A woman who allegedly had separate sexual relationships with two Catholic clergy – a bishop and a priest – wants both men laicised. The two men are Bishop Charles Drennan, who resigned as Bishop of Palmerston North in 2019 but remains a priest and still holds the title of bishop, and Fr Larry Rustia who, Read more
Former Dunedin priest Magnus (Max) Murray has been removed from the priesthood following a formal church judicial process. While some have welcomed the laicisation, others say it’s too little and too late. Read more
Victims of a paedophile priest from Dunedin are pleased Father Magnus Murray had been laicised. The Catholic Bishop of Hamilton Steve Lowe said he laicisation had been “a complicated process because of Murray’s age and health”.. Continue reading
Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington who last summer was removed from public ministry and who then resigned from the College of Cardinals, could also be dismissed from the clerical state, one of the highest forms of punishment issued to priests. Also known as laicisation and sometimes referred to colloquially as defrocking, a Read more
A former papal ambassador accused of paying for sex with minors has been dismissed from the clerical state. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith made the order against Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, a former apostolic nuncio to the Dominican Republic. The order against Polish-born Wesołowski is thought to be the first such move taken against a Read more