Of all the horrific details contained in the Pennsylvania grand jury report on child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, one sentence stands out: “The main thing was not to help children, but to avoid ‘scandal.’” When sex-abuse cases dominate headlines, a familiar pattern often emerges. If it took place at a large organization — Read more
Pope Francis has dismissed the accusations of a former Vatican ambassador that he covered up for ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. Francis says an 11-page document of claims released by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò “speaks for itself”. Asked about the letter from in a press conference aboard the Aug. 26 flight back to Rome after his visit to Ireland, Francis Read more
The monk who chairs the Buddhist Association of China has resigned after accusations of sexual assault and other misconduct made against him went viral on social media. Read more
Lucetta Scaraffia, who edits the Vatican daily L’Osservatore Romano women’s supplement, has published an editorial defending the media’s role in unlocking the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. Scaraffia says the “implacable and pitiless” nature of the coverage is “born from disappointment.” In her view, in societies affected by the sexual revolution, this disappointment Read more
Retired Washington cardinal, Theodore McCarrick, has been asked by the Vatican to cease his public ministry. He has been “credibly accused” of sexually abusing a teenager almost 50 years ago. Read more
Pope Francis has accepted Bishop Juan Barros’s resignation. Anti-abuse activists called the move the Vatican’s first concrete step in Chile to purge a corrupt church hierarchy implicated in decades of sexual mistreatment and ignoring victims. Barros of Osorno, Chile, has been at the centre of a sex abuse scandal for several years, having been accused Read more
Laws requiring Catholic priests to break the seal of confession in some cases have been passed by the Australian Capital Territory’s Legislative Assembly in Canberra. The new laws expand the Reportable Conduct Scheme governing allegations of child abuse and misconduct to include religious organisations. The legislation makes it illegal for priests to fail to report Read more
The Pope admitted he “was part of the problem,” to one of the three Chilean clergy abuse survivors he invited to visit him at the Vatican. “I caused this, and I apologize to you,” he is reported to have said. The survivors have urged Pope Francis to transform his apology for having discredited them into Read more
The head of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into historical abuse in state care has suggested churches could launch their own internal investigation. In an interview with Mike Wesley-Smith on The Nation, Sir Anand Satyanand said he discussed the matter with the country’s senior Anglican and Catholic bishops meeting together recently in Wellington. “I raised Read more
Final submissions in a hearing to determine whether the case against Cardinal George Pell is strong enough to warrant a trial by jury have been made. Pell, who is Pope Francis’s former finance minister, is facing several sexual abuse charges. The alleged offences date back to when he was living in Victoria. Police have described Read more