ABUSE TRACKER

Former prime minister Julia Gillard has called on Australia’s attorneys-general to urgently consider how to deliver justice to survivors of child abuse after the High Court ruled that a Catholic diocese was not liable for the historical sexual abuse of a young boy in Victoria.

Gillard, who in 2012 established the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, said she was “deeply concerned” about the High Court ruling.

Celebrated anti-poverty and homelessness campaigner Abbé Pierre was voted France’s most popular person for many years, but sexual abuse accusations have shattered the activist priest’s crusading legacy

Saint or demon? Hero or criminal? Friend of the poorest or their ultimate nightmare? France is in shock as it realises that the founder of Emmaüs was a sexual predator.

Born to a wealthy bourgeois Catholic family in Lyon, the birth name of Abbé Pierre (1912-2007) was Henri Grouès. 

He began doing charity work with the Catholic church as a child, and in 1931 he joined the Capuchin Order, giving up his inheritance to charity and taking vows of poverty and chastity. 

As a monk in the Monastery of Crest, he was called Frère Philippe. He became a priest in 1938 but had to leave the monastery in 1939 due to a severe lung infection. 

He became the curate of the cathedral in…

Monsignor Charles A. Klauder, who made St. John the Baptist Church in the Town of Tonawanda one of the largest parishes in Western New York, liked to remark that he walked in the footsteps of John Neumann “all my life – in Philadelphia and at St. John’s.”

Neumann served as first resident pastor of St. John the Baptist before becoming bishop of Philadelphia, organizing the first parochial school system in the United States and doing so much charitable work that he would be canonized a saint in 1977.

As a young man in Philadelphia, Klauder used to pray at Neumann’s tomb, and after being ordained to the priesthood in 1918, he sought to pick up at St. John’s where Neumann had left off.

Klauder’s 45 years at St. John the Baptist are one of the lengthiest pastorates in Buffalo Diocese history, and he died in 1972 as a revered figure who…

A North Texas family filed a lawsuit against the church Nov. 11 after they say an older boy sexually abused their son on a mission trip, court documents state. A North Texas father is suing First Baptist Dallas for negligence over allegations that his teenage son was sexually abused by an older boy on a summer mission trip in July 2022, court documents state. The lawsuit was filed in Dallas County on Nov. 11. The plaintiff is bringing suit on behalf of his son and is asking for more than $1 million in damages.

In Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, a memorial dedicated to victims of sexual abuse within the Church was unveiled on Saturday, marking the first such initiative in Flanders. Situated in the garden of the church, the monument acknowledges the pain of victims and aims to symbolise hope and resilience.

The monument, created by local artist Jorgen Missotten, consists of two split boulders, representing the trauma endured by victims. “They signify the pain and violence inflicted on the victims,” explained Mayor Jan Desmeth (N-VA). Growing between the stones is a Ginkgo Biloba tree, chosen for its resilience after surviving the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. “It’s a symbol that, despite suffering, there is always hope,” Desmeth added.

The memorial was prompted by concerns from survivors in the community who feared their experiences were being forgotten during the repurposing of local churches. “Several victims approached us, expressing that the changes to these spaces felt like erasing history,”…

Judge Orders Diocese to Disclose Unredacted Records Allegedly Documenting Knowledge of Former Priest’s Abuse History

Herman Law has achieved a significant legal milestone in ongoing lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn. Since 2019, Herman Law has represented multiple survivors in cases that allege Father Romano Ferraro, a former priest within the Diocese, committed repeated acts of sexual abuse against minors.

Throughout these proceedings, the Diocese of Brooklyn has resisted releasing complete, unredacted documentation regarding their employment of Father Ferraro and their awareness of his alleged history of abuse. The limited records provided by the Diocese have been heavily redacted, prompting extensive legal challenges by Herman Law to gain access to the full scope of information.

In a pivotal development, the Honorable Judge Kraus recently ruled in favor of Herman Law, ordering the Diocese of Brooklyn to produce the complete, unredacted files by November 18, 2024. This order goes beyond similar previous rulings by including an automatic sanction: if the Diocese fails…

A Catholic priest on Chicago’s South Side has been reinstated after no evidence supporting allegations of sexual abuse made against him last week was found.

Archbishop Cardinal Blase J. Cupich sent letters to Our Lady at St. Germaine, St. Gerald, St. Cajetan, St. John Fisher, St. John Neumann, St. Gianna and St. Barnabas parishes informing them of his decision to reinstate Fr. Martin Marren after he was temporarily removed from ministry.

Last week, officials said the Department of Child and Family Services opened an investigation against Marren amid allegations of alleged sexual abuse of a minor.

The Archdiocese Office for the Protection of Children and Youth presented their findings and the results of their own investigation to its Independent Review Board (IRB) on Saturday, according to officials.

The IRB found no reasonable cause to believe Marren sexually abused a minor and recommended the file be closed and he be returned…

One factor forever complicating Vatican analysis is the proliferation of prefabricated scripts which various constituencies yearn to apply to events, rather than allowing those events to speak for themselves.

Recently, the curious case of ex-priest Ariel Alberto Príncipi – at least it seems his laicization will stick this time, though it’s hard to be truly sure – offers a good reminder of the point.

In 2023, an Argentine tribunal found Príncipi guilty of sexual abuse and ordered him dismissed from the clerical state, a verdict upheld on appeal. His laicization was then reversed this September by an edict from Venezuelan Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, the number two official in the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, only to be reinstated just days later by another decree from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), reminding everyone that it has exclusive jurisdiction over abuse cases.

To say the least, these public…

Shock waves triggered by archbishop’s resignation are culmination of years of simmering rage among churchgoers and survivors of abuse

As the faithful give thanks to God in England’s 16,500 parish churches on Sunday, beneath the comforting ritual of prayers and hymns will run a strong undercurrent of shame, anger, sadness and dread.

The Church of England is facing its biggest crisis in modern times, and there is no clear pathway to recovery. The archbishop of Canterbury has been forced to resign, other senior figures are facing calls to quit and the church is reeling from its shameful failures over a prolific and sadistic child abuser.

A 253-page report detailing the appalling brutality of the late barrister John Smyth, repeated cover-ups and omissions by church figures, and the lifelong trauma suffered by victims has triggered an “existential crisis” for the C of E, according to Linda Woodhead, professor of moral and social theology…

Herman Law has achieved a significant legal milestone in ongoing lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn. Since 2019, Herman Law has represented multiple survivors in cases that allege Father Romano Ferraro, a former priest within the Diocese, committed repeated acts of sexual abuse against minors.

Throughout these proceedings, the Diocese of Brooklyn has resisted releasing complete, unredacted documentation regarding their employment of Father Ferraro and their awareness of his alleged history of abuse. The limited records provided by the Diocese have been heavily redacted, prompting extensive legal challenges by Herman Law to gain access to the full scope of information.

In a pivotal development, the Honorable Judge Kraus recently ruled in favor of Herman Law, ordering the Diocese of Brooklyn to produce the complete, unredacted files by November 18, 2024. This order goes beyond similar previous rulings by including an automatic sanction: if the Diocese fails to comply, the Court will strike their Answers, conclusively establishing their liability and barring any defenses that could limit…

Well, Holy God: My Life as an Irish, Catholic, Agnostic Correspondent

Patsy McGarry

304 pages; Merrion Press

The longtime Irish Times religious affairs correspondent Patsy McGarry is a conscience of Ireland. In Well, Holy God, McGarry writes of many topics, notably three decades of sex abuse cover-ups and state investigations, staining the careers of bishops and cardinals, elevating survivors as national figures, jolting the sense of Irish identity.

“All churches, all religions, are essentially tribal,” McGarry writes in this self-searching narrative. “At their best they act as a repository for the higher moral and spiritual values of their tribe, which they carry from generation to generation.”

At worst, the tribal psyche concealed a criminal sexual underground of clerics abusing youths and religious sisters tyrannizing girls in reform schools, two searing narratives that arose in the 1990s, thanks to documentaries on state television, and investigative reporting…

Local religious institutions, counties fighting similar lawsuits

A jury needed only an hour on Oct. 31 to find Green Chimneys liable for the sexual abuse of a girl by one of its employees in the late 1960s. Four days later, the residential and therapy center for children with special needs, which has campuses in Brewster and Carmel, settled with the plaintiff for an undisclosed amount.

The case was the first of more than two dozen lawsuits filed in 2020 and 2021 against local institutions to reach trial under the state’s Child Victims Act. Enacted in 2019, the law gave adults a two-year window to begin civil actions for alleged sex crimes in which the statute of limitations had expired.

The lawsuits include at least five against the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and its residential St. Basil Academy in Philipstown and at least nine against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of…

72-year-old educator for Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board faces multiple charges over sex abuse allegations involving two students at a school in Blind River

A 72-year-old teacher for the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board has reportedly been terminated after being charged with sexually abusing two students at a school in Blind River. 

Donald Trudeau is facing two counts of sexual interference and two counts of sexual assault on a person under 16 years of age after being charged by Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Oct. 15, according to a news release from East Algoma OPP issued Thursday.  

An investigation revealed the sexual assaults allegedly took place between September 2023 and Oct. 15. None of the allegations have been tested in court and the accused is considered innocent unless proven guilty.

Mississauga First Nation (MFN) took to social media Thursday, advising community members that it is aware of the charges laid against the…

IN a shocking scandal that is likely to send tremors through Zimbabwe’s Catholic community, St Ignatius College in Chishawasha is embroiled in devastating allegations of sodomy and sexual abuse.

At the centre of the controversy is the late Father Brian Porter, a respected member of the clergy, whose alleged actions have left former students and victims at the learning institution reeling.

The allegations, which have sparked widespread outrage and demands for accountability, raise profound questions about the safety and well-being of students in Zimbabwe’s educational institutions, especially in Catholic-led schools.

Porter was a longstanding Jesuit missionary in Zimbabwe, and a regular visitor to Jesuit missions.

He died on July 8 aged 90.

Investigations by NewsDay Weekender unearthed that Porter’s victims since the early 1970s have formed a group titled Justice, Healing and Closure (JHC) as they seek compensation from the catholic organisation.

The victims have since approached authorities at St…

In short:

There are calls for law reform after a High Court ruling this week that the Catholic Church is not vicariously liable for the actions of a priest who allegedly sexually abused a five-year-old in 1971.

The court ruled that a priest is not an employee of a church, and therefore the institution is not liable to compensate their victims.

What’s next?

Lawyers and advocates say they will take up the issue with all states and territories.

Dead in the water is how one lawyer described the future of vicarious liability claims over institutional child sex abuse, after this week’s controversial High Court ruling that a priest is not an employee of the church.

For many survivors and their supporters, the ruling came as a shock and it prompted calls for governments around the country to step up and change the law.

Vicarious liability is the responsibility you have for…

Leading British Catholics have urged their church to avoid involvement in the resignation of the Anglican archbishop of Canterbury, who quit Nov. 12 after being implicated in a large-scale abuse cover-up.

“This drama won’t make a vast difference to the many people who already view Christianity negatively — they’ll merely see it as confirming what they already thought,” said Timothy Guile, chairman of the English Catholic History Association.

“While it will hugely damage confidence across the Anglican Communion, it shouldn’t affect the Catholic Church, which should avoid becoming embroiled in any way,” he said.

The Catholic historian was reacting to the resignation of Archbishop Justin Welby, the 105th archbishop of Canterbury, following report findings he was complicit in ignoring crimes by one of his church’s worst known abusers.

In an OSV News interview, Guile said Archbishop Welby’s departure would “seriously undermine” the Anglican church’s hierarchy, which was already “enormously pressured”…

Parents are demanding school board resignations in a district that agreed last spring to a $3.5 million sex abuse settlement.

St. Helens School District closed all schools and offices Friday, after two teachers were arrested for alleged sexual assault against students. The school closure comes two days after a raucous school board meeting, in which parents demanded the superintendent and school board members step down.

Earlier this week, St. Helens, Oregon, police arrested teachers Eric Stearns, who was still on staff, and Mark Collins, who had retired recently from his career teaching math at St. Helens High School. Stearns is facing seven counts of second-degree sex abuse and one count of third-degree sex abuse involving six different students. Stearns is listed on the high school’s web site as the choir teacher.

According to the indictment filed in Columbia County court, Stearns began his pattern of criminal sexual abuse…

The St. Helens School District announced late Thursday that all schools and offices would be closed Friday “to address recent events impacting our school community and prioritize the safety and well-being of our students and staff.”

The closure follows the arrests Tuesday of a St. Helens High School teacher and a retired St. Helens High teacher on allegations of child sex abuse. On Thursday, students protested outside the school, where one of the accused men had been allowed to continue teaching while under police investigation, KGW Channel 8 reported.

All Friday evening events are canceled as well. School district officials said they expect schools to reopen Monday.

In 2019, a St. Helens High teacher was convicted of sexually abusing a student on the track team. That teacher had received his first reprimand for inappropriate behavior with female students…

Kenyan President William Ruto’s administration looked unsettled by a statement by the influential Catholic bishops on Thursday criticising its tax policies, human rights violations and corruption.

The 26 bishops, under their lobby group the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), voiced concerns about a State-sponsored campaign of abductions, enforced disappearances and torture of persons linked to the youth-led anti-tax protests in June and July that forced the President to withdraw this year’s Finance Bill and disband his Cabinet.

They also condemned what they termed ‘a culture of lies’ among the country’s ruling elite, citing a number of Dr Ruto’s unfulfilled election campaign promises slightly over two years since he took office in September 2022.

Their statement immediately drew frantic reactions from senior administration figures, including the President, issuing statements to counter the scathing attack by the clergy.

“I want to urge everybody, including the clergy, that even as we engage…

Succession: Justin Welby will reach the retirement age of 70 in January 2026. An experienced commentator on church affairs argues that two issues will dominate the selection of his successor: sex and money

When former Archbishop Rowan Williams announced in March 2012 that he was standing down as Archbishop of Canterbury, bookmakers started taking bets on his successor. Bishop John Sentamu, then Archbishop of York, was the clear favourite, with the Bishops of London, Liverpool and Bradford among others in the running. One of the frontrunners said to me: “You mustn’t believe the stories in the press about bishops jockeying for position. It’s more like a group of men sitting around a table, passing a revolver from one to another, knowing that one of them is going to get the bullet.”

On 7 November 2012, both Ladbrokes and William Hill suddenly suspended betting on the new archbishop. They had noticed…

The Church of England, the mother church of the worldwide Anglican Communion, was left reeling on Nov. 12 after the unprecedented decision Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby to resign.

Welby had at first seemed reluctant to accept what was apparent to nearly everybody else who has been following the decades-long saga of sadistic abuser John Smyth — that he would have to go. It came to a head last week with the publication of a long-awaited and damning report into the abuse and the church’s attempt over many years to cover it up.

Welby, who is cited repeatedly in the review, failed to report the abuse by Smyth when he first became aware of it in 2013 and failed to fulfill initial promises to meet survivors. Smyth abused as many as 130 boys and young men. He moved to Zimbabwe and South Africa, where the abuse continued until…

Australia’s High Court Rules Catholic Church Not Liable Abuse Case

In a landmark ruling, the High Court of Australia has unanimously determined that the Catholic Church cannot be held «vicariously liable» for alleged sexual abuse by a priest in 1971. The decision, handed down on Wednesday, November 13, overturns a previous ruling by the Supreme Court of Victoria, which had held the Diocese of Ballarat liable for sexual assaults committed by one of its priests.

Central to the High Court’s decision was the issue of whether a church could bear indirect responsibility in the absence of an employment relationship between the priest and the diocese. The High Court found that vicarious liability typically applies to employer-employee relationships, and Victoria’s laws regarding institutional responsibility for abuse cases did not provide a foundation for extending such liability to the church in this case.

This ruling comes as a setback for DP, a…

Pam Walker says the church hierarchy has a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of abuse, and Doug Clark compares Anglican and Catholic scandals. Plus a letter from John van Rooyen

As a lay minister in Newcastle diocese, I strongly supported Helen-Ann Hartley’s call for the archbishop of Canterbury to resign (Bishop calls for Justin Welby to resign over failure to pursue serial abuser, 11 November), and I am relieved he has done so. For almost 40 years, since the abuse scandal surrounding the Nine O’Clock Service in Sheffield, the Church of England has attempted to ignore, minimise or deny the suffering caused by abuse in church settings. The leader of that church is awaiting trial on 34 counts of sexually abusing women (which he denies).

Meanwhile, while awaiting the publication of the Smyth review, Fiona Scolding KC and Ben Fullbrook published a report into the Soul Survivor church, commissioned after the national safeguarding team (NST) stated…

The diocese says survivors’ fund would be worth between $160 million and $198 million.

A year after the Oakland Diocese filed for bankruptcy protection due to hundreds of sex abuse lawsuits, its exit plan has been released. It mainly involves selling a local real estate asset and borrowing from the Roman Catholic Church. 

The lawsuits came about after the California state legislature in 2018 passed Assembly Bill 218, which extended the statute of limitations to victims of abuse. In all 345 people filed lawsuits against the diocese alleging sexual abuse at dozens of its churches and schools, with most of the incidents occurring between 1960 and 1990. 

The reorganization plan, submitted Friday, is awaiting confirmation by a federal bankruptcy court. It is expected to create a survivors’ trust that the diocese says is worth between $160 million and $198 million.

A survivors group slammed the plan as a “sham of…

While many have taken the strange case of Argentine ex-priest Ariel Alberto Príncipi as a classic example of a turf war between competing Vatican departments, a close analysis suggests the twists and turns may be less about bureaucratic tussles and more about the notoriously ill-defined boundary between misconduct and outright abuse.

As part of that picture, the Príncipi case also illustrates how one of main tests in ecclesiastical jurisprudence for establishing abuse, which is whether a particular act was carried out “for libidinous ends,” can be exceedingly difficult to prove.

In 2021, Príncipi was accused of sexually abusing minors while performing “healing prayers” for homosexuality associated with a Catholic charismatic movement. His case was sent to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), which handles sexual abuse matters, and the dicastery subsequently authorized local tribunals to conduct a trial.

Príncipi was found guilty by an interdiocesan tribunal…

A former priest who was working as a religious teacher at St. Francis Preparatory High School in Fresh Meadows was recently fired after being accused of sexually abusing minors throughout the 1990s.

The Diocese of Brooklyn announced Friday they investigated three separate allegations recently made known to them against former priest Michael Melendez, and found all to be credible. Melendez was ordained a priest in 1989 and served in numerous parishes and religious institutions across Brooklyn and Queens.

Though he stopped serving as a priest over a decade ago, he continued to work with children in Queens through his work at St. Francis Prep.

“The Diocese takes all allegations of sexual misconduct with minors seriously and has instituted significant programs to prevent sexual abuse and protect children,” a spokesperson for the Diocese of Brooklyn said in a press release. “The Diocese abides by the 2002 Charter for the Protection of…

The Catholic Church needs decisive leadership in creating a safe, caring and welcoming environment for everyone, and it needs constant vigilance against complacency, said several speakers at a Vatican-sponsored safeguarding conference.

Strength and vigilance are needed, some warned, because those who abuse minors and vulnerable people are clever and skillful, and will exploit every lapse and weakness they find in procedures.

Nearly 150 safeguarding experts working in more than 20 countries in Europe took part in person and online in the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors’ first conference on safeguarding in the church in Europe Nov. 13-15.

Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, commission president and retired archbishop of Boston, told participants in a video message that the church must: listen to survivors and children; respond with care and compassion to those who have been harmed; follow due process with investigating accusations; and “show strong leadership in taking the necessary…

Catholic leaders from across Europe are in Rome this week to discuss how the Church can best protect children from sexual abuse and how to help those who have already been hurt by it.

The Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM) is hosting a conference on safeguarding in the Catholic Church in Europe from Nov. 13–15.

The gathering, taking place in the center of Rome at the headquarters of the PCPM, includes participants — bishops, priests, religious, and laymen and laywomen — from 25 countries in Europe.

Safeguarding practices and strategies, how Church law and civil law interact, how to better help victims, and how to develop safeguarding networks are some of the topics the conference will address.

Vatican leaders and representatives from the European bishops’ conferences commission (COMECE) are also attending the meeting, which will include a keynote address Nov. 14 from  Archbishop John J. Kennedy,…

WHAT: At a news conference in Rome to mark the United Nations’ World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse, a diverse group of survivors, advocates and theologians will unveil a landmark zero-tolerance proposal calling for sweeping reforms to Canon Law, aimed at confronting the Catholic Church’s ongoing clergy sexual abuse crisis head-on.
WHEN: Monday, November 18, 2024, at 11:00 AM (local time)
WHERE: Inside the Villa Aurelia, Via Leone XIII, 459, 00165, Rome WHY: Nearly six years after the first Papal Summit on Clerical Sexual Abuse, the Catholic Church has yet to fully implement the measures that were proclaimed at that time to protect children and vulnerable adults, and to hold Church leaders accountable. Pope Francis has repeatedly declared a zero-tolerance approach to abuse, but his intention must be met with meaningful action. Real progress within the Church, on a global level, will only occur through consistent implementation of its own…

Fr. Edward O. Paquette, Jr. is another predator priest from Burlington Catholic Diocese who might get the title of being the worst abuser thus far. He’s been sued more than any Vermont abuser. For example:

• Among countless others, he’s accused of abusing a hospitalized teenage quadriplegic.
• He allegedly assaulted two other children in another hospital.
• He reportedly molested one child at least 50 times.
• He’s been called Vermont’s most prolific predator priest.

And as best we at Horowitz Law can tell, he’s still alive, though his whereabouts seem to be unknown. But he didn’t start off in Vermont. Originally, Fr. Paquette was ordained for the Fall River Massachusetts Diocese. But like so many predator priests, multiple bishops passed Fr. Paquette around from place to place, including Indiana (the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese), eventually making the ‘credibly accused’ abusers list in three dioceses. He ended up living in Westfield, Massachusetts, in the Springfield Diocese. Fr. Paquette’s crimes…

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby announced his resignation on Tuesday, saying he takes “personal and institutional responsibility” for the mishandling of a number of high-profile abuse cases in the Anglican Church since taking the reigns in 2013.

“I hope this decision makes clear how seriously the Church of England understands the need for change and our profound commitment to creating a safer church. As I step down I do so in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse,” Welby, who was chosen as the 105th archbishop of Canterbury in 2012, said in a statement.

Though not accused of abuse himself, Welby was criticized for his response to a number of abuse cases within the church he led. Calls for Welby’s resignation reached a fever pitch in recent days, led by victims of a notorious Anglican serial sexual abuser, John Smyth. 

A prominent attorney who…

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigned today, following the release of a long-anticipated report concluding that Welby, the Church of England’s highest spiritual leader, covered up serial physical abuse.

The independent review, commissioned in 2019, revealed that Welby knew by 2013 at the latest that the late Anglican leader, John Smyth, had been accused of abuse.

As The Roys Report (TRR) previously reported, John Smyth subjected young men to sadistic physical abuse starting in the 1970s, when he ran a system of evangelical boys’ camps in England and later in Zimbabwe. Some of the boys reportedly suffered thousands of beatings over the course of many years.

“It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatising period between 2013 and 2024,” Welby wrote as part of a statement announcing his resignation.

The review, conducted by Keith Makin and…

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, resigned Tuesday amid the fallout from a long-running sexual abuse scandal.

Welby stepped down after an independent investigation found that he had failed to inform police about serial physical and sexual abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps as soon as he became aware of it.

Here are the answers to some questions about the Church of England, Welby’s decision and its global significance.

What is the Church of England?

The Church of England, also known as the Anglican Church, is a Christian denomination and the official church of England. It was created in the 16th century when the English church broke away from the Roman Catholic Church.

The church is part of the global Anglican Communion, a family of churches that has over 85 million members in more…

Julie Conalty, bishop of Birkenhead, welcomes resignation of Justin Welby but says institutional changes needed

A bishop and a cabinet minister have said more senior clergy in the Church of England may need to resign after a damning report into a sadistic abuser.

Julie Conalty, the bishop of Birkenhead and deputy lead bishop for safeguarding, said Justin Welby had “done the right thing” on Tuesday by resigning as archbishop of Canterbury.

Conalty told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Just the archbishop of Canterbury resigning is not going to solve the problem. This is about institutional changes, our culture and a systemic failure so there must be more that we need to do. Very possibly some of the people should go.”

Wes Streeting, the health secretary and a practising Anglican, said it was right that Welby had taken responsibility for the C of E’s failures on abuse.

But, in a warning to…

The Diocese of Oakland is facing significant pushback over its plan to settle hundreds of lawsuits.

The diocese entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings last year, overwhelmed by lawsuits over sexual abuse.

In a proposal filed Friday, the diocese is offering far less than other similar settlements in California.

“It’s a definite message and the message is ‘You are not important.’ The message is ‘We don’t care!’” said attorney Rick Simons.

That outrage was directed at the Diocese of Oakland. Simons represents numerous church sex assault survivors.

RELATED: Oakland Catholic Diocese files motion to keep names of accused child sex abusers secret

On Friday, the diocese filed a plan of reorganization with the bankruptcy court.

In a press release, the diocese says it will create a trust for sexual abuse survivors worth between $160 and $198 million to pay out 345 claims.

But court documents show the initial installment is only…

Our heroes sometimes turn out to have clay feet — or worse.

Such is the case for the late Msgr. Michael Doyle, whose name once graced the Catholic Diocese’s Pastoral Center in downtown Toledo.

Monsignor Doyle was seen as a great man in his day.

Secretly, though, he is credibly accused of having sexually abused minors. We could say it with more certainty if his supervisors back in the 1950s had acted responsibly instead of covering for him.

Read more Blade editorials

The Toledo diocese has been in possession of accusations against Monsignor Doyle for decades, and even settled a case with one of his accusers 22 years ago.

Only now does the diocese say there has been a “credible allegation.”

With this latest determination, Monsignor Doyle’s name, on a sign dedicating the diocese’s Pastoral Center downtown, has been stripped from the wall.

Announced on Sunday…

A Catholic diocese in regional Victoria has been found not liable for the historical sexual abuse of a young boy by one of its priests, in a landmark decision that casts doubts over thousands of legal cases against religious orders nationwide.

The High Court on Wednesday overturned on appeal a previous ruling by Victoria’s Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal that had found the Ballarat diocese was legally responsible for the misconduct of its former priest, Father Bryan Coffey.

The relevant legislation did not provide a basis for imposing vicarious liability on the church because the priest could not be legally considered as an employee, the High Court found.

The matter has already come to the attention of attorneys-general at state and federal levels, with the High Court conceding that “reformulation of the law of vicarious liability is properly the province of the legislature,” according to the…

A priest who has served at several southwest suburban parishes is under investigation for alleged sexual abuse of a minor.

The Rev. Martin “Marty” Marren has been directed to step aside while the investigation takes place, according to the Chicago Archdiocese.

Marren reportedly said he is innocent but agreed to cooperate with the investigation.

Marren is currently an associate pastor at St. John Fisher in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood and St. Cajetan Parish in the city’s Morgan Park community.

He served as pastor of Queen of Martyrs Parish in Evergreen Park from 2018 to 2022. Marren was associate pastor at St. Gerald Parish in Oak Lawn from 1997 to 2004 and at St. Germaine Parish in Oak Lawn from 1984 to 1991.

He was a deacon at the former St. Bernadette Parish in Evergreen Park in 1983.

Marren has served at two other parishes and was ordained in 1984.

The Illinois…

Hundreds of survivors of abuse in state, foster and faith-based care arrived at New Zealand’s Parliament in Wellington on Tuesday, each representing thousands more.

They came to hear the government formally apologize for the “unimaginable” horrors they suffered as children and vulnerable adults, after a long-running inquiry made its final report about the scale of the abuse in July.

“You deserved so much better and I am deeply sorry that New Zealand did not do better by you,” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told them in Parliament hours later.

Many had T-shirts specially printed. Some used canes or wheelchairs because of the abuse they suffered in hospitals, institutions and care homes after they were taken from their families. A few were familiar faces from decades of advocacy and campaigning, mostly ignored until recent years. The public gallery in New Zealand’s Parliament is small — it seats fewer than 200 people — and a…

Church wins case reversing 2023 decision of Victorian court that it was vicariously responsible for abuse suffered by five-year-old at hands of assistant priest

The Catholic church has won a landmark case limiting its liability for the abuse of children by priests not under its direct employment.

Lawyers immediately warned the case could have “far-reaching” consequences for abuse survivors and called for legislative change to ensure institutions were held to account.

Last year, Victoria’s highest court delivered an unprecedented ruling that the church was vicariously responsible for the abuse of a five-year-old child, known as DP, by assistant priest Father Bryan Coffey.

Vicarious liability is typically used to hold employers responsible for the wrongful or negligent actions of their employees during the course of their employment – regardless of whether the employer was at fault.

The 2023 ruling was significant because Coffey, as an assistant parish priest, was not directly employed…

Iford Whittaker, 80, could be facing a life sentence after admitting abusing a fourth boy during his time as a priest.

A former Church of England vicar could face life imprisonment as he is set to be sentenced for a third time for child sex offences.

Ifor Whittaker, 80, admitted rape and gross indecency of a young boy in the vestry of St John The Baptist Church in Sedlescombe, East Sussex, in the 1990s, where he served as a priest at the time under the name Colin Pritchard.

He is already serving a 16-year-sentence for abusing a boy between 1987 and 1991 following a trial in 2018, and had previously been jailed for five years in 2008 for the abuse of two children in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, between 1979 to 1983.

At Hove Crown Court on Tuesday, Judge Gary Lucie adjourned the sentencing hearing to consider the jail term.

“This is…

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has addressed the survivors of abuse gathered at Parliament and watching from around the country, acknowledging horrific heartbreak.

“You have been heard. And you are believed,” Luxon has said in the Debating Chamber.

“I am sorry you were not believed when you came forward to report your abuse.

“I am sorry that many bystanders – staff, volunteers and carers – turned a blind eye and failed to stop or report abuse. I am sorry the State’s oversight of people in care was so poor.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has addressed the survivors of abuse gathered at Parliament and watching from around the country, acknowledging horrific heartbreak.

“You have been heard. And you are believed,” Luxon has said in the Debating Chamber.

“I am sorry you were not believed when you came forward to report your abuse.

“I am sorry that many bystanders – staff, volunteers and…

[Includes photos and video]

Emotions have run high as members of state agencies and public sector leaders apologised to New Zealanders who were abused in state and faith-based care.

The apology comes after the release of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care in July, which found almost a third of people in state and faith-based institutions between 1950 and 2019 were abused.

Apologies were delivered from multiple state agency leaders, with some facing an emotional response from those watching on.

Solicitor General Una Jagose faced jeering and strong comments, and some in the audience left the room in tears.

“I am here today to say I am sorry,” she said.

“No you’re not,” someone in the room called out, while another person stood and turned their back on her.

Oranga Tamariki chief executive Andrew Bridgman told survivors: “We are sorry for not giving you a safe place…

Historic apology by PM Christopher Luxon comes after landmark report that exposed decades of abuse in state and faith-based care institutions

New Zealand’s prime minister Christopher Luxon has formally apologised to the more than 200,000 children and adults who suffered “horrific” and “heartbreaking” abuse and neglect while in state and faith-based institutions.

The historic apology follows a harrowing landmark report, released in July, which laid bare the scale of abuse that occurred across care institutions from the 1950s onwards. It was the most complex royal commission inquiry the country has held. The judge who chaired the inquiry, Coral Shaw, described the abuse as a “national disgrace and shame”.

Luxon delivered the national apology at parliament on Tuesday. Survivors attended events around the country and filled the public gallery to witness the address. Many quietly wept as the prime minister spoke.

“Today I stand before you as the representative of not…

[See also the text of the Guidelines (in French)]

The bishops of France approved new guidelines for confession at their fall plenary assembly in Lourdes.

The bishops voted in favor of the five-page document at their Nov. 5-10 meeting, three years after a landmark abuse report urged them to “issue precise directives to confessors regarding the seal of confession.”

The new Guidelines for confessors said: “If a priest hears, in the context of confession, a person who is the victim of a sexual offense or crime, a minor, a vulnerable person, or even an adult, he will deploy — while maintaining absolute secrecy — his pastoral sensitivity to find out if the penitent has already been able to confide these facts to another person in whom he trusts.” 

“If this is not the case, the confessor will strongly encourage him to do so.”

The document asked confessors to be…

The archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Justin Welby, resigned on Tuesday after a damning report concluded that he had failed to pursue a proper investigation into claims of widespread abuse of boys and young men decades ago at Christian summer camps.

Pressure had mounted rapidly on Mr. Welby, who serves as the spiritual leader of 85 million Anglicans worldwide, since the report was published last week. Helen-Ann Hartley, a senior figure in the church and the bishop of Newcastle, called on him to step aside, while Prime Minister Keir Starmer pointedly declined to back him.

Mr. Welby’s resignation brings to an abrupt end an eventful and occasionally stormy tenure, during which he became Britain’s best-known cleric, presiding over momentous public ceremonies like the coronation of King Charles III and becoming an impassioned voice on issues like migration.

But Mr. Welby struggled to hold together a church cleaved between liberals…

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said sorry to some 200,000 survivors of physical and sexual abuse in institutions, which an inquiry called a “national disgrace.” 

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon formally apologized on Tuesday for decades of “horrific” abuse by state, foster and faith-based care facilities that disproportionately affected Maori and Pasifika children and people with disabilities.

A landmark government investigation released earlier this year estimated that at least 200,000 peopleout of 655,000 had been subject to abuse including rape, torture and medical experimentation in institutions across New Zealand between 1950 and 2019.

As several hundred survivors went to parliament to hear Luxon speak, the prime minister praised them for sharing their painful stories and promised additional support.

“Today I stand before you as the representative of not only this government, but all of the governments that have gone before us to offer a formal and unreserved apology for the…

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon made a “formal and unreserved” apology in Parliament on Tuesday for the widespread abuse, torture and neglect of hundreds of thousands of children and vulnerable adults in care.

“It was horrific. It was heartbreaking. It was wrong. And it should never have happened,” Luxon said, as he spoke to lawmakers and a public gallery packed with survivors of the abuse.

An estimated 200,000 people in state, foster and faith-based care suffered “unimaginable” abuse over a period of seven decades, a blistering report released in July said at the end of the largest inquiry ever undertaken in New Zealand. They were disproportionately Māori, New Zealand’s Indigenous people.

“For many of you it changed the course of your life, and for that, the government must take responsibility,” Luxon said. He said he was apologizing for previous governments too.

In foster and church care — as well as in…

Gregory Aymond’s offer, required because he turns 75, says he wants to stay for resolution of institution’s bankruptcy but adds it is up to Pope Francis

New Orleans’ Roman Catholic archbishop Gregory Aymond is submitting his resignation Tuesday, on his 75th birthday, fulfilling a church requirement – though it is unclear if Vatican officials would immediately accept it with his scandal-plagued organization’s expensive, highly contentious bankruptcy case still unresolved.

In a letter issued on Friday to priests and deacons under his command, Aymond cited canon – or church – law that required him to offer to retire because of his age. But he said he also offered to remain in office until the resolution of the bankruptcy.

Precisely when he retires is up to Pope Francis, who “can accept the resignation or ask me to remain at this time”, he wrote in the missive. “It has been a privilege to serve…

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland, which filed for bankruptcy last year in the wake of hundreds of child sex abuse lawsuits, said Sunday that it will create a survivors’ trust to compensate victims of the church.

“I apologize without reservation for the terrible suffering survivors have endured,” said Bishop Michael Barber in a news release. “I and everyone in the Diocese of Oakland remain committed to the healing of survivors and their families, and to ensure no clergy, religious, employee or volunteer who would abuse a child can be in any ministry in our church.” 

The Roman Catholic Bishop of Oakland filed for bankruptcy protection in May 2023 in the face of 345 child sex abuse claims going back decades, church officials said. Lawyers for the survivors say the number is more like 370.

The diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to stave off individual lawsuits and…

The Diocese of Oakland, California, has announced that it will pay up to $200 million to settle hundreds of abuse claims filed against it. 

The diocese said in a Friday update on its website that it had filed a proposal in bankruptcy court that would create a survivors’ trust “to provide compensation of between approximately $160 million and $198 million or more for approximately 345 claims.”

Just over $100 million will be provided by the diocese directly, the announcement said, while up to $81 million would come from property in the diocesan real estate portfolio.

An additional $14.25 million would be contributed by “Roman Catholic Welfare Corporation/Schools” (RCWC) along with “possible contributions of cash from other entities.”

The diocese filed for bankruptcy in May of last year after hundreds of child sexual abuse lawsuits were brought amid a three-year legal window implemented by the California state…

Three allegations of sexual abuse of a minor against a former priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn, Michael Melendez, were recently reported to the diocese. The allegations, dating back to the 1990s, were immediately investigated for the Diocesan Review Board, which determined all allegations to be credible of sexual abuse of a minor. These allegations were made more than 16 years after Melendez chose to leave the priesthood and was laicized in 2008.

Melendez was most recently a religion teacher at St. Francis Preparatory High School in Fresh Meadows Queens, from the years of 2018-2024. He was suspended during the investigation and has been terminated effective immediately following these findings.

Melendez has also been terminated as the Director of Religious Education at Our Lady of Grace Church in Howard Beach, a position he has held only since September of this year.

Melendez was ordained a priest in June 1989…

My work with clergy is a long way from the old days. Then, when I spotted a Roman collar on a random passerby mixed in the throng of a Manhattan avenue, I would crumble into the nearest doorway with a mix of anxiety and grief known as “beginning to remember.” Now, I offer the story of my recovery to sensitize clergy to issues which victims of abuse face, so that diocesan and religious priests and brothers may create, with grace from the Holy Spirit, their own unique pastoral approaches to the suffering which the faithful bring into the pews every Sunday.

Even as the church in the United States has implemented reforms that have greatly reduced child abuse within church settings, the world is far more dangerous for children and vulnerable adults than when I was a child enduring abuse by a series of priests. The incidence of violence in…

At their plenary assembly in Lourdes, French bishops postponed a new system for adult victims of church sexual abuse until March. “The principle is accepted,” but “we still have work to do,” admitted Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort of Reims.

The French bishops have delayed presenting their system for adult victims of sexual abuse until their next meeting, which is scheduled for March. The decision was announced by Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort of Reims, president of the Conference of Bishops of France (CEF) November 10 in Lourdes. “While the principle has been accepted, we see that we still have work to do before deciding on the implementation modalities,” he said in his closing speech at the CEF Plenary Assembly, assuring that “the five months that separate us from the March assembly will allow us to clarify the points that remain uncertain.”

In March, the bishops agreed on the principle of a…

If sin means anything, how can the Church of England hierarchy be maintained?

It’s an extraordinary thing that evangelicals, of all people, don’t believe in sin. This week, the long-delayed Makin Review was released, bringing back into the public eye what a number of clergy knew already in 1982: that John Smyth QC, barrister, Lay Reader in the Church of England, and noted in evangelical circles as a “strong Christian”, sadistically and systematically groomed young men and boys and subjected them to brutal physical, psychological, sexual and spiritual abuse. 

Someone could have gone to the police, in 1982. Someone could have gone at any time since, and perhaps protected the later victims, in England, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. The Archbishop of Canterbury could have made a report in 2013. Instead, the Church of England floundered. “Church officers knew of the abuse and failed to take the steps necessary to prevent…

The Rev. Martin Marren maintains his innocence and has agreed to step aside from the ministry until the investigation is completed. He is an associate pastor at St. John Fisher Parish in Beverly and at St. Cajetan Parish in Morgan Park.

A longtime Chicago-area pastor is being investigated by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services over an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor.

The Rev. Martin Marren is an associate pastor at St. John Fisher Parish in Beverly and at St. Cajetan Parish in Morgan Park. He has served at six other churches since 1983.

In a letter to parishioners, Cardinal Blase Cupich said Marren has agreed to step aside from the ministry and live away from the parish while the investigation remains open.

Marren maintains his innocence and has cooperated with the investigation, Cupich added.

“We want to stress that the welfare of the children entrusted…

The Church of England covered up “horrific” abuse by a lawyer who volunteered at Christian summer camps in the 1970s and 1980s, and the ceremonial head of the Anglican Communion failed to report him to authorities when he learned of the abuse in 2013, according to an independent review released Thursday.

John Smyth, who died in South Africa in 2018 at age 75, physically, sexually, psychologically and spiritually abused about 30 boys and young men in the U.K. and 85 in Africa over five decades, the 251-page report commissioned by the church found. Smyth is believed to be the most prolific serial abuser associated with the church.

“Many of the victims who took the brave decision to speak to us about what they experienced have carried this abuse silently for more than 40 years,” said Keith Makin, who led the review. “Despite the efforts of some individuals to bring the…

Chicago associate pastor steps aside amid DCFS investigation into sexual abuse allegations

Father Martin Marren, an associate pastor in Chicago, is under investigation for alleged sexual abuse of a minor, the Archdiocese announced Saturday.

The Brief

• Father Martin Marren, an associate pastor in Chicago, is under investigation for alleged sexual abuse of a minor, the Archdiocese announced Saturday.
• Cardinal Blase J. Cupich has directed Marren to step aside from ministry and live away from the parish during the investigation, while Marren maintains his innocence and agrees to cooperate.
• The person making the allegation has been offered support through the parish’s Victim Assistance Ministry, and the results of the investigation will be reviewed by the parish’s Independent Review Board.

A Chicago pastor is under investigation for alleged sexual abuse of a minor, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced Saturday.

Archdiocese Cardinal Blase J. Cupich sent letters to the parishes…

A portion of the Archdiocese of Agaña’s chancery property on San Ramon Hill in Agana Heights, photographed March 2, 2023. The government of Guam bought for $2.3 million the historic chancery property in Agana Heights, which the archdiocese had been trying to sell as part of its bankruptcy exit linked to the settlement of nearly 300 Guam clergy sex abuse claims.

The government of Guam bought for $2.3 million the historic chancery property in Agana Heights, which the Archdiocese of Agana had been trying to sell as part of its bankruptcy exit linked to the settlement of nearly 300 Guam clergy sex abuse claims.

It’s where the late Pope John Paul II, who later became a saint, stayed overnight in 1981, among other things.

Krystal Paco-San Agustin, the governor’s director of communications, confirmed the purchase on Sunday, saying GovGuam used $2.3 million in approved U.S. Treasury capital projects funds to…

Supply teacher Michael Good was teaching a class at St Anne’s Roman Catholic Voluntary Academy in Stockport, Greater Manchester when he shouted at an unruly pupil

A supply teacher who called an unruly pupil a “pathetic loser” was escorted from the school – but has escaped being struck off from the profession.

Michael Good admitted to “losing control of his emotions” while teaching a class at St Anne’s Roman Catholic Voluntary Academy in September 2021. A Teacher Regulation Agency Tribunal heard allegations he hit the pupil on his arm after repeatedly asking him to stop turning round and be quiet.

Mr Good admitted he “unprofessionally” called the pupil a “pathetic loser” as a witness described him using a “condescending, belittling and aggressive tone”, Manchester Evening News reported. In June 2022 at Tameside Magistrates’ Court, Mr Good was acquitted of assault in connection with the…

The proposal comes the church faces hundreds of lawsuits alleging decades of sexual abuse

The Diocese of Oakland this week proposed creating a trust worth at least $117 million to help settle hundreds of lawsuits alleging decades of sexual abuse by its priests, in a deal that victims’ attorneys immediately labeled “pathetic.”

The diocese’s proposed payout highlighted a reorganization plan it filed late Friday to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and settle roughly 350 lawsuits from people claiming to have been abused by the Catholic church’s leaders. The trust would be funded over the course of several years and include the title to a Livermore property the church says could add tens of millions of dollars in value to the victims’ trust.

Attorneys for the sexual assault victims called the plan “a scam and a sham” on Saturday, alleging the diocese undervalued its assets as a…

It’s Friday night in Santiago, and 15 people gather around a table, sharing a bottle of wine as the smell of tobacco and incense fill the air. Black candles burn on top of an altar decorated with chalices and knives. The members of the Temple of Satan are about to start a ritual.

Five years after the Satanic Temple of the United States made headlines — and unleashed a wave of panic — when it was designated a church, a similar organization in Chile, a conservative country where half of its population of 18 million identifies as Catholic, is asking the government to be recognized legally as a religious association.

Scholars, believers and residents consulted by The Associated Press note that Chile, where a long-lasting tradition of Catholicism has played a leading role in public discussions, is experiencing a crisis of faith, following revelations of multiple sexual abuse scandals within…

The recent expulsions of members from Sodalitium Christianae Vitae are part of a long and serious process that is needed before the church can consider going the route of completely dissolving the controversial lay movement, said Peruvian Cardinal Pedro Barreto Jimeno.

In an interview with OSV News Oct. 29 at the Jesuit curia in Rome, the president of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon Region and archbishop emeritus of Huancayo said the expulsions of key members of the group — including its founder, Luis Fernando Figari, in August — were “a very clear sign of a church that wants to put the Gospel of Jesus into practice.”

“I can’t say that I’m happy. I can’t say that because there are victims who have been suffering immensely for almost 25 years,” the cardinal said. “But there is a serene calm in seeing that the church has very clearly taken on a…

A Catholic priest on Chicago’s South Side is being investigated for alleged sexual abuse of a minor.

Officials said the Department of Child and Family Services has opened an investigation against Fr. Martin Marren.

Marren serves as associate pastor at St. John Fisher Parish in the city’s West Beverly neighborhood.

Archbishop Blaze Cupich sent a letter to seen different parishes, informing them Marren will step aside while authorities conduct their investigation.

Cupich also wrote Marren maintains his innocence and has agreed to cooperate with the investigation.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ $880 million abuse claims settlement, announced Oct. 16, brings the total payouts of U.S. Catholic dioceses for abuse claims since 2004 to more than $5 billion — and possibly more than $6 billion — OSV News has found.

An aggregated total from two decades of reports issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops shows the nation’s dioceses and eparchies paid some $4.384 billion to settle claims between 2004 and 2023.

Data for fiscal year 2024 is still pending; however, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ $880 million settlement and a $323 million settlement announced Sept. 26 by the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, account for $1.2 billion within the span of less than a month.

Those two settlements, plus the USCCB total for 2004-2023, add up to $5.59 billion.

The USCCB 2004-2023 total does not appear to include a $660 million settlement announced in…

An internal investigation by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn has found credible three allegations of sexual abuse of a minor by a former priest and teacher at a Queens high school, the diocese announced Friday.

The allegations, dating back to the 1990s, were recently reported to the Diocese and led to the suspension of Michael Melendez, who had been teaching religion at St. Francis Preparatory High School in Fresh Meadows, Queens, since 2018.

Following the Diocesan Review Board’s findings, Melendez was terminated from his teaching position at the school and his role as Director of Religious Education at Our Lady of Grace Church in Howard Beach, which he took on in September.

The review board concluded that the allegations made by three individuals, more than 16 years after Melendez left the priesthood in 2008, were credible. According to the diocese, Melendez first requested temporary leave in 2004 before being…

Report says it is ‘unlikely’ Justin Welby knew nothing of concerns about Smyth, who abused schoolboys at Christian holiday camps

The Church of England covered up the actions of its worst and most brutal serial abuser, who subjected his victims to traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks, an independent review has concluded.

John Smyth, a powerful and charismatic barrister, sadistically abused private schoolboys who attended evangelical Christian holiday camps in the late 1970s and early 80s. When the abuse was discovered, Smyth was allowed to move abroad with the full knowledge of church officials, where he continued to act with impunity.

Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, volunteered at the holiday camps in the 1970s but has denied any knowledge of concerns about Smyth. However, the report says this was “unlikely”.

It adds: “[Welby] may not have known of the extreme seriousness of the abuse, but it is most probable…

 In a decision confirmed by Pope Francis and thus without the possibility of appeal, the Vatican has found an Austrian priest who leads a pontifically recognized association guilty of psychological and spiritual abuse and imposed a series of punishments, including a ten-year ban on ministry.

The verdict regarding Austrian Father Gebhard Paul Maria Sigl, cofounder of the Family of Mary, was reached by a three-judge ecclesiastical tribunal Sept. 18 and approved by Pope Francis Oct. 11. The decision was then formalized by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Clergy, which oversees the clerical branch of the association, and acknowledged by the group in a Nov. 6 statement on their web site.

The ruling is considered important in part because it imposes penalties for forms of abuse which aren’t strictly sexual, and thus broadens the concept of what constitutes “abuse” in a legal sense in Vatican jurisprudence.

Among other things, the 75-year-old Sigl…

Craig Smith was principal at Lighthouse Christian Academy in Piedmont

The principal of a now-closed Missouri boarding school that has been the subject of abuse allegations has been charged with sex crimes involving a former student.

Craig Wesley Smith Jr., who was the principal of Lighthouse Christian Academy in Piedmont, was charged with forcible sodomy and attempted forcible rape, according to ABC News.

According to allegations in the probable cause statement, Smith told the girl he would kill her and “make it look like she committed suicide” if she told anyone about the abuse.

A 2009 federal lawsuit also accused Smith of sex acts with an unnamed female student, but it isn’t clear if that alleged victim is the same one involved in the present criminal case.  ABM Ministries, which operated Lighthouse Christian Academy and its owners, Larry and Carmen Musgraves, agreed to pay $750,000 in a…

Police charged Father Neil Pereira in July 2023 with sexual assault and sexual interference involving a minor; meeting held last night for parents to voice concerns

Parents of students enrolled with the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board (SMCDSB) voiced their concerns Tuesday night about a priest working in local schools after sex-related charges stemming from an alleged incident in 2023 were withdrawn earlier this year.

The meeting, held Nov. 5 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church on Amelia Street in Barrie, was at times tense as parents pressed the school board’s director of education, Frances Bagley, and Father Larry Leger, a priest with the Archdiocese of Toronto, for answers to their questions.

About 50 people were in attendance, including parents and other school officials. 

Father Neil Pereira, 34, was arrested by Peterborough police on July 26, 2023, and charged with sexual assault and two counts of sexual interference involving a minor. The charges were later withdrawn. 

According…

The Catholic Diocese of Toledo has announced the credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against deceased priest Msgr. Michael J. Doyle and has placed him on its clergy status report.

The report lists diocesan clerics who have been placed on administrative leave or removed from ministry as a result of an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor, as well as those who have been credibly accused after their deaths.

According to the diocese’s Sunday announcement, the alleged abuse took place more than 65 years ago. Monsignor Doyle died in 1987.

Monsignor Doyle served as an active priest of the diocese from 1925 to 1977. He was associate pastor at St. Ann Parish in Fremont in 1925 and St. Peter Parish in Mansfield from 1925 to 1930. He was assistant director of Catholic Charities from 1932 to 1946. His activity between 1930 and 1932 is not included on…

Jamaica-born Brooklyn-based pastor, Reverend Edward-Richard Hinds, has been arrested by New York police on sex crime charges.

The charges, unsealed in the Brooklyn Supreme Court yesterday, accuse Hinds of third degree rape and having sex with an underage male minor.

According to information reaching The Gleaner, Hinds migrated to the United States in 2010. The divorced father is reportedly from the Grants Pen community in St Andrew.

Hinds has been indicted on sex abuse charges for an inappropriate relationship with a teenager, law enforcement sources told The Daily News.

The pastor, who is executive director of the 67th Precinct Clergy Council, known as ‘The GodSquad’, appeared yesterday afternoon in Brooklyn Supreme Court where the indictment was reportedly disclosed.

A special prosecutor from the Staten Island district attorney’s office said the charges related to an incident in 2022, with law enforcement claiming Hinds and a 16-year-old male performed sexual acts on…

Jackson Gatlin, whose father, Michael Gatlin, was the pastor at Duluth Vineyard Church, will likely serve 13 years in prison after five women came forward with allegations of abuse, grooming.

Jackson Gatlin, dressed in a dark suit with his hands cuffed behind his back, was led by authorities from the courtroom Wednesday morning after pleading guilty to felony-level criminal sexual conduct in a case where numerous women have come forward with similar accusations of being sexually assaulted as girls when he was their youth leader at the Vineyard Church.

As part of a deal, Gatlin pleaded guilty to one count and on four others entered an Alford plea — in which he maintains innocence but admits there is sufficient evidence for him to be found guilty during a trial. The third-floor courtroom at the St. Louis County Courthouse was at capacity for the hearing, with several victims sitting…

Expatriate Christopher Bowen filed a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of America and St. Basil’s Academy in Garrison, New York, alleging that he was sexually abused at age 14 while an inmate at the Academy….

Mr. Bowen, now 54, names his abuser as Finley Everett Eubanks in legal documents available to The National Herald and in a written interview with The National Herald in which he describes in detail what was delivered and describes his traumatic experience that marked his life, even having “suicidal tendencies”, while the “nightmares” continue to this day.

Telephone and text messages of “E.K.” to the director of the Academy of St. Basil’s, priest Constantine Sitaras, and to the Legal Advisor of the Archdiocese, George Tsougarakis, remained unanswered.

The interview of Mr. Christopher Bowen is as follows:

…

“E.K.”: The Academy back then was a boarding school, right?

Christopher Bowen: In my view it was a “boarding school”…

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Most Reverend Louis Gelineau, who served as the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Providence, has died, 12 News has learned.

The Diocese of Providence announced that Gelineau passed away peacefully Thursday at the Saint Antoine Residence in North Smithfield. He was 96 years old.

Gelineau, who served as bishop for more than two decades, retired back in June 1997. The Vermont native was first appointed by Pope Saint Paul VI in December 1971.

Throughout his tenure, Gelineau was often referred to as “the people’s bishop,” since he was known to travel throughout the diocese to interact with the people of God. He was the second-longest serving bishop in diocesan history.

Gelineau was also known for his regular appearances on his own television show “Rejoice in Hope,” on local Catholic Cable TV and for his weekly column in the Providence Visitor, now the…

Gelineau is credited with changing diocese operations to spend more time with parishioners. He also faced accusations during his 25-year tenure that he didn’t do enough to protect children from clergy sex abuse.

PROVIDENCE — The Most Reverend Louis E. Gelineau, who served as the sixth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence for 25 years, died Thursday, church officials said.

Rev. Gelineau died at Saint Antoine Residence in North Smithfield, R.I. officials said. He was 96.

Prior to his retirement in 1997, Rev. Gelineau launched the Providence-Haiti Outreach project that now serves 350 children annually, and a $40 million campaign in 1995 “called ‘Vision of Hope’ to provide long term financial support for parishes, projects, and ministries,” the diocese said in a statement.

He is also credited with organizing the diocesan administration in a way that allowed him to spend more…

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — A longtime leader of the Catholic Church in Rhode Island has died.

Former Bishop Louis Gelineau passed away Thursday at the age of 96 in North Smithfield.

Gelineau led the Diocese of Providence for 25 years and was credited with being a strong advocate for the institution.

He also came under criticism over clergy sex abuse.

Gelineau arrived from Vermont to become bishop in 1972. He retired in 1997.

“He was for us a very good shepherd and a good bishop,” said the Rev. Jack Unsworth.

Unsworth kept in touch with Gelineau and last saw him earlier this year.

He was in the seminary when Gelineau became bishop more than 50 years ago.

“He had a lot of energy. Anyone will tell you that,” Unsworth told NBC 10 News on Friday. “He brought to the diocese that kind of energy and newness and an enthusiasm…

A Jamaican born pastor is facing allegations that he repeatedly sexually abused a teenage boy in New York two years ago.

According to the New York Post, Reverend Edward-Richard Hinds – leader of the 67th Precinct Clergy Council known as The GodSquad – was indicted on Thursday on two counts of third-degree criminal sexual act and related charges.

He is accused of performing sexual acts on a 16-year-old on multiple occasions in December 2022.

Police arrested Hinds, 48, after executing a search warrant at his home.

The handcuffed cleric appeared in Brooklyn Supreme Court where he was arraigned on the charges.

A special prosecutor from the Staten Island district attorney’s office is handling the case.

Hinds, who was labelled a flight risk, is being held on $5,000 bail and $30,000 bond.

He pleaded not guilty and is due back in court on December 13.

The allegations came to light in…

The Archdiocese of New Orleans is one step closer to ending its bankruptcy.

Attorneys for the diocese and sex abuse survivors have filed a plan that outlines ways to make sure child sex abuse never happens again.

The plans appear to create additional transparency. Sealed records will also soon be public through an archive.

The records will be hosted online by a university that agrees to archive the files.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans Issued the following statement:

“In a major milestone in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, the archdiocese and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, which represents abuse survivors, have reached agreement in the non-monetary plan provisions to be included in the Bankruptcy Plan.

“Non-monetary plan provisions are meant to enhance the existing child protection programs of the archdiocese by improving public accountability and transparency. They also outline ways that the Archdiocese…

Move follows church’s 2020 bankruptcy filing, hundreds of allegations and a standoff with survivors

In a gesture of reconciliation to victims of its decades-old clergy molestation scandal, the Roman Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans has tentatively agreed to publicly release the confidential personnel files of priests and deacons faced with substantial allegations of child sexual abuse.

Church officials on Thursday announced the plan to disclose clergy files as one of several non-monetary commitments in the US’s second-oldest Catholic archdiocese efforts to settle a costly federal bankruptcy reorganization first filed in 2020.

The church and more than 500 clergy abuse survivors remain miles apart on the monetary terms of a potential bankruptcy settlement. In September, the church’s attorneys proposed that the archdiocese and its affiliates – but not their insurers – should pay about $125,000 to each sexual abuse claimant. A committee of survivors countered that the church, its affiliates and its insurers…

THE “prolific, brutal and horrific” abuse perpetrated by John Smyth, a Reader in the Church of England, was covered up by “powerful evangelical clergy”, the long-awaited Makin review has concluded.

The “Independent lessons learning review”, originally due to be published five years ago, lists the Archbishop of Canterbury as among those who failed to act. From 2013, the Church of England knew “at the highest level” about the abuse, the report says, but failed to refer it either to the police or to the relevant authorities in South Africa, where Smyth died while under investigation by the police (News, 13 August 2018).

Archbishop Welby issued a strongly worded — and highly personal — apology for his “profound failures” upon the publication of the report on Thursday afternoon.

“The review is clear that I personally failed to ensure that after disclosure in 2013 the awful tragedy was energetically investigated,” he said.

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LONDON (AP) — The Church of England covered up “horrific” abuse by a lawyer who volunteered at Christian summer camps in the 1970s and 1980s, and the ceremonial head of the Anglican Communion failed to report him to authorities when he learned of the abuse in 2013, according to an independent review released Thursday.

John Smyth, who died in South Africa in 2018 at age 75, physically, sexually, psychologically and spiritually abused about 30 boys and young men in the U.K. and 85 in Africa over five decades, the 251-page report commissioned by the church found. Smyth is believed to be the most prolific serial abuser associated with the church.

“Many of the victims who took the brave decision to speak to us about what they experienced have carried this abuse silently for more than 40 years,” said Keith Makin, who led the review. “Despite the efforts of some individuals to…

CV NEWS FEED // Survivors of clergy sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles are seeing a transformed Church as the Archdiocese continues to offer support and healing to victims, according to a November 5 report from Angelus News.

This shift comes alongside the $880 million settlement announced in October to address historical abuse claims, as CatholicVote reported.

Angelus News shared the story of Deborah McAlpine, whose life was drastically altered as a teenager when she was molested by a visiting priest. Struggling with the aftermath, McAlpine spent years disconnected from her faith but eventually sought help from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. 

Although they were unable to identify her abuser — likely a foreign priest who returned to his home country — McAlpine found support through the Archdiocese’s Victims Assistance Ministry. She connected with people who listened to her, assisted in her search for closure,…

A U.S. appeals court panel on Wednesday appeared unlikely to overturn the Boy Scouts of America’s $2.46 billion settlement of sex abuse claims, suggesting it would be impractical to upend the deal long after the youth organization emerged from bankruptcy.

A three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia heard oral arguments in appeals of a 2022 bankruptcy court ruling approving the deal, which resolved the claims of 82,500 men who alleged that they were sexually abused by troop leaders as children.

The settlement has been challenged by 144 sex abuse survivors and a minority of the youth organization’s insurers. The abuse survivors have argued that they should be allowed to sue organizations, like local Boy Scouts councils and churches, that ran scouting programs where abuse occurred. Those organizations received immunity from lawsuits in exchange for contributions to the Boy Scouts’ bankruptcy settlement, despite not filing for…

The Catholic Diocese of Toledo has announced the credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against deceased priest Msgr. Michael J. Doyle and has placed him on its clergy status report.

The report lists diocesan clerics who have been placed on administrative leave or removed from ministry as a result of an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor, as well as those who have been credibly accused after their deaths.

According to the diocese’s Sunday announcement, the alleged abuse took place more than 65 years ago. Monsignor Doyle died in 1987.

Monsignor Doyle served as an active priest of the diocese from 1925 to 1977. He was associate pastor at St. Ann Parish in Fremont in 1925 and St. Peter Parish in Mansfield from 1925 to 1930. He was assistant director of Catholic Charities from 1932 to 1946. His activity between 1930 and 1932 is not included on a list of his…

The Vatican has found Austrian Father Gebhard Paul Maria Sigl, co-founder of the Family of Mary, guilty of spiritual and psychological abuse. The former leader and spiritual director of the international pontifical-right association faces multiple penalties, including a ten-year ban on ministry.

The decision concluded a canonical trial lasting over two years and resulted in a rare conviction for psychological and spiritual abuse—cases that do not involve explicit sexual misconduct. As first revealed by Italian Catholic outlet AdistaNovember 5, the Vatican’s ruling against Austrian Father Gebhard Paul Maria Sigl, 75, affects his legacy as co-founder and leader of the international pontifical-right missionary community, the Family of Mary (FM), where he served for three decades.

Allegations of control and manipulation

Witnesses and victims, primarily former community members, accused Sigl of mental manipulation, blurring internal and external spiritual boundaries, theological deception, emotional blackmail, silencing dissenting voices, fostering a cult of the founder, and undermining…

Cardinal Ted McCarrick was one of America’s most beloved religious figures, but was he a kindly man of faith or a cold-hearted predator committing ungodly acts? News 12’s Crime Files exposes the disturbing secrets kept quiet for years.

[See video here.]

In short: 

A record $3.3 million payout to a sexual abuse survivor has been successfully appealed by the Catholic Diocese of Wagga Wagga, reducing the payment by more than $1 million.

The victim was abused by paedophile priest Vincent Kiss in the 1960s and 70s.

The church argued that the damages were “manifestly excessive” because the victim had had a “relatively successful life”.abc.net.au/news/catholic-diocese-wagga-appeal-compensation-payout/104575910Link copiedShare article

A landmark sexual abuse compensation payout has been slashed by more than $1 million after a Catholic diocese successfully appealed, in part because the victim had lived “a relatively successful life”.

The Victorian Supreme Court awarded victim TJ, whose real name cannot be used for legal reasons, $3.3 million in compensation last November.

The compensation was for the abuse he suffered in the 1960s and 70s at the hands of paedophile priest Vincent Kiss at the Catholic Diocese of Wagga Wagga, in southern New South Wales.

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Re “What to know about the Los Angeles Catholic Church $880M settlement with sexual abuse victims” (Oct. 17): So the Los Angeles diocese of the Catholic Church has spent a total of over $1.5 billion to try to make up for the horrific abuse many of its faithful endured at the hands of their clergy or employees. This is so appalling and unnecessary. The monsters who did those things should have been reported and sent to jail, not coddled. That $1.5 billion would have been such a godsend for all the people without secure homes, health care or sources of food, clothing and jobs.

The L.A. diocese and any diocese that has done something like this needs to pull back and reevaluate what they’re all about. I am not a believer, but who in their right mind would want to be associated with a group of people who thought that…

The expulsions from the controversial lay movement mark a key step in the church’s effort to address abuse, corruption

The recent expulsions of members from Sodalitium Christianae Vitae are part of a long and serious process that is needed before the church can consider going the route of completely dissolving the controversial lay movement, said Peruvian Cardinal Pedro Barreto Jimeno.

In an interview with OSV News Oct. 29 at the Jesuit curia in Rome, the president of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon Region and archbishop emeritus of Huancayo said the expulsions of key members of the group — including its founder, Luis Fernando Figari, in August — were “a very clear sign of a church that wants to put the Gospel of Jesus into practice.”

“I can’t say that I’m happy. I can’t say that because there are victims who have been suffering immensely for almost 25 years,” the…

The Washington Attorney General’s Office has filed an appeal against a recent court ruling that bars the state from subpoenaing child sex abuse records from the Church, KUOW reported on October 31. The appeal argues that such records do not qualify for religious exemption and should be made public.

The appeal challenges a decision — issued in July 2024 by a King County Superior Court judge — that blocked investigators’ access to Church records based on the state’s Charitable Trust Act, according to a report from news outlet KUOW.

In that ruling, Judge Michael Scott agreed with the Archdiocese of Seattle’s assertion that, under current state laws, religious institutions are exempt from disclosing certain records associated with their charitable status.

In its appeal, the Attorney General’s Office contends that religious exemptions should not apply to secular misconduct like child sex abuse, according to the KUOW report. 

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The former CEO of My Faith Votes, a nonprofit urging Christians to vote their values, was charged yesterday with eight felony counts of possession of child sex abuse material. And according to a probable cause statement filed in the case, the former CEO, Jason Yates, has a prior conviction for a similar charge, which was expunged.

Yates was charged yesterday during a virtual hearing before a judge in the District Court of McLeod County, Minnesota, and released on his own recognizance.

 The 55-year-old Yates could face up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine for each count, if found guilty. He has been ordered to post $100,000 bail or bond and refrain from contact with anyone younger than 18 years old as the case moves forward.

According to a statement of probable cause, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) began investigating…

Yates was charged with eight felony counts after a relative allegedly found a stash of child porn on a hard drive in his office.

The former president of an evangelical get-out-the-vote nonprofit, which seeks to motivate Christian voters to promote family values and “biblical truth” in the public square, was charged Monday (Nov. 4) with eight counts of possessing child pornography.

Jason Yates, former CEO of My Faith Votes, was charged during a video court hearing in the District Court of McLeod County, Minnesota. State officials allege that from February 2023 to July 2024, Yates possessed a hard drive with digital pornographic images of minors under 14 years of age.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension began investigating the 55-year-old Yates at the end of July after a relative, identified in court documents as “Witness #2,” accidentally discovered a hard drive containing over 100 images of child porn in Yates’…

Church said leaders ‘failed to inquire further’ after learning Robert Morris, ex-Trump adviser, molested girl for years

A Dallas-area Christian megachurch has removed four of its elders after an internal investigation into how the institution handled revelations of child sexual abuse by its founder, a former spiritual adviser to Donald Trump.

An official at Gateway church announced during a service on Saturday that the ousted leaders either knew that Robert Morris molested a girl for several years beginning in 1982, when she was 12, or “failed to inquire further” after being informed of it, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Gateway did not identify the removed leaders, but the Morning News found four names had been taken off the church’s elders page: Jeremy Carrasco, Kevin Grove, Gayland Lawshe and Thomas Miller. Remaining were Kenneth W Fambro II, Dane Minor and Tra Willbanks, who made Saturday’s announcement about the other elders, who had belonged…

In a letter sent to various members and former members of a scandal-ridden Peruvian lay group, a priest belonging to the community apologized to victims and urged internal authorities to make reparations.

The apologetic letter, signed by Father Márcio Paulo de Souza, a member of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV) who lives in a community house in Arequipa, strikes a much different tone than that taken by other members of the group who have been expelled in recent weeks.

In his letter, de Souza said he has held conversations with several victims of the SCV, and has shared “with deep pain their suffering, their wounds, and the tremendous consequences that the various abuses suffered in our institution have left them.”

Founded by Peruvian layman Luis Fernando Figari in 1971, the SCV for the past decade has been a source of widespread scandal due to allegations of various forms of abuse, including the…

The pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Farwell is accused of sexually assaulting a young boy.

The Clare County Sheriff’s Office received information about the alleged sexual assault in March after the boy reported the incident to authorities outside Michigan, which he lives now. Court records indicate the assault happened in June 2021.

The Clare County Prosecutor’s Office filed a single count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct against 57-year-old Harold Cole Jr. He appeared in Clare County District Court for arraignment on Friday.

The charge accuses Cole of having unwanted sexual contact with the boy, who was younger than 13 years old, by using force or coercion. Cole faces up to five years in prison if he is convicted.

He posted 10% of a $20,000 bond after arraignment and was released from custody on a GPS tether. Cole is scheduled for additional court hearings on Nov. 12 and 18.

Church elder Tra Willbanks said the church is also cooperating with a criminal investigation.

Update:

This is a developing story.

Gateway Church removed four of its elders after receiving a report from a law firm hired to conduct an internal investigation into its founder’s alleged sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl, a church leader announced Saturday.

Church elder Tra Willbanks said during service that all but three of the church’s elders either knew former senior pastor Robert Morris had sexual contact with a 12-year-old, or received some information about the situation and “failed to inquire further.”

“We have decided to draw a very bright line here based on Biblical and moral values and the values of our church family, and we can report to you that as of today, no individuals in either group serves as an elder, is employed by or works at Gateway Church,”…