clergy abuse scandal

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Despite 'Spiritual Halo,' Nuns Are Part of Something Darker

Victims who are sexually abused by women of the cloth aren't often discussed in church sex scandals

(Newser) - On Wednesdays, the support group meets over Zoom. Members talk about their lives, religious families, and old parochial schools. But mostly, they're there to talk about the sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of Catholic nuns—and it's a topic that deserves more attention, they say. The...

State AG Releases Stunning Report on Church Sex Abuse

Report alleges 451 Catholic clergy in Illinois abused nearly 2K children from 1950 to 2019

(Newser) - In 2018, a grand jury report was released in Pennsylvania naming 300-plus "predator priests" in the state accused of sexually abusing more than 1,000 children over a period of seven decades. Partly inspired by those revelations, then-Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan started a probe in her own state,...

State Report on Church Abuse Finds 'Astonishing' Scope

Maryland says Baltimore Archdiocese often did little to stop the torture and abuse

(Newser) - Maryland's attorney general released the results Wednesday of a four-year state investigation into the sexual abuse and torture of children by clergy members and employees of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The report covers the totality of 80 years of mistreatment, during which it says 156 members of Catholic clergy...

Benedict Did the Most to Battle Clergy Abuse but Was Criticized

As cardinal and pope, he pursued accountability while taking no responsibility himself

(Newser) - Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is rightly credited with having been one of the 20th century's most prolific Catholic theologians, a teacher-pope who preached the faith through books, sermons, and speeches. But he rarely received credit for another important aspect of his legacy: having done more than anyone before him...

Report: French Catholic Church Showed 'Cruel Indifference'

Commission finds 330K children may have been sexually abused by clergy, laypeople since 1950

(Newser) - A new report slams the Catholic Church for "cruel indifference," with clergy in France accused of sexually abusing an estimated 216,000 children since 1950. Jean-Marc Sauve, head of the inquiry commissioned by the French Catholic Church, says most of the victims over the past seven decades were...

Inside This Michigan Building, Group Helped Accused Priests
Why Accused Priests Came
to This Michigan Building
the rundown
Jul 29, 2019 10:20 AM CDT

Why Accused Priests Came to This Michigan Building

AP looks at under-the-radar group Opus Bono Sacerdotii

(Newser) - The visiting priests arrived discreetly, day and night. Stripped of their collars and cassocks, they went unnoticed in the tiny Midwestern town of Dryden, Mich., as they were escorted into a dingy warehouse across from an elementary school playground. They had been brought to town by a small nonprofit group...

Vatican Has New Law on Sex Abuse Complaints

For first time, a system is in place to investigate bishops, other higher-ups

(Newser) - Pope Francis issued new rules Thursday on how the church should handle sexual abuse allegations. Some key points of the decree, called "You Are the Light of the World," which takes effect June 1:
  • A first: For the first time, priests and nuns are required to report abuse
...

Benedict Emerges to Pin Sex Abuse on Sexual Revolution

He publishes a 6K-word letter 'to assist in this difficult hour'

(Newser) - Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has emerged from the shadows with a new letter that assigns blame for the clergy abuse crisis. In a 6,000-word letter whose authenticity was confirmed by Benedict's personal secretary, Benedict begins by writing that his remarks are intended "to assist in this difficult...

Catholic Leaders in Texas Name 286 Accused

Dioceses identify those accused of sexually abusing minors

(Newser) - Catholic leaders in Texas on Thursday identified 286 priests and others accused of sexually abusing children, a number that represents one of the largest collections of names to be released since an explosive grand jury report last year in Pennsylvania, the AP reports. Fourteen dioceses in Texas named those credibly...

Pope Knew of Allegations vs. 'Spiritual Son' in '15: Report

Argentine diocesan officials say bishop was allowed to quietly resign, then promoted

(Newser) - The Vatican received information in 2015 and 2017 that an Argentine bishop close to Pope Francis had taken naked selfies, exhibited "obscene" behavior, and been accused of misconduct with seminarians, his former vicar general told the AP , undermining Vatican claims that allegations were made a few months ago. Francis...

Sex Abuse Victim: Priest Held Gun to My Head

The deceased New York state holy man allegedly molested a boy in the 1980s

(Newser) - A New York state priest allegedly sexually assaulted a teen in the 1980s while holding a gun to his head, according to a complaint filed with a fund set up by the Buffalo diocese to compensate sexual abuse victims. The Buffalo News reports that Rev. Michael R. Freeman was serving...

Here's the Latest Twist in Catholic Sex Abuse Scandal

Pope OKs investigation into US bishop

(Newser) - Pope Francis accepted the resignation of West Virginia Bishop Michael Bransfield on Thursday and authorized an investigation into allegations he sexually harassed adults, adding awkward drama to an audience with US church leaders over the abuse and cover-up scandal roiling the Catholic Church, the AP reports. Bishop Bransfield—a major...

Pope's Response to Allegations Against Him: 'Not One Word'

Francis tells journalists to read what Carlo Maria Vigano wrote, come to own conclusion

(Newser) - The National Catholic Register called the 11-page statement "extraordinary"; Pope Francis called it ... well, he didn't call it anything. Reuters reports that while speaking with reporters aboard the papal plane while en route from Dublin to Rome on Sunday, Francis said he would "not say one...

In Ireland, Pope Addresses 'Repugnant Crimes' of Priests

Francis says he shares outrage over clergy abuse cover-up

(Newser) - Pope Francis said at the start of a visit to Ireland on Saturday that he shares the outrage of rank-and-file Catholics over the failure of church authorities to punish the "repugnant crimes" of priests who raped and molested children. Seeking to respond to a global outcry over the abuse...

Catholic Diocese's Bold Move: Releasing and Erasing Names

71 people accused of child sex abuse in Harrisburg diocese named Wednesday

(Newser) - A Pennsylvania bishop made a bold move on Wednesday: He released the names of 71 people who PennLive reports have been "credibly accused" of sexually abusing children since 1947 in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, which covers much of central Pennsylvania. But Bishop Ronald Gainer is also taking...

Minnesota Clergy Abuse Victims Settle for $210M

Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis can 'endure' the payment

(Newser) - "This has been a long day coming," a sexual abuse survivor said Thursday as the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis announced "the second-largest payout in the scandal that rocked the nation's Roman Catholic Church," per the AP . The $210 million settlement for 450 victims...

Vatican's No. 3 Official Charged With 'Historical' Sex Crimes

Cardinal George Pell denies accusations

(Newser) - Cardinal George Pell, the third highest-ranking Vatican official, has long been accused of mishandling the church's response to clergy abuse scandals in his native Australia. Police in Victoria state now say he might have been one of the abusers. Australian police say the 76-year-old Vatican treasurer faces "multiple...

Activists: Vatican Guilty of Crimes Against Humanity
Activists: Vatican Guilty of Crimes Against Humanity
FOR SEX ABUSE SCANDAL
Sep 13, 2011 7:50 AM CDT

Activists: Vatican Guilty of Crimes Against Humanity

Pope, 3 officials named as responsible for rampant sex abuse

(Newser) - In the most substantial effort yet to hold the Vatican's feet to the fire for clergy sexual abuse, human rights lawyers will file a complaint today asking the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute Pope Benedict XVI and three top Vatican officials for crimes against humanity. According to...

Boston Archdiocese Lists Accused Priests

159 clerics on list; 91 others omitted

(Newser) - Nearly a decade after a sexual abuse scandal erupted in the Archdiocese of Boston, Cardinal Sean O'Malley has released a list of 159 clerics accused of abusing children. The list was compiled using files that go back as far as 70 years, but the archdiocese has come under fire...

Jesuits Settle Sex-Abuse Suit for $166M

Staggering case involves 470 victims in Pacific Northwest

(Newser) - A Catholic order will pay $166 million to some 470 survivors of sexual abuse and "spiritual incest" in a case of staggering scale that dates back to the 1940s at Jesuit-run schools in the Pacific Northwest. The victims were almost all Native Americans and Native Alaskans, notes the Seattle ...

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