The former head of the Church body set up to protect children in Ireland has attacked the Irish bishops’ efforts in this area. Ian Elliott has accused the bishops of “minimal responses and empty gestures” when dealing with clerical abuse. Mr Elliott headed the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Child Abuse’
Historic US abuse settlement involves all clergy fronting up
Friday, October 17th, 2014An historic settlement of sex abuse cases will see clergy in two US dioceses required to testify that they don’t know of any unreported abuse in the Church. Clergy in St Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese and Winona diocese will also have to testify that they have committed no abuse themselves. An agreement was reached involving the two Read more
Another sex abuse survivor to join papal commission
Friday, October 10th, 2014A papal commission to protect children is to have another survivor of clerical sexual abuse join its membership. The Commission for the Protection of Minors, which Pope Francis established in December, will also have more representatives from other countries and disciplines. Irish abuse survivor Marie Collins is already a member of the commission, headed by Read more
Media priest Fr Benedict Groeschel dies
Friday, October 10th, 2014Franciscan Fr Benedict Groeshel, who was well known for his prolific writings and often controversial views, has died in the United States aged 81. A trained psychologist, he was a fixture on Mother Angelica’s Eternal Word Television Network, better known as EWTN. With other Capuchin priests, he formed the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, based Read more
NSW police in gun for alleged arrangement with Church on abuse
Tuesday, October 7th, 2014
An inquiry has been set up to find out if there was misconduct by New South Wales police in dealings with the Catholic Church over abuse complaints. The Police Integrity Commission in New South Wales will conduct a public hearing in Sydney on October 13. The investigation was ordered after the ABC and a Green Read more
Vatican slams UN committee report on abuse
Friday, October 3rd, 2014The Vatican has accused a United Nations committee of sowing confusion in its report on the Holy See’s record on child abuse. The Vatican released its formal response to a February report by the UN committee on the rights of the child. The committee concluded that the Vatican maintained a “code of silence” that enabled Read more
Defrocked former nuncio under house arrest at Vatican
Friday, September 26th, 2014
The Vatican has placed its former ambassador to the Dominican Republic under house arrest, after opening a criminal trial against him. Former Archbishop Josef Wesolowski is the first high-ranking official to face Vatican criminal charges for sexually abusing young people. He had already been laicised in June after a canonical trial. On Tuesday, the Vatican Read more
New Sydney archbishop expresses shame and sorrow at abuse
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2014
The new Catholic Archbishop of Sydney has expressed shame and sorrow at child abuse by clergy and at the Church’s abandonment of victims. In his first news conference last week, Archbishop-elect Anthony Fisher, OP, said he was determined to do everything he could to make sure the abuse didn’t happen again. To the survivors of Read more
Pope Francis accepts Ireland primate’s resignation
Friday, September 12th, 2014
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Sean Brady, the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. Cardinal Brady had turned 75 in August and according to Church law, bishops are asked to submit their resignations to the Pope at that stage. The Pope can either accept or reject the resignation. Cardinal Brady, Read more
Melbourne archbishop points finger at Vatican during hearing
Friday, August 29th, 2014
Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne says that until 2001, priests found guilty of sex crimes often kept their positions because of Vatican intransigence. Archbishop Hart told Australia’s Royal Commission on Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that a conviction was often not sufficient to have a priest defrocked. “There was a leaning in favour of Read more