A Vatican tribunal absolved a former altar boy of charges that he molested a younger boy in the Vatican’s youth seminary, ruling Wednesday in the first clergy sexual abuse trial to be heard by the pope’s criminal court.
Sexual Abuse
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
‘This is a moment of shame’: Pope Francis says the church has failed to center abuse victims for too long
The Catholic Church’s inability to make victims of abuse their top concern is a cause for intense shame, Pope Francis said.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
The Catholic Church’s prayers for victims of sexual abuse are beginning to ring hollow.
You would think that “sex abuse” could not become commonplace, but in our petitions, it has—until something like France happens.
Posted inFaith, News
Pope Francis prays for victims of Catholic sex abuse in France
Pope Francis prayed for the tens of thousands of victims of clerical sexual abuse in France and urged the Catholic Church in the country to “undertake a path of redemption.”
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Report: 330,000 child victims of sex abuse in France’s Catholic Church
The 2,500-page document was issued as the Catholic Church in France, like in other countries, seeks to face up to shameful secrets that were long covered up.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
3,000 child abusers have worked in the French Catholic Church, independent commission finds
An independent commission examining sex abuse within the Roman Catholic Church in France believes 3,000 child abusers—two-thirds of them priests—have worked in the church over the past 70 years.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Church Militant sues Baltimore for canceling protest of bishops featuring Steve Bannon and Milo Yiannopoulos
Michigan-based St. Michael’s Media, also known as Church Militant, has challenged the city’s ruling in federal court, saying its First Amendment rights are being denied.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Has the Catholic Church in Ireland learned anything from the testimonies of abuse survivors?
In his portrait of a once ultra-devout country undergoing rapid spiritual decline, Derek Scally paints a vivid picture of Irish indifference toward the church.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
We need to stop using the word ‘prostitute’
The word “prostitute” labels a woman with a false identity, one that fails to take into account life circumstances and instead relies on a twisted definition of “choice.”
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Explainer: Why did the Catholic Church cooperate with the Canadian government’s abuse of Indigenous children?
The discoveries of unmarked burials have left many wondering what motivated Catholics to participate in a colonial system that would be responsible for the loss and violation of thousands of Indigenous children.