News Story of the Day

By Dave Sutor, February 17, 2017, Tribune Democrat

A well-known advocacy group for child sexual abuse victims is setting up a chapter in the Altoona–Johnstown area.

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests plans to hold its first confidential support meeting in Ebensburg on Feb. 28 from 6 to 8 p.m. 

SNAP is establishing its local group in response to the ongoing abuse scandal within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona–Johnstown.

February 16, 2017, Deutsche Welle

The country's Catholic Church has paid more than quarter of a billion Australian dollars to child sexual abuse victims. An inquiry concluded that, while thousands of claims were made, many victims had not come forward. 

An average of 91,000 dollars each was paid to thousands of victims who came forward with claims to the church, an inquiry was told on Thursday.

By Dylan Segelbaum, February 15, 2017, York Daily Record

The lawsuit was settled on Monday in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.

A woman has settled a lawsuit against the Spring Grove Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses and two of its supporting organizations, which alleged that elders failed to report instances of sexual abuse to law enforcement to protect their own reputation.

By Submitted News, February 13, 2017, Sussex Living

A former U.S. Navy lieutenant commander and ordained Catholic priest was recently sentenced to 30 years in prison for charges involving the sexual exploitation of children, announced U.S. Attorney Charles M. Oberly III of the District of Delaware.

By Eoin Blackwell, February 13, 2017, Huffington Post

An Anglican Church-founded youth group was used by a "network of sexual perpetrators" who knew of each other's offending while they abused children for more than a decade, a new report says.

The Child Sex Abuse Royal Commission report found the Church of England's Boys' Society's (CEBS) only formal response to the sex abuse was to strip awards given to certain offenders, while the body's national council decided against an apology in 2009.

By CBS 13, Posted Feb. 09, 2017, BDN Maine

By Rachel Browne, February 9, 2017, The Sydney Morning Herald

Catholic church authorities deliberately misused their own legal code to excuse claims of child sexual abuse and protect alleged perpetrators, according to testimony before a royal commission.

The fourth day of an inquiry into the Catholic church's approach to child sexual abuse heard that canon law has been used to justify the cover-up of alleged crimes.

By Krystal Paco, February 08, 2017, Kuam

Archbishop Anthony Apuron is reportedly being tried in the Vatican for allegations of child sex abuse, but he was spotted in Fairfield, California just last month. What's the deal? One expert gives us a better understanding of protocol in Rome.

What can we expect from the ongoing canonical trial in Rome for Archbishop Apuron? Nothing.

By Joelle Castiex, February 6, 2017, The Worthy Adversary

The era of secret child sex abuse settlements in California is over.

I am usually quick to beat up on California Governor Jerry Brown for his poor record on protecting institutions who cover-up child sex abuse. But a new law enacted January 1, 2017, slipped under my radar— and organizations who harbor men and women who prey on children should be on notice.

By Philippa McDonald and Riley Stuart, February 5, 2017,  ABC.net.au

More than 20 per cent of the members of some Catholic religious orders — including Marist Brothers and Christian Brothers — were allegedly involved in child sexual abuse, a royal commission hearing in Sydney has been told.

Nearly 2,000 Catholic Church figures, including priests, religious brothers and sisters, and employees, were identified as alleged perpetrators in a report released by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.