ABUSE TRACKER

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

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

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

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

Child sex-abuse survivor shares his story with 11 News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The practical consequences for the Church and religious liberty

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

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

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

If they pass,…

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

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

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

What is the Notre-Dame…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It now…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Walsh died last night and funeral arrangements will follow later.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sentence

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

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

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

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

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

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

The…

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

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

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

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

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

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

He was later charged with other…

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

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

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

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

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

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

…

Bishops satisfied with court decision – victims’ representatives disappointed

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mayall “strenuously denies this allegation,” Cupich…

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

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

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

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

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

“These people can no longer sue…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ridsdale died after being unresponsive for days.

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

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

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

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

[Includes a two-minute video in English.]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Legal battles

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

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

The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Little Rock is headed to West Memphis after a pastor was arrested and suspended earlier this week.

Father Charles Thessing is charged with animal cruelty. He was the lead pastor at St. Michael Church.

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor was appointed by the Pope and is the Catholic Church’s leader for the entire state of Arkansas.

The Bishop announced Thessing’s suspension Wednesday in a letter to members of multiple Mid-South parishes saying in part quote:

I plan to celebrate the Masses for you this weekend in West Memphis and Crawfordsville. I look forward to being present with and accompanying you during this difficult time. And I am actively working on plans for the future leadership of both of your parishes. –Bishop Anthony B. Taylor

Msgr. Daniel Mayall “strenuously denies” the allegation, Cardinal Blase Cupich said in a letter to the parish’s communities.

A retired Chicago-area priest who once served as rector of Holy Name Cathedral is being investigated for an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor, the Archdiocese of Chicago said Saturday.

Msgr. Daniel Mayall, who has resided at Saints Joseph and Francis Xavier Parish in Wilmette following his retirement in 2021, allegedly sexually abused a minor while assigned to Saint Francis Borgia Parish in Dunning approximately 30 years ago, the Archdiocese said.

Mayall “strenuously denies” the allegation but has agreed to cooperate with the Archdiocese’s direction, Cardinal Blase Cupich said in a letter to the parish communities.

In line with the Archdiocese’s policies, Cupich has directed Mayall to remain out of ministry and refrain from all parish and school activities.

Mayall served as senior…

Retired priest Monsignor Daniel Mayall is accused of sexual abuse of a minor at St. Francis Borgia Parish in Dunning, the Archdiocese of Chicago said.Retired priest Monsignor Daniel Mayall is accused of sexual abuse of a minor at St. Francis Borgia Parish in Dunning, the Archdiocese of Chicago said.

A retired priest who served at multiple Chicago-area churches is facing an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor, the Archdiocese of Chicago said Saturday.

Monsignor Daniel Mayall, the accused former priest, will remain out of ministry and school activities during an investigation, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich announced in letters to families of two local parishes.

Mayall is accused of sexual abuse against a minor while he was assigned to St. Francis Borgia Parish approximately 30 years ago, the Archdiocese said. He served as the parish’s pastor from July 1993 to January 2002, a letter to the parish read.

Another letter…

Outgoing Archbishop of Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory was investigated under the norms of Vos estis lux mundi last year, with Vatican-appointed bishops exonerating the cardinal after allegations were made by a local priest who was himself facing a canonical process for sexual abuse.

Sources close to the Diacastery for Bishops in Rome told The Pillar Feb. 15 that a complaint of sexual harassment was received against Cardinal Gregory in early 2024 but that an independent investigation returned an exoneration of Gregory.

The news of Gregory’s having faced a Vatican investigation comes amid widespread rumors among the Washington presbyterate that the cardinal’s retirement, announced by the Holy See last month, was linked to a Vos estis report concerning Gregory.

An official close to the investigation told The Pillar that the complaint was made by a Washington priest, ordained within the last ten years, who was himself under a canonical disciplinary process, after he allegedly “groomed” a minor female before…

French Prime Minister François Bayrou vowed to investigate allegations of child sexual abuse at a Catholic school near the city of Pau after a meeting with victims on Saturday. Bayrou has been accused of lying to parliament for denying he knew of the long-running accusations, including while he was a local official and as education minister.

France‘s prime minister Saturday vowed to help investigate allegations of decades of sexual abuse at a Catholic school, after the left accused him of lying to parliament earlier this week when he said he was unaware of the case.

François Bayrou, a veteran centrist named premier in December to end months of political crisis, does not have a parliamentary majority.

He has come under scrutiny in recent days in relation to allegations of repeated physical and sexual abuse at a Catholic boarding school in the Pyrenees to which he sent several of his…

The Diocese of Norwich has reached a $31 million settlement with survivors of sexual abuse, according to a joint statement issued Friday from those involved in the agreement. 

The agreement came after five days of mediation. It includes a “Plan of Reorganization to enable the Diocese and others to provide a meaningful recovery to survivors of sexual abuse and for the Diocese to emerge from bankruptcy and continue its mission,” the joint statement reads. 

The plan was filed Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Hartford, according to the joint statement. If approved, the plan would create independent trusts that would oversee the distribution of funds to eligible survivors. 

The joint statement was issued by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich; the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, which represents the sexual abuse victims; the Association of Parishes of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich; and Catholic Mutual Relief Society of…

Joint Statement from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich, Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, the Association of Parishes of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich, and Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America

The Diocese of Norwich, the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, the Association of Parishes, and Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America are pleased to announce jointly that they reached an agreement culminating in the filing of a Joint Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization to enable the Diocese and others to provide a meaningful recovery to survivors of sexual abuse and for the Diocese to emerge from bankruptcy and continue its mission.

After five full days of mediation with the Honorable Joan N. Feeney (Ret.), the parties reached an agreement on a $31 million compensation fund. The Joint Chapter 11 Plan was filed on Monday, February 10th, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Hartford before the Honorable James J….

The prime minister, who served as education minister in the 1990s in addition to holding local posts in Béarn, told the National Assembly on Wednesday that “at no time” was he warned of the alleged incidents, slamming what he described as “artificial controversies”. 

His defence, however, has been undercut by a flurry of allegations by investigative website Mediapart, which claimed to have evidence that Bayrou was repeatedly informed of abuse at the school, failed to act on those reports and subsequently lied in parliament.  

Warnings unheeded, letters unanswered 

French prosecutors are investigating more than a hundred complaints concerning alleged violence, sexual assault and rape committed at the boarding school, located at the foot of the Pyrénées, a short drive from Béarn’s capital city of Pau, where Bayrou still serves as mayor.  

In October 2023, several former pupils formed a group to share stories about the abuse they say they…

Re: “Step up, lawmakers, and pass bill to make clergy report abuse” (Feb. 4, Opinion):

State Sen. Noel Frame is right — no more compromise when it comes to crimes against children shared in confession.

I’m one of thousands of children who were failed by the seal of confession. How ludicrous that priests would call this secrecy a “privilege.” The seal of confession protects abusers, not children. If priests reported crimes against children and the perpetrator who committed the crime, the Catholic Church would be saving children. It is not.

I was sexually abused by the parish priest. I told a priest in confession about it. The crime was not reported. The perpetrator went on to sexually abuse dozens more little girls. He never spent a day in prison. The “priest privilege” to not report crimes does not protect children. Priests must be mandated reporters held to the same…

Maryland’s highest court, in a 4-3 decision on February 3, narrowly upheld the Child Victims Act of 2023, a law that retroactively and prospectively repeals the civil statute of limitations for survivors of child sexual abuse. The Act also increases the statutory amount of recoverable noneconomic damages in claims against private entities from $890,000 to $1.5 million.

With the addition of Maryland, 19 states, two US territories, and the federal government have eliminated the civil statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases, part of a growing national trend led by state legislatures enabling near-permanent access to the civil justice system.

The Act, introduced to the Maryland legislature in 2007, repeatedly failed to advance out of committee until 2017. The 2017 iteration of the Act referred in its preamble to a statute of repose, which would have granted institutions facing claims of sexual abuse statutory immunity after a certain length…

Fifteen states have proposed legislation to extend the statute of limitations, among other measures.

Currently, 15 states are considering legislation that would extend or eliminate the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse crimes and civil lawsuits.

The reform movement to change the statute of limitations for those experiencing this childhood trauma has been growing.

According to CHILDUSA, 44 states have no criminal statute of limitations for some or all child sexual abuse, 22 states have no civil statute of limitations for some or all child sexual abuse, and 30 states have revival or “look back” window laws that allow for claims that would otherwise be expired under a statute of limitations.

“Look back” or revival windows can be important because sexual abuse survivors often delay reporting the conduct for years due to trauma. In the case of child sex abuse, the average age at the…

When Msgr. Joseph Reilly was invested as president of Seton Hall University last November, Newark Cardinal Joseph Tobin hung from the priest’s neck a medallion bearing the symbol of the university: Mary, the Mother of God, holding a cross, and standing a scroll inscribed with the Latin motto of the bishop who founded Seton Hall: “Per fidem non per speciem.”

“By faith, not by sight.”

After the medal was hung around his neck, Reilly gave a stirring and humble oration, declaring three things about himself — “the Joe Reilly trifecta,” he called it.

“The first thing is that I love Jesus Christ,” he said. “The second thing is that I love being a priest. The final thing is that I love Seton Hall.”

In his remarks, Reilly emphasized that Christ is the center of his life, and that he is humbled to “make a gift of myself to the Lord…

Ashley James Crouse, 53, also reportedly kept a book on his computer that detailed how to sexually abuse children.

Editor’s Note: This story discusses sexual abuse against children. While no acts are described specifically, reader discretion is advised. 

WCNC Charlotte has chosen to use this mugshot because of the severity of the crime and the nature of the suspect’s previous occupation.

A North Carolina pastor who was arrested on child sex abuse material charges in 2023 has learned he will spend the next decade behind bars.

The U.S. District Attorney’s Office in Western North Carolina announced Thursday that 53-year-old Ashley James Crouse of Granite Falls was sentenced to 120 months (10 years) in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for possession and receipt of child sex abuse material. He will also have to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.

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The contents of a former Catholic bishop’s home in Newry have been auctioned by the Diocese of Dromore, which will use some of the proceeds to compensate clerical abuse victims.

In recent years the diocese was sued by a number of people who were sexually abused as children by Dromore clergymen, including the late Fr Malachy Finegan.

The Bishop’s House, set in grounds off Newry’s Armagh Road, was earmarked in 2023 as being among the diocesan assets that could be sold to meet its liabilities.

In a statement, the diocese said it was also selling the contents of the house to fund “various safeguarding matters, including redress for victims and survivors of abuse”.

Finegan, who died in 2002, was headmaster of the neighbouring St Colman’s College boys’ school and also served as parish priest in Clonduff, County Down.

Some of his victims received six-figure sums in compensation after initiating legal…

The Verbum Spei Fraternity was entrusted with a parish and a university chaplaincy in the archdiocese in 2016.

The Archdiocese of Luxembourg ended its nine-year collaboration with the Mexico-based Verbum Spei Fraternity after learning that Pope Francis had laicised a member priest who had fathered two children with a woman follower.

In a statement, the archdiocese reported that after inquiries it found that the fraternity had split from the Brothers of Saint John and still supported the “harmful” teachings of the order’s sexually abusive founder, the late Fr Marie-Dominique Philippe, it said in a statement.

Philippe formed the Brothers of St John in France in 1975. He died in 2006 and was renounced by the order in 2019 amid a wider scandal which also implicated his brother Fr Thomas Philippe and the founder of L’Arche Jean Vanier, both also dead.

“The pastoral collaboration between the archdiocese and the Verbum Spei…

A prominent Croatian archbishop is at the center of a growing storm over his handling of a clerical abuse case.

Archbishop Zdenko Križić, the Archbishop of Split-Makarska since September 2023, is facing intense criticism over his decision to appoint a priest who was previously jailed for abusing a minor to oversee two parishes in his previous Diocese of Gospić-Senj.

The 72-year-old Carmelite archbishop further inflamed the controversy when he accused media outlets of seeking “to create scandals out of thin air when it comes to the Church, with a very clear goal.”

One commentator described the chain of events as “the greatest scandal in the history of the Church in Croatia.”

How exactly did Križić handle the case? How has he responded to the criticisms? And what’s likely to happen next?

A little background

Before we tackle that, it might be helpful to consider the broader context.

Croatia is a Balkan nation…

PARIS — French Prime Minister François Bayrou said he plans to sue investigative media outlet Mediapart after it reported that he “lied” to defend a Catholic school where a priest had been accused of raping a student in the late 1990s.

Mediapart last week published witness statements and documents that purported to show that Bayrou “could not have been unaware of the accusations” at the Notre-Dame de Bétharram school, which his own children attended.

Addressing lawmakers’ questions in the National Assembly on Tuesday, Bayrou shot back at the allegations.

“I assure you that I have never been informed of any incidents of violence, let alone sexual violence,” Bayrou said. “A libel suit will obviously be filed.”

A representative for the prime minister did not immediately to POLITICO’s response for comment. Mediapart reporters David Perrotin and Antton Rouget, who wrote the report, said they “stand ready to defend [their]…

[Click here to see brief video.]

Hi, I’m David Clohessy with SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, with some good news and some bad news. The good news is that finally, after years and years of prodding, most Catholic bishops in the US have posted on their websites the names of admitted and proven and credibly accused child molesting clerics.

Most bishops do that. The bad news is none of those lists are accurate or complete. So there are still thousands and thousands of priests who are still essentially under the radar.

This is something that our group is working hard to try and do: make sure that the police, the prosecutors, the public, the parents, and the parishioners know about every single priest, deacon, nun, bishop, or seminarian who was in a diocese who has molested kids.

So if you’re concerned about this problem, contact…

A collection of documents about clergy abuse in this state — housed at UNM’s special collections library — is a major step forward for victims, but there’s more to be done.

If you have experienced sexual assault, sexual violence or unwanted sexual contact, you can contact the Rape Crisis Center of Central New Mexico at (505) 266-7711

Links in this story contain graphic descriptions of sexual abuse of minors.

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe Institutional Abuse Collection is an important new archive for documents that were generated, in large part, by victim lawsuits brought during the long, terrible history of sexual abuse of minors by priests in New Mexico. It will be housed at the University of New Mexico’s Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections, and it is set to open to the public sometime in the spring of this year.

“The first time I saw one…

As sex abuse scandals continue to haunt the Catholic Church, many dioceses are turning to Chapter 11 as a way to settle hundreds of claims at once.

Across the U.S., 40 dioceses and religious orders have declared bankruptcy. The first was the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, in 2004. The most recent was the Diocese of Burlington, Vermont, in late September 2024. The cases vary, but they have one thing in common: The day the diocese filed its petition for bankruptcy is a new benchmark — no one is allowed to file claims against the church for abuses that happened before that date, even if a given state retroactively extends the statute of limitations.

“It divides the universe, the world of time, into the pre-petition period and the post-petition period,” said Marie Reilly, a law professor at Penn State who specializes in bankruptcy law and has published extensive…

For Immediate Release: February 13, 2025 

Cardinal Joseph Tobin of the Archdiocese of Newark said on Monday that he had hired a law firm to conduct a “comprehensive third-party review” of a 2019 investigation into sexual abuse at Seton Hall University. SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, calls the new investigation unnecessary. The group believes that it is nothing more than a tactic to delay the resolution of the issue of Monsignor Joseph Reilly’s appointment as President of Seton Hall. SNAP spoke out against the Monsignor’s appointment at the time, and asked for complete transparency. We still believe that this is the best way to resolve the controversy.

Although Monsignor Reilly was not himself accused of abuse, the 2019 investigation found that he knew about accusations of abuse on campus and did not report them as required….

The Archdiocese of New Orleans is looking to part ways with several independent living apartments amid its ongoing bankruptcy case involving clergy sex abuse.

Archbishop Gregory Aymond issued a statement Thursday saying that the archdiocese is having conversations to formally separate from many agencies, specifically mentioning Christopher Homes.

Christopher Homes is a property management company that oversees the independent living apartments like Annunciation Inn, Christopher Inn, St. Bernard Manor, and six other centers.

The separation is likely signaling a sale of these apartments to help with the settlement of the bankruptcy case.

Sources tell WDSU that an offer has already been made for Christopher Homes, and that it is likely one of the archdiocese’s larger assets.

This comes amid the archdiocese uploading a list of apostolates to its bankruptcy case. The list does not mean all the apostolates are for sale; however, two organizations that the archdiocese has announced possibly…

Pope Francis accepted the resignation of a 59-year-old bishop in the pope’s native Argentina on Thursday, after just under two years in the leadership of an already troubled diocese.

Bishop Carlos María Domínguez of San Rafael in Argentina said his resignation was “for reasons of a personal nature,” but did not offer any further description.

“I want to ask for forgiveness for what I did wrong, for what I didn’t do and for what I didn’t know how to do,” Domínguez said in a communiqué, though he offered no specifics.

In an interview with ACI Prensa, the spokesman for San Rafael, Father José Álvarez, explained the request for forgiveness as something “anyone who leaves his place” would offer as a matter of course.

Domínguez, however, acknowledged he “can sense the perplexity that this news may cause,” among the faithful of the diocese. “[B]elieve me,” he wrote, “this decision causes me deep…

Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has publicly claimed eight times that the Catholic Church practises “zero tolerance” towards child sexual abuse by clergy. At worst, this is simply untrue, and at best, like Humpty Dumpty in Alice in Wonderland, he makes the expression mean whatever he wants it to mean.

The term “zero tolerance” was first used in the United States in 1972 by politicians pushing for tougher criminal laws. Merriam Webster defines it as “a policy of giving the most severe punishment possible to every person who commits a crime.” It has its critics because it does not take into account that offences may vary in their seriousness, and the circumstances of the offender might justify a lesser sentence. Despite civil law jurisdictions adopting this principle of proportionality, there is often zero tolerance in practice for certain kinds of crimes. Drink-driving causing death will attract a jail…

Critics say that the Archdiocese of Santa Fe’s roster of “credibly accused” priests should be longer — by 59 names — but the church currently has no intention of adding them.

If you have experienced sexual assault, sexual violence or unwanted sexual contact, you can contact the Rape Crisis Center of Central New Mexico at (505) 266-7711

When the Archdiocese of Santa Fe filed for bankruptcy on Dec. 3, 2018, church officials said they were dangerously close to burning through their financial reserves after settling lawsuits with nearly 300 survivors of sexual abuse that occurred in this huge religious district, which encompasses 19 counties in central and northeastern New Mexico and the cities of Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Los Alamos and Taos.

As part of the proceedings at the federal bankruptcy court in Albuquerque, any “creditor” — the legal term used for abuse survivors — who had a financial claim against the…

A few hours after his introduction as Cincinnati’s new archbishop, Robert G. Casey answered a question about his past that he said he knew was coming.

He confirmed that in 2008 he faced an allegation of misconduct with a child, which authorities later determined to be “unfounded.” The accusation, made while he was a parish priest in Chicago, was investigated by both local authorities and church officials.

In response to a question from The Enquirer, Casey said in a statement that the claim was a false accusation, but he said he recognized that concerns about it may follow him to his new post in Cincinnati, where he will lead more than 400,000 Catholics.

“As a consequence of this false allegation, I realize that I will have an asterisk next to my name for the rest of my life,” Casey said. “There will be those that judge me because of this….

LICKING COUNTY, Ohio (WSYX) — A former staff member of Faith Life Church has come forward to describe what she called “questionable behavior” she said she witnessed during her time at the church, as an investigation into alleged abuse by a former church leader is underway.

On Monday, the Licking County Sheriff’s Office said it had taken over an investigation regarding the allegations.

Reports ABC6 obtained through a public records request from BCI and the Knox County Sheriff’s Office revealed one woman’s allegations of sexual abuse when she was a juvenile. No charges have been filed.

The case had initially belonged to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, but due to a conflict of interest, it had to recuse itself from investigating.

Knox County Sheriff Daniel Weckesser said it handed the case over to the state’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation at the State Attorney General’s Office. A…

Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark commissioned this week an independent review into the results of an independent investigation he previously ordered into the fallout of the 2018 scandals surrounding Theodore McCarrick.

In a statement issued by the Archdiocese of Newark on Monday, Tobin said he had retained the law firm Ropes & Gray LLP “to conduct a comprehensive third-party review of the facts regarding the investigation and report by the Latham & Watkins law firm on behalf of Seton Hall in 2019 regarding the former Archbishop, Theodore McCarrick.”

The new independent review follows the appointment of Monsignor Joseph Reilly as president of Seton Hall University, which is an apostolate of the Newark archdiocese, last year, despite a 2019 task force of the university Board of Regents telling the priest in that it had recommended to Cardinal Tobin that he be excluded from university leadership positions.

Reilly was named the…

Members of the General Synod of the Anglican Church rejected a fully independent system for handling sexual abuse complaints, a decision Archbishop Stephen Cottrell, the interim leader, called disappointing.

Members of the General Synod, which meets two or three times a year to decide on matters of doctrine and institutional policy, had to choose between two options February 11 to revamp its complaint system. While one of the options proposed outsourcing the entire process—from receiving the complaint to its review—the other approach was ultimately chosen.

The selected option provided for the creation of a central independent body to handle complaints, but they will still be collected locally by Church representatives already responsible for these issues, PA reported.

A decision deemed disappointing by some Anglican leaders

“We missed the opportunity today to tell victims and survivors, unequivocally, that we hear their concerns about trust in the church,” lamented reformist Bishop Joanne…

Anglican synod revives practice of stripping holy orders from clergy for life – similar to Catholic Church system

Vicars who are found guilty of sex abuse will be defrocked under new Church of England rules.

The General Synod, the Church’s governing body, voted to revive the stripping of holy orders following a string of abuse scandals. The practice was abolished more than 20 years ago. 

Those who are defrocked are banned from the clergy for life. The move is likely to cover offences including child abuse or sexual assault.

Previously, the harshest punishment available to Church authorities was to impose a lifetime ban on a priest being able to officiate ceremonies such as weddings and funerals, but they remained priests.

The Synod overwhelmingly backed reintroducing the measure on Wednesday.

The new tiered system, known as the clergy conduct measure (CCM) will replace the current clergy discipline measure – a system that has…

A former teacher at the Elim Gaithersburg church in Derwood, Maryland, is facing up to 55 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually molesting four girls at the church. Two of the victims, according to charging documents, were abused in a classroom as other students prayed.

The former teacher, Ervin Alfaro-Lopez, 34, of Germantown, pleaded guilty to one count of sex abuse of a minor and three counts of third-degree sex offense, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office in Maryland announced in a press release.

The victims were between the ages of 6 and 12 when they were abused between 2016 and 2018.

Charging documents cited by Bethesda said police began an investigation into Alfaro-Lopez after they received a report in May 2023 that he had sexually abused a child. The then 14-year-old survivor told investigators that Alfaro-Lopez sexually abused her when she was…

Ohio’s Licking County Sheriff’s Office is investigating child sexual abuse allegations against a “former leader” at Gary and Drenda Keesee’s megachurch in New Albany, following an online petition launched two weeks ago.

The petition called for an investigation of sex abuse allegations against the Keesees’ son, Tom Keesee, who formerly served as chief media officer at his parents’ Faith Life Church—a megachurch with more than 3,000 members. The Keesees also have a financial show on embattled Daystar TV called, “Fixing the Money Thing.” 

According to a press release by the Licking County Sheriff’s Office, the sheriff’s office in adjacent Knox County officially requested that the Licking County sheriff take over a sexual abuse investigation on Feb. 7.

The Licking County Sheriff’s Office “accepted the request and assigned Detectives to investigate,” the release stated.

One alleged victim reported to police that she was assaulted…

VANCOUVER – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Prince George, B.C., says it hopes a $3.4 million settlement gives an alleged victim of sexual abuse by a school teacher “some degree of restitution for the harm that was so unjustly inflicted upon him by his abuser.”

The settlement by the diocese and St. Thomas More Collegiate, a Catholic school in Burnaby, B.C., was announced in a statement released by lawyer Sandra Kovacs, who represented the anonymous man in the lawsuit.

Also named in the lawsuit was former teacher Alfred Patrick Quigley, who the anonymous plaintiff said sexually abused him in the 1990s.

Quigley taught at O’Grady Catholic High School in Prince George and one of the alleged assaults was said to have occurred at St. Thomas More Collegiate.

The lawsuit accused Quigley of “grooming” the plaintiff before sexually assaulting him in 1993 and 1994. 

Quigley denied “each and every allegation” in…

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Pope Francis on Tuesday accepted the resignation of an influential Peruvian bishop, who has come under criticism for not doing enough to stop abuses committed by a conservative Catholic movement that was recently disbanded by the Vatican.

Peru’s Bishops Conference said Archbishop Miguel Cabrejos from the diocese of Trujillo, will be replaced by the Jesuit bishop Gilberto Vizcarra. A reason for the Pope’s decision was not provided.

Cabrejos, 76, was the president of Peru’s Bishops Conference until January, and had held that position for 12 years.

In a statement published last year, the archbishop said that he had presented his resignation letter to the Vatican in 2023, in accordance with Catholic Church laws that call on bishops to prepare for retirement at age 75.

During the time that Archbishop Cabrejos led the bishop’s conference, the Peruvian-based Catholic movement, Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, was accused of sexually abusing its recruits,…

A recent article published by the Spanish newspaper El País reported an accusation of alleged sexual abuse against Peruvian Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani that supposedly occurred in 1983 when he was a priest incardinated in Opus Dei. The cardinal has denied the accusation.

Born in Lima in 1943, Cipriani was ordained a priest of Opus Dei in August 1977. He was incardinated in the prelature until May 1988, when he was named by St. John Paul II as auxiliary bishop of Ayacucho, a diocese that was then at the epicenter of terrorism by the Shining Path maoist guerilla group.

In May 1995, he was named archbishop of that ecclesiastical see and in January 1999 he was named archbishop of Lima. In February 2001 he was created a cardinal, becoming the first cardinal formed in the Opus Dei apostolate.

In January 2019, Pope Francis accepted his resignation as archbishop of Lima…

In Montgomery County, Maryland, Ervin J. Alfaro-Lopez, 34, faces up to 25 years in prison and deportation.

A former teacher at a small church in Montgomery County, Maryland, pleaded guilty Monday in four sexual assault cases amid allegations he abused four girls ages 6 through 12, including two he fondled while their eyes were shut during prayers, authorities said in court.Get concise answers to your questions. Try Ask The Post AI.

Ervin J. Alfaro-Lopez, 34, faces up to 25 years in state prison at his sentencing in August. Federal immigration authorities, who have said Alfaro-Lopez unlawfully entered the United States three times and has been the subject of two removal proceedings, indicated they will seek his deportation after he serves his Maryland sentence.

Alfaro-Lopez, who recently lived in Germantown, said little in court Monday besides answering standard plea-hearing questions on whether he understood his decision and…

“The nation of Israel was born because Joseph went to prison,” former IHOPKC pastor Mike Bickle told the congregation in what would become his final sermon in October,2023. “He’s thrown in prison because of the betrayal of his brothers.” Then he concluded, “The nation of Israel was born in the context of a man responding right in a family betrayal that put him in prison for a while.”

IHOPKC is an abbreviation for International House of Prayer Kansas City, a charismatic church and prayer movement.

Just days later, accusations of sexual abuse were made public and Bickle had to step aside. While the pastor admitted to sexual misconduct, he claimed everything happened more than 20 years earlier and was consensual. But as I asked in the piece I wrote last January, “If he is guilty merely of consensual sex more than 20 years ago, why did he mention possibly going to prison?”

…

NEW ALBANY, Ohio — A megachurch located in a Columbus suburb is under investigation after a former faith leader was accused of sexual abuse, reports say.

Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp said in a post on social media that his office is investigating the allegations connected to Faith Life Church in New Albany. The Columbus Dispatch reports the sheriff’s office took over the investigation after Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost recused himself because he is friends with leaders of the church.

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office is assisting in the investigation, reports say. No charges have been filed so far.

WCMH Channel 4 reports that records show the accusations of abuse could go back decades and that there possibly dozens of victims. The Christian Post reports one of the people accused is a family member of church leaders….

The Bishop of Blackburn said it has been “an incredibly difficult period” for the Church of England after allegations of sexual assault and poor handling of abuse cases within the wider church.

The Right Reverend Philip North said Bishops “need to act quickly” to restore trust within the church, which will begin at the Synod (a gathering of church officials to address issues of administration, doctrine, or discipline) this week.

The Synod has met for the first time since the resignation of the archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, after safeguarding failures.

He quit after pressure following a review which found Christian camp leader and prolific serial abuser John Smyth might have been brought to justice had Mr Welby formally reported him to police five years before the barrister’s death.

In standing down, Mr Welby also noted his “long felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England”.

…

Tony Gribben describes “cowering like a dog”, as he was “beaten down” by his abuser at his boarding school.

“The violence meted out on me was both physical and sexual,” Mr Gribben said.

Many survivors want an independent public inquiry into the abuse they suffered by clergy and other religious leaders in Northern Ireland.

The devolved Northern Ireland government is now considering how to deal with the issue and has commissioned a study, which Mr Gribben describes as a “critical step forward”.

Warning: This page contains distressing details

The research is gathering the stories of survivors of abuse in what are termed “faith settings” – which can include churches, schools and other places where clergy and leaders in religious organisations abused children.

Mr Gribben said the abuses he suffered began during his first year in boarding school.

“It started with beatings around the head. On reflection, I understand this was…

Representatives of survivors said the outcome was a ‘punch in the gut’.

The Church of England cannot hide behind the complexities of moving to fully independent safeguarding and must realise the “nation is watching”, a leading bishop has said.

Bishop Joanne Grenfell, the Church’s safeguarding lead, had put forward a motion to the General Synod for a new model which would have seen all Church-employed safeguarding officers transferred to a new independent body.

But members instead voted overwhelmingly for a less independent option, which will see diocesan and cathedral officers remaining with their current Church employers while most national staff move to a new outside body.

I’m really disappointed, as were many, that Synod missed the opportunity to send an unequivocal message to victims and survivors and the wider nation that we hear their pain and concerns

Representatives of survivors branded the outcome a “punch in the gut” for victims of…

The inquiry follows POLITICO reporting that the Catholic school’s new president was named, but not accused, in a sexual abuse investigation in 2019.

New Jersey’s highest-ranking Catholic Church leader on Monday said he had hired a law firm to conduct a “comprehensive third-party review” of a 2019 investigation into sexual abuse at Seton Hall University that implicated its new president.

The announcement by Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the archbishop of the Diocese of Newark, follows reporting by POLITICO that the university promoted Monsignor Joseph Reilly to the presidency despite recommendations, which the university adopted, that he be removed from school boards and the leadership position he held at the time.

Reilly, then the leader of one of the school’s seminaries that trains students for priesthood, was not accused of abuse, but investigators found in 2019 that he knew of sexual abuse allegations and did not properly…

[To watch this program, click here.]

Priests accused of sexual abuse in Germany went to work overseas as missionaries. Did the Catholic Church help them? A research team spent months investigating.

https://p.dw.com/p/4qHXG

After two teenagers accused Catholic priest Dieter Scholz of abuse in 1963, he disappeared overseas. He went to work in Bolivia as a missionary with the approval of his archdiocese. After his return to Germany, he went on to abuse many others. Even though church authorities were aware of the accusations against him, he was allowed to continue in his post. Priest Josef Zottmann was also able to vanish abroad. In his case, he was trying to escape a warrant for…

The Paris prosecutor’s office told the French bishops’ conference it would not conduct an official inquiry into the 33 sexual abuse allegations against Abbé Pierre, because he died in 2007. Possible charges for the failure to report his crimes had passed the statute of limitations.

“Public action was ruled out by the death of the accused in 2007 … and prescribed … concerned non-reporting of facts,” said the prosecutor’s letter to the bishops.

A statement from the conference, whose president Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort of Reims publicly requested an inquiry last month, said it regretted the decision and repeated its “determination to uncover as much as possible about the acts committed by Abbé Pierre”.

Abbé Pierre was voted most popular Frenchman 16 times during his life and was awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour – France’s highest decoration – in 2001 for his campaigning work for the poor and…

This was the first time the General Synod met since the resignation of the previous Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, over safeguarding failures.

The Church of England is “broken” according to the lead bishop for safeguarding.

Bishop of Stepney Joanne Grenfell said that “we need to soberly acknowledge the place we are in” during a debate at the General Synod of the Church of England on the Makin Review on Monday as victims of abuser John Smyth looked on.

The independent review, released last November, revealed that dozens of victims were “subjected to traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks” at the hands of the late barrister which were covered up with a conspiracy of silence.

This was the first time the Synod, the church’s governing body, had met since the resignation of the previous Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, over safeguarding failures.

In her address to the Synod, Bishop…

Leaflets being handed out to members on Tuesday branded the Church’s attitude and processes to date a ‘safeguarding failure’.

The Church of England has a chance to “step away from secrecy and self-protection” when it votes on a new approach to how it handles safeguarding, an abuse lawyer has said.

Demonstrators including abuse survivors stood outside Church House in central London on Tuesday, pleading with members to vote for the more independent of two proposed models for safeguarding.

Leaflets being handed out branded the Church’s attitude and processes to date a “safeguarding failure”.

The two models for independent safeguarding are being presented to Synod – the Church’s parliament – following reviews in recent years by former chairwoman of the national Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) Professor Alexis Jay, and barrister Sarah Wilkinson.

This five-day session of Synod is the first sitting since the resignation of the archbishop of Canterbury Justin…

The Church of England risks further crisis if it fails to adopt a sweeping new independent system to keep people safe, the former head of a national inquiry into child sexual abuse has said.

The Church’s national assembly will vote later on Tuesday on options to radically change its safeguarding processes.

One of the systems being considered is based on a model proposed by Prof Alexis Jay, who was asked by the Church for her input.

But some members of the Church have cast doubts about the system that comprehensively hands the process for dealing with abuse allegations to an outside organisation.

The resignation of the former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby over his handling of a prolific abuser and questions about Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell’s handling of another case have added a sense of urgency to make changes.

• I know I have made mistakes, says under-fire archbishop

…

A ‘huge process of culture change’ must take place, says lead safeguarding bishop

SOME of those who knew of the abuse perpetrated by John Smyth have been “lying”, a survivor told the General Synod on Monday evening. He urged them to come forward to explain their actions, warning: “If the Church of England does not show moral leadership then she will die.”

Before debating a motion that repented safeguarding failures and urged the Church’s leaders to “redouble” efforts to improve practice, members listened to statements from four Smyth survivors offering diverse perspectives. These were read out by the Bishop of Birkenhead, the Rt Revd Julie Conalty, who is the deputy lead safeguarding bishop.

The first told members: “You are all witnesses and all to some extent complicit in failing victims so catastrophically by inaction, by lack of resolve, by failing to ensure process is changed and justice pursued relentlessly.”

Another said: “I unreservedly…

The Church of England must choose to make its safeguarding processes independent to “restore trust” among abuse survivors, its parliament has heard ahead of a significant vote on the issue.

General Synod members are choosing a new model for how abuse allegations are handled, but views have differed on how independent it should be.

Of the two being presented on Tuesday one, known as model four, would see all safeguarding officers currently working in dioceses, cathedrals and the national Church transferred to work for a new independent organisation.

Yes, it will be expensive and complex but…we are a ridiculously complex institution. But we, Synod, are the lawmakers. We can change thatMiranda Threlfall-Holmes, Archdeacon of Liverpool

This is the option generally favoured by abuse survivors, with a lawyer supporting some who gathered ahead of the meeting in central London saying it is a chance for the Church to “step away from…

A former teacher at a church in Derwood was convicted Monday of sexual abuse of a minor and other sex offenses in Montgomery County Circuit Court in Rockville, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

Ervin Jeovany Alfaro-Lopez, 34, of Germantown pleaded guilty to one count of sex abuse of a minor and three counts of third-degree sex offense, the statement said. He faces up to 55 years in prison and is expected to be sentenced on Aug. 28.

A public defender representing Alfaro-Lopez, who is being held in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Boyds, did not immediately respond to Bethesda Today’s request for comment Monday.

In March, Alfaro-Lopez was arrested and charged with sexually abusing multiple minors in connection with reports by four victims about incidents that occurred at the church between 2016 and 2018, Montgomery County police said in a statement. At the time, police…

The B.C. teacher had worked at Newfoundland’s notorious Mount Cashel orphanage where Christian Brothers abused many boys in their care.

A $3.4-million settlement has been reached between a man sexually abused by a member of the notorious Christian Brothers and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Prince George and Burnaby’s St. Thomas More Collegiate.

The complainant, known as John Doe in a B.C. Supreme Court notice of civil claim, alleged O’Grady Catholic High School teacher Alfred Patrick Quigley sexually and psychologically abused him from 1991 until 1994.

“Abuse such as that which I endured has silenced not only victims but families and communities for generations as the traumatic injuries endured confound and wound in measures that are still being fully understood,” Doe said in a statement released to Glacier Media by his lawyer Sandra Kovacs.

“With this settlement and the work that has gone into reaching it, my communities now include a slice of the…

The Archbishop of York admitted he has ‘made mistakes’ as he addressed the Church of England’s ruling body yesterday at a time of unprecedented crisis for the Church.

Stephen Cottrell, the de facto leader of the CofE, faced the wrath of clergy as he survived a vote to stop him from giving a customary address at the opening of General Synod on Monday.

A third of Synod members declined to give Archbishop Cottrell their backing when voting on the motion arguing that his position is ‘no longer tenable’.

After surviving the vote, Archbishop Cottrell used his presidential address to admit that the Church has ‘failed greatly’ and acknowledged that ‘trust has been broken and confidence damaged’.

But despite this he suggested that he will not step aside – adding that he will ‘commit myself’ to ‘lead and serve the Church of England for the sake of this nation and the…

From Peru to Argentina and from the United Kingdom or Thailand; Catholic or Anglican, clergy sexual abuse is a global phenomenon.

In Peru, there is a drive to suppress the Sodalitium, but in Argentina there is little evidence of even symbolic measures being taken against sexual abuse.

In the UK, the Church of England suffers as much as the Catholic which, in Thailand, dismisses the complaints and warnings from faithful trying to prevent clergy sexual abuse.

Last week, the clergy sexual abuse crisis had two major developments. One coming from the Roman Catholic Church has to do with the Peruvian Sodalitium of Christian Life. Other came from the Anglican Church with new revelations about John Smyth’s case and the resignation of yet another bishop in that denomination.

But also, Thailand offers a new example of how dismissive the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church is when warned about potential risks…

The ruling that church’s accountability doesn’t cross state lines deals a blow to victims seeking justice under New Jersey’s Child Victims Act.

New Jersey’s Supreme Court ruled the Archdiocese of Philadelphia cannot be held liable for a priest’s alleged 1971 abuse in Margate. This file photo shows the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the headquarters of the archdiocese.

In a blow for clergy sex abuse victims, the New Jersey State Supreme Court has ruled that a Catholic archdiocese’s accountability for an alleged predatory priest does not cross state lines.

The decision arose from the case of an Illinois man who accused Michael J. McCarthy, a priest in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1965 until he was defrocked in 2006, of molesting him during an overnight stay in Margate in 1971, when he was 14 and a member of McCarthy’s parish.

The…

A message to the faithful of eastern Washington,

This week, state lawmakers are once again attempting to enact laws, Senate Bill 5375 and House Bill 1211, which seek to force priests to violate the Seal of Confession if child abuse is revealed within the celebration of the sacrament. In light of this, I wish to reiterate my previous statement regarding this matter:

I want to assure you that your shepherds, bishop and priests, are committed to keeping the seal of confession – even to the point of going to jail. The Sacrament of Penance is sacred and will remain that way in the Diocese of Spokane.

For those legislators who question our commitment to the safety of your children, simply speak with any mom who volunteers with a parish youth group, any Catholic school teacher, any dad who coaches a parochial school basketball team or any priest, deacon or…

Washington State’s legislature is currently considering a bill that would require Catholic priests to report any admission of child abuse during confession. The law would require priests to break the seal of confession in such cases, which the Catholic Church views as an offense for which a priest can be immediately excommunicated. Now the bishop of Spokane is calling on Catholics to vote against the bill. 

The bill, introduced by six Democratic senators, would amend a current law that requires the reporting of child abuse in professional positions like those in law enforcement, teachers, doctors, and childcare providers, to include church clergy members. It is not just aimed at Catholics, but also includes religious leaders of all faiths. The bill reads: 

“The amended law would apply to any “ordained minister, priest, rabbi, imam, elder, or similarly situated religious or spiritual leader of any church, religious denomination, religious…

The Catholic church on Long Island says it has taken major steps to protect children from clergy sex abuse and is seeing real progress some two decades after the worst scandal in its history erupted.

The Diocese of Rockville Centre said new measures, such as automatically reporting all allegations to law enforcement, have created one of the safest environments anywhere for children. They point to dramatically falling numbers of reported current cases as evidence the policies are working.

The diocese said it immediately removes from ministry any clergy member accused of sexual abuse when allegations have been deemed credible by law enforcement or church-hired investigators — and announces it at Sunday Masses in the priest’s or deacon’s parish in front of often-stunned parishioners.

It reports all allegations, regardless of whether they are initially deemed credible, to the local district attorney for potential criminal prosecution, the diocese said. And it has put some 160,000 clergy, employees and…