News Story of the Day

New lawsuit claims Ellwood priest molested siblings for years

ELLWOOD CITY — A Pennsylvania man is suing the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh decades after he says he and his sister were sexually assaulted by a priest in Lawrence County.


Two former students sue Paramus Catholic, saying the school knew of sex abuse by hockey coach

Two former students at Paramus Catholic High School have come forward with sexual abuse allegations against a prominent hockey coach from the 1980s, saying the school shielded him from similar accusations for years.


Catholic Churches Drop Hymns After Accusations Against Composer

Several Roman Catholic archdioceses have banned a well-known liturgical composer from performing in their churches and many others have stopped playing his music after dozens of women accused him of sexual misconduct and harassment over more than 40 years.


Hancock County Court Rejects Diocese’s Request To Dismiss Lawsuit

NEW CUMBERLAND — A request by the the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston to dismiss a lawsuit alleging sexual assault by the Rev. Victor Frobas has been denied in Hancock County Circuit Court.


Surge in filings pushes Child Victims Act suits in WNY past 700 in a year

Former Smallwood Elementary School teacher Trent Hariaczyi pleaded guilty in 2005 to possessing child pornography and served 18 months in federal prison.


With ouster of priest accused of pedophilia, Coptic Church mobilizes against sexual abuse

LOS ANGELES — The Coptic Orthodox Church in the U.S., shaken by recent accusations of sexual abuse, has vowed to eradicate inappropriate behavior in its cloistered communities following the defrocking of a priest accused of pedophilia for decades.


Erie Catholic Diocese to Resume Program Assisting Sexual Abuse Survivors

The Diocese of Erie announced Tuesday it will resume its work with the Independent Survivors' Reparation Program (ISRP), a program established to assist survivors of sexual abuse. 


Cuomo signs law to extend CVA deadline a full year, doesn’t apply to Dioceses in bankruptcy

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill Monday that will extend the deadline for lawsuits filed under New York’s Child Victims Act.

That legislation, adopted in early 2019, carved out a one-year window during which suits can be brought by people who allege they were sexually abused when they were young. The window of opportunity was set to close on August 13, 2020.


Archdiocese removes deacon from ministry following report of abuse

NEW ORLEANS, La. (WVUE) -The Archdiocese of New Orleans removed a deacon from ministry Monday following a report of abuse. V.M. Wheeler has been assigned to St. Francis Xavier in Metairie since his ordination in 2018. Wheeler is also a partner at New Orleans law firm, Chaffe McCall LLP.


Case against diocese draws attention

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court in the past week has received several friend-of-the-court briefs both supporting and challenging a landmark decision made by the court last year in which it allowed an Altoona woman to proceed with a sexual abuse case against a priest, even though the alleged offenses occurred in the mid-1970s.


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