Nuns are also guilty of sexually abusing minors, say survivors. Women who were sexually abused by nuns say while the abuse of boys by priests is being widely documented, their trauma is being overlooked. “It’s a spiritual rape, it really is,” one says. “It steals your faith. I envy people who have faith.” “Nuns kind Read more
A study published earlier this month by two theologians resident in New Zealand suggests that Jesus himself was a victim of sexual abuse. Dr Rocio Figueroa Alvear is a Peruvian theologian currently lecturing in systematic theology at Good Shepherd College in Auckland and an external researcher at the Centre for Theology and Public Issues at Otago Read more
Local laws and court decisions regarding clerical sexual abuse and its cover-up must be respected, Fr Hans Zollner says. Zollner, who is a leading expert in child protection and one of the chief organisers of February’s summit on child protection, says the Church’s responsibility to obey the laws of the land was clarified several years Read more
News of George Pell’s conviction was a fitting end to a papal summit on child abuse which achieved nothing and began with other cardinals attributing the problem to homosexuals in the priesthood. The reality is that priests abuse small boys not because they are gay but because they have the opportunity. Most are not even Read more
A new study has found children who were bullied and sexually abused are more likely to smoke and drink alcohol excessively as adults. The findings were published recently in BMC Public Health. Few studies have explored this phenomenon in Australia, according to Dr David Alejandro González-Chica, senior lecturer and research supervisor at the University of Read more
United States federal documents show thousands of migrant children have been exposed to abuse while in government custody. The U.S. government has received more than 4,500 complaints over the last four years alleging that children who are under government custody because of immigration matters faced sexual abuse. Read more
The suppression order in relation to Cardinal George Pell has been lifted. In December, a jury of 12 of his fellow citizens found him guilty of five offences of child sexual abuse. No other charges are to proceed. Cardinal Pell has appealed the convictions. The verdict was unanimous. The jury took three days to deliberate Read more
The Vatican summit on the protection of minors has ended and the Church’s future direction is set. In his final address at the Summit, Pope Francis committed the church to do everything possible to eradicate sexual abuse. He said he wants it gone – not just from the church itself but from society as a Read more
Shortly before Christmas, Pope Francis declared in response to the sexual abuse crisis that “the church will spare no effort to do all that is necessary to bring to justice whosoever has committed such crimes.” He promised that “the church will never seek to hush up or not take seriously any case.” For decades, people Read more
Cardinal George Pell has been found guilty on five counts of historic sex offenses. The jury in a County Court of the State of Victoria, delivered a unanimous verdict on Tuesday. The verdict came after three days of deliberation and sentencing will take place in early February. Until then Pell is released on bail. This Read more