Vatican says bishops should report sex abuse to police
Vatican CityAP The Vatican told bishops around the world on Thursday they should report cases of clergy sex crimes to police even when not legally bound to do so, in its latest effort to compel church leaders to protect minors from predator priests. The Vatican issued a long-awaited manual for bishops and religious superiors on […]
US Catholic bishops: clergy sex abuse claims tripled in 2019
New York City, USAP US Roman Catholic bishops said Thursday that the church tallied 4,434 sex abuse allegations against clergy in the 2018-19 audit year, triple the number seen the previous year, with much of the increase stemming from a wave of lawsuits and claims by survivors of decades-old molestation. In the latest annual report […]
In depth – California lawmakers threaten to break confidentiality of confession to find abusers
RNS Breaking with a long tradition of clerical privilege, California is edging toward requiring priests and other church employees to inform authorities if they learn of a case of child sex abuse during the sacrament of confession. On Thursday, the California State Senate passed a bill that would require priests to report child abuse if […]
At sex abuse summit, Catholic bishops tangle with details
Vatican CityRNS On paper, “accountability” was the theme of the second day of the Vatican’s summit on clergy sexual abuse. In practice, that meant debating whether proposals designed to rein in bishops accused of abuse amount to, in the words of one churchman, “Caesar judging Caesar”. US Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, Illinoise, whom some have called […]
Pope demands ‘concrete’ response to abuse crisis at Vatican summit
Vatican CityRNS Pope Francis on Thursday opened a highly anticipated four-day meeting on his church’s ongoing sex abuse crisis by calling on the assembled bishops and other Catholic leaders to “hear the cry of the little ones who plead for justice” and be “concrete.” “The holy People of God look to us, and expect from us […]
ESSAY: WHY THE US NEEDS A NATIONAL ALL FAITHS INQUIRY INTO CLERGY SEX ABUSE
In an article first published on Religion News Service, CHRISTA BROWN, board member of the Child-Friendly Faith Project, and DAVID CLOHESSY, former director of SNAP, argue for the US to hold a national inquiry into clergy sex abuse similar to Australia’s recent Royal Commission…
US: AS CATHOLIC SEX ABUSE INVESTIGATIONS BEGIN, QUESTIONS REMAIN
JACK JENKINS, of Religion News Service, reports…
US cardinal’s death prompts apologies – and anger
RNS Barbara Blaine, left, president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, and Barbara Dorris protest in front of the diocesan authorities headquarter in Munich, southern Germany, in 2010. The members of the US-based group arrived in Munich that day to encourage more victims in Germany to come forward. “We want to reach […]
US religious advocates fast monthly in protest of budget cuts
RNS Eric Ueland, Republican staff director, Senate Budget Committee holds a copy of President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2018 federal budget, before distributing them to congressional staffers on Capitol Hill in Washington, in May. PICTURE: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais. Anti-hunger activists in the US are going hungry today Monday (21st August), in hopes of preventing deep […]