Bishop Edward Scharfenberger of Albany is proposing a new plan for victims/survivors of clergy sexual abuse in the diocese that he argues will maximize their monetary recovery on a fair and equitable basis, accelerate those payments, and allow the diocese to avoid litigation or bankruptcy.
Two years after the first edition, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith publishes a second version of the "Vademecum on Certain Points of Procedure in Treating Cases of Sexual Abuse of Minors Committed by Clerics".
The case of an Argentine bishop currently serving a prison sentence of four years and six months for abuse took an unexpected turn this week, when his canon lawyer was sent to investigate the priests and seminarians of his diocese.
For nearly three decades Christauria Welland and her husband Michael Akong have been traveling the world educating couples on the reality of domestic abuse and offering both families and local church leaders various resources for prevention.
Even before Pope Francis stages his latest consistory on Aug. 27, inducting 20 new members into the Catholic Church’s most exclusive club, the event has managed to make news – in this case, not so much for the new cardinals who’ll be there, but the one erstwhile cardinal-designate who won’t.
Pope Francis accepts Belgian Bishop Lucas Van Looy’s request not to be made a cardinal after the announcement provoked criticism that he did not always react decisively enough against abuse allegations.
One of the Catholic Church’s foremost anti-abuse institutions, part of Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University, announced last October plans to expand its mandate to include the sexual and spiritual abuse of adults.
The nation's Catholic bishops have made progress in regaining the trust of the laity since approving a groundbreaking document in response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis two decades ago, but for Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory "the task is not complete."
The Vatican has accepted the verdict of an Indian court declaring the innocence of a bishop accused of raping a nun, according to the papal representative to the country, who added the bishop’s future “is not in my hands, but with Rome.”
Thanking the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe (FAFCE) for its service to families, including those fleeing from Ukraine, Pope Francis calls for the Church to accompany families, and deplores threats such as 'the pandemic of loneliness,' surrogacy, and pornography.
In a wide-ranging interview, the first “Dalit” Cardinal in history, Cardinal-elect Anthony Poola of Hyderabad, India, who will receive the red hat at the 27 August Consistory, describes his mission as "helping as many poor children as possible", and reflects on serving India’s poorest and often-forgotten "untouchables."
As a "first choice," members of the Italian bishops' conference decided to focus their study of clerical sexual abuse in the country on cases reported to the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2000 to 2021.
As the Italian bishops’ conference debates this week how to best address the clerical sexual abuse crisis and the calls for a nationwide investigation, Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, head of the papal commission for the protection of children, told them that the only way forward is with the truth.
In a video message to the General Assembly of the Italian Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Seán O'Malley stresses the importance of working to provide spaces for abused people to be heard and protected: "You have a unique opportunity to develop an honest and non-defensive dialogue with all those involved."
Pope Francis held a closed-door, two-hour meeting with members of the Italian bishops' conference late May 23 as the bishops were preparing for new leadership and for a discussion on authorizing a study into clerical sexual abuse in the country.