Spain sets up fund for victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy
Madrid, Spain Reuters Spain is to set up a fund, to be financed largely by the Catholic Church, to compensate an estimated 440,000 victims of decades of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, staff or teachers, the justice minister announced on Tuesday. A report in October by Spain’s human rights ombudsman produced the estimate from a […]
Experts call for Vatican judicial reforms to promote transparency and a fair trial
Vatican City RNS Two decades after the Vatican was first forced to reckon with the clerical sexual abuse crisis, church experts on Thursday addressed the institution’s failures to safeguard victims, promote transparency and guarantee a safe trial. For years, sexual abuse victims lamented that church trials under canon law fail to inform them about not […]
Spain’s report on Catholic Church sex abuse estimates victims could number in hundreds of thousands
Madrid, Spain AP Spain’s first official probe of sex abuse by clergy members or other people connected to the Catholic Church in the country included a survey that indicated that the number of victims could run into hundreds of thousands. The survey was part of a damning report by the office of Spain’s ombudsman, or “defensor del pueblo,” […]
Essay: Catholic synod – three reasons why the voices of church leaders in Africa are not being heard
In an article first published on The Conversation, STAN CHU ILO, research professor in world Christianity and African studies at DePaul University, explains why there seems to be no clear African agenda articulated through African Catholic church leaders…
Revised report on church sex abuse in US state of Maryland leaves five church leaders’ names still redacted
Baltimore, USAP Maryland’s Attorney General released some previously redacted names in its staggering report on child sex abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore on Tuesday, but the names of five Catholic Church leaders remained redacted amid ongoing appeals, prompting criticism of the church by victims’ advocates. While the names of the high-ranking church leaders already have been […]
Survivors march to Rome to demand “zero tolerance” on church abuse
Vatican City Reuters A group of Catholic Church abuse survivors and their advocates on Wednesday called on Pope Francis to enforce “zero tolerance” against clerical sex abuse, after completing a six-day pilgrimage to Rome carrying a large wooden cross. The 10 men and women walked 130 kilometres along the last stretch of the Via Francigena, […]
Pope, in Portugal to rally young Catholics, says church needs purification
Lisbon, PortugalReuters Pope Francis on Wednesday said the Catholic Church needs a “humble and ongoing purification” to deal with the “anguished cries” of victims of clerical sexual abuse, who he met privately on the first day of his visit to Portugal. Francis was speaking in Lisbon at the start of a five-day visit to the […]
Essay: Events in Bolivia and Brazil may signal a turning point for the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse crisis in Latin America
In an article first published on The Conversation, MATTHEW CASEY-PARISEAULT, of the University of Arizona, says that while changes have been slow in coming in terms of addressing the clerical sexual abuse crisis, recent circumstances in Brazil and Bolivia may indicate a new trend…
Italian Catholic Church’s limited sexual abuse investigation disappoints victims
Rome, ItalyReuters Italy’s Catholic bishops said on Friday they would commission a report on clerical sexual abuse in the past two years and a separate analysis going back to 2000, disappointing victims who wanted a thorough investigation going back many decades. Earlier on Friday, victim groups held a small protest near the Vatican embassy to […]