News Story of the Day
Hawley's investigation overlooks the obvious in church abuse scandal
Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley and his staff said they were conducting an inquiry into clergy sex crimes and cover-ups. But neither of us have heard from them.
Head of U.S. Catholic bishops kept 2 priests accused of abuse in active ministry
By CBS NEWS November 20, 2018, 6:39 PM
Cardinal Daniel DiNardo is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, making him one of the most powerful Catholic officials in the country. He has also been one of the most vocal critics of the church's handling of its sex abuse scandal.
But this summer, Rev. Manuel La Rosa-Lopez, a priest whom DiNardo had promoted, was arrested for allegedly molesting two children. DiNardo, the archbishop of Galveston-Houston since 2006, has vowed to release by January a list of all the priests in Houston who have been, in the church's judgment, "credibly accused" of sexually abusing a child.
It's not groping or fondling – it is sexual assault
By Laura Bates
Using euphemistic language downplays the severity of an offence and enforces a dangerous message: it isn’t a big deal, and victims won’t be taken seriously
Numerous high-profile cases of sexual violence and abuse have have been exposed in recent years, with the same words cropping up again and again: “groping”, “fondling”, “inappropriate touching”. What each of these terms usually means is sexual assault. But both in casual conversation and in the press, we will go to almost any lengths to avoid saying it.
In Alabama, ‘archaic’ laws fail Catholic child sex abuse victims
Mark Belenchia remembers the day when he first set eyes on the new Catholic priest in the small Mississippi Delta town of Shelby. It was 1968 at the time and he was 13 years-old.<
Illinois Catholic Church official rips handling of sex abuse cases
American Catholic Bishops Miss Their Big Chance to Implement Sex-Abuse Reforms
By Olivia Paschal
BALTIMORE—This week’s fall assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops was supposed to be the first high-profile occasion for the Church’s top leaders to take steps toward rebuilding public trust after a series of revelations this summer in the ongoing sex-abuse crisis. The assembly was slated to vote this week on a series of reforms to address the crisis, but its plans were quickly upended by the Vatican, throwing the reforms’ future into doubt.
Relative Of Clergy Sex Abuse Victims Claims Allegations Against Priest Are Being Kept Under Wraps
A man says his relative's allegations of clergy sex abuse by a priest in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh are being kept under wraps; KDKA's Andy Sheehan reports.
Sex abuse crisis at highest levels of U.S. Catholic church to dominate agenda at bishops' meeting in Baltimore
The nation’s Catholic bishops will gather in Baltimore this week against the backdrop of a sexual-abuse crisis that has reached the highest levels of the church in the United States.
Survivors group wants independent investigation into Catholic clergy abuse in Tennessee
Tennessee or federal authorities should investigate allegations of Catholic "pedophile priests" in the state, a leader of a survivors organization said Friday.
Cardinal DiNardo’s Promise and the USCCB’s Pending Policies to Address the Abuse Crisis
BALTIMORE — On Aug. 16, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo made U.S. Catholics a promise.
The cardinal, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, wrote that a summer of scandal had revealed a spiritual crisis in the Church, through which “scores of beloved children of God were abandoned to face an abuse of power alone.”