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November 28, 2018

Abuse summit ‘critical’ for Church, Cardinal O'Malley says

As head of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, along with some victims of clergy abuse, will be involved in the preparatory work for the meeting, the Vatican said.

VATICAN – The universal Church will face a critical juncture when Pope Francis meets with the world’s bishops to address the abuse and protection of minors, said Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley as the Vatican named members of the organizing committee for the February conference.

Published in International
September 12, 2018

Pope to meet with USCCB leaders as abuse crisis continues

Pope Francis greets Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, during a private meeting in 2017 at the Vatican. Pope Francis will meet Sept. 13 with Cardinal DiNardo and with Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, the Vatican press office announced Sept. 11.
VATICAN – Pope Francis will meet Sept. 13 with Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and with Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, the Vatican press office announced.
Published in International
September 10, 2018

Church must make urgent, clear response to abuse crisis, Cardinal O'Malley says

Boston Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley arrives to concelebrate Mass Nov. 12, 2017, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore on the eve of the fall general assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
VATICAN – Responding quickly and appropriately to the problem of abuse must be a priority for the Catholic Church, said Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, president of the Vatican's Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
Published in International
August 24, 2018

Prominent Irish abuse survivor defends Cardinal O'Malley

Marie Collins is seen at the World Meeting of Families in Dublin Aug. 24. She is a survivor of clerical sex abuse and a former member of the Pontifical Commission for Protection of Minors.
DUBLIN – Marie Collins, a survivor of Irish clerical sex abuse, has given her backing to Boston Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley as president of the Vatican's Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
Published in International
August 16, 2018

Pressure mounts for Pope to address abuse scandal leading up to World Meeting of Families

Marie Collins, center, then member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, watches as Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston, president of the commission, speaks during a briefing at the Vatican May 3, 2014. Collins, who left the commission, told the Irish Times that Pope Francis "should admit responsibility the Vatican and church leadership hold for past events in Ireland." Also pictured is Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, a professor of psychology and president of the Center for Child Protection at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
VATICAN – Pope Francis is traveling to Ireland specifically for the World Meeting of Families, but the sex abuse crisis is dominating headlines before his Aug. 25-26 trip.
Published in International
August 15, 2018

Cardinal O'Malley to miss World Meeting of Families to focus on seminary matters

The Archdiocese of Boston announced Aug. 15 Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley will not attend the World Meeting of Families in Dublin Aug. 21-26. Cardinal O'Malley is pictured in a 2014 photo.
BOSTON – The Archdiocese of Boston announced Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley will not attend the World Meeting of Families in Dublin Aug. 21-26.
Published in International
August 14, 2018

Priest sent second letter reporting McCarrick abuse to Cardinal O'Malley

Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, is pictured before a consistory in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican June 28. A U.S. priest, Father Boniface Ramsey, wrote to Cardinal O'Malley in 2015 regarding the alleged sexual abuse of seminarians by Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick. Cardinal O'Malley said he did not "personally receive" the letter but that a reply was made at the staff level that it "did not fall under the purview of the Commission or the Archdiocese of Boston."
WASHINGTON – In a June 2015 letter to Boston's Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley obtained by Catholic News Service, a New York priest tells the prelate about "sexual abuse/harassment/intimidation" allegations he had heard concerning then-Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick and asks that if the matter doesn't fall under his purview, to forward it to the "proper agency in the Vatican."
Published in International
August 13, 2018

Cardinal O'Malley calls for investigation at Boston seminary after social media reports

Boston Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, head of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, speaks to World Youth Day pilgrims 2016.
WASHINGTON – The Archbishop of Boston said in an Aug. 10 statement that he has asked the rector of its main archdiocesan St. John Seminary to go on sabbatical leave immediately and is asking for an investigation of allegations made on social media about activities there "directly contrary to the moral standards and requirements of formation for the Catholic priesthood."
Published in International
July 25, 2018

Cardinal O'Malley: 'Specific actions' needed now to address claims against Cardinal McCarrick

Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, is pictured during a reception for new cardinals at the Vatican Feb. 22, 2014.
BOSTON – Boston Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley called for "three specific actions" to immediately address allegations of sexual abuse of minors and "sexual improprieties" with seminarians made against Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, starting with "a fair and rapid adjudication of these accusations."
Published in International