The suit, which lower courts said could proceed, sought more than $1 million in damages from the diocese claiming it had falsely included the former deacon in its published list last year of clergy with credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors.

Jesus Guerrero filed a defamation lawsuit last March, two months after all 15 dioceses in the state published lists of clergy members and deacons with credible abuse allegations.

In a response filed with the Lubbock District Court last April, the diocese said it was seeking dismissal of the suit calling it an ecclesiastical matter that civil courts couldn't interfere with. Read more

Father Alex Kapiarumala left India to work as a priest in Bay of Plenty nine years ago.

He said he quickly became ostracised by certain colleagues, as well as deceived, exploited and stereotyped for his Indian heritage. Continue reading

The matter was called before the Supreme Court last week.

The lawsuit for defamation concerns the publication by the Samoa Observer of a letter to the editor titled "Stop this madness" by "M.R" on 29 March 2017.

According to the statement of claim, the plaintiffs allege that the letter is defamatory.

As a result, they are asking for general damages of $400,000, aggravated damages of $200,000, punitive damages of $100,000 and costs.

The letter in question was an online comment, in response to a story titled "Church stigmata row deepens."

In April this year the letter was the subject of a search warrant served on the Samoa Observer by the Police.

Toa's family had complained to police claiming the letter defamatory and untrue.

But the editor, Mata'afa Keni Lesa, denied this.

"I think certainly it sets a very dangerous precedent for this country, in terms of media freedom," he said.

"I mean, what happens next? I mean anyone who writes a letter or anything that they don't like, and then they can go to the police, who then turn up with a search warrant, and that to me is very concerning."

Since Easter in 2015, Toaipuapuaga Patrick, has maintained she is carrying the marks of Jesus Christ's crucifixion, also commonly referred to as the stigmata.

Source

• sobserver.ws
• radionz.co.nz
• Image: radionz.co.nz

The former Conservative Party leader and the Whaleoil blogger are suing each other for defamation.

"Not one of my Christian friends ever talks about speaking with God," Slater said on Thursday while being cross examined by Craig, who is representing himself. Continue reading

The blog was also published in the Samoa Observer.

Opapo is the father of Toaipuapuaga (Toa), the woman who is said to have received stigmata.

He told the online news source Talamua that up until this point he has been unwilling to take legal action because of his respect for the church.

Bu now he says the challenge by the "faceless person" behind a message "has gone beyond the extreme".

He wants that the author to prove in court the accusations he made in his blog.

This week Toa will be returning to Samoa after six months in Rome.

While in Rome she gave birth to a baby.

Nothing is known this stage about the Roman authorities reaction to her claim to have received stigmata.

There have been many reported claims of stigmata throughout the years, and though the Church does recognise stigmata as miraculous, there are certain conditions that must first be recognised in order for the Church to declare a true stigmatic.

One commentator, Dr. Nicola Silvestri, says the following conditions must be fulfilled:

The wounds must all appear at the same time; they must cause considerable modification of the tissues; they must remain unaltered despite medical treatment; they must cause hemorrhages; and they must not result in infections or suppuration, or in instant and perfect healing.

80 stigmata have been validly documented. Although the Catholic Church recognises the phenomenon, it does not oblige theCatholics to believe in it as a dogmatic or doctrinal fact.

Sources

• talamua.com
• zenit.org
• Image: niufm.com

A Church tribunal found that Fr Matthew Despard of St John Ogilvie in Lanarkshire had injured the reputation of the Church as well as clergy and lay people.

Already under suspension, he will be removed from his parish and will have to spend three months in penance.

The priest made the claims in a book he self-published in the Internet titled "Priesthood in Crisis".

Fr Despard claimed that sexual misconduct had been widespread in junior seminaries for decades.

He also said he had alerted Church authorities, but that nothing had been done.

In a letter to Fr Despard, the Bishop of Motherwell, Joseph Toal, said: "The judges determined that of the 21 of the 26 charges brought against Fr Despard, five were not proven."

"In the majority of cases, the tribunal ruled that Fr Despard had injured the good reputation of a number of people, both lay and clergy."

Fr Despard did not take part in the tribunal, but was represented by a lawyer.

The bishop added: "The bishop regrets that a penal case had to be pursued against Fr Despard, but felt it necessary in order to vindicate the reputation of those wrongly accused by him."

Fr Despard will reportedly appeal against the tribunal's ruling.

When he was suspended, his parishioners launched a petition in protest.

Parishioners also boycotted a Mass celebrated by the diocese's apostolic administrator at St John Ogilvie.

Priesthood in Crisis, which appeared just after Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien resigned over sexual misconduct, was originally made available through Amazon.

It was withdrawn from sale by Amazon in the United Kingdom (although it remains available in the US) because of lawsuits threatened by individuals who were named in the book.

Sources

• Herald Scotland
• Catholic World News
• Catholic World News
• Image: Sunday Post

The archdiocese said the report by Fairfax media misrepresented the outcome of a 2002 inquiry into an allegation against the cardinal and was a "smear of the most vindictive kind".

The report suggested that the 2002 investigation into sex-abuse charges, conducted by a retired Victorian Supreme Court judge, had cast suspicions on the cardinal's role.

In fact, the inquiry report from Judge A. J. Southwell had "completely exonerated Cardinal Pell of allegations made against him", the archdiocese said.

Judge Southwell wrote: "I find I am not satisfied that the complaint has been established."

The article, by Melbourne journalist Barney Zwartz, has now been removed from Fairfax websites. It appeared while Cardinal Pell was in Rome to take part in the conclave that elected Pope Francis.

It quoted commentator Paul Collins, a former priest, as saying Cardinal Pell had "no chance" of being elected pope after progressive Catholics lobbied overseas journalists and voting cardinals to make sure they were aware of the 2002 inquiry into allegations against the Sydney archbishop.

The statement by the archdiocese pointed out that a previous article by Mr Zwartz about Cardinal Pell said "an independent investigation by a retired non-Catholic judge cleared him" of the allegations against him.

"Inexplicably, this has been omitted from Mr Zwartz's latest article," the statement said.

The archdiocese also said that Cardinal Pell "has worked hard to eradicate the evil of sexual abuse from the Church and to show his deep compassion for victims and survivors of sexual abuse not just by words but also by actions".

Sources:

SBS

The Australian

Image: Sydney Morning Herald