Tag: clergy

Catholic Church in US state failed to disclose 200 accused clergy: law firm

  Chicago, United States (AFP) — The Catholic Church has failed to disclose more than 200 names of clergy accused of abuse in the US state of Illinois, a law firm claimed Wednesday. The firm Jeff Anderson & Associates has previously released names of accused clergy in other parts of the country based on information it compiled from public sources such as lawsuits. Its latest report outlined 395 Catholic clergy and laypersons in Illinois who […]

Cardinal calls for global recognition of sex abuse in Catholic Church amid refusal of some clergy to admit issue

  A leading cardinal has acknowledged the global scale of the child sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church amid the refusal by some bishops — notably in Asia and Africa — to admit clerical paedophilia was an issue in their countries. Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias told the extraordinary summit, on Friday, on the second day of a landmark summit at the Vatican on tackling paedophilia in the clergy, that the refusal by some […]

BishopAccountability.org sees ‘disconnect’ between Catholic pope’s words, actions on sex abuse

  by Lucie Peytermann Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — A US-based group that compiles data on sexual abuse by Catholic clerics and bishops accused of covering it up fears that a bid by Pope Francis to tackle the scandals is a case of too little, too late. Speaking ahead of a Vatican summit of bishops this week to discuss the crisis, Anne Barret Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, complained of a “disconnect” between the […]

US bishops release names of 300 Texas clergy accused of abuse

by Nova Safo / with Javier Tovar in Los Angeles Agence France Presse CHICAGO, United States (AFP) — Catholic officials in the US state of Texas on Thursday released the names of approximately 300 clergy who have been accused of sexual abuse dating back 70 years. The revelations — which came on the same day that a law firm said that more than 80 priests sexually abused minors in a California diocese over a period […]

US prosecutor pushes for legal change after clergy abuse report

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s top prosecutor has appealed to legislators to “do the right thing” and change state law so that civil cases can be pursued in court in decades-old clergy abuse cases. Attorney General Josh Shapiro spoke Friday at the court complex outside Philadelphia where Bill Cosby was convicted of sexually assaulting a woman in 2004. A state grand jury in August found that some 300 Roman Catholic priests had sexually abused children […]

Catholic Church’s Pope Francis silent on claim he ignored reports of clergy sexual abuse

  by Catherine Marciano Agence France Presse VATICAN CITY (AFP) — The Catholic Church’s Pope Francis has declined to comment on a claim that he ignored sexual abuse allegations against a senior clergyman amid speculation conservative elements in the Catholic hierarchy are using the issue to mount a “putsch” to remove the liberal pontiff. Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, a former Vatican envoy to the United States, on Saturday said he had told Francis of the […]

Overworked nuns rebel against clergymen in Vatican magazine

VATICAN CITY, Holy See (AFP) — Three nuns lashed out on Friday against the menial work they have to do for clergymen, often for no money, in a rare public criticism of the Catholic Church’s male hierarchy. “Some sisters employed by clergymen get up at dawn to prepare breakfast and only go to bed once dinner has been served, the house cleaned and the laundry washed and ironed,” said Sister Marie, who came to Rome […]

South Korea Catholic church ‘devastated’ by sex abuse scandal

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s Catholic hierarchy on Tuesday said it was “devastated” by allegations that a priest had tried to rape a woman, after she came forward to join the country’s burgeoning #MeToo movement. The Catholic Church has been rocked around the globe by years of damaging clerical sex abuse cases as well as cover-ups by senior church officials who often ignored victims and protected predators. Until now the church in […]

Scandals overshadow pope’s meetings in Chile

by Catherine MARCIANO Agence France-Presse SANTIAGO, Chile (AFP) — Catholic Pope Francis will hold a closely watched meeting with members of Chile’s under-fire clergy on Tuesday, the first full day of his visit to a country whose church is beset by sex abuse scandals. He arrived in Santiago Monday night and was received by leftist President Michelle Bachelet — an agnostic who has faced down the conservative opposition, including from the church, to spearhead social […]

Catholic Pope Francis mum about Chile clergy sex abuse scandals in video message ahead of visit

  (Eagle News) — Catholic Church’s Pope Francis did not address directly the controversial sex abuse scandals confronting at least 80 priests in Chile, in his recent video message released by the Vatican ahead of his scheduled visit in Chile and Peru. Francis, the first Latin American pontiff, said that he would be conveying his message of peace and hope to both countries, which had been rocked by sexual abuse scandals involving Catholic priests and […]