Catholic sex abuse scandal
Four things the church must do to respond to sex abuse
By Thomas Reese — August 21, 2018
(RNS) — The church should practice what it preaches by confessing its sins in greater specificity, doing penance and committing to never letting this happen again.
Critics say pope’s comments are both ‘bold’ and ‘too little, too late’
By Emily McFarlan Miller — August 20, 2018
(RNS) — In his three-page letter, the pope pointed to clericalism as a root cause of the sex abuse scandal cover-up, which many Catholic watchers welcomed as a major shift.
Irish archbishop urges pope to speak frankly about abuse
By Nicole Winfield — August 19, 2018
VATICAN CITY (AP) — 'It's not enough to just say sorry,' said Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. 'Structures that permit or facilitate abuse must be broken down, and broken down forever.'
Sex scandals fester at unhealthy organizations, experts say
By Yonat Shimron — August 19, 2018
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — When bad things happen inside institutions, the ingredients are already there to make things even worse.
Washington cardinal entangled in two sex-abuse scandals
By The Associated Press — August 16, 2018
(AP) — The two scandals represent a stunning turn for the 77-year-old leader who, over the decades, earned the respect of fellow bishops and prided himself in taking tough steps to combat clergy sex abuse.
Pennsylvania grand jury report is a new low for Catholic Church
By Thomas Reese — August 15, 2018
(RNS) — The Pennsylvania grand jury report on child sex abuse is a wake-up call for bishops who thought that the past could be forgotten as long as they did the right thing in the future.
Report identifies more than 1,000 victims of priest abuse
By The Associated Press — August 14, 2018
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The report, released Tuesday (Aug. 14), said more than 300 Roman Catholic priests in six Pennsylvania dioceses committed the abuse over a period of decades.
Deadline looms for release of Catholic church abuse report
By Yonat Shimron — August 14, 2018
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A state Supreme Court order issued last month set a timetable to publicly release a redacted version of the grand jury's roughly 900-page report.
Diocese names 71 accused of child sex abuse, blames bishops
By Yonat Shimron — August 1, 2018
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — With its announcement, the Harrisburg Diocese became the second of six dioceses under investigation by the state to get out in front of a pending grand jury report on clergy sex abuse.
As McCarrick scandal spreads, top US cardinal urges stricter abuse policies
By Yonat Shimron — July 25, 2018
(RNS) — 'A major gap still exists in the Church’s policies on sexual conduct and sexual abuse,' wrote Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, in a statement.
Witnesses await church sex abuse report with hope for change
By Marc Levy — July 8, 2018
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Dozens of witnesses testified in the state attorney general's two-year grand jury investigation that victim advocates expect will produce the largest and most exhaustive clergy sexual abuse report by a U.S. state.
Vatican City still has no policy to fight clergy sex abuse
By Nicole Winfield — July 1, 2018
(AP) — Pope Francis has taken measures to address a spiraling sex abuse scandal in Chile, but he hasn’t moved on a problem closer to home: Vatican City itself does not have policies to protect children from pedophile priests or require suspected abuse to be reported to police.
At last, bad news is good news in the Catholic sex abuse scandal
By Thomas Reese — June 28, 2018
(RNS) — The truly bad news of the scandal, of course, has been the horrible abuse of children and the negative effects of the abuse will be with them for the rest of their lives. The good news is that perpetrators have been caught and exposed. Accusations are being investigated and the guilty are being punished.
2 more Chilean bishops are out as Pope Francis cleans house
By Frances D'Emilio — June 28, 2018
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Thursday accepted the resignations of two more Chilean bishops, the latest fallout from a sex abuse scandal whose scope and gravity were initially underestimated by the pontiff.
Chile cardinal seeks to deflect criticism for pope’s trip
By Nicole Winfield — March 10, 2018
(AP) — Cardinal Javier Errazuriz, a top papal adviser, wrote an extraordinary letter to the bishops of Latin America that insists the pope’s trip wasn’t a failure, but was “highly positive.”