News Story of the Day

Pastor Ronnie Goines stepped away from Koinonia Christian Church in Arlington after turning himself in to face sexual assault and indecent assault charges.

VATICAN CITY (VATICAN CITY)
La Croix International [Montrouge Cedex, France]

October 29, 2024

By Matthieu Lasserre with Mikael Corre

[See also the text of the PCPM report.]

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors released its first annual report October 29, detailing measures taken to combat sexual violence within the church. The document reveals uneven implementation across various countries worldwide.

By Hannah Ross

John Casey appeared in Lismore District Court today. (ABC North Coast: Hannah Ross)

In short: 

John Patrick Casey has pleaded not guilty to three counts of sexual assault against a person under the age of 16.

The Catholic priest is alleged to have given a 14-year-old boy staying at his house an indecent massage.

What's next?

The District Court jury trial is due to run for five days. 

St. Pius X Catholic Church is located at 1280 NW Saltzman Road. Google Maps

OregonLive.com

October 24, 2024

By Zane Sparling

A Catholic priest connected to a church and school in Cedar Mill has returned to India to face allegations of sexual misconduct involving children, according to correspondence obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive.

The Rev. Joaquim Gracias of the Saint Pius X church was reportedly leaving to face the allegations in India, according to an email sent to members of the parish on June 27 and shared this week with the news organization.

To read the entire article, go here.

Nasiruddin Mohamad Ali, CEO of Global Ikhwan Services and Business, center, arrives with others members after charged for being part of an organized crime group after hundreds of children believed to have been sexually abused were rescued from welfare homes linked to the group, at the Selayang Sessions Court in the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo)

Updated 4:38 AM EDT, October 23, 2024

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Twenty-two members of an Islamic business group, including its CEO, were charged Wednesday for being part of an organized crime group after hundreds of children believed to have been sexually abused were rescued last month from welfare homes linked to the group.

There was ‘no effort made to deal with perpetrators’, Dermot Farrell tells US Catholic TV network

Archbishop Dermot Farrell: church had 'a culture of denial, a culture of covering up, a culture of silencing, ignoring'. Photograph: Alan Betson

Mark Wingfield  |  October 20, 2024

An Arkansas church rocked by child sexual abuse scandals is preparing to adopt bylaws for the first time in its 132-year history, but the draft proposal would muzzle church members from speaking to reporters and nonmembers about the affairs of the church.

Madden

Photo Credit: Provided Photo

Sandusky Register

October 20, 2024

By Angela LaRosa

TOLEDO — A late local priest was recently added to a list of Toledo-area clerics that the area's diocese said were "credibly accused" of child sex abuse.

It’s not known when the name was added to the list, but Sandusky native Father Michael G. Madden was added to the list, which is kept by the Toledo Catholic Diocese.

The list includes 10 other priests who were added after their deaths. There are 26 other names on the list, which include clergy who have substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor or child pornography.

"This is same groceries, different bag," said Claudia Vercellotti, an advocate with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known also as SNAP, adding that the diocese's method of "stealthily" releasing the information was "as effective as putting a note in a bottle and throwing it out to the ocean."

...

Toledo officials did not disclose how many reports were made against Madden nor when he was accused, according to SNAP, who added that Toledo Diocese officials didn't notify any parents, parishioners or the public of Madden's addition to the list of accused clerics.

"We hope anyone who saw, suspected or suffered Fr. Madden's crimes will find some long overdue consolation in the fact that he's finally been publicly exposed as an abuser," a release from SNAP states. "We also hope that anyone who may have been hurt by Fr. Madden will find strength to tell trusted sources like friends, family, therapists or support groups like ours."

To read the entire article, go here.

The plaintiffs sought $1 million in relief for the boy's medical bills and his "pain and suffering."

By Eric Killelea, Religion Reporter Oct 17, 2024 

Family and friends gather during a Celebration of Life service in honor of Sgt. Marty Gonzalez held at Champion Forest Baptist Church-Champions Campus, Friday, Dec. 12, 2020, in Houston. Gonzalez helped in the creation of the Veteran’s Court program in Harris County, which has since expanded.

Gustavo Huerta, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Champion Forest Baptist Church in far northwest Houston agreed to pay "minimal money" to settle a civil case that alleges one of its Sunday school teachers beat and sexually assaulted a 4-year-old boy in 2019, an attorney for the church confirmed this week.

Archbishop John Kennedy at his desk in the DDF

By Chai Brady  October 17, 2024

An attempt to reinstate a priest laicised for the sexual abuse of minors by a top Vatican cleric has been decried by a leading Irish child protection campaigner Marie Collins, who warned children would have been put in danger.