News Story of the Day

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis abolished the “pontifical secret” used in clergy sexual abuse cases Tuesday, responding to mounting criticism that the high degree of confidentiality has been used to protect pedophiles, silence victims and prevent police from investigating crimes.

TOKYO — During Pope Francis’ recent visit to Japan, Harumi Suzuki stood where his motorcade passed by holding a sign that read: “I am a survivor.”

Survivors of clergy abuse across Canada are mobilizing, with growing calls for greater transparency and accountability in the Catholic church over its handling of sexual abuse cases.

An Orleans Parish grand jury on Thursday handed up a charge of child rape against George Brignac, a former Roman Catholic deacon who was removed from ministry decades ago amid multiple molestation accusations but still remained involved in a local church parish until last year.

A Franklin County judge says the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus must hand over documents on at least 15 clergy members to see if they knew about any alleged sexual abuse.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, along with the other 5 dioceses in California, will be subpoenaed for additional records as the state attorney general continues to investigate whether dioceses complied with mandatory reporting requirements.

A nun is accused of sexually abusing a young girl at a Middletown school before moving on to higher positions at schools around Westchester County, according to court documents.

A Roman Catholic priest who served on the North Coast after he was accused of sexual misconduct in Texas has been added to the Santa Rosa Diocese’s list of clergy credibly accused of child sex abuse on the basis of the 32-year-old molestation case from San Antonio.

Gregory Ingels is a former priest who has been credibly accused of molesting a 15-year-old boy in California, a scandal that led to his departure from public ministry in 2002. His story is fairly well known within Church circles. What’s not publicly known is that Ingels continues to work for the Church. I found this out by simply calling him up at his home in Minnesota.

Starting at the age of 10, Miriam MacCormack says she was sexually abused by a Catholic priest for two years. After five decades of struggle — including suicide attempts — MacCormack will see her abuser's name made public. But not by the southwestern Ontario diocese of London, where the abuse occurred.