ABUSE TRACKER

Less than a month after finalizing the ouster of one of its largest churches for having women pastors, the Southern Baptist Convention has lost another of its biggest congregations.

Elevation Church — a North Carolina-based megachurch that draws thousands of worshippers to its multiple campuses and has wielded a strong influence on contemporary Christian worship music — sent notice to the SBC on June 26 that it was withdrawing its affiliation.

Elevation’s letter didn’t state a reason. Elevation Pastor Steven Furtick’s wife, Holly Furtick, preaches at Elevation to men and women, and has links to her sermons on her website.

The Baptist Faith and Message — the denomination’s statement of faith — says the office of pastor is limited to qualified men. Influential Southern Baptist leaders have said that preaching is inextricably linked to the role of pastor.

Earlier in June, the SBC representatives overwhelmingly voted at their…

Diocese of Oakland priest accused of child sexual abuse in a current lawsuit still in ministry in Orinda

As far as SNAP can tell, the faithful were never alerted and the cleric was never suspended

Survivors’ group wonders why the promises of the Dallas Charter were ignored?

Victims and advocates urge Bishop Michael Barber to be transparent with the parishioners of his Diocese and the public and explain why this happened

WHAT: Holding signs at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims and advocates will:

— Discuss whether the failure of the Diocese of Oakland to remove an accused priest from ministry while the claim is still pending, along with the recent motion in bankruptcy court to hide the names of those sued in the civil window, is part of a deliberate strategy to keep information about child sexual abuse secret;

— Urge Bishop Michael Barber to come clean to…

The adult sons of Michigan Episcopal Bishop Prince Singh have publicly accused their father of physically abusing them throughout their childhoods, and the bishop has requested a formal church investigation of the allegations.

Singh, the former Bishop of Rochester, has served as bishop provisional of the combined dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan since 2022.

Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry’s office acknowledged the request for an investigation under Title IV of the canons, and issued a statement saying: “Please be assured that these allegations are being taken seriously, and that Bishop Curry has been in contact with Bishop Singh’s sons and his ex-spouse during the past several months.”

“It is my firm belief and hope that the investigation will determine that I have not broken my vows to the church and my adherence to the canons,” Singh said in a message to…

(REVIEW) America got a glimpse of the happy Duggar family in an hour-long special, “14 Kids and Counting,” way back in 2004. They kept having kids, soaking up viral fame in the reality TV era and raising questions about big families, home schooling and Christianity in America.

Americans would become so captivated by this well-behaved Christian family that 10 seasons of “19 Kids and Counting” would showcase the happy family. However, behind the smiling faces were dark secrets and a religion that resembled a cult. These were the real lives of the Duggar children, who are now growing up and starting families of their own. 

“Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets” is the latest docuseries from Amazon Prime that focuses on the family and its connections to the nonprofit organization Institute in Basic Life Principles, created by an unordained teacher named Bill Gothard, who was based in the Chicago suburb of…

A 76-year-old Bill Gothard reportedly told teenager Emily Anderson that he loved her, put a hand on her thigh, then took her by the hand and escorted her up to his office. All the while, a man was there, working on his computer and witnessing Gothard’s grooming for abuse, Anderson says.

For the first time, Anderson, an alleged victim of Gothard’s sexual abuse, is publicly naming the male witness she described in the hit Amazon docuseries “Happy Shiny People.” The witness is David Waller, brother-in-law to disgraced reality TV star Josh Duggar, Anderson wrote yesterday on her Thriving Forward Facebook page. Waller’s wife, Priscilla Waller, is the sister of Josh Duggar’s wife, Anna Duggar.

Waller also is a pastor at Fairpark Baptist Church, an Independent Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.

Anderson hadn’t released Waller’s name for the documentary, which was the “biggest…

A judge in Texas has ruled that a district court does not have jurisdiction to hear a lawsuit brought by a monastery of Carmelite nuns against Bishop Michael Olson of the Diocese of Fort Worth.

The decision, handed down on Friday, June 30, ruled that the nuns’ suit is “dismissed for want of subject-matter jurisdiction.” Responding to the decision, Bishop Olson said in a statement that he is “grateful.” 

“The decision vindicates our steadfast belief that this is a private Church matter that does not belong in the courts,” Bishop Olson. “This matter will continue to proceed through an established canonical process.”

The bishop also asked “the faithful for their continued prayers for the Diocese, Mother Teresa Agnes, and all of the nuns at the monastery.” 

The civil attorney acting for the sisters, Matthew Bobo, said he would appeal the decision dismissing the case on which the sisters accused the…

In the latest development in the ongoing dispute between a Texas Carmelite monastery and the Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas, former prioress Theresa Gerlach admitted to sexual misconduct and identified the priest involved as “Father Bernard Marie” in an audio recording played in court Tuesday.

Though Gerlach identified the man involved as a member of the Transalpine Redemptorists religious order, CNA has learned that the man allegedly involved is a priest from the Diocese of Raleigh by the name of Father Philip Johnson, who spent time with the Redemptorists but returned back to his home diocese in May.

The audio clip containing Gerlach’s admission was played in the diocese’s testimony Tuesday in the Texas 67th District Court in Tarrant County. 

Who is Father Bernard Marie? 

Though Gerlach said Father Bernard Marie is a member of the Transalpine Redemptorists, the order claims he is a diocesan priest from Raleigh, North Carolina,…

A Roman Catholic priest who had been dismissed from his parish church in Santa Fe last year was arrested Thursday on federal charges of sexually assaulting a young boy in 2012.

Fr. Daniel M. Balizan, 61, ordained in 1989, a former pastor at Santa Maria de la Paz Catholic Community in Santa Fe, was indicted last week by a federal grand jury for a reported case of child sexual abuse in August and September of 2012, according to the indictment. Court documents state that he allegedly used text messages to coerce and entice a minor victim, identified as John Doe in court documents, to engage in sexual activity with him. It is common knowledge that methods of grooming victims encompass a wide variety of tactics that include virtual communication apps, social media, and instant messaging, Balizan also used Facebook.

We stand with the…

A former priest for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico, was indicted on charges that he allegedly sexually abused a minor, according to a Thursday news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Daniel Balizan, who had served as a priest in at least eight New Mexico parishes dating to 1989, is accused of coercing and enticing a child under the age of 18 to engage in sexual activity, according to the news release. If convicted, the 61-year-old would face a minimum of 10 years in prison.

The child Balizan is accused of victimizing is listed under the pseudonym John Doe. The age of the alleged victim has not been released.

“Abusing children under the veil of religious authority is an attack on the faith itself,” U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez said in a statement. “I am humbled by the bravery of John Doe. With our partners, we will…

The name change will mean a lot to Vermonters who were victims of abuse by Catholic clergy, especially the clergy who Bishop Marshall allowed to molest children time and time again.

July 1, 2023, is a historic day. It’s the day that the name of the late Bishop John A. Marshall comes off the independent Catholic school in Morristown, which is now renamed the All Saints Catholic Academy.

For this accomplishment, I compliment the head of school, Carrie Wilson, and the school board that supported her efforts.

Marshall, who served as bishop of the Diocese of Burlington from 1972 to 1992, was likely the worst in Vermont history to serve in this position. Throughout his tenure leading the diocese, Marshall transferred from parish to parish priests who had sexually abused Catholic children. 

When those priests got to their next assignment, they abused kids again, and then were transferred again. Marshall…

[Includes a powerful three-minute video by Josh Morgan, in which James Grein talks about his journey.]

Former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is not competent to stand trial on charges accusing him of sexually assaulting a New Jersey teen decades ago, an expert for the prosecution said, raising doubts about the future of a series of criminal and civil cases against the 92-year-old.

Prosecutors in Massachusetts disclosed the findings to a judge, who will ultimately rule on the once-powerful American prelate’s ability to face charges that he abused the boy at a wedding reception at Wellesley College in 1974.

McCarrick, who was the archbishop of Newark from 1986 to 2000 and the bishop of Metuchen earlier in the 1980s, has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty in 2021 to the Massachusetts charges. He was also charged in April with sexually assaulting an 18-year-old man in Wisconsin…

An expert for the state of Massachusetts says disgraced ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick, 92, is not competent to participate in a criminal trial on charges of child sexual abuse, a judge said Thursday. A defense expert made the same assessment in February.

McCarrick, who led the Washington archdiocese from 2001 to 2006, was one of the U.S. Catholic Church’s star clerics until 2018, when sexual misconduct accusations began surfacing.

McCarrick faces three counts of indecent assault and battery, based on allegations that he molested a then-16-year-old family friend at a wedding reception in 1974. The possibility that McCarrick could evade a criminal trial is upsetting to the plaintiff in the case, the accuser’s lawyer said Thursday.

“My client, a courageous clergy sexual abuse victim, is obviously disappointed that the expert has concluded that former Cardinal McCarrick is incompetent to stand trial. But my client remains determined to continue with…

Former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is not competent to stand trial on charges accusing him of sexually assaulting a teenage boy in Massachusetts decades ago, an expert for the prosecution says, raising doubts about the future of the criminal case against the 92-year-old.

Prosecutors this week disclosed the findings of their expert to the judge, who will ultimately rule on the once-powerful American prelate’s ability to face charges that he abused the boy at a wedding reception at Wellesley College in 1974.

McCarrick has maintained that he is innocent, and pleaded not guilty in September 2021. He was also charged in April with sexually assaulting an 18-year-old man in Wisconsin more than 45 years ago.

In February, McCarrick’s attorneys asked the court to dismiss the case, saying a professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine…

Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, announced today that Daniel Balizan was arrested on criminal charges of coercion and enticement of a minor, related to his alleged persuasion, inducement, enticement, or coercion of a child under the age of 18 years of age to engage in sexual activity.

According to court documents, Balizan, 61, of Springer, a former priest at Santa Maria de la Paz Catholic Church in Santa Fe, New Mexico and St. Patrick’s-St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Raton, New Mexico, allegedly used text messages to coerce and entice a minor victim, identified as John Doe in court documents, to engage in sexual activity with him.

“Abusing children under the veil of religious authority is an attack on the faith itself,” said U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez. “I am humbled…

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe has recently received information regarding the arrest of Daniel Balizan in connection with a reported case of clergy sexual abuse involving a minor. The archdiocese promptly reported the abuse allegations to the authorities upon being informed in 2022, leading to Balizan’s immediate removal as the pastor of Santa Maria de la Paz in Santa Fe.

Most Reverend John C. Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe, urges the faithful to keep all victims of clergy sexual abuse in their prayers. The archdiocese remains fully committed to cooperating with the authorities as they conduct their investigation.

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe reaffirms its zero tolerance and unwavering dedication to ensuring the safety and well-being of its community members, especially the vulnerable. It emphasizes its ongoing commitment to transparency, accountability, and support for survivors of abuse.

Anyone sexually abused as a minor or who knows about a case of…

Retired Quebec Justice André Denis has been appointed by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, OMI Lacombe Canada and the Oblates of the Province of France to lead the Oblate Safeguarding Commission, an independent examination of historical allegations of sexual abuse against Johannes Rivoire.

Rivoire, now an expelled Oblate missionary, worked in Nunavut throughout the 1960s and ’70s. In the early 1990s, he moved to France. Since that time, people in Nunavut have been pushing for his extradition so he can answer to sex-related criminal charges.

The intent of the Oblate Safeguarding Commission is to scrutinize the congregation’s response to the allegations, particularly the circumstances that allowed Rivoire to leave Canada for France. The aim is to “better understand how past allegations of abuse were addressed within the congregation and identify any improvements to Oblate policies and governance in order to better safeguard minors and ensure a high level of accountability,” according…

Working document’s format, mention of taboo topics are positive signs

hen the Vatican released the working document for the synod on synodality on June 20, many Catholics, including those calling for church reform, expressed hope that the next steps toward the October 2023 and 2024 gatherings will continue a process of dialogue, openness and potential for change.

We agree: The 60-page document, called the instrumentum laboris, includes several positive signs that the three-year synodal process may be the beginning of a significant shift in the church. At the very least, it looks like it will not be a “done deal,” as were gatherings of bishops under previous popes.

Instead, most — though not all — issues raised during synodal listening sessions around the world made it into the document that is a blueprint for the conversations in Rome in the fall. The ordination of women to the…

Rocked by years of scandals, with some still ongoing, the German Catholic church is haemorrhaging members at a record rate as its leadership proposes wildly liberal reforms to the faith.

Church attendance across Europe has declined in recent decades and the Roman Catholic church is no exception to the trend. A 2021 report from the Forschungsgruppe Weltanschauungen in Deutschland (fowid) claimed that just 4.3% of Catholics in the country report attending Mass regularly, though the range differed between 2.4% and 10.3% in different dioceses. 

Many German Roman Catholics, despite not attending Mass regularly, are still registered as members of the Church and pay the German Church Tax—but that too is changing as a new report from the newspaper Die Welt claims that a record 522,821 people have chosen to renounce their faith and leave the church. 

When deaths are taken into consideration, the German Catholic Church lost a…

After about nine months of investigation and anguish, Father John Clemens returned to the parish Sunday to hold mass, triggering the emotions of many in the sanctuary. A few days earlier, Clemens learned that sexual abuse allegations against him had been dropped.

Last September, Our Lady of Hope Catholic Mission in Rosemont received notice from the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago alleging that Clemens had sexually abused a minor. The allegations dated back approximately 50 years. The church serves residents of Rosemont, Des Plaines and even travelers on layover from nearby O’Hare Airport.

Clemens served as a pastor at Our Lady of Hope from 2008 to 2018 when he retired. He still serves as pastor emeritus for the mission when needed. The mission said in a written statement that the Archdiocese Independent Review Board, assisted by its Office of Child Abuse Investiagation and Review and outside investigators, “conducted a thorough review of…

Speed of departures has been driven by series of child abuse scandals and accusations of a cover-up

The Catholic church in Germany has revealed it is losing followers like never before, with more than half a million people deciding to renounce their membership last year.

According to the Bonn-based German Bishops’ Conference, 522,821 people left the church in 2022, a number far surpassing predictions made by the institution itself and higher than most observers had expected. The previous record year for departures was set in 2021 when just under 360,000 people left.

Thomas Schüller, a canon lawyer, said the church would struggle to recover from the fallout. “The Catholic church is dying a painful death in full view of the public,” he told German media.

The church had 21 million members, according to 2022 figures, amounting to 24.8% of the population.

The speed of the departures, driven by a series of…

German police and prosecutors searched Catholic Church properties on Tuesday in connection with a probe of the archbishop of Cologne in western Germany over perjury allegations, authorities said.

The searches included the vicar general’s office and the premises of an IT company that provides email services to the archdiocese headed by Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki. They also included Woelki’s home, German news agency dpa reported.

The cardinal is under investigation on suspicion of having falsely testified to court about when he became aware of reports of clergy sexual abuse in the archdiocese.

Thirty police officers and four prosecutors were involved in the raids Tuesday morning and confiscated documents, files and electronic data, Cologne Prosecutor Ulf Willuhn told reporters.

He said the material, which would take months to evaluate, was related to allegations regarding the cases of two clerics from the archdiocese. He declined to give further details about the cases.

…

Legal and professional fees paid by the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo have ballooned to $12.5 million, prompting the federal judge overseeing the diocese’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case to remark that he was puzzled over how the diocese was able to afford such costs.

“The question is, ‘Where is the money coming from for these legal fees?’” Chief Judge Carl L. Bucki of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Western District of New York asked the diocese’s lawyers at a recent hearing. “I’m just having trouble discerning how an entity can be profitable after paying over $12 million in legal fees, an entity of this size.”

Bucki based his comments on the diocese’s most recent monthly operating report, for the period ending April 30, which showed a $1.7 million cumulative profit over the course of the 39 months of bankruptcy proceedings. The report also showed a monthly loss of $91,735 in…

• The children of Francis X Gallagher Jr filed a wrongful death suit Tuesday 
• The law firm their grandfather founded, Gallagher, Evelius & Jones is defending the church in this suit 
• When Francis came forward, the lawsuit claims, the church refused to act on his allegations and even ‘threatened’ him for naming his alleged abuser 

A Baltimore legal dynasty famed for representing the city’s Catholic church is now suing the archdiocese, claiming that the son of a legal scion was sexually abused by a priest as a child — which ultimately drove him to a fatal overdose last year.

The children of Francis X. Gallagher Jr. filed the wrongful death suit Tuesday in the Baltimore Circuit Court, alleging that their father was sexually abused at the age of 14 while working the night shift as a receptionist at St. Mary’s Seminary.

When he came forward years later, the lawsuit claims, the church…

he head of the Archdiocese of Louisville is taking on a new role in the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis appointed Shelton Fabre to temporarily run the diocese of Knoxville in Tennessee.

He replaces Bishop Richard Stika until a permanent successor is named.

Stika, 65, resigned Tuesday following allegations that he mishandled sexual abuse allegations.

In a statement, Louisiana native Fabre said he will distribute his time between Louisville and Knoxville, but he acknowledges it will impact his presence at events and celebrations in Louisville.

Fabre was installed as Archbishop of Louisville in March of last year and is the 10th bishop and fifth archbishop to lead it.

After the Vatican announced Tuesday that Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Richard Stika of Knoxville, Tennessee, Stika attributed his early departure to years of life-threatening health scares, and, in part, to the physical and emotional weight of controversies surrounding his leadership.

Stika, 65, had his resignation accepted by Pope Francis on June 27 about nine years before his 75th birthday, when bishops customarily submit their resignation (he turns 66 on July 4). Stika had led the diocese since 2009, when he was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI.

His exit comes after a tumultuous few years filled with allegations and two lawsuits that he mishandled sex abuse allegations on multiple occasions, along with several diocesan priest complaints about his leadership, all of which led to an Apostolic Visitation late last year.

Several Knoxville priests had accused Stika of abuses of authority and appealed to the Vatican for “merciful…

The decision comes as many states have moved to allow sex abuse lawsuits to be filed despite statute of limitation laws.

The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a ruling that allows more than 100 student sex abuse lawsuits filed against Ohio State University to proceed, despite the school’s claims that they were legally filed too late.

On Monday, the high court rejected an appeal by Ohio State University to overturn an earlier appeals court ruling, which reinstated claims that former gym students were sexually abused by Richard Strauss, a deceased doctor who used to work in the University’s athletics department.

The claims were originally dismissed after a lower court determined they were time-barred under the Ohio statute of limitations, finding that plaintiffs waited too many years after the abuses occurred to file. However, plaintiffs argued that the time limit for plaintiffs to file did not apply until 2019, when the  View Cache

Italy’s Parliament is poised to open a bicameral commission of inquiry into the disappearance of the teenage daughter of a Vatican employee, the third new investigation launched in the four decades since Emanuela Orlandi vanished on the streets of Rome.

The Senate’s Constitutional Affairs Committee on June 27 unanimously approved setting up the inquest, and full Senate approval is now expected. The Chamber of Deputies, the Italian Parliament’s lower house, gave its go ahead earlier.

Separately, Vatican and Rome prosecutors both recently reopened their investigations in the case.

Orlandi vanished 40 years ago last week, on June 22, 1983, after leaving her family’s Vatican City apartment to go to a music lesson in Rome. Her father was a lay employee of the Holy See. Theories over the years have linked her disappearance at age 15 to everything from the plot to kill St. John Paul II, a financial scandal involving…

Thousands of dollars from canceled govt project went to an archdiocese, Catholic university, court is told

Thousands of dollars donated by a former Indonesian cabinet minister to the Catholic Church were ill-gotten gains from corruption in a multi-million-dollar government project, a court was told at his trial on June 27.

Prosecutors told the Central Jakarta Corruption Court that funds donated by Johnny Gerard Plate, a former communications and informatics minister, were proceeds from graft in a 4G mobile communications project worth about 10 trillion rupiah (US$ 667 million).

The funds were donated by Plate, a Catholic, in March 2022, a month after he visited Kupang, the capital of Christian-majority East Nusa Tenggara province.

According to the indictment, Plate donated one billion rupiah (some US$66,600) to the Kupang archdiocese and 500 million rupiah to Widya Mandira Catholic University.

The prosecutor said that Plate, who served as minister from October 2019…

Two sisters told an Australian court Wednesday that being sexually abused by their Jewish school’s principal broke their ability to trust and was painful to remember.

Malka Leifer was convicted of rape and other crimes in the Victoria state County Court in April after years of fighting her extradition from Israel. She watched intently on a video link from prison but didn’t visibly react as the two sisters read victim impact statements at her sentencing hearing.

Dassi Erlich, 35, was positioned in the courtroom specifically so she and Leifer could see other as she spoke about the impact of the abuse, as both Erlich and Leifer had requested.

Erlich said she was 16 when Leifer told her: “I love you like a mother.”

“I trusted her completely,” Erlich said. “The insidious nature of her sexual abuse has fractured my ability to trust forever.”

Elly Sapper, 34, later told…

The Louisiana Supreme Court on Tuesday sidestepped a ruling on the constitutionality of legislation that gives victims of childhood sexual abuse a renewed chance to file lawsuits after the usual time limits for such suits have expired.

The ruling had been highly anticipated by advocates for abuse victims, who had hoped the state’s highest court would uphold the constitutionality of legislation passed in 2021 and revised in 2022.

The legislation was passed by lawmakers under the theory that fear and stigma might have kept victims from revealing the abuse as children and into adulthood. Lawmakers debated it against the backdrop of ongoing global revelations of sex abuse of children by clergy.

The Louisiana legislation gives victims until mid-2024 to file such lawsuits if they missed deadlines to file in existing law.

Kathryn Robb, executive director of Child USAdvocacy, a national nonprofit agency that advocates for better child protection laws, decried…

Editor’s note: The Pillar’s editors, being sometimes incompetent at using their thumbs on their phone screens, mistakenly sent this report by email to all Pillar subscribers. Being committed not to inundate your inbox unexpectedly, and having done so anyway, we deeply regret the error.

Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth was in a Texas courtroom Tuesday, arguing that a civil court has no jurisdiction to hear a lawsuit filed by Carmelite nuns in the diocese, who argue that the bishop defamed them, invaded their privacy, and stole information from their electronic devices when the bishop seized them during a canonical investigation earlier this year.

During a hearing in Tarrant County’s 67th District Court, the Fort Worth diocese’s legal team played a tape of more than 30 minutes, in which Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach could be heard being questioned by Bishop Olson, conceding that while she had an inappropriate sexual relationship with…

Shortly after his resignation was announced Tuesday morning, Bishop Rick Stika told a Knoxville, Tennessee reporter that he had been sexually assaulted by a priest when he was a teenager. 

In addition to his comments June 27, the bishop named his alleged abuser in a Facebook exchange last week, in which he also told another alleged survivor of clerical sexual assault “you need to move on.”

“I’ve never covered up sexual abuse. I myself was a victim of sexual abuse when I was a freshman in high school, by a priest, and look at me,” Stika told Jared Austin of WVLT-TV. 

“I did the therapy, and I’m quite honest and open with it, so I see both sides of it. And no matter what anyone says, I would never tolerate sexual abuse of a minor or a vulnerable adult,” the bishop added.

Stika had not until recently made public any…

Bolivian prosecutors are investigating 35 members of the Catholic Church after more than a dozen victims accused them of sexual abuse, authorities said Tuesday.

The statement comes as the country is reeling from confessions of abuse that were found in the personal diary of a Spanish priest who died in Bolivia in 2009 after decades of service there.

“At present, 35 people are accused and under investigation,” Daniela Caceres, a department head at the Bolivian attorney general’s office, told a press conference. 

“We have 17 people, identified victims, but out of respect and as a precaution for the protection of the victims, we are not going to give specific details,” she added. 

Prosecutors opened an investigation following a report by the Spanish daily El Pais in April about the late Spanish priest Alfonso Pedrajas, whose diary indicated that he had abused more than 80 minors in Bolivia, where he had…

More than half a million people formally left the Catholic Church in Germany last year, significantly higher than the previous record as the church wrestles with a long-running scandal over abuse by clergy and with calls for far-reaching reform.

The German Bishops’ Conference said Wednesday that 522,821 left the church last year, up from 359,338 in 2021, the previous record. That compared with just 1,447 people joining the Catholic Church, around the same as the previous year.

The departures left the number of Catholic Church members in Germany at nearly 20.94 million, just under a quarter of the population.

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

Exclusive interview with Prior General François-Xavier Cazali after report reveals nearly 170 people were abused in the worldwide religious community over the past 35 years

The Brothers of Saint John, a worldwide apostolic religious institute founded in 1975 in France, has issued a damning report on the sexual and spiritual abuse committed by its late founder and more than 70 other members.

“To Understand and to Heal”, a historical, theological and psychological study of the community’s aberrations over the past 35 years, was released on June 26.

It reveals that 72 brothers – including Marie-Dominique Philippe, the French Dominican priest who founded the community –committed abuse between 1975-2022, out of the 871 who made profession in the congregation.

The report says some 167 members were victims of the abuse.

Though originally a French foundation, the Brothers of Saint John now have 40 priories in 21 countries around the world –…

The Church must put an end to the idolatry that leads some people to revere their religious superiors uncritically, which helps fester all types of spiritual and sexual abuse

“This dark history is not the whole of our history.” We can understand that the superior general of the Brothers of Saint John, who, after issuing a damning report on the serious sexual and mystical abuses of its founder, would like to believe in a better future for his confreres. 

But one wonders, what is “salvageable” in all this? It’s a legitimate question after reading the voluminous report, which shows that in less than fifty years some 72 members of the community abused 167 others! The evil is all the more profound in that it directly concerns the founder.

Can this congregation, which once claimed to be the vanguard of the new evangelization, continue to exist? What spirituality and charism will…

Allegations against Bishop Georges Colomb of La Rochelle go back ten years when he headed the Paris Foreign Missions (MEP); he’s the twelfth French bishop to be accused of abuse in the past year.

Bishop Georges Colomb, head of the Catholic Diocese of La Rochelle in southwestern France the past seven years, has been accused of sexually assaulting a young adult male in 2013 when the prelate was the superior general of the Paris Foreign Missions Society (MEP).

The 70-year-old bishop has denied the accusations, which were made public on June 13, and said he will ask Pope Francis to let him temporarily step aside from his administrative and pastoral duties to allow a full inquiry to take place.

“I am stunned by these allegations, which I totally deny,” said Colomb, who is the latest of at least 12 French bishops to be accused of sexual aggression in the past…

Around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, the Rev. Al Humbrecht’s cell phone buzzed with a new text message from a fellow priest in the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville.

“Hallelujah. Hallelujah.”

Catholics all across East Tennessee woke up Tuesday to the news that Bishop Richard Stika had resigned, a seismic shift in church leadership that was beginning to look inevitable the longer Stika hung on. For many diocesan clergy, there is a sense of deliverance.

“There’s a sense of relief and in one sense, a sense of a kind of positive sense. Now we can start getting back to being what we’re supposed to be about, the work of Christ. Instead of the rabbit holes and distractions,” Humbrecht told Knox News.

He hopes the relief will extend to Stika as well, and he acknowledged there is much work to be done.

“Healing starts with the priests. We have been pretty much together through…

[This is an updated version of an article blogged earlier today in Abuse Tracker.]

Vatican City – The bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee, resigned under pressure Tuesday following allegations he mishandled sex abuse allegations and several of his priests complained about his leadership and behavior, sparking a Vatican investigation.

Pope Francis accepted Bishop Richard Stika’s resignation, according to a one-line statement from the Vatican. At 65, Stika is still 10 years below the normal retirement age for bishops.

The archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky, the Most Reverend Shelton Fabre, was named temporary administrator to run the diocese until a new bishop is installed.

Stika’s departure, after 14 years as bishop of Knoxville, closes a turbulent chapter for the southern U.S. diocese that was marked by a remarkable revolt by some of its priests, who accused Stika of abusing his authority and protecting a seminarian accused of sexual misconduct. They appealed to the…

[This is a significantly updated version of an article blogged earlier today on Abuse Tracker.]

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Richard Stika, the embattled leader of the Diocese of Knoxville, following a tumultuous two-year period in which the diocese was subject to a Vatican investigation and multiple lawsuits over its handling of abuse cases. 

The Vatican made the announcement in its daily bulletin on June 27 and did not list a reason for the resignation, nor did it name an immediate successor. At age 65, Stika — who has led the East Tennessee diocese since 2009 — is a full decade younger than the standard retirement age of 75 for Catholic bishops. 

For years, questions have swirled around his alleged cover-up of abuse, diocesan finances, morale among priests and the overall administration and management of the diocese. 

In an interview with NCR earlier this year,…

To the editor: We are still seeing reports of predatory behavior by Catholic priests all over the world and reports of how the Church has either done nothing or covered up the behavior and how the Church uses the confessional and the First Amendment in a way that subverts all attempts to bring perpetrators to justice.

And the Church is still one of the wealthiest organizations in the world, with enough funding to support attorneys to provide cover or evasive maneuvers for officials. Even bishops and archbishops have been implicated. So the corruption goes right to the top. I am deeply saddened by this state of affairs, which historical documents suggest has been going on for hundreds of years all over the world. Is this church a spiritual center, or is it — partly — a criminal enterprise?

Jan Kuniholm, Cheshire

German police searched properties belonging to the Archdiocese of Cologne on Tuesday as part of a perjury investigation against Cologne Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki linked to his handling of historic abuse cases, prosecutors said.

Last year, prosecutors said they were investigating whether Woelki, one of the most senior clerics in Germany’s Catholic Church, perjured himself in sworn testimony about abuse committed by a priest who died in 2019.

The archbisopric said at the time the attempt to accuse Woelki of perjury was unfounded.

“They are looking for clues that prove or refute the accusation of false testimony against Cardinal Woelki,” said lawyer Ralf Hoecker, representing the archbishop.

“It will take time until there is a result,” he said in an email, adding that in the end the case would be stopped because the cardinal had told the truth.

The Catholic Church in Germany has for years struggled to deal with the…

Police have searched properties belonging to the Catholic Church’s representative in Cologne amid accusations that Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki covered up sexual abuse cases.

Police and prosecutors in the German city of Cologne carried out raids on properties belonging to the local Catholic Church archdiocese on Tuesday as a part of a probe into Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki.

The archbishop has been accused of lying in court over his knowledge of sexual abuse cases in the church. Woelki has denied the allegations.

Police search several locations

The raids began at 8 a.m. (0600 UTC) with police searching four properties in Cologne as well as one property each in Kassel and the town of Lohfelden in Hesse. Around 30 police officers were involved in the raids.

Police also raided the premises of the IT company that supplies the email service for the archdiocese.

The searches were met with cooperation, with Woelki himself opening the door to…

Archbishop under investigation on suspicion of falsely testifying about when he became aware of clergy sexual abuse

Berlin – German police have raided properties belonging to the Catholic church in response to allegations that the archbishop of Cologne committed perjury over his knowledge of sexual abuse in the local diocese.

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, one of the most senior leaders in the German Catholic church, is under investigation on suspicion of having falsely testified to court about when he became aware of reports of clergy sexual abuse.

The raids, carried out by 30 plainclothes police officers and four state prosecutors, took place at 8am local time, according to authorities. Four of the properties searched were in Cologne, the others in Kassel and the town of Lohfelden.

Media who were present captured footage of Woelki dressed in civilian attire, appearing to personally open the gates to his own residence as the…

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of the Most Reverend Richard F. Stika from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Knoxville. At the same time, the Holy See has appointed the Most Reverend Shelton J. Fabre of Louisville, as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Knoxville to serve until the appointment and installation of the new bishop.

The resignation and appointment were publicized in Washington, D.C. on June 27, 2023, by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

The Diocese of Knoxville is comprised of 14,242 square miles in the State of Tennessee and has a total population of 2,509,421 of which 68,075, are Catholic.

###

Bishop Richard F. Stika, the longest-serving bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Knoxville, has announced he is retiring from the post he has held since 2009.

“I recently sent a letter to the Holy Father, Pope Francis, asking him to grant my petition to retire as the bishop of this great diocese,” Bishop Stika said. “I am grateful that he has accepted this request.”

The announcement was made by the Vatican on June 27.

“Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Richard F. Stika from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Knoxville. At the same time, the Holy See has appointed the Most Reverend Shelton Fabre, Archbishop of Louisville, as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Knoxville to serve until the appointment and installation of a new bishop,” the Vatican announcement said.

Bishop Stika was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville by Pope Benedict XVI…

[Includes link to 12-minute podcast interview with Mike Foreman.]

Topeka – Mike Foreman is not a Catholic.

In an interview for the Kansas Reflector podcast, Foreman said he was haunted by a lack of true reparations from the church.

Foreman was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Father Finian Meis at the age of 11, when his family was attending Queen of the Holy Rosary Parish in Overland Park. Foreman said the assault happened over the course of two “therapy” sessions held at Meis’ house.

When Foreman told his mother about the first assault right after it happened, he said the priest convinced her it was just a part of his therapy methods. She brought him back to the priest’s house again, dropping him off with a freshly baked cake.

“My mother was just so brainwashed and hoodwinked by the Catholic Church, it was just disgusting,” Foreman said. “There’s no doubt in my…

Bishop Lee A. Piché, who eight years ago resigned from the office of auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis amid charges that the archdiocese had ignored warning signs of a priest abusing minors, will return to service in the archdiocese as the archbishop’s representative to retired priests beginning July 1.

In his time away, Piché, 65, “has embraced a life of prayer and penance for the intention of victims of abuse in the archdiocese, and for efforts to bring healing into the lives of those who have been impacted in any way by clergy abuse,” the archdiocese said in a statement June 22 announcing the assignment.

On the same day, Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda announced to the priests of the archdiocese that Piché had accepted his invitation to return to the archdiocese as the vicar for retired priests, the statement said.

At Hebda’s request, Piché also…

The bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee, resigned under pressure Tuesday following allegations he mishandled sex abuse allegations and several of his priests complained about his leadership and behavior, sparking a Vatican investigation.

Pope Francis accepted Bishop Richard Stika’s resignation, according to a one-line statement from the Vatican. At 65, Stika is still 10 years below the normal retirement age for bishops.

The Vatican didn’t identify a replacement in its statement, but the U.S. conference of Catholic bishops said the archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky, the Most Reverend Shelton Fabre, was named temporary administrator to run the diocese until a new bishop is installed.

Stika’s departure, after 14 years as bishop of Knoxville, closes a turbulent chapter for the southern U.S. diocese that was marked by a remarkable revolt by some of its priests, who accused Stika of abusing his authority and protecting a seminarian accused of sexual misconduct. They appealed to the…

ope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Richard Stika, the embattled leader of the Diocese of Knoxville, following a tumultuous two-year period in which the diocese was subject to a Vatican investigation and multiple lawsuits over its handling of abuse cases. 

The Vatican made the announcement in its daily bulletin on June 27 and did not list a reason for the resignation, nor did it name an immediate successor. At age 65, Stika — who has led the East Tennessee diocese since 2009 — is a full decade younger than the standard retirement age of 75 for Catholic bishops. 

For years, questions have swirled around his alleged cover-up of abuse, diocesan finances, morale among priests and the overall administration and management of the diocese. 

In an interview with NCR earlier this year, Stika defended his 14-year record in Knoxville, which he maintained had seen an uptick in…

Pope Francis on Tuesday accepted the resignation of the embattled Bishop Rick Stika of Knoxville, Tennessee.

Stika, 65, was investigated by the Vatican for mismanagement of his diocese. He is also named in a 2022 lawsuit (refiled in 2023) accusing him of protecting a seminarian accused of multiple counts of rape.

The lawsuit also claims Stika attempted to intimidate an alleged victim, a parish organist, into keeping quiet about the alleged sexual assault by Wojciech Sobczuk, and of having accused the alleged victim of being the perpetrator.

Pope Francis named Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre of Louisville, Kentucky as the Diocese of Knoxville’s apostolic administrator until a new bishop is appointed.

Stika has denied any wrongdoing.

Catholic news outlet The Pillar reported in May that unnamed sources close to the Dicastery for Bishops said Pope Francis had decided to ask Stika for his resignation after reviewing the results of a Vatican…

Richard Stika, the polarizing bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville, has retired amid a crippling scandal of his own making, the diocese announced June 27.

Stika will leave the diocese, carved out in 1988 from the Diocese of Nashville, as its longest-serving bishop. He oversaw significant growth in membership in the church and led the construction of a massive new cathedral in Knoxville. The diocese serves about 70,000 Catholics in 50 parishes and one mission across East Tennessee.

Stika also, however, leaves under a cloud of mismanagement accusations, two explosive lawsuits against the diocese that have sullied diocesan leadership, and questions about his mentorship of a former seminarian who is accused of raping a former church employee.

Stika, just a week shy of 66, submitted his resignation to Pope Francis. Bishops almost never leave before the mandatory retirement age of 75 years old, and even then the pope frequently allows them…

There was a significant increase in allegations of abuse reported to the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland last year following the airing of the RTÉ Radio 1 documentary, “Blackrock Boys”, about a Spiritan-run school in Dublin.

The Church’s safeguarding watchdog, which published its report last week, revealed that it was notified of 251 allegations between 2022-23 compared to 178 in 2021-22. Many of these relate to alleged abuse in schools run by religious congregations. 

The allegations were made against 170 respondents of which 35 were diocesan priests, 124 were male religious and 11 were female religious.

The vast majority of allegations, 88, relate to the 1970s, while 56 relate to the 1980s and 36 to the 1960s, nine to the 1990s and two to the 2020s.

According to the board’s chief executive Teresa Devlin, the media coverage of abuse in religious-run schools provided an opportunity,…

Vatican City – Pope Francis appointed Bishop Christopher Coyne as a coadjutor archbishop of Hartford on Monday.

As coadjutor, Coyne will assist Archbishop Leonard Blair in the administration of the Hartford archdiocese and should succeed him as archbishop upon his retirement, expected once Blair turns 75 next year.

Coyne has led the Diocese of Burlington, Vermont since 2015. The 65-year-old bishop previously served as the auxiliary bishop of Indianapolis from 2011 to 2015.

As bishop of Burlington, Coyne removed an unvaccinated pastor from his parish in 2022 for refusing to wear a face mask and be regularly tested for COVID-19, spoke out against a state bill that threatened the seal of the confessional, and formed a lay review committee to investigate personnel files relating to sexual abuse of minors by priests in 2018.

Originally from Woburn, Massachusetts, Coyne worked as a bartender for two…

The Colorado Supreme Court last week struck down the part of Senate Bill 88, a law passed in 2021, giving victims of child sex abuse dating back to the 1960s a three-year window to file lawsuits

When a group of Colorado lawmakers in 2020 sought to end the state’s statute of limitations for lawsuits in child sex assault cases, some victims and victims’ advocates wanted them to try to go even further. 

Their request was that Colorado give victims of abuse for whom the statute of limitations had expired a window to sue not only their abusers, but also organizations that shielded the perpetrators or negligently allowed the abuse to continue.

The nonpartisan Office of Legislative Legal Services, which offers state lawmakers legal advice, said such a window would violate the state’s constitution, which prohibits the General Assembly from reviving a claim for which the statute of limitations has run…

The Vatican’s Dicastery of Bishops has completed a formal investigation of Bishop Joseph E. Strickland and the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, according to multiple media reports and confirmed by EWTN News.

The inquiry, known as an apostolic visitation, marks a rare though not unprecedented intervention by Rome into a U.S. diocese and points to possible disciplinary action against Strickland, a widely popular though polarizing Texas firebrand viewed as a culture war champion by many U.S. conservatives for his staunch defense of the unborn, marriage, the traditional Latin liturgy, and Catholic orthodoxy.

The leader of the eastern Texas diocese since 2012, Strickland, 64, has faced criticism for what some see as intemperate social media posts unbecoming of a prominent U.S. prelate, including a May 12 tweet that suggested Pope Francis was “undermining the Deposit of Faith.”

Not one to sit on the sidelines, he recently played a prominent role…

Tadeusz Rydzyk, Poland’s “father director,” has commanded enormous political power through his Catholic media empire, despite his controversial support for priests entangled in the church’s child sexual abuse scandals — as well as support for Russia. Is his era finally coming to an end?

“When I first became a priest, what I wished for most was media — for the church, for Catholics, for Poland,” Catholic leader Tadeusz Rydzyk told Nasz Dziennik in June.

“Without media, we have no voice at all,” he continued, comparing the church without the arm of the press to “a mute person.”

Over time, Rydzyk’s radio station has amassed 1.2 million active daily listeners and he has also created a Catholic television channel. He receives generous state funding for his media ventures and private foundation.

He’s been called everything from “the most important unelected man in…

• A former Catholic priest appeared in a Los Angeles court Friday for preliminary hearing on 12 counts of child molestation 
• Father Christopher John Cunningham, 60, allegedly assaulted boys between the ages of 10 and 12 in the 1990s and 2000s

A former Catholic priest charged with 12 counts of child molestation, appeared in a Los Angeles court on Friday.  

Father Christopher John Cunningham, 60, was arrested in 2021 for allegedly molesting boys between the ages of 10 and 12 whilst a priest in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Cunningham appeared before Judge Larry Paul Fidler at the Los Angeles Superior Court for a short hearing. 

Judge Larry Paul Fidler asked Father Cunningham, who wore a grey suit, if he understand the charges against him and if he understood the courts ruling for trial within 60 days.   

Father Cunningham confirmed he understood and promptly left the court with his lawyer. 

Cunningham has been charged…

ROME – Amid what has so far been a rocky year, the pope’s Commission for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons has drafted an updated version of global anti-abuse safeguarding guidelines along with a survey for feedback on the new norms.

In a statement Friday, the commission said the new Universal Guidelines Framework (UGF) was approved during its most recent plenary assembly, held in Rome in May, and serves “as a model to define the safeguarding standards to be implemented in every local church across the world.”

The primary aim of the guidelines, the commission said, is to “promote protection from abuse in the Church according to existing good practices in safeguarding,” with a special focus on assisting those who have been impacted by abuse, and dealing with abuse appropriately when it occurs.

According to the commission, the new framework is based on an analysis of work done in…

What we know about the The Fort Worth Catholic Diocese’s dispute with a Carmelite nun

Arlington police have begun investigating a dispute between the Fort Worth Catholic Diocese and a reverend mother who says she was wrongly accused of “sexual misconduct” with a priest.

The diocese, meanwhile, told the Star-Telegram it has alerted police of “serious concerns” of marijuana and edibles inside the Arlington monastery of Carmelite nuns. The Fort Worth bishop says the nun admitted to the “transgression” of breaking her chastity vow with a priest during interviews with the vicar general of the Fort Worth Catholic Diocese and another sister from her order over several days in April.

A hearing scheduled Friday in a lawsuit filed by Carmelite nuns against Bishop Michael Olson and the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth was postponed to 9 a.m. Tuesday.

An attorney who represents Olson said there is evidence to present showing…

Published: May. 13, 2023 at 7:25 PM EDT | Updated: Jun. 23, 2023 at 7:29 PM EDT

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – JUNE 23 UPDATE: A Reno priest scheduled to be transferred to Douglas County following an inappropriate relationship with a parishioner has been put on hold pending a criminal investigation, the Diocese of Reno said.

Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg made the announcement Thursday about Rev. Patrick Klekas.

Mueggenborg said in May that Klekas would return to church duty on July 1 at St. Gall parish in Gardnerville after completing counseling and discernment.

Klekas had served as associate pastor at St. Albert the Great in northwest Reno.

Thursday’s announcement said the parish was cooperating with a criminal investigation and will decide about Klekas’ return to ministry after the investigation.

“As is our policy, we wait until civil authorities have completed their inquiries into allegations; in this case, a complaint recently filed in the same matter with…

A local Catholic priest who was suspended for allegedly having an inappropriate relationship will be reinstated and serve at a Douglas County church in July.

The transfer of a local priest who was suspended for allegedly having an inappropriate relationship is on hold pending an investigation by police. 

According to a release, Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg of the Diocese of Reno has paused the process of reinstating Father Patrick Klekas to active ministry at St. Gall Parish in Gardnerville as it is their policy to wait until police have completed their inquiries to allegations. 

The alleged relationship occurred in 2020 when Klekas was serving as an associate paster at St. Albert the Great Parish in Reno. 

Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg says a complaint was recently filed in the same matter with police in Reno.

The church says it is cooperating and will wait until police complete their investigation before taking any action.

Original story from May…

Bishop Lee Piché, who eight years ago resigned from the office of auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis amid charges that the archdiocese had ignored warning signs of a priest abusing minors, will return to service in the archdiocese as the archbishop’s representative to retired priests beginning July 1.

In his time away, Bishop Piché, 65, “has embraced a life of prayer and penance for the intention of victims of abuse in the archdiocese, and for efforts to bring healing into the lives of those who have been impacted in any way by clergy abuse,” the archdiocese said in a statement June 22 announcing the assignment.

On the same day, Archbishop Bernard Hebda announced to the priests of the archdiocese that Bishop Piché had accepted his invitation to return to the archdiocese as the vicar for retired priests, the statement said.

At Archbishop Hebda’s request, Bishop…

Retired priest Johannes Rivoire worked in Canada’s Arctic from 1960s to 1993

An independent review looking into how the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate handled historical allegations of sexual abuse by a now-retired priest who lived in the Arctic for three decades is being met with both hope and skepticism by Inuit in Nunavut and those who have been observing his case.

“I’m glad this is going to be dealt with,” said Steve Mapsalak from his home in Naujaat, a hamlet in Nunavut. “It’s an ongoing thing and taking too long for me.”

He said Johannes Rivoire sexually abused him when he was 13 years old in Naujaat.

Now 66, Mapsalak said he has been waiting a long time for the Catholic Church to take some responsibility — not only for what he said he’s experienced as a victim of Rivoire, but for what others have gone through as well. “We…

A former pastor at a Snyder County Church has been charged with sexually assaulting three young girls in Schuylkill County.

According to the West Penn Township Police Department, 46-year-old former pastor Marvin Leroy Mosley, of Milroy, PA, sexually assaulted three girls over a 15-year span. Court records indicate Mosley was a pastor at God’s Missionary Church in Penns Creek, Snyder County in 2004, when the alleged abuse began.

As stated in court documents, on April 27 of this year, the victim told police she and two other females had been sexually assaulted by Mosley.

Police say the first victim was assaulted by Mosley from the time she was seven, until she was 15.

Court documents state the incident began with gestures such as Mosley pulling hair and tickling, and then led to him exposing and touching their private areas.

The affidavit says Mosley would often take the girls on four-wheeler…

A former Plover youth pastor has agreed to the terms of a plea deal in a child sexual assault case during a hearing Friday in Portage County.

Jordan Huffman, 52, pleaded guilty to two counts of repeated sexual assault of a child and was convicted as a result. Six other charges were dismissed as part of the plea deal.

Court documents state the alleged victim said the crimes began in 2017 when the victim was 12 years old. Authorities were told Huffman was working as a youth pastor at Woodlands Church in Plover when he was contacted to mentor the victim. The incidents were reported by the alleged victim’s father in June. Court documents stated the assaults happened more than a dozen times over a two-year span.

The alleged victim stated that nothing sexual in nature had occurred at Woodlands Church, but that some assaults happened in Huffman’s office at…

Jean Nangwala started singing in her local church worship team at a very young age. She considered this assembly, founded by her grandfather and located in the south of Zambia, a safe haven. Standing on the stage to sing every Sunday, she said, was her greatest joy — until a member of the worship group, a church leader she trusted, sexually assaulted her when she was 19. When Nangwala opened up about the rape, pastors questioned her story and blamed her. Ultimately, Nangwala said she stopped singing, left the church and never returned.

“I was left alone to find safety in a world that does not involve church when I have always loved church,” she said.

Today, she shares her stories in churches to educate members and leaders as part of Freely in Hope, a faith-based nonprofit that aims to end sexual violence within churches. Founded in 2010, the organization…

New artwork outside a Chaska church honors survivors of clergy sexual abuse.

In May, a mosaic entitled “Ripples” went up in front of Crown of Glory Lutheran Church. The artwork is made of handmade glass panels that have been shattered and reattached.

Roger Lee, the man who came up with the idea for the memorial, says it will help bring hope to clergy sexual abuse survivors.

“We’ve got pieces that are broken and put back together which shows some healing and then there’s the ripple effect whereas we share it the ripples become waves,” Lee said.  “Healing happens in community and it happens when we can break the silence.”

“To hear the news was hurtful, but to know that his voice was going to be heard was so hopeful,”  Pastor Reggie Klindworth of Crown of Glory Lutheran Church said. “That’s a big leap for us knowing exactly what is going…

The trial for a former, well-known, high school wrestling coach started Wednesday in a Baltimore County courtroom.

Neil Adleberg, 75, is accused of child sexual abuse dating back to 2013 and 2014 when he was assisting with the Mount Saint Joseph High School wrestling team. His alleged victim was 17 years old at the time.

Adleberg was the school’s head wrestling coach in the 1970s.

The trial comes more than a year after a grand jury indicted Adleberg on charges including second-degree rape and sexual abuse of a minor.

His indictment is the only one to come out of the Maryland Attorney General’s investigation into child sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

In a report released in April, more than 150 alleged abusers were named for incidents spanning over 80 years.

Allegations about Adleberg came up during this investigation. He was not named in this report.

This is a…

Apollo Carreon Quiboloy fled to the Philippines in 2021 to avoid arrest in the US

Global video streaming platform YouTube has banned two channels owned by a Filipino evangelical pastor who fled the US two years ago to avoid arrest after being charged with sex trafficking and cash smuggling.

The social media site blocked the channels run by Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, the founder and leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ Church, on June 21, citing his violation of the site’s ethical and community guidelines.

Quiboloy was accused of using his channels to reach out to victims of his alleged sex crimes.

The ban came reportedly after a Twitter user posted on the site questioning how a person on the wanted list of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was still using social media and reaching out to his victims.

His channels had more than 47,000 subscribers. He used the channels…

News outlet Diligente reported seminarians faced physical abuse and ate bad food

Church officials in Timor-Leste have dismissed a media report on the abusive treatment of students and substandard food in a seminary as false, terming it an attempt to tarnish the image of the church.

Father Natalino da Costa Soares, rector of the Balide-based Our Lady of Fatima Minor Seminary said “we firmly reject the allegations made” during a press conference on June 22.

“We consider it untrue and the content is slanderous, which directly affects the dignity and rights of those involved, and jeopardizes the honor and reputation of the seminary as a special training institution for seminarians,” the priest said in a written statement.

The statement was in response to a June 11 report published by capital Dili-based news outlet, Diligente, with the headline ‘Aggression and bad food: former seminarian denounces persecution at Minor Seminary.’

…

The Vatican just released its much-anticipated working document for the Oct. 4-29 Synod of Bishops in Rome, and few Catholic watchers will be surprised that “the question of women’s inclusion in the diaconate” will be among the topics for discussion. This has been an issue for some Church leaders and other delegates, as they ponder Pope Francis’ call for a more inclusive, synodal Church that listens and discerns the will of the Holy Spirit.

“Most of the Continental Assemblies and the syntheses of several Episcopal Conferences call for the question of women’s inclusion in the diaconate to be considered,” reported the instrumentum laboris, or working document, which marked the beginning of the third phase of the multiyear Synod on Synodality global process that began with parish and diocesan surveys and listening sessions and then continued with national and continental synodal gatherings.

“Is it possible to envisage this, and in what way?” the…

Ferruccio Panicco, who died Wednesday, jointly filed a $10-million lawsuit against the Vatican last November.

The Vatican’s former deputy auditor general who had been suing the Vatican for unlawful dismissal died of cancer Wednesday at his home in Turin, Italy. He was 63 years old. 

Ferruccio Panicco had a pending $10-million lawsuit against the Vatican that he had jointly issued with the Vatican’s former auditor general, Libero Milone, last November. 

They accused the Vatican of “breach of contract, damage to reputation and moral damage to us and our families” after they were dismissed from their jobs in 2017 for “spying.”

Both men have firmly denied the accusations and accuse the former No. 2 official at the Secretariat of State, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, of working with the Vatican police to force their removal by framing them on false accusations of spying and embezzlement after their auditing began uncovering evidence of corruption…

Emphasizing the responsibility of all Catholics to ensure the church is a safe place, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors is inviting public comment on a proposed set of principles that church bodies around the world must reflect in their safeguarding guidelines.

Distribution of the draft “Universal Guidelines Framework” was approved by members of the commission at their meeting in May; the framework begins by calling church leaders to “acknowledge and take ownership of their moral, pastoral and governance responsibilities to work for the creation of a ‘one church approach’ to safeguarding.”

The principles, though, insisted guidelines must be tailor-made for different countries and their cultures. And, it said, they should include processes for “regular internal review and external audit procedures.”

The framework was sent to the world’s bishops’ conferences, the heads of religious orders and survivors of abuse for review. But on June 23, the commission also…

Names of Predator Priests NOT Currently on Credibly Accused Catholic Church Lists ‘How many other abusive clerics are out there?’ victims & advocates ask SNAP Reacts: ‘Archdiocese gets info on these offenders but keeps it secret’

WHAT

At a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims and their advocates will disclose the names of 30+ publicly accused abusive clerics who are, or were, in Illinois but are NOT in the Illinois Attorney General Catholic abuse report that ‘outed’ more than 450 predator priests a month ago.

A dozen of these clerics now live in Illinois, most with little or no supervision or monitoring, and may still pose a threat to children, victims and advocates say. For the first time ever, the groups are also launching Facebook ads, targeted to families who live near these predators, warning parents to keep their kids away from these men.

WHEN

Thursday, June 21 at…

The sexual abuse survivor group SNAP says the Catholic Church still has unresolved allegations of abuse within its Palmerston North Diocese.

The statement comes as the Catholic Church announces the appointment of a new bishop, John Adams, to the diocese today.

SNAP says the allegations have been forwarded to the Royal Commission, NZ Police, the Vatican, and the NZ Catholic Church’s national office for handling clergy and religious sex abuse complaints.

SNAP Aotearoa leader, Dr Christopher Longhurst, says the Church’s process for responding to the complaints has not been properly followed with these allegations, and coverups continue.

He says complaints against clergy in Palmerston North have been obstructed, and risk assessments following serious complaints against Palmerston North clergy have not been carried out.

SNAP is appealing to the new bishop, John Adams, in good faith to clarify what follow-up there has been to the complaints.

SNAP wishes the new bishop…

Our culture is crazy for orphan stories. From Harry Potter to The Last of Us to The Batman, from Demon Copperhead to A Series of Unfortunate Events, we just can’t get enough of a good orphan yarn. Our fairy tales—and Disney films—are based on abandoned, tormented children. But of course, these are fictional tales. No one likes to hear, or write, about the real thing.

I know because I tried. I stumbled across the real thing in Northwest Alaska at St. Mary’s Mission back in the 1990s and considered writing a book about it. But I didn’t have the stomach for the gory details. Dipping your toe into Cinderella or Anne of Green Gables is one thing. But spending a decade researching and living with the true horror is quite another.

Christine Kenneally did just that for her new book, Ghosts of the Orphanage: A Story of Mysterious Deaths, a Conspiracy of Silence, and a Search for Justice. She spent more than…

More than 820 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by clerics, teachers and nuns were filed in New Jersey against Catholic dioceses and orders in the two year period starting Dec. 1, 2019, when the state suspended the civil statute of limitations for civil sex abuse complaints.

NorthJersey.com kept track of those cases, and reported extensively on many of the most alarming allegations, as well as the priests named most often in the suits. NorthJersey.com also compiled a database of the lawsuits, which contain allegations that span seven decades, from the 1940s through 2016. About 250 Catholic clerics have been accused of sexual abuse, including dozens never named publicly before.

Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former head of the Newark Archdiocese and one of the most powerful American prelates in the Catholic Church, has been accused of abuse in at least 10 of the suits.

NorthJersey.com exposed new information about McCarrick’s rise to…

A Minnesota bishop is set to be assigned to a pastoral ministry role in his archdiocese, eight years after he resigned from the office of auxiliary bishop amid scandal in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Bishop Lee Piché, who resigned as an auxiliary bishop at the age of 57 in 2015, will become vicar for retired in the Minnesota archdiocese next month, the archdiocese confirmed to The Pillar June 22.

In a statement posted online after questions from The Pillar June 22, the archdiocese said that Hebda had invited Piché “to return to the Archdiocese to serve as his Vicar for Retired Priests.”

The statement said that in the eight years since the bishop’s resignation, “Bishop Piché has embraced a life of prayer and penance for the intention of victims of abuse in the archdiocese, and for efforts to bring healing into the lives of those who have been impacted in any…

June 22, 2023

Fr. Dennis Kriz, OSM

Servite Provincial Center
3121 West Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60612-2729

Dear Fr. Kriz:

We are with a support group called SNAP (the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests).  Our mission is to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded and expose the truth. We would like you to help us do this by being more forthcoming about predators who are or were in your religious order.

As you know, Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s recent five-year investigation into clergy sex crimes and cover ups was extensive and well done. It’s becoming increasingly clear, however, that Illinois Catholic officials – despite promises to be ‘transparent’ – kept many secrets from AG staffers.

As a result, the names of dozens of child molesting priests, nuns, seminarians, brothers, monks and bishops who are or have been in Illinois are still hidden.

We are not professional investigators nor experienced internet sleuths….

The sexual abuse survivor group SNAP says the Catholic Church still has unresolved allegations of abuse within its Palmerston North Diocese.

The statement comes as the Catholic Church announces the appointment of a new bishop, John Adams, to the diocese today.

SNAP says the allegations have been forwarded to the Royal Commission, NZ Police, the Vatican, and the NZ Catholic Church’s national office for handling clergy and religious sex abuse complaints.

SNAP Aotearoa leader, Dr Christopher Longhurst, says the Church’s process for responding to the complaints has not been properly followed with these allegations, and coverups continue.

He says complaints against clergy in Palmerston North have been obstructed, and risk assessments following serious complaints against Palmerston North clergy have not been carried out.

SNAP is appealing to the new bishop, John Adams, in good faith to clarify what follow-up there has been to the complaints.

SNAP wishes the new bishop…

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — The Vatican has sent to Bolivia the diary of the late Alfonso Pedrajas, a Jesuit priest who allegedly confessed to abusing dozens of minors in Bolivia dating back to the 1970s, the latest development in a pedophilia scandal that has shaken the Andean country.

In a statement released Thursday, the Society of Jesus of Bolivia said the diary was sent to them by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith — which handles clergy sexual abuse cases — and then turned over to the prosecutor’s office in the city of Cochabamba, where the alleged abuse took place.

The Society of Jesus, as the Jesuits are known, said it will request a copy of the diary written by Pedrajas, who died in 2009, in order to know its full contents, since only a few excerpts were released in April by Spanish newspaper El País, which first…

Church reform groups and theologians say they are finding hope in the new Vatican document setting the stage for the upcoming Synod of Bishops in October, even as many harbor reservations or skepticism about the possible outcomes of the synod itself.

The document, released June 20, mentioned many topics previously considered taboo in similar high-level conversations, including the ordination of women to the diaconate, inclusion of LGBTQ+ Catholics, the possibility of married priests and reckoning with and responding to the sexual abuse crisis.

“I’ve been noticing that, as the reports go up the ladder, they become more and more general; they get away from the specific topics,” Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Catholic LGBTQ+ ministry, told NCR. 

In an earlier statement about the text, DeBernardo said it was “nothing short of an amazing and [a] true blessing” that LGBTQ+ persons were mentioned twice…

Matt Barker was 11 years old the first time his life’s luck ran out.

It was 1979 and he remembers Hey Hey It’s Saturday playing in the background as his innocence evaporated in a lonely caravan on a bush block in Sydney’s west.

“I still have a very clear feeling of right at that moment of the first abuse beginning, of just something breaking inside,” he says.

Over three years he was repeatedly abused by his Scout leader, a convicted, recidivist paedophile.

Five years after the historic Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse wrapped up, survivors like Matt who are now seeking civil compensation are being thwarted by extraordinary legal tactics rarely seen before the inquiry.

Legal reforms made it easier for victims of institutional child abuse to seek justice, but now a fierce new battleground is emerging as organisations at the centre of the claims push…

Key points:

• There are claims institutions are intentionally drawing out the legal process
• Child sex abuse survivors are describing the process as “adversarial and traumatic”
• A new parliamentary committee will investigate the claims

The often drawn out and re-traumatising experiences of child sexual abuse survivors as they seek compensation is set to come under intense public scrutiny.

Described variously as a “war of attrition” and an attempt to “break you down”, survivors have spoken of unnecessarily long delays in legal proceedings and unreasonable demands for information.

Liberal MP David Honey is stark in the language he uses.

“Concerns have been expressed that perhaps some of the respondents in these cases, are deliberately slowing down the passage of the cases in the hope that the victims will die,” he said.

Dr Honey has been appointed chair of a new WA parliamentary committee tasked with scrutinising the legal tactics used by some…

Alfonso Pedrajas, conocido como padre Pica y fallecido en 2009, escribió una especie de memorias en las que admite que abusó de decenas de niños mientras era profesor en varios colegios de la orden en Bolivia.

Bolivia.- El procurador general de Bolivia, Wilfredo Chávez, da sorbos a una taza de café mientras habla pausadamente sobre el terremoto mediático que ha provocado la revelación de los casos de pederastia dentro de la Compañía de Jesús en su país. El sonido de su móvil corta la conversación con el periodista, y el procurador revisa lentamente el mensaje que acaba de recibir.

-Era el presidente. Al final de la tarde enviará a la Asamblea Legislativa el anteproyecto de ley.

Chávez se refiere a la proposición legislativa del jefe del Gobierno boliviano, Luis Arce, para hacer imprescriptibles los delitos de pederastia y para crear una comisión de la verdad que investigue casos concretos y elabore un informe “a fin de…

La Fiscalía boliviana informó este jueves sobre la aprehensión de un sacerdote acusado por abuso sexual a una mujer, en un hecho que se enmarca en las varias investigaciones abiertas en el país contra religiosos, algunos ya fallecidos, por agresiones a menores. 

El sacerdote Jorge Luis M. “está siendo investigado por el delito de abuso sexual (…) y ya existía una orden de aprehensión contra él”, declaró a los medios la fiscal departamental de la sureña región de Tarija, Sandra Gutiérrez. 

La denuncia fue presentada el pasado 13 de junio por una mujer que aseguró que sufrió la agresión sexual por parte del clérigo en 2017, cuando este era docente en una universidad, precisó la fiscal. 

Hasta hace poco, el religioso cumplió sus labores pastorales en la parroquia de El Puente, en donde el obispado lo destinó después de una suspensión temporal a causa de varias denuncias en su contra…

Help us protect kids, heal victims and learn the truth  

You won’t know many of these names. That’s because your bishop refuses to reveal the names of all the child molesting clerics in your diocese. It’s painful to do, but we respectfully ask that you read each of them.  

• Msgr. Martin Henry Froeschl, who was sued for molesting a child. Your bishop paid $277,000 to his accuser. 
• Fr. Alexander B. (“Sandy”) Sinclair, who was accused of abusing a youngster. Your bishop paid his alleged victim $60,000.  
• Fr. James V. McCormick, who is on a church ‘credibly accused’ abuser list in the Sioux Falls SD diocese. He moved to KC MO in the 1980s where he worked for many years. 
• Fr. Lawrence C. Schierhoff, who is on ‘credibly accused’ abuser lists in two dioceses – St. Louis and Jefferson City. He was at Christ the King Church for ten years….

Paedophile Catholic priest Gerald Ridsdale has made a deathbed confession to sexually abusing his 72nd victim.

The 89-year-old has been in prison since 1994 and is currently serving a maximum 39-year sentence for abusing dozens of child victims when he worked as a priest at multiple schools and churches across Victoria.

In October last year, his earliest release date was extended to April 2027 after he admitted abusing two brothers between 1981 and 1982.

Ridsdale, who is bed bound and cannot walk, wore a blanket and sat in a wheel chair with his eyes closed as he faced Ballarat Magistrates Court from a prison hospital by video link on Thursday.

He pleaded guilty to a fresh charge of indecent assault against a 13-year-old boy while he worked as an assistant priest at a Catholic school in Horsham in 1987.

Ridsdale touched the boy inappropriately inside an office at the school,…

A FORMER Catholic priest who is currently in jail for indecently assaulting children has been handed a further custodial term of eight-and-a-half years.

David Leslie Crowley, 69, was jailed at Leeds Crown Court on Monday after pleading guilty to committing 15 sex offences against five young boys across Yorkshire, England.

Crowley is already serving a sentence of 18 years, extended by two years, after being sentenced in 2019 for 13 similar offences committed between 1979 and 1985.

He had also previously served time after being given an 11-year sentence in 1998 for 15 sex offences against young boys.

“Crowley flagrantly abused his position of authority and trust within the communities he served to commit vile offences against young boys, leaving many of them with lifelong trauma,” said Graham Guest of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

PLIED WITH GIFTS AND ALCOHOL

The offences Crowley was sentenced for this week occurred on…

One year after a massive sex abuse scandal, America’s largest Protestant denomination has a different concern: women in church leadership.

Episode Notes

Last week, the Southern Baptist Convention held its annual meeting in New Orleans – and its main order of business was to tighten the reins on what women can, and can’t, do in the church. It’s the result of a years-long push from the SBC’s ultraconservative wing to reverse what it calls a “liberal drift.” As the nation’s largest Protestant denomination prepares to crack down on gender roles, what does that mean for American evangelicals – and for the rest of us?

Guest: Beth Allison Barr is a history professor at Baylor University. She’s also the author of “The Making of Biblical Womanhood.”

Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.

Last month, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul released a scathing 696-page report about child sexual abuse and cover-up in the six Catholic Dioceses across the state. The findings were stunning: bishops knew about abusive clerics for decades and did little to nothing to protect the children in their care. Instead, bishops (some of whom were predators themselves) moved, promoted, and protected alleged child abusers, leaving children in harm’s way for decades.

The report was extensive and met with praise from survivors and advocates. Unlike a similar report released in Maryland in April, where Identities of abusive clerics and most enablers were redacted, the Illinois report pulled no punches: abusive clerics were named, bishops were exposed, and the real danger was made clear.

Since the report’s release, bishops have groveled for forgiveness, citing “past errors” and “misunderstanding” about the effects of abuse. They said they were “saddened” and “disturbed,” even though the information in the…

Archbishop Gregory Aymond knew of nine allegations facing disgraced priest Lawrence Hecker in 2012. The church didn’t out him as a sexual predator until six years later.

A retired Catholic priest who worked in about a dozen New Orleans-area parishes admitted to his superiors more than 20 years ago that he had molested seven teenagers he met on the job, but he was allowed to continue working and never faced criminal charges, according to an investigation published Tuesday by The Guardian.

The newspaper cited a two-page 1999 statement from disgraced priest Lawrence Hecker, now 91, who confessed to “overtly sexual acts” with two boys and behavior with other children from 1966 to 1979 that included fondling, mutual masturbation and bed-sharing during a trip to a Texas amusement park.

Archbishop Gregory Aymond knew of nine allegations facing Hecker as early as 2012, including…

Keith Flores says he never heard from Catholic church superiors to whom the priest reported his transgressions in 1999

• This article contains descriptions of child abuse

Keith Flores was surprised to learn that he was named in a statement in which a priest who once worked at his New Orleans school confessed to abusing children while on duty.

Flores said he never heard from any of the superiors to whom the priest, Lawrence Hecker, reported his transgressions in 1999.

As the Guardian first revealed on Tuesday, Hecker took a sabbatical, underwent a psychiatric evaluation which determined he was a pedophile who should not work around children, and was sent back to work before quietly retiring in 2002. These events all took place 16 years before the second oldest archdiocese in the US – under pressure from a metastasizing clerical abuse scandal – publicly admitted he was a predator.

“It’s disgusting,” Flores said…

The Vatican’s secretary of state has dismissed the claim that clergy sexual abuse is linked to homosexuality, labeling it a “serious and scientifically untenable association.” 

“Homosexual orientation cannot be considered as either cause or aspect typical of the abuser, even more so when it is decoupled from the general arrangement of the person,” wrote Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

The cardinal’s remarks were published as the preface to a new book, Il dolore della Chiesa di fronte agli abusi (“The Pain of the Church in the Face of Abuse”), a volume that includes contributions from a number of Catholic theologians, psychologists and other experts on clergy sexual abuse. 

Yet while the cardinal’s reflections are notable coming from the second-highest ranking person in the Vatican and indirectly push against claims from a number of right-wing prelates and activists who have repeatedly tried to tie clergy abuse…

For decades, famed preacher John MacArthur has taught that pastors and elders with wayward children are disqualified from ministry, even if those children are adults.

Recently, I mentioned this standard in an article on MacArthur’s son, who’s embroiled in a $16 million investment scandal, and people pushed back.

“No parent can control the behavior of their fully grown adult child—even John Macarthur (sic),” one woman wrote.

“Kicking out an elder when their 30+ year old child becomes a criminal seems to not be the fault of the parent,” said another.

Yet, that is precisely what MacArthur has taught. In a sermon entitled, “The Required Character for a Pastor: Family Leadership,” MacArthur states:

So, a pastor, an elder, must be this kind of man, ‘above reproach’ . . . having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion.’

‘Having children who believe’—that is literally what the Greek…

A former head wrestling coach of Mount Saint Joseph High School who was the only person indicted in the Maryland attorney general’s investigation into child sexual abuse and cover-ups within the Archdiocese of Baltimore is set to stand trial this week on charges that he groomed and assaulted a teen.

Neil Adleberg, 75, of Reisterstown, who prosecutors saidserved as the head wrestling coach in the 1970s and returned as an assistant wrestling coach for the 2014-15 season, is charged with six counts, including sexual abuse of a minor.

Adleberg appeared Tuesday in Baltimore County Circuit Court and opted for a bench trial. That means Circuit Judge Dennis M. Robinson Jr. will determine whether he is guilty of the charges in the case.

In 2013, Adleberg, then 65, met a 17-year-old who was a senior and member of the wrestling team at Perry Hall High School…