September 11, 2018
By Tim Darragh, The Morning Call, September 1, 2018
As he began a blistering presentation of a grand jury report into decades of child sex abuse by priests in Pennsylvania earlier this month, Attorney General Josh Shapiro singled out two groups — the Catholic Church hierarchy and law enforcement — for sometimes working in tandem to keep the accusations from the public.
“The abuse scarred every diocese,” he said. “The cover-up was sophisticated. The church protected the institution at all costs.”
September 09, 2018
In addition to New York and New Jersey, state inquiries are under way or are in the works in Florida, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska and New Mexico.
By Alex Johnson, September 6, 2018, NBC News
New York and New Jersey on Thursday raised to seven the number of states whose attorneys general have said they are reviewing Roman Catholic dioceses for cases of sexual misconduct by clergy — and several other states could join that growing list.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Thursday that since the release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report last month — which accused more than 300 priests of having abused more than 1,000 children over 70 years — "more than a dozen attorneys general and a senior official at the Department of Justice have reached out to me."
September 05, 2018
By: Jackie Roberts, Aug 30, 2018, Your Eire
Bishop Lawrence Persico is calling to create a fund to compensate victims of clergy sexual abuse... but not everyone is on board.
Survivors are responding to the bishop's announcement, saying their fight is not about money; it's about exposing the truth and protecting kids.
In the wake of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report, Bishop Lawrence Persico announced an initiative to compensate victims monetarily. The bishop is working alongside Senator Joe Scarnati. A letter from the Diocese of Erie says Persico and Scarnati understand that no dollar amount can make amends for what occurred.
The statement reads, in part, "they believe that the many victims who were unable to seek justice because of Pennsylvania's statute of limitations deserve this alternative response".
But, victims of priest sexual abuse say that's not enough. Jim VanSickle says he was abused by a priest. "The people that I'm speaking to do not talk about money in this case. We want justice. We want to be able to civilly see our predator in court."
September 03, 2018
By Daniel Burke, Rosa Flores and Kevin Conlon, CNN, September 3, 2018
Wuerl, who faces accusations that he mishandled clergy sexual misconduct while he was a bishop in Pittsburgh, addressed Washington's Annunciation Catholic Church, where the cardinal was installing a new pastor. In a short speech after the Mass, Wuerl asked the 200 or so people in the congregation to forgive his "errors in judgment" and "inadequacies."
Wuerl also urged the parish to pray for and remain loyal to Pope Francis, as "increasingly it is clear that he is the object of considerable animosity."
September 02, 2018
By Ted Slowik, Daily Southtown, August 21, 2018
A defensive mindset known as “protect the house” often seems to take hold when an institution feels threatened.
Last week’s release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report helps show that no institution went to greater lengths to protect the house than the Roman Catholic Church in that state.
“The main thing was not to help children, but to avoid ‘scandal,’” the grand jurors wrote. “It’s like a playbook for concealing the truth.”
September 01, 2018
By Daniel Burke, August 30, 2018, CNN
"They have plenty of evidence," said Peter Isely, spokesman for the group Ending Clergy Abuse. "Let's launch this investigation. Let's do it now."
August 30, 2018
By Ed Mahon, York Daily Record, Aug. 27, 2018
Prosecutors in Illinois, Florida, Missouri and New York are considering or pursuing investigations into Catholic dioceses.
The moves come on the heels of a Pennsylvania grand jury report that described more than 300 "predator priests" and more than 1,000 victims in six Roman Catholic dioceses in the state.
August 29, 2018
By WES VENTEICHER AND NATASHA LINDSTROM, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, TribLive
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro accused Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik of lying about an alleged cover-up of child sex abuse in his diocese and said bishops in Greensburg and Harrisburg fought to block the release of a grand jury report detailing abuses.
“Those insinuations are false,” Matt Haverstick, legal counsel for the Greensburg and Harrisburg dioceses, told the Tribune-Review late Tuesday. “The dioceses of Greensburg and Harrisburg have always supported the release of an accurate grand jury report. I’m not sure I can say the same thing about the Attorney General’s office.”
August 28, 2018
By Benjamin DODMAN, France24, August 25, 2018
Once a bastion of Catholicism, Ireland has changed dramatically since the last time a pontiff visited back in 1979 – when divorce and contraception were banned, gay marriage was unheard-of, and the Church’s grip on a deeply conservative society was near total.