Legislation to make clergy members mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect passed the Washington State Senate Friday on a 28-20 vote.

Currently, Washington is one of just five states in the country that does not list clergy as mandatory reporters of child abuse or neglect.

Senate Bill 5375, sponsored by Sen. Noel Frame (D-Seattle), would require clergy to report information about child abuse to law enforcement or the Department of Children, Youth, and Families, with no exemption for whether it was learned during “penitential communications” – a term applicable to many religions but commonly understood as “confession” in the Catholic faith.

“It’s long past time that the Legislature steps up, closes this loophole, and protects children,” Frame said. “I know this is a tough subject for many of my colleagues, especially those with deep religious views. I respect that, but this bill is about the separation of church and state. This bill…

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The next pope must do what Francis refused: enact a universal zero tolerance law for abuse and cover-up

Sympathy for the pope must not mean ignoring his failure on abuse

Unlike Francis, Benedict XVI, and John Paul II, successor cannot have covered up sex crimes 

Summary 

• The next pope must institute a zero tolerance law for sexual abuse that immediately removes abusive clergy and leaders who have covered up abuse from ministry and mandates independent oversight of bishops. He must use his authority to enact fundamental, institutional changes to end the systematic practice of sexual abuse and its concealment.
• The next pope must not have any history of having covered up sexual abuse.
• Because of his history of covering up abuse in Argentina, Francis never possessed the necessary credibility to overhaul the Vatican’s management of sexual abuse cases.
• None of Francis’ reforms or initiatives have produced actual “zero tolerance” for…

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An anonymous woman from Indiana alleges Miller raped her in 1998 when she was 15 and he was 19 and working as a youth church leader, per the complaint

South Carolina pastor John-Paul Miller, whose estranged wife authorities say died by suicide last April, is accused in a new lawsuit of raping a 15-year-old girl decades ago.

An anonymous woman from Indiana alleges Miller raped her in 1998 when she was 15 and he was 19 and working as a youth church leader, according to a complaint filed Feb. 25 in Horry County’s Court of Common Pleas reviewed by PEOPLE.

The Jane Doe also alleged Miller touched her genitals without her consent when the two encountered each other in public in Myrtle Beach in 2023, per the complaint.

About 30 minutes later, Doe says the two got into an argument over him allegedly using his title…

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 Anglican Watch, a watchdog group for the Episcopal Church, is calling for the immediate resignation of the Rev. Barb Kempf, who serves as the national intake officer for complaints against bishops under the church’s Title IV clergy disciplinary processes. The move follows a series of dismissals by Kempf on pretextual bases, including canonically unauthorized factfinding efforts, false and misleading interpretations of church canons, and repeated refusals to obtain needed information from complainants.

In one case, Kempf brushed off a clergy disciplinary complaint against retired Massachusetts bishop Alan Gates involving taking a child across state lines for purposes of sexual abuse. Gates failed to report the matter to law enforcement as required by state law and church policy.

“When incoming presiding bishop Sean Rowe took office, and with the departure of corrupt Bishop Todd Ousley, who previously handled bishop clergy disciplinary complaints against bishops, we had great hopes that the…

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The Vatican Dicastery for Legislative Texts strongly cautioned against publishing “news” that would harm the reputation of an individual, especially someone who is deceased, when it comes to priests accused of abuse and not found guilty in civil or canonical procedures.

The right to defend oneself and the principles of presumed innocence until proven guilty must be protected and guaranteed, said a letter signed by Archbishop Filippo Iannone, prefect of the dicastery, and Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta, dicastery secretary.

They also said the church must uphold the principle of the non-retroactivity of crime, that is, that no person can be criminally responsible under a law or statute for conduct before that law enters into force.

Another “undeniable legal foundation” for forbidding this practice, they wrote, is Pope Francis who wrote: “It is necessary to prevent the lists of the accused being published, even by dioceses, before the preliminary investigation and…

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Janko Kolosnjaji guilty of sexually assaulting minor in 2023

Warning: this story contains references to sexual assault.

A Ukrainian Catholic priest collapsed in a Saskatoon courtroom and had to be defibrillated after a judge declared him guilty of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in a church.

Janko Kolosnjaji, 71, was in Saskatoon provincial court Wednesday to hear the verdict in his judge-alone trial for one count of sexual assault of a minor. Saskatoon police charged Kolosnjaji in April 2023, about a month after a woman reported her 13-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of St. George in the Pleasant Hill neighbourhood.

Judge Lua Gibb found Kolosnjaji guilty and scheduled sentencing for June 16. Gibb found the girl did not consent to a kiss from Kolosnjaji and rejected the defence that he kissed the girl on the lips as part of a cultural greeting and not for sexual purposes.

…

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CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to child abuse.

A teacher at a Canberra college who sexually violated a student four decades ago had already indecently assaulted one child and went on to rape a third.

On Wednesday (27 February), 82-year-old John Vincent Roberts was sentenced to two years and eight months’ jail, to be suspended once he spent 12 months behind bars, over the abuse he inflicted in the early 1980s against his second victim.

In 1982 and 1983, he was in his 40s and worked as a drama teacher at St Edmund’s College, the ACT Supreme Court heard.

The college was a boy’s school run by the Congregation of Christian Brothers at the time, while Roberts was a member of the congregation who lived at the school’s accommodation.

He began to befriend the victim-survivor when the boy was 15, showing him favouritism over other students, and eventually offered to…

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Lucas Timothy Hunt, the 25-year-old founder of Thank You Jesus Yard Signs, was charged Feb. 25 with one count of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor in Randolph County, N.C., after a brief investigation by the Invictus Task Force.

North Carolina residents likely have seen hundreds of these signs scattered around neighborhoods or along highways, as the signs are part of a larger “Thank You Jesus Mission” the 501(c)3 nonprofit ministry advertises.

According to the company website, Hunt founded the ministry as a teenager in 2016 as an Easter project for his “small rural church.” Since then, “170,000 signs have been sold along with car magnets, garden flags and bracelets.” Revenue from the sales is used to provide “grants to religious 501(c)3’s who seek to share God’s love.”

According to court documents, Invictus Task Force investigators found a pornographic video of two children in Hunt’s possession after receiving a tip from the…

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Calvary Church Lead Pastor Chantry Dean said that the church is committed to supporting the victims and enhancing security.

The pastor of a Bentonville church where multiple sexual assaults allegedly took place at the hands of a former volunteer has released a statement addressing the situation and vowing to enhance training requirements.

Andrew Apple, 27, was arrested on Feb. 21 by the Bentonville Police Department and is accused of rape, second-degree sexual assault, and sexual indecency with a child.

Court documents filed days later revealed that Apple was a volunteer at a Bentonville church, and that incidents of alleged rape, sexual assault, and inappropriate touching occurred between Apple and multiple children over the span of years on church grounds.

The church that Apple volunteered at was not identified in court documents. However, the pastor at Calvary Church in Bentonville has since confirmed that Apple was a…

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Spain’s Catholic Church, long criticised for lacking transparency about its handling of sexual abuse committed on its watch, on Thursday said its contested scheme to compensate victims had started.

Pressure on the Spanish Church to compensate victims amplified after a damning 2023 report estimated that Roman Catholic clergy and lay people sexually abused more than 400,000 minors since 1940.

The Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE), which groups the country’s leading bishops, presented its own compensation plan last year but without providing details on when or how it would be implemented.

CEE secretary general Francisco Cesar Garcia Magan told reporters the plan “is working… cases presented by congregations, by dioceses or directly by victims are being handled”.

But he was unable to reveal how much had been paid out to victims, saying the commission responsible for handling the claims “works independently”.

The commission would report on its work after a year of…

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The Spanish Catholic Church announced February 27 that it has put in place its mechanism for compensating victims of sexual assaults committed by clergy. According to the press, the commission began its work at the end of last year.

The Spanish Catholic Church, criticized for years for its inaction regarding sexual assaults committed by clergy, announced that it has put in place its compensation mechanism.

“The comprehensive reparation plan for victims of abuse is operational (…) Cases presented by congregations, dioceses, or directly by victims are already being handled,” declared Auxiliary Bishop Francisco García Magán of Toledo, secretary general of the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE), during a February 27 press conference.

However, he did not specify how long the mechanism has been operational and said he did not know how much compensation has already been granted, as the commission responsible for awarding them “operates autonomously.”

Further reading: In Spain, church…

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Mobile pastor Bradrick Vail, who was accused of raping two women in Prichard and Mobile, has been found guilty on seven counts of the lesser charge of sexual misconduct.

The jury deliberated over parts of two days before returning the verdict.

Investigators say he met both alleged victims through his church, Tree of Life Deliverance Ministries on Stanton Road.

The two women testified that he sexually assaulted them.

Vail had been charged with three counts of first-degree rape, one count of first-degree sodomy and three counts of first-degree sexual abuse. Those are all felonies.

But the jury opted to convict on misdemeanors charges, meaning the maximum punishment is one year in jail on each count.

Mobile County Circuit Judge Jill Phillips allowed Vail to remain free on bond until sentencing, which she set for April 7.

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Law enforcement officials in New Jersey have arrested 64-year-old Charles B. Brinson, on charges that claim he molested a teen who passed out after Brinson, allegedly, gave the victim an ‘unknown substance’

Law enforcement officials have arrested a 64-year-old pastor at a church in Trenton, NJ, on charges that claim he molested a teen.

According to police, Charles B. Brinson, pastor of the Brinson Memorial Church on Brinson Avenue in Trenton, NJ, has been arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child following separate incidents that, allegedly, happened earlier this year.

Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673.

Police officials said they were contacted by the alleged 16-year-old victim who claimed that on separate occasions in January and February of this year, while at Brinson’s home, the…

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Former federal parliamentarian Jessika Soors has been appointed National Coordinator for the fight against sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

The Dignity Foundation, created by the Church to handle reports of sexual violence by religious leaders, announced her appointment on Wednesday.

Soors, 36, was briefly a Groen parliamentarian before resigning in 2020 to join the office of then Secretary of State for Gender Equality Sarah Schlitz as her political director.

She then moved to the Flemish administration, where she worked on recognising local religious communities.

Soors’ role will involve coordinating and independently implementing the Catholic Church’s policies against sexual violence.

Archbishop Luc Terlinden of Mechelen-Brussels described her as a key figure in the Church’s renewed action plan to combat sexual abuse within pastoral relationships.

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A former Sioux Falls pastor is in the Minnehaha County Jail facing sex charges.

52-year-old Patrick Anderson is accused of having unwanted sexual contact with four different people, between April and August of last year.

In one case he’s also charged with raping the victim.

According to court records, he used to go by the name of Patrick Boll.

KELOLAND News did a story with him in 2016 when he was the pastor of a local Baptist church.
He told us about a program he started to help women in abusive relationships.

“I have a heart for women, for children, for people that have been pushed out of a bully position really that they just need someone to fight for them,” Anderson said in the 2016 story.

Authorities issued a warrant for Anderson’s arrest last week. He was booked into jail this morning, where he is being held on a $10,000…

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A former Sioux Falls pastor was arrested on Tuesday for charges of rape and sexual contact.

Patrick Michael Anderson has pled not guilty to one count of rape in the fourth degree and four counts of sexual contact without consent.

According to court documents, the charges the 52-year-old faces stem from incidents that occurred between April and August of 2024 and involve four different victims.

The Restoration Baptist Church of Sioux Falls confirmed to Dakota News Now that Anderson, who is also known as Patrick Boll, was a pastor at the church, but was fired in 2023.

According to Call to Freedom, a local human trafficking advocacy organization, Anderson ran a program for women coming out of trafficking situations called House of Boaz. Call to Freedom urges any women who came into contact with Anderson to call 605-759-3565 for assistance.

The rape charge is a Class 3 felony and is…

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A Colorado man accused of sexually assaulting a child while working as a youth pastor in Wisconsin Rapids more than 20 years ago is expected to reach a plea agreement in his case.

James Lane, 52, of Centennial, Colo., is charged with repeated sexual assault of a child.

Investigators the charge stems from a report made to the Clergy and Faith Leader Abuse Initiative. According to a news release, the victim in this case had not reported the assault to either church or legal authorities prior to reporting through the tip website.

According to a news release, Lane was working at Faith Reformed Church in Wisconsin Rapids when he assaulted the victim in his vehicle while driving the victim home. When interviewed by Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation special agents, Lane allegedly stated that he had a “relationship” with a girl in the youth group that got…

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A new court date has been set for a former Romanian Orthodox priest, charged in connection with a historical sexual assault in the Russell area.

Last June, Russell RCMP say a woman in her 60’s reported that a priest at a church in Lennard, Manitoba, had sexually assaulted her multiple times over the course of two years, in the early 1970’s.

The victim was between the ages of 11 and 12 at the time of the alleged assaults.

81-year-old Constantin Turcoane of Regina, had his matter heard in Russell Provincial Court yesterday (Wed), where it was adjourned to April 23.

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Three children sexually abused by their father asked the Arizona Court of Appeals to reverse a summary judgment action clearing the children’s physician, who didn’t report the abuse because it was disclosed to him under religious confession.

The children’s attorney argued Tuesday that John Herrod — bishop of a small Mormon congregation in Bisbee, Arizona — waived his clergy-pertinent privilege to keep the abuser’s confession confidential when he told the children’s mother about the abuse. The plaintiffs asked the court to reverse a lower ruling that says Herrod never waived that privilege. 

Paul Adams sexually abused all six of his children for at least seven years until his arrest, confession and subsequent suicide in 2017. He regularly raped Jane Doe 1, now 15, when she was as young as six years old and posted videos to the internet, which eventually led to his demise.

In 2021,  View Cache

Apologist Michael Brown, who’s under investigation for alleged sexual misconduct, was honored with a standing ovation at a conference last weekend at Mercy Culture Church, where Brown serves as an apostolic elder.

In his message at the Presence Driven Church Conference in Fort Worth, Texas, Mercy Culture Pastor Landon Schott equated the allegations against Brown with “gossip and slander.”

Schott also warned pastors that an “accuser of the brethren is going after men of God that have given their lives to build the kingdom.”

Then, directly addressing Brown, who was sitting in the first row, Schott exclaimed, “Dr. Brown, we honor you! We celebrate you! And this Presence Driven Church and community of pastors is behind you!”

The approximately 1,500 pastors and attendees in the room rose to their feet cheered for Brown for nearly a minute.

Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold…

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CANTON − A Stark and Wayne County pastor is accused of kidnapping and sexually abusing a minor during a camping trip last year in Ashland County.

The Rev. Jesse Santos, 59, pastor of the Canton Seventh-day Adventist Church in Plain Township, was initially arrested by Stark County sheriff’s deputies on Feb. 15 and held at the jail in lieu of bond for the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office, where the complaint originated.

Santos faces charges of kidnapping, a first-degree felony; two counts of gross sexual imposition, a fourth-degree felony; sexual imposition, a third-degree misdemeanor, and endangering children, a first-degree misdemeanor.

The charges allege Santos, who lives in Lake Township, took a 14-year-old girl against her will and had sexual contact with her on Sept. 17 and 18 while camping in Ashland County.

He was arraigned Tuesday by Ashland County Common Pleas Magistrate Emily Bates.

Santos, who remained in the Ashland County…

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COLOGNE, Germany (AP) — Germany’s Catholic Church has sharply criticized a carnival float made for a big street parade in the western city of Cologne that linked Jesus with the church abuse scandal.

The float, which was unveiled Tuesday, shows an altar boy in front of a confessional with an arm sticking out and an outstretched hand luring the boy inside. On the side of the confessional, bold letters read “Jesus loves you.”

The Cologne archdiocese condemned the float as “tasteless.”

“The inscription on the confessional — ‘Jesus loves you’ — directly associates Jesus, the Son of God, with the abuse,” it wrote in a letter published Tuesday on its website.

“It is suggested that Jesus himself is sitting in the confessional and wants to pull the altar boy into it with a wave of his hand; at the very least, Jesus is being instrumentalized here,” the letter said.

The floats for…

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[SEE VIDEO.]

John Robert Doty, 32, was a teacher at Archbishop Murphy High School and was found with pornographic footage of children as young as 1 year old.

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The Spiritan congregation has now paid out €8.8 million (£7.28 million) to 125 victims of clerical sexual abuse in the Republic of Ireland, according to recent reports.

The Irish Times reports that between 1998 and 2022, the religious order, formerly known as the Holy Ghost Fathers, made payments totalling €5.4 million in settlements to 73 survivors.

In November 2022, a harrowing radio documentary was released by national broadcaster RTÉ detailing abuse perpetrated by members of the religious order at Blackrock College in Dublin, a prestigious private all-boys boarding school.

The documentary follows the stories of brothers Mark and David Ryan, who were repeatedly abused at the college by multiple perpetrators.

The release of the documentary sparked a wave of allegations, with hundreds of men coming forward with similar accounts of experiencing abuse at Spiritan-run schools.

It also paved the way for the Scoping Inquiry, led by Senior Counsel Mary O’Toole, which examined sexual abuse…

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An allegation of sexual abuse against a priest who went on to become a bishop appears to have been reported to “senior figures” in the church 17 years before it was passed to police.

The alleged victim of Anthony Pierce, believed to have been under 18 at the time, had died by the time the church contacted the police in 2010.

This meant the allegation of sexual assault made in 1993 could not be investigated. It only came to light after the former bishop of Swansea and Brecon admitted five counts of indecent assault on a child in another case.

The Church in Wales said an independent review had begun into the separate allegation of Pierce’s “improper (and possible criminal) conduct”.

South Wales Police said: “Sadly, in this specific case the victim had passed away in 2010 when allegations were made of abuse.

“Therefore we are not able to progress…

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The Dicastery for Legislative Texts issued guidance to bishops last year, which said that canon law prohibits published lists denoting clerics “credibly accused” of sexual abuse crimes.

In a letter likely to spark backlash from some victims’ advocates, the dicastery said that such lists can violate fundamental legal rights when published.

The Vatican department, which responsible for issuing authoritative legal interpretations for the universal Church, issued its directives in a September 2024 letter published online by the dicastery on Feb. 22.

The Dicastery for Legislative Texts is the most recent Vatican department to criticize or prohibit the practice of dioceses releasing lists of “credibly accused” clergy. Both the Dicasteries for the Doctrine of the Faith and for Clergy — and Pope Francis personally — have previously warned against the practice.

Many dioceses in the United States adopted the practice of publishing lists in the wake of the clerical abuse scandals…

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Stephen Adams says a Catholic priest sexually assaulted him more than 60 years ago, and he has thought about it every day since.

The priest, Gerald Burns, cornered Adams in the rectory at the Church of St. Dominic in Wilkes-Barre. Adams was 11 years old, and can still picture the view he had while it happened: the crucifix the church used for Good Friday services.

“I still think, why didn’t I punch him?” Adams said recently. “Why didn’t I literally bust his lip?”

Burns was never charged with a crime, and continued working in various churches in the Scranton diocese for another three decades. In 1994, a woman accused him of having abused her husband in the 1950s, and the bishop urged him to retire. Burns denied the allegation but agreed to leave, and died five years later.

Adams, who requested a pseudonym for this story, keenly felt the lack…

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Seton Hall students are juggling academics, internships, and extracurriculars, but for some, another major concern looms: the controversy surrounding the leader of their university.

As described last week in The Setonian, the university has been disputing allegations that President Msgr. Joseph Reilly failed to properly report allegations of sexual misconduct at SHU’s Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology (ICS) and the College Seminary at St. Andrew’s Hall during his time as the leader of those seminaries.

While many students chose not to comment on the situation, those who did expressed concern.

Michael Parisi, a graduate supply chain management major who said he first heard of the Msgr. Reilly allegations from The Setonian’s Instagram, connected it to other scandals that the university has faced during his four years at SHU. These issues ranged from an embezzlement scheme at the law school to the surprise resignation of and subsequent lawsuit filed by former president Dr. Joseph…

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The Church of England says it is initiating disciplinary proceedings against 10 members of clergy following a review of evidence in the report into the prolific abuser, John Smyth.

Among those facing action are former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey and Rev Andrew Cornes – who was due to be on the committee picking the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

Smyth, who died in 2018, used horrific violence to attack boys at his Winchester home in the 1970s and 1980s, the Makin Review into his abuse found.

Justin Welby, who stepped down as Archbishop of Canterbury earlier this year because of the scandal, is among several senior figures not facing action because of “insufficient evidence” for disciplinary proceedings.

• Church covered up ‘abhorrent’ abuse, report finds

Also not facing action but coming under criticism in the Makin Review are four serving bishops – the current Bishop of Lincoln Stephen Conway,…

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An allegation of sexual abuse against a priest who went on to become a bishop appears to have been reported to “senior figures” in the church 17 years before it was passed to police.

The alleged victim of Anthony Pierce, believed to have been under 18 at the time, had died by the time the church contacted the police in 2010.

This meant the allegation of sexual assault made in 1993 could not be investigated. It only came to light after the former bishop of Swansea and Brecon admitted five counts of indecent assault on a child in another case.

The Church in Wales said an independent review had begun into the separate allegation of Pierce’s “improper (and possible criminal) conduct”.

South Wales Police said: “Sadly, in this specific case the victim had passed away in 2010 when allegations were made of abuse.

“Therefore we are not able to progress…

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He is one of 10 people named regarding potential failures in handling abuse allegations.

Former archbishop of Canterbury George Carey is among a number of clergy facing possible disciplinary action after a damning abuse report which prompted Justin Welby’s resignation.

Lord Carey was named in the Makin review, which concluded abuse carried out for decades by Christian camp leader John Smyth was known about and not acted upon by various people within the Church.

Lord Carey resigned as a priest in December following an investigation into the Church of England’s handling of a separate sexual abuse case.

We know this will never undo the harm caused but the Church is committed to taking very seriously its response to the findings of the review as well as responding to its recommendations

Alexander Kubeyinje, Church safeguarding director

He is one of 10 clergy named by the Church’s national safeguarding team (NST) on…

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At his introductory press conference in April 2019 on the morning when Pope Francis had named him the new archbishop of Washington, then-Archbishop Wilton Gregory pledged to work to rebuild trust and foster healing in the archdiocese, which had been shaken by the clergy abuse crisis in a personal way.

In an opening statement, then-Archbishop Gregory said, “This is obviously a moment fraught with challenges – throughout our entire Catholic Church certainly, but nowhere more so than in this local faith community. And as in any family, challenges can only be overcome by a firmly articulated resolve and commitment to be better. To know Christ better. To love Christ better. To serve Christ better.”

In July 2018, former Washington archbishop Theodore McCarrick had resigned from the College of Cardinals and had been ordered to live a life of prayer and penance after allegations accusing him of abusing minors and engaging…

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It nearly played out as expected. Despite pleas from victims for a fully independent body to oversee safeguarding in the Church of England, the General Synod (its national assembly) last week opted for a compromise—enhancing oversight but stopping short of complete independence. Members of the Church’s parliament voted in favour of new measures to handle abuse complaints, a move aimed at rebuilding trust after multiple scandals. But for survivors who have long called for real accountability, the decision will likely feel like yet another case of the Church protecting its own.

The five-day Synod meeting unfolded against the backdrop of an unprecedented crisis for the Church of England. The abuse scandals have deepened an already severe loss of public confidence, compounding multiple crises that threaten the Church’s future. For centuries, it has presented itself as Britain’s moral compass—but its failure to protect vulnerable individuals has shattered that image. To many,…

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Abraham Molina, 44, was arrested by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office on charges of indecency with a child by sexual contact and aggravated sexual assault of a child. The arrest comes as authorities investigate a series of alleged child sex assaults in the Conroe area.

Former Church Worker Arrested for Child Sexual Assault in Montgomery County

Molina, who previously worked in churches in Tomball and Magnolia and may have volunteered in youth ministry, is accused of inappropriately touching an 8-year-old boy in Conroe in late 2024. The incident allegedly occurred when the child’s caregiver briefly left the room.

Upon Molina’s arrest, detectives discovered several past sexual assault reports involving him. These reports suggest multiple juvenile male victims of similar ages, all reportedly abused in a comparable manner.

Ongoing Investigation After Former Church Worker Charged with Child Sex Crimes

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office believes there may be additional victims, with…

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It was an emotional testimony from both alleged victims on Monday as they claimed they trusted Vail as their pastor.

The trial for a Mobile-area pastor accused of rape is underway.

Some of the details are disturbing…

Bradrick Vail faces three counts of 1st-degree rape, three counts of sexual abuse, and one count of 1st-degree sodomy.

Mobile area pastor charged with rape pleads ‘not guilty’

He was arrested last May after a Mobile County grand jury secretly indicted him.

Mobile Police called this an “extensive sexual assault investigation” with victims in both Mobile and Prichard.

Investigators say Vail met his alleged victims through his church.

Vail is the pastor of Tree of Life Deliverance Ministry on Stanton Road.

It was an emotional testimony from both alleged victims on Monday as they claimed they trusted him as their pastor.

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Last week, after the Southern Baptist Convention’s top CEO admitted that the development of a clergy abuser database was being sidelined, Karen Roudkovski asked this question:

“With no database, why the hotline?”

Why indeed?

Who does the hotline serve?

“I thought the original purpose was to funnel names over to the database,” said Roudkovski, who is a licensed professional counselor and the author of Understanding Spiritual Abuse.

Survivors were baited

Roudkovski didn’t get her ideas about the SBC’s sexual abuse hotline from out of the blue. Repeatedly, those who developed and promoted the hotline told us that one of its primary purposes was to gather information to assess: “Is this person credibly accused and should they be going on the database.”

Further, the abuse reform task force claimed it was going to hire personnel “to receive and investigate reports of abuse and mishandling abuse” in Southern Baptist churches, and told survivors…

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LONDON (AP) — A former leader of the Church of England is among several members of the clergy facing potential disciplinary action over the way the institution handled sexual abuse allegations, church officials said Tuesday.

George Carey, who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002, resigned as a priest in December after media reports that he allowed the Rev. David Tudor, who had been banned over sexual abuse claims, to return to the priesthood in the 1990s.

The church’s national safeguarding team said it is seeking to bring disciplinary proceedings against Carey and nine other clergy over failures in a separate abuse case that has renewed anger over a lack of accountability among senior church leaders.

In November, the church published a damning independent report concluding that serial abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps was known about and not acted upon by various people in the church.

The…

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A youth pastor at Elevation Church in North Carolina has been fired following historic allegations of inappropriate conduct involving former students at Oaks Church in Texas.

Tim Somers has been dismissed from his role while an investigation is conducted into alleged misconduct dating back over a decade when he served at an Assemblies of God church in Texas.

To date, no charges have been filed against Somers.

“As soon as Elevation learned about these allegations, we reached out to local Texas authorities and immediately placed Tim on leave. No charges have been filed. But Tim understands how impactful these allegations are for his role in ministry and we have agreed he will no longer serve on staff,” Elevation Church said in a statement to The Christian Post.

The allegations against Somers have surfaced around the same time as those involving another former youth leader at Oaks Church, Jerry Nickerson.

Nickerson,…

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Catholicism is about more than sex and scandals

Is the character and identity of the Catholic Church best described by juxtaposing “the people of God” to “a monarchical line of popes”? Were Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI really opposed to “the spirit of Vatican II”? Did Pedro Arrupe, the former superior general of the Jesuits, “turn the order around”? Did the revelations of clerical sexual abuse cause “millions” to leave the Church? Did Pope John XXIII’s encyclical Pacem in terris help end the Cold War?

All these assertions are made by the journalist and author Mary Jo McConahay in her New York Times review of Philip Shenon’s Jesus Wept: Seven Popes and the Battle for the Soul of the Catholic Church. I have not read Shenon’s book, which, as McConahay describes it, is a familiar rehash of battles between so-called reformers and so-called traditionalists over the legacy of Vatican II. Evidently, Shenon…

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Former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey is among several clergy facing potential disciplinary action following a damning report on abuse perpetrated by John Smyth, a Christian leader and alleged serial abuser.

The disciplinary proceedings come after the Makin Review revealed extensive failures in safeguarding and holding accountable those aware of the abuse, the Church of England said.

Newsweek reached out to Carey for comment via email to his office in the House of Lords.

Why It Matters

The Church of England has been embroiled in a safeguarding crisis following revelations that senior clergy failed to take sufficient action to prevent abuse. The case of Smyth, who allegedly subjected boys and young men to physical and sexual abuse over decades, has drawn widespread condemnation and led to high-profile resignations, including that of former Archbishop Justin Welby.

Survivors have long called for accountability, arguing that the Church’s response has been…

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Tim Somers, a youth pastor with Steven Furtick’s Elevation Church in North Carolina, was fired from his role after he was accused of engaging in inappropriate conduct with former students at Oaks Church in Texas, where he served as an intern and staff member more than 10 years ago.

“Recently, allegations were brought forward about Tim Somers’ conduct while serving at a church in Texas approximately 12 years ago,” a spokesperson for Elevation Church told The Christian Post Monday.

“As soon as Elevation learned about these allegations, we reached out to local Texas authorities and immediately placed Tim on leave. No charges have been filed. But Tim understands how impactful these allegations are for his role in ministry and we have agreed he will no longer serve on staff.”

In a statement to CP Monday, Red Oaks Police Department Chief of Police Garland Wolf confirmed that…

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The Church of England will seek to bring disciplinary proceedings against 10 clerics including former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, it said on Tuesday, implementing recommendations from an abuse report last year.

The CoE, central to 85 million Anglicans worldwide, has been in crisis over safeguarding the vulnerable since the November report, which said ex-leader Justin Welby had taken insufficient action to stop one of the church’s most prolific serial abusers. Welby eventually stepped down over the findings.

Eight priests and a former bishop were also listed among those potentially facing disciplinary action in the CoE statement as the CoE concluded its own independent review into all clergy criticised in last year’s report.

That report found that the late John Smyth, a British lawyer who volunteered at Christian summer camps, subjected more than 100 boys and young men to “brutal and horrific” physical and sexual abuse over a 40-year period.

…

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A Miami federal jury found Michael Karl Geilenfeld, 73, guilty of sexually abusing six boys at an orphanage he owned in Haiti. Courtesy of Homeland Security Investigations

At 73, Michael Geilenfeld could have cut a plea deal to reduce his potentially long prison sentence on federal charges of sexually abusing numerous boys in Haiti.

But the American founder of a Port-au-Prince orphanage gambled on a jury trial in Miami federal court — and lost.

The 12-person jury found Geilenfeld guilty, after deliberating for only five hours on Thursday, of six counts of engaging in illicit sexual contact with minors in a foreign place and one count of traveling from Miami to Haiti for that purpose. He faces up to 30 years in prison on each of the charges at his May 5 sentencing before U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz.

READ MORE: American founder of orphanage in Haiti…

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Philip Shenon’s “Jesus Wept” looks at the church since World War II, with particular focus on the clerical abuse crisis and the ideological battles that followed the Second Vatican Council.

JESUS WEPT: Seven Popes and the Battle for the Soul of the Catholic Church, by Philip Shenon

The Roman Catholic Church defines itself as the “people of God,” a community of all the baptized — lay women and men, the clergy, prelates — and not as a monarchical line of popes.

Yet with sharp portrayals of the last seven men who have served as supreme pontiffs, Philip Shenon’s “Jesus Wept” delivers a compelling recent history of the 2,000-year-old institution whose leaders reach for heaven but often fall spectacularly, sadly, into the morass of mortal fallibility.

Popes grapple with heinous waves of clerical sex abuse. Bishops and laity grapple for control of papal agendas, and all grapple with the watershed reforms…

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Two victims denounced a leader of the church Comunidad Samaria and a member who was a minor at the time of the incidents. The regional evangelical council has joined the trial as a private prosecution.

An examining court in the Catalan town of Terassa is investigating a case of alleged sexual abuse committed in the evangelical church Comunidad Samaria.

Two complaints have been filed by two victims, against a group leader in charge of organising the church’s artistic performances and against a member of the community who was a minor at the time of the incidents.

According to the first complaint, the group leader “took advantage of his position to take young people to his house, where he forced them to perform sexual acts, threatening to expel them from the community if they reported him and accusing them that the minor was the aggressor”.

…

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What will be the effect of the second Trump administration on the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church and beyond? Trump’s record on abuse and his relationship with U.S. Cardinals force to wonder what the effects of his second term on the clergy sexual abuse crisis will be.

Dolan, Barron, Naumann, and other U.S. bishops endorse Trump at the expense of spreading lies about the role of other bishops supporting migrants, fostering distrust about their role in the clergy sexual abuse crisis.

One of the most imminent risks posed by what seems to be a coup d’ Etat in the United States at this point is the way many institutions are folding into whatever form the current regime desires.

This is relevant for the global clergy sexual abuse crisis not only because of the potential future of cases in the United States, up until now one of the…

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Bayrou has accused his critics of exploiting the scandal for political reasons

France’s prime minister was under increasing pressure Friday after a former teacher at a Catholic school claimed Francois Bayrou was aware of claims of sexual abuse there in the 1990s but did not act on them.

Bayrou has in recent days faced accusations from the opposition that as education minister in the mid-1990s he knew of widespread physical and sexual abuse at the Catholic boarding school to which he sent some of his children. 

Since last year, prosecutors have been investigating more than 100 complaints of violence, assault and rape over many decades at the Notre-Dame de Betharram school near the southwestern town of Pau where Bayrou has been mayor since 2014.

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A senior Catholic Bishop has apologised to the alleged victims of a deceased parish priest.

In a statement, the Bishop of Down and Connor, Alan McGuckian, said that his diocese had received several “credible allegations of sexual abuse” against Fr Patrick O’Neill.

The statement revealed that an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor was received by the diocese in 2004 and another similar allegation was made “recently”.

In addition three allegations of sexual abuse of adults, manipulation and abuse of power were made against Fr O’Neill and received by the diocese in 2003, 2005 and 2006.

Following the allegation made in 2004, Fr O’Neill was “stepped aside” from his ministry in the Parish of Arkeen in Kirkistown, County Down.

He remained permanently out of ministry until his death in November 2009.

‘Matter of deep regret’

Bishop McGuickian has said that at the time that Fr O’Neill was asked to…

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The Flemish recognition and mediation commission for victims of historical abuse wants to declare 23 February as the Day of the Forgotten Victim, reported newspaper De Zondag. A day earlier, 22 February, is listed as the European Day for the Victims of Crime.

Following testimonies of transgressive behaviour in youth and education institutions, a temporary recognition and mediation commission was set up in Flanders in 2014. Years later, in 2018, the Flemish parliament organised hearings with testimonies of sexual abuse, first from the sports sector and then in other sectors. Afterwards, the parliament drafted a decree to make the commission permanent and expand its scope. “As a society, we underestimate how destructive violence or abuse is for a child, also in their later life”

Since 2020, victims of transgressive behaviour in all relationships of authority, peer relations and in intrafamilial contexts can be heard by the commission. It deals with…

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Decision expected this week could determine if multiple child sexual abuse lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Diocese can go to trial

A federal bankruptcy judge in Albany is weighing whether to allow multiple child sexual abuse lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany to go to trial in order to “jump-start” what many attorneys for hundreds of alleged victims have said is a languishing attempt to reach a global settlement with the church and its insurers

“The only thing I’ve produced in the last 13 months is millions of dollars in professional fees,” Judge Robert E. Littlefield Jr. said during a conference last month. “It is getting somewhat frustrating that all I’m doing is approving fees. I’m not approving anything of substance. We’re just languishing on the sidelines. We need to jump-start the process or the case is heading to failure.”

After hearing objections from attorneys for multiple insurance…

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Catholic communities today are facing significant challenges. In addition to the clericalism that has been around for centuries, the Church is facing distrust because of the sexual abuse scandal, disappointment because of parish closures, and historic injustices such as colonization, slavery, racism, and violence against Native Americans.

The Catholic sex abuse scandal has shown the worst side of clericalism. The Church hierarchy chose to protect its clerics and the institution at all costs and at the expense of the most vulnerable. According to the 2004 John Jay Report, “The Nature and Scope of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States 1950-2002,” sexual abuse of minors was widespread throughout the country. 

“The survey responses make it clear that the problem was indeed widespread and affected more than 95% of dioceses and approximately 60% of religious communities.”

According to the report, “approximately 4%…

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The Defendant Used the Church’s Computer to Access, View, and Download Material Depicting the Sexual Exploitation of Children

Ashley James Crouse, 53, of Granite Falls, N.C., was sentenced today to 120 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for possession and receipt of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), announced Lawrence J. Cameron, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Crouse was also ordered to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison.

Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, Roger “Chip” Hawley, Director of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), Sheriff Alan C. Jones of the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office, and Chief Reed Baer of the Hickory Police Department, join Acting U.S. Attorney Cameron in making today’s announcement.

According to court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, in April 2023, the National Center for Missing and Exploited…

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When Chris Graham slides his tablet across the table to show lawmakers the police report detailing his rape, he sees their faces change.

That’s because in the report, there’s the account of someone who remembers seeing the perpetrator, a Catholic priest, chasing after a 14-year-old Graham and then grabbing him and trying to get him to go back into a private room at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Powell.

It’s a powerful corroboration of his abuse in 1997 by the late Rev. Raymond Lavelle, Graham has found — as is the fact that the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus both declared the allegation credible. 

Now, he’s using it to raise awareness about clergy sexual abuse of minors and the Ohio laws that keep people like him from seeking justice.

‘There’s no escape’:  Memories of…

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The former Southern Baptist seminary professor who has admitted to lying to the FBI about documentation of alleged sexual abuse by a student should not be imprisoned for his crime, his attorney wrote in a letter to the judge Feb. 19.

Although marked as “unredacted and to be filed under seal,” the letter was published online by the X site SBCLitigation. It was addressed to federal judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who is presiding over the case.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 5 in New York. The Department of Justice has requested a $2,000 fine and one year of probation without incarceration.

Matt Queen already has suffered the consequences of his actions — which, his attorney says, were unintentional and nearly harmless — so “punishment that includes incarceration is not necessary,” attorney Sam Schmidt says in the letter.

Queen left the staff of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas,…

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A judicial investigation into charges of rape and sexual assault at the Notre-Dame de Bétharram school in southwestern France was opened against a former school employee Friday. French PM François Bayrou, whose children attended the school, has come under increasing scrutiny after a former teacher accused him and his wife of having turned a blind eye to years of abuse.

A judicial investigation was opened on Friday into charges of rape and sexual assault against one of the three men held in custody in connection with allegations of widespread physical and sexual abuse at the Notre-Dame de Bétharram school in southwestern France, the Pau public prosecutor’s office announced on Friday.

The suspect, a former monitor, was working at the school last year before being dismissed following the opening of the judicial investigation.

The other two men who were taken into custody on Wednesday were let go as the charges against them fell outside…

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Denomination revokes ministerial credentials

A former Church of God senior pastor in Tennessee has pleaded guilty and was sentenced to eight years in prison for possessing child sexual abuse images on his laptop.

Richard Lee Sentell of the defunct Cornerstone Church of God in Cleveland entered a guilty plea Friday to sexual exploitation of a minor. He received an eight-year sentence with the Tennessee Department of Corrections, according to the Tenth Judicial District Attorney General’s office. He is not eligible for parole. 

Sentell was arrested in December 2023 and subsequently suspended from all ministerial activities by the Tennessee Church of God, pending the outcome of his case. 

In a statement to The Christian Post, The Church of God Tennessee State Office stated that Sentell’s ministerial credentials have been “permanently revoked” as a result of this disposition. The denomination added that Cornerstone Church of God in Cleveland was…

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The former Tehachapi youth pastor accused of sexually assaulting a teen pleaded not guilty on Thursday.

Adrian Daugherty was confirmed to post bail a day after being arrested in January.

RELATED: Tehachapi youth pastor arrested for alleged sexual assault of teen victim: Police

Tehachapi police said Daugherty was a youth pastor at the Tehachapi Church of the Nazarene.

Daugherty appeared in a Mojave courthouse Thursday morning for his felony arraignment. He pleaded not guilty. He is scheduled to be back in court in April.

The judge said he would remain out on bail and ordered to stay away from the victim.

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The jury has been discharged in the case of a priest who was to stand trial for historic sexual abuse charges against a number of males who were pupils in the County Fermanagh school where he taught.

Canon Patrick McEntee (70) from Esker Road, Dromore, County Tyrone requested a leave of absence in 2022 while a serious safeguarding investigation was carried out.

He is charged with sexual offences against five males who attended St Michael’s College, Enniskillen.

There are four counts of indecently assaulting one complainant on dates between 1988 and 1989 and a single count of indecently assaulting another complainant between 1980 and 1981.

In addition, there are a further four counts of indecent assault against three males- two counts against one and single counts against the other two.

These matters allegedly occurred on various dates between 1978 and 1987 Canon McEntee denied all charges against him.

To date,…

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Law passed in 2023 eliminates statute of limitations; State now facing claims of as much as $3B

Thousands of sex abuse cases could leave Maryland taxpayers responsible for $3 billion in payouts after a 2023 law opened the door to claims.

The Maryland Child Victims Act passed in 2023, eliminating the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse lawsuits.

Now, the way lawmakers are responding to the lawsuits is coming under fire. New legislation under consideration this year would reinstate an even more restrictive statute of limitations, but 11 News Investigates has since learned the bill will be changed.

Child sex-abuse survivor shares his story with 11 News

A child sex abuse survivor, who asked to remain anonymous, is suing the state 43 years after a state detention center employee molested him.

“I still have a trust issue for being molested at a juvenile facility where people…

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New details are coming to light in three civil lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Dubuque and former priest Leo Riley.

The plaintiffs, who filed these lawsuits in Charlotte County, Florida, where Riley now lives, allege the abuse happened in Dubuque in the 1980s. The amended complaint filed this week states that the plaintiffs did not fully recall the abuse until April 2023 due to repressed memories.

The Florida Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests Chapter says this is common in childhood sexual abuse cases, even when the abuse happened nearly 40 years ago.

The updated complaint withdrew a claim for punitive damages but still accuses Riley of three counts relating to the sexual abuse of altar boys at Resurrection Parish in Dubuque. It also alleges five counts against the Archdiocese of Dubuque, claiming they knew or should have known about the abuse and failed to disclose it. 

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The VICTIM Act seeks to alleviate strains caused by federal funding cuts, organizers say.

On Feb. 12, Rhode Island legislators and victim service organizations held a kickoff press conference at the State House Library to advocate for the passage of the Victims of Crime Trauma Informed Mobilization, or VICTIM, Act.

The act would set aside $30 million in annual state funding to fund organizations that provide services to “minor victims of child abuse, sexual assault survivors, elder abuse victims, domestic violence victims and survivors of human trafficking, community violence and gun violence,” according to the bill. The VICTIM Act was introduced in both chambers of the Rhode Island General Assembly earlier this month.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that over 40% of Rhode Island women and men have experienced domestic violence — stalking, sexual violence or physical violence by an…

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[See also Argentine diocese: Bishop resigned over abuse allegations.]

The Bishop of San Rafael, Argentina resigned last week for “personal reasons,” the latest in a string of controversial episcopal resignations in the country.

Local media have reported that Bishop Carlos María Domínguez is facing accusations of sexually misconduct involving three young adults. He has also been accused of mishandling a sexual abuse case in the diocese.

Domínguez announced his resignation Feb. 13 for “personal reasons” at just 59 years old. He has been Bishop of San Rafael for the last two years.

Domínguez said in a Feb. 13 statement that “for reasons of a personal nature, I have tendered my resignation … as diocesan bishop of San Rafael to the Holy Father, whom I thank for his confidence when he appointed me bishop of this diocese.”

He added that he “sensed the perplexity this decision might cause in all of…

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The practical consequences for the Church and religious liberty

Recently, a set of bills have moved closer to being voted on in the Washington State Legislature that will have a massive impact on the future of the Church. House Bill 1211 and Senate Bill 5375 will remove all religious privileges that serve as exemption to the mandatory reporting of child abuse.

The bills say that any “member of the clergy” will now be required to report any suspicion of child abuse to the authorities. This includes any information a priest might have heard during the sacrament of confession.

Proponents of these bills say that there should not be exemptions for anyone when it comes to child abuse. They do not want any instances of abuse to slip through the cracks. This necessity, they argue, is greater than the right to religious liberty and should therefore trump it.

If they pass,…

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Former pupils of a Catholic school in the Pyrenées have complained of sexual and physical abuse, and François Bayrou, who has ties to the school, has been accused by political opponents of dishonesty over his knowledge of the allegations.

For the past two weeks, French Prime Minister François Bayrou has been embroiled in the scandal over allegations of sexual assault and rape at a Catholic school in the Pyrenées, Notre-Dame de Bétharram, near Pau, of which he has been mayor since 2014.

Bayrou denies having any knowledge of the alleged violence and abuse against pupils spanning decades at the Notre-Dame de Bétharram school, but has been accused by opponents of misleading parliament by claiming he was unaware of the case while he was involved in local government in the area, and during his time as education minister. Here’s what we know so far about the case.

What is the Notre-Dame…

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France’s prime minister was under increasing pressure on Friday after a former teacher at a Catholic school claimed Francois Bayrou was aware of claims of sexual abuse of young boys there in the 1990s but did not act on them.

The embattled prime minister has in recent days faced accusations from the opposition that he knew of widespread physical and sexual abuse at a Catholic boarding school to which he sent several of his children.Prosecutors have been investigating around 100 complaints of alleged violence, sexual assault and rape committed at the Notre-Dame de Betharram school in southwestern France over several decades.

Bayrou, who served as the country’s education minister between 1993 and 1997, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

On Thursday, a former teacher at the boarding school told French investigative website Mediapart that Bayrou, 73, and his wife, who taught religious studies there, had ignored her warnings about the “systemic violence”…

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The proposal, which has received little opposition from lawmakers, was tacked onto a controversial bill that would reduce the amount of time people have to sue in personal injury cases

The Missouri House on Thursday approved a proposal to extend the civil statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

Filed by state Rep. Brian Seitz, a Republican from Branson, the bill would extend the amount of time survivors have to file civil action against a perpetrator. Survivors would have until age 41 to file civil action, rather than age 31. 

Seitz’s bill was inspired by sexual abuse allegations at Kanakuk Kamps, in the Branson area.

The legislation that contained Seitz’s bill passed out of the House on Thursday 92 to 42, with 24 voting present. The opposition, from Democrats and Republicans alike, was due to parts of the bill unrelated to the childhood sexual abuse piece.

It now…

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The Diocese of Buffalo has said a priest who anonymously wrote to the Vatican to request an apostolic visitation to investigate the state of the diocese “illustrates a lack of courage” with his decision to pen a letter and not go to Bishop Michael Fisher directly.

“The fact that an unnamed priest has authored a letter to the pope that cannot be responded to personally illustrates a lack of courage,” the diocese said in a Jan. 21 statement, noting that Fisher has encouraged collaboration with both laity and clergy since he arrived in 2021. “It is unfortunate that the author of the letter has not accepted the ongoing invitations of Bishop Fisher to priests to meet.”

The back and forth is the latest in a years-long, oftentimes contentious, consolidation process titled Road to Renewal. At the core of the priest’s letter, sent Jan. 19, is a complaint with Fisher’s decision…

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“It’s the end of an era,” said Tiffany Thigpen following the announcement that the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) Executive Committee is no longer pursuing the implementation of an abuser database.

Thigpen is one of several key abuse survivor advocates who have for years worked alongside SBC leaders and task forces to bring about reforms to address the decades-long failure of the denomination to properly respond to allegations of clergy sex abuse. 

Among the proposed reforms has been the “Ministry Check” website, an online database of pastors, church leaders, and volunteers who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse.

For a time, it appeared that advocates were making headway. At the annual meeting of the SBC in 2022, they cried tears of joy as local church delegates (called messengers) overwhelmingly voted in favor of creating the database. 

“We really thought, wow, people are really listening,” Thigpen told ChurchLeaders. “For us, rejoicing for…

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The bankrupt Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut and advocates for survivors of clergy sex abuse have reached an agreement on a $31 million compensation fund.

The plan, which is subject to the approval of the bankruptcy court, seeks to provide recovery to those who have suffered abuse and allow the diocese to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The joint plan provides for the creation of independent trusts to oversee the distribution of funds to eligible survivors.

Contributions to the proposed fund would include about $5.3 million from insurer Catholic Mutual; $1.6 million from the diocese; $2.7 million from its parishes; proceeds from the sale of several diocesan school properties including $6.5 million for St. Bernard and $2.5 million from Xavier; and $7.0 million from an orphanage in Australia with ties to the Norwich diocese and its clergy.

In addition, all the estate professionals in the bankruptcy case have agreed…

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The Diocese of Norwich announced Friday it has reached an agreement culminating in the filing of a joint Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan to enable the diocese and others to “provide a meaningful recovery” to survivors of sexual abuse and for the diocese to emerge from bankruptcy and continue its mission.

The joint announcement included the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, the Association of Parishes, and Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America.

After five days of mediation with the retired Judge Joan N. Feeney, the parties reached an agreement on a $31 million compensation fund. The joint Chapter 11 plan was filed on Feb. 10 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Hartford before Judge James J. Tancredi. The compensation fund draws from multiple sources, including contributions from the diocese, Catholic Mutual, parishes, The Oceania Province of the Congregation of Christian Brothers and Mount St. John, among others, with the goal of…

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The Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut, has announced a settlement for survivors of clergy sex abuse, part of an ongoing bankruptcy process the diocese entered into several years ago. 

In a joint statement, the diocese — along with a committee of abuse survivors and the Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America — said they had reached “an agreement on a $31 million compensation fund,” one that will allow “meaningful recovery to survivors of sexual abuse and for the diocese to emerge from bankruptcy and continue its mission.”

The Norwich Diocese filed for bankruptcy in 2021, with then-Bishop Michael Côté stating that the bankruptcy would “centralize all litigation and oversee a settlement that ensures that all survivors are included and treated fairly.”

Hartford Archbishop Christopher Coyne, who has been serving as the Norwich apostolic administrator since Côté’s retirement in September, acknowledged last week that the…

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Every time Pope Francis catches a cold, I get anxious. When he goes to the hospital, I panic.

I love Francis and hope he can continue as pope forever, but I know I’m not being realistic. We are all mortal, as those of us in our 80s need no reminding.

Unlike former President Joe Biden, who gave the impression of a man mentally unfit for his job in his last appearances, Francis appears to be mentally up to the job, but failing physically. Anyone in his condition, especially a pope, needs to prepare for the inevitable.

Here are three things the pope needs to do to prepare for his inevitable decline and death. Frankly, I wish he had done them already.

First, the pope needs public documents describing what should be done if he becomes incapacitated.

Like everyone else, he should sign a power of attorney for health…

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Last week, we published a major story by Searchlight investigative reporter Joshua Bowling, who examined the legacy of sexual abuse of children by priests in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. In a companion story, I wrote about an important new archive at the University of New Mexico’s special collections library, which will house thousands of pages of clergy abuse records that were generated as part of the archdiocese’s 2018 bankruptcy. This week, I added one more: a brief essay about the importance of archival collections that preserve unvarnished material from painful parts of American history. They’re especially vital now, when there’s a political counterreaction — with teeth — against sharing information that presents the darker aspects of our shared past.

During our research, Bowling and I benefited from the deep knowledge of a group of people in Waltham, Massachusetts, who know the subject of clergy abuse as well as anyone in the…

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New details are coming to light in three civil lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Dubuque and former priest Leo Riley.

The plaintiffs, who filed these lawsuits in Charlotte County, Florida, where Riley now lives, allege the abuse happened in Dubuque in the 1980s. 

The Florida Chapter of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) is sharing insight on why these victims are coming forward decades later.

Florida SNAP leader Sally Zakhari said, “Maybe you don’t even see the trauma, but decades later, it hits you.” 

The amended complaint filed this week states that the plaintiffs did not fully recall the abuse until April 2023 due to repressed memories. The Florida SNAP Chapter says this is common in childhood sexual abuse cases, even when the abuse happened nearly 40 years ago.

Zakhari added, “It takes decades of us living with this trauma not knowing where its coming from. I…

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Bishop Emeritus Willie Walsh has died at the age of 90.

He was widely viewed as a progressive figure within the Catholic Church and the current Bishop of Killaloe said there is a “profound sadness” at his passing.

Walsh died last night and funeral arrangements will follow later.

He served as the Bishop of the Killaloe Diocese for 16 years, before submitting his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI upon reaching the retirement age of 75 in 2010.

Walsh was ordained a priest in 1959 and also taught in St Flannan’s in Ennis.

Walsh made headlines in 1999 when he embarked on a three-week “Pilgrimage of Reconciliation” which involved him walking to each church in his diocese to apologise for child sexual abuse scandals within the Church.

The Killaloe Diocese said Walsh “undertook to walk across the Diocese from Loop Head to Kinnity as a sign of solidarity and repentance to…

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A former Catholic priest in P.E.I. sentenced to five years in federal prison in 2023 for historic sexual exploitation offences involving a teenage boy has been granted day parole.

The Parole Board of Canada made the decision regarding the offender, Maurice Joseph Praught, on Feb. 6 to grant day parole for six months. The parole board denied full parole.

Sentence

Praught was 70 years old on Dec. 5, 2023, when he was sentenced in P.E.I. Supreme Court to the five-year prison term and placed on the Sexual Offender Information Registry for 10 years. Praught pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual interference. The sentence was a joint recommendation from Crown attorney Chris White and defence lawyer Gary Demeulenaere and accepted by Justice Gregory Cann.

The sentence was comprised of five years in prison concurrent for each offence. A publication ban is in place preventing the release of information that could…

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Southern Baptist leaders said they will focus on training churches to use already available databases.

A proposed online database that would list the names of abusive Southern Baptist pastors is now on hold, with no names likely to be added to the website by the denomination’s annual meeting this summer.

Instead, Southern Baptist leaders working to address abuse in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination say they will focus on helping churches access other databases of abusers and training churches to do better background checks. However, the so-called Ministry Check database, which was a centerpiece of reforms approved by Southern Baptist messengers — or local church representatives — is now on the back burner.

“At this point, it’s not a focus for us,” Jeff Iorg, head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, told reporters at a news conference Tuesday (Feb. 18) during the committee’s annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. 

The…

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Child protection group Bravehearts says some may see his death as ‘the end of a dark chapter’ but for survivors, the trauma remains

A paedophile priest, convicted of abusing more than 70 children over three decades, has died, but advocate groups for survivors of sex abuse says it “doesn’t erase the misery” and the “immense suffering” he caused.

Gerald Ridsdale died on Tuesday morning in prison where he had been held since 1994. He was 90.

Ridsdale’s history of child abuse began in 1961 – the year he was ordained as a priest.

He spent the next three decades abusing dozens of children across regional Victoria, often using his privileged status as a priest to earn the trust of his victims and their families.

He was also accused of abusing children in New South Wales and the US, where he underwent church-connected sex offender treatment.

He was later charged with other…

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Today, His Holiness Pope Francis accepted the resignation of the Most Reverend Jean-Pierre Blais, Bishop of Baie-Comeau, and has appointed as his successor the Reverend Father Pierre Charland, O.F.M., currently Minister Provincial of the Franciscan Province of the Holy Spirit in Canada. In accordance with the Code of Canon Law, a Diocesan Bishop who has completed the seventy-fifth year of age is requested to present his resignation from office to the Supreme Pontiff, who will make provision after he has examined all the circumstances.

Born on 20 December 1962, in North Bay, Ontario, Bishop-designate Charland made his first profession of vows within the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscan Friars) in 1991, in Lachute, Quebec, and his perpetual profession on 12 May 1996. On 7 October 2011, he was ordained to the diaconate at Saint Francis of Assisi Parish in Montreal. On 22 June 2012, he was ordained to the priesthood…

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Pope Francis on Tuesday said he had accepted the resignation of a Canadian bishop who has been named in a class-action lawsuit against the church that alleges sexual assault.

The pope did not give a reason for replacing Jean-Pierre Blais, the 75-year-old bishop of Baie-Comeau in the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec, and the diocese said the resignation was not linked to the allegations. He also named a replacement: Reverend Pierre Charland, 62, currently a leading member of Canada’s Roman Catholic Franciscan order.

In a statement, the pope noted that any bishop who turns 75 is automatically requested to offer his resignation. The pope makes a decision on whether to accept the offer “after he has examined all the circumstances”, the statement said.

Blais is mentioned in a list of sexual predators filed as part of a victims’ class action against the Archdiocese of Quebec. He has denied any wrongdoing.

…

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Bishops satisfied with court decision – victims’ representatives disappointed

“Operation Chalice” was the name of a spectacular police raid against Belgium’s bishops in 2010, followed by years of investigations into abuse scandals. Now it is clear: There will be no further trial in the matter.

The years of investigations into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Belgium will not lead to a major trial. This decision was announced by the Council Chamber in Brussels on Monday. As part of the so-called“Operation Chalice“, 68 clergymen, including the former Bishop of Bruges, Roger Vangheluwe (88), have been under investigation since 2010. They are alleged to have abused minors in the past, in some cases for years. The church was satisfied with the court’s decision, but representatives of the victims expressed their disappointment.

According to Belgian media reports, 37 of the suspects had already died and 4 had already been convicted; in the…

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Victims of abuse in the Catholic Church are suing the Belgian State – following the example of the Julie Van Espen case – after the Brussels pre-trial chamber declared the criminal case in ‘Operation Chalice’ void on Monday.

The victims’ complaint is a reaction to the Council Chamber’s decision, De Standaard reports. The latter decided not to prosecute anyone in ‘Operation Chalice‘, the investigation into sexual abuse and guilty negligence in the church.

With this decision, the chambers followed the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office and the victims’ lawyers, both of whom were of the opinion that no trial was possible on the basis of the criminal file before them.

The Federal Prosecutor’s Office did not want to prosecute anyone “because the facts are time-barred, or because they cannot be proven, or because they have already been judged by a court, or because the suspects…

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Cardinal Joseph Tobin is a powerful figure who long ago pledged “a new level of transparency” on abuse. Now he’s making the same promises amid a new scandal.

Six years ago, New Jersey’s highest-ranking Catholic Church leader promised “a new level of transparency” following one of the worst abuse scandals in the church’s history.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin had just published a list of clergy members who were credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors in the Archdiocese of Newark — the largest in the state, with more than 1 million Catholics. That list of clergy members was “not an endpoint in our process,” Tobin said, but “an expression of our commitment to protecting our children.”

Since then, however, the archdiocese under Tobin’s leadership has shielded the public from details of alleged abuse within its ranks and at Seton Hall related to one of his predecessors, former…

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The Archdiocese of Chicago has removed a priest from ministry following allegations that he sexually abused a minor several decades ago. 

In two letters — one to parishioners of Sts. Joseph and Francis Xavier Parish in Wilmette, Illinois, and one to those at St. Francis Borgia in Chicago — archbishop Cardinal Blase Cupich said the archdiocese had received allegations of sex abuse against Monsignor Daniel Mayall. 

The priest had served several roles at St. Joseph and then at the combined parishes from 2016 to 2021. He led St. Francis Borgia from 1993 to 2002. 

The alleged abuse occurred at St. Francis Borgia “approximately 30 years ago,” Cupich said in his letter to parishioners. 

“In keeping with our child protection policies, I have directed Monsignor Mayall to remain out of ministry and refrain from all parish and school activities,” the prelate said. 

Mayall “strenuously denies this allegation,” Cupich…

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The impacts of Ridsdale’s crimes will echo long after his death, child advocates say. (AAP PHOTOS)Story by Adrian Black and Melissa Meehan

The death of Australia’s worst pedophile priest could contribute to trauma for victim-survivors, advocates say, with concerns a recent court decision may further deny them justice.

Gerald Ridsdale, convicted of abusing at least 72 children over three decades, died aged 90 on Tuesday morning in Port Phillip Prison’s medical unit.

He was one of multiple convicted pedophile priests and Christian Bothers who operated in the Diocese of Ballarat in western Victoria, along with Robert Best, Edward Dowlan, Gerald Leo Fitzgerald and Bryan Desmond Coffey.

Judy Courtin, a lawyer whose firm represented many of Ridsdale’s victims in court, said a landmark 2024 High Court judgement not to recognise the vicarious liability of the Diocese “twisted a knife” into abuse victims and survivors.

“These people can no longer sue…

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Msgr Jean-Pierre Blais accused of being sex predator in Quebec

Pope Francis on Tuesday removed a Canadian bishop accused of sexual abuse of children in Quebec.

Despite being hospitalized at Rome’s Policlinico Agostino Gemelli Hospital and having his therapy changed due to a complex clinical picture, Francis is continuing to carry out his duties of governing the Church.

The Pontiff has accepted the resignation from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Baie-Comeau, in Canada, presented by Monsignor Jean-Pierre Blais, Vatican sources said.

Blais, 75, is mentioned in a list of sexual predators filed as part of a victims’ class action against the Archdiocese of Quebec.

Francis has therefore appointed as bishop of Baie-Comeau Father Pierre Charland, until now provincial minister of the Franciscans of Canada.

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A retired priest who worked in multiple churches in the Chicago area has been accused of sexual abuse against a minor, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced on Saturday.

In a letter sent Saturday to the St. Francis Borgia Parish, the archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, wrote that Monsignor Daniel Mayall was accused of sexually abusing a minor about 30 years ago while serving at the church located in the Dunning neighborhood. Mayall served at the St. Francis Borgia Parish from July 1993 to January 2002. He “strenuously denies” the allegations against him, Cupich said.

Mayall has been ordered by the church to remain out of the ministry and away from all parish and school activities while civil authorities investigate, according to the letter. The church will also conduct its own investigation into Mayall.

“The Archdiocese of Chicago takes all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously and encourages anyone who…

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One of Australia’s most notorious paedophiles, Gerald Ridsdale, has died.

The 90-year-old disgraced Catholic priest had been in prison since 1994 for the sexual abuse of more than 70 children, which occurred during his three decades as a parish priest in western Victoria.

Ridsdale died after being unresponsive for days.

His death was met with relief by one of his many victims, Paul Levey, who told this masthead: “I have been waiting for this day for a long time.”

Levey was raped daily while living with Ridsdale at a presbytery in Mortlake, near Warrnambool, after being sent to live there at age 14 following his parents’ separation in 1982.

“He robbed me and so many others of our childhoods,” Levey said of Ridsdale.

“The abuse has affected every part of my life. He has caused so much pain to so many people, so I am glad he is gone, and…

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[Includes a two-minute video in English.]

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Wednesday battled to contain a new controversy after lawmakers urged him to explain whether he was aware of widespread claims of sexual abuse of minors at a Catholic school. Prosecutors in France have been investigating around a hundred complaints concerning alleged violence, sexual assault and rape committed at the Notre-Dame de Betharram school, which Bayrou’s own children attended, in the country’s southwest between the 1970s and 1990s.

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The death of Australia’s worst pedophile priest could contribute to trauma for victim-survivors, advocates say, with concerns a recent court decision may further deny them justice.

Gerald Ridsdale, convicted of abusing at least 72 children over three decades, died aged 90 on Tuesday morning in Port Phillip Prison’s medical unit.

He was one of multiple convicted pedophile priests and Christian Bothers who operated in the Diocese of Ballarat in western Victoria, along with Robert Best, Edward Dowlan, Gerald Leo Fitzgerald and Bryan Desmond Coffey.

Judy Courtin, a lawyer whose firm represented many of Ridsdale’s victims in court, said a landmark 2024 High Court judgement not to recognise the vicarious liability of the Diocese “twisted a knife” into abuse victims and survivors.

“These people can no longer sue the Diocese of Ballarat for any of Ridsdale’s horrific sex crimes if the Diocese establishes it had no prior knowledge of…

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French Prime Minister François Bayrou has vowed to support an investigation into decades of alleged abuse at a Catholic school, following accusations from the left that he misled parliament by claiming he was unaware of the case while he was a local official and education minister. Pressure on Bayrou increased on Monday after a lawyer in his home town of Pau called for an investigation into alleged “obstruction of justice”. 

Bayrou has survived several votes of no-confidence since taking office in mid-December. But he now faces scrutiny over allegations of physical and sexual abuse at Notre-Dame de Bétharram – a Catholic boarding school in the Pyrenees where he sent several of his children.

In 1996, when Bayrou was education minister, a student lost hearing in one ear after being slapped by a school monitor, who was later convicted.

In 1998, a former headmaster was detained for allegedly raping a 10-year-old boy in the…

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I am a survivor of childhood clergy sexual abuse from two priests in New Jersey. In 2002, I attended the bishops’ conference in Dallas, Texas at which hundreds of Catholic officials — facing massive public and parishioner pressure due to a flood of abuse and cover-up cases — grudgingly adopted some “reforms.”

They enacted the so-called Dallas Charter, which pledged to dramatically change how the church handled these widespread and devastating crimes. 

The document, affirmed by virtually every U.S. bishop, is chock full of encouraging phrases and sweeping promises, like “disciplining offenders,” “cooperating with civil authorities,” “creating a safe environment for children and young people,” “providing for accountability” and more.

My initial reaction was hopeful. I recall thinking, “Now at last we have some guidelines and bylaws to hold those in authority accountable.” 

Unfortunately, my optimism was soon shattered, as New Jersey bishops Ted McCarrick, Frank Rodimer, John Myers, Joseph Tobin,…

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The Archdiocese of Chicago has sent notification letters to two parishes about sexual abuse allegations made against a retired priest.

The letter is about  the retired Monsignor Daniel Mayall. The allegations of sexual abuse of a minor date back 30 years ago while he served at  St. Francis Borgia Parish on the Northwest Side.

The notification letter was also sent to worshipers at Saints Joseph and Francis Xavier Parish in Wilmette, where Mayall served more recently and where he now lives in retirement.

Mayall has been instructed to remain out of ministry and refrain from all parish and school activities.

The letter said the monsignor denies the allegation and has agreed to cooperate with the instructions and the investigation.

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Philip Shenon’s “Jesus Wept” looks at the church since World War II, with particular focus on the clerical abuse crisis and the ideological battles that followed the Second Vatican Council.

JESUS WEPT: Seven Popes and the Battle for the Soul of the Catholic Church, by Philip Shenon

The Roman Catholic Church defines itself as the “people of God,” a community of all the baptized — lay women and men, the clergy, prelates — and not as a monarchical line of popes.

Yet with sharp portrayals of the last seven men who have served as supreme pontiffs, Philip Shenon’s “Jesus Wept” delivers a compelling recent history of the 2,000-year-old institution whose leaders reach for heaven but often fall spectacularly, sadly, into the morass of mortal fallibility.

Popes grapple with heinous waves of clerical sex abuse. Bishops and laity grapple for control of papal agendas, and all grapple with the watershed reforms of…

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A Brussels court has ruled that prosecution in the long-running investigation into sexual abuse within the Catholic Church is no longer possible. Victims’ groups have strongly condemned the decision and are considering an appeal.

A Brussels court ruled on Monday that the prosecution in the major investigation into sexual abuse and cover-ups within the Catholic Church is no longer valid. The court, citing procedural issues, followed the position of the federal prosecutor. The ruling can still be appealed by civil parties.

Legal battles

The investigation began in June 2010 with high-profile raids at the Mechelen-Brussels Archdiocese, St. Rumbold’s Cathedral, the private residence of cardinal Godfried Danneels, and the offices of a commission handling abuse cases. The operation aimed to uncover evidence of abuse and cover-ups within the Church.

However, legal battles over the validity of these searches led to key evidence being excluded. By 2016, the federal prosecutor had already…

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