clergy abuse scandal

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Pope Celebrates Rocky 5th Anniversary

Beleaguered Vatican isn't exactly popping champagne

(Newser) - Today marks the fifth anniversary of Pope Benedict's ascension to the papacy, but they aren't exactly popping champagne at the beleaguered Vatican. At the moment Benedict is embroiled in a massive pedophilia scandal that could define his papal legacy, and it's not like he's had a charmed papacy until now,...

Women Could Save the Catholic Church
Women Could Save the Catholic Church
PEGGY NOONAN
Apr 16, 2010 8:33 AM CDT

Women Could Save the Catholic Church

Old church needs new blood in charge, writes Peggy Noonan

(Newser) - The Vatican shouldn't be allowed to let this latest round of abuse scandals fade away until some major changes are made, writes Peggy Noonan. The defensive, angry people at the highest levels of the church are too big a part of the problem to fix it, Noonan writes in the...

Pope Finally Talks Sex Abuse—Sort Of

Benedict says Church must do 'penance'

(Newser) - He might not have mentioned it explicitly, but Pope Benedict has apparently broken his deafening silence on the sex abuse scandals roiling the Catholic Church. The comments, which called for the church to do "penance" for its "sins," came in a homily delivered in the papal palace,...

Vatican Told of Abuse in 1963

US priest wrote Pope Paul VI urging defrocking of 'problem priests'

(Newser) - A letter sent to Pope Paul VI in 1963 surfaced yesterday, and its contents suggest that the Vatican was aware of the sexual abuse problems happening in the US Catholic Church nearly five decades ago. Rev. Gerald Fitzgerald wrote the letter, which was made public by lawyers representing alleged abuse...

Vatican Tries to Shield Pope from Lawsuit

Offers 3 reasons he isn't responsible for abuse, and can't testify

(Newser) - The Vatican is launching a legal defense that it hopes will shield the pope from a lawsuit in Kentucky seeking to have him answer questions under oath about clerical sex abuse. Vatican lawyers plan to argue that the pope has immunity as head of state, that American bishops who oversaw...

Vatican Response Rubs Salt Into Abuse Victims' Wounds

Survivors aren't trying to hurt the Pope, say survivors

(Newser) - A man who says he was among some 200 deaf boys allegedly molested by a priest in Wisconsin said yesterday the Vatican's defensive responses to revelations about the case make him feel like he did when he was 12, when no one would listen to him about the abuse—while...

Sex Abuse by Irish Priests 'Hidden for Decades'

Senior clerics implicated in child abuse cover-up

(Newser) - Catholic authorities in Ireland covered up sexual abuse by priests for decades in an effort to protect the church, according to a damning government report. The report, which looks into allegations of child sex abuse against 46 Dublin-area priests over a 30-year period, will "shock us all," said...

Vatican Slams Sex Abuse in Other Religions

Pedophilia statement charges that most abusers are gay

(Newser) - The Vatican hit out at critics of its handling of the church's sexual abuse crisis yesterday, maintaining that most of its abusive clergymen were gay men and not pedophiles. The Holy See's UN representative cited "available research" that only 5% or less of its clergy were involved in...

US Nuns Dodge Specter of Sex Abuse
 US Nuns Dodge 
 Specter of Sex Abuse 
OPINION
Aug 17, 2009 9:11 AM CDT

US Nuns Dodge Specter of Sex Abuse

(Newser) - Last week the largest group of American nuns held its annual meeting, and once again they refused to let survivors of sexual abuse in Catholic schools attend. When even the bishops have acknowledged the depth and seriousness of abuse within the Church, it's strange for the nuns to bury their...

Gay Catholic Archbishop Writes Memoir
Gay Catholic Archbishop Writes Memoir
May 12, 2009 11:58 AM CDT

Gay Catholic Archbishop Writes Memoir

Figure in sex scandal admits orientation, denies assault

(Newser) - A Catholic archbishop who resigned in 2002 over a sex scandal with a man has written a book addressing his sexual orientation, reports the AP. Rembert Weakland was head of the Milwaukee archdiocese and a hero to liberal Catholics for his activism, until he resigned at the peak of the...

Pope Apologizes for 'Evil' Clergy Sex Abuse

Pontiff tells Australia child abusers have damaged the church

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI used unusually strong language today in condemning the sexual abuse of children by Australia's Catholic clergy, reports the AP. The pontiff said the clergy's "grave betrayal of trust" had damaged the Catholic church. "I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have...

After Pope Meets Victims, Vatican Considers Change

Canon law, particularly on statute of limitations, evolving with sex scandal

(Newser) - Just a day after a Washington meeting where Pope Benedict XVI talked with victims sexually abused by Catholic priests, a Vatican official said the church would consider changes to canon law dictating how the church deals with such offenses, the New York Times reports. Cardinal William Levada holds Benedict’s...

Benedict Sees Abuse Victims
 Benedict Sees Abuse Victims 
Apr 17, 2008 4:34 PM CDT

Benedict Sees Abuse Victims

Unprecedented move underscores pope's determination to heal from scandal

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI met this afternoon with victims of sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic priests, the Boston Globe reports, an unprecedented move by the pontiff. The five are from the Boston area, the center of the scandal that has rocked the church. Though Benedict has already addressed the...

Pope to Church: Pedophilia Was 'Badly Handled'

He urges bishops to 'foster healing' and work to improve trust

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI had strong words for America's Roman Catholic bishops today, asserting that the clerical sexual molestation scandal had been "very badly handled" in many cases, the AP reports. "It is your God-given responsibility as pastors to bind up the wounds caused by every breach of trust,...

Pope's Words Anger Victims of Sex Abuse

They're looking for action against priests—not lip service

(Newser) - Pope Benedict's attempt to placate priests' sex abuse victims has only served to anger many of them, reports the New York Times. The pontiff said he was "deeply ashamed" of the scandal that has triggered complaints from some 13,000 victims. He does not plan to meet with any...

Pope 'Ashamed' by Priest Sex Abuse

Pontiff promises to make sure it won't happen again

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI said today he is "deeply ashamed" by the priest sex-abuse scandal that caused a crisis of faith in the US, and he vowed that the church "will absolutely exclude pedophiles" from the priesthood, the AP reports. "We will do whatever is possible so that...

Pope Will Address Abuse Crisis During US Visit

Pontiff aims 'to open the path of healing and reconciliation'

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI will address the clergy sex-abuse crisis during his visit to the US next week, a top aide tells the AP. The pontiff, who begins the six-day trip Tuesday in Washington, "will try to open the path of healing and reconciliation" during a mass for clergy members...

NY Diocese's Coloring Book Warns of Abuse

Angel tells kids not to be alone with an adult; priest not mentioned

(Newser) - A coloring book handed out by the Catholic Church to kids in New York warns them not to be alone with an adult in a room with the door shut, Newsweek reports. It doesn't specifically name priests as a risk, but it does depict an angel warning an altar boy...

LA Cardinal Apologizes to Abuse Victims

Record $660M deal means cardinal won't have to testify

(Newser) - Cardinal Roger Mahony publicly apologized yesterday to the 508 plaintiffs in a sexual-abuse lawsuit the archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to settle for a record $660 million. Mahony, who met privately with many of the victims abused by clergy, said he wished their lives were like a videotape—"...

$650M Deal to Settle Clergy Abuse Charges

LA archdiocese close to a settlement on more than 500 cases, biggest to date

(Newser) - The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is on the verge of an agreement to spend $650 million to settle more than 500 claims of alleged sex abuse against Roman Catholic clergy, the Los Angeles Times reports. The deal, which would be the largest settlement in the 5-year-old clergy-abuse scandal, comes as...

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