Pope Francis is setting up a commission to advise him about protecting children from sexually abusive priests and about helping victims who have already been harmed. Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, announced the creation of the commission Thursday at the conclusion of a meeting between the pope and his eight cardinal advisers. O’Malley Read more
Former Catholic brother Bernard Kevin McGrath has avoided deportation – for now – by appealing against his extradition to Australia to face hundreds of sex-abuse charges. McGrath, 65, had until today to either lodge an appeal or voluntarily go back to Australia where 252 charges have been laid alleging that he raped, molested and abused Read more
Putting the blame for child sex abuse on the Catholic Church is a way of avoiding the issue, French Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois has said. “We shouldn’t be duped. It’s easy because that prevents asking the question within society itself,” said Cardinal Vingt-Trois, the archbishlp of Paris. “Paedophilia is not solely a Church problem. Eighty per Read more
Three senior Catholic Church officials — including the Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide — will testify at an inquiry into the alleged cover-up of child sex abuse in a New South Wales diocese. The NSW inquiry on abuse will look at whether the Church protected predatory priests in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle. The inquiry will Read more
Research into the behaviour of Catholic clergy treated by the Encompass Australasia clinic in New South Wales was under way when it was closed in 2008, according to a Fairfax Media report. The clergy sex abuse study, titled ”Sexual Boundary Violations Among Catholic Religious”, was conducted under the approval of the human research ethics committee Read more
Bernard McGrath, a former religious brother, who served two years in a New Zealand prison for sex abuse committed in Christchurch is now being sought by New South Wales police after being charged with 252 offences in a Newcastle court on June 27. New South Wales police were to extradite McGrath to Australia from Christchurch Read more
Archbishop John Dew, the Archbishop of Wellington New Zealand, and President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference says he supports the Royal Commission into institutionalised child abuse by priests announced in Australia. Archbishop Dew said the NZCBC would support any similar investigation in New Zealand. But the Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key says he Read more
The Church’s handling of sexual abuse claims has been back in the media spotlight. Following the 4 Corners program ‘Unholy Silence’ which exposed the dastardly deeds of ‘Fr F’ in the diocese of Armidale during the 1980s, the bishops of Armidale and Parramatta, seeking to be completely transparent, have appointed a respected lawyer, Tony Whitlam QC, to Read more