News Story of the Day

More lawsuits filed against priests with Kansas City ties

Lawsuits alledging sexual abuse by three current or former Kansas City priests have been filed in recent weeks, bringing the number of cases filed this year to two dozen.


Victims speak of anger at church response

REACTION: SOME OF the 11 complainants who allege they were sexually assaulted as teenagers by “Fr Ronat” last night spoke of their anger at the handling of their complaints by Bishop John Magee and the Diocese of Cloyne.


Priest will go to trial over child pornography charges

A Churchill priest facing possession of child pornography charges will head to trial after waiving his preliminary hearing Tuesday morning


End statute of limitations on child sex crimes

Editor's note: Jon Wertheim, a non-practicing attorney, is a senior writer at Sports Illustrated and contributes to CNN.

(CNN) -- The Penn State scandal was just starting to reach a rolling boil last month when the Department of Education announced that it would be investigating the school for a possible violation of the Clery Act. A quarter century ago, Jeanne Clery was asleep in her Lehigh University dorm room when she was raped and killed by an intruder.


Dutch Bishops Apologize for Abuse of Thousands

LONDON —Roman Catholic bishops in the Netherlands said Friday they offered “sincere apologies” to victims of sexual mistreatment, hours after a report by an official commission said church officials had “failed to adequately deal with” abuse, including rape, affecting as many as 20,000 Dutch children in Catholic institutions.


Warrant issued for former Salinas priest in molestation case

A no-bail bench warrant was issued Wednesday for a former Salinas priest accused of violating his probation terms, including failing to register as a sex offender, following his release from jail, the Monterey County District Attorney's Office said.


Abuse victims standing up in wake of coach scandals

A national furor over sexual misconduct by college athletic coaches may offer at least one collateral benefit: Experts say hidden victims are being stirred to step forward and press charges against sports and athletic mentors, thereby protecting others from abuse.


New York lawmakers could reform child abuse laws

New York state lawmakers said the announcement on Wednesday that a former Syracuse University coach will not face sex abuse charges because the statute of limitations had run out could boost efforts to reform state child abuse laws.


Bernie Fine Can’t Be Charged, District Attorney Says

The former Syracuse assistant men’s basketball coach Bernie Fine cannot be prosecuted for allegations that he sexually abused two boys in the 1980s because the statute of limitations had run out, William Fitzpatrick, the district attorney for Onondaga County, N.Y., said Wednesday. But Fitzpatrick added that he believed the men who accused Fine were telling the truth about the abuse.


The altar boys' secret: No longer alone

Don and Rosemary Teeman were waiting in the parking lot when Jon David Couzens drove up.

Couzens sat in his van, trying to summon the strength to open the door. The Teemans’ son had committed suicide 28 years earlier. The night before last, Couzens had told them that their son was sexually abused by a priest before taking his life.


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