Kevin Brun, a member of the committee representing childhood survivors of sex abuse in Buffalo Diocese bankruptcy proceedings, told Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger on Wednesday that his son killed himself within 24 hours of reading Brun’s letter of being abused by a priest more than 40 years ago.
News Story of the Day
With ouster of priest accused of pedophilia, Coptic Church mobilizes against sexual abuse
LOS ANGELES — The Coptic Orthodox Church in the U.S., shaken by recent accusations of sexual abuse, has vowed to eradicate inappropriate behavior in its cloistered communities following the defrocking of a priest accused of pedophilia for decades.
Erie Catholic Diocese to Resume Program Assisting Sexual Abuse Survivors
The Diocese of Erie announced Tuesday it will resume its work with the Independent Survivors' Reparation Program (ISRP), a program established to assist survivors of sexual abuse.
Cuomo signs law to extend CVA deadline a full year, doesn’t apply to Dioceses in bankruptcy
Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill Monday that will extend the deadline for lawsuits filed under New York’s Child Victims Act.
That legislation, adopted in early 2019, carved out a one-year window during which suits can be brought by people who allege they were sexually abused when they were young. The window of opportunity was set to close on August 13, 2020.
Archdiocese removes deacon from ministry following report of abuse
NEW ORLEANS, La. (WVUE) -The Archdiocese of New Orleans removed a deacon from ministry Monday following a report of abuse. V.M. Wheeler has been assigned to St. Francis Xavier in Metairie since his ordination in 2018. Wheeler is also a partner at New Orleans law firm, Chaffe McCall LLP.
Case against diocese draws attention
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court in the past week has received several friend-of-the-court briefs both supporting and challenging a landmark decision made by the court last year in which it allowed an Altoona woman to proceed with a sexual abuse case against a priest, even though the alleged offenses occurred in the mid-1970s.
FBI: Queens Priest Shared Sexually Explicit Texts, Photos With 15-Year-Old Boy
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A priest in Queens was arrested Wednesday by the FBI for allegedly sending sexually explicit text messages and photos to a 15-year-old boy.
Jesuits: Child sex abuse claim 'credible' against former Missoula pastor
Aformer Jesuit pastor at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Missoula has been permanently removed from ministry after officials in the church’s province found claims that he sexually abused a minor girl 40 years ago to be credible, according to a statement from the province.
A flurry of lawsuits alleging child sex abuse are filed as deadline for claims nears
In one lawsuit filed on Thursday, eight men alleged that a longtime Orange County priest sexually abused them when they were children, adding their claims to those of at least three other accusers of the late Rev. George Boxelaar who have sued.
The Heavy Toll of Priest Sex Abuse
Readers share their stories of growing up in the Catholic church and of the culture that allowed the abuse to happen.
To the Editor:
“‘Pray for Your Poor Uncle,’” by Elizabeth Bruenig (Sunday Review, July 19), about the child abuse victims of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, features a conclusion both startling and important.
Ms. Bruenig writes that the main survivor profiled, Francis M., reflects that “he thinks it’s possible to distinguish the church from the people who have for decades debased it.” She adds, “How dearly I wanted to hear that; how crucial it was for me to believe it.” These are sentiments I appreciate as a member of the deeply wounded Catholic Church.
Many people, if not most, may have written it off, but Francis notes that “all throughout the church, and the church’s history, you can see times where there were people who were really living testaments to their faith” at the same time that some church leaders took advantage of the power that they had.
Indeed, a leading example of this faithful witness was also named Francis: the poor friar of Assisi, admired worldwide for his radical love of God and neighbor. And as Dorothy Day, herself under official consideration for sainthood, put it to a fellow Catholic peace activist: “I never expected much of bishops … It is the saints that keep appearing all through history who keep things going.”
Julie Leininger Pycior
Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y.
The writer, professor emerita of history at Manhattan College, is the author of the forthcoming “Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton and the Greatest Commandment: Radical Love in Times of Crisis.”
To the Editor:
This article shows the insidious way predatory priests weaseled their way into families at a time in history when sexual violation was not on the radar. The psychological abuse is so creepy and deep. The isolation and secrecy are deadly.
I was sexually abused by a charismatic Catholic priest who befriended my dad, drank with him and groomed my family before going on to rape me at 7 and countless other children.
Capturing the raw pain is hard, but the systemic piece is huge: one targeted family, feeling unique yet creeped out, surrounded by Catholics who are wowed by the hierarchy. The family and the victim then have to sort and sift alone. But when support and courage emerge as well as public support and courage, victims speak out.
Multiply this story by thousands, and the truth is revealed once again.
Patricia Gallagher Marchant
Franklin, Wis.
To the Editor:
Some may wonder how Francis M., the subject of the essay, and so many others could have been so naïve regarding former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s evil intentions. It was not being naïve, but rather trusting and needing to be part of such a powerful draw.
So many clergy were using spirituality as a front for their sexual perversions. I know this because I, too, fell into their hidden agend...