Highlighting the importance of forgiveness, Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, says Prince Andrew is trying to “make amends”. His comments refer to Andrew’s fall from grace following accusations of sexually abusing Virginia Giuffre two decades ago when she was 17. Although he did not admit wrongdoing, the Queen’s son paid an undisclosed sum earlier Read more
Apologies from the Catholic Church followed the final submissions into historical abuse at Christchurch’s Marylands school. More than 30 witnesses gave evidence to the Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care – many survivors, some experts and some senior members of the Catholic Church. In her closing statement, lawyer Sally McKechnie, who represented New Zealand’s Read more
It’s a figure that has gone largely unnoticed. In the flood of information and disturbing statistics published earlier this month by France’s Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE), too little attention has been paid to an important detail in the commission’s report – an estimated 115,000 minors and vulnerable adults were sexually Read more
When Pope Francis met with the Archbishop of Paris and other French bishops at the end of September, he observed on the matter of the then-forthcoming report on sex abuse in the church of France: “Look the truth in the face.” It is not only the hierarchy that is now doing so, but all of Read more
Early Tuesday morning, I opened my laptop to work. But first, I meandered over to Twitter, expecting to read a few comments on Krysten Sinema before diving into my Persian presentation. Instead, I started crying. I don’t cry easily. And these were not tears borne of sadness but of frustration. On Tuesday morning, an independent Read more
Pope Francis expressed shame and sadness after learning that around 3,000 people (2,000 clergy and 1,000 laypeople) abused some 216,000 children in the Catholic Church in France over the last 70 years. Francis first thoughts were for the victims. It is “with a deep sadness for their wounds and gratitude for their courage in coming Read more
Around three thousand paedophiles have operated inside the French Catholic Church since 1950. The numbers were released, Sunday by Jean-Marc Sauvé, the head of an independent commission examining church sex abuse. The commission has been investigating for 2 1/2 years. 22 cases of alleged crimes have been forwarded to prosecutors and more than 40 cases Read more
The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) is struggling with the almost 400 percent increase in unsuccessful attempts by sex abuse victims to get mental health support over the past 15 months. Its national waitlist figures indicate failed attempts by sex abuse survivors to get mental health help increased by 387 percent and reaching 4131 in the Read more
By special arrangement and courtesy of Fr Frank Brennan SJ, professor of law, and Sydney’s Catholic Weekly: The Anatomy of a Travesty. It’s time to declare that George Pell is innocent of the preposterous charges he faced in the County Court of Victoria and to move on for the good of everyone, including bona fide Read more
German cardinal Reinhard Marx has offered his resignation as archbishop over the Church’s mishandling of clergy sexual abuse cases. The Church is at a “dead end” and the reputation of its bishops has, possibly, never been lower, his resignation letter says. The pope gave Marx permission to make his letter of 21 May public. “It Read more