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
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
The 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
Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández publicly acknowledged on Sunday that he made mistakes in handling a case involving a priest accused of sexually abusing minors in 2019. Archbishop Fernández (pictured) has been accused by critics of attempting to protect the priest. Fernández has vehemently denied the allegations. However, in an interview after conducting Mass in La Read more
Former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is not competent to stand trial on charges accusing him of sexually assaulting a teenage boy in Massachusetts decades ago, an expert for the prosecution says, raising doubts about the future of the criminal case against the 92-year-old. This week, prosecutors disclosed their expert’s findings to the judge, who Read more
Pope Francis has sent a letter to the president of Bolivia expressing “feelings of shame and dismay” and a firm promise to work with the government of the South American country to end clerical sexual abuse of minors. The letter, released Friday according to the Associated Press but signed on May 31 and addressed to Read more
Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, expressed his surprise and concern over the Illinois attorney general’s failure to share information regarding new clergy abuse cases recently uncovered. During his visit to the Vatican, where he serves as a close adviser to Pope Francis, Cardinal Cupich spoke to The Associated Press about his disappointment in Read more
Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich is pushing back on a clergy child sex abuse report released by the Illinois Attorney General. The investigation contends 451 Catholic clergy have sexually abused nearly 2,000 children in Illinois between 1950 and 2019, with Attorney General Kwame Raoul saying the number of abused children is considerably larger than the 103 Read more
Fr Hans Zollner has resigned from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Zollner is one of the most respected experts in the Vatican’s fight against clergy sex abuse. He cited disagreements over the way the body is being operated. “I have noticed issues that need to be urgently addressed and that have made Read more
Pope Francis permanently decreed an updated version of Vos estis lux mundi, his landmark legislation to counter sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. The decree promulgated March 25 extends the Church’s norms for handling of abuse to cover lay leaders of international associations of the faithful recognized by the Vatican. Vos estis lux mundi (“You Read more