The Australian Royal Commission’s report into child abuse has made 409 recommendations, 15 of them directed at the Catholic church. In an initial response to the report, a Vatican Press Office released a statement saying the report is a thorough effort that “deserves to be studied seriously.” It reiterated the commitment of the Holy See Read more
Archbishop Michael Byrnes lives a simple life. You can see him walking in his sandals in the parking lot at the Agãna Shopping Centre after grocery shopping. Writing in Pacific Daily News, Haidee Eugenio says you can also spot him with other clergy in the food court of the Micronesia Mall in Dededo. Or having Read more
Here is the lead role in the tragedy – Cardinal George Pell – having to endure the humiliation of facing charges for alleged sexual abuse. The October 6th “mention” at the Melbourne Magistrates Court did not specify charges but reported that there would be up to 50 witnesses testifying in court proceedings. The “mention” occurs Read more
Pope Francis has told the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors he has been learning “on the job” better ways to handle priests found guilty of abuse. He admitted this during his first face-to-face discussion with the Commission on September 21. The Pope said he has come to regret agreeing to a more lenient Read more
As sexual assault cases against the Archdiocese of Agãna continue to increase, it appears that the Vatican has found itself in trouble with the United Nations. In 2014, the Vatican was summoned to the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child committee. It was asked to take concrete steps to remedy decades of institutional Read more
Cardinal George Pell appeared briefly at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with historic sex offences. No formal plea was entered although Pell’s legal team lead, Robert Richter, told the magistrate: “For the avoidance of doubt … Cardinal Pell will plead not guilty to all charges, and will maintain the presumed innocence that he Read more
“I think that it would be a disaster if Archbishop Apuron were to return as the bishop of record,” Archbishop Byrnes said during a news briefing on July 6. Byrnes said that he learned from the Notary of Canonical Tribunal in the Vatican that “the discovery period of the trial has ended” and the three Read more
Two years ago, when this story came out, I asked some friends and fellow journalists, “Is this the trigger-pull on Pell?” At the time, of course, his name wasn’t even being mentioned. But as the events unfolded that would later be referred to as “Vatileaks II,” media reports of new allegations of financial mismanagement at the Vatican left Read more
After recently meeting Archbishop Michael Byrnes Doris Concepcion believes him to be a “gift” to Guam. But that has not stopped her joining the weekly picket outside the cathedral in Hagåtña which is calling for the defrocking of the former Archbishop Anthony Apuron. Concepcion is the mother of a now deceased former altar boy who was allegedly Read more
A former Waikato Catholic priest convicted and jailed for the sex abuse of young boys in the 1970s and 80s has admitted further historic offending. Mark Brown pleaded guilty to four representative charges when he appeared in Hamilton District Court on Tuesday. Continue reading