News Story of the Day
Rev. Robert Poandl: Advocates show support for alleged victim in child sexual-abuse trial
CINCINNATI - Judy Jones says she knows how hard it is for people who are sexually abused by priests to come forward.
“I grew up in southeast Ohio and my brother was sexually abused. My parents wouldn’t even believe their own son,” said Jones, Midwest Director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). “That’s why I’m here.”
Group Wants Further Disclosure of Priests Accused of Sexual Abuse
Members of the group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) is taking news about two abuse case settlements to call on the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh to better notify the public when a priest has been accused of sexual misconduct.
The priests in question had both worked in Pittsburgh, though the abuse allegations come from other places they worked.
Prosecutors seek 50-year sentence for Mo. priest
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Federal prosecutors in Missouri are seeking a 50-year prison term for a Roman Catholic priest who admitted taking pornographic photos of children.
The Rev. Shawn Ratigan faces sentencing Thursday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City. The 47-year-old priest pleaded guilty in August 2012 to five counts of producing or attempting to produce child porn -- one count for each of five victims.
Support group for clergy abuse victims to meet in Little Rock, talks about local case
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) has announced it will hold a confidential supporting meeting next Wednesday at the downtown library. You can find more details here. The group emphasizes that, though the group name mentions priests, it is open to anyone harmed by a predator in an institutional setting.
Pope Under Fire Over Vatican Envoy Child Sex Probe
VATICAN CITY (AFP) - Pope Francis came under fire from victims groups on Thursday following news that he had quietly sacked the Vatican's envoy to the Dominican Republic over allegations of paedophilia.
"Like all of his predecessors, Pope Francis is acting belatedly, secretively and recklessly," said Barbara Dorris, outreach director for the US-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).
Sex abuse suit filed against Catholic church in Chile
Three men allegedly abused as boys by prominent priest Fernando Karadima in the 1980s filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Chilean Catholic Church.
In the 450 million peso ($900,000) suit, Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and Jose Andres Murillo accuse the church of negligence for initially ignoring their complaints about the priest.
Altar boy named in priest suit
A former altar boy who attended Caledonia’s St. John’s Parish in the 1960s publicly spoke out for the first time Thursday about abuse he said he suffered at the hands of former Diocese of Winona priest Thomas Adamson.
Bill Beardmore’s decision to speak out comes as attorney Jeff Anderson filed a new lawsuit on his behalf against the Diocese this week in Winona County District Court. The suit seeks $50,000 in damages, and, like similar suits Anderson has filed elsewhere, requests that a judge order the public release of a list that contains the names and personal information of “credibly accused child molesting priests.”
On Marrying a Survivor of Childhood Sexual Abuse
I thought the article would validate my husband’s experience. That’s why I emailed him the link to the decade-old New York magazine article about his alma mater, the American Boychoir School for vocal prodigies, where alumni from as late as the 1990s estimate that one in five boys were molested. Boys like Travis.
“It used to feel like an isolated incident that affected just me," Trav said.
Archbishop's letter offers abundant falsehoods, no apologies: Editorial
Last weekend’s letter from Newark Archbishop John J. Myers regarding his handling of sexual abuse cases is so crowded with falsehoods and insults that it’s difficult to know where to begin.
What’s most revealing is what is missing: There’s not a single word of sympathy for the victims and their families. Myers instead insults them by suggesting they are blaming the church for problems in their own families. “One can understand when family difficulties lead parents, even by conjecture, to blame someone outside the family,” he wrote. “But conjecture is no reason to undermine the Ministry of individual Priests (or Bishops for that matter.)”
Evangelicals need to confront the reality of sexual abuse in their ranks
In yesterday’s Louisville Courier-Journal, award-winning religion writer Peter Smith wrote about the need for evangelical churches to confront sexual abuse and cover-ups within their own ranks. It’s a need that was recently given voice in a public statement written by former sex crimes prosecutor Boz Tchividjian and signed by more than 1,500 people worldwide.
The statement was prompted in part by a lawsuit brought by eleven plaintiffs alleging the cover-up of sexual abuse within churches affiliated with Sovereign Grace Ministries. Tchividjian said the lawsuit “underscored larger issues,” and his statement alluded, not only to the case, but also to religious leaders who have publicly defended Sovereign Grace and its president, including prominent Southern Baptist leaders.