anne Catholic Church in Bristol.

Lewis was ordained a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond in 1979. He served as pastor or parochial vicar at a number of parishes, including:

• Holy Spirit, Virginia Beach
• St. Andrew, Roanoke
• St. Anne, Bristol
• St. Mary, Richmond
• St. Bridget, Richmond
• St. John Neumann, Powhatan
• Good Samaritan, Amelia

Lewis publicly announced his retirement from active ministry in May 2023.

“Bishop Knestout acknowledges it takes great courage to come forward to report allegations of this nature and offers his prayers for the ongoing healing of victims,” a release from the Catholic Diocese of Richmond reads.

According to the release,…

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As hundreds of sexual abuse survivors keep waiting for years to see any money from a bankrupt New Orleans Archdiocese, new court filings show the church is paying $25 million to lawyers and consultants in federal bankruptcy court.

That includes $13 million and counting to the church’s own bankruptcy lawyers and accountants, who have fought at every turn to justify the church’s need for protection from creditors and to keep details of clergy abuse from being released to the public.

New documents filed in the archdiocese’s federal bankruptcy case show the mounting legal fees in the church’s three-year effort to protect its finances and pay off its debts. Court records show the white-shoe law firm Jones Walker has billed the archdiocese about $11 million so far, while the firm’s reported expenses have totaled just $282,000.

Jones Walker attorneys Mark Mintz and Dirk Wegmann were charging $400 and $300 an hour for…

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By his words, omissions and actions, Pope Francis has failed to reduce and sometimes abetted the clerical rape and sexual torture of children around the world, the persecution and deaths of women and LGBTQ+ persons in the culture wars, the suffering of Ukrainians and the persecution of people of faith in China.

SEXUAL TORTURE OF CHILDREN

“The widespread sexual violence within the Catholic Church amounts to torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment,” the UN Committee Against Torture stated on May 23, 2014.

Nine years later, a report by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul stated “Catholic clergy in Illinois sexually abused more than 1,900 minors.” Former Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Raoul’s predecessor, began investigating the scope of state clergy sexual abuse in 2018 after a Pennsylvania grand jury report documented the abuse of 1,000 minors in that state. “The revelations in that report shocked numerous state attorneys general who pledged to investigate…

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The largest evangelical megachurch in Alabama just spent $4.5 million to open a center for pastoral restoration. The center provides counseling and support for pastors working through issues that cost them their jobs — issues like marital infidelity and sexual abuse.

I’m sure pastors with “issues” need support and counseling. I can’t help but ask, however, what it means to prioritize the well-being and restoration of these men to ministry over the well-being and healing of their victims. I can’t say I’m surprised. Evangelicals seem to show a lot of compassion for pastors who commit sexual abuse. Too bad they don’t show the same concern for victims.

The narrative of a center for pastoral restoration is one of a good man who made a bad decision and who simply needs biblical guidance to ensure repentance and commitment not to do it again. Churches tell this story with euphemisms like “indiscretion” and…

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Cardinal Angelo Becciu criticized the prosecutor’s case against him Thursday as the Vatican finance trial edged toward a close.

In a July 20 statement, Becciu said that Alessandro Diddi, the Vatican City State’s promoter of justice, had presented an account that he called “wholly far from reality.”

The former second highest-ranking official at the Vatican’s Secretariat of State insisted — as he has done since the trial began in July 2021 — that every single accusation made against him was false, “none excluded.”

The cardinal is accused of fraud, embezzlement, abuse of office, conspiracy, and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Becciu was speaking after Diddi opened two weeks of hearings July 18 to sum up the case against the 10 defendants in the trial, which centers on a luxury property deal in London, England, that the prosecutor said had lost the Vatican up to 189 million euros (around $212…

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The Vatican has commissioned a new investigation of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (Sodality of Christian Life), a lay society of apostolic life founded in Peru.

The investigation will be led by Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna, assistant secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and an expert on sexual abuse, the Peruvian newspaper La República reported on July 20.

Scicluna will be accompanied by Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu, an official of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. The visit could begin Tuesday, July 25, according to the report. The Crux news outlet also reported on July 21 that a Vatican inquiry was underway.

Years ago, both Vatican officials were sent by Pope Francis to deal with the sexual abuse scandal that rocked the Church in Chile. Bertomeu was recently commissioned to study the progress being made in Bolivia in the prevention of clerical sexual abuse in the…

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Next week the Vatican’s top two investigators will arrive in Peru to conduct an in-depth inquiry into the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV), a scandal-ridden lay group whose founder has been sanctioned for various abuses, including the sexual abuse of minors.

According to sources with knowledge of the visit, Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna and Spanish Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu will begin their work on Tuesday, July 25, speaking with both victims and the leadership and top members of the SCV.

Scicluna is the Archbishop of Malta and also serves as adjunct secretary to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, where Bertomeu is also an official, and which, among other things, is tasked with handling allegations of clerical abuse. Scicluna also serves president of a board of review for abuse cases within the dicastery.

Among the primary motives for the investigation, according to sources, is the ongoing legal harassment of journalists who…

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Brad Dahr pleaded guilty to sexual offences committed in 2020

WARNING: This article contains details of abuse.

A 56-year-old man who was a pastor in the east-central Alberta town of Vegreville from 2016 until 2020 will spend five years in prison after pleading guilty Friday morning to sexual offences.

Court of King’s Bench Justice Kevin Feth accepted a joint sentencing submission from the Crown and defence and sentenced Brad Dahr to four years in prison for sexual exploitation and one year for making child pornography.

According to an agreed statement of facts, the pastor ran a mental health outreach program for young adults and asked a teenage member of the church’s congregation in 2017 to co-preach a sermon series with him. 

The teen confided in him about her mental health struggles and came to depend on him for help.

The pair exchanged more than 190,000 phone messages, which were not sexual, but in early…

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Previous Allegations Surface as TX Pastor Arrested for Child Sex Crimes

News Channel 3 reported the pastor of Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church located at 4995 FM 49, Mineola, TX 75773, was arrested on Tuesday on charges of indecency with a child by sexual contact, as per judicial records.

The arrest has sent shockwaves through the community, leaving many in disbelief as Timothy Nall, 68, was considered a trusted figure within the church. However, disturbing revelations have now come to light as the family of the alleged victim speaks out.

“We want justice for our family and for the previous victims that didn’t get justice,” the family of the alleged victim expressed, as they called for accountability in the wake of these deeply troubling allegations.

As the news unfolds, it has come to light that this is not the first time Nall has faced similar accusations. In 2014, he was…

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Yumken Bagra, who worked as the hostel warden of a government-run school in the Shi-Yomi district, is out on bail 

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Arunachal Pradesh police has filed a charge sheet against a former hostel warden of a government-run residential school accused of raping and sexually harassing 21 children, including six boys.

Rohit Rajbir Singh, the Superintendent of Police of SIT said Yumken Bagra was booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code read with four sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Another person named D. Pertin was also booked under Section 212 of the IPC for harbouring the accused.

The 33-year-old Bagra, from Tadin village in the West Siang district, was arrested in the State’s capital Itanagar on November 13, 2022, but was released after a local court granted him bail.

The police began investigating after a man lodged…

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Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that FRANCIS HUGHES, a former pastor at a religious institution in Queens, New York, was sentenced to five years in prison by U.S. District Judge Philip M. Halpern for his receipt of images of child pornography from a 15-year-old minor in Westchester, New York, with whom HUGHES was engaging in sexually explicit text communications.  HUGHES pled guilty on August 16, 2022, before Judge Halpern.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in related court proceedings:

On February 16, 2020, HUGHES communicated by text messages with a 15-year-old boy (“Minor-1”).  During the course of the text communications, among other things, Minor-1 sent HUGHES three images of Minor-1’s penis.  Upon receiving one of the images, HUGHES responded, among other things, “Yummmmm I will suck you so much” and “Make you cum.”  During the communications,…

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Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown is asking the state spending board for approval to create four positions to beef up his office’s investigations into sexual abuse by Catholic clergy.

Brown wrote in his request to the Maryland Board of Public Works that his office has seen a significant increase in tips regarding instances of sexual abuse since it released in April its report detailing decades of abuse and torture of children in the Archdiocese of Baltimore . The board , which is comprised of the governor, comptroller and state treasurer, approves major state expenditures.

The proposed positions in the office’s Criminal Investigation Division would “support the investigations of allegations related to the sexual abuse of minors by clergy and others” affiliated with the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., and the Diocese of Wilmington in Delaware, in addition to “processing and investigating any new allegations” related to the Baltimore archdiocese, according…

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Boucher already serving sentence for sexual assaults on two boys

Brian Boucher, the former priest imprisoned for sexually abusing two boys, has been charged with additional sex crimes allegedly committed in prison. 

Prosecutors charged Boucher this month with sexual assault, voyeurism and criminal harassment, which according to court filings were committed in February 2023, while Boucher was serving his eight-year sentence. 

The victim’s identity is protected under a publication ban, but the charges indicate that Boucher allegedly “surreptitiously observed” a person in a place where they had a reasonable expectation of privacy. 

• Priest found guilty of sexual assault defrocked by Montreal archdiocese
• Montreal priest convicted of sex crimes pleads guilty to additional charges

The criminal harassment charge alleges Boucher criminally harassed a person and caused them to “reasonably fear for their safety.”

In 2019, Boucher was found guilty of sexually abusing two boys between 1995 and 2011, while he was…

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A former principal of an Australian Jewish school will be sentenced on Aug. 24 after being convicted of sexually abusing two students.

Judge Mark Gamble set the date Friday after a third day of submissions on what sentence Malka Leifer should receive following her convictions by a Victoria state jury in early April.

Leifer’s sentencing is potentially the final chapter of an extended battle that tested Israeli-Australian relations over efforts to bring the 56-year-old Israeli citizen to justice.

Leifer abused sisters Dassi Erlick and Elly Sapper between 2003 and 2007 while she was principal of Melbourne’s ultra-Orthodox Adass Israel School for girls, the jury found.

Erlick was 14 and Sapper 12 when Leifer arrived at the school from Israel in 2000, first as a head of religion.

The sisters told the court last month that being sexually abused by Leifer broke their ability to trust and was painful to remember.

…

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A federal judge has denied a motion by survivors of clergy sexual abuse to have bankruptcy proceedings against the Catholic Church on Long Island dismissed.

The motion, if approved, would have sent some 600 cases back to state court for trials and potential payouts. The Diocese of Rockville Centre praised the decision by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Martin Glenn, while some attorneys for survivors said it will further drag out negotiations for a settlement nearly three years after the diocese declared bankruptcy.

But other attorneys said they believe Glenn is still giving the diocese a hard deadline of making a deal by Oct. 31, or taking the unprecedented step of kicking a Catholic diocese out of bankruptcy.

Glenn ruled on Tuesday that attorneys for the survivors failed to show that it is not possible for the diocese to come up with a deal in a “reasonable amount of time.” He,…

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Argentina’s Catholic Church is undergoing major changes, with a new archbishop for the Buenos Aires capital and three cardinals-designate. The changes have created a new landscape in Pope Francis’ homeland — a landscape designed in Rome.

Archbishop Jorge García Cuerva, 55, took the helm of Buenos Aires on July 15, while the Archbishop Ángel Rossi of Córdoba, a 64-year-old Jesuit, will be created a cardinal at the upcoming consistory Sept. 30. A Capuchin priest, Father Luis Dri, was also named a cardinal. At 96, Cardinal-designate Dri, known as Argentina’s confessor, is the oldest of the 21 new cardinals named by Pope Francis on July 9.

The final cardinal-designate from Argentina, Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández of La Plata, a 61-year-old theologian, will not remain in the country. He will bid farewell to his archdiocese on Aug. 5 with a thanksgiving Mass before he travels to the Vatican as the new prefect…

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After nine years directing the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office of Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment, Tim O’Malley will transition Aug. 1 to part-time assistant for special projects for Archbishop Bernard Hebda.

“I am grateful for Tim’s commitment and service to this local Church, as he so effectively built our Office of Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment team and the Ministerial Review Board, while genuinely and compassionately walking with survivors of sexual abuse and their loved ones,” the archbishop said in a statement. “Given his many gifts, I am grateful that Tim has agreed to continue to serve the Archdiocese, albeit in new ways.”

Replacing O’Malley as director will be Paul Iovino, the deputy director of the MSSE office for nearly three years. Iovino and O’Malley are former law enforcement officials.

“I am grateful that Paul brings to this position not only his 25+ years in law enforcement…

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Almost 78,000 Catholics across nine Southwest Michigan Counties are getting a new leader.

Bishop Paul Bradley, the head of the Diocese of Kalamazoo is retiring.

His retirement to Bishop Emeritus was mandated by the Vatican at the age of 75.

Though you may still see him at church, his bishop duties are ending, but not his role as a priest.

“Celebrating mass, celebrating sacraments, preaching the gospel. Doing all those things that a priest does,” Bishop Bradley said.

He will continue to be a priest in Southwest Michigan. Bradley is from Pennsylvania, but after more than 14 years in Michigan he is staying here.

“I chose that I want to stay here, because this is my church now. My diocese even though I won’t be responsible for it. This is the church that I have grown to love,” Bradley said.

Bradley said his health is good, but his retirement from…

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Pope Francis is set to meet with victims of sexual abuse when he travels to Portugal for World Youth Day next month.

The Holy Father will meet with victims as part of his multi-day visit to Lisbon, Cardinal Manuel Clemente, the patriarch of Lisbon, confirmed in a conversation with journalists July 20. 

The location and date of the meeting would not be publicly announced to protect the privacy of the victims, Archdiocese of Lisbon Auxiliary Bishop Americo Aguiar told Reuters.

A commission investigation had announced earlier in the year that nearly 5,000 children had been sexually abused by Church officials in Portugal over the course of about seven decades.

The 2023 World Youth Day will be taking place in Lisbon Aug. 1–6. The five-day event is celebrated internationally every few years, with most meetings since the 1980s taking place in Europe. 

Francis, throughout his pontificate, has been…

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[Via Detroit Catholic]

The Vatican’s chief prosecuting attorney began his closing arguments outlining final charges against 10 defendants, including a cardinal, stemming from an investigation launched in 2019 by internal reports of suspicious financial activity.

Now, Alessandro Diddi, the prosecutor, was set to present his case over the course of at least six hearings starting July 18, marking the final stage of a two-year-long Vatican trial investigating the mismanagement of Vatican funds.

The alleged financial crimes his office is directing against the list of defendants include multiple charges of fraud, embezzlement, bribery, extortion, abuse of office, incitement to break the law, money laundering and the publication of confidential documents.

Among the defendants are some former officials of the Vatican Secretariat of State, “who did not know how to interpret the spirit and ideals of the church,” which includes being bound by canon law to administer church assets with care, vigilance…

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One afternoon last month, Miranda and Jennifer Wetzler answered a call from their attorney in shock: The Colorado Supreme Court had blocked the sisters’ chance to right a decades-old wrong after their alleged abuser had walked free more than 30 years earlier.

“When I heard the news, I started crying and I just thought, ‘Not again,’” Miranda Wetzler said. “I thought maybe this time we could get the justice we deserved.”

Colorado’s Child Sexual Abuse Accountability Act, which took effect Jan.1, 2022, provided a three-year window for adults who were sexually assaulted as children to bring forward lawsuits over abuse they allege happened between 1960 and 2022, even if the statute of limitations for criminal charges had long since expired.

The Wetzler sisters were preparing to file a lawsuit under the act when a unanimous decision by the state’s high court on June 20 struck down the law as a violation…

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During his visit for World Youth Day, the Pope will meet with victims of abuse in Portugal.

While not on the official schedule, it is reported that Pope Francis will meet with victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church when he visits Portugal in August 2023 for World Youth Day (WYD). In recent years, the local Church has launched an investigation to initiate a path of transparency in a tumultuous environment. 

Portuguese Vatican journalist Aura Miguel, interviewed by I.MEDIA, says that the Pope will “certainly” talk about abuse during his stay in Lisbon. She believes that “these are subjects he won’t hesitate to address clearly.”

The planned meeting with victims, however, will be “discreet.”

“The victims have been contacted and are free to meet the Holy Father or not,” she explains. 

The Vatican expert recalls that during the 2008 World Youth Day in Sydney, Benedict XVI met with…

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The Catholic Diocese of Richmond has received a recent report of alleged child sexual abuse against Fr. Walter Lewis. The allegation reports that the abuse took place in the 1980’s while Fr. Lewis was serving as pastor of St. Anne Catholic Church, Bristol. The allegation has been reported to law enforcement.

Fr. Lewis denies the allegation.

As a result, Bishop Knestout has immediately prohibited Fr. Lewis from any public ministry in the diocese while the investigation is underway. The diocese will not reach any conclusions regarding this allegation until the investigation concludes.

Fr. Lewis was ordained a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond in 1979. During his tenure, he served as pastor or parochial vicar at the following parishes: Holy Spirit, Virginia Beach; St. Andrew, Roanoke; St. Anne, Bristol; St. Mary, Richmond; St. Bridget, Richmond; St. John Neumann, Powhatan; and Good Samaritan, Amelia. Fr. Lewis recently retired from active ministry. His…

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A civil lawsuit has been filed against the Diocese of Winona, Lourdes High School, and Rochester Catholic Schools by someone who claims to have been sexually abused by a priest.

Identified in the lawsuit only as Doe 222, the plaintiff says Father Joseph Cashman had unpermitted sexual contact with him while Doe 222 attended Lourdes High School from 1972 to 1974.  The sexual contact happened when the plaintiff was between 14 and 16 years old.

Cashman was ordained as a priest in 1960 and worked in parishes throughout southern Minnesota.  The Diocese of Winona says it learned of allegations of sexual misconduct against Cashman in 1986 and his ministerial privileges were revoked in 1992.

Cashman died in 2018.

The lawsuit claims the Diocese, Lourdes High School, and Rochester Catholic Schools should have known Cashman was a danger to children and did not provide a reasonable level of safety and care. …

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The Catholic Diocese of Richmond said it is reviewing allegations of child sexual abuse made against a recently retired priest who once served in Virginia Beach.

The allegation of abuse against Father Walter Lewis took place at another parish — St. Anne Catholic Church in Bristol — in the 1980s.

The diocese said the allegation has been reported to the police and that Lewis is prohibited from any public ministry while the investigation is underway.

Lewis, who announced his retirement in May, denied the allegation.

According to the diocese, Lewis was ordained a priest in 1979 and served as pastor or parochial vicar at the following Virginia parishes:

• Holy Spirit in Virginia Beach
• St. Andrew in Roanoke
• St. Anne in Bristol
• St. Mary in Richmond
• St. Bridget in Richmond
• St. John Neumann in Powhatan
• Good Samaritan in Amelia

“The diocese will not reach any conclusions regarding this allegation until the investigation concludes,” the diocese said…

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Francis Fernandes is reportedly charged under stringent laws to protect minors and members of disadvantaged communities

A Catholic priest serving as the principal of a diocese-run college in a southern Indian state has been remanded in judicial custody for allegedly abusing a minor girl. 

Police arrested Father Francis Fernandes, principal of Sacred Heart College under Shimoga diocese in Karnataka, on July 20 following a complaint from a girl, reported to be below 18 years of age.

Local media reports said the priest has been charged under provisions of the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act and the Scheduled Caste (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

After daylong interrogation, police produced the priest before a special court on July 21 and he was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.

Offenses under the laws meant to protect minors and vulnerable groups are treated as non-bailable and the arrested can file a bail application before…

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Bishop Steven Wright of Hexham and Newcastle received prayer ribbons alongside his symbols of office.

Bishop Steven Wright receives prayer ribbons from representatives of abuse survivors including Maggie Mathews, centre, who delivered a testimony during the Installation Mass.
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales / Mazur

Steven Wright was installed as the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle on Wednesday, one month after he was appointed to replace Bishop Robert Byrne.

Members of the hierarchy including Cardinal Vincent Nichols and Archbishop Malcolm McMahon of Liverpool, apostolic administrator of the diocese since Bishop Byrne’s resignation in December, attended the Mass of Installation in St Mary’s Cathedral in Newcastle.

Alongside the customary elements of an installation, the Mass featured a significant contribution from survivors of abuse, following Bishop Wright’s commitment on his appointment to learn “about the troubling history [of abuse and safeguarding failures] and the way the diocese needs to respond to this…

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The number of abuse allegations against Church officials has declined again according to a new report from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, with the encouraging numbers underscoring what the bishops say is a need for reform and justice. 

The July 2023 Report on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, issued by the USCCB’s Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection, revealed the results of the audit year of 2021-2022, with the report saying the data were indicative of “cultural changes in our Church.”

An audit of several dozen dioceses throughout the country, performed by Stonebridge Business Partners, found “2,704 allegations … reported by 1,998 victims/survivors of child sexual abuse by clergy throughout 194 Catholic dioceses and eparchies that reported information.” The allegations concerned abuse “alleged to have occurred from the 1930s to the present.”

Those numbers are down from over…

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Survivors of childhood sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in three prominent Massachusetts dioceses were interviewed by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office over two years ago, but the AG’s office failed to produce reports on the dioceses, Nancy Eve Cohen reports for New England Public Media.

Skip Shea, who was first abused at the age of 11, said he “doesn’t know who is stopping this [report].” He was interviewed in 2001 [error for 2021] by the MA attorney general’s office and spoke directly with a state police officer about his abuse at the hands of three priests. Investigators were compassionate and took notes, Shea said, but nothing ever came of his interview. A spokesperson for the new attorney general declined to comment on whether the AG’s office was working on reports on the Worcester, Springfield, and Fall River dioceses.

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A Quebec Superior Court judge has signed off on a sex abuse class-action settlement involving the Montreal archdiocese.

The agreement, announced earlier this year, includes a minimum $14.8 million in compensation for victims of sexual abuse committed by diocesan priests and lay employees of the archdiocese since 1940.

The lead plaintiff in the class action was a victim of Brian Boucher, a since-defrocked priest who was convicted of sexually abusing two boys under his supervision and sentenced in 2019 to eight years in prison.

Montreal law firm Arsenault Dufresne Wee said today nearly 80 victims are part of the class action it filed in April 2019, which was authorized by the court in 2021.

A settlement was reached this year and Justice Donald Bisson signed off on it earlier this month, describing the agreement as fair and reasonable.

Each victim will be compensated between $96,000 and $160,000, and receive an…

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Pope Francis’ naming of his long-time Argentine collaborator, Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández, as the new prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith marks the most consequential curial appointment of this 10-year-old pontificate. The appointment is noteworthy both for who was appointed and for the pope’s bold articulation of a new mandate for the notorious dicastery. 

Many supporters of Francis have been disappointed over the years by his reluctance to appoint figures to curial leadership more in keeping with his vision for the church. Often, he seemed too willing to allow outspoken curial critics of his papal ministry (e.g., Cardinal Gerhard Müller and Cardinal Robert Sarah) to remain in office. But now, the pope has appointed an enthusiastic supporter of his reformist program to lead one of the most powerful curial offices.

Not surprisingly, those sympathetic to Francis’ papal agenda have hailed the appointment of…

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Statistics show that many Pennsylvania predators end up in Florida. Why? According to law enforcement records, at least 22 predator priests from Pennsylvania went to or were sent to Florida. We will probably never know the exact reason why this is so, but we have a few theories. Catholic officials rarely explain (or explain honestly) these transfers. They are almost never disclosed on church ‘credibly accused’ lists, which either provide no assignment histories or include only those assignments in that one diocese).

We at Horowitz Law can’t help but wonder if bishops have some very quiet ‘gentleman’s agreement’ not to reveal when one of their child molesting clerics was sent to another state or diocese. Again, who knows the full truth?
Thank heavens for the prosecutors and attorneys general who have used their subpoena and investigative powers to unearth and publicize these priests, their crimes, their transfers, and the cover-ups instigated by…

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A new film, The Starling Girl, has hit the theatres, and it explores a common but often troubling phenomenon: abuse victims who have conflicted feelings about their perpetrators. Right up front: If you feel or have ever felt this way, please know that you are far from alone. It’s absolutely normal, maybe even typical. Abuse victims often see or read about other abuse victims because of court cases, either criminal or civil. (In part, that’s because it’s easy and safe for news media to report on cases that are in the justice system, as opposed to reporting on abuse allegations that have not been filed in court.) The media are drawn to conflict. They are also drawn to things that shock and appall us. Criminal prosecutions and civil lawsuits involving abuse are, by definition, shocking and appalling and involve conflict, so they attract media attention.

But often, the…

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Four more former Northwestern University football players came forward Wednesday to claim they were also subjected to “extreme ritualized sexual” hazing at the prestigious Big Ten school.

They spoke out one day after the first lawsuit was filed by an anonymous former Wildcats player, whose civil complaint went into excruciating detail about hazing he alleged was carried out within Northwestern’s football program.

“The university and the football program has let us down. That’s why we’re here today,” former player Lloyd Yates told reporters in Chicago, standing alongside fellow Wildcats football alums Warren Miles-Long, Simba Short and Tom Carnifax.

“We were thrown into a culture where physical, emotional and sexual abuse was normalized,” he said.

The players haven’t sued the school, but their attorneys said that they’re conducting more interviews with them and that civil action is pending.

The players…

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The sprawling trial into alleged financial crimes at the Vatican Secretariat of State entered its final phase this week, with prosecutors beginning their summing up arguments against the ten defendants. 

The Vatican’s chief prosecutor made a key concession during closing arguments, when he admitted to the court that he had wrongfully asserted that a major financial deal was financed with money from Peter’s Pence. 

Switching to a narrative in line with previous Pillar reporting, prosecutor Alessandro Diddi told judges that the money had actually come from profits of the IOR, a Vatican bank, deposited by the secretariat into Swiss banks.

Diddi, Promoter of Justice for Vatican City, opened his final turn before the court on Tuesday by reiterating that, despite the number of defendants from the Vatican’s premier governing department, he was not mounting a case against the Secretariat of State itself.

“This is not a trial of the Secretariat of State…

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Christian David Vargas, 19, of High Springs, was arrested yesterday and charged with lewd or lascivious battery on a victim under 16 and lewd or lascivious conduct by an adult in two separate cases that both reportedly occurred at Ignite Life Center.

The first case involved a victim who was 12 years old when the incidents began in 2020 and 13 years old when they stopped in 2021; the victim said she had intercourse with Vargas at least three times. The victim reportedly told a Gainesville Police Department officer that the incidents occurred at Ignite Life Center, 404 NW 13th Avenue, and that Vargas repeatedly pressured her to have intercourse until she gave in. Vargas was 16 years old when the incidents began.

The second case involved a victim who was 14 years old and reportedly began when Vargas was 17, in February or March of 2022. The victim said…

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Earlier this month, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez as prefect of the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith. 

The archbishop, an Argentine, had been since 2018 the Archbishop of La Plata, and was before that the rector of Argentina’s Catholic University — a role to which he was appointed by then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio.

Widely regarded as the author of the 2016 apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, Fernandez has long been a close collaborator of the pope.

Since his July 1 appointment, Fernandez has made waves — because of comments on the possibility of same-sex liturgical blessings, his handling of abuse allegations, and because of “Heal me with your mouth,” a 1995 book the archbishop wrote on the subject of kissing.

Amid those waves, Pope Francis named Fernandez a cardinal July 9 — he will officially join the College of Cardinals in late September.

In an interview by email July…

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Argentine Archbishop Victor Fernández will not be able to forget July 2023. In the span of less than two weeks, he was named the new prefect of the Holy See’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and then cardinal.

Cardinal-designate Fernández, a 61-year-old theologian, told OSV News in a written exchange that his appointment — and those of the other 20 men (including two more Argentines) also set to become cardinals — is part of a larger invitation from Pope Francis to “walk more decidedly along the lines he established in his first encyclical, Evangelii Gaudium (‘Joy of the Gospel’), which still requires a more forceful application.”

“Who can say that Evangelii Gaudium has been applied? It is not noticeable,” Cardinal-designate Fernández said.

Taking over the dicastery will require the cardinal-designate to move with care, as opponents, both of his appointment and, more broadly, of the pope, have criticized…

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The Focolare movement, one of the largest lay organizations in the Catholic Church with members in countries across the world, published its first report on cases of sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults within its ranks on March 31.

The report, which was done internally and not by an independent firm, focuses on accounts of abuse received by the movement’s Commission for the Welfare and Safeguarding of Members from 2014 to 2022. The findings indicate that from 1969-2012, 66 members of the global movement were accused of abusing 42 minors (29 between the ages of 14 and 18, and 13 under the age of 14) and 17 vulnerable adults.

Founded in 1943 by the Italian laywoman Chiara Lubich and approved by the Vatican in 1962, the Focolare movement has its headquarters in Rocca di Papa, near Rome, and is present in 182 countries. It…

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The Diocese of Ogdensburg, New York, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy July 17, making it the sixth of the state’s eight dioceses to do so in response to a wave of sexual abuse lawsuits.

The “difficult and painful” decision — taken after “extensive prayer and consultation” — was necessary to satisfy a new wave of lawsuits permitted by New York’s Child Victims Act, explained Bishop Terry R. LaValley in a video message posted to the diocesan website.

Passed by the New York Legislature and signed into law in 2019, the CVA extended the state’s statute of limitations for sexual offenses against children by granting a one-year look back for time-barred civil claims to be revived; giving survivors until age 28 to press charges for felonies and age 25 for misdemeanors; and allowing survivors up to age 55 to bring lawsuits. The Legislature extended the look-back window to last two years,…

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The Diocese of Ogdensburg, New York, is filing for bankruptcy following almost 140 sexual abuse lawsuits for incidents dating back decades filed under the state’s Child Victims Act, which allowed claims to be filed past the statute of limitations for a period of two years ending in 2021.

Fourteen cases so far have either been settled or dismissed, leaving 124 claims of child sexual abuse against the diocese, Darcy Fargo, a diocesan spokeswoman, told CNA.

The purpose of the bankruptcy filing is so that the diocese may be able to compensate each victim and continue serving the faithful with its services and ministries, Ogensburg Bishop Terry LaValley said in his July 17 letter to the faithful of the diocese.

Ogdensburg is the fifth diocese in the state of New York to file for bankruptcy following the passing of the Child Victims Act in 2019. Now, only the Archdiocese…

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The Vatican prosecutor insisted Tuesday that his indictments of 10 people, including a cardinal, for alleged financial crimes held up under two years of testimony, criticism and defense motions, as he began closing arguments in a trial that exposed the unseemly financial underbelly of the Holy See.

Prosecutor Alessandro Diddi opened two weeks of hearings to summarize his case by accusing officials in the Vatican secretariat of state of committing “grave violations” of internal norms and canon law when they decided in 2012 to start investing the pope’s money in “highly speculative” investments, including in a 350 million euro (US $390 million) London real estate venture.

“There’s not a single faithful (Catholic) who has donated a euro thinking that this euro would be used in speculative operations,” Diddi said, alleging that such canonical violations amounted to criminal abuse of office and embezzlement.

The sprawling Vatican trial originated in the London…

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A sign placed next to two cardinals’ tombs criticizing their handling of abuse cases is stirring controversy in Germany.

The noticeboard was placed in the refurbished crypt of Paderborn Cathedral in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia by the tombs of Cardinal Lorenz Jaeger and Cardinal Johannes Joachim Degenhardt.

Jaeger led the Paderborn archdiocese from 1941 to 1973, when he was succeeded by Degenhardt, who was in office until his death in 2002.

The text beside the two cardinals’ tombs reads: “From today’s perspective, the archbishops buried here made serious mistakes in dealing with sexual abuse during their time in office.”

“All too often they put the protection and reputation of the institution and the perpetrators above the suffering of the victims.”

The sign adds that visitors soon will be able to read further information following the installation of a QR code at the site directing them to a website.

…

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A 58-year-old Kitchener man is facing additional changes in relation to incidents that allegedly happened at Saint John Paul II Catholic Elementary School in Kitchener.

In May the man was charged with assault after Waterloo regional police said they received a report of a student receiving inappropriate messages from a former school administrator on April 13.

At the time, a spokesperson from the Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) told CTV News the individual was retired from the board.

Police said they could not confirm the man’s relation to the school. 

On Friday, police announced the man is now also facing two counts of sexual assault, two counts of sexual interference and one count of invitation to sexual touching.

Police said a second youth victim has also been identified.

The accused is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.

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Johnny Hunt has spoken at the Southern Baptist Pastors’ Conference nearly twice as frequently as any other person in the last two decades.

The once-disgraced and now controversially “restored” pastor has spoken at the annual preach-a-thon 14 times since 2000 — substantially more than the next most-frequent preacher in that time period, Jerry Vines.

The annual cavalcade of preaching is held every June immediately prior to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. During the time of the so-called “conservative resurgence,” the Pastors’ Conference became a proving ground for conservative pastors who later would ascend to elected office.

That was the case for Hunt, who in 1996 was elected president of the Pastors’ Conference. The next year, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary named a chair of biblical preaching for him. Then in 2008, he was elected SBC president.

With only three exceptions, the men elected president of the SBC have preached at the Pastors’…

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St Catherine Parish Court Judge Natalie Creary-Dixon has asked for documentation on the criminal history of Kenyan Roman Catholic priest Lawrence Muvengi, who is accused of the alleged sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl.

The request was made today when the 39-year-old made his first court appearance.

Muvengi, who is charged with rape, sexual grooming, having sexual intercourse with a person under 16, and abduction, was remanded to return to court on July 19.

He was represented by attorney-at-law Charles Williams.

Allegations are that Muvengi sexually abused the child on the compound of the church, which is located in Portmore, St Catherine, on several occasions in April.

The matter was reported to the police’s Centre for Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA).

An investigation was launched, which resulted in the arrest of the clergyman.

He was formally charged following a question-and-answer session.

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Those who continue to complain to The Baltimore Sun about the newspaper’s outstanding coverage of the child abuse by Catholic priests are misdirecting their anger (”It’s possible to support child sexual abuse victims and have concerns about coverage,” July 16). Instead of at The Sun, they should be directing their ire at the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

The Catholic Church could easily put an end to all of this immediately by releasing an unredacted version of the investigation and by reining in their “secret” legal team that tried to delay justice. By doing that, which is in their power to do, we would have the names of all of those identified in the report.

Until the church does what should have been the right thing long ago, it’s up to media outlets like The Sun to continue to investigate until full accountability is done and the victims feel…

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A bishop who was forced out of office because he covered up clergy sex abuse wants to minister in St. Louis. Catholic officials should not let this happen. Bishop Richard Stika just resigned, in part, because of considerable controversy over how he dealt with two recent predatory clerics in his Knoxville diocese.
Stika has publicly said that he plans to move home and do some church work in his native St. Louis (where, for years, he played a prominent role in dealing with predator priests).

If this happens, it will be a reckless and callous move. St. Louis Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski should immediately, and public prohibit Stika from working here. If he refuses, Pope Francis should do this. Here’s why: Those who commit abuse largely CANNOT be deterred. They are driven by a deeply rooted, extraordinarily strong compulsion that overpowers their capability to think…

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The Catholic Diocese of Richmond posted on its website earlier this month that retired priest Fr. Walter Lewis was accused of sexually abusing a child during his time at  St. Anne Catholic Church in Bristol. The clergyman denied the accusation, but the Diocese said that it had been reported to law enforcement.

The accusation against Fr. Lewis stems from an incident that was said to have occurred in the 1980s. The priest was ordained in 1979. He worked as a parochial vicar or pastor at several parishes, including Holy Spirit, Virginia Beach; St. Andrew, Roanoke; St. Anne, Bristol; St. Mary, Richmond; St. Bridget, Richmond; St. John Neumann, Powhatan; and Good Samaritan, Amelia. Fr. Lewis retired in May of 2023.

We know that it can take survivors decades to come forward. Delayed disclosure is quite common, and the average age of reporting is 52….

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A man who once served in St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Roanoke has been accused of child sexual abuse, according to the Catholic Diocese of Richmond.

Officials said the report of the alleged incident took place in the 1980s while Fr. Walter Lewis was serving as pastor of St. Anne Catholic Church, in Bristol.

In the release, the Catholic Diocese of Richmond said Lewis was ordained in 1979 and served at the following parishes as either pastor or parochial vicar until his retirement in May 2023:

• Holy Spirit, Virginia Beach
• St. Andrew, Roanoke
• St. Anne, Bristol
• St. Mary, Richmond
• St. Bridget, Richmond
• St. John Neumann, Powhatan
• Good Samaritan, Amelia

According to the diocese, Lewis has denied the allegation, which has been reported to law enforcement.

As a result of the reports, officials said that Lewis is now prohibited from any public ministry in the diocese while the investigation is…

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An Omaha priest pled guilty last month to two misdemeanor charges of theft, almost two years after he was charged with stealing nearly $200,000 from an elderly priest. The priest was also accused of stealing thousands from a Nebraska parish where he was pastor.

Fr. Michael Gutgsell, 74, pled in a Douglas County courtroom June 29 to two misdemeanor counts of theft, and was sentenced to two years of probation. The priest was initially charged in December 2021 with a felony count of theft along with the abuse of a vulnerable adult — and could have faced five years in prison if convicted of those charges.

According to charging documents, Gutgsell gave the stolen money, along with hundreds of thousands from his own savings, to an Omaha homeless man whom he apparently believed would pay him back.

The Omaha archdiocese told The Pillar it cannot yet comment on whether the priest will…

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Rockville Centre Catholic Officials Can No Longer Delay Justice to Survivors in Bankruptcy Court

Today, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn ordered the Diocese of Rockville Centre to file a reorganization plan by October 31, 2023. This gives the Diocese 105 days to reach a settlement with survivors. In a hearing this morning, Judge Glenn emphasized that the Diocese is operating on borrowed time and if the case cannot be resolved, survivors are entitled to their day in court. He also noted that in order for the parishes and other third-party entities controlled by the Diocese to get released from the case, their contributions need overwhelming support from the survivors.

“Survivors have waited long enough to have the opportunity to take legal action. To continue to deprive survivors of justice and prolong the bankruptcy process is a calculated effort by the bishop to hide assets, protect offenders, and avoid accountability,” said…

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Last month in a devastating ruling, the Colorado State Supreme Court struck a massive blow to survivors of child sexual abuse when they nullified a 2021 civil window that would have allowed adult survivors to use the civil courts to expose abusers and cover-up.

Although numerous other states have enacted such laws with no issues, the Colorado justices stated that the assembly bill signed into law violates the state constitution, which prohibits any law that is “retrospective in its operation.”

If you are a survivor who was sexually abused as a child in Colorado, we want to say this: We believe you. If you have questions about the ruling, contact our office or another attorney for expert advice on your case and what rights you can still exercise.

Other Statute of Limitation Reform News

Several other states have made significant civil statute of limitation reform for adult survivors of child…

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District Attorney Warren Montgomery reports that on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, former Slidell priest, Patrick Brian Wattigny, pled guilty as charged to 2 counts of molestation of a juvenile by virtue of a position of control or supervision over the juvenile. He was sentenced by District Judge John Keller to 15 years in prison on each count, to run concurrently, with 10 of the years suspended. The Judge also sentenced Wattigny to an additional five years of probation, sex offender registration and notification, and a “no contact” order with respect to the victims.  

The D.A.’s Office did not agree to any concessions; the Court had the sole discretion in sentencing.

Wattigny, 55, a former pastor of St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church and chaplain at Pope John Paul II High School, both in Slidell had been charged in 2020, when a victim came forward to report that when he was…

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A former Jesuit priest has pleaded guilty to sex crimes committed in and around New Orleans, in which he was charged with drugging and raping 17 adult male victims, many of whom were visiting the popular tourist area. 

Detectives also believe that there are more than 50 victims who remain unidentified.

Stephen Sauer, who reportedly left the Jesuit order by his own request in 2020, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on July 7 in front of a Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, judge. He will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and is barred from contacting 12 of the victims for life. 

The former priest pleaded guilty to 13 counts of sexual battery, nine counts of third-degree rape, 17 counts of video voyeurism, and 16 misdemeanor charges of possessing drugs without prescriptions and possession of drug paraphernalia, the Jefferson Parish District…

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