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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Francis, throughout his pontificate, has been…

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[Via Detroit Catholic]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fr. Lewis denies the allegation.

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

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

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

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

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

Cashman died in 2018.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Those numbers are down from over…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But often, the…

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

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

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

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

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

The players…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In an interview by email July…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The sprawling Vatican trial originated in the London…

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

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

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

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

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

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

…

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

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

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

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

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

Police said a second youth victim has also been identified.

The accused is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other Statute of Limitation Reform News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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A New Orleans priest pleaded guilty last week to two child molestation charges for incidents that took place as recently as 2013.

Father Patrick Wattigny, 55, the former pastor of St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church and chaplain at Pope John Paul II High School, both in Slidell, Louisiana, was sentenced to five years in prison with five years of probation. He was also required to register as a sex offender.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans, where Wattigny was a priest, announced his removal from ministry Oct. 1, 2020. 

The priest was originally arrested and charged in 2020 when a victim reported that Wattigny molested him when he was 15 years old in 2013. Another victim came forward in the fall of 2022 and claimed that Wattigny molested him when he was a 9-year-old student. The victim said the abuse occurred during the mid-1990s, according to  View Cache

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ogdensburg in northern New York said Monday that it was filing for bankruptcy protection as it faces more than 100 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse.

The diocese, like others in the state, is dealing with lawsuits dating to when New York temporarily suspended the statute of limitations to give victims of childhood abuse the ability to pursue even decades-old allegations against clergy members, teachers, Boy Scout leaders and others.

Bishop of Ogdensburg Terry R. LaValley said there were 124 cases pending against the diocese, with claims dating from the 1940s through the 1990s.

Ogdensburg is the sixth of New York’s eight dioceses to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a list that also includes those based in Buffalo, Rochester and Rockville Centre on Long Island.

Ogdensburg serves a big but largely rural area, and its 81 parishes are the fewest…

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The Diocese of Ogdensburg has submitted a Chapter 11 reorganization petition following the filing of more than 100 sexual abuse lawsuits. Bishop Terry LaValley stated in a letter that the reorganization is in reaction to the 138 lawsuits brought against the diocese under the Child Victims Act of New York state.

In a move that, in our opinion, tries to prevent the public from realizing the scope of clergy sexual abuse that has occurred inside its borders. Ogdensburg makes the 6th out of the 8 Catholic Dioceses in New York to do so. 

The truth about how the abuse was tolerated, by whom, and where, as well as all other real evidence, are equally as vital to survivors and their families as reparations are; without that truth, a safe Catholic diocese in Ogdensburg will not emerge, and these crimes will be replayed.

We are calling on our…

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Father Johan Verschueren, a Jesuit official and the superior of Father Marko Rupnik, announced June 15 the expulsion of Rupnik from the Society of Jesus due to his “repeated refusal” to address the allegations of sexual abuse and to comply with the restrictions placed on him.

Rupnik had according to canonical norms until Friday, July 14, to appeal the decision. By not having done so, the priest, who was also briefly excommunicated for admittedly giving absolution to one of his accomplices in a sin against the Sixth Commandment, is officially out of the order.

Various media reported that the Slovenian priest would move to live in Croatia in the Diocese of Split-Makarska. ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, contacted his superior to confirm this information but did not receive a response by press time.

Rupnik, who allegedly physically and psychologically abused numerous women religious during his stay with the Loyola…

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Embattled pastor Stovall Weems, who was ousted last year from the Florida megachurch he founded, has sued the Association of Related Churches (ARC), claiming ARC leaders “masterminded” a takeover of his church for ARC’s benefit. The lawsuit is the latest salvo in a bitter conflict between Weems, the church he formerly pastored, Celebration Church, and ARC. Over the past 17 months, Weems has been named as either the plaintiff or defendant in five separate legal cases. 

The latest lawsuit was filed July 12 by Weems and his wife, Kerri, and several entities they co-founded, in the U.S. District Court–Middle District Court of Florida. It seeks “in excess of $75,000” in damages.

The Weemses claim leaders of prominent church planting network ARC sought to “protect and expand their church growth business interests” by “gaining control” over Celebration Church based in Jacksonville. 

The…

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A retired priest who served at two Richmond-area churches for more than a decade has been accused of child sexual abuse, the Catholic Diocese of Richmond said.

An allegation was made against the Rev. Walter Lewis. The person who made the allegation, whom the diocese did not identify, said the abuse took place in the 1980s at St. Anne Catholic Church in Bristol. Lewis denies the allegation, according to the diocese, which removed him from all public work while the investigation is ongoing. Law enforcement has been contacted, the diocese said.

Bristol is in the Diocese of Richmond, which takes up much of Virginia, south of the Diocese of Arlington in Northern Virginia.

Lewis became a priest in the diocese in 1979. During his service, he was assigned to St. Bridget Church in Richmond and St. Mary in Henrico County. Lewis worked at St. Mary from 1995…

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Three decades ago, when he was a parish priest in Argentina, the man named by Pope Francis to be the Catholic Church’s new guardian of doctrinal orthodoxy wrote a short book about kissing and the sensations it evokes.

Some conservative sectors in the church are using the reflections in “Heal Me with Your Mouth. The Art of Kissing” to criticize the designation of Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández to lead the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, a body once known as the Holy Office that for centuries was responsible for persecuting heretics, disciplining dissidents and enforcing sexual morality.

“These are ultra-conservative sectors that deeply hate the Argentine pontiff (Francis),” Fernández, the archbishop of La Plata, a city 70 kilometers (43 miles) south of Buenos Aires, told The Associated Press.

Argentina archbishop says he made mistakes in handling abuse allegations against priest

“They take a phrase from the book…

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) – A South Bend priest who was killed in a hit-and-run crash last year allegedly sexually abused a minor during his time serving with the Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.

The diocese says it was recently made aware of an allegation that Father Jan Klimczyk engaged in sexual abuse of a minor. Officials say that allegation has been found credible. It was not specified when the alleged abuse took place, but the diocese says it received the allegation after Father Klimczyk’s death.

As a result, Father Klimczyk has been placed on the diocese’s list of clergies credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor. The full list can be found online by clicking here.

The diocese says it is extending its “heartfelt prayers to all who are affected by this news and stands firm in its commitment to investigate any…

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Last summer there was an outpouring of support for Father Jan Klimczyk and the Holy Family Parish on the southwest side of South Bend after the 67-year-old priest was hit and killed while riding his bike on Western Avenue.

On Monday, the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend announced that it added Klimczyk to its list of priests accused of sexually abusing a minor.

In a letter, the diocese said it “became aware of an allegation that Father Jan Klimczyk engaged in sexual abuse of a minor. That allegation has been found credible.”

The diocese’s statement does not outline the nature of the alleged abuse, when the alleged abuse occurred or when the diocese was notified. A spokeswoman for the diocese did not immediately respond to a request from WVPE about the allegations against Klimczyk.

Klimczyk grew up and was ordained in Poland before coming to…

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The US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection releases its annual report to highlight the “ongoing work of the Church in continuing the call to ensure the safety of children and vulnerable adults.”

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection has released the 2022 Annual Report – Findings and Recommendations on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

Courage and fortitude

In the document’s preface, USCCB President Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of Military Services described it as a “a milestone accounting of the continued efforts in the ministry of protection, healing, and accompaniment.”

Archbishop Broglio underlined how the drafting of the report was made possible “thanks to the courage and fortitude of our sisters and brothers who were harmed, abused, or molested by a trusted clergy member, and who made reports and shared their…

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Father Benjamin Sellier of the Archdiocese of Cambrai in France died by suicide in the early hours of July 11 after learning that he was being investigated for the alleged sexual abuse of a young woman.

According to local media France Bleu Nord, the 47-year-old priest was hit by a freight train at about 3 a.m. local time in the northern region near the border with Belgium.

The French media reported that a letter was found next to Sellier’s body in which he acknowledges the abuse but minimizes the facts.

“Our diocese is going through a tragic ordeal with the death of Father Benjamin Sellier. His death shocks us and plunges us into sorrow,” said the archbishop of Cambrai, Vincent Dollmann, in a July 13 statement.

“The investigation into the circumstances of the death confirms that he ended his life,” he said.

“In addition,” the prelate explained, “he was the…

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Parish priest facing allegations of abusing a young teenage girl takes his own life in small town in northeastern France near the Belgian border

Catholics in the archdiocese of Cambrai, located in the northeastern France, remain in shock after a priest accused of sexually abusing a young teenage girl committed suicide.

Benjamin Sellier, parish priest in a small town of Avesnes-sur-Helpe less than ten miles from the Belgian border, died at 3 a.m. on July 11 after being struck by a freight train. The 47-year-old cleric was walking in the middle of the tracks and the train’s conductor did not see him in time to stop.

He was the fifth accused French priest in as many years to take his own life.

“We were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Father Benjamin Sellier, parish priest of the Avesnois region,” said Cambrai’s Archbishop Vincent Dollmann in an initial press…

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The Catholic bishops’ conference in the West African nation of Togo affirms its commitment to combat all forms of Church-related sexual aggression

The Catholic bishops of Togo, whose national episcopal conference recently submitted protocols for dealing with sex abuse to the Vatican, are beginning to make a more concerted effort to fight the scourge that has plunged the Church into crisis in many parts of the world.

There is an “urgent need to combat sexual abuse in the Church”, said Archbishop Nicodème Barrigah-Bénissan of Lomé on July 7 as he formally closed the 2022-2023 pastoral year before the summer break. His chancellor, Father Séverin Gakpe, confirmed that “all priests in the archdiocese of Lomé have already signed the code of conduct for protection against abuse”, a process that is underway at the level of religious institutes.

As the abuse crisis continues to manifest itself, the Vatican has reaffirmed zero tolerance…

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The Ogdensburg Diocese has filed for bankruptcy, a move triggered by 124 pending lawsuits from more than 50 alleged victims who say they suffered childhood sexual abuse at the hands of clergy from the 1940s to 1990s.

The Diocese encompasses 12,036 square miles of northern New York, including Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties, as well as northern Herkimer County.“This difficult yet necessary decision was made in response to lawsuits filed against the Diocese under the Child Victims Act. 124 cases are currently pending against the Diocese following implementation of the act, which allows individuals who assert that they were the victims of childhood sexual abuse to file claims, regardless of when the alleged abuse took place. The claims filed against the Diocese date back decades (1940s through 1990s), prior to the institution of the Diocese’s safe environment policies and procedures,” spokeswoman Darcy Fargo said in…

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ogdensburg has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in response to Child Victims Act lawsuits.

The New York state law, passed in 2019, extended the statute of limitations for survivors of child sexual abuse to bring criminal charges or file civil suits against their abusers. It also opened a “lookback window” that allowed survivors to file civil suits no matter when the alleged abuse took place.

There are currently 124 cases pending against the Diocese of Ogdensburg, which date between the 1940s and 1990s, according to the diocese.

The diocese says the goal for filing Chapter 11 reorganization “is to resolve the legal cases in a fair and equitable manner while allowing the Diocese to continue its mission.” Otherwise, the organization says, civil actions would continue for many years and those who filed the first lawsuits would receive larger awards or settlements, leaving little for the remaining…

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In the wake of more than 100 sexual abuse lawsuits, the Diocese of Ogdensburg has filed for Chapter 11 reorganization.

In a letter, Bishop Terry LaValley said the reorganization is in response to the 138 lawsuits filed against the diocese under New York state’s Child Victims Act.

The act allowed victims to sue their alleged abusers for acts that were previously protected by the statute of limitations. It opened a one-year window from August 2019 to August 2020. The deadline was extended to August 2021 because of the pandemic.

The cases go back decades, from 1940 to 1990, before, the bishop says, the diocese implemented policies to keep children safe.

LaValley said the diocese faces uncertainty in how much it would have to pay in settlements and how long the process would take.

“While we have been in litigation for almost three years, the merit of…

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ogdensburg in northern New York said Monday that it was filing for bankruptcy protection as it faces more than 100 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse.

The diocese, like others in the state, is dealing with lawsuits dating to when New York temporarily suspended the statute of limitations to give victims of childhood abuse the ability to pursue even decades-old allegations against clergy members, teachers, Boy Scout leaders and others.

Bishop of Ogdensburg Terry R. LaValley said there were 124 cases pending against the diocese, with claims dating from the 1940s through the 1990s.

Ogdensburg is the sixth of New York’s eight dioceses to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a list that also includes those based in Buffalo, Rochester and Rockville Centre on Long Island.

Ogdensburg serves a big but largely rural area, and its 81 parishes are the fewest…

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In a major move to deal with a troubled past, the Diocese of Ogdensburg has filed for Chapter 11 reorganization.

The Diocese, and Bishop Terry R. LaValley, will hold a news conference at 4 p.m. today in Watertown to discuss the filing.

Earlier today, the Diocese issued a detailed news release explaining the move.

The Press-Republican will have more information on this story later.

Here is the Diocese news release in its entirety.

“Following extensive consultation with diocesan staff, the College of Consultors, Council of Priests, the Diocesan Finance and Pastoral Councils, priest and deacons, pastoral leaders, and a team of professional advisors, Bishop Terry R. LaValley, Bishop of Ogdensburg, authorized the filing of a Chapter 11 reorganization case by the Diocese of Ogdensburg. Bishop Terry R. LaValley was in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of New York, in Utica for today’s filing.

This difficult yet necessary decision was made…

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

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

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

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A Daily Record investigation has revealed Lady Smith was paid the same amount as some survivors receive in compensation.

Survivors of child sexual abuse have slammed the huge sums being earned by professionals involved in the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry.

A Daily Record investigation has revealed Lady Smith – the judge who has chaired the inquiry for seven years – was paid the same amount as some survivors receive in compensation for a lifetime of suffering for just two weeks of work.

Figures obtained from the Scottish Government show she has received just short of £2million in salary and pension contributions so far.

In another example, Johnny Gwynne, who retired on a police pension after 33 years, has been able to earn £34,193 for around 12 weeks work, at £561 a day, in his first six months as chairman of Redress Scotland, the body that sets compensation levels. This
is in comparison to paltry…

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This small European country’s cardinals represent various generations and focuses within the Church.

From August 2 – 6, 2023, Pope Francis will visit Portugal for the WYD in Lisbon. This is the first time that this European country will host a World Youth Day, which may bring together as many as a million young people. Portugal, where almost 80% of the population identify themselves as Catholic, will soon have 4 cardinal electors. The Pope announced on July 9 that Bishop Alves Aguiar, auxiliary bishop of Lisbon, would be created a cardinal on September 30 alongside 20 other prelates.

The small European country, with a population of just 10 million, is thus becoming one of the best represented in the world in the College of Cardinals, which is responsible for electing the Pope.

Portugal also has two cardinals emeritus. A close friend of Pope John Paul II,  View Cache

Bankruptcy proceedings by the Catholic Church on Long Island linked to clergy sexual abuse cases have gone on for nearly three years and piled up $70 million in legal fees.

Now, a federal judge says he may intervene to bring the process to an end — and effectively give clergy abuse survivors their day in court.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn said during a court hearing in Manhattan last week that he may take the highly unusual step of ending the bankruptcy proceedings because the survivors and the Diocese of Rockville Centre can’t reach an agreement.

That would send some 600 cases back to state court for civil trials.

WHAT TO KNOW

• A federal judge says he may end bankruptcy proceedings by the Diocese of Rockville Centre because the Catholic Church and hundreds of survivors of clergy sexual abuse cannot reach a settlement.
• The proceedings have gone on for nearly three years and cost…

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When I transferred from public school to a private Catholic school at the age of 11, I knew next to nothing about religion. I’d previously attended a public school in the Pacific Northwest — my academic experience up to that point had no relation to religion. In Catholic school, I had to learn very quickly what Christianity expected of me. The curriculum taught us that restraint and control were vital to a healthy relationship with God. You had to control yourself, your body and your mind. Otherwise, your soul was at stake. If you did not exercise restraint, you were using your bodily power to act in a way empowering the self, not the Divine.

I have since left the Catholic Church and abandoned everything it taught me. I quickly learned that abuse sees no consequences in religious organizations. Above all else, I saw a stark contrast between what I…

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Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State for the Holy See, refuted the idea that homosexuality is linked to sexual abuse, writing in a new book that blaming the abuse crisis in the church on gay priests is a “serious and scientifically untenable association.”

The Italian prelate, one of the highest ranking officials in the Vatican, also argued:

“‘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.’”

Parolin defended gay priests in his preface to a new book on sexual abuse in the church, Il dolore della Chiesa di fronte agli abusi (“The Pain of the Church in the Face of Abuse”). The collection includes “contributions from a number of Catholic theologians, psychologists and other experts on clergy sexual abuse,” according to the National Catholic Reporter. 

Sadly, the false association between gay priests and sexual abuse…

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Catholic Bishops in MA Are Still Hiding Names of Accused Priests, Experts Say

AG’s Commitment to Child Safety and Transparency Is at Issue

The Healing of Survivors Depends on AG Holding Bishops Accountable

Treatment Center in the Worcester Diocese Was a Haven for Sex Offenders

WHAT
Holding signs and church abuse documents at a sidewalk news conference in front of the MA Attorney General’s office, experts and survivors of the Catholic abuse crisis will call on AG Andrea Campbell to release her office’s long-delayed report on the sexual abuse of children in the Worcester, Fall River, and Springfield dioceses.

WHEN
Monday, July 17, 2023 at 11:00 am

WHERE
One Ashburton Place, Boston, Massachusetts

WHO
The two leaders of BishopAccountability.org, the Waltham MA–based international archive and watchdog group that has been tracking the Catholic abuse crisis since 2003. They are:

– Terry McKiernan, Founder, President, and Co-Director of BishopAccountability.org

– Anne Barrett Doyle, Co-Director of BishopAccountability.org

…

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Inquiry ordered following Guardian investigation into retired priest who confessed decades ago to child molestation

A high-ranking federal official has ordered an investigation after the Guardian exposed how New Orleans’s Roman Catholic archdiocese went to extreme lengths to conceal a retired priest who confessed decades ago to child molestation, is still living and has never been prosecuted.

Yet the investigation recently ordered by federal judge Jane Triche Milazzo is not designed to aid efforts to criminally charge the cleric or hold the church administrators who hid his past accountable. Instead, the inquiry is aimed at determining whether anyone violated broad confidentiality rules governing the New Orleans archdiocese’s pending bankruptcy protection filing and related litigation before the Guardian’s report on 91-year-old Lawrence Hecker was published on 20 June.

Milazzo called for the investigation in question during a telephone conference on 30 June. The conference was alongside attorneys involved in an unresolved lawsuit…

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Historical abuse emerged as a significant social issue over recent decades. However, claimants seeking compensation struggle to hold abusers accountable and receive fair compensation. Courts are reluctant to hold an organisation liable for deliberate, wrongful or criminal acts by its employees. The term for this is vicarious liability.

This meant victims of abuse have had to seek compensation directly from their abuser. However, individual abusers come from a variety of circumstances. In historical abuse matters, there are several problems:

• abusers may be difficult to locate,
• they may die before the complainant reports the matter,
• or the abuser has negligible assets.

To overcome these hurdles, survivors attempt to hold institutions vicariously liable for abuse perpetrated by their staff. This allows plaintiffs to sue institutions for fair compensation, rather than relying on an individual to pay compensation.

What is vicarious liability?

Vicarious liability allows one person or party to be held legally responsible…

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Doe v. Roman Catholic Church of Diocese of Phoenix
Arizona Court of Appeals
June 29, 2023

In Doe v. Roman Catholic Church of Diocese of Phoenix, — Ariz. -, No. 1 CA-CV 22-0143 (June 29, 2023), the Arizona Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of the Plaintiff’s direct and vicarious liability claims against St. Mark parish and the Diocese of Phoenix (“Diocese Defendants”), based on sexual abuse committed by a priest that served at the parish.

In dismissing the direct liability claims against the Diocese Defendants, the Court applied the traditional tort rules holding an employer can be independently liable for an employee/agent’s sexual misconduct but only if the employer did something negligent, knowing or having reason to know the employee/agent was a risk of harm to others.  The Court rejected the plaintiff’s claim that the perpetrator’s sexual relationship with another consenting adult, in violation of Roman Catholic Doctrine, put the Diocese Defendants…

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Advocates for survivors of clergy abuse and legal experts are questioning a five-year sentence handed down for a Northshore priest convicted of molesting juveniles.

They argue that individuals convicted of other sexual offenses often receive much harsher penalties.

In a courtroom filled with tension, a victim of former priest Patrick Wattigny’s sexual abuse recounted his decades-long ordeal, only for his attorneys to leave the courtroom feeling frustrated and angry.

“[My client] believes five years is not enough, which is consistent with the other victim, who gave one of the most amazing victim impact statements I’ve ever heard,” said the victim’s attorney, Rick Trahant.

Covington Judge John Keller recently sentenced Father Patrick Wattigny, a longtime Catholic priest, to five years in prison for two counts of molesting juveniles. However, many believe that this sentence falls short of addressing the gravity of the crimes committed.

“It goes on and on…

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Given the emotion and pain around the subject, I fully expected that my letter about excessive Sun coverage of Catholic Church sexual abuse (”Coverage of child abuse has hit overkill level,” July 8) would be interpreted as being not properly sympathetic to victims (”It’s not ‘media overkill’ for survivors to be heard,” July 12). Thus, now is the time to add a postscript that, like too many others, victims of sexual assault and abuse can be amply counted among my family and friends.

I believe them. I support them, and I stand with them. Victims of sexual assault should pursue criminal charges, and they should hold accountable those institutions that neglected them. However, the victim’s right to speak up and to pursue justice is wholly separable from the professional ethics that govern how news is written, specifically the grave responsibility of clearly delineating legally proven truth from assumed…

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The Archdiocese of Seattle announced final settlements for two separate claims related to allegations of sexual abuse by clergy members a few decades ago. 

The claims involved Brother D.P. Ryan who served at O’Dea High School in Seattle in 1986, and Father John Forrester, who was at St. Teresa Catholic School in the early to mid-1970s. 

The settlements totaled $200,000. Both clergymen allegedly involved have since died. 

Both Ryan and Forrester are identified on the archdiocese’s List of Clergy and Religious Brothers and Sisters for Whom Allegations of Sexual Abuse of a Minor Have Been Admitted, Established or Determined to be Credible when the list was originally published in January 2016.

To report any suspicion of abuse by any Church personnel, contact local law enforcement. If anyone has knowledge of misconduct by a member of the clergy, an employee or a volunteer of the Archdiocese of Seattle, call…

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Bolivia’s attorney general’s office announced July 10 that it has now received a complete copy of the diary of deceased Jesuit Alfonso Pedrajas in which the priest discloses he sexually abused at least 85 minors in the course of his ministry.

A few weeks ago, the Bolivian attorney general’s office confirmed that on June 20 it had received a copy of the diary from the Society of Jesus in Bolivia but charged that it contained “gaps in the sequence of pages and sections crossed out and deleted.”

In response to the accusation, the religious order denied having tampered with the contents, arguing that the material it received had arrived in a sealed envelope that came from Rome via courier, sent by the general curia of the Society of Jesus, which in turn had received it from the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF). The Jesuits turned over…

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An Indianapolis megachurch is defending its pastor, after a local newspaper reported that the pastor’s “troubling patterns of abuse” and lack of financial accountability caused an exodus of members and staff from his former church.

The allegations concern CJ Johnson, pastor of Northview Church, a multi-site megachurch in Indianapolis with a weekly attendance over 8,800. According to The Current, several former staff at Johnson’s previous church, Southland City Church in Minneapolis, Minn., claim Johnson’s misconduct prompted most of Southland’s staff to quit in late 2020, and the church to close.   

Specifically, the former staff accused Johnson “of speaking dishonestly from the pulpit, lacking transparency about church finances and threatening or manipulating those who questioned his ideas or leadership,” Current reported.

The former staff also claimed that Northview Church failed to perform due diligence when hiring Johnson as their new lead pastor.

Northview hired Johnson…

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Grammy Award-winning worship leader Matt Redman has disclosed that he “experienced first-hand” the “harmful behaviours” of Soul Survivor co-founder Mike Pilavachi, who resigned Tuesday from a church near London amid allegations of decades-long abuse.

In a 500-word Facebook post, Redman, known for such worship songs as “Blessed Be Your Name” and “The Heart of Worship,” stated that “over a hundred people have reported being mistreated” by longtime Anglican youth pastor Pilavachi. He added that the allegations against Pilavachi “cover a whole spectrum of harm – physical, psychological, spiritual.” 

“I feel particularly strongly on this issue as I myself experienced first-hand the harmful behaviours that have been described,” wrote Redman. “I have spent years trying to fully heal from my time at Soul Survivor – and, painfully, I now know this to be the case for a lot of other people too.” 

In recent months, public allegations have  View Cache

Father Sibi from Jabalpur diocese was arrested for allegedly trying to convert children in central Madhya Pradesh state

The top court in a central Indian state has granted anticipatory bail to a Catholic priest who was arrested by police for allegedly attempting to convert tribal children.

The Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court granted anticipatory bail to Father Sibi Sebastian, manager of a Jabalpur diocese-run school in the tribal district of Mandla, on July 13.

“It is a great relief for us,” said one of the priests who has been monitoring the case.

The priest, who did not want to be named, told UCA News on July 14 that the case was “fake and an attempt to target Christians and their institutions.”

Yogesh Parashar, a member of the state-run Child Welfare Committee, in a police complaint filed on March 8 alleged the priest was attempting to convert school…

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A former Catholic priest in Louisiana was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to two state criminal charges of juvenile molestation.

Patrick Wattigny, 55, entered the plea in Covington on Wednesday, New Orleans news outlets reported. He was sentenced after a statement was presented in court from a victim describing the lifelong harm the molestation caused.

Wattigny was a priest in St. Tammany Parish when the juveniles were molested. The victim told the court that after he started at a Catholic grade school in the parish in 1996, Wattigny was a father figure and friend. But Wattigny’s behavior grew increasingly inappropriate and he eventually molested the boy.

The victim, now 36, said the abuse affected him throughout his life.

“I struggled greatly with maintaining relationships as I wasn’t sure what was constituted as sin or not. I never knew who I could trust. I…

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California Democratic legislators on Thursday hastily voted an anti-child-trafficking bill through a key committee after significant backlash to their initial scuttling of the measure. 

Legislators on the state Assembly’s Public Safety Committee had earlier this week voted down Senate Bill 14, which would elevate child trafficking to a “serious felony” in the state. The committee is controlled by six Democrats, with two Republicans also sitting on the panel. 

Committee Chair Member Reginald Jones-Sawyer said in a statement earlier this week that the committee was unwilling to “build on a deeply flawed sentencing system that unfairly punishes disadvantaged communities.” 

But the decision to vote the measure down led to bipartisan backlash, with spectators openly criticizing the committee after the vote, Republican politicians slamming the Democratic members for the decision, and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom vowing to help get the bill passed. 

On Thursday evening the Public…

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The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection has released the 2022 Annual Report – Findings and Recommendations on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

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

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

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Many dioceses and eparchies ‘have taken certain measures that go beyond the specific requirements,’ says report

Abuse allegations against Catholic clergy and religious in the U.S. declined last year, but challenges remain regarding protecting vulnerable adults and ensuring online safety, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

On July 14, the USCCB’s Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection released the “2022 Annual Report – Findings and Recommendations on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.”

USCCB President Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of Military Services said in his preface the report was “a milestone accounting of the continued efforts in the ministry of protection, healing, and accompaniment.”

The document — covering the period July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022 — consists of a progress report from the secretariat; an audit report conducted by the Rochester, New York-based consultants StoneBridge Business Partners; and a…

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The Sauvé report in 2021 estimated 330,000 cases of sexual abuse in the French Church since 1950.

Almost three-quarters of France’s active bishops have attended special Vatican sessions on recognising and reporting sexual abuse of minors, prompted by the shocking 2021 report on abuse in the French Church.

The bishops travelled to Rome in three groups – in February, May and July — for two days of discussions with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Dicastery for Bishops on their responsibility when confronted with clerical abuse of minors.

This apparently the first time that so large a proportion of a country’s hierarchy has received this instruction.

The Vatican has strict policies on abuse but has struggled to enforce them, with bishops in many countries unsure what to do when confronted with such cases.

The training was suggested by a working group led by retired judge Jean-Marc Sauvé,…

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A survivor of the Baltimore Catholic Church sex ring has spoken out about the similarities between her abuse and that of another alleged victim whose family is now suing the archdiocese.

Francis X Gallagher Jr. came forward as a sex abuse victim in his adulthood after he was allegedly molested by a clergy member when he was a boy.

When Gallagher pushed to have his alleged abuser’s name on its list of priests and seminarians credibly accused of abuse, he was threatened by the archdiocese, a lawsuit filed against the Archdiocese of Baltimore in late June has claimed.

The wrongful death suit was filed by Gallagher’s children, Flannery and Liam.

It claims Gallagher’s alleged abuse and the mishandling of his allegations drove the 62-year-old to die from a fatal overdose in August 2022.

A cause of death was not available at the time his obituary was released, the  View Cache

The Diocese of Mallorca in Spain has sentenced Father Julià Cifre Vandrell to three years of not celebrating Mass “in any place other than at his home” and to leading “a secluded life of retirement, prayer, and penance.”

The priest was also ordered to “write a letter to the victim apologizing for all the pain he has caused” and refrain for life “from coming into contact with the victim or her relatives.”

The penalty was imposed “once the criminal administrative canonical procedure against the priest was completed,” according to a statement from the diocese.

The decree stresses “the extraordinary gravity of the behavior that he has acknowledged having maintained for years.”

The victim, who was also reportedly abused by her father in childhood, suffers from a mental disorder. In 2021, she reported to the diocese that she had been abused by three priests over 36 years.

Cifre is a diocesan…

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Named as defendant in seven lawsuits filed since September 2021 with four of them in last three months

A Vancouver law firm has targeted the Roman Catholic Diocese of Prince George with four lawsuits over the past three months on behalf of clients alleging they were the victims of physical and sexual abuse while attending churches or schools under its jurisdiction.

Christopher McDougall of Preszler Injury Lawyers filed notices of claim in which the diocese is named as a defendant on April 19, June 27, July 7 and July 10, all at the B.C. Supreme Court’s Vancouver registry.

Details of the allegations claimed in the notices vary but all the allegations date back to the late 1960s and early 1970s when the plaintiffs were youths variously attending schools or churches in Prince George, Vanderhoof, Fort St. John and Kelly Lake, just east of Tumbler Ridge. Priests, nuns…

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Cardinal-designate Víctor Manuel Fernández, the new prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, “worked quickly” to “interfere in the judicial investigation” into abuse allegations against Father Eduardo Lorenzo, the attorney for Lorenzo’s alleged victims charged.

The Associated Press reported on attorney Juan Pablo Gallego’s remarks about the canonical investigation in a Spanish-language article. The attorney’s remarks did not appear in the AP’s companion English-language article.

Gallego asserted that “the Interdiocesan Ecclesiastical Tribunal of La Plata under the mandate of Fernández provided elements that sought to protect” Father Lorenzo, according to the AP’s paraphrase of his remarks.

Archbishop Fernández recently admitted mistakes in handling the allegations, telling the Associated Press on July 9 that he “did not act in the best way”—even as he offered excuses for his decisions.

In July 2019, Archbishop Fernández learned of two new abuse allegations against Father Lorenzo, a parish priest and prison chaplain who had…

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[Via Detroit Catholic]

Shortly after the announcement of new cardinals by Pope Francis July 9 during the Angelus prayer in the Vatican, the Polish internet was flooded by pictures of the lynx with a red cardinal’s hat. It’s because the last name of the newly named cardinal, Polish Archbishop Grzegorz Rys of Lódz, means precisely that — “lynx.”

“The new cardinal would be the last one offended by sending him such a meme,” Pauline Father Michal Legan told OSV News. Cardinal-designate Rys is known in his native Poland not only for the dozens of books he has written but also for a “human approach” in the church and a “keen sense of humor,” Father Legan said.

Asked about the moment he learned he was named a cardinal, the Polish prelate said that “it was quite a shocking experience,” like “lightning.”

In a YouTube video posted July 10 by the Archdiocese…

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[This is a significantly different version of an article blogged in Abuse Tracker yesterday.]

The Bishop of Victoria and the Roman Catholic Military Ordinariate of Canada have been named as defendants.

A B.C. man is alleging he was sexually abused in Victoria by an unnamed priest under the supervision of Canadian Catholic military officials and the Diocese of Victoria.

The allegations come in Kevin Shawn Palmer’s July 7 notice of civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver. It names as defendants the Bishop of Victoria and the Roman Catholic Military Ordinariate of Canada.

The claim said the bishop was responsible for governance of Chapel Our Lady Star of the Sea premises and who had access to children there.

The claim said the ordinariate was responsible for governance of the chapel and who had access to children there.

The claim cites a John Doe as allegedly preying on Palmer…

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I am so glad to see the great job The Baltimore Sun is doing investigating the Catholic Church abuse scandal (”Coverage of child abuse has hit overkill level,” July 8). The Catholic Church still refuses to have full transparency and release the redacted parts of the investigation, instead constantly hiding behind false assertions that Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown won’t allow it (even as AG Brown has stated on many occasions that church leaders can come clean anytime the mood strikes them).

You are shining a light on the cases and abusers that the church hoped would go away. This is not “overkill,” as some letter writers claim. It is exposing the uncomfortable and horrible truth of abuse and cover up that continues to this day. Bravo for such fine journalism in righting a decades old wrong that the church refuses to do.

— Dave Henderson, Parkville

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Child abuse survivors say they’ve been led on for years by Pennsylvania’s top officials, including Gov. Josh Shapiro. But advocates still hope stalled efforts will move forward.

In the nearly five years since a bombshell grand jury report found thousands of children were sexually abused at the hands of Roman Catholic clergy in Pennsylvania, more than 20 states have passed legislation making it easier for victims to pursue civil action against their abusers and the institutions that protected them.

In Pennsylvania, however, efforts to create a two-year window for victims to file civil lawsuits based on decades-old allegations have repeatedly failed.

“How embarrassing is this building,” said Rep. Mark Rozzi (D., Berks), a childhood clergy abuse survivor, from his Capitol office last month. “We can’t even pass a bill that would give victims their day in court and expose perpetrators who are out there raping children.”

…

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Patrick Wattigny, former high school chaplain who resigned in 2020, pleads guilty to molesting two minors at school

The former chaplain of a Roman Catholic high school in Louisiana has pleaded guilty to molesting two minors whom he met through his work and was ordered to spend five years in prison.

Patrick Wattigny’s plea and sentence on Wednesday came after both of his victims strongly advocated for a harsher punishment. One victim, who was present, described how Wattigny spent time grooming him in the mid-1990s. The victim said Wattigny told him he could help him gain entry to heaven, then took him to a rectory to fondle his genitals. Wattigny also used his fingers to rape the victim while masturbating.

“You sir are not God,” that victim said. “You never were. You never will be.”

In a written statement released to reporters after the guilty plea, the other victim called the sentence given…

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A 39-year-old Kenyan priest was arrested on Tuesday afternoon, July 11,  by Jamaican police officers who accused him of four criminal counts.

The priest, a parishioner at the Roman Catholic Church in Portmore, St Catherine, faced defilement charges in the report first published by Jamaica Gleaner. 

According to Jamaican authorities, the charges were filed against the priest after a complainant positively identified him during an identification parade. 

His identity was also confirmed during a question-and-answer interview with his attorney, the police added.

The police revealed that the alleged offences were committed on the afternoon of Sunday, March 19, 2023, but were reported to authorities on June 23, 2023.

Victims who spoke with the police further accused the deacons of kidnapping them. It was yet to be established whether the priest was arraigned or had taken plea in the case. 

While withholding the name of the priest to respect his privacy, the police…

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Vancouver archbishop responsible for the governance of Hope Catholic Church and priest, lawsuit says.

A B.C. man alleges a Roman Catholic priest gained his trust and that of his family to sexually assault him while growing up in Hope.

In a notice of civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court July 6, Harold Lock names the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver as the defendant, naming his alleged abuser only as Father Guymand.

The claim said the archbishop of Vancouver as a religious institution was at all material times responsible for the governance of Hope Catholic Church.

Court documents allege starting in or about 1954-1956, Guymand used his position of power granted by the defendant to prey upon and sexually assault the plaintiff.

“In order to facilitate abuses, the perpetrator engaged in a pattern of behaviour which was intended to make the plaintiff feel that it was unsafe to report the…

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No one is less deserving of a saintly title than the Rev. David Holley, who from the grave remains a terrifying figure.

Holley was one of the country’s most notorious Catholic priests, a pedophile who left a trail of shattered lives from Massachusetts to Texas to New Mexico.

A scene in the 2015 Academy Award-winning movie Spotlight centers on one of Holley’s countless crimes. Rape survivor Phil Saviano meets with investigative reporters of the Boston Globe and recounts Holley’s time in the Diocese of Worcester, Mass.

“I was 11, and I was preyed upon by Father David Holley,” says the actor who portrayed Saviano. “And I don’t mean prayed for. I mean preyed upon.”

What the movie didn’t mention was the Diocese of Worcester shipped Holley to Servants of the Paraclete, a Catholic order that provided “treatment” in New Mexico for pedophiles and addicts.

Holley arrived in 1971. Soon he was updating the church…

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I’ve noted before that theoretical physics and conspiracy theories have at least one thing in common, which is that in both arenas the ultimate prize goes to the so-called “Theory of Everything,” meaning the identification of a single framework that ties together all aspects of the universe.

In Italy this past week, a new twist emerged in the quest for a “Theory of Everything” behind two of the country’s most notorious sources of conspiracy theories: The “Vatican girl” case and the assassination of Prime Minister Aldo Moro, both of which remain open scars decades after the facts.

The purported new link between the two cases runs through a third: The 1984 strangulation of a teenage girl in Rome named Katy Skerl, whose fate has often been linked to that of the “Vatican girl,” Emanuela Orlandi, the 15-year-old daughter of a minor employee in the Prefecture of the Papal Household when…

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 In response to suggestions in the Italian media that sexual advances by an uncle might be at the root of the infamous “Vatican Girl” mystery, the family of Emanuela Orlandi shot back angrily in a Monday news conference, charging that the Vatican is trying to duck its own responsibility in the case.

“It’s a disgrace,” said Pietro Orlandi, the brother of Emanuela, who’s dedicated his life to the search for the truth about his sister. “The Vatican wants to offload responsibility on my family.”

The 1983 disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi, who was 15 at the time and the daughter of a minor employee of the Prefecture of the Papal Household, has become a national obsession in Italy. Over the 40 years she’s been missing, her fate has generated speculation and conspiracy theories of every sort, much of it focusing on alleged Vatican involvement and cover-ups.

Momentum generated in part by…

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Payton (Frye) Jones remembers being in the dorm room of her friend, Zachary Jacquith, and Jacquith getting “touchy feely” with her on the night of February 22, 2019.

“That’s the last thing I remember,” Jones wrote in a statement included in a police report filed with the Kirkland Police Department in Kirkland, Wash. “The next morning, I woke up in my car with his comforter on top of me and my pants unbuttoned. I was so confused on how I got there. I also felt so ‘drunk’ and messed up.”

Over the next few days, Jones became convinced there was a drug in the drink Jacquith had given her the night before, her statement said. Jones added that she “only remembered drinking one small cup of whatever (Jacquith) made for me”—not enough alcohol to make her black out.

Jones also became convinced that Jacquith, a former intern at the West…

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A Pensacola man and his mother recently came forward with claims that longtime Pensacola priest, Monsignor James Flaherty, molested him when he was a boy, more than a decade ago. Even though the statute of limitations has passed for possible criminal charges, they reported it to law enforcement anyway.

“Considering the statutes have already passed, he’s not going to prison,” the Pensacola man explained. “I just hope that with my police report and hopefully this article some more people will come forward and maybe a kid who’s experiencing this now will be able to come forward to put the (expletive) behind bars.”

The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is looking into the complaint, but deputies aren’t commenting yet on the newly opened investigation. However, they say it is important for victims to report crimes, no matter how much time has passed.

Priest accused of abuse:Mother, son allege prominent…

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Shapiro can get justice for Pa. survivors of child sex abuse. Here’s how.

Five years ago this month, a Pennsylvania grand jury issued a scathing report detailing decades of child sexual abuse by Catholic priests and a cover-up by the church hierarchy. The grand jury included several recommendations for reform of the criminal and civil justice systems, including the creation of a two-year window allowing adults to sue for damages for abuse that occurred when they were minors and the statute of limitations has passed.

This year, on May 22, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a proposed constitutional amendment to establish the two-year window. The state Senate had already passed the constitutional change in January. Both chambers of the General Assembly also voted in favor of the civil justice window during the prior session of 2021-2022.

The next step in the amendment process…

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