Hundreds of boarding schools supported by the U.S. government for 150 years sought to forcefully assimilate Native American and Indigenous children into white society, a first-of-its-kind report from the Interior Department said.
Abuse
Complete Letter of Pope Benedict XVI Regarding Report on Abuse
Here is the Vatican’s English translation of the letter retired Pope Benedict XVI published Feb. 8 in response to the independent report on the handling of sexual abuse allegations in the German Archdiocese of Munich and Freising from 1945 to 2019.
Retired Pope Benedict XVI Continues to Address Lingering Concerns About Munich Abuse Report
A law firm’s report on how abuse cases were handled in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising incriminated retired Pope Benedict XVI, with lawyers accusing him of misconduct in four cases during his tenure as Munich archbishop.
McCarrick Criminal Sex Abuse Case Continued Until December
The criminal sex abuse case against ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was continued until Dec. 21 after a brief pretrial hearing in Dedham District Court on Oct. 28.
Pope Prays for Survivors of Abuse in France
Pope Francis learned “with sorrow” of the contents of a report that came at the end of a four-year investigation into abuse in the church in France
How McCarrick Was Charged 50 Years After Alleged Crime
A specific aspect of the statute of limitations on criminal charges in Massachusetts allowed ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s accuser to pursue charges for an alleged sexual assault nearly 50 years ago.
Boston Globe: Police Charge McCarrick With Assault in Case Dating to 1970s
The Boston Globe reported July 29 that police in the Boston suburb of Wellesley have charged former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick with three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 in a criminal complaint filed by Wellesley Police in a district court in nearby Dedham, Massachusetts.
Former CYO Sports Director Named in Two Child Sex Abuse Lawsuits
The former executive director of The Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) in the Diocese of Brooklyn is accused in two lawsuits of sexually abusing underage boys when he was a CYO basketball coach at St. Joseph’s Church in Astoria in the 1990s.
Pope Francis Promulgates Revised Canon Law on Crimes, Punishments
A series of laws and procedures promulgated by now-retired Pope Benedict XVI and, especially, by Pope Francis to protect children, promote the investigation of allegations of clerical sexual abuse and punish offenders are included in a heavily revised section of the Code of Canon Law.
Critics Charge German ‘Synodal Path’ Exploits Suffering of Abuse Victims
As what’s come to be called the German “Synodal Path” begins forwarding its mid-term conclusions to Rome, many lay activists and bishops are describing the process as an historic and inspiring moment, a potential springtime of sweeping reform and renewal in Catholic life.
