While the Vatican is known for its slow pace, even the speediest bureaucracy would have found it difficult to review and approve sensitive legal documents over a long weekend.
Sexual Abuse
Posted inFaith, News Analysis
As 2018 ends, U.S. bishops move to address allegations of abuse and claims of cover-up
2018 will no doubt be remembered as a dark time for the U.S. Catholic Church.
Posted inFaith, News
Vatican summit on sex abuse should discuss holding bishops accountable, expert says
A member of the committee organizing Pope Francis’ February summit on the sexual abuse crisis said the meeting should include discussing ways to hold bishops accountable for handling cases correctly.
Posted inFaith, News Analysis
For the pope, 2018 was a difficult year to come to terms with abuse crisis
Pope Francis marked the fifth anniversary of his election in March in the midst of a firestorm over his handling of clerical sexual abuse and bishops’ accountability in Chile.
Posted inFaith, News
Vatican hears testimony from alleged McCarrick abuse victim
The Vatican has taken testimony from a man who says ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick sexually abused him for years starting when he was 11, evidence that the initial case against the retired archbishop has expanded to include serious allegations of sexual misconduct, including in the confessional.
Posted inFaith, News
Could Pope Francis’ record on sexual abuse threaten his legacy?
It has been a very difficult year for Pope Francis.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis calls on priests who abuse minors to hand themselves over
“Be converted and hand yourselves over to human justice, and prepare yourselves for the divine justice.”
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Jesuit leaders respond to questions about living situations for priests accused of abuse
The nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting reported earlier this week that at least 20 Jesuits who had been credibly accused of abuse against minors were housed at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., until 2016.
Posted inExplainer, Faith
If a priest is ‘credibly accused’ of sexual abuse, what does that mean? Depends whom you ask.
The terms used to describe and classify alleged sexual abuse are not standardized across dioceses and religious orders. Should they be?
Posted inFaith, News
Illinois attorney general says local clergy abusers number far more than church officials revealed
While church officials have publicly identified 185 clergy members in Illinois as having been “credibly” accused of child sexual abuse, the Illinois attorney general’s office states that it found allegations of abuse by at least 500 more.