Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of the only American bishop to have been convicted of failing to report suspected child abuse. On Tuesday, the Vatican announced the resignation of Bishop Robert Finn of the diocese of St Joseph-Kansas City in Missouri. The announcement cited canon law that a bishop who “has become less able Read more
A Guam priest who was stripped of his public duties last year, after a decades-old clergy sex abuse allegation resurfaced, has been cleared. Fr John Wadeson “has been reinstated fully to public ministry”, the Archdiocese of Agana stated. Fr Wadeson left the Redemptoris Mater Seminary on Guam in July last year, after serving in Agana Read more
The Catholic Church in Australia set aside tens of millions of dollars to compensate sexual abuse victims years before it publicly admitted the problem. The Sunday Age reported that a warning was issued by a church insurer to the nation’s bishops as early as 1988. This was more than seven years before the Melbourne Response Read more
In a rare move, the Vatican has publicly defended the recent appointment of a controversial bishop accused of covering up child abuse in Chile. The Vatican press office stated: “Prior to the recent appointment of His Excellency Msgr Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid as bishop of Osorno, Chile, the Congregation for Bishops carefully examined Read more
Police in Melbourne are investigating suspected arsons at three churches with historic links to abusive priests. Fire destroyed the 123-year-old St James Church in Brighton in late March. And fires at St Mary’s Church in Dandenong caused A$250,000 worth of damage. A separate blaze started near a door at St Mary’s in St Kilda East Read more
A Catholic Church spokesman is surprised at the Australian government’s rejection of a proposed national compensation scheme for child sex abuse victims. The Church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council chief, Francis Sullivan, said this to a royal commission hearing last week. Mr Sullivan said the Church supported a national scheme administered by the federal government Read more
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien from the rights and privileges of being a cardinal. Cardinal O’Brien had previously admitted sexual misconduct towards several men. He will no longer be invited to attend consistories and other gatherings of cardinals, including an eventual conclave for the election of a new pope. Read more
The installation Mass of a Chilean bishop accused of complicity in paedophilia cases descended into chaos as protesters tried to climb onto the altar. An estimated 4000 protesters tried to block Bishop Juan Barros Madrid from entering the cathedral in Osorno on March 21. Inside the cathedral, there were clashes between the bishop’s opponents, carrying Read more
A victim of clergy sexual abuse has offered to lead the Vatican’s child protection commission in Rome. Peter Saunders, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, told The Tablet he would like to see the commission have wider powers. He would like to see the commission’s remit extended so it is Read more
Last year, the Catholic Church in the United States spent US$43million on child abuse prevention and education. The figure was mentioned by priest psychologist Msgr Stephen Rossetti at a conference on safeguarding children in Ireland last month. Msgr Rossetti is a professor at The Catholic University of America and a visiting professor at Rome’s Pontifical Read more