Media Statements

A new lawsuit alleges that a Catholic school principal lost his job after reporting inappropriate behavior by a local priest. We applaud this principal for doing the right thing and hope that he is able to have his day in court.

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco recently went public with criticisms on how the COVID-19 pandemic is being handled in California. We believe Archbishop Cordileone should focus less on how COVID is being handled by the state and more on how cases of clergy sexual abuse and cover-up are handled within his Archdiocese.

We applaud the decision by law enforcement officials in Missouri to open an investigation into the Circle of Hope Girls’ Ranch. We know that the best way to get to the bottom of cases of abuse in religious institutions is for those claims to be probed by police and punished by prosecutors.

Clergy sex abuse survivors have no choice but to accept the Sept 17th decision of Federal Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Grabill in setting March 1, 2021 as the date by which victims of abuse in the Archdiocese of New Orleans must come forward or lose their rights.  Judge Grabill disregarded U.S. Trustee Amanda George’s recommendation of a March 31st bar date.

Leaders of SNAP in Louisiana are calling out the Houma-Thibodaux bishop for failing to live up to the standards laid out by the USCCB and for choosing secrecy over transparency in the case of an accused abusive priest.

Another Michigan abuser has been arrested thanks to the work done by the state’s top law enforcement official and her dedication to investigating cases of Catholic sexual abuse. We applaud AG Dana Nessel and her team and hope this news encourages others who may have been hurt to come forward and make a report to the AG’s office.

The Diocese of Cleveland is welcoming a new leader today and we are calling on local parishioners to examine his record closely and demand that their diocese will be treated to more openness and transparency that the previous diocese led by this new bishop.

A Catholic priest and a Catholic brother have been named in lawsuits for child sexual abuse in New Jersey. This latest news that shows the great benefit of the state’s Child Victims Act.  Giving survivors their chance at a day in court can lead to safer, more informed communities.

Last year a pastor of a Southern Baptist Convention church in Tennessee was forced to resign after his “inappropriate relationships” with multiple female congregants came to light. Now, less than a year later, that same pastor is opening a new church and we fear that this situation will only create more victims of pastoral abuse.

A move by the federal Department of Justice is sending the wrong message at the worst time, bringing more attention to the lack of federal action on behalf of survivors of institutional sexual abuse.