Clergy abuse

The Latest

An interior view of Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, California.

Diocese of Oakland says it will pay up to $200 million for hundreds of abuse claims

Nov 11, 2024

By Daniel Payne

Some advocates criticized the proposal. Dan McNevin, a volunteer with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said it... Read more

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Archdiocese of New Orleans will release personnel files of clergy accused of sex abuse

Nov 8, 2024

By Daniel Payne

On Thursday the archdiocese said in an announcement that it had agreed to “nonmonetary plan provisions to be included in... Read more

Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Fall River, Massachusetts.

Massachusetts bishop: Priest placed on leave admitted to ‘serious sexual misconduct’

Nov 1, 2024

By Daniel Payne

Students at St. Michael’s School in Fall River, Massachusetts, had organized a protest for Friday over Father Jay Mello’s removal... Read more

Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley attends a press conference to present the first report of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors on Oct. 29, 2024, at the Vatican.

Cardinal O’Malley: Church acknowledges damage of abuse but ‘celibacy is not the cause’

Oct 29, 2024

By Kristina Millare

Cardinal Seán O’Malley stated that he has “never seen any serious studies that have indicated that celibacy and sexual abuse... Read more

St. Peter’s Basilica.

Vatican: Swiss bishops mishandled sex abuse claims, but no cover-up found

Oct 25, 2024

By Daniel Payne

In September of last year the Swiss Bishops’ Conference revealed an ongoing Vatican-ordered investigation into the reported mishandling of sex... Read more

Abuse victims and their supporters hold quilts bearing portraits of abused children while gathered outside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles on Feb. 1, 2013, one day after the release of personnel files of priests accused of sexual misconduct.

Archdiocese of Los Angeles announces nearly $1 billion clergy abuse settlement

Oct 17, 2024

By Daniel Payne

Lawyers for both victims and the archdiocese said in a joint press release that the near-$1 billion settlement would address... Read more

Father Rodolfo Martinez-Guevara.

California priest pleads no contest in child pornography case

Oct 11, 2024

By Daniel Payne

As part of that plea, the 39-year-old priest also admitted that he possessed “over 600 images of child sexual abuse... Read more

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Louisiana diocese set to file for bankruptcy, negotiate settlement with abuse victims

Oct 10, 2024

By Daniel Payne

In 2019 then-Alexandria Bishop David Talley released a list of 27 priests who had served in the diocese and who... Read more

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Pennsylvania priest laicized after investigation finds he sexually assaulted two minors

Oct 9, 2024

By Daniel Payne

Martin Boylan, 76, was removed from priestly ministry in 2016 after he was accused of sexual assault of a minor. Read more

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Vermont diocese files for bankruptcy amid more sex abuse lawsuits

Oct 2, 2024

By Madalaine Elhabbal

“While my heart is heavy with the decision to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy, such weight pales in comparison to the... Read more

Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

Cardinal Dolan says archdiocese is suing insurer to force it to pay sex abuse claims

Oct 1, 2024

By Daniel Payne

Dolan argued that Chubb “scurrilously” claims that the abuse of victims was “expected or intended” by the Catholic Church.  Read more

St. Agnes Cathedral, Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York.

New York Diocese of Rockville Centre announces $323 million abuse settlement

Sep 27, 2024

By Daniel Payne

The amount represents the largest settlement in U.S. diocesan bankruptcy history. It will be distributed to about 600 abuse survivors. Read more

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Two lawsuits accuse Missouri dioceses of ‘shameless cover-up’ of sexual abuse

Sep 20, 2024

By Daniel Payne

The two suits claim that diocesan officials “knowingly enabled, covered up, and concealed for multiple decades” sexual abuse perpetrated on... Read more

St. Josaphat Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic church in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago.

UPDATE: Chicago priest ‘strenuously denies’ state’s child molestation allegation, archdiocese says

Sep 12, 2024

By Daniel Payne

CBS News Chicago reported that the alleged incident reportedly took place at an “eighth-grade confirmation retreat” in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin,... Read more

Father Anthony Odiong, a former Louisiana priest, was arrested for possession of child pornography in Florida, law enforcement said on July 16, 2024, with the suspect also accused of multiple other instances of sexual abuse.

Priest arrested for child porn held on $2.5 million bond amid fears he may flee the U.S.

Aug 8, 2024

By Daniel Payne

The priest was extradited to Texas this week to face child porn charges as well as sex abuse charges in... Read more

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Russian Orthodox Church Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev during a state  ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow on Sept. 22, 2016.

Russian Orthodox bishop of Budapest-Hungary suspended following reports of sexual misconduct

Jul 26, 2024

By Kristina Millare

According to the online news site Novaya Gazeta Europe, Georgy Suzuki was sexually harassed on several occasions by the 58-year-old... Read more

Mosaics by alleged abuser Father Marko Rupnik are displayed at the shrine in Lourdes, France.

Stop using art by Father Rupnik, Cardinal O’Malley tells Vatican officials

Jun 28, 2024

By Matt McDonald, Kristina Millare

“We must avoid sending a message that the Holy See is oblivious to the psychological distress that so many are... Read more

Father Juan Carlos Garcia-Mendoza is being held in jail in Williamson County, Tennessee, on $2 million bond, the police said. He had previously served at St. Philip Catholic Church in the town of Franklin.

UPDATE: Tennessee priest indicted on additional sex crime charges

Jun 21, 2024

By Daniel Payne

The priest is being held in jail in Williamson County, Tennessee, on $2 million bond, the police said. He had... Read more

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Diocese of Fresno to file for bankruptcy amid sex abuse claims, bishop says

May 29, 2024

By Daniel Payne

The bankruptcy filing comes after plaintiffs lodged 154 sex abuse complaints against the diocese. Read more

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, speaks at the USCCB fall plenary assembly Nov. 14, 2023.

New report shows fewer abuse claims brought against U.S. Catholic clerics

May 28, 2024

By Jonah McKeown

The number of sex abuse allegations is down from 2,704 allegations brought the prior year, the report states, while some... Read more