ABUSE TRACKER

Institutional transparency offers safety to churches and healing to survivors.

Key points

• Guilty clergy may misrepresent accountability as a “spiritual attack” or rebellion against God’s will.
• Believing that clergy have divine or absolute authority can reduce the likelihood of “upward dissent.”
• Many churches lack close oversight, misconduct reporting systems, or protocols for external investigations.
• A new searchable archive allows churches to use its records for hiring screenings.

Protestant Accountability contains public records documenting over 2,700 church workers who either committed sexual abuse or mishandled related investigations while holding institutional authority. The database covers church staff broadly, from associate pastors and worship leaders to youth workers and staff who have never preached.

The volunteer-run database accepts entries such as court records, state attorney general reports, news articles, and—since convicted or ousted clergy may switch denominations—data from other survivor-run archives like Stop Baptist Predators, Bishop Accountability, and Survivors…

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More than two years after Lafayette Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel excommunicated a deacon whose son was molested by a priest, the Vatican has rejected an appeal by the former deacon.

Scott Peyton resigned from the diaconate in December 2023, citing “distressing revelations regarding sexual abuse scandals involving members of the clergy.”

His son was molested by Father Michael Guidry while Peyton served alongside Guidry as a deacon at St. Peter Catholic Church in Morrow. Guidry, who confessed to the molestation, is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence.

“The magnitude of these revelations has deeply shaken my faith and trust in the institution to which I have dedicated a significant portion of my life,” Peyton wrote in his resignation letter to Bishop Deshotel. “This decision is not a rejection of my faith in God or my commitment to living a life guided by Christian principles. Instead, it reflects a conscientious…

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On Sept. 30, the Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell released a 203-page report finding that more than 270 Catholic priests abused at least 1,000 children over several decades in the dioceses of Springfield, Worcester and Fall River. The report focuses on how bishops and other church leaders perpetuated child sexual abuse in the past and — shockingly — how they continue to circumvent policies and procedures designed to protect children from sexual abuse by priests.

The report details how bishops and other church leaders:

• transferred abusive priests to new dioceses or parishes without warning parishioners in the new location.
• accepted abusive priests from other dioceses or parishes without notifying parishioners.
• placed abusive priests in unsupervised parish settings.
• failed to properly investigate sexual abuse allegations against priests, and
• failed to notify law enforcement of reports that priests had sexually abused children.

As a result of these actions…

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Some survivors of child sexual abuse met with Attorney General Andrea Campbell Tuesday. This comes a few weeks after her office released an investigation into the Fall River, Springfield and Worcester Catholic dioceses, going back to the 1950s. It found 270 clergy abused nearly one thousand children.

Skip Shea, now 66, was one of those children. He was sexually assaulted, starting at age 11 by several priests in the Worcester Diocese. At the attorney general’s meeting, which was not open to the press, Shea said Campbell told survivors like him how grateful she is that they spoke with investigators.

“This was truly an incredibly powerful meeting because this wasn’t a political event or anything. This showed that she actually, really cares. And I was blown away by that,” he said.

Shea said Campbell indicated her office is continuing to push for new legislation that allows victims to seek justice,…

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[See also the text of the complaint.]

The alleged victim, now 56, said he had not talked about his experience before. “Who’s going to believe a 13-year-old?” he said.

A new lawsuit alleges that Bishop Louis E. Gelineau, the former leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, raped an altar boy at St. Luke’s Church in Barrington in the 1980s.

Gelineau, who died in 2024 at age 96, has never before been publicly accused of sexually abusing children.

For 25 years, Gelineau oversaw a system where priests accused of abuse were moved from parish to parish and to treatment centers and back, keeping those incidents quiet.

Now, the former altar boy, a Newport man who is 56, is suing the diocese for abuse that he said he suffered from Gelineau and two other priests, including one who was credibly accused of molesting other children. In the lawsuit,…

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Remigio Rios, 56, was arrested on a warrant involving sexual abuse of a child under 14. The school said he is no longer employed there.

A former faculty member and coach at St. John Paul II Academy has been arrested on charges involving sexual abuse of a child, prompting school officials to notify parents and families.

According to a Nueces County Sheriff’s Office arrest report obtained by 3NEWS, 56-year-old Remigio Rios was taken into custody on Oct. 14 in connection with a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14.

The arrest report states Rios was picked up at the Hidalgo County Jail and transported to the Nueces County Jail on an outstanding warrant.

The Nueces County Sheriff’s Office also lists an indecency with a child by exposure charge and a $1 million bond for the sexual abuse charge.

In a message to parents, the academy said Rios…

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Bishop Andrzej Jeż is accused of failing to notify law enforcement after receiving credible information about alleged child sexual offenses.

Closing arguments were delivered this week in the landmark trial of a Polish bishop accused of failing to notify law enforcement promptly about abuse allegations, with a verdict expected at the end of October.

The prosecution and defense delivered their closing arguments Oct. 15 in the trial of Bishop Andrzej Jeż of Tarnów, southern Poland.

Jeż is accused of failing to promptly notify law enforcement after receiving credible information about alleged sexual offenses against children under 15 by two priests in his diocese. He denies the charges.

Prosecutor Marcin Stępień requested a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for three years, and a fine of 20,000 złotys (around $5,140), if the bishop is found guilty, the Polish Press Agency reported.

Stępień argued that the diocese reported the cases to law enforcement…

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‘They will not actually expel him, it is merely a symbolic gesture.’

The Bolivian Network of Church Abuse Survivors objected this month to the expulsion of the laicized priest Francesc Peris, 84, from the Society of Jesus.

A leader of the survivors’ group said the Jesuits made only a “symbolic” expulsion of the priest, who is accused of sexually abusing 22 minors in Spain and Bolivia between 1974 and 2004, and that it does not address the Jesuit’s “complicity” in the priest’s sexual misconduct.

The measure was announced by the Jesuits on Oct. 5. In a statement, the order said that a canonical process had found Peris guilty of several offenses.

Born in Catalonia, Peris has been living in a Jesuit residence for the past few years and has not been engaged in pastoral activities. While he has been laicized and is no longer a member of the Society of…

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The leader of a Kenyan doomsday cult linked to more than 400 deaths was convicted Monday of murdering 190 children and one adult after ordering followers to starve themselves to death to meet Jesus.

Justice Diana Kavedza ruled that Pastor Paul Mackenzie, leader of the Good News International Church, oversaw an organized system that used religious teachings to compel followers to fast until they died.

In 2023, more than 400 bodies were exhumed from shallow graves on the 800-acre (320-hectare) Chakama Ranch in coastal Kilifi County, where Mackenzie’s followers lived in mud huts, away from the scrutiny of local communities and authorities.

Mackenzie was arrested and charged with murder alongside his wife and dozens of his followers. Some followers later became prosecution witnesses in the case. The trial began in 2023.

He denied all charges, saying he did not force his followers to fast.

A mitigation hearing…

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In short:

The leader of a Kenyan doomsday cult has been found guilty of using forced starvation to kill 191 of his followers, including children and one adult.

Pastor Paul Mackenzie was convicted alongside 28 others who helped run a sect connected to his evangelical Good News International Church.

What’s next?

Mackenzie and his co-accused are due to be sentenced on November 6.

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A Kenyan preacher has been found guilty of 191 murder charges after forcing followers to starve themselves and their children so they would die and enter heaven to be with Jesus.

Pastor Paul Mackenzie was convicted alongside 28 others who helped run a sect connected to his Good News International Church in coastal south-east Kenya.

Mackenzie and his helpers used religious teachings and a church hierarchy to enforce “deadly fasting” on followers after setting up a community in a forest, a judge said in her…

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A former pastor and soccer coach from Williamsville was sentenced to eight years in prison and 10 years of post-release supervision for child sexual abuse, the Erie County District Attorney’s Office said Monday.

John A. Camardo III, 47, pleaded guilty in July to one count of second-degree rape and one count of second-degree course of sexual conduct against a child.

Officials said that between April 2024 and June 2024, Camardo had sexual intercourse with a victim under 15 years old. Between April 2025 and June 2026, Camardo engaged in two or more acts of sexual conduct with a second victim who was under 13 years old. Officials said Camardo knew the victims, and both crimes took place in Amherst.

Camardo was a former executive pastor of The Chapel, which has several locations in Western New York. He also previously coached girls’ travel soccer for the Amherst Soccer Association as…

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A northeast Kansas woman is suing a Catholic priest, two dioceses and a parish, alleging that the priest subjected her to months of sexual misconduct after she sought his spiritual guidance.

The lawsuit, filed in Wyandotte County District Court, accuses the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, the Catholic Diocese of Salina and Seven Dolors of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Manhattan of failing to adequately supervise the Rev. Ryan Anthony McCandless and allowing him to remain in a position of authority after the woman reported his conduct.

McCandless, 44, was under the authority of the Diocese of Salina, the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas and Seven Dolors Parish, the lawsuit says.

He also faces criminal charges in a separate case.

McCandless was arrested by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation…

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A Kentucky Baptist pastor in Perry County was arrested Tuesday on 17 counts of distributing matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor under 12.

Jared Oneil Salmons, 48, of Leburn, is pastor of Mount Olivet Baptist Church in Cornettsville.

Kentucky State Police said Salmons was located, interviewed and arrested as part of an Internet Crimes Against Children investigation.

“The KSP Electronic Crime Branch began the investigation after discovering the suspect uploading sexually explicit images of juveniles to one of his social media accounts,” the statement said.

Investigators served a search warrant at Salmons’ residence Tuesday and seized equipment allegedly used in the offenses, according to the statement. The equipment was taken to KSP’s forensic laboratory for examination.

According to the citation, Salmons admitted during an interview to creating AI-generated images and that he owned the email account associated with the alleged illegal internet activity. The charges are a Class…

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The film, executive produced by Mariska Hargitay, centers on women’s testimonies challenging institutional power within the Catholic Church.

The documentary NUNS VS. THE VATICAN, directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Lorena Luciano, will open in theaters in Los Angeles on October 23 at the Laemmle Monica Film Center, with a national rollout to follow. The film was produced by Filippo Piscopo and executive produced by Mariska Hargitay, Trish Adlesic, Lauran Bromley, Regina K. Scully, and Amanda Stephens.

The feature-length documentary previously debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film features acclaimed actress Mariska Hargitay, along with award-winning filmmakers Trish Adlesic, Lauran Bromley, Regina K. Scully, and Amanda Stephens, as executive producers.

In the shadows of the Catholic church, nuns and women have long endured abuse at the hands of priests—insidious and tactful grooming, silenced by confession, and hidden through systemic cover-ups. The investigative documentary uncovers both the…

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More than two years after Lafayette Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel excommunicated a deacon whose son was molested by a priest, the Vatican has rejected an appeal by the former deacon.

Scott Peyton resigned from the diaconate in December 2023, citing “distressing revelations regarding sexual abuse scandals involving members of the clergy.”

His son was molested by Father Michael Guidry while Peyton served alongside Guidry as a deacon at St. Peter Catholic Church in Morrow. Guidry, who confessed to the molestation, is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence.

“The magnitude of these revelations has deeply shaken my faith and trust in the institution to which I have dedicated a significant portion of my life,” Peyton wrote in his resignation letter to Bishop Deshotel. “This decision is not a rejection of my faith in God or my commitment to living a life guided by Christian principles. Instead, it reflects a conscientious…

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https://www.archspm.org/events/trusting-the-voice-you-were-taught-to-doubt

Date: Monday, Oct. 26
Start Time: 6:30 p.m.
End Time: 8 p.m.
Location: Virtual
Register here

Trusting the Voice You Were Taught to Doubt: Rebuilding the Trust Between You and You

Many of us were taught from an early age that answers come from outside ourselves, and when harm follows, that lesson can run even deeper. In this gentle, practical session, Human Connection Coach Michelle Renee shares parts of her own journey of healing from an abusive relationship and explores how inner knowing gets buried and how it can be rebuilt, one small moment at a time. You’ll learn what your body’s signals are telling you, why self-trust grows from safety, and simple practices to bring into everyday life.

Michelle Renee is a Human Connection Coach and founder of Human Connection Lab. Her work grew out of her own path of learning to trust herself again. For over a decade, she…

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A Catholic bishop has urged Church safeguarding officers to build a lasting culture of transparency and accountability, saying their mission must go beyond exposing abuse to preventing it.

Bishop Dennis Villarojo of Malolos said safeguarding officers must ensure that no part of the Church remains hidden from scrutiny, especially where children and vulnerable adults may be at risk.

“Our duty as safeguarding officers is not so much to uncover hidden rocks, but to allow the light to scatter the darkness,” Villarojo said in a homily Friday at Sta. Maria Goretti Parish Church in Manila.

Villarojo, chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Office for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons, delivered the homily during the closing Mass of a four-day national safeguarding meeting.

He said safeguarding officers must initially uncover hidden problems, but their long-term mission is to sustain systems that prevent abuse and promote integrity throughout Church institutions.

“When systems…

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Nothing says institutional accountability quite like excommunicating the father of a clergy abuse survivor while the priest who molested his son remains a priest.

But that is where things stand in the Roman Catholic Church.

The Vatican has upheld the excommunication of former Louisiana Catholic deacon Scott Peyton, whose teenage son was sexually abused by Catholic priest Michael Guidry.

Guidry admitted the abuse, pleaded guilty to molesting Peyton’s 16-year-old son and was sentenced to seven years in prison. The Diocese of Lafayette found the allegation credible and permanently removed Guidry from public ministry.

But Guidry remains a Catholic priest.

Peyton, meanwhile, is out.

Apparently, joining the Anglicans was a bridge too far

After the abuse, Peyton and his family temporarily joined an Anglican congregation. Peyton publicly acknowledged the move, which church authorities determined constituted an act that automatically carried excommunication under Catholic canon law.

…

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A Kentucky pastor has been charged after allegedly generating AI images of child sexual exploitation material.

According to a release by the Kentucky State Police, on Oct. 13 around 3:14 p.m., the KSP Electronic Crime Branch arrested 46-year-old Jared Oneil Salmons amid a child sexual abuse material investigation.

In a uniform citation, troopers say it was reported Salmons had distributed over 17 files of child sexual abuse material.

Authorities say while investigators interviewed Salmons, he admitted to “created AI-generated images” as well as owning a reported account associated with the case.

Salmons is currently charged with 17 counts of distributing matter portraying a minor under the age of 12 in a sexual performance. Distributing matter portraying a minor under the age of 12 in a sexual performance is a Class-C felony and is punishable by five to 10 years in prison.

Salmons was transported to the Kentucky River Regional Jail.

…

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Actual change in the sexual abuse crisis depends mostly on whether or not the authorities and religious leaders are willing to fulfill their duties.

The Pope’s visit to France was good for photo-ops and Catholic “influencers,” but had little or no effect on the abuse crisis.

The Legion of Christ is playing lawfare, trying to prevent NGOs and media from reporting on abuse, while Rome keeps waiting to rule on the future of the Institute of the Incarnate Word.

Despite Pope Leo XIV’s private meeting with clergy sexual abuse survivors in France, there was little or no improvement in the handling of the crisis. To make matters worse, while justice systems remain unable to offer actual solutions to the issues, organizations with a long record of abuse and contradictory behavior are going back into pugnacious strategies against Rome and survivors.

Even if Leo XIV’s visit to France apparently worked as…

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The Reformed Church of the Swiss canton of Zurich has apologised after admitting it failed to investigate reports of sexual assault by a minister properly. The incidents occurred between 1992 and 2006.

The church leadership is said not to have fulfilled its responsibilities towards the women adequately.

The Church Council has offered a sincere apology to the women concerned. An external investigation has revealed that at least ten women were victims of sexual, physical and psychological abuse by a vicar.

It goes on to state that reports of abuse by the same vicar had already led to an internal investigation 20 years ago. “At the time, the accused pre-empted the formal opening of an administrative investigation and resigned,” the Church Council stated. The investigation was subsequently closed.

However, further reports of abuse emerged last year. This is why the Church Council commissioned the expert report. The report concludes that the…

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Investigators had learned of five alleged victims and were investigating, local media reports said

Police in the southern Indian state of Karnataka have arrested a Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing minor boys, with investigators reportedly identifying five alleged victims. 

Police arrested Father Cyprian Pinto, the parish priest of St. Vincent Ferrer Church in Valencia, on Oct. 18 at a relative’s residence in Mangaluru (formerly Mangalore), the New Indian Express newspaper reported, quoting Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy.

Bishop Peter Paul Saldanha of Mangalore, when contacted by UCA News on Oct. 19, said he could not comment on the issue because the case is now sub judice.

Santhosh D’Souza, president of Catholic Sabha Mangaluru, a lay association, said it was too early to draw conclusions as investigations were still ongoing.

We have full faith in the law of the land; let’s wait for the truth to…

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Following the news of the sexual assault-related lawsuit naming Cornell University and Chi Phi fraternity members, a familiar pattern occured: Victim-survivors began sharing their own stories en masse on social media, and Doubting Thomases began demanding proof.

Such cultural moments are important to victim-survivors’ felt sense of peer support that can foster the courage to share their stories or, at the least, feel less alone by hearing the testimony of another, even if they themselves are not ready to voice their own. And yet there is something grievous about a wave of public sharing in response to a news cycle, because it often comes from an urgent need to prove to doubters that the Jane Does of these stories are telling the truth.

It troubles me that vocal skepticism about the accusation’s validity — commentaries like “She showed up intoxicated” or “She wanted it at the time and just felt…

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The changes come immediately after The Hoya published new allegations against Fr. Alvaro Ribeiro, S.J., including that he committed sexual misconduct against at least four Georgetown students.

Content Warning: This article discusses clerical sexual misconduct and grooming. Please refer to the end of the article for on- and off-campus resources.

Georgetown University quietly overhauled its Title IX webpage dedicated to clerical sex abuse immediately after an investigation by The Hoya revealed new allegations against Fr. Alvaro Ribeiro, S.J., and a novel information-sharing protocol between Jesuits and the university. 

The updated webpage explicitly recognizes Ribeiro’s alleged misconduct, publicizes recent “formal protocols” to share Jesuit sexual-misconduct reports and removes the “ongoing work” section that The Hoya found had not been updated in years. 

The Hoya’s Oct. 16 investigation was the first public report that a Jesuit priest engaged in sexual misconduct at Georgetown after being placed on leave following View Cache

Content warning: this article discusses sexual assault

On October 15, Georgetown’s Women’s and Gender Studies Program (WGST) hosted a “Sexual Assault on College Campuses” panel in response to the recent surge of national media coverage surrounding high-profile sexual violence cases across higher education.

The panel featured a multidisciplinary roster of Georgetown faculty, including Samantha Berner, Title IX Coordinator; Dr. Nadia Brown, Director of WGST; Professor Chiara Cooper; Professor Tricia Hoefling; Professor Sara Pavia; and Jen Luettel Schweer, Licensed Professional Counselor.

The event arrived amidst national conversations regarding a recently reopened sexual assault case at Cornell University, which has reignited discussions around Title IX procedures, fraternity culture, and institutional accountability at college campuses across the country.

According to Brown, the event was born out of a convergence of student initiative and administrative collaboration.

“This event really grew out of a combination of student interest and…

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Will time finally be on the side of child sexual-abuse victims?

A powerful new survey from the MassINC Polling Group has clearly revealed the public’s overwhelming support to see abusers pay for their heinous acts — no matter how long it takes.

According to the poll, an astonishing 84% of respondents strongly or somewhat support eliminating the statute of limitations for filing a civil complaint alleging child sexual abuse. This is not a partisan issue, nor is it a minor policy debate. It is a resounding moral mandate.

Currently, Massachusetts law dictates a 35-year statute of limitations for these civil cases, a countdown clock that ticks into effect the moment an alleged victim turns 18.

To an outside observer, 35 years might seem like an ample window of time to come forward, seek legal counsel, and file a complaint. But this perspective fundamentally misunderstands the reality of trauma.

Psychology and…

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The Polish Bishops’ Conference will hold its 406th plenary meeting on October 22–24, 2026, in Zakopane. Among other things, the bishops will discuss preparations for the start of work by an independent expert commission that will examine the phenomenon of sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic Church in Poland, Interia reports.

Status of the commission

The commission was established in March 2026, and the current work concerns the conditions for its operation. During the meeting, the bishops are to consider the results of consultations on the commission’s statute.

One of the legal issues will be the commission obtaining legal personality under state law. The discussion is planned both in smaller groups and during the plenary part of the meeting.

Education, media and youth

The agenda also includes the situation regarding religion classes in schools, educating young people based on values, and the problem of aggression…

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The incident came to light when the victim shared his story with his friends and found out that other boys had also faced similar abuse.

Mangaluru South Police have arrested Catholic priest Father Cyprian Pinto for allegedly sexually abusing a minor boy over a prolonged period.

The police registered a case under Section 8 and 10 of the POCSO Act and Section 75(2) of BNS 2023.

Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy said the priest was arrested from a relative’s residence. He will be produced before a magistrate after interrogation and completion of the necessary procedures.

Soon after the POCSO case was registered, the accused Church Father went absconding.

As per the complainant, the priest lured the minor boy who regularly visited Valencia St Vincent Ferrer church for prayers. The priest allegedly invited the boy to a private room and personal quarters, subjecting the minor to repeated sexual abuse and inappropriate…

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When Pope Leo XIV arrived last month in Lourdes, France, he immediately went to the Grotto of the Apparitions, where tens of thousands of pilgrims throng each year in the belief that it will heal their illnesses.

Leo prayed silently for several minutes before a statue of the Virgin Mary, and then, as pilgrims to Lourdes have done for generations, he touched the grotto’s rock wall, drank water from its spring and lit a candle.

In light of the Vatican’s announcement this past week that Leo has lung cancer, church experts are now asking whether he already knew that he was sick when he went to Lourdes nearly three weeks ago.

It is something that the Vatican has so far not disclosed.

The question — and the lack of an answer — reflects both the level of global curiosity about Leo, who left the hospital on…

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Pope Leo returned to the Vatican on Saturday days after undergoing lung surgery. Pope Leo XIV’s cancer surgeon said there are “no clinical reasons” to prevent the pontiff’s planned Latin America trip next month. 71-year-old Leo is scheduled to make an ambitious November 6-17 trip to Uruguay, Peru and Argentina, including a dozen flights and two helicopter rides to high altitudes.

Leo had the lower lobe of his right lung removed on Tuesday. The surgery confirmed he had adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer. He left the hospital on Saturday, well ahead of the week-long hospital stay the Vatican had initially anticipated.

The Holy Father has put his heart and soul into his recovery, Dr. Stefano Margaritora told Vatican News, adding that he expected the pope to recover fully from surgery “in another 10 days or so.” “As for a long trip involving air travel in about three…

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Summary

• First US pope promises slow return to full activity
• Unclear when pope will hold next public event
• Leo scheduled for South America trip in November

Pope Leo pledged on Sunday ​to slowly resume his usual activities as the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics as he ‌greeted crowds in St. Peter’s Square during his first public event since undergoing surgery for lung cancer five days ago.

The 71-year-old pontiff had an operation on Tuesday to remove the lower lobe of his right lung, fuelling speculation about how his illness might change his 17-month papacy.

Smiling from ​a window of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace as he spoke to pilgrims below in a firm, clear ​voice on Sunday, the first US pope thanked people across the world for their prayers and ⁠said he would now begin to resume his normal schedule.

“Having overcome this…

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Pope Leo XIV thanked thousands of faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday for their prayers while he was hospitalized for an operation to remove a malignant tumor, and said he plans to gradually return to his usual duties.

The crowd erupted in cheers when the pontiff showed himself in the window overlooking the square, where a week ago on the same occasion of the traditional Angelus blessing he revealed that a nodule had been located on his lung, and that it would be surgically removed.

’’Now that this delicate phase is behind me, I will gradually resume my activities, always with God’s help and your prayers,” Leo said, his voice sounding strong four days after the lower lobe of his right lung was removed.

The pontiff said the experience of the last week “has made me feel especially close to those facing illness and infirmity.” He told…

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[Note: See also the very informative complaints: John Doe 20 v. Archdiocese of Chicago and John Doe 61 v. Archdiocese of Chicago.]

Chicago attorneys have filed more than a half dozen lawsuits alleging the Archdiocese of Chicago knew its priests were running a “sex ring” for decades at a South Side parish, but did nothing to stop it from happening.

Attorneys with the law firm of Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge accused the archdiocese of allowing priests to “operate a network of child sexual predatory behavior” at the former Holy Angels Parish.

“Holy Angels was not a sanctuary for children,” Steven Hart, the firm’s founding partner, said at a press conference Tuesday. “It was a sanctuary for predators — sexual predators — protected by the Chicago Archdiocese.”

A spokesperson for the archdiocese declined to comment on the lawsuits Tuesday.

The lawsuits allege children between the ages of 5 and…

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The legislature has yet to pass Erin’s Law, mandating child abuse prevention education, and other laws advocates say could strengthen protections for children.

Tess Sanford Ramirez and Kim Bergman share an experience they wish they didn’t. Their gymnastics and tumbling coach sexually abused them both — 10 years apart. 

But there’s a key difference between their stories, Bergman said. 

When Bergman told a friend and an adult about the abuse, they didn’t report it. Years later, when the same thing happened to Sanford Ramirez, she also told a friend. But this friend immediately pushed her to disclose the abuse to her father, leading to the coach’s conviction. 

Bergman said it shouldn’t be kids’ responsibility to prevent abuse, but it can make a real difference when children are educated on how to recognize abuse and what to do if it happens to them or to a friend. 

“One thing that I…

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David Sabatini, once a prominent scientist at M.I.T., sued a former colleague who accused him of inappropriate behavior. A jury found in his favor.

A prominent Massachusetts Institute of Technology biology professor forced out of his job over sexual harassment allegations won a defamation case against his accuser on Friday, along with a $6 million award.

The biologist, David Sabatini, was among the most prominent scientists in his field, and ran a research lab at the Whitehead Institute, in Cambridge, for 24 years. His lab studied cellular biology to better understand neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, diabetes, and aging.

He was forced out of his lab in 2021 after an internal Whitehead investigation concluded he had a past sexual relationship with a younger and less experienced colleague, Kristin Knouse, over whom he had a career-influencing role. The investigation also found that his lab had maintained a sexualized atmosphere. Dr. Knouse said that…

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A bombshell report released in March by Attorney General Peter Neronha named 75 Diocese of Providence clergy members as being “credibly accused” of sexual assault against children.

Since then, the Rhode Island General Assembly has opened a “revival window” for alleged victims of child sexual abuse to file lawsuits against perpetrators and institutions that were previously barred by the statute of limitations.

In a torrent of civil lawsuit filings since the opening of the revival window, new names not previously on the “credibly accused” list have surfaced, including 21 priests and one clergy member teacher.

Below are their names, their assignment histories and a summary of the accusations against them from lawsuit complaints.

Of the 22 clergy members, 21 have been confirmed to be deceased, while the status of one Bishop Hendricken High School teacher, accused of abuse in 1966, is unknown,…

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[Note: The text below is an excerpt. Please see the full text of this significant complaint, which includes photographs and documents.]

1. This action is brought against the Archdiocese of Chicago on behalf of one of the likely hundreds of victims of child sexual abuse committed by priests assigned to the Holy Angels Parish (“Holy Angels,” the “Parish”) between 1969 and 2002, particularly Father George Clements (“Fr. George Clements,” “Fr. Clements,” “George Clements,” or “Clements”), Father Paul Smith (“Fr. Paul Smith,” “Fr. Smith,” “Paul Smith,” or “Smith”), Father John Calicott (“Fr. John Calicott,” “Fr. Calicott,” “John Calicott,” or “Calicott”), and Father Kenneth Brigham (“Fr. Kenneth Brigham,” “Fr. Brigham,” “Kenneth Brigham,” or “Brigham”).

2. In spite of the Archdiocese of Chicago’s efforts to conceal it, substantial evidence overwhelmingly proves that one of the most famous and controversial priests in its history, George Clements, was the spearhead of a decades-long surge…

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Pope Leo’s health is expected to impact his upcoming trip to South America

As Pope Leo XIV convalesces from a significant pulmonary surgery, a planned papal trip to South America is expected to take place on schedule. But with Catholics concerned for the pope’s health, bishops and authorities in countries which the pope intends to visit have indicated that the trip’s agenda could see modifications in the weeks to come.

Pope Leo underwent surgery Oct. 13 to remove a cancerous nodule from his right lung, with the entire lower lobe of the lung removed by a laparoscopic procedure.

The pope’s medical team has said the surgery was successful and that the pope’s recovery has developed normally. But the trip to Argentina, Peru, and Uruguay is scheduled to start in less than three weeks, leaving a tight time frame for Leo to recover before heading abroad.

The trip’s agenda would be…

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Matteo Bruni states that the Pope maintains his “intention” and “desire” to travel in November to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru

Pope Leo XIV maintains his intention to travel in November to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, despite the operation in which the lower lobe of his right lung was removed after an adenocarcinoma was confirmed. This was indicated on Wednesday, October 14, by the director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni.

“We have heard the Pope’s words about the trip, about his intention, his desire, and also the fact of going,” Bruni told journalists. Peruvian media that reported his words emphasize, however, that definitive confirmation will depend on the evolution of the Pontiff’s health and the tests in the coming days.

Lima postpones a preparatory meeting

According to ACI Prensa, the Archdiocese of Lima has postponed a meeting to prepare for the papal visit, although it assures that it…

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Bishops’ conferences across Latin America urged prayers for the health of Pope Leo XIV, whose visit to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru remains uncertain after he underwent surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung.

The pope has been diagnosed with lung cancer, but was making a normal recovery, his physicians said Oct. 14, the day after surgery.

The Peruvian bishops’ conference — in which Pope Leo served as second vice president while he was bishop of Chiclayo — called for prayers, “entrusting his life and recovery with filial confidence to the merciful hands of the Lord of Miracles” — a venerated image of the crucified Christ known as the Cristo Moreno.

On Oct. 14, the Archdiocese of Lima postponed a session of preparations for the papal trip to the Peruvian capital and instead called for a day of prayer.

Bishops in Argentina and Uruguay also requested prayers for…

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A Catholic bishop has urged Church safeguarding officers to build a lasting culture of transparency and accountability, saying their mission must go beyond exposing abuse to preventing it.

Bishop Dennis Villarojo of Malolos said safeguarding officers must ensure that no part of the Church remains hidden from scrutiny, especially where children and vulnerable adults may be at risk.

“Our duty as safeguarding officers is not so much to uncover hidden rocks, but to allow the light to scatter the darkness,” Villarojo said in a homily Friday at Sta. Maria Goretti Parish Church in Manila.

Villarojo, chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ Episcopal Office for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons, delivered the homily during the closing Mass of a four-day national safeguarding meeting.

He said safeguarding officers must initially uncover hidden problems, but their long-term mission is to sustain systems that prevent abuse and promote integrity…

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Key Points

• Recent court filings name 22 additional Catholic clergy members in Rhode Island accused of sexually abusing children.
• These new lawsuits were filed after a two-year “revival window” opened, allowing victims to file civil claims previously barred by statutes of limitations.
• The new allegations, spanning from 1958 to 1996, were not on the attorney general’s previously published list of 75 “credibly accused” clergy.

The number of Catholic priests and parochial school teachers accused of sexually molesting children in Rhode Island is longer than previously known.

While a bombshell report from earlier this year included 75 clergy “credibly accused” of sexually abusing children, recent court filings include accusations against 22 additional clergymen for sexually abusing children in Rhode Island.

The new lawsuits contain details from alleged cases that are as horrific…

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[See also the complaint in John Doe 61 v. Archdiocese of Chicago, alleging abuse by Father John Calicott.]

The Rev. George Clements helped propel the Black Catholic movement, created the “One Church, One Child” initiative urging adoption and, against church practice, adopted children himself.

Those headline-grabbing and sometimes polarizing moves served as cover for the late South Side pastor to orchestrate a “decades-long child sex ring” at his parish, according to a new series of lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Chicago.

“The charismatic local icon, civil rights leader, famed for his unprecedented adoption of four children, was an absolute imposter and probably the most prolific child molester in the history of the Archdiocese of Chicago,” said Sean O’Malley, a lawyer at Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge, which announced the suits on Tuesday.

Installed as pastor of the now-former Holy Angels Parish in 1969 after a blistering campaign by his supporters,…

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Pope Leo XIV resumed his regular diet, began walking and celebrated Mass in the hospital Wednesday as he recovered from surgery to remove a cancerous mass from his lung, the Vatican said. Questions remained about whether the cancer had spread, while Peru’s president suggested Leo might have to alter his planned visit to Latin America next month.

Blood tests and a chest X-ray showed the 71-year-old pope was recovering normally, his two doctors said.

“The Holy Father underwent respiratory physiotherapy and has begun walking in his room. He resumed his regular diet and had breakfast and lunch,” said Dr. Luigi Carbone, the pope’s personal doctor, and Dr. Stefano Margaritora, the head thoracic surgeon at Gemelli hospital. “Recovery is proceeding as planned.”

Tuesday’s surgery confirmed that Leo has lung adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer. Surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung.

The right lung has three…

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We shouldn’t need more reports on sexual abuse to push for more protections against it.

The Roman Catholic Church’s Second Vatican Council wrote that the church is “always in need of being purified.” After revelations from Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s new report on sexual abuse in the three Massachusetts dioceses, it is only clearer that the church must continue to reform.

The much-anticipated report from Campbell’s office found that 270 Catholic clergy in the Worcester, Fall River, and Springfield dioceses abused nearly 1,000 children over the past seven decades. The office reviewed 300,000 documents and conducted interviews with more than 100 people over the course of seven years.

The report did not cover the Boston archdiocese, the first to come under scrutiny due to the 2002 Globe Spotlight investigation, which…

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The public is invited to hear reflections from Albany Bishop Mark O’Connell, chair-elect of a key church committee for protecting children.

Three Catholic Upstate bishops will be in the room tonight (Thursday, Oct. 15) at the Spiritual Renewal Center in Syracuse when Bishop Mark O’Connell of Albany offers a public update on the work of a national Catholic panel. That committee is dedicated to protecting children and young people at a time when the church has been shaken by revelations of clergy sexual abuse.

The renewal center is part of the All Saints complex, at 1342 Lancaster Ave. The event came together through an invitation from Michael Koplinka-Loehr, a survivor of sexual abuse by a priest and a co-facilitator within the Syracuse Hope, Healing and Solidarity organization. It was formed as an offshoot of Call to Action at the St. Lucy’s and All Saints parishes, leading to a group…

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[See also the text of the MA AG’s report.]

A new report out of Massachusetts “provides for the first time a public accounting of the unimaginable harms afflicted on children,” said Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell.

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell released a 203-page report on Sept. 30 showing more than 270 Catholic priests abused at least 1,000 children over several decades in the dioceses of Fall River, Springfield and Worcester. 

The report focuses on how church leadership, including bishops, perpetuated this abuse by failing to report crimes to the police, obstructing investigations into these crimes and repeatedly reassigning perpetrators to new parishes, where they abused even more children. The report also details the ways current Catholic leadership continues to circumvent policies and procedures designed to protect children.

“For decades, survivors of clergy sexual abuse, including those who are no longer alive, have carried the devastating consequences of abuse, while…

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The Vermont Supreme Court upheld the school board’s firing of a high school principal.

The court said that after an internal investigation into complaints that former BUHS principal Steve Perrin “mistreated a female student on multiple occasions and attempted to prevent a mandatory report of child abuse,” the Windham Southeast School District Board terminated his employment. The Bennington Superior Court, Civil Division upheld the decision in November 2025 and Perrin appealed. 

In its Oct. 2 decision, the Vermont Supreme Court said it finds “no constitutional deficiency in either the termination or discovery process and conclude[s] that sufficient evidence supported the Board’s termination decision.”

Perrin was employed at BUHS from 2011 through Nov. 14, 2022. During an investigation into staff misconduct throughout the district, a former BUHS student came forward and Perrin was placed on administrative leave. The student is referred to as Jane Doe in court documents and has spoken…

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Perrin loses years-long appeal against the Windham Southeast School District regarding student sexual misconduct dating to 2012

The Vermont Supreme Court on Oct. 2 upheld the 2022 firing of former Brattleboro Union High School (BUHS) Principal Steve Perrin.

The court rejected his arguments that the Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) board denied him due process, was biased against him, and lacked the evidence to dismiss him.

The unanimous decision, written by Associate Justice Christina E. Nolan, affirms a November 2025 ruling by Judge David A. Barra in the Bennington civil division. That ruling granted summary judgment to the district, the board, and individual board members.

The Commons was the first to report the allegations against Perrin and has interviewed the former student at the center of the case, who has spoken to the newspaper on the condition that she not be named. She has been named in court documents, and…

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An executive of the Catholic Foundation of Ohio was arrested on October 1, for child sex crimes and now charged with multiple felonies.

Scott Hartman, 49, was indicted Tuesday on of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor, pandering obscenity involving a minor, harmful to juvenile, tampering with evidence, and misdemeanor of grooming.

According to Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation began in April after the victim, a teenaged girl, reported the allegations to a school counselor. Investigators said the conversations between Hartman and the victim over six months included videos calls and texts involving video sex acts and exchange of videos and nude images.

The Catholic Foundations is a charity organization located in Downtown, Columbus that helps schools, Catholic parishes, and ministries across the Diocese of Columbus. Hartman joined the organization in 2002 and served as the chief development officer and the senior vice president.

The Catholic Diocese confirmed Hartman,…

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Roman Catholics across South America responded to news of Pope Leo XIV’s lung cancer diagnosis with an outpouring of prayers and support, along with concerns about whether the first American pope would go ahead with his highly anticipated and physically demanding visit to the region next month.

Across the three countries on his itinerary — secular Uruguay, predominantly Catholic Argentina and Leo’s adopted homeland of Peru — government officials wished the pontiff a swift recovery, church leaders urged patience and worshippers gathered to pray.

The Vatican said Wednesday that Leo was recuperating as expected after surgery and that the trip remained on his schedule. But Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori sounded a more cautious note, telling reporters that his recovery could take “several weeks, longer than expected,” potentially forcing changes to the Nov. 6-17 itinerary.

The trip would follow an ambitious itinerary

The 12-day South American tour would be the longest…

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Seven lawsuits filed Tuesday allege the Archdiocese of Chicago knew about sexual abuse at the former Holy Angels Parish in Bronzeville.

The Archdiocese of Chicago is facing new allegations over its treatment of Black Catholic children who were sexually abused by priests at a former South Side parish.

Seven lawsuits filed Tuesday allege the Archdiocese knew about sexual abuse at the former Holy Angels Parish in Bronzeville.

“Holy Angels was not a sanctuary for children, it was a sanctuary for sexual predators protected by the Chicago Archdiocese,” attorney Steven Hart, representing the victims, said at a Loop news conference.

Attorneys at Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge allege more than 100 Black children, some as young as 5, were sexually abused by priests at the former parish and school over several decades. On Tuesday, the attorneys filed lawsuits on behalf of seven alleged victims, with plans to file dozens more.

Hart said…

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“Some of these children were as young as 5 years old. Five-year-old children being sexually abused,” said attorney Steven Hart. “Holy Angels was not a sanctuary for children. It was a sanctuary for predators.”

Several adults who said they were abused by Catholic priests decades ago when they were children filed lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Chicago for allegedly failing to protect them.

Attorneys with Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge filed seven civil lawsuits on Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court against the archdiocese, but said dozens more clients will be filing lawsuits in the coming days.

All of the accusers and the accused have ties to the former Bronzeville church, known as Holy Angels, between 1969 and 2002. The Archdiocese of Chicago said in a statement it does not comment on lawsuits.

“Some of these children were as young as 5 years old. Five-year-old children being sexually abused,” said attorney…

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Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester appears to have slept through the last quarter-century.

I have an embarrassing confession: I kind of, sort of, miss Tom Tobin.

He made good copy.

You may remember Tobin. He was the Roman Catholic bishop in Providence whose idea of being a pastoral leader was to ignore survivors of clergy sexual abuse.

He liked to withhold communion from lawmakers who supported abortion rights while handing out the Eucharist to those who support the death penalty like they were Nilla Wafers.

In fairness, he had an affliction. It’s called tone deafness.

After two decades of exposes about priests raping children, including some extraordinary reporting by the Globe Spotlight Team, showing that bishops like Cardinal Bernard Law in Boston protected and enabled abusive priests, Tobin took to Twitter in 2019 to remind his followers they shouldn’t attend gay Pride events, lest they…

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Decoy who posed as a 14-year-old when engaging with Gallagher speaks to
The Irish News

A predator priest renewed his ordination vows on the morning of Holy
Thursday last year, hours before he was arrested and charged with child sex
offences.

Fr Edward Gallagher also used the same mobile number given out to
parishioners to engage in the sexual abuse of more than 60 children.

The charges relate to dates between June 2023 and April 2025 and include 43
counts of attempted sexual communication with a child under 16, 43 charges
of indecent images of children, 13 counts of possession of indecent images of a
child, two counts of possessing images of a child and possessing an extreme
pornographic image.

There were also five counts of trying to encourage a child to engage in sexual
activity, attempted sexual communication with a child under 16 and
disturbing indecent images. He is due to be sentenced on December 9.

The diocese has said steps…

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A federal judge has rejected the Oakland Diocese’s bankruptcy relief plan that would have resolved nearly 330 sexual abuse claims. The judge’s Oct. 2 decision comes three years after the Oakland Diocese filed for bankruptcy due to declining participation and an ongoing financial crisis linked to sexual abuse cases dating between 1960 and 1990.

Judge William J. Lafferty dismissed many of the diocese’s arguments in its bid to settle through bankruptcy, including wanting special considerations given its status as a religious institution, the diocese’s valuation of its many real estate assets, and the total amount owed to survivors. According to the diocese’s bankruptcy plan, submitted two years ago, the church owes between $160 million and $198 million.

As part of the Chapter 11 case, the diocese is to sell 13 churches in the East Bay, 7 of them in Oakland.

“The Court stresses, again, that the insufficiencies of this Plan…

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Upon concluding two separate investigations into whether educators failed to report suspected child abuse as required by law Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams urged school district employees to “act with a child protective mentality.”

Adams announced Friday that former Manheim Central High School social studies teacher and assistant football coach Jared Shearer, 35, was charged with failing to properly report alleged student hazing when notified in April.

But in a case involving the Manheim Township School District, Adams said while the district failed to report an April 2024 incident involving a high school lacrosse player who allegedly exposed himself to a teammate while another teammate held him down, the district was following the advice of its solicitor at the time.

“The district’s reasonable reliance on their attorney’s advice would negate the mental state required under the law for failure to report”…

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An Irish priest pleads guilty to minor sex abuse, Glasgow shutters 24 churches and half its parishes, the UAE gets a new Vatican ambassador, and more in this week’s Catholic world news roundup.

A priest from the Diocese of Derry in Ireland has admitted to 109 child sex offense charges from June 22, 2023, to April 18, 2025.

Bishop Michael Router said he would ask the Vatican to dismiss Father Edward Gallagher from the clerical state after he admitted to the charges, which include possession of child pornography, attempted solicitation of sexual activity from a child, and attempted sexual communication with a minor, the BBC reported Oct. 5. Gallagher awaits sentencing on Dec. 9.

“I have already instructed that the documentation required by the Holy See be finalized and transmitted without delay,” Bishop Router said in a statement on Oct. 5, according to a BelfastLive report.

“The Church…

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An investigation by Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, initiated in 2019, documents child sexual abuse in the dioceses of Fall River, Springfield, and Worcester since the 1950s

Massachusetts was the place where the biggest crisis of abuse in the Catholic Church in the United States erupted. In 2002, an investigation by The Boston Globe uncovered how the Archdiocese of Boston had covered up pedophile priests for decades. That same year, in direct response to the crisis, the state passed a law that made it a crime to recklessly endanger minors.

More than twenty years later, attention is focused on three other dioceses in the state: Fall River, Springfield, and Worcester. The Attorney General’s Office began investigating them in 2019, and since then, it has reviewed more than 300,000 pages of documents and interviewed more than a hundred people, including survivors, lawyers, clergy members, and diocesan officials and employees. The result…

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The Worcester diocese can now proceed with a canonical trial to have Father Alan J. Martineau, ordained a priest in 2018, permanently removed from the clerical state following “a determination of sexual abuse,” Raymond L. Delisle, chancellor and director of communications ministry, said in a statement Wednesday. The Vatican directs that the criminal trial be concluded first, he explained.
He said his statement was in response to a story that appeared Wednesday in The Boston Globe.
The Globe said that Father Martineau was initially charged with indecent assault and battery on a person aged 14 or older and he pleaded not guilty. In September 2025, he accepted a plea deal, agreeing that there were enough facts to convict him of assault and battery, but was not pleading guilty to that. The case was then dismissed.  
“The court gave him a year of probation and ordered him not to contact the victim, but then…

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See images of this article [1, 2] as it appeared in the hardcopy Boston Globe on 10/13/2026.

WORCESTER — A longtime organization that has fought against and brought awareness to sexual abuse by priests is calling on the Catholic church to use a recently created mechanism to investigate the Worcester diocese’s handling of a recently unearthed case.

This case, reported on last week by The Boston Globe based on sealed court documents, is a sign to Terence McKiernan of the Waltham-based Bishop Accountability that not enough has changed in the two-plus decades since a Globe Spotlight series brought about a massive reckoning for the church’s handling of abuse by priests.

The most recent Globe story referred to the Worcester diocese’s plan in 2021 to transfer a priest to another church after a teenager first raised complaints of inappropriate behavior involving…

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October the 13th, 2026 – A minor said she was physically abused by a Croatian priest in 2021, yet Bozanić allegedly failed to ever report him.

Index has reported that the Zagreb Archdiocese reported a priest accused of abusing a minor to the police allegedly only five years after receiving the complaint. This occurred only after Dnevnik.hr sent an inquiry about the case. A minor female person accused the priest of abuse back in 2021. The Archdiocese submitted the report to the Zagreb police only on the 9th of October this year, two days after Dnevnik.hr sent them an inquiry about the entire case. They have refused to answer any further questions about the case.

Zagreb police confirmed their receipt of the report. “The police received a report from a church legal entity, following which it has begun a criminal investigation,” they stated in their response. They…

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A survivor of shocking clerical abuse has been awarded more than $2.2 million by a County Court jury, despite a series of contentious claims by the Marist Brothers’ legal team that he lied about his mental health and had the “credibility of a $3 note”.

Greg Barclay was repeatedly accused of fabricating and exaggerating evidence during the civil trial, including a claim he faked details about two suicide attempts after he was sexually abused by brother John Anthony Skehan at the former St Colman’s College in Shepparton in 1970.

During a 12-day trial last month, barrister Jack Pappas, acting for the Trustees of the Marist Brothers, branded Barclay a “money-grubber” who was motivated by greed, while dismissing some of his testimony as “balderdash, piffle and rot”.

“I suggest to you [there] was a performance by Mr Barclay on the morning of the second day of his evidence, unabashed display of…

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Yes, they do, and here’s why.

On Friday the news broke of (yet another) pastor arrested for multiple charges of sexual abuse. Specifically, the pastor of Pleasant View Baptist Church of Waynesburg, Kentucky was charged with sexual abuse, sodomy, and incest.

I have made a decision to share some thoughts about these horrendous sexual abuse cases in churches, because I am in a fairly unique place to comment on what I see happening in places like Pleasant View Baptist.

I want to make it clear that I do not know the man involved or his family, and I have not attended this church since the very early 1990s. Furthermore, I have not identified as a Baptist since 1994. My comments are more general in nature and do not presume any knowledge of this specific situation beyond what has been reported by local media.

::

I spent a few of my…

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Five women have accused Jerry Finchum, the 51-year-old senior pastor of Lee’s Summit Baptist Temple in Missouri, of sexually abusing them as teenagers or young adults, according to an investigation by The Roys Report. The allegations put the church’s response in focus: the outlet reported that a concern was brought to church leadership in 2018, but the congregation elected Finchum senior pastor five years later and he remains in the pulpit. The women described unwanted touching and attempts to pressure them into sexual conduct, the outlet reported.

The accusations, detailed in a report from The Roys Report, describe a pattern stretching back nearly two decades. One woman told police Finchum attempted to have sex with her multiple times when she was 22 years old and living in the Finchum home. Another said their sexual relationship, which she said he convinced her to…

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When Pope Leo XIV met seven survivors of abuse by French clergy in Lourdes, the most important moment of his visit happened away from the crowds and ceremonies. During a private meeting that lasted nearly two hours, he listened to their stories, thanked them for sharing their “painful testimony” and reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring such abuse never happens again.

That matters. Survivors who were doubted, silenced, or urged to forgive quickly deserve to be heard without defensiveness. But listening is only the beginning. The value of the meeting will not be measured by the pope’s words in Lourdes. It will be measured by what the Church does afterward.

A compassionate encounter can open the door to repair. It cannot, by itself, constitute repair.

Why France, and why now

Pope Leo’s four-day visit came as France continues to reckon with a devastating history. In 2021, the Independent Commission on Sexual…

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Bishop planned to move accused to another par­ish before charges

In 2021, a young parish­ioner in the rural middle of the state told a vis­it­ing priest that the Rev. Alan J. Mar­tineau had cul­tiv­ated a spe­cial rela­tion­ship with her and then inap­pro­pri­ately touched her. Begin­ning in 2019, the girl said, Mar­tineau repeatedly hugged, kissed, and touched her. Mar­tineau also exchanged tens of thou­sands of text mes­sages with the girl, invest­ig­at­ors later found.

Noti­fied mul­tiple times, the bishop of the dio­cese, Robert Joseph McManus of Worcester, sought to do what church lead­ers before him had done so often: trans­fer Mar­tineau to another par­ish where he would receive the “tutel­age” of an older priest.

But before that trans­fer occurred, a social worker with the dio­cese decided the alleg­a­tions had become so ser­i­ous that they must be repor­ted to the state, so she called the Depart­ment of Chil­dren and Fam­il­ies.

Ulti­mately, instead of…

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Key Takeaways

• Massachusetts voters broadly support eliminating civil deadlines for childhood sexual abuse claims.
• The proposed reforms remain pending.
• A revival window is crucial for survivors whose claims have already expired.
• Survivors should seek an individual assessment rather than assume their age prevents a lawsuit.

The harm of child sexual abuse does not expire. A survivor’s opportunity to seek accountability should not depend on an arbitrary deadline.

A new Massachusetts poll shows broad support for removing those deadlines. As Boston 25 News reported on October 8, 84% of respondents support eliminating the civil statute of limitations for child sexual abuse lawsuits.

Now lawmakers have an opportunity to act. Survivors and advocates are urging them to preserve reforms known as Amendment 110 in the final version of a major health care bill.

These changes are still pending. Massachusetts has not yet enacted the reforms discussed…

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A survivor of clergy abuse by a Buffalo Diocese priest has opposed the $362 million bankruptcy settlement. The victim, abused over 100 times, calls the agreement an insult.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mjAXp6VVBM

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Australia’s highest-ranked bishop has spoken out from the Vatican, defending the Catholic Church’s handling of the former Bishop of Broome’s sexual abuse scandal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9To7pyjOD7A

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FOR this writer, the real heroes in the Philippines are the exploited and abused boys and girls who have endured horrific beatings and rapes by child sex abusers and found the courage to fight back and attain justice for themselves. Cases of child abuse, especially online child sexual abuse, are rising, according to data from the National Baseline Study on Violence Against Children in the Philippines. Eight out of 10 children — or 80 percent — face some form of violence or abuse during their lifetime.

Children from ages zero to 17 make up roughly 33.6 percent of the country’s population. In a total estimated population of more than 112 million, this translates to approximately 38 to 40 million underage children living in the Philippines. The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) estimates that 17 percent of them experienced sexual abuse by parents, relatives and pedophiles. As many as 2 million…

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A 36-year-old pastor wanted in connection with the murder of a four-month-old baby and the alleged rape of her 43-year-old mother has been arrested in Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg.

The infant’s body was found buried in a shallow grave near the Hennops River earlier this week.

The arrest brings to three the number of suspects in custody, including the pastor’s two wives.

Police say the suspect was arrested in a backroom in Diepsloot informal settlement this afternoon, following an intensive investigation involving detectives and crime Intelligence.

He was reportedly found with injuries.

The incident is alleged to have occurred when the mother went to the Hennops River near the R511 with the pastor and one of his wives for a ritual.

Police say the woman was allegedly raped and tied up but managed to escape and seek help at a nearby construction site.

The pastor’s 24-year-old…

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New court documents allege the head pastor at a Duncan Pentecostal church knew about his youth pastor’s inappropriate behavior with young girls years before he was arrested.

Thursday, 27-year-old Andrew Benton was booked into Stephens County Jail on two counts of child sex abuse charges.

He posted his bond and was released hours after he turned himself in.

Benton, according to officials, was the youth pastor at Grace Chapel Pentecostal Church and allegedly used his position to sexually abuse several underage girls. He was also the Youth President for the Assembly of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For one girl, the documents stated the abuse happened from the summer of 2025 to as early as February 2026.

For another girl, it is alleged that the abuse occurred from 2024 onward.

Benton is said to have utilized church events to end up sexually abusing several of the girls. He is also accused…

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A former Catholic priest was found guilty on Thursday of sexually abusing a student at a Catonsville Catholic school in the 1990s.  

William Mannion Jr. was accused of abusing the student, who was 10 years old when the offenses occurred, the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office confirmed to CBS News Baltimore. 

Mannion was found guilty of one count of child sex abuse and four counts of second-degree sex offense.   

A sentencing has been scheduled for Dec. 14.

A jury of eight men and four women deliberated for about an hour before breaking for lunch and later notified Judge Dennis Robinson Jr. that they had reached a verdict, our media partner, the Baltimore Banner, reported. Mannion — who had been on home detention since his arrest last year — was handcuffed and taken into custody. 

“You know I didn’t do this,” Mannion, 64, told his…

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A 49-year-old man is facing multiple felony charges after investigators say he used social media to pursue a sexual relationship with a teenage girl and then tried to hide the evidence.

Scott Hartman, a former Catholic Foundation executive, was indicted Thursday on three counts of pandering sexually oriented material of a minor, disseminating material harmful to a juvenile, tampering with evidence and grooming.

He will be arraigned in Franklin County Common Pleas Court on Oct. 13.

Hartman was arrested last week by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force after investigators executed a search warrant at his home.

The investigation began in April after a teenage victim reported to school counselors that she had been involved in an online relationship with Hartman, according to the sheriff’s office.

Court documents say Hartman communicated with the girl through Instagram and TikTok from approximately November…

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Worcester Bishop Robert J. McManus planned to move the Rev. Alan J. Martineau to another parish after a teenage parishioner accused the priest of inappropriate touching, according to court records The Boston Globe reported Wednesday, Oct. 7.

A diocesan social worker reported the allegations to the state Department of Children and Families before the transfer took effect. Nearly five months passed between the day McManus first heard the accusations and the day the diocese contacted authorities, the Globe found.

Martineau became the only priest prosecuted as a result of Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s investigation into the dioceses of Worcester, Fall River and Springfield. Campbell’s office released the findings Tuesday, Sept. 30. The report tied 90 accused clergy members to 216 survivors in the Worcester Diocese alone.

The Globe obtained the court records after a judge impounded them. A search for the case in the state’s…

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Jared Denney, a former leader at a McCracken County church, appeared Friday before Judge Jenny Hines in McCracken County District Court for arraignment, at which time a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf.

Denney was arrested as a result of an investigation which began in late August, and alleges that Denney, 37, sent sexually explicit messages to a minor.  

Denney is currently charged with grooming, procuring or promoting use of a minor by electronic means and distribution of obscene materials to minors. He is set to appear back in court for a preliminary hearing at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 15, according to the McCracken County District Court Clerk. 

While McCracken County Sheriff’s Office called Denney a former youth pastor/leader with the church in its original news release, Bellview Baptist Church said in a statement that Denney was a Sunday school teacher. It’s unclear if Denney’s position with the…

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A top Australian Catholic bishop has acknowledged the eight-year delay in bringing a fellow bishop to justice on charges he sexually abused young Indigenous men

A top Australian Catholic bishop has acknowledged the eight-year delay in bringing a fellow bishop to justice on charges he sexually abused young Indigenous men. But he defended the church’s decision to let police take the lead in the case as a necessary guarantee.

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, president of the Australian Bishops Conference, said Friday he hoped the church could soon reopen its own in-house legal procedures against former Broome Bishop Christopher Saunders now that he has been sentenced criminally.

“We still have to respect the integrity of the Australian justice system,” Costelloe told The Associated Press on the sidelines of a Vatican conference. “That’s been probably the fundamental reason why it’s stretched out as long as it has.”

Saunders, 76, was sentenced to…

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A youth pastor has been arrested after agents with the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation said he had sexual contact with children.

Officers with the Duncan Police Department asked OSBI to investigate possible child sexual abuse in March 2026. During the investigation, OSBI agents identified 27-year-old Andrew Benton as the suspect.

Benton was serving as the youth president at Assembly of our Lord Jesus Christ and a youth pastor at Grace Chapel Pentecostal Church.

OSBI shared its report of Benton with the Stephens County District Court on August 28, and an arrest warrant was issued on October 6.

Benton turned himself in to police on October 8. Bond was set at $100,000, and he was ordered to have no contact with any minors and to consume no intoxicants.

He faces two counts of child sexual abuse.

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As Cornell University grapples with a high-profile sexual assault case, Catholic leaders on campus said they are responding with “prayer, pastoral care, and renewed commitment to the formation of Catholic students,” along with an 11-page pastoral letter to guide the faithful on campus.

That response comes as the university has come under scrutiny following a Sept. 16 civil lawsuit filed by a former undergraduate student alleging she was gang raped at a campus fraternity house in 2024. 

Since the filing, concerns over previous handling of the case by university and local officials have led to campus protests, along with the appointment of New York State Attorney General Letitia James to investigate the matter as a special prosecutor.

“We are mindful that these issues are not solely matters of public debate. For some students, the recent news has brought back painful memories, including their own experiences of sexual violence, accusations, and…

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The registered sex offender was convicted of child sex crimes in Georgia

Members of Brookwood Church say they want answers about a registered sex offender’s alleged involvement with the church. Brookwood Church is based in Simpsonville and hosts thousands of members each week, in addition to hosting support groups for members of the community. The church is located off I-385.

The registered sex offender, identified as Jerry Sidell, does not face pending charges in South Carolina, and church leadership maintains safeguards were in place, but a member who came forward to FOX Carolina Investigates said the church did not do enough to be transparent with the congregation.

A casual conversation

David Walsh called Brookwood Church home for three years. He led different groups at the church and brought his children every Sunday.

“About three years ago, after a series they did called Breakthrough, that was the first time I attended,…

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Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for Bishops, has spoken publicly about the consequences of the sexual assault allegations made against him in 2022, after a Canadian court declared them unfounded and convicted his accuser of defamation. The cardinal described the four years since the case began as a “nightmare” that affected his health, his reputation, and his moral authority.

In an interview given to Rome Reports, published on October 7, Ouellet referred to the ruling issued on August 31 by the Superior Court of Quebec, which ruled in the cardinal’s favor in the defamation lawsuit filed against pastoral agent Pamela Groleau.

“When I think about the whole matter, from beginning to end, it lasted four years. It has been like a nightmare, a very difficult and costly experience, because I had to hire lawyers to defend myself, and this affected my reputation, my moral authority, my…

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Decoy who posed as a 14-year-old when engaging with Gallagher speaks to The Irish News

A predator priest renewed his ordination vows on the morning of Holy Thursday last year, hours before he was arrested and charged with child sex offences.

Fr Edward Gallagher also used the same mobile number given out to parishioners to engage in the sexual abuse of more than 60 children.

Diocese of Derry cleric Gallagher (59), of Orchard Park in Lifford, Co Donegal, pleaded guilty to more than 100 offences at Derry Crown Court this week.

The charges relate to dates between June 2023 and April 2025 and include 43 counts of attempted sexual communication with a child under 16, 43 charges of indecent images of children, 13 counts of possession of indecent images of a child, two counts of possessing images of a child and possessing an extreme pornographic image.

…

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Christopher Saunders had spent 25 years forging a career in the Catholic Church, but simmering beneath his philanthropy was a shocking truth: the clergyman was living a sinful and sleazy double life.

Christopher Saunders was a sexual predator hiding in plain sight.

As bishop of the diocese of Broome, Saunders had forged a career teaching Catholicism and visiting remote Aboriginal communities in the State’s Kimberley for more than 25 years.

But simmering beneath a veneer of philanthropy was a shocking truth: the clergyman was living a sinful and sleazy double life, plying young Aboriginal men with booze in exchange for sexual advances.

News of the bishop’s arrest in 2024 shocked the coastal town of Broome, but for one woman it cemented long-running whispers that one of Australia’s most powerful members of the Catholic Church was a rapist.

THE SECRETARY

Cherrille Quilty hadn’t been looking for a new gig, but was…

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Albert Wiggan describes the jailing of disgraced bishop Christopher Saunders as like “cutting off the head of a snake”.

The Aboriginal community leader describes the Catholic cleric as an “evil predator” and is urging people to call out sex abusers. 

“They’ve exposed this bloke for who he is,” Mr Wiggan said.

“But the community has to become more vigilant about exposing this type of behaviour.”

Mr Wiggan says he knew Saunders since childhood, but had never experienced inappropriate behaviour.

But he feels deeply for those who did, describing a sense of betrayal that is still sinking in.

It is a call for action echoed by current Bishop of Broome Tim Norton, who concedes the Catholic Church has been too slow to act.

“As a church I hope we are learning in this very deep and difficult process,” Bishop Norton said.

“I sense we are but it’s a slow pace….

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An overwhelming majority of Massachusetts voters believe the clock shouldn’t run out for child sex abuse survivors suing their alleged abusers, according to a poll released Thursday.

Eighty-four percent of voters said that there should be no expiration date for survivors to sue alleged offenders in civil court, according to the poll, published by survivor advocacy group Enough Abuse and conducted by the MassINC Polling Group.

The findings were published as a primary health care bill, that includes an amendment removing the time restriction for such lawsuits, and is making its way through the state Legislature. Under current state law, the time limit, frequently called the statute of limitations, for childhood sexual abuse requires survivors to file a civil lawsuit within 35 years of the alleged abuse or within seven years of the victim becoming aware the alleged…

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Bishop sentenced to 6.5 years in prison – ABC listen

Rachel Mealey: A prison sentence handed down to Catholic Bishop Christopher Saunders for sexually abusing two young men has been met with relief but also fury. International advocates have slammed the Vatican’s handling of the case, saying it exposes dangerous flaws the church has repeatedly promised to fix. Erin Parke reports from Broome.

Christopher Saunders: Isn’t that a wonderful piece of theology?

Erin Parke: For almost 50 years, Christopher Saunders was a formidable presence in the remote Kimberley region.

Christopher Saunders: Believing in Jesus Christ and living a life according to Jesus Christ can set us free.

Erin Parke: As a priest and then bishop based in Broome since 1976, Saunders officiated the baptisms, marriages and funerals of generations of local families. His humour and love of a drink and a smoke endeared him to wealthy business owners in…

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A federal judge has rejected the Catholic Diocese of Oakland’s $180 million Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan, ruling that the church failed to prove its proposed compensation for 345 clergy sexual abuse survivors met federal requirements. The decision prevents the diocese from moving forward with its proposed reorganization as it seeks to resolve hundreds of abuse claims through bankruptcy.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge William J. Lafferty III issued the 109-page decision on October 2, 2026, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California. He found material errors in the diocese’s calculations of what creditors could receive if its assets were liquidated, a comparison required before a court can approve a Chapter 11 reorganization plan.

The diocese filed for Chapter 11 protection on May 8, 2023, amid hundreds of lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by clergy and other church personnel. The filing allowed it to continue operating while pursuing a court-supervised…

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Viewer discretion: This story includes depictions of sexual assault.

A child sexual abuse psychologist said she believes Gary Tom Keesee Jr.’s four alleged victims experienced “compelling, specific, and detailed” trauma from their alleged exposure to Keesee Jr.

“The disclosures were clinically significant and consistent,” said Carrie Schnirring, with Lighthouse Family Center, during her expert testimony Thursday.

Schnirring is an expert in psychological assessment and has conducted over 2,500 evaluations with children experiencing sexual trauma and testified in sex abuse trials more than 30 times after evaluating the victims.

MORE | Complete coverage of the case

This comes as victim and witness testimony continued Thursday in the trial against Keesee. He is facing 32 charges, including 13 counts of rape. Prosecutors allege he sexually assaulted four minor girls over the course of nine years.

Prosecutors say all four women were members of the…

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Gary Keesee Sr., co-founder and senior pastor of Faith Life Church in New Albany, Ohio, denied in court Monday that he knew his son, Gary Thomas “Tom” Keesee Jr., had allegedly sexually abused multiple minors when he was also a minor, prior to those allegations becoming public in 2025.

During testimony at his son’s trial at the Knox County Common Pleas Court in Mount Vernon, Ohio, Keesee Sr., who founded the church with his wife, Knox County Commissioner Drenda Keesee, told prosecutors that he wasn’t aware of anyone who was sexually abused in his church in the 31 years he has served as a pastor. He was the only witness called by the defense in the bench trial before Judge Richard Wetzel, which Keesee Jr. chose after waiving his right to a jury midway through jury selection, according to View Cache

A longtime former educator at a private school in Shelby County is back in jail after authorities arrested him for the second time on child pornography charges.

Michael Roy Bridges, the 70-year-old former performing arts director who had had also served during his career as an assistant principal at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic School, was booked into the Shelby County Jail on Thursday.

Bridges was initially arrested in May 2025 on 13 counts of possession of child sex abuse material.

He was out on bond when sheriff’s deputies on Thursday arrested him with one count of dissemination of child sexual abuse material.

“At this time, investigators have no information that suggests the images were produced in or near Shelby County,” sheriff’s officials said in a statement.

Shelby County Circuit Judge Bill Bostick on Thursday revoked Bridge’s bond on the previous…

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A criminal complaint alleges that Seth Day sexually assaulted the couple’s daughter. The couple has been barred from seeing their children by an emergency protective order.

A criminal complaint reviewed by RNS revealed previously undisclosed details about sexual abuse allegations against Seth Day, husband of bestselling Adventist author and speaker Heather Thompson Day.

The Days were both arrested in late September and charged with injuring a child age 14 or younger. Seth Day was additionally charged with sexual assault. 

According to the complaint filed in Johnson County Court in Cleburne, Texas, the Days’ daughter, who is a minor, told an investigator that her father, a professor at Southwestern Adventist University, had sexual intercourse with her on her bed, which she described as “yucky.”

The arrests came after a schoolteacher reported concerns about abuse after seeing bruises and lacerations on the couple’s daughter. The daughter later told investigators that her father had…

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The Days, popular Christian authors, were arrested after a teacher reported concerns about abuse. The couple had been reported to Child Protective Services in the past. Police in Keene, Texas, charged the couple after speaking to their daughter.

More details have emerged regarding the arrests of Christian author and influencer Heather Thompson Day and her husband, Seth Day, a Christian college professor.

The two were arrested last week and charged with allegedly harming a child. Seth Day was also charged with alleged sexual abuse.

RELATED:  Heather Thompson Day and Seth Day, Christian authors, arrested for alleged abuse

The Keene Police Department in Keene, Texas, first became aware of the allegations against the Days on Sept. 24, when an officer was called to the Johnson County Children’s Advocacy Center, according to arrest affidavits in the case. There he met with the Days’ daughter, after a high school…

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New details have emerged regarding the arrest of bestselling Christian author Heather Thompson Day and her husband, Seth Day. The couple is facing child abuse charges, and Seth is accused of child sex abuse. 

Editor’s note: This article refers to disturbing reports of child sex abuse that some readers might find triggering.

Heather Thompson Day is a Christian speaker, podcaster, and the author of several books, including “What If I’m Wrong?: Navigating the Waves of Fear and Failure” and “It’s Not Your Turn: What To Do While You’re Waiting for Your Breakthrough.” Her work has been featured by Religion News Service, Christianity Today, Barna Group, and Newsweek.

Seth Day is an assistant professor of psychology at Southwestern Adventist University (SWAU). Following his arrest, he was placed on leave from the school.

The couple coauthored the book “I’ll See You Tomorrow: Building Relational Resilience When You Want To Quit.”

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A former pastor already facing multiple charges involving an alleged juvenile victim has been charged with additional sex crimes after another alleged victim came forward, according to the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office.

Scott C. Hughes, 54, of Somerset, was served Thursday with a new arrest warrant while being held at the Pulaski County Detention Center, where he has remained since his Oct. 1 arrest on a $75,000 bond.

Sheriff Bobby Jones said investigators filed the new charges after interviewing an adult male on Oct. 7 who reported he was allegedly sexually abused by Hughes beginning when he was about 10 years old.

The man told investigators the alleged abuse continued for several years and included incidents in Pulaski County.

Former pastor, Sunrise Children’s worker charged with child sexual sexual abuse

Based on those allegations, Hughes was charged with first-degree sodomy, second-degree sodomy involving a person in a position of…

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Key Takeaways

• Isaias Escobar, 22, was arrested and charged with sexual assault of a child following an investigation by the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office.
• The alleged victim, a 16-year-old girl, reportedly attended a Grace Woodlands youth event with Escobar and his family before the alleged assault.
• The church said that Escobar entered a pastor training program in 2025 but said he was not an employee and did not hold an official position at the church. The alleged victim’s mother described him as a youth and worship leader.

Isaias Escobar, a 22-year-old Texas man enrolled in a training program through Grace Church in The Woodlands, Texas, has been arrested and charged with with sexual assault of a child following an alleged assault involving a 16-year-old girl.

San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office Announces Isaias Escobar’s Arrest

The San Jacinto…

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Legislation to remove the statute of limitations is currently in conference committee

A new poll shows widespread support among for eliminating the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse civil claims in Massachusetts.

The poll, conducted by MassInc, was released on Thursday, by the group Enough Abuse about an amendment, currently in conference committee, to eliminate the statute of limitations and the $20,000 charitable immunity cap for child sexual abuse civil cases.

It would also make the law retroactive, allowing survivors who are currently barred from suing to file claims for two years.

Massachusetts law currently bars child sexual abuse survivors age 53 or over from suing their abusers in civil court, as previously reported by 5 Investigates.

For those who can file claims, liability is capped at $20,000.

A new poll released Thursday by MassINC shows 84% of voters support the measure, and 67% said…

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A FORMER priest who abused a child at a church in Greenock has died in prison.

Vincent Cassidy, 85, died at HMP Low Moss on October 3.

In April this year, he was sentenced to nine years in prison after being convicted of two charges of indecent assault and one of lewd and libidinous practices.

The offences, which date back to the 1970s, related to two young males, one of whom was 16 at the time, and one who was aged between eight and 12.

Cassidy’s abuse of a child in Greenock involved a number of instances of sexual contact.

He preyed on his second victim at locations including a swimming pool, a beach, and a caravan.

His crimes were also committed at locations in Paisley and Lossiemouth.

The former priest was extradited from Australia to face the charges and was previously…

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