(Eagle News) — A recent poll published by CNN, a US news channel, showed Catholic Church’s Pope Francis’s popularity plummeting in the United States among Catholics in that country. The poll conducted by SSRS showed that only 48 percent of Americans in general supported the Argentinian pontiff, and his popularity has also plummeted by 20 percent among US Catholics, from 83 percent 18 months ago to 63 percent at present. The CNN poll was […]
Tag: church
New cases of sex abuse of minors by Catholic priests in Chile discovered; cases triple to 119
by Paulina Abramovich Agence France Presse SANTIAGO, Chile (AFP) — Scores of new cases of priestly sexual abuse of minors have come to light in Chile, public prosecutors said Friday, deepening a crisis in the country’s Catholic Church that has embroiled its Pope Francis. The country’s chief prosecutor’s office said the number of cases it was investigating had soared to 119 as more victims came forward. A total of 167 bishops, priests and lay […]
Duterte recalls sexual abuse he suffered under Catholic Jesuit priest Falvey during high school in Ateneo
(Eagle News) – President Rodrigo Duterte recalled the sexual harassment he suffered from an American Jesuit Catholic priest while he was still studying at the Ateneo de Davao in the 1950s. Duterte recalled that the priest Mark Falvey was teaching for four years during his high school in Ateneo and that almost all of them had been sexually assaulted by the priest. “Kaming lahat, nung nag-aral kami sa Ateneo, one — two years, ‘yung […]
US report that 300 priests abused at least 1,000 kids builds pressure for Catholic church accountability
by Jennie Matthew Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A US report revealing that 300 priests sexually abused at least 1,000 children, facilitated by a Catholic Church cover-up, has increased calls to tighten laws and hold bishops accountable. The two-year investigation estimated that the real number of victims was “in the thousands” in Pennsylvania, the most comprehensive report into abuse in the US church that was first exposed in Boston in […]
Vatican suspends Chilean deacon accused of child abuse
SANTIAGO, Chile (AFP) — The Vatican dismissed a Chilean deacon over sexual abuse accusations in central Chile, the archdiocese of the city of Rancagua said Friday, amid a widespread abuse scandal gripping the country’s Catholic Church. Luis Rubio was arrested for improper conduct and sexual abuse of minors when he was in charge of a Las Cabras school in 2013. A year later, the archdiocese of Rancagua dismissed him from his duties while an […]
French priest suspended after slapping baby during baptism
PARIS, France (AFP) — A French Catholic priest was suspended Friday after a video of him smacking a crying baby during a baptism ceremony went viral, drawing widespread condemnation on social media. In footage posted on Twitter on Thursday, gasps can be heard when the 89-year-old priest, after ordering the infant he is holding to “be quiet”, sharply slaps his cheek. A few seconds later he smacks him again. The baby’s parents, visibly shocked, […]
At least two dead, 13 injured in Indonesia attacks: police
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP)–At least two people were killed and 13 others injured in bomb attacks, including a suicide blast, targeting churches in Indonesia’s second biggest city Surabaya, police said Sunday. “There have been three attacks at three churches,” East Java Police spokesman Frans Barung Mangera said. The deadly blasts all occurred within 10 minutes of each other, police said, with the first explosion at 7.30 am (0030 GMT).
Rundown of sex abuse within the Catholic church
MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell on Tuesday became the highest-ranked Catholic ever to be sent to trial for sex offences, adding to a series scandals facing the church globally. Here is a rundown of notable cases: – Australia – Cardinal George Pell, the third highest member of the Vatican hierarchy, has been ordered to stand trial on “multiple” historical sex charges, which he denies. His case coincided with a public […]
Pope Francis admits ‘grave errors’ in Chile sex abuse scandal
VATICAN CITY, Holy See (AFP) — Pope Francis admitted Wednesday he had made “grave mistakes in the assessment and perception of the situation” in Chile after reading the findings of an investigation into sexual abuse committed by the clergy in the country. Francis said in a letter to Chilean Bishops released by the Vatican that he intended to summon them to Rome to discuss the investigation, which involves Bishop Juan Barros’ alleged cover-up of […]
Family dispute may have sparked Texas church shooting
by Nova Safo Agence France Presse SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, United States (AFP) — A family dispute may have sparked the rampage by a US Air Force veteran who killed 26 people with an assault rifle in a small-town church even though he was legally prohibited from buying guns, officials said Monday. Ten people remained in critical condition a day after Devin Patrick Kelley, a 26-year-old private security guard, burst into the rural Baptist church during […]
UPDATED: 26 dead after gunman opens fire on Texas church service
by Suzanne Cordeiro Agence France Presse SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, United States (AFP) A gunman went into a Baptist church in Texas during Sunday morning services and shot dead some two dozen worshippers, the sheriff said, in the latest mass shooting to shock the United States. “Approximately 25 people” were dead, including the shooter, Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt told NBC News. At least 20 people were wounded. The motive was not immediately known, he added. […]
Indian police hunt nuns accused of aiding rapist priest
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Five nuns and a doctor are on the run in India after being accused of concealing the birth of a baby to a teenager who alleges that a priest raped her, police said Sunday. Arrest warrants have been issued for the six and for two hospital staff. They are accused of conccealing the 16-year-old’s delivery from authorities and hiding the baby in a Catholic orphanage at Kunnur in the southern […]





