Clergy abuse

The Latest

Pope Francis speaks at the general audience in Vatican City's Paul VI Hall on Feb. 22, 2023.

Pope Francis extends ‘Vos estis’ decree to counter both lay and clerical abuse

Mar 25, 2023

By Courtney Mares

The decree promulgated March 25 extends the Church’s norms for handling of abuse to cover lay leaders of international associations.  Read more

Left to right: Bishop Virgílio Antunes, Portuguese Episcopal Conference vice president; Bishop José Ornelas, conference president; and Father Manuel Barbosa, conference spokesman, during a press conference on March 3, 2023, which was held to discuss steps being taken to halt sexual abuse within the country's Catholic Church.

Portuguese bishops announce steps to end sexual abuse in the Church

Mar 3, 2023

By Clara Raimundo

The bishops of Portugal on Friday began taking concrete steps to respond to a damning investigative report last month. Read more

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Michigan priest sentenced to prison for sexual abuse of second-grader

Mar 2, 2023

By Kevin J. Jones

A priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit has been sentenced for the rape of an elementary student at the Catholic... Read more

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Judge upholds Maine law on retroactive abuse lawsuits, says Catholic diocese challenge has a point

Feb 15, 2023

By Kevin J. Jones

The judge acknowledged that attorneys for the Catholic Diocese of Portland raised “serious” constitutional concerns in their legal challenge. Read more

Portugal Catholic Church /

Portugal report details decades of sexual abuse by priests and others within the Catholic Church

Feb 14, 2023

By Clara Raimundo

Only 25 complaints have been referred to authorities for prosecution because the statute of limitations has expired or the victims... Read more

Father Marko Rupnik, SJ, in an interview with EWTN in 2020.

Pope Francis: ‘I had nothing to do’ with Father Marko Rupnik case

Jan 25, 2023

By Shannon Mullen, AC Wimmer

For the first time, Pope Francis has commented publicly about the scandal surrounding Jesuit artist Father Marko Rupnik. Read more

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Alleged abuse victim files lawsuit against ex-priest, Denver Archdiocese

Jan 20, 2023

By Kevin J. Jones

The plaintiff alleges that then Father Tim Evans abused him more than 100 times when he was an altar boy... Read more

Theodore McCarrick outside Dedham District Court, Friday, Sept. 4, 2021.

McCarrick’s lawyers say he’s not competent to stand trial

Jan 17, 2023

By Joe Bukuras

Defense attorneys plan to file a motion to dismiss the criminal case against Theodore McCarrick, who is accused of sexually... Read more

The Cathedral of Saint Peter in Kansas City, Kansas, located in the Diocese of Kansas City, which was one of the four dioceses named in the state's clergy abuse investigation.

Kansas clergy sex abuse investigation reports 188 clergy members suspected of crimes

Jan 11, 2023

By Joe Bukuras

Kansas authorities investigating clerical sex abuse have identified 188 Catholic and Society of St. Pius X clergy members suspected of... Read more

Bishop Emmanuel Lafont (center) addresses the crowd during a protest against same-sex marriage in Cayenne, French Guyana, on Jan. 12, 2013.

Former bishop of French Guyana guilty of sex abuse, Vatican court says

Dec 20, 2022

By Kevin J. Jones

Bishop Emeritus Emmanuel Lafont of Cayenne, French Guyana, has been found guilty of sexual abuse in a canonical court and... Read more

Scott A. Asalone, 65, a former priest at St. Francis de Sales Parish in Purcellville, pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a minor.

Former priest convicted of sexually abusing a minor in Virginia court

Dec 14, 2022

By Joe Bukuras

Scott A. Asalone, 65, was arrested in Asbury Park, New Jersey, in 2020 on a felony charge of carnal knowledge... Read more

Left to right: Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Worth-South Bend, Indiana, and Auxiliary Bishop Robert P. Reed of the Archdiocese of Boston.

‘Everyone’s vulnerable to an accusation’: Bishops respond to priests’ fear of false abuse claims

Nov 25, 2022

By Peter Pinedo

Eighty-two percent of priests responding to a survey conducted by The Catholic Project said they live in constant fear of... Read more

Bishop Emeritus Howard Hubbard of the Diocese of Albany

Albany bishop asking to be laicized isn’t barred from publicly celebrating sacraments, as he claims

Nov 21, 2022

By Joe Bukuras

Bishop Emeritus Howard Hubbard says he is “not able” to publicly exercise his priestly functions, but the diocese says he... Read more

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Colombian archdiocese publishes list of abuse complaints, actions taken

Aug 31, 2022

By Eduardo Berdejo

The Archdiocese of Medellín has published the list of complaints of sexual abuse by priests it has received in the... Read more

St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans.

FBI probe could help prosecute Louisiana priests accused of inter-state sex abuse

Jul 1, 2022

By Kevin J. Jones

Federal authorities are investigating alleged sex abuse of minors by New Orleans-area Catholic clergy, sometimes going back decades, on the... Read more

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Diocese of Camden to pay out $87.5 million for sexual abuse claims

Apr 20, 2022

By CNA Staff

The Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, will pay $87.5 million to approximately 300 alleged sexual abuse victims, under a settlement... Read more

Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta.

'We were practically nothing to him,' ex-seminarian says of Bishop Zanchetta's abusive behavior

Mar 14, 2022

By CNA Staff

One of the former seminarians who was the victim of sexual abuse by Argentine Bishop Emeritus Gustavo Zanchetta of Orán... Read more

Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta.

Why the Zanchetta case matters for the Church

Mar 11, 2022

By Andrea Gagliarducci

The Vatican has made no public comment on the court’s verdict. Read more

Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta.

Argentine Bishop Zanchetta convicted of sexually abusing seminarians

Mar 4, 2022

By Christine Rousselle

Argentine Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta has been found guilty of abusing seminarians in Oran, Salta, northern Argentina, and sentenced to 4... Read more

Father Jean Claude Philippe

Florida priest, convicted of rape, sentenced to nearly 8 years in prison

Feb 18, 2022

By CNA Staff

Father Jean Claude Philippe, 67, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Homestead, Florida, was sentenced to 94½ months in state... Read more