The Vatican Supreme Court has cleared a senior priest accused of making advances towards a German nun during confession, the Vatican said on Friday. The five-member Supreme Court, the Apostolic Signatura, said in a statement that after careful examination the “serious” allegation could not be proved “with the required moral certitude”. Austrian priest Hermann Geissler proclaimed his innocence but resigned in January as one of three top officials at the Congregation for the Doctrine of […]
Tag: justice
Judge shot dead in Zamboanga del Norte; SC condemns killing
(Eagle News)–A judge was ambushed in Zamboanga del Norte on Thursday, May 9. The Supreme Court said Judge Reymar L. Lacaya of Sindangan, Zamboanga del Norte Regional Trial Court, Branch 11, was ambushed in the afternoon in Liloy. No other details were available. Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin condemned the killing, and urged the authorities to expedite their probe. “I am urging the authorities to exert their best efforts for the immediate apprehension of those responsible […]
Suu Kyi tries to save face with Myanmar reporters’ release
by Richard SARGENT Agence France Presse YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — After relentless diplomatic pressure and global outrage, fallen democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi finally decided that a pardon for two Myanmar journalists jailed for reporting on a Rohingya massacre was the only way to resolve an issue that has dogged her government for nearly 18 months. Observers say the unexpected release of the two Reuters reporters was a political decision timed to save […]
Malaysia makes a U-turn, won’t join ICC anymore
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s government did a U-turn Friday on its decision to join the International Criminal Court, the prime minister said, after a backlash from a powerful Islamic ruler and opposition politicians. The Southeast Asian nation announced in March it was joining the world’s only permanent war crimes tribunal after a reform-minded government came to power last year. But the move sparked an outcry from opposition politicians and the powerful sultan […]
US state of West Virginia sues Catholic diocese, bishop for employing known pedophiles
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US state of West Virginia on Tuesday sued a Catholic diocese and a bishop over allegations they knowingly employed pedophiles in schools. State attorney general Patrick Morrisey announced he had filed suit against the diocese of Wheeling/Charleston — located over 250 miles (400 kilometers) west of Washington — and against its former bishop Michael Bransfield. Bransfield was himself dismissed in September following allegations of sexual harassment against adults. […]
US woman sues Harvard over ‘slave ancestor’ pictures
by Agence France Presse A US woman who says she is descended from slaves who were photographed in 1850 by a racist Harvard University professor on Wednesday sued the university over the “exploitation” of the images of her ancestors. Tamara Lanier filed suit in the northeastern state of Massachusetts over the photographs taken in South Carolina of a slave and his daughter, known only by their first names: Renty — the patriarch of her […]
Statue of Polish priest accused of sex abuse to be removed
WARSAW, Poland (AFP) — The statue of a Solidarity-era Polish priest accused of sex abuse will be permanently removed from a public square, city authorities in the port of Gdansk decided on Thursday, despite objections from supporters. Claims of abuse against the late priest Henryk Jankowski resurfaced in December when liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza published an article reviving allegations that had first surfaced years ago. Gdansk Mayor Aleksandra Dulkiewicz said she saw only “one […]
Malaysia joins ICC in boost for beleaguered court
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia has become a member of the International Criminal Court, a minister said Tuesday, in a boost for the beleaguered institution at a time it faces growing criticism. The ICC is the world’s only permanent war crimes court and aims to prosecute the worst abuses when national courts are unable or unwilling. But the tribunal in The Hague has come under fire over high-profile acquittals, while Burundi became the […]
Top advisor to Canada PM Trudeau resigns amid controversy
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s top advisor quit on Monday amid allegations of political interference in the criminal prosecution of engineering giant SNC-Lavalin. One of the key architects of Trudeau’s 2015 electoral win and his longtime friend, Gerry Butts said he resigned as the prime minister’s principle secretary to avoid distractions for the government facing another tough ballot fight in eight months. In a statement, Butts “categorically” denied accusations that […]
US judge rules Obamacare unconstitutional, Democrats vow to appeal
by Carlos HAMANN Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A federal judge in Texas ruled late Friday that the US health care law known as Obamacare is unconstitutional — a ruling that opposition Democrats vowed to appeal. US District Judge Reed O’Connor’s 55-page ruling came in a lawsuit filed by several Republican state attorneys general opposed to the federal government health plan, known officially as the Affordable Care Act. Conservative Republicans have […]
Tennessee executes man on death row for 36 years
Tennessee on Thursday electrocuted a convicted murder who had been on death row for 36 years, in a case that renewed debate on use of the death penalty so long after a crime. David Earl Miller, 61, was put to death at 7:25 pm (0125 GMT) at a high security prison in Nashville, authorities said, over the beating and stabbing death of a young woman with a mental disability. It was the second use of […]
Año on conviction of three cops over Kian Delos Santos’ slay: Justice does not distinguish if one is in position of authority or not
(Eagle News) — Interior Secretary Eduardo Año on Thursday, Nov. 29, hailed the conviction of three policemen by a Caloocan court for the murder of Kian delos Santos, saying it shows, among others, that “justice is blind.” It “does not distinguish whether one is in a position of authority or not,” Año said, following the Caloocan Regional Trial Court Branch 125’s decision to sentence P03 Arnel Oares and P01 Jeremias Pereda and Jerwin Cruz to reclusion perpetua […]





