Media Statements

A Mississippi priest who yesterday was indicted on 10 counts of wire fraud was apparently known to church officials in the Diocese of Jackson as a fraudster. Bishop Joseph Kopacz should resign his position immediately for repeatedly lying to parishioners and the public.

A new report has come out about the scope of Catholic clergy abuse in Fiji. We call for an independent, secular investigation by government officials in order to get to the bottom of this scandal and to ensure that children will be spared from the scourge of sexual abuse in the future.

We are not surprised by the news that an insurance company is suing the Archdiocese of Indianapolis for failing to disclose to them allegations of abuse. Church officials rarely disclose information about cases of clergy abuse unless forced to by the public, the media, and the courts.

Despite two separate investigations and recommendations from local police to file charges, Natrona County prosecutors have decided not to pursue criminal charges against a serially abusive former bishop. This is a disturbing and disappointing decision that raised the hopes of clergy abuse survivors only to once again see the system fail to take their allegations seriously. We call on the Attorney General of Wyoming to step in and take over this case in order to see it through to the end.

According to Catholic News Service, the US Catholic Church collected almost 10,600 individual loans during the first round of government stimulus. This figure is triple the amount estimated by the Associated Press, which reported that at least $1.4 Billion had been borrowed among at least 3,500 loans. Extrapolating those AP figures to the number of grants acknowledged by CNS, it would appear at least $5 Billion has been awarded to Catholic entities nationwide.

Last week, a brave whistleblower made public a megachurch’s quiet defense and shielding of a pedophile who was working around children. Now, that megachurch is launching a new investigation into what went wrong. While we are glad that further action is being taken, we renew our call for secular law enforcement officials to get involved to ensure that children and the vulnerable will be protected.

Nine priests – including two being named for the first time – from the Archdiocese of Newark are being sued today on sexual abuse allegations. We call on Newark church officials to do immediate outreach in order to bring other potential victims or witnesses forward and we encourage anyone with information or suspicions to report them to the attorney general and local police.

A recently released report into the sexual abuse and cover-up by a former Springfield bishop has had serious ripple effects at the diocesan level. Once again, this report and any acrimony that arises from it is further proves to us that diocesan review boards are ripe for corruption and bias. The only proper investigatory authority is an unbiased secular agency, such as the District Attorney, the Attorney General, or an impaneled Grand Jury.

A damning report into abuse and cover-up at a San Jose high school was released yesterday. This investigation revealed a culture of minimization and an unwillingness to report abuse to authorities. It is a microcosm of the problems that continue to plague the Catholic Church today.

A former Vicar General from the Catholic Diocese of Steubenville has resigned in disgrace from his parish position due to a financial scandal that dates back to his time as Chief Financial Officer in the diocese.