News Story of the Day

Documents contradict Nienstedt testimony on priest's sexual assault

Archbishop John Nienstedt gave a false statement under oath about his knowledge of a priest's criminal conviction for sexually assaulting a child, letters obtained by MPR News show.  


NEW INFORMATION: Fmr. youth pastor among suspects in child sex trafficking, exploitation case

By Mike Lopez and Jenny You

October 20, 2014

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) -- Nine arrests have been made in connection to child sex crimes in the Chippewa Valley, and investigators say one of the suspects is a former youth pastor at an Eau Claire church.


Kansas City diocese agrees to settle 30 lawsuits for $10 million

By Judy L. Thomas of the Kansas City Star

October 14, 2014

The Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph on Tuesday agreed to pay nearly $10 million to settle 30 lawsuits that alleged sexual abuse by priests.

That action came on the eve of jury deliberations after an 11-day trial in a case filed by a former altar boy.


SNAP Hands Out Leaflets On Investigation Into Pastor Outside St. Alphonsus

By Nancy Harty

October 12, 2014

(CBS) — Priest sex abuse survivors leafleted outside a Catholic church on Chicago’s North Side Sunday to draw attention to an ongoing investigation, reports WBBM’s Nancy Harty.


Trial date approaches for Ursuline sisters

A courtroom in Helena, Mont., could be the scene of a rare occurrence in the decades-long crisis of sex abuse in the Catholic church: Roman Catholic women religious as defendants.


Child sex abuse victims face hurdles seeking redress in court

By Tomohiro Osaki
Staff Writer- The Japan Times

To many survivors of childhood molestation in Japan, seeking retribution from their abusers has been unimaginably difficult.


The Orthodox Sex Abuse Crackdown That Wasn’t

By Emily Shire

October 7, 2014

Brooklyn DA Kenneth Thompson ran on the promise that he’d clean up the office’s problems with prosecuting ultra-Orthodox sex offenders who preyed on children—but so far he appears just as lax as his predecessor.


National group blasts Syracuse diocese over child-molesting allegations against monsignor

By John O'Brien

October 2, 2014

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A national victims' advocacy organization today criticized the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse over its handling of a child-molesting accusation against a monsignor.


Vatican trial for abuse suspect undercuts zero-tolerance goal

Boston Globe Editorial 

October 3, 2014

POPE FRANCIS sounds genuinely contrite for the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy, and he has promised that those responsible will be called to account . Yet as an institution, the church still seems stuck in the habit of protecting clergy members from secular criminal justice systems.


Diocese knew about abuse by KC priest but did nothing, witnesses tell jury Read more here

By Judy Thomas

October 1, 2014

A well-known public relations consultant, a Catholic nun and a former school board vice president told a Jackson County jury Wednesday that they had reported sexual abuse concerns involving Monsignor Thomas O’Brien to the diocese over a span of decades, but nothing was ever done.


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