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December 29, 2018

Vatican begins sex abuse investigation of McCarrick

Then-Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick attends a Mass in Rome April 13. The prelate, no longer a member of the College of Cardinals, has been accused of abusing a minor decades ago when he was a priest and being sexually inappropriate with seminarians in more recent years as a bishop. He has denied the allegations but his case roiled the U.S. Catholic Church in 2018 amid a growing abuse crisis.
WASHINGTON – James Grein, a Virginia man who said Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick, former archbishop of Washington, sexually abused him for years beginning when he was 11, gave his testimony about what occurred Dec. 27 before a judicial vicar for the New York Archdiocese.
Published in International
December 21, 2018

2018: Year of Youth

The October youth synod gave the Church in Canada an opportunity to examine its own youth ministry this year.

Youth issues took centre stage in the Catholic Church this year, and it’s very likely they will stay there in the new year.

Published in Youth Speak News
December 21, 2018

2018: When madness reigned

Suzanne Emerson, from Silver Spring, Md., holds a sign during a Nov. 12 news conference held by Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests in Baltimore.

Eight-hundred years before Christ the prophet Micah was sure the world was mad: “Put no trust in a friend, have no confidence in a loved one; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your embrace,” Micah warned. 

Published in International
December 21, 2018

Church will spare no effort to end abuse, bring justice, Pope Francis tells Curia

In this 2017 file photo, Pope Francis speaks during his annual pre-Christmas meeting with top officials of the Roman Curia and members of the College of Cardinals in Clementine Hall at the Vatican.
VATICAN – Acknowledging the gravity of the clerical sexual abuse crisis, Pope Francis told members of the Roman Curia that the church's strength does not depend on its members' perfection, but on the willingness to recognize its failings and correct them.
Published in International
December 20, 2018

Illinois attorney general says dioceses failed to address clerical sex abuse

A preliminary report released Dec. 19 by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan shows clergy sexual abuse of minors in the state to be "significantly more extensive" than what the state's dioceses had previously reported, it said. Madigan is pictured in a 2014 photo.
CHICAGO – Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's report claiming that the clergy sexual abuse of minors in the state is "significantly more extensive" than what the state's dioceses had previously reported is unfair and "just false," according to the top lawyer for the Archdiocese of Chicago.
Published in International
December 18, 2018

Pope Francis asks bishops to meet with sex abuse victims before February meeting

Pope Francis meets representatives of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops at the Vatican Dec. 6. Pictured from left are Archbishop Richard Gagnon of Winnipeg, Manitoba, CCCB vice president; Bishop Lionel Gendron of Saint-Jean-Longueuil, Quebec, CCCB president; and Msgr. Frank Leo Jr., general secretary of the conference.
VATICAN – Before traveling to Rome for a major Vatican summit on the clerical sex abuse crisis and child protection, each participating bishop should meet with survivors of abuse, said the committee organizing the meeting.
Published in International
December 14, 2018

Postwar orphans were sex abuse victims of German clergy, investigation finds

Boys play with Legos at a Catholic orphanage in Bonn, Germany, during Advent in 1960. The number of German children in orphanages surged after World War II. The Diocese of Hildesheim is investigating reports that many children in these homes were victims of sexual abuse by clergy.
An investigation by the Diocese of Hildesheim, Germany, is shedding new light on child sex abuse in Catholic children's homes in the country in the 1950s. A central figure in the inquiry is an esteemed and controversial figure, Bishop Heinrich Maria Janssen, a former priest in Nazi-occupied Poland awarded Germany's highest federal decoration in 1966 for postwar charity work.
Published in International
December 14, 2018

Proposal would increase power of archbishops in dealing with sex abuse

“It’s a discussion that I think a lot of people would like to have,” said Halifax Archbishop Anthony Mancini of the new proposal.

A proposal by American bishops has borrowed from medieval practice to offer a solution to the complex canon-law conundrum of how to hold bishops to account for sexual misconduct and abuse coverups.

Published in International
December 14, 2018

English cardinal shocked to learn vicar sent two pedophile priests to U.S.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, England, is pictured Oct. 11 at the Vatican. Cardinal Nichols told an independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse Dec. 13 that he was shocked to learn a now-deceased vicar in Birmingham tried to help two pedophile priests flee to United States.
LONDON – An English cardinal has told an inquiry into child abuse of his shock at learning that a vicar general of his former archdiocese tried to help two pedophile priests escape to the United States.
Published in International
December 7, 2018

Canadian bishops discuss sex abuse policy, Indigenous Peoples with Pope Francis

Pope Francis poses for a photo with representatives of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops during a meeting at the Vatican Dec. 6. From left are Bishop Lionel Gendron of Saint-Jean-Longueuil, Quebec, CCCB president; Pope Francis; Archbishop Richard Gagnon of Winnipeg, Manitoba, CCCB vice president; and Msgr. Frank Leo Jr., general secretary of the conference.
VATICAN – The leaders of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops said the concerns of the indigenous peoples in Canada and the bishops' updated sexual abuse policies were among the issues they spoke about with Pope Francis.
Published in International
December 6, 2018

Australian judge overturns former Adelaide archbishop's child sex abuse conviction

Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide, Australia, leaves the Newcastle Local Court in mid-August. An Australian judge overturned the conviction of Archbishop Wilson for failing to report allegations of child sexual abuse by a priest.
NEWCASTLE, Australia – An Australian judge overturned the conviction of Archbishop Philip Wilson, whom a lower court found guilty of failing to report allegations of child sexual abuse by a priest.
Published in International
December 5, 2018

Names in redacted grand jury report on abuse can't be released, Pennsylvania high court says

A statue of Christ and a sign are seen in late August at the entrance to the Diocese of Harrisburg in Pennsylvania.
HARRISBURG, Pa. – In a 6-1 decision Dec. 3, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said the identities of some clergy accused of abuse that were redacted from a grand jury report issued in mid-August must remain permanently blocked from release.
Published in International
December 4, 2018

Gay clergy must stay celibate or leave, Pope Francis says

Pope Francis walks in front of a candle in memory of victims of sexual abuse as he visits St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral in Dublin Aug. 25. Pope Francis apologized for clerical sexual abuse in Ireland but on the final day of the trip, he was accused of ignoring abuse by Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick.
VATICAN – In a book-length interview to be published next week, Pope Francis addressed gifts and challenges for clerical and religious vocations, among them the challenge of homosexuality in the clergy.
Published in Faith
November 30, 2018

Women say church leaders must listen to survivors before Vatican abuse summit

Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago has been appointed by Pope Francis to be part of the organizing committee for the Vatican's Feb. 21-24 global bishops meeting to address clerical sexual abuse. Cardinal Cupich is pictured in front of Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna of Malta, also appointed a member of the committee, at the Vatican Oct. 18.
ROME – Three female survivors of sexual abuse by priests called on church leaders preparing for a February summit at the Vatican to listen to the voices of victims and to end a "culture of cover-up" that has dragged on for decades.
Published in International
November 29, 2018

Young adults discuss abuse scandals within Church

Jesuit Fr. Jack Costello answers questions from young adults attending the “Scarred by Scandal” pub night.

Discussing Church scandals at a pub was unusual for Fr. Jack Costello, but the informal setting allowed young adults to learn about scandals in a safe and social environment.

Published in Youth Speak News
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