A top Catholic cardinal admitted Saturday that Catholic church files on priests accused of sexually abusing children were destroyed or never even drawn up in a move which allowed paedophiles to prey on others. “Files that could have documented the terrible deeds and named those responsible were destroyed, or not even created,” German Cardinal Reinhard Marx told a landmark Vatican summit on tackling paedophilia within the clergy. “Instead of the perpetrators, the victims were regulated […]
Tag: scandal
Cardinals blame ‘homosexual agenda’ for abuse crisis
VATICAN CITY (AFP) — Two cardinals criticized on Wednesday Pope Francis’s approach to the clerical paedophilia crisis, saying “abuse of power” was not to blame but homosexuality. “We turn to you with deep distress! The Catholic world is adrift,” US Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke and German Cardinal Walter Brandmueller said in an open letter to the heads of the bishops’ conferences. “Sexual abuse is blamed on clericalism. But the first and primary fault of the clergy does not rest […]
Four Japan athletes kicked out of Asian Games for buying sex
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Four Japanese basketball players on Monday apologised for bringing “disgrace” to their nation after they were kicked out of the Asian Games for paying prostitutes for sex. The regional Olympics was hit by scandal after the players were spotted in a notorious red light district of the Indonesian capital Jakarta wearing their national jerseys last week. The expulsion of Yuya Nagayoshi, Takuya Hashimoto, Takuma Sato and Keita Imamura will come […]
‘Panama Papers’ law firm shuts down operations
PANAMA CITY (AFP) — The law firm at the heart of the “Panama Papers” global tax evasion scandal that brought down two world leaders announced Wednesday it would shut down operations, citing negative press and what it called unwarranted action by authorities. “Reputational deterioration, the media campaign, the financial consequences and irregular actions by some Panamanian authorities have caused irreparable damage, resulting in the total ceasing of public operations at the end of this month,” […]
Pope revives sexual abuse panel
by Olivier Baube Agence France Presse VATICAN CITY, Holy See (AFP) — The Vatican said Saturday it has renewed its anti-pedophile panel as Pope Francis acts to quell the global scandal over the sexual abuse of children by priests. The panel had come under fire from two high-profile members, former sex abuse victims who quit at what they saw as a lack of reform and obstruction at the highest level of the Catholic Church. […]
Islam scholar Tariq Ramadan charged with rape: legal source
by Benjamin LEGENDRE Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan has been charged with rape, a judicial source said, following claims by two women that he assaulted them in French hotel rooms in 2009 and 2012. Ramadan, who was arrested by French police on Wednesday, was charged on Friday with connected charges of rape and rape of a vulnerable person, the source said. The accused is a Swiss citizen whose grandfather founded […]
Woody Allen: prolific film legend stained by scandal
by Jennie Matthew Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Woody Allen, the director and four-time Oscar winner known for his comedies rife with neurotic characters, is in the crosshairs of America’s sexual harassment watershed over decades-old claims that he molested his daughter. The 82-year-old New Yorker — who averages a movie a year, clocking up more than 50 titles total — is considered a comic genius by fans and envied by fellow filmmakers […]
German carmakers under fire for tests on humans, monkeys
by Michelle FITZPATRICK Agence France-Presse FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany (AFP) — German carmakers came under fire Monday following revelations they helped finance experiments that saw humans and monkeys exposed to diesel fumes that have been linked to asthma, lung diseases and heart attacks. The disclosures sparked widespread outrage, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel who strongly condemned the latest controversy to engulf the nation’s powerful but scandal-tainted auto industry. “These tests on monkeys or even humans […]
World Bank chief economist resigns amid Chile uproar
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The World Bank’s chief economist resigned on Wednesday amid a scandal that erupted when he raised questions about how the institution was ranking countries — especially Chile — in a key report. World Bank President Jim Kim announced that Paul Romer was stepping down immediately from the post he had held since October 2016, but did not specify the reason for his exit. In his only reference to the recent […]
Actress Kruger says Hollywood changing because ‘men are scared’
PARIS, France (AFP) — Hollywood actress Diane Kruger said Monday that the #MeToo movement had scared powerful men but she was afraid that change may be short-lived. The German-born star, who won the best actress in May at the Cannes film festival for “In the Fade” — which is hotly tipped for a best foreign movie Oscar nomination — told French television that she has never been paid as much as her male co-stars. Yet […]
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 […]
After Weinstein scandal, powerful men fall like dominoes
by Shahzad Abdul Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Democratic Senator Al Franken on Thursday became the latest in a succession of famous American men felled by allegations of sexual harassment or misconduct in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal. Here are some of the key figures from the worlds of entertainment, politics and the media. ENTERTAINMENT: Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein was until a few months ago a king of Hollywood whose golden […]





