ABUSE TRACKER

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,”…

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SOUTHLAKE – A private investigation into allegations that Gateway Church founder Robert Morris had a sexual relationship with a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s has uncovered a massive failure involving former church leadership.

The investigation, which the church said now involves law enforcement, also revealed that others knew of Morris’ relationship with the underage girl and failed to ask additional questions.

“We must be honest with ourselves and acknowledge that our culture allowed this truth to be buried for too long,” Tra Willbanks, an elder at Gateway Church, said during its regularly scheduled worship service Saturday.

Four church elders who had information about Morris’ relationship — Kevin Grove, Thomas Miller, Jeremy Carrasco and Gayland Lawshe — were removed following the investigation.

Willbanks called it a “massive governance and accountability failure.”00:0002:00Read More

“When a church becomes centered around one pastor alone, it’s lost its way,” Willbanks said. “And unfortunately,…

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The removals are latest fallout at one of the country’s largest evangelical Christian churches from allegations made in June against Gateway’s founding pastor, Robert Morris.

DALLAS (RNS) — Four elders at Gateway Church, whose senior pastor stepped down earlier this year, have been removed after the results of a law firm’s investigation of sexual abuse allegations against the pastor were announced in a sermon on Sunday (Nov. 3).

The removals are the latest responses by one of the country’s largest evangelical Christian churches to allegations brought by Cindy Clemishire in June that Gateway’s founding pastor, Robert Morris, 63, had molested her in the 1980s, when Morris was in his 20s and she was 12.

Soon afterward, also in June, the church retained law firm Haynes and Boone to conduct an investigation, which, church elder Tra Willbanks announced on Sunday, had found that all but three elders had been aware of…

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This guest essay reflects the views of Rick Hinshaw, former editor of The Long Island Catholic newspaper.

The settlement between the Diocese of Rockville Centre and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy should occasion, first and foremost, hope and prayers that those survivors might at long last experience at least some sense of justice.

Of course, that is tempered by the realization that the abusers themselves, and those who enabled them, are not the ones now paying the price. But hopefully, knowing that the institution within which they were abused is being held to account will impart some measure of healing, even as there can probably never be full closure for what has been for some a lifetime of damage — physical, emotional, familial, spiritual.

There can also never be full closure for the Church — and shouldn’t be, as Church leaders and Catholic faithful must be ever vigilant in…

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The Oscar winner plays a village coal merchant who discovers a secret about the local convent in the Irish drama ‘Small Things Like These’

Stories about Cillian Murphy, the Irish actor who won the Academy Award for his performance in “Oppenheimer,” often include extravagant descriptions of his eyes, calling them “dolphin pools” or “ocean eyes.”

But on a recent Zoom call to talk about his new movie, “Small Things Like These,” Murphy’s peepers looked pretty normal — a vivid blue, for sure, but otherwise ordinary — and the actor said he’d be happy to never discuss his image or appearance.

“I see myself as an actor, not a personality, and I think those are two distinct things,” said Murphy, whose indifference to celebrity is evident in his decision to live with his wife and two teenage sons in Ireland, not…

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Laurie Wilson alleges physical and sexual abuse from when she was a child attending St. James Parish School in the 1960s

Warning: This story contains details about sexual abuse that may be disturbing to some readers. 

A syilx Okanagan woman is taking the federal government and church authorities to B.C. Supreme Court, 60 years after her alleged abuse at a Vernon Catholic school. 

Laurie Wilson filed a notice of civil claim against the Attorney General of Canada, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Kamloops, the Catholic Public Schools of the Kamloops Diocese and the Sisters of Saint Ann on Oct. 23.

She attended St. James Parish School in Vernon from 1963 to 1970, and her civil action stems from the alleged psychological, spiritual, cultural, physical and sexual abuse she experienced there.

Despite the alleged abuse, Wilson has persevered in her life. She has five children, 11 grandchildren and one great grandchild. She graduated from law school at UBC in 2000 and…

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The allegation was the second made against Monsignor Michael J. Doyle, but the first to be deemed credible, the diocese announced Sunday. Doyle died in 1987.

TOLEDO, Ohio — An allegation of child sex abuse against a local priest has been deemed credible, the Diocese of Toledo announced Sunday.

The credible allegation was the second to be made against Monsignor Michael J. Doyle and dated back “over 65 years,” according to the diocese.

Doyle was an active priest with the diocese from 1925 until his retirement was granted in 1977. He died in 1987.

The allegation was referred to the independent Diocesan Review Board, which the diocese said consists of “civil officials, law enforcement, education, clinical and child/adolescent psychological treatment and child protective services.”

The board determined that there was enough information to substantiate the allegation against Doyle and recommended his name be added to the Diocese of Toledo’s  View Cache

As a tempest in a teapot, Tutela Minorum, the entity dealing with clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church published its first report.

The Roman Catholic Church global report fails to provide any hope of a much-needed measure of justice for the clergy sexual abuse victims.

Only one fifth of the bishops of Mexico answered an information request from Rome and, despite the claims in the report, there is no evidence that the 98 Roman Catholic dioceses in Mexico have a commission to prevent clergy sexual abuse.

By Rodolfo Soriano-Núñez

On Tuesday October 29th, at Rome, Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, the emeritus bishop of Boston, and other members of Tutela Minorum, the entity tasked with preventing clergy sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church presented their first annual report on the subject.

There was the general secretary of that entity, the auxiliary bishop of Bogotá, Colombia, View Cache

ALBANY, N.Y. (OSV News) — An award-winning, one-man play that made its U.S. public premiere in the Diocese of Albany was a breakthrough event, but not for reasons one might associate with a night at the theater.

The Oct. 20 presentation of “Groomed” gave its writer-performer, its audience and those who brought the project to life an opportunity to share intense, personal reflections about sexual abuse of children.

Patrick Sandford, whose acting portrayed the aftermath of abuse inflicted by his elementary school teacher in England, has explained he wrote the play as a kind of release from his own inner turmoil.

He said he hopes additional presentations now planned will continue to promote understanding, conversation, prevention and healing among victims of similar suffering and supporters of solutions.

Sandford’s performance of the 55-minute play was followed by heartfelt questions and answers in a modest classroom-theater on the Siena College campus in…

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The White House says President Joe Biden will apologize on behalf of the U.S. government Friday for its 150-year campaign to break up Native American culture, language and identity by forcing children into abusive Indian boarding schools.

More than 900 children died at the government-funded schools, the last of which closed or transitioned into different institutions decades ago. Their dark legacy continues to be felt in Native communities where survivors struggle with generational trauma from the torture, sexual abuse and hatred they endured.

Biden is expected to formally acknowledge the federal government’s role and apologize for it during an appearance at the Gila River Indian Community outside Phoenix.

A closer look at the federal boarding school system:

150 years of forced assimilation

Congress laid the framework for a nationwide boarding school system for Native Americans in 1819 under the 5th U.S. President, James Monroe, with legislation known as the Indian Civilization Act. It was…

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The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors released its first annual report October 29, detailing measures taken to combat sexual violence within the church. The document reveals uneven implementation across various countries worldwide.

This report has been eagerly awaited for more than two years, following Pope Francis’ request that the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors produce a comprehensive overview of the church’s efforts to address sexual abuse. Tutela Minorum – in Latin – published its first report October 29, assessing the adoption of measures by different church entities to combat sexual abuse against minors and vulnerable individuals.

The report presents findings based on interviews with church leaders during episcopal visits to Rome (known as ad limina) and questionnaires sent to stakeholders on the ground. It also issues numerous recommendations.

The approach contrasts with typical methods in Rome. Right from the start, the commission states that not all countries and organizations…

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Thomas Moriarty, 62, was serving as Associate Pastor at Church of the Holy Spirit in New Hyde Park before being accused of sexual abuse. 

A Long Island priest was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 22-year-old man last weekend, Nassau County Police announced on Friday.

Thomas Moriarty, 62, is accused of sexually abusing the victim in the early morning on Saturday, Oct. 26 in Oceanside. He is charged with forcible touching.

According to police, Moriarty works as the priest of the Church of the Holy Spirit, a Catholic congregation in New Hyde Park. His name has since been removed from the parish website.

Rev. Eric Fasano, a spokesperson for the Rockville Centre Diocese, said in an email to Newsday that “Father Moriarty has voluntarily stepped away from ministry and will not present himself as a priest while the required civil process and diocesan procedures are undertaken. The accusation…

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Attorneys representing three officials at a Catholic school in Mandan have filed motions with a judge to try to close public records relating to criminal cases against them that were dismissed under an agreement with a prosecutor.

The motions brought on behalf of David Fleischacker, Christine Fleischacker and Thomas Hoopes pertain to a criminal complaint naming the three as well as a priest, Josh Waltz, that resulted in a criminal charge being filed.

That complaint, prepared in June by a Mandan police detective, accuses all four people of failing to report sexual assaults allegedly committed by a teenage male student at the School of the Holy Family between 2020 and 2023. The school housed within the Church of St. Joseph in Mandan opened in 2020, educating students in grades 7-9, and expanded to include students in grades 10-12, according to the school’s website and student handbook.

The Fleischackers and Hoopes were all charged…

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The Sodalitium Christianae Vitae’s U.S. presence is based out of a Denver-area Catholic church

Aharon Andrés Cardona joined the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae as a teenager in Colombia in 1993 because he wanted to help others.

The secretive Catholic society, based in Peru, sought to mold upper-class, fair-skinned boys into “soldiers for God” through a combination of military-style training and theological study.

Cardona said he soon realized, however, that his mission to help others would come with years of physical and psychological abuse.

When he said or did something that his superiors didn’t like, the leader of his community, Daniel Cardó, now the priest of a Colorado parish, punched him repeatedly in the stomach or slapped him in the face, Cardona said in an interview from Colombia.

“He said I needed to act like a man,” he said.

Cardona and his comrades were constantly pushed to their physical limits through running, swimming, squats…

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Santa Margarita Catholic High School’s football program is being sued by a former player after he needed hospital attention following an alleged assault by a group of teammates

A football player at Santa Margarita Catholic High School in California has sued the football program after alleging he was assaulted by teammates on Sept. 24.

The 16-year-old student, who was 15 at the time, alleges he was attacked by teammates while he was in the school’s locker room getting ready for team practice. The case claims that the student was held on the ground by teammates who took turns assaulting the boy, and it resulted in his mother taking him to the emergency room.

The allegations have led to an investigation by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, but criminal charges aren’t yet being pursued as his parents are looking to resolve the incident with the school. The student…

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A priest in Massachusetts who had been placed on leave has admitted to sexual misconduct ahead of a planned student walkout over a lack of information regarding his removal from a school post. 

Students at St. Michael’s School in Fall River, Massachusetts, had organized a protest for Friday over Father Jay Mello’s removal months ago as pastor of the school and two churches.

Fall River Bishop Edgar da Cunha had said in a June letter to parishioners that Mello was removed after the diocese received an allegation of sexual misconduct regarding the priest. The diocese said at the time that there had been “no allegations of inappropriate conduct with minors.”

The Fall River Herald News reported on Thursday that students at St. Michael’s were planning a walkout over the lack of information on the case from the diocese. The protest was reportedly scheduled to take place…

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Emily Nutley, 42, has been indicted on six charges of sexual battery over her alleged sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student at St Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio

A Catholic high school teacher has been accused of sending nude photos to a student and having sex with him in her office.

Emily Nutley, 42, has been indicted on six charges of sexual battery, a third-degree felony, over her alleged sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student at St Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Nutley joined the all-boys school as a teacher in the fall semester of 2023 and became supervisor of a program for students needing academic support. The 17-year-old boy was on the program.

Hamilton County prosecutors allege that the relationship first began with the pair exchanging text messages, including sexually explicit messages and nude photographs of Nutley.

It then allegedly became physical in mid-November 2023 with the teacher…

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Youth pastor Charles Goff confessed to soliciting pictures of minors.

Another Southern Baptist Convention pastor is behind bars this week after church officials reported him for confessing to possessing child pornography. A statement from a Beltway Park Church pastor says the former youth pastor, Charles Goff, admitted to fellow pastors he was soliciting inappropriate photos from minors.

When asked about the firing of, and ultimately the arrest, of Goff, the Abilene church responded with a statement from Beltway Park Church Pastor David McQueen, saying, “In June 2024, we were made aware that a former volunteer with our youth ministry confessed to soliciting inappropriate photos and videos of minors online.”

According to a report from KTXS 12, an ABC News affiliate covering Abilene, Gogff was booked into the Taylor County Jail on child pornography charges and held on a $100,000 bond….

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Female members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (ICLSAL) experiencing sexual harassment and abuse in non-Catholic institutions, where they serve in Africa have been urged to speak out.

It emerged in the testimonies that Sr. Prof. Agnes Lucy Lando gathered for her book, “Moving into the Unreached Pastoral Frontiers: Making Visible the Impact of Catholic Sisters working in non-Catholic Institutions”, that women Religious serving in non-Catholic contexts are victims of sexual advances from their male seniors.

Those who spoke to the Kenyan member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Mary of Kakamega (SMK) who lectures at the Kenya-based Daystar University said that declining to these advances earned them public ridicule and other forms of unfair treatment, including being denied promotions at their workplaces.

In a Wednesday, October 30 discussion on Sr. Lando’s book, Pro. Mary Getui, who lectures at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) told women Religious…

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A pastor at a Long Island church has been arrested over accusations he sexually abused an adult male victim, according to police.

Nassau County police allege Thomas Moriarty, 62, who is a pastor at the Holy Spirit Church in New Hyde Park sexually abused a 22-year-old victim.

The alleged incident occurred Oct. 26 at 12:30 a.m. in Oceanside.

Moriarty was charged with a count of forcible touching, police said.

NBC New York has reached out to Moriarty’s church for comment.

Police are asking anyone who may have been a victim to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS or the Special Victims Squad at 516-573-4022. Police said callers can remain anonymous.

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A youth leader at Beltway Park Church has been arrested and charged with possession of child pornography.

According to court documents, a member of the church contacted Abilene Police with concerns regarding one of their youth leaders.

Documents state Charles Goff met with a fellow church member and admitted to struggling with pornography.

Goff specifically said he struggled with videos of teen girls 14-15 years old.

Detectives met with Goff and he admitted to soliciting nude pictures from teenage girls using various social media platforms.

Police state they found three pornographic videos of young girls on Goff’s phone.

Goff was booked into the Taylor County Jail with a $100,000 bond.

The church released the following statement Wednesday evening:

Dear Beltway Park Family,

This is a difficult letter for me to write, but it is important. At Beltway, we have always

prioritized…

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A controversial bill in Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly has put the Catholic Church and lawmakers at odds over the sanctity of confession versus child protection laws. The proposed “Law Against Silence in Sexual Crimes Against Children and Persons with Disabilities” would require Catholic priests to break the seal of confession to report sexual crimes, prompting strong opposition from Church leaders who say they will defy the law if passed.

The bill, presented by Frente Amplio (FA) Congressman Antonio Ortega, aims to combat inaction on sexual crimes across various social settings. The legislation would specifically require priests to report crimes revealed during confession, a practice Catholics consider sacred and inviolable.

Church Leaders Voice Strong Opposition to Proposed Legislation

Representatives of the Episcopal Conference of Costa Rica, Priests Mauricio Granados and Ricardo Cerdas, strongly opposed the measure, warning that breaking “the vow of silence made to God” could result in excommunication…

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Earlier this week, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors released its first Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding. Bishop Knestout, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People issued a statement welcoming the information highlighted in the report.

Earlier this week, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors released its first Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding. Bishop Barry C. Knestout of Richmond, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People issued a statement welcoming the information highlighted in the report.

“The Commission’s report underscores the importance that our Holy Father has placed on fighting the scourge of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church globally. I am grateful to the work of the Commission in its call for the Church to be in solidarity with survivors as we continue to build…

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The building has officially been auctioned by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Christ the King Seminary has officially been auctioned off for $4.2 million through U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

The 117-acre site on Knox Road in the Town of Aurora was sold to a different religious group called the World Mission Society Church of God.

The seminary formerly used to educate Catholic priests before its closure in 2020, and was placed on the market almost exactly one year ago in November 2023. The initial list price was $5.3 million.

World Mission Society Church of God is set to close on the property in a matter of weeks, according to the Diocese of Buffalo. This is not the aggressive timeline cited in court of 2-12 days they said.

The religious group founded in South Korea in 1964 was first floated as a potential buyer back in July 2024, raising questions about its history.

…

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[Includes a three-minute video interview with survivors’ attorney Celeste Laramie, not transcribed in the printed article, which discusses the bankruptcy’s stay on litigation, the process for filing a proof of claim, and the diocese’s interest in foreclosing claims filed after the bankruptcy is completed.]

It has been nearly a month since the Diocese of Burlington filed for Bankruptcy, faced with ongoing sexual abuse lawsuits and the prospect of millions in future settlements.

The Diocese says it is currently facing 31 sexual abuse lawsuits and is concerned it won’t be able to pay out settlements. It comes as the Diocese has settled 67 lawsuits since 2006 totaling nearly $40 million.

What is the future of the child sex abuse lawsuits still in the legal system that haven’t been resolved?

We spoke with Celeste Laramie, an attorney with the law firm Gravel & Shea, who represents some of the survivors of…

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The Rev. William Killeen served in several south suburban parishes during his career.

A retired priest accused of sexual abuse over 40 years ago has been reinstated after an investigation by the Chicago Archdiocese.

The Rev. William Killeen was accused of sexually abusing a minor while assigned to St. Patricia Parish in Hickory Hills over 40 years ago, the archdiocese said.

The Archdiocese Independent Review Board found there was not a reasonable cause to believe Killeen sexually abused a minor and recommended he be reinstated to the ministry. Killeen was removed from ministry after the allegation was made in October 2023.

“The welfare of the children entrusted to our care is our paramount consideration,” Cardinal Blase Cupich wrote in letters announcing Killeen’s reinstatement to eight parishes where he worked throughout his career. “At the same time, I am committed to restoring the good name of those so accused if the…

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Judges have rejected two Jane Does’ efforts to anonymously bring sexual assault lawsuits against Sean “Diddy” Combs in rulings that highlight the challenges of using pseudonyms, and according to some plaintiffs’ lawyers, could have a chilling effect on future actions.

Two federal judges overseeing lawsuits brought by Jane Does against Combs rejected their efforts to continue anonymously, saying in both cases the women did not establish that their concerns about harm outweighed Combs’ right to know his accuser and defend himself or the public’s interest in open trials. If the women want their lawsuits to proceed, the judges ruled, they will have to file them under their real names.

“It almost certainly means that fewer plaintiffs will be willing to come forward, among them individuals with the most traumatic experiences. Those are the survivors who typically are the most concerned about being identified for obvious reasons,” said Roberta Kaplan, an attorney…

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How could a convicted sex offender end up on a Cleveland Catholic church’s altar leading songs, standing right next to the bishop? It’s a question that led to the removal of a local pastor and has victims’ advocates raising concerns.

“For 20 years the bishops around the United States have promised better accountability, better oversight. Clearly, it doesn’t work,” said Claudia Vercellotti from the group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

Two decades after the Boston Globe’s Spotlight investigation that exposed a child sexual abuse crisis, News 5 Investigators took a new, in-depth look at the Cleveland Diocese and its leadership.

In 2020, Cleveland’s Bishop Edward Malesic arrived here in Northeast Ohio from a diocese in Pennsylvania that had just been hit with a child sex abuse lawsuit.

MALESIC NAMED AS LEADER OF DIOCESE

Let’s be clear here. Malesic has not been accused of sexually abusing children, but…

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Richard Henning was named the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Boston in a South End installation ceremony at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

He is the 10th bishop and seventh archbishop of the city, and took on the role at an event held before hundreds of religious and lay guests at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

Henning is taking the helm from Cardinal Sean O’Malley, who is retiring after serving as archbishop of the nation’s fourth-largest archdiocese for 21 challenging years. Much of his tenure was dominated by fallout from the clergy sex-abuse crisis.

As the procession began, Henning knocked three times on the cathedral’s doors and was welcomed in by O’Malley, who embraced Henning with a hug.

The guests included Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, five additional cardinals, five archbishops, more than 50 bishops, and nearly 500 priests, religious, deacons, seminarians, and the…

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Bishop Edgar da Cunha said Thursday that the Rev. Jay Mello “recently admitted to serious misconduct” while on leave and under investigation. 

Da Cunha revealed the information in a letter dated Oct. 31 released to parishioners and provided to The Herald News. 

Mello was placed on administrative leave in June after the diocese began an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct with an adult. He initially denied the allegations. 

The diocese normally does not disclose the status of investigations while they are underway; the bishop took the unusual step of writing the letter a day before parishioners and students at St. Michael’s School planned to protest outside the Diocese of Fall River headquarters, seeking information about the investigation. 

“While I would not normally provide this detailed of an update until the conclusion of the investigation, I am prompted to do so because…

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[Includes brief video containing interview excerpts not transcribed in the printed story.]

After 60 years, Syilx Okanagan woman Laurie Wilson is taking her story of alleged abuse to B.C.’s highest court.

From 1963 to 1970 Wilson attended St James Parish School in Vernon, B.C., which accepted both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. She says the Catholic school dehumanized Indigenous children while stripping them of their culture.

“I never thought I was anything but a beautiful little girl, very loved, I never thought there was anything wrong with me. But in the first week I knew what was wrong with me,” said Wilson.

“It was blatantly said that we didn’t have the same brains as the other kids, that we were heathens, we didn’t have souls.”

The lawsuit filed Friday at the BC Supreme Court against the federal government and the Kamloops Diocese details the alleged abuse Wilson suffered.

“Telling the plaintiff her skin…

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Dr Teresa Kettelkamp, Adjunct Secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, gives an overview of the Commission’s “Pilot Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding.”

“Victims want to be heard and victims want justice,” says Dr Teresa Kettelkamp, as she explains some of the findings of the “Pilot Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding,” published Tuesday by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

In an interview with Vatican News, Dr Kettelkamp, the Adjunct Secretary for the Commission, says the Report is a “tool… a snapshot of what the Church’s status is with regard to safeguarding and reaching out to survivors.”

“One finding” she is pleased with, she says, “is the desire to develop safeguarding mechanisms for the Church as universal.” Acknowledging the challenges that remain, Dr Kettelkamp says the Church already has “a safeguarding mentality,” but needs to develop a…

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The Washington Attorney General’s office says Catholic Church records related to child sex abuse do not qualify for religious exemption and should be made public.

That’s according to a recent appeal to overturn a previous decision that prevented investigators from subpoenaing Catholic Church records. That lower court decision, issued by a King County Superior Court judge, said the records were protected under the state’s Charitable Trust Act.

In the filing, the AG’s office argues that the religious exemptions don’t apply to secular misconduct like child sex abuse, and the ruling conflicts with other laws.

“The stakes in this case are profound. At issue is not only the AGO’s ability to investigate the misuse of charitable trust funds to conceal and facilitate something as horrific as child sex abuse, but also the fundamental principle that no institution—religious or otherwise—should be above the law when Washingtonians’ fundamental right to freedom from sexual…

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A fortnight ago, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced US$880 million would be given as compensation to 1,353 victims of clergy sexual abuse (CSA). Added to earlier settlements, the amount totals US$1.5 billion, reportedly the largest single child sex abuse settlement by a Catholic archdiocese.

In contrast, a deafening silence envelops CSA in Asia. Bishops in Asia have not yet acknowledged CSA as an issue to be tackled. Those who worked closely with the bishops say in most cases, bishops cover each other’s backs and silence survivors and their supporters.

According to woman theologian Virginia Saldanha, former executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India Women’s Commission, the Indian Church exemplifies how bishops stifle discussion about gender equality and CSA.

During her time with the bishops’ conference, she said she “tried to speak up about CSA, but was terminated after my first term. A nun who would…

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In a solemn ceremony layered with joy, regret, and ancient ritual, Archbishop Richard Henning was installed Thursday as the seventh archbishop of the Archdiocese of Boston before 1,400 religious and lay guests who filled the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

The installation ritual and Mass marked the end of Cardinal Seán O’Malley’s 21 challenging years as archbishop, a tenure dominated by fallout from the clergy sexual abuse scandal, and the beginning of a new chapter under Henning, 60, the former bishop of Providence.Related: Cardinal O’Malley’s complicated legacy: challenge, turmoil, and successes

“This church of Boston, it is in a very real sense a wounded church because of the failure to act with compassion and healing,” Henning said in his homily. “Sins against the innocent. We have seen over these decades a passionate effort to protect the vulnerable, but still we feel the weight of those wounds.

“And we owe a…

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Cardinal Seán O’Malley, archbishop of Boston and president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, stressed that “celibacy is not the cause of pedophilia” but highlighted the need for more reforms within the Church to adopt a victim-centered approach to better safeguard children.

Following the presentation of the first annual report on safeguarding released by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors on Tuesday, O’Malley stated that he has “never seen any serious studies that have indicated that celibacy and sexual abuse is related.”

“Yes, we are aware of the incredible damage that [pedophilia] has done to the credibility of the Church and our ability to have a prophetic voice in society,” the cardinal said in response to a journalist’s question on a potential “link between celibacy and sex abuse” at the Oct. 29 press briefing.

“And that only underscores the urgency of the Church…

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On October 31, the Archdiocese of Boston welcomes its new archbishop, Bishop Richard Henning. He succeeds Cardinal Sean O’Malley, appointed in 2003 during a crisis involving sexual abuse cases. Since the bombshell revelations of abuse, the archdiocese has been slowly rebuilding trust.

Cynthia will never forget January 2002. At the time, she was a student at Boston College, the Jesuit university in the archdiocese. Every day on her way to class, she passed by the residence of Cardinal Bernard Law, then-Archbishop of Boston, who died in 2017. “Every day, there were protestors with signs in front of his house. There was so much anger and pain.”

On January 6, 2002, The Boston Globe published an investigation whose impact reverberated far beyond America. The newspaper revealed that 130 children had been abused by former priest John Geoghan and that the Catholic hierarchy had covered up these crimes by moving the priest from parish…

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An award-winning, one-man play that made its U.S. public premiere in the Diocese of Albany was a breakthrough event, but not for reasons one might associate with a night at the theater.

The Oct. 20 presentation of “Groomed” gave its writer-performer, its audience and those who brought the project to life an opportunity to share intense, personal reflections about sexual abuse of children.

Patrick Sandford, whose acting portrayed the aftermath of abuse inflicted by his elementary school teacher in England, has explained he wrote the play as a kind of release from his own inner turmoil.

He said he hopes additional presentations now planned will continue to promote understanding, conversation, prevention and healing among victims of similar suffering and supporters of solutions.

Sandford’s performance of the 55-minute play was followed by heartfelt questions and answers in a modest classroom-theater on the Siena College campus in Loudonville.

The Hope and Healing…

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In 2002, the Archdiocese of Boston was reeling, battered by a devastating sexual abuse-crisis, its face that of an aloof cardinal, Bernard F. Law, whose obstructionist response to the scandal seemed as out of touch as his palatial mansion in Brighton.

Law resigned in disgrace, replaced in summer 2003 by Archbishop Sean O’Malley, an introspective Capuchin friar whose plain appearance and humble demeanor offered a striking contrast to his strong-willed, regal predecessor.

The jarring optics carried a message for the faithful: A forceful, dismissive prince of the church had been succeeded by a quiet, empathetic man dressed simply in brown robe and sandals.

“I know how surprised people were, beginning with myself, when a scruffy bearded Capuchin in his bare feet was not exactly what people were suspecting,” O’Malley said at a fund-raiser for archdiocesan priests in September.

The 80-year-old O’Malley is now retiring as head of the archdiocese, his…

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A former principal at a Christian boarding school faces charges of child sexual abuse and a former teacher pled guilty to child abuse and neglect. Both men worked at Lighthouse Christian Academy – now closed – in Piedmont.

According to attorney Rebecca Randles, the Academy’s former principal, Craig Wesley Smith Jr., faces felony charges of forcible rape, forcible sodomy, sexual contact with a student, abuse or neglect of a child, and harassment. His arraignment is set for October 31, 2024.

Former Lighthouse Christian Academy teacher Caleb Sandoval was sentenced to five years probation after pleading guilty to abuse or neglect of a child.

According to Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), victims feel encouraged by the developments.

SNAP Missouri volunteer director David Clohessy said the fight is not over.

“I’d like to stress that a charge is not a conviction,” Clohessy said. “When somebody who mistreats kids faces…

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Members of the pope’s anti-abuse watchdog body have said they find long wait times for victims who have lodged a complaint with church authorities, coupled with a lack of information available on their cases, to be of great concern, with one survivor calling the situation “retraumatizing.”

Speaking to journalists Oct. 29, Chilean abuse survivor Juan Carlos Cruz said the issue of transparency is “something very near and dear to me, because I lived it personally.”

“This non-providing of information is a form of re-trauma for many survivors, who have no idea where their case of abuse went, into what dark hole, and where they can find information,” he said.

Cruz, who is a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM), was present alongside other members of the group for the presentation of their first annual report examining safeguarding efforts around the world.

The report, published Tuesday,…

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Chris MacLean recently settled a civil claim against the Catholic church

WARNING: This article contains references to sexual abuse and may affect those who have experienced​ ​it or know someone who has.

Chris MacLean says he knew he wanted to come forward and share his story five years ago after watching the Canadian documentary Prey about priest abuse.

MacLean says he was sexually abused by Father Joseph Nelligan in 1979 at Most Precious Blood Parish in Windsor, Ont. Nelligan was also MacLean’s priest at F.J. Brennan High School during that time.

• Video’Prey’: A documentary by Windsor director shines a light on sexual abuse by priests

After watching the documentary in Toronto, he pulled aside southwestern Ontario sexual assault lawyer Rob Talach and confided him in saying he “couldn’t live this lie anymore.”

“He’s the first person I ever told,” said MacLean. “I had only known him 10 minutes … and…

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1st report from Vatican commission on clerical sexual abuse criticized for lack of data

A decade after it formed, a Vatican commission on clerical sexual abuse issued its first of what is to become an annual report on Tuesday and met immediate criticism, the New York Times reports. “I understand that it won’t satisfy everybody and it won’t satisfy survivors,” said Juan Carlos Cruz, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and also an abuse survivor. “It’s a start.” Commission members have described a troubling lack of data in many countries. More:

• The commission: Created in 2014, its purpose is to advise the papacy on how to protect the vulnerable from clerical sexual abuse. Last year, Pope Francis also charged the commission with ensuring countries follow a new church law about reporting and combating the problem.

• What the report says: It is “not intended as an…

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Phil Johnson, a pastor at John MacArthur’s Grace Community Church (GCC), stated five weeks ago that the woman with whom Steve Lawson “had a 5-year relationship” lived “nowhere close to any of the ministries Steve served.”

However, when recently accused of lying, Johnson admitted in an email that the woman was “a student at The Master’s College (University) during some of the time that (she and Lawson) were engaged in this adulterous affair.”

Lawson, a former dean at GCC’s The Master’s University and Seminary (TMUS) and a teaching pastor at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas, was removed from his church in September due to “an inappropriate relationship” with a woman.

Since then, there has been much speculation on social media regarding the identity of the woman and whether Lawson’s “affair” classifies as clergy sexual abuse.

To date, Trinity Church, TMUS, and GCC have not…

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• Summary

• Vatican handling of abuse cases seen too slow, secretive
• First commission report makes numerous recommendations
• Commission criticised in the past for being toothless
• Abuse tracking group says new report is ‘window dressing’

The Catholic Church must do a better job of handling compensation for the victims of clergy sexual abuse, the Vatican’s child protection commission said in its first annual report on Tuesday.

For decades, the Church has been shaken by scandals across the world involving paedophile priests and the cover-up of their crimes, damaging its credibility and costing it hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.

The commission said compensation went beyond money, including “a much broader spectrum of actions … such as acknowledging mistakes, public apologies, and other forms of true fraternal closeness to victims/survivors”.

Pledging to work for the introduction of “standardised and known procedures … in a more comprehensive way”, it said it would delve deeper into the…

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The lead pastor of an Arlington church returned to the pulpit this weekend three months after turning himself in to face charges of sexual assault and indecent assault, stemming from alleged sexual advances toward a member of his church. 

Ronnie Goines did not appear to directly address the accusations against him when he returned to the stage at the Koinonia Christian Church for a Bible study session Thursday night nor for Sunday service. However other pastors speaking at the services urged members to bless and pray for the lead preacher.

The church announced Goines’ return in a video trailer set to music and posted on YouTube Thursday. 

Arlington Police arrested Goines, 51, in late July after a female church member reported he had tried to kiss and touch her despite her objections during two encounters in March 2023. 

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, the woman said the pastor…

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[Editor’s Note: On Oct. 28, Crux published an article by Elise Ann Allen regarding a priest who was recently expelled from the Sodalitium of Christian Life, a movement based in Peru, in which she quotes two named sources accusing the priest of either sexual abuse or cover-up. In response, the priest in question, Fr. Jaime Baertl, submitted the following letter, which we are publishing in full. For the record, Crux stands by the story.]

Mr. John L. Allen, Jr.

Editor of Crux

Dear Mr. Allen:

I am writing you regarding the article published today by journalist Elise Ann Allen on your news agency under the headline “Peruvian priest ousted from order accused of sex abuse, coverup”.

First, it is important to state that Mrs. Elise Ann Allen sent me a request for clarification at 12:42 am (the early morning of today, Monday, October 28) as stated in the e-mail that I attach. Only…

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The Meachum board recently posted a statement on its website announcing that it is investigating Bantu.

“We, the Meachum community, have been disheartened by these allegations, yet we take them seriously,” the board said. “As promised, investigations are underway. Dr. Bantu has been put on leave.”

The board assured that the school is “even more committed to the theological proliferation of orthodoxy and Black flourishing as we proclaim Jesus to the nations.”

It added that it hopes to have reports to share from the investigation in “the coming weeks.”

TRR reached out to Beloved Community Church and Meachum for further comment but did not hear back prior to publication.

Pastor, author, and scholar, Vince Bantu, has been fired as a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, following allegations of polygamy that first surfaced five months ago.

“Fuller Seminary terminated the employment of Professor Vince Bantu this morning following the…

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A former principal at a Christian boarding school in Missouri that closed in March amid abuse allegations has been charged with sex crimes involving a former student.

Craig Wesley Smith Jr. was charged by the prosecutor in Wayne County in September with forcible sodomy and attempted forcible rape, court records show. He is accused of forcing a teenage girl to perform sex acts in the late 2000s when she was a student at Lighthouse Christian Academy in Piedmont, about 130 miles (209 kilometers) south of St. Louis.

A probable cause statement alleged that Smith told the girl he would kill her and “make it look like she committed suicide” if she told anyone.

Smith faces a hearing Thursday in Wayne County. Messages were left Tuesday with Smith and his attorney.

ABM Ministries operated the school, which claimed success in helping students who were troubled, learning-impaired or dealing with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or…

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After nearly 50 years in silence, Chris MacLean is ready to share his experience of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

MacLean, who now lives in Toronto, said he was taken advantage of by Father Joe Nelligan while attending Brennan High School in Windsor in 1979.

“It wasn’t just my parish priest who I saw on a weekly basis, and if I didn’t like him, I could just not go. He was at my high school,” MacLean told CTV News.

MacLean said the two had a close relationship and he admired Nelligan, which made the abuse “much harder” to digest.

“It was an inside job,” he said. “He knew me. He had my trust, and he eventually broke that trust.”

Following the abuse, MacLean, worried about how it would appear, buried the trauma deep within himself.

Over the years, MacLean said when he noticed instances of institutional abuse, he would…

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The Archdiocese of Dubuque has been named a defendant in a trio of civil cases alongside a former area priest previously charged with sexual abuse.

The lawsuits were filed this month in Charlotte County (Fla.) Circuit Court. The Archdiocese of Dubuque is listed as a defendant in all three cases alongside Leo Riley, who served as a priest in the Dubuque area in the ’80s and ’90s.

The civil complaints that spurred the three cases are not yet publicly available, though all three were filed the same day and list John Doe plaintiffs represented by the same attorney.

Riley, 68, of Port Charlotte, Fla., previously was charged in Iowa District Court of Dubuque County with five counts of second-degree sexual abuse stemming from allegations related to his time at a Dubuque parish in the 1980s.

Riley was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Dubuque in 1982 and served in…

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Chatham woman’s first novel tells the story of a young girl who was abused by a Catholic priest.

It’s been nearly two decades since news came to light about young girls being sexually assaulted by a Catholic priest while serving at churches in Southwestern Ontario and the cover-up by the church, but Renée D. Bondy hasn’t forgotten about it.

The Chatham woman’s first novel [non]disclosure, published by Second Story Press, tells the story of a young girl who was abused by a Catholic priest. Like many victims, she kept a dark secret for years before finding her voice.

When asked about the decision to write [non]disclosure, Bondy recalled writing articles for a Toronto Catholic newspaper on the trial of the late Fr. Charles Sylvestre, who pleaded guilty in a Chatham courtroom in 2006 to 47 charges of indecent assault, which occurred between 1954 and 1986 involving girls age eight to…

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After 40 years, the lies had to stop. 

If there was any question about whether movies can change lives, the documentary Prey by Windsor native Matt Gallagher is the answer.  

Prey, chronicling a fight for justice by survivors of a pedophile priest, returned to the Windsor International Film Festival on Monday after causing a sensation there in 2019. 

Monday’s screening included a Q-and-A with Gallagher and Chris MacLean, who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of his Windsor priest and barely spoke of it until he watched Prey 40 years later.  Article content

On Oct. 8, MacLean settled a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of London for the abuse perpetrated by Rev. Joe Nelligan in Windsor. 

“The documentary really touched me,” MacLean told the Star. “It was time to stop lying. Not telling the truth is no different than lying.

“For years, I didn’t tell people I knew that were strongly Catholic because…

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[See also the text of the PCPM report.]

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors released its first annual report October 29, detailing measures taken to combat sexual violence within the church. The document reveals uneven implementation across various countries worldwide.

This report has been eagerly awaited for more than two years, following Pope Francis’ request that the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors produce a comprehensive overview of the church’s efforts to address sexual abuse. Tutela Minorum – in Latin – published its first report October 29, assessing the adoption of measures by different church entities to combat sexual abuse against minors and vulnerable individuals.

The report presents findings based on interviews with church leaders during episcopal visits to Rome (known as ad limina) and questionnaires sent to stakeholders on the ground. It also issues numerous recommendations.

The approach contrasts with typical methods in Rome. Right from the start, the…

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[See also the text of the PCPM report.]

Highlighting progress made in safeguarding and recommendations for rectifying ongoing gaps, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors dedicated its first annual report to all victims and survivors of sexual abuse by members of the Catholic Church.

“The commission’s work — including this report — is and always has been about recognition and inclusion of victims and survivors of abuse in the life of the church,” Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, president of the pontifical commission, said at a news conference at the Vatican Oct. 29.

“Your suffering and wounds have opened our eyes to the fact that as a church we have failed to care for victims, and that we didn’t defend you, and that we resisted understanding you when you needed us most,” he said.

“We praise your courageous testimony, and at the same time, we recognize that you are…

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[See also the text of the PCPM report.]

A Catholic group tasked with tackling the issue of clerical sexual abuse released a first-of-its-kind report Tuesday on its work over the past decade, sparking a new round of debate over what else should be done.

In the report, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors outlines its effort to improve abuse-related safeguards in Catholic churches around the world and to offer more support to sexual abuse victims.

“Nothing we do will ever be enough to fully repair what has happened,” said Cardinal Sean O’Malley, who leads the commission, at a news conference, according to The Associated Press. “But we hope that this report and those that will come, compiled with the help of victims and survivors at the center, will help to ensure the firm commitment that these events never happen again in the church.”

Critics of…

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[See also the text of the PCPM report.]

Vatican’s child protection commission delivers first report on scandal that has engulfed church for decades

Church leaders who fail to take action against paedophile priests are a “further source of evil” for victims of sexual abuse and should be removed from their posts, the Vatican’s child protection commission has said.

In its first report on a scandal that has embroiled the Catholic church for decades, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors said the church was still failing to ensure that clerical sexual abuse cases were dealt with adequately. It also criticised the Vatican office charged with processing complaints of being slow and secretive.

The commission was set up by Pope Francis in 2014 and its first report, published on Tuesday, focused on church protocol in 17 countries. Its publication comes a month after the pontiff was rebuked over the church’s…

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[See also the text of the PCPM report.]

The report is intended to assess efforts by the Roman Catholic Church to safeguard minors and others. Advocates for survivors called it an exercise in obfuscation.

Ten years after it was first established, a Vatican commission on clerical sexual abuse issued its first report on Tuesday, a limited step in self-accounting by some bishops that was immediately criticized by victims’ advocates as being toothless and lacking independent verification.

Since the clerical abuse scandal erupted into the mainstream media two decades ago, the church has struggled to put in place effective measures around the world to end abuse and hold the church hierarchy accountable when it was involved in covering up cases.

The Vatican group, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, was formed in 2014 to advise Pope Francis on how best to protect minors and vulnerable…

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A Lafayette district judge on Monday rejected attempts by the Diocese of Lafayette to dismiss some claims by an alleged victim of priest sexual abuse but ordered disclosure of the victim’s name to be filed under seal.

Lafayette attorneys Seth Mansfield and Collin Melancon filed a lawsuit in August in 15th Judicial Court in Lafayette on behalf of the alleged victim identified in court documents as “JM John Doe” against the Diocese of Lafayette and Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church in Lafayette.

Lafayette is believed to be the first place where a Catholic priest, Gilbert Gauthe, was convicted of child abuse and jailed in the 1980s, long before such cases became public elsewhere. Gauthe served 10 years of a 20-year sentence after admitting he abused more than 30 children in the 1970s and 1980s.

The state Supreme Court in June ruled that victims of clerical sexual abuse have  View Cache

[See also the text of the PCPM report.]

Pope Francis’ child protection board called Tuesday for victims of clergy sexual abuse to have greater access to information about their cases and the right to compensation, in the first-ever global assessment of the Catholic Church’s efforts to address the crisis.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors issued a series of findings and recommendations in its pilot annual report, zeroing in on the church in a dozen countries, two religious orders and two Vatican offices with detailed analysis.

In its most critical note, it called for greater transparency from the Vatican’s sex abuse office, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. It said the office’s slow processing of cases and secrecy were retraumatizing to victims, and its refusal to publish statistics or its own jurisprudence continues “to foment distrust among the faithful, especially the victim/survivor community.”

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[See also the text of the PCPM report.]

Parts of the Roman Catholic Church are still failing to ensure clerical sexual abuse is reported adequately, Pope Francis’ commission for child protection said Tuesday, raising concerns about a “lack of transparency” in the Vatican’s handling of cases.

In its first annual report, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors surveyed safeguarding protocols from bishops in 17 different parts of the world, along with how the Church’s central administration processes cases.

“At times, the commission found a troubling lack of reporting structures and victim/survivor accompaniment services,” the report said. “The commission found a persistent concern regarding the transparency in the Roman Curia’s (the church’s central administration) procedures and juridical processes. The commission notes that this will continue to foment distrust among the faithful, especially the victim/survivor community,” it added.

The report includes several recommendations including compensation for survivors, a…

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President’s historic remarks, alongside Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, given at Gila Crossing school near Phoenix

On Friday, Joe Biden formally apologized for the United States government’s role in running at least 523 Indian boarding schools. His remarks were given at the Gila Crossing community school outside of Phoenix, Arizona, and marked his first visit to Indian country as president.

“After 150 years, the United States government eventually stopped the program,” Biden said. “But the federal government has never, never formally apologized for what happened – until today. I formally apologize, as president of the United States of America, for what we did. I formally apologize. That’s long overdue.”

“Federal Indian boarding school policy, the pain it has caused, will always be a significant mark of shame, a blot on American history,” he said. “For too long, this all happened with virtually no public attention.”

Indian boarding schools were run with the…

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President Joe Biden apologized, opens new tab on Thursday for the U.S. government’s role in running abusive Native American boarding schools for more than 150 years, marking an acknowledgement of devastation the community endured for generations.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American to be a cabinet secretary, had launched a probe to recognize the troubled legacy of federal Indian boarding school policies. An investigative report, opens new tab by the department found that at least 973 children died in these schools.The federally-run Indian boarding school system was designed to assimilate Native Americans “by destroying Native culture, language and identity through harsh militaristic and assimilationist methods,” the White House said on Thursday.No U.S. president had formally apologized for that action until now.

KEY QUOTES

“The president also believes that to usher in the next era of the Federal-Tribal relationships we need…

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In short: 

John Patrick Casey has pleaded not guilty to three counts of sexual assault against a person under the age of 16.

The Catholic priest is alleged to have given a 14-year-old boy staying at his house an indecent massage.

What’s next?

The District Court jury trial is due to run for five days. 

A Catholic priest has appeared before Lismore District Court to face historical child sex abuse charges.

John Patrick Casey has pleaded not guilty to three counts of sexual assault against a person under the age of 16.

The charges relate to an alleged incident in 1982 at Father Casey’s home at Mallanganee in northern New South Wales. 

Father Casey was the parish priest at Mallanganee between 1981 and 1988.

In her opening address, the crown prosecutor told a jury of seven women and five men the case against the 76-year-old would rely on photos and…

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After a priest recently expelled from a Peru-based society has denied allegations of sexual abuse, two former members of the group have said he not only committed the abuse, but obstructed justice in the coverup of child pornography.

Father Jaime Baertl is one of 15 members expelled from the Peru-based Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV) in the past two months, including its founder, Peruvian layman Luis Fernando Figari.

For over a year the Vatican has been conducting an in-depth investigation into the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV), which for the past decade has undergone various reform efforts amid sweeping allegations of various forms of abuse, including the sexual abuse of minors, as well as financial corruption.

Baertl and fellow SCV member Juan Carlos Len were jointly expelled from the SCV Thursday, with a communique from the nunciature referring to “irregular and illicit” financial activities within SCV companies and organizations, as well as one allegation of sexual…

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“Only” is a very simple, four-letter word that means so much. Often used to quantify or put something in perspective, the word ‘only’ is helpful–But not always. When it’s used in connection with child sexual abuse, it’s, in fact, quite the OPPOSITE of helpful. It often hurts. It’s often used to MINIMIZE the horror of child sexual abuse. That almost inevitably adds even more pain to the already severe pain many victims of such heinous crimes already feel, even decades later.

We’ve all heard the word ‘only’ used in this dismissive, insensitive way:

• ‘Well, he only touched you once.’
• ‘He only took you on that one trip, right?’
• ‘Thank heavens it was only groping, and not penetration.’
• ‘We should be grateful that it was only one football player, not several.’
• “It could have been worse, right? You only spent the night over there once.”

But there’s an even WORSE way the word ‘only‘ is sometimes used. As wrong and hurtful…

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Pretend for a minute that you are named CEO of a large, well-respected chemical company. You suspect that for years, your predecessors dumped toxic materials in numerous unsuspecting communities in and around the area where you are headquartered and live.

Then, shortly after you assume your new post, you learn that your suspicions are well founded. Indeed, for years and years, your predecessors secretly and recklessly put dangerous chemicals in dozens and dozens of places. Some of which were the LAST places one would expect to find such public health threats.

Making matters worse, those dump sites were almost always near unsuspecting neighbors who were given no warning whatsoever. And when those neighbors voiced concerns, alarmed by rumors or reports of wrongdoing, your predecessors repeatedly misled or lied to those mothers and fathers living in close proximity to those many toxic locations, needlessly putting their children at risk.

This is…

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A man has been arrested for allegedly recording people inside a church in a Chicago suburb.

Police said the camera was hidden inside a women’s bathroom and it was there for months.

The 24-year-old man from Atlanta was arrested for illegally recording people inside World Mission Society Church in Bloomingdale, Illinois.

The DuPage County state’s attorney identified the man as Ramon Ochoa Garcia.

He now faces charges of unauthorized video recording of a person under 18 and unauthorized video recording without consent.

Investigators said Garcia put a small pen camera into a vent to record people in the women’s bathroom at the church.

Police said this started as early as Aug. 1.

A pastor at the church later found the pen and reported it to police.

Prosecutors believe there are at least 24 victims who were recorded, including two young girls.

A judge denied the prosecutor’s request to detain Garcia…

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A 50-year-old priest in Aligarh has been sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a five-year-old Dalit girl. The swift trial concluded in 30 days, with the court imposing a Rs 50,000 fine. The girl’s brother reported the crime, which led to the priest’s immediate arrest and subsequent conviction under multiple legal provisions.

A local court in Aligarh has sentenced a 50-year-old priest to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment after he was found guilty of raping a five-year-old Dalit girl. After the formal filing of charges on Sept 25, the conviction and sentencing were completed in 30 days. The court also imposed a Rs 50,000 fine on the convict.

On July 3, the child’s grandfather had filed a complaint with local police claiming that the girl along with her 8-year-old brother had gone to a nearby temple where the priest, who lived there, lured her with a promise of…

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Parishes and dioceses must move quickly to give life to the consultative bodies and broad participation in mission and ministry already foreseen by church law if the Catholic Church is to have any hope of becoming a more “synodal” church, members of the Synod of Bishops said.

“Without concrete changes in the short term, the vision of a synodal Church will not be credible and this will alienate those members of the People of God who have drawn strength and hope from the synodal journey,” the members said in the final document they approved Oct. 26.

Pope Francis convoked the synod in 2021 and called on parishes, dioceses and bishops’ conferences to hold listening sessions before the first synod assembly in Rome in 2023. The current assembly, including most of the same members, began with a Mass at the Vatican Oct. 2.

Members voted on each of the 155 paragraphs…

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A major Vatican summit of global Catholic leaders ended on Oct 26 with a call for women to be granted more leadership roles in the Church but stopped short of calling for women to be ordained as clergy.

The gathering, which included cardinals, bishops and lay people from more than 110 countries, also did not take a stand on inclusion of the LGBTQ community, despite discussion that it might call on the Church to be more welcoming.

Pope Francis called the month-long summit, known as a Synod of Bishops, to consider the future of the worldwide Church. It was the second of two gatherings, held a year apart, and featured closed-door discussions among 368 “members” with voting rights, including nearly 60 women.

Advocates for greater roles for women in the Church had hoped the synod might call for women to serve as deacons. In its final text,…

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In its final statement, the synod said “there is no reason or impediment that should prevent women from carrying out leadership roles in the church” — without specifying what the roles might be.

A Vatican assembly on the future of the Catholic Church on Saturday said that more should be done to help women overcome “obstacles” to taking a leadership roles within the Church.

Since October 2, the Assembly of the Synod, comprising 368 religious and lay people — including women — from about 100 countries, has held closed-door debates about rejuvenating the Roman Catholic Church.

It is a personal project of Pope Francis, 87, who will have the final say on any doctrinal changes.

But in a rare move, the pontiff on Saturday said he would directly adopt the consultative body’s proposals.

In its final statement, the synod said “there is no reason or impediment that…

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President Joe Biden did something Friday that no other sitting U.S. president has: He apologized for the systemic abuse of generations of Indigenous children endured in boarding schools at the hands of the federal government.

For 150 years the U.S. removed Indigenous children from their homes and sent them away to the schools, where they were stripped of their cultures, histories and religions and beaten for speaking their languages.

“We should be ashamed,” Biden said to a crowd of Indigenous people gathered at the Gila River Indian Community outside of Phoenix, Arizona, including tribal leaders, survivors and their families. Biden called the government-mandated system that began in 1819 “one of the most horrific chapters in American history,” while acknowledging the decades of abuse inflicted upon children and widespread devastation left behind.

For many Native Americans, the long-awaited apology was a welcome acknowledgment of the government’s longstanding culpability. Now,…

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Pope Francis set up the panel of experts in December 2014 amid an avalanche of revelations of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy across the world.

The pope’s commission on clerical child sex abuse said Friday it will publish its first annual report next week, a decade after the body was established.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors said the report coming on Tuesday would be a “first step” documenting “where risks remain, and where advances can be found”.

Pope Francis set up the panel of experts in December 2014 amid an avalanche of revelations of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy across the world, and subsequent cover-ups.

But, it has faced strong criticism over its organisation, funding and role, with numerous high-profile members quitting.

In 2022, Francis incorporated the body into the Roman Curia — the government of the Holy See — and asked for an annual, “reliable account…

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On the surface, it’s a prestige Oscar picture about the Catholic Church. But it’s actually a pulpy soap opera.

‘Conclave’ contains all the aspects of a Serious Oscar Contender. It’s about the Catholic Church, stars older, award-winning actors, fills every space with portentous orchestral music, and follows serious people having serious thoughts down seriously long corridors. But unlike, say, ‘Spotlight,’ which at its core was a drama about the church covering up sexual abuse of children, the scandals at the heart of Conclave are barely serious enough to bring down an Alabama Senatorial candidate, much less a candidate for Supreme Pontiff.

The movie hints around at the actual problems with the modern church–that it covers up, again,  the sexual abuse of children and that a very recent Pope had an active membership in the Nazi Party as a youth–and instead mostly focuses on stuff that Donald Trump’s lawyers could persuade…

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A meeting four years in the making said the ordination of women required further study, but it called for women to have more leadership roles, even in seminaries.

A monthlong meeting of Catholic bishops and lay people at the Vatican ended on Saturday with a call for women to be given more leadership roles in the church. But on the question of whether women could be ordained as deacons, the church said the possibility “remains open” and required further meditation.

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg, one of the top officials at the meeting, said at a news conference on Saturday night that allowing female deacons was a delicate issue, and that the meeting, known as a synod, had not deliberated for or against it.

“The question remains open,” he said, adding that the pope had signed the document approving the meeting’s findings. “Who am I to contradict the Holy Father?”

…

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A major Vatican summit of global Catholic leaders ended on Saturday (October 26) with a call for women to be granted more leadership roles in the Church but stopped short of calling for women to be ordained as clergy.

The gathering, which included cardinals, bishops and lay people from more than 110 countries, also did not take a stand on inclusion of the LGBTQ community, despite discussion that it might call on the Church to be more welcoming.

Pope Francis called the month-long summit, known as a Synod of Bishops, to consider the future of the worldwide Church. It was the second of two gatherings, held a year apart, and featured closed-door discussions among 368 “members” with voting rights, including nearly 60 women.

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The pope’s “Synod on Synodality” ended Saturday without progress on female deacons, married priests or LGBTQ+ outreach.

The Vatican’s most highly anticipated gathering since the 1960s ended Saturday with the thorniest issues facing the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics largely unanswered.

The Synod of Bishops, which met in October 2023 and again this month, pledged administrative changes that could give more power to local dioceses. But it referred questions on the ordination of female deacons, further outreach to the LGBTQ+ community and married priests for further study.

The outcome calmed the fears of church conservatives that Pope Francis’s “Synod on Synodality” would serve as a smokescreen for radical change while leaving liberals, who had seen it as their best opportunity since Vatican II to promote reform, empty-handed for now.

“It’s hard to say whether this synod has actually taken any decision,” said Massimo Faggioli, a Catholic theologian at Villanova University.

The…

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One year after the Vatican announced it would open a canonical case on Father Marko Rupnik — an artist and former Jesuit accused of spiritual, psychological, and sexual abuse — victims say they feel disappointment and betrayal at the Church’s lack of response and transparency.

Rupnik has been accused of abusing adult women who were under his spiritual care as part of a religious community he helped found in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Some of these accusations became public through the media in early December 2022, although the priest’s superiors and officials at the Vatican were aware even several years earlier.

While the investigation and trial of Rupnik is still pending, the priest remains free to exercise his ministry in the Diocese of Koper, Slovenia, where he was accepted in 2023.

A year ago on Oct. 27, days before the close of the 2023 assembly of the Synod…

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President Joe Biden did something Friday that no other sitting U.S. president has: He apologized for the systemic abuse of generations of Indigenous children endured in boarding schools at the hands of the federal government.

For 150 years the U.S. removed Indigenous children from their homes and sent them away to the schools, where they were stripped of their cultures, histories and religions and beaten for speaking their languages.

“We should be ashamed,” Biden said to a crowd of Indigenous people gathered at the Gila River Indian Community outside of Phoenix, including tribal leaders, survivors and their families. Biden called the government-mandated system that began in 1819 “one of the most horrific chapters in American history,” while acknowledging the decades of abuse inflicted upon children and widespread devastation left behind.

For many Native Americans, the long-awaited apology was a welcome acknowledgment of the government’s longstanding culpability. Now, they say, words must be…

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The White House says President Joe Biden will apologize on behalf of the U.S. government Friday for its 150-year campaign to break up Native American culture, language and identity by forcing children into abusive Indian boarding schools.

More than 900 children died at the government-funded schools, the last of which closed or transitioned into different institutions decades ago. Their dark legacy continues to be felt in Native communities where survivors struggle with generational trauma from the torture, sexual abuse and hatred they endured.

Biden is expected to formally acknowledge the federal government’s role and apologize for it during an appearance at the Gila River Indian Community outside Phoenix.

A closer look at the federal boarding school system:

150 years of forced assimilation

Congress laid the framework for a nationwide boarding school system for Native Americans in 1819 under the 5th U.S. President, James Monroe, with legislation known as the Indian Civilization Act. It was…

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Authorities point to suspicious bank transfers of more than three million euros over past six years from Roman Catholic Church’s treasury

Scrutiny over high-profile embezzlement and money laundering allegations enveloping the Roman Catholic Church in Greece continued unabated on Friday, with authorities now focusing on well-known nightclub entrepreneur.

The latter, with reputed business activity in the western port city of Patras, is alleged to have facilitated money laundering of more than three million euros emanating from the Church’s coffers, with two high-ranking clerics at the center of the probe.

The businessman is described as hailing from western Greece, aged 60, with involvement in previous cases of blackmail, fraud and intimidation. One blackmail victim, reports on Friday revealed, was an Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece Metropolitan (an ecclesiastical ranking akin to bishop) in south-central Greece.

The suspect was convicted at the time by a three-justice first instance court of…

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Greek authorities have frozen the bank accounts and assets of five cafe and nightclub owners on suspicion of laundering Catholic church money supplied by two church officials, a senior Greek official and local media said on Thursday.

During a months-long investigation, the country’s anti-money-laundering authority found that more than 3 million euros ($3.24 million) were directed from the funds of the Catholic Church in Greece to five bank accounts, a source with knowledge of the probe told Reuters.

The authority’s findings have been forwarded to a prosecutor who is expected to open its own investigation, the Athens News Agency said. The two church officials are suspected of embezzlement and the most recent suspicious money transfer was a few days ago, it said.

The businessmen are active in the southern Peloponnese area.

The Holy Synod of the Catholic Church of Greece said in a statement on Thursday that it has not…

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The Diocese of Alexandria is moving to conduct a “mediated resolution” with victims of alleged sexual abuse by priests prior to filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy – a scenario that may offer both benefits and challenges for abuse victims, according to observers.

The diocese has previously acknowledged that 27 of its priests were accused of sexual misconduct and abuse of minors. The mediation plans were detailed in a Sept. 24 letter from the law firm Gold Weems Bruser Sues & Rundell, according to a report from the Catholic News Agency.

The Diocese of Alexandria’s plans follow a different pattern than the New Orleans archdiocese, whose petition for bankruptcy protection in May 2020 surprised abuse victims in that region. The letter obtained by the Catholic News Agency indicates that the Alexandria diocese wants to move forward in a way that would avoid the slow pace and high…

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Stephen Johnson, 40, met the alleged victim on a social media app when she was 12 years old and selling nude content online. 

A youth pastor and counselor appeared before a judge in bond court, charged with one count of living off the earnings of a teenager who worked as a prostitute. 

According to a complaint affidavit, Stephen Johnson, 40, met the alleged victim on a social media app when she was 12 years old and selling nude content online. 

Investigators say the girl met someone on the app who she thought was a woman who offered to help her sell more nude content, but that woman was really Johnson. 

According to the complaint, the acts continued until the alleged victim was 17 and flew to Birmingham, Alabama, where the suspect allegedly posted her on escort ads and directed her to engage in commercial sex acts for money. 

“He trafficked a…

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A new lawsuit accuses the WWE and its founders of fostering a culture of sexual abuse within the organization and looking the other way while a longtime ringside announcer preyed on young men he hired as “ring boys.”

The suit was filed Wednesday in Maryland, where a recent law change eliminated the state’s statute of limitations for child sex abuse claims, opening the doors for victims to sue regardless of their age or how much time has passed.

The complaint alleges that Melvin Phillips, who died in 2012, would target young men from disadvantaged backgrounds and hire them as “ring boys” to help with the preparations for wrestling matches. Phillips would then assault them in his dressing room, hotels and even in the wrestlers’ locker room, according to the complaint, which was filed on behalf of five men.

The abuse detailed in the lawsuit occurred over several years during Phillips’ long tenure…

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A former Decatur pastor accused of sex crimes with a child has been found guilty of sodomy in the second degree.

Danny Duane Pitts will soon be registered as a sex offender after being charged for sexually abusing a minor while he was the Pastor at GracePoint Church in Decatur.

Authorities arrested Pitts back in November 2021. Pitts faced two felony charges, sodomy in the first degree and sodomy in the second degree, as well as two misdemeanor charges, sexual abuse in the first degree and sexual abuse in the second degree.

Since the former pastor’s arrest, his case has been continued four different times.

This week, the courtroom heard from two accusers formerly a part of GracePoint.

One of the victims testified Pitts sexually abused him in the early 2000s.

Another victim who is a part of another indictment against the former pastor in Tennessee claimed the…

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“When I was 14 years old, I was forced to go to a religious club meeting. I had to call my parents in front of a priest, who monitored what I had to say to them in order to get permission. Even then, I was brutally pressured in a planned way by the people who spoke to me to join the organization, under the threat of eternal damnation if I didn’t…they forced me to hide my entry from my parents.”

Héctor (not his real name) was one of the ten testimonies heard Monday in the portico of the cathedral of La Almudena, next to the statue of John Paul II, in an Act of Reparation for the victims that brought together hundreds of people in the diocesan temple of Madrid before a deafening silence, which shook the stones of the cathedral.

Men and women who were sexually, physically and emotionally…

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A Peruvian priest recently expelled from a scandal-plagued lay group, in part over charges of financial irregularities, has sent a registered letter to the papal embassy in Peru demanding a series of corrections to its Oct. 23 announcement of his ouster, calling its contents “false and defamatory.”

Crux has also learned that the priest in question, Father Jaime Baertl, has business ties with an individual who helped launch a criminal complaint in Peru against of the Vatican officials leading an investigation into the group, the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV).

Last July, Pope Francis sent his top investigating team – Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, an adjunct secretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), and Spanish Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu, an official of the dicastery – to Lima to conduct an in-depth inquiry into the allegations against the sodalitium.

This past week, the papal embassy in Peru, known as the…

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Zachary Radcliff, who worked at Oakwood Church, where his father is the senior pastor, is also a Christian rock musician. He is being held on $3 million bond.

A Michigan church youth pastor who moonlights as a Christian rock singer and has performed before high-profile conservative audiences has been accused of preying on teenagers in his father’s flock for more than 10 years.

Zachary Radcliff, 29, was fired Oct. 12 from his job as the music and youth director of Oakwood Church in Ypsilanti, an Ann Arbor suburb, 10 days after the Michigan State Police launched an investigation. His father, Frank Radcliff, is the church’s senior pastor.

“We realized while talking to him that there was more to the situation than was being expressed,” the church said in a statement posted on its website.

Zachary Radcliff was arrested over the…

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The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors announced that it will present its pilot Annual Report on Safeguarding at the Holy See Press Office on Tuesday, October 29th.

Among those presenting the report at the press conference are: Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, Commission President; Maud De Boer Buquicchio, Commission Member and Annual Report Chairperson; Bishop Luis Manuel Alí Herrera, Commission Secretary; and Teresa Kettelkamp, Commission Adjunct Secretary.

“Our goal is to develop an Annual Report with a commitment to transparency and accountability, in solidarity with victims and survivors throughout the world,” Cardinal O’Malley said.

A request from Pope Francis

The launch of the Annual Report is both a milestone for the Commission and a work-in-progress. It is the first step towards a process of data gathering and reporting within the Catholic Church, which began by papal request.

 “I would like you, on an annual basis, to prepare for me a report…

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The pope’s commission on clerical child sex abuse said Friday it will publish its first annual report next week, a decade after the body was established.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors said the report coming on Tuesday would be a “first step” documenting “where risks remain, and where advances can be found”.

Pope Francis set up the panel of experts in December 2014 amid an avalanche of revelations of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy across the world, and subsequent cover-ups.

However, it has faced strong criticism over its organisation, funding and role, with numerous high-profile members quitting.

In 2022, Francis incorporated the body into the Roman Curia — the government of the Holy See — and asked for an annual, “reliable account of what is presently being done and what needs to change”.

Next week’s report “collects resources and good practices to be shared across the Universal…

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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (KOKH) — On Friday, President Joe Biden is set to become the first president to formally apologize for the U.S. government’s Indian boarding school policy, which lasted for approximately 150 years until the 1960s.

Tribal leaders say it brought devastation to native communities across the nation.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. described the move as “long-overdue.”

Tori Holland, tribal counsel attorney and designated congressional delegate for the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, noted boarding schools sought to “kill the Indian and save the man. So it was pretty devastating for Native Americans all across.”

The impact of Indian boarding schools is still being felt today, Holland added.

The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition stated that in the 19th and 20th centuries, government agents took native children by force and brought them to the schools. The coalition asserted the students then suffered physical, sexual, cultural,…

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The Burlington diocese filed for bankruptcy to shield itself from more lawsuits over the abuse of children

BURLINGTON, Vt. — When Brenda Hannon heard the Roman Catholic diocese here had filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 1, her mind drifted back to St. Joseph’s Orphanage, the nuns, and the peanut butter pudding.

In 1961, Hannon was 8, living at the orphanage, and did not like peanut butter pudding.

“It looked like dirty dishwater,” she said, “and it tasted like dirty dishwater.”

But when Hannon refused to eat it, she alleges, some of the nuns became incensed.

“They tied me to a chair,” Hannon said. “They tried to force my mouth open. One of them held my nose so I couldn’t breathe. They forced me to eat it, but I spit it out.”

One of the nuns began smacking her in the head, she said, a final punch sending her face-first to…

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The Vatican has reprimanded the Swiss bishops for their handling of sexual abuse claims in that country after a more-than-yearlong investigation into how the bishops addressed allegations of clergy sex crimes there.

Yet the Vatican’s inquiry found no evidence of a conspiracy by the prelates to cover up abuse claims, one of the key allegations that launched the Holy See’s investigation last year.

In September of last year the Swiss Bishops’ Conference (SBK) revealed an ongoing Vatican-ordered investigation into the reported mishandling of sexual abuse allegations by Church officials there, specifically allegations that clergy had covered up abuse cases.

Allegations had been made in May “against several emeriti and acting members of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference” as well as against several other clerics there.

The Swiss bishops forwarded the allegations to the Dicastery for Bishops in Rome, which shortly thereafter opened a canonical investigation into the matter. Earlier…

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DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG/WWSB) – Three new civil cases are filed against the Dubuque Catholic Archdiocese and a former Dubuque priest accused of sexually abusing boys.

Three new civil cases were filed this week in Charlotte County, Florida brought forward by anonymous altar boys from Iowa claiming Leo Riley sexually abused them in Dubuque in the 1980s.

Riley now works at a congregation in Florida. He sat for a disposition last month in a separate lawsuit there from a John Doe claiming Riley had sexually abused him in Florida.

In the complaint, the plaintiff alleges Father Riley “sought and gained parental consent for Plaintiff to participate in counseling and other activities, and to spend time alone with him.”

It goes on to say Riley would force the minor to drink alcohol and then engage in harmful and illegal sexual contact with the plaintiff.

The alleged victim says the abuse started in 1985,…

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A consultants’ report on the Archdiocese of New Orleans bankruptcy blames both the local church and attorneys for abuse survivors for the case’s massive costs and slow progress, recommending that the federal judge overseeing the process immediately freeze legal fees and bring in an independent “examiner” to propose a settlement if the two sides can’t agree soon.

The 35-page report from New York-based M3 Advisory Partners said that Archbishop Gregory Aymond and his advisors are “cognitively capable” of guiding the local Roman Catholic Church through the bankruptcy process, but said they have not “exercised the leadership” needed to do it, have failed to share crucial financial information, have lacked transparency and haven’t provided oversight of mounting fees.

At the same time, it faults a group of attorneys who, together, represent more than 100 of the abuse survivors for “aggressive litigation tactics that have been disruptive to the forward progress of…

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A Catholic priest connected to a church and school in Cedar Mill has returned to India to face allegations of sexual misconduct involving children, according to correspondence obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive.

The Rev. Joaquim Gracias of the Saint Pius X church was reportedly leaving to face the allegations in India, according to an email sent to members of the parish on June 27 and shared this week with the news organization.

Read more …

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