Father Marko Rupnik’s former superior in the Society of Jesus, Father Johan Verschueren, denied that the Jesuits facilitated the incardination of the priest, who is accused of sexual abuse, in the Diocese of Koper, Slovenia, and said that the order warned the local bishop about the serious complaints against him. In a statement to ACI Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Clergy sexual abuse’
Jesuits say they warned diocese that incardinated Rupnik had complaints against him
Monday, November 6th, 2023Vatican reopens case of accused priest-artist
Monday, October 30th, 2023
Pope Francis has ordered the Vatican to revisit the case of Father Marko Ivan Rupnik, a renowned priest-artist accused of sexually, psychologically and spiritually abusing adult women. The Vatican has removed the statute of limitations that had previously hindered a church trial based on these allegations. The case of Rupnik (pictured) has garnered global attention Read more
Spanish Church sexual abuse affected 200,000 children
Monday, October 30th, 2023More than 200,000 children are estimated to have suffered sexual abuse from Spain’s Catholic clergy, an independent commission has found. The details emerged from an unprecedented public investigation by Spain’s ombudsman, who spoke of the “devastating impact” on victims. Angel Gabilondo also criticised the Church for its inaction and attempts to cover up or deny Read more
Vatican calls claims that cardinal withdrew from synod over abuse case ‘pure fantasy’
Thursday, September 28th, 2023After media reports suggesting that Spanish Cardinal Luis Ladaria’s withdrawal from the upcoming Synod of Bishops on Synodality was tied to his handling of the case of a prominent Jesuit artist accused of abuse, the Vatican called those claims “pure fantasy.” “Regarding some media articles relating to the reasons for why Cardinal Ladaria Ferrer will Read more
Sweeping study finds 1,000 cases of sexual abuse in Swiss Catholic Church
Thursday, September 14th, 2023A sweeping, year-long study of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and others in Switzerland has turned up more than 1,000 cases since the mid-20th century, as the Swiss church becomes the latest in Europe to reckon with the abuse scandal. With few exceptions, those accused of wrongdoing were all male. Nearly three-fourths of the documents Read more
Pell accuser’s father can sue Catholic Church
Monday, August 28th, 2023
The Victorian Court of Appeal in Australia has ruled that the father of a choirboy who alleged sexual abuse by Cardinal George Pell can pursue damages against the Catholic Church. The father, identified only as RWQ in official legal documents, had instituted legal action against both the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and the late Cardinal Read more
Portuguese town to restore clergy sex abuse billboard after outcry
Monday, August 7th, 2023A Portuguese town said on Thursday it would reinstall a billboard highlighting sexual abuse by clergy after facing heavy criticism for removing it on the day Pope Francis arrived in the country to attend a massive youth event. Francis landed in Lisbon on Wednesday for the week-long World Youth Day, an event devised by the Read more
Retired bishop accused of abuse now married
Thursday, August 3rd, 2023
A retired bishop who is a defendant in multiple sexual misconduct lawsuits revealed on Tuesday that he recently married a woman after the Vatican declined his plea to leave the clergy. Bishop Howard J Hubbard (pictured) served as the leader of the Albany NY diocese from 1977 until his retirement in 2014. He holds the Read more
Billboard protest removed at WYD capital
Thursday, August 3rd, 2023
Pope Francis’ hope for the Church to offer the Portuguese community a more cohesive opportunity through World Youth Day (WYD) is being met with some strong challenges. Hours after he touched down in Lisbon on Wednesday, one of three huge billboards erected by activists to raise awareness of sexual abuse by clergy was removed, says Read more
US Catholic bishops report fewer complaints of abuse in 2022
Thursday, July 20th, 2023The US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) just released its 2022 annual report on the protection of children and young people showing that there were fewer sexual abuse cases reported in the past two consecutive years. The 2022 report for July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022, states that 1,998 victim survivors came forward with Read more