The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has issued a stark warning on the growing menace of AI-generated child abuse images, making it increasingly difficult to identify real children at risk. Law enforcement agencies are gravely concerned about the emergence of hyper-realistic AI-generated content, fearing that it could blur the lines between real and computer-generated victims, Read more
An Ohio priest is to plead guilty to child pornography charges in a case highlighting the challenges the church faces ensuring technology accountability among clerics. The priest was arrested after using hookup apps to meet and pay a male minor victim for sex. He also acquired pornographic selfies from minors through manipulation and extortion via Read more
More than ever, Pope Francis is urging families, educational and public institutions to protect children and tackle the scourge of child abuse. He described child abuse, paedophilia and child pornography, as “psychological murder.” Speaking to members of the Meter Association in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on May 15, the pope noted that the Internet is Read more
Five sexual abuse victims of priests will sue the Vatican to get names and details of the priests involved, an attorney for the group says. The lawsuit in the US federal court aims to compel the Vatican to open its archives and “release all the identities of thousands of offenders known exclusively by the Vatican Read more
The Vatican is investigating a Holy See diplomat accused of accessing child pornography while stationed in Washington DC. Last month the United States government notified the Holy See of “a possible violation of laws relating to child pornography images” by a priest working as a diplomat in Washington. Despite the US State Department asking the Read more
The Vatican has conducted an apostolic visitation of Kansas City-St Joseph diocese in the United States, to investigate the leadership of Bishop Robert Finn. Bishop Finn was the first Catholic prelate in the United States to be found criminally guilty of shielding a guilty priest in the sex abuse crisis. Canadian Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of Read more
A leading figure in Catholic education in the United Kingdom has admitted downloading more than 5000 child pornography images. Fr Tim Gardner, a former religious education adviser to the Catholic Education Service (CES), admitted possession of the images when he appeared at Southwark Crown Court. Of the 5005 images cited, many were graded at level Read more