News Story of the Day
Report slams Penn State 'total disregard' for victims
Penn State's independent probe into the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal found "the total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky's child victims by the most senior leaders at Penn State.
Prosecutors will introduce evidence of uncharged crimes at Ratigan’s trial
Federal prosecutors announced Monday that they plan to introduce evidence of uncharged crimes and other “bad acts” at the trial of the Rev. Shawn Ratigan in August. Ratigan, 46, is charged with production and possession of child pornography while he was pastor of Catholic parishes in St. Joseph and the Northland.
Report: Philadelphia DA investigating W.Va. bishop
The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting the Philadelphia District Attorney's office is investigating allegations made by a former high school student against Bishop Michael Bransfield of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.
Chaput removes two, returns four priests to ministry
Two more priests suspended after the release of a 2011 grand jury report will be removed from public ministry in the Philadelphia archdiocese, Archbishop Charles Chaput announced late Friday morning.
Man acquitted of beating of priest he said sexually abused him
SAN JOSE, Calif. (WLS) - William Lynch, the California man who admitted he pummeled a priest who he said abused him as a boy, has been found not guilty of felony assault and elder abuse charges.
Teacher sacked but not reported to police: Catholic principal failed sexually assaulted students
One of the state's most senior Catholic education officials failed to report the sexual assault of four of his students at a southern Sydney school in the late 1970s, a confidential internal investigation has found.
Pope fires Slovak bishop in rare show of papal power
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI fired a 52-year-old Slovak bishop for apparently mismanaging his diocese in a rare show of papal power over bishops that could have implications for U.S. sex abuse cases.
Pope appoints German to lead doctrinal office
Mueller's appointment to a powerful job the pontiff himself held for more than two decades - prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith - comes at a time when the Vatican is beset by controversies including allegations of corruption and internal intrigues, as well as a lingering child abuse scandal.
Kansas City diocese ordered to hand over documents in sexual misconduct case
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The first Catholic bishop criminally charged in the decades-long clergy sex abuse crisis will have to grant prosecutors access to a range of files regarding his diocese's response to previous accusations of clergy abuse, a county judge ordered Thursday.
The Earthly Power of a Philadelphia Jury
After months of testimony and deliberations the Philadelphia jurors who found Msgr. William Lynn guilty of child endangerment did more than any Vatican official has ever done to address the problem of sexual abuse of children in the Catholic Church. This was made possible by the simple fact that the men and women of the jury confronted him as a peer, in a system that confers equal rights and responsibilities upon all.