Six of California’s Catholic dioceses – including the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the nation’s largest – announced on May 14 that it was launching an Independent Compensation Program for survivors of clergy sex abuse.
Sex Abuse
Abuse Conference Seeks Honest Exchange Between Bishops and Victims
A conference at the Catholic University of America (CUA) last week brought together clerical sex abuse survivors and over a dozen Catholic bishops for a daylong discussion on “healing a wounded family,” rather than on institutional reform.
Pope Tells US Pilgrim: Clerical Sex Abuse Is a ‘Horrible Crime’
Pope Francis told an American pilgrim taking part in World Youth Day that clerical sex abuse is a “horrible crime” and that “even if it is just one person, the Church should not tolerate it.”
Newspapers Examine US Bishops’ Responses to Abuse Allegations
The Boston Globe and the Philadelphia Inquirer newspapers teamed up for an article published in both daily papers Nov. 4 that examined ways it said the U.S. bishops have failed to police themselves even since their 2002 gathering in Dallas about clergy sex abuse when they “promised that the church’s days of concealment and inaction were over.”
District of Columbia AG Latest to Join Probes of Clergy Sex Abuse
The attorney general for the District of Columbia is the latest official to announce an investigation into clergy sex abuse in the Catholic Church and said his office will look at possible abuse cases in the Archdiocese of Washington.
Chile Court Denies Reports of Ruling for Victims in Abuse Lawsuit
Despite news reports to the contrary, a Chilean court denied Monday that it’s reached a conclusion in favor of three victims of clerical sexual abuse who are suing the Archdiocese of Santiago for covering up abuses by former priest Fernando Karadima.
Chile Survivors Win Lawsuit Accusing two Cardinals of Cover-Up
In a decision being hailed as historic, three Chilean survivors of the country’s most infamous pedophile priest reportedly have won a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Santiago. The court found two Catholic cardinals guilty of covering up for Fernando Karadima.
Washington Archdiocese Releases Abusers Names
The Archdiocese of Washington has voluntarily released the names of abusive priests and stated that there have been no credible claims of abuse made against archdiocesan priests in almost 20 years.
Courage Founder Pushed Bishops to Resist Zero Tolerance on Abuse
Amid this summer’s wave of sexual abuse scandals, the Catholic apostolate Courage lauded its founder, Father John Harvey, who died in 2010, for his work with priests who “experienced same sex attractions and were striving to live chaste celibate lives.”
Moral Obligation to Avoid Further Injury: Diocese Responds to Settlement Claims
The press has incorrectly reported that the Diocese paid $27.5 million in regards to the abuse of four children by Mr. Serrano. The four plaintiffs are now adults. The Diocese’s insurance carriers paid $17.4 million of the settlement for all four plaintiffs. The balance was paid by the Dorothy Bennett Mercy Center’s insurance carriers.
