The diocese argued in court -- and said in a statement provided to Catholic News Service Sept. 19 -- that the man, Angelo Serrano, abused the boys at his apartment, and not on church property, and that "he was not clergy or an employee of the diocese of parish."

“The church has lost credibility in investigating itself.”

Even after revelations about sexual abuse in the church, 79 percent of U.S. Catholics—but only 53 percent of all Americans—hold a favorable view of Pope Francis, according to a Gallup poll.

In his celebration of Mass, Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore said he will be with the Catholics of West Virginia on the journey to "healing and reconciliation."

Hans Zollner, S.J., a member on the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, shares his hopes for the church as a crisis that never ceases to shock and sorrow continues.

The Diocese of Little Rock released a list of clergy who had assignments in Arkansas and against whom credible allegations of sexual abuse of a minor were filed.