Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options

Victims of sexual abuse by members of the clergy, a U.S.-based organization for abuse survivors and a U.S.-based human rights organization formally asked the International Criminal Court in the Hague to investigate Pope Benedict XVI and other top Vatican officials. The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and their attorneys from the Center for Constitutional Rights, a New York-based organization, presented their petition to the court on Sept. 13. They allege that “Vatican officials tolerate and enable the systematic and widespread concealing of rape and child sex crimes throughout the world.” The petition claims the church leaders who bear “the greatest responsibility” for such cases of abuse are Pope Benedict; Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals and former Vatican secretary of state; Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, secretary of state and former secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; and Cardinal William J. Levada, current prefect of the congregation. The parties filing the petition said, “This could be the first time that an international court asserts jurisdiction over the Vatican for crimes committed by its agents worldwide.”

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks with other members of the House July 3, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington after final passage of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill. (OSV News photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters)
“Deep cuts” to SNAP and Medicaid will “inflict real suffering on these families…. SNAP and Medicaid are not luxuries, they are lifelines for millions of children across our country.”
Kevin ClarkeJuly 03, 2025
It was one of the first times Leo has spoken unscripted at length in public, responding to questions posed to him by the children.
The Vatican has named the judges that will preside over the trial of disgraced Father Marko Rupnik.
For so many of us, Roger Haight marked off a breathtakingly wide horizon in which we, agreeing with him or not, could fulfill our mission for God’s people.