Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
by Alice RITCHIE / Ella IDE Agence France Presse VATICAN CITY (AFP) — Ex-pope Benedict XVI asked for forgiveness Tuesday for clerical child sex abuse committed on his watch, but aides rejected allegations of a cover-up while he was archbishop of Munich. “I can only express to all the victims of sexual abuse my profound shame, my deep sorrow and my heartfelt request for forgiveness,” the 94-year-old said in a letter published by the […]
by Robin MILLARD Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization vowed to take action Thursday following a slew of allegations from staff past and present against its Western Pacific regional director, including racist, abusive and authoritarian behaviour. Japanese doctor Takeshi Kasai, who denied the allegations, is accused presiding over a “toxic atmosphere” at the WHO regional office in Manila, with a culture of “systemic bullying and public ridiculing”. The staff, […]
by Femke COLBORNE Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — A potentially explosive report into the handling of child sex abuse in the Catholic Church will on Thursday be published in Germany, with former pope Benedict XVI among those in the spotlight. The report by law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl (WSW) will analyse how abuse cases were dealt with in the archdiocese of Munich and Freising between 1945 and 2019. The Munich archdiocese, which […]
by Karine PERRET Agence France Presse LOURDES, France (AFP) — Catholic bishops in France agreed Monday to sell part of the Church’s extensive real estate holdings to compensate thousands of victims of child sex abuse at the hands of clergy. Church officials have been under intense pressure to recognise and indemnify victims after a landmark French inquiry confirmed extensive sexual abuse of minors by priests dating from the 1950s. An independent commission will evaluate […]
by Karine PERRET Agence France Presse LOURDES, France (AFP) — Senior members of France’s Catholic hierarchy knelt in a show of penance at the shrine of Lourdes Saturday, a day after bishops accepted the church’s responsibility for decades of child abuse. But some of the victims of the abuse — and lay members supporting them — said they were still waiting for details of compensation and of a comprehensive reform of the church. In Lourdes, […]
DUBLIN, Ireland (AFP) — Northern Irish police on Wednesday began probing historic allegations of abuse at women’s homes run by the Protestant and Catholic Churches in the UK province, where thousands were ostracized from society. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) launched the probe after a panel commissioned by the regional government on Tuesday called for a full inquiry into the Church-run homes for women. Detective Chief Superintendent Anthony McNally said specially trained […]
ROME, Italy (AFP) — Two priests were acquitted on Wednesday of charges linked with sex abuse at a school for altar boys in the Vatican City, in the first criminal trial of its kind. Gabriele Martinelli, a former pupil at the St Pius X pre-seminary and now a priest, was accused of assaulting a fellow altar boy — years before he joined the clergy. Martinelli, now 29, was tried alongside priest Enrico Radice, the […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — The Catholic Church has been repeatedly rocked by child sex abuse scandals over the last three decades. An independent inquiry on Tuesday found there were 216,000 victims of French clergy between 1950 and 2020. It is the latest in a series of landmark reports and investigations that have helped lift the “veil of silence” around the crimes. – Australia – After a series of scandals, Australia’s government set up a […]
by Karine PERRET and Joseph SCHMID Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — An independent inquiry into alleged sex abuse of minors by French Catholic priests, deacons and other clergy has found some 216,000 victims from 1950 to 2020, a “massive phenomenon” that was covered up for decades by a “veil of silence.” The landmark report, released Tuesday after two and a half years of investigations, follows widespread outrage over a string of sex […]
Some 3,000 paedophiles have operated inside the French Catholic Church since 1950, the head of an independent commission investigating the scandal told AFP days ahead of the release of its report. The commission’s research uncovered between 2,900 and 3,200 paedophile priests or other members of the church, said Jean-Marc Sauve, adding that it was “a minimum estimate”. The commission’s report is due to be released on Tuesday after two and a half years of research […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — Thousands of pedophiles have operated inside the French Catholic Church since 1950, the head of an independent commission investigating the scandal told AFP, days ahead of the release of its report. The commission’s research had uncovered between 2,900 and 3,200 pedophile priests or other members of the church, said Jean-Marc Sauve, adding that it was “a minimum estimate”. The commission’s report is due to be released on Tuesday after two […]
by Christophe VOGT Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The head of the World Health Organization apologized Tuesday after independent investigators probing allegations of sexual abuse in the DR Congo by the UN agency’s staff issued a damning indictment citing “clear structural failures” and “individual negligence”. “The first thing I want to say to the victims and survivors… I am sorry,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference. “It is my top priority […]
