Three retired Australian bishops are calling for a new ecumenical council — including lay people — to “confront the issues that contribute to the causes of systemic sexual abuse” in the Catholic Church. The group is led by Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, who retired as auxiliary bishop of Sydney in 2004, aged 66, partly because of Read more
An apologetic Cardinal George Pell has appeared before a Victorian parliamentary inquiry into child abuse and vehemently denied personally covering up offending by priests. “No. Never,” the Sydney cardinal told the inquiry. He said the offending had largely escaped the view of Church officials who didn’t know what a “mess” they were presiding over. Cardinal Read more
The Archdiocese of Suva is drafting a policy to address sexual related offences. Archbishop elect Father Peter Loy Chong said there were a lot of unreported sexual cases within the church. He said this was part of the work required by the Pope on how the church should address the issues relating to sexual related Read more
Without so much as mentioning a word, the moment Rolf Harris’ name made it to the press, his reputation was vaporised by speculation and condemnation. As with charges about inappropriate flesh pressing, notably with the underage, anyone’s reputation that comes within a bull’s roar of it finds a career ruined. That is specifically so if The Read more
Brother Dennis of the Little Brothers of Mary, as they were originally known, was buried at a cemetery near Melbourne in March, 1992. His two families — the one he grew up with, and the clergy that he made his adult life with — were both present, and separate. The coffin lowered, the mourners were Read more
Veteran Catholic correspondent John Allen has delved into the background of Pope Francis as a bishop and cardinal in Argentina and clarified his record on such issues as liberation theology, sex abuse guidelines, civil unions and the former military dictatorship. On the Pope’s record in Argentina, Allen says: = Despite Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio’s reputation as Read more
Pope Francis has directed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to “act decisively” on cases of priestly sex abuse. The Pope discussed the congregation’s responsibilities for at least an hour on April 5 with its prefect, Archbishop Gerhard Muller, but the formal statement following the meeting referred only to dealing with sexual abuse. Read more
The Catholic Church in Australia has declared it wants the truth exposed before the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, and has pledged it will pay appropriate compensation to victims. The chief executive of the Church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council — which will represent the Church at the royal commission — Read more
While often quiet, there is no evidence that Argentina Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio played a role in covering up abuse cases, reports the Washington Post. Several prominent rights groups in Argentina say the archbishop went out of his way in recent years to stand with secular organizations against crimes such as sex trafficking and child Read more
The Catholic Church in Scotland has failed to provide “compassionate and pastoral” support on issues of sexuality, the head of its media office has said. In a Radio Scotland interview, Peter Kearney said: “If there’s an area where the Church hasn’t been seen — frankly because it’s not present — it’s in that area of Read more