Clergy abuse

The Latest

CNA

Names of Baltimore clergy in sexual abuse report can be revealed, judge rules

Aug 24, 2023

By Joe Bukuras

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown will be releasing all but three of the redacted names following last week’s Circuit Court... Read more

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone meets with people experiencing homelessness at St. Anthony’s Dining Hall in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood on Nov. 6, 2021.

San Francisco Archdiocese announces Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing

Aug 22, 2023

By Daniel Payne

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone earlier in August had warned that the filing was “very likely” in response to “more than 500... Read more

Bishop Emeritus Howard Hubbard of Albany.

Retired Albany bishop, accused of covering up and committing abuse, has died

Aug 21, 2023

By Joe Bukuras

Bishop Howard Hubbard made headlines last year after he announced that he asked the Vatican if he could return to... Read more

San Fernando Cathedral is the mother cathedral of the Archdiocese of San Antonio.

San Antonio Archdiocese removes two priests over allegations of child sex abuse

Aug 14, 2023

By Joe Bukuras

Father Alejandro Ortega and Father Jesus Eduardo “Lalo” Martinez-Solis were both accused of sexually abusing minors. Read more

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Priest pleads guilty to federal child sex exploitation charges

Aug 11, 2023

By Daniel Payne

Jamie Adolfo Gonzalez-Farias entered a guilty plea on charges of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal... Read more

Prior to a private meeting with survivors later in the day, Pope Francis addressed the clergy sex abuse scandal in his address during a vespers service in Lisbon, Portugal, on Aug. 2, 2023.

Pope meets with clerical abuse survivors, urges Church to hear victims’ ‘anguished cry’

Aug 3, 2023

By Courtney Mares

Earlier Pope Francis called for “a humble, ongoing purification, starting with the anguished cry of the victims, who must always... Read more

Bishop-emeritus Howard Hubbard of the Diocese of Albany.

Retired bishop of Albany who is accused of abuse says he is married 

Aug 1, 2023

By Joe Bukuras

In a statement on Monday, Albany Bishop Edward Scharfenberger said Bishop Emeritus Howard Hubbard remains a bishop and his “marriage”... Read more

The Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, says it has received allegations of child sexual abuse against Father Walter Lewis, a retired priest.

Retired priest in Diocese of Richmond accused of sex abuse against a minor

Jul 24, 2023

By Daniel Payne

Father Walter Lewis was immediately removed ministry, the diocese said. Read more

Father Marko Rupnik.

Jesuit superior blames ‘Vatican norms’ for blocking harsher penalties for Rupnik

Jul 24, 2023

By Jonathan Liedl

Famed mosaic artist Father Marko Rupnik remains a priest and could be put into ministry by a sympathetic bishop. Read more

Pope Francis invited young people from Portugal to join him in the window of the Apostolic Palace for the World Youth Day announcement in October 2022.

Pope Francis expected to meet with abuse victims at World Youth Day in Portugal

Jul 21, 2023

By Daniel Payne

The Holy Father will meet with victims as part of his multi-day visit to Lisbon, Portugal, in early August.  Read more

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio leads the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

U.S. bishops’ report on clergy abuse: ‘Encouraging’ trends underscore need for reform

Jul 20, 2023

By Daniel Payne

Though the abuse allegations continue to fall year over year, the report noted that numerous dioceses came up short in... Read more

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Another New York diocese files for bankruptcy 

Jul 18, 2023

By Joe Bukuras

The bishop of the Diocese of Ogdensburg said the decision to file for bankruptcy follows almost 140 sexual abuse lawsuits... Read more

Father Patrick Wattigny pleaded guilty July 12, 2023, to two child molestation charges.

New Orleans priest pleads guilty to two child molestation charges

Jul 17, 2023

By Joe Bukuras

Father Patrick Wattigny, 55, a former pastor and chaplain in Slidell, Louisiana, was sentenced to five years in prison. Read more

Stephen Sauer was formerly a Jesuit priest in the order's Central and Southern Province.

Former New Orleans priest gets 25 years on sexual assault and rape charges

Jul 12, 2023

By Joe Bukuras

The former priest would meet his victims in the French Quarter neighborhood of New Orleans, specifically targeting intoxicated men or... Read more

The Cathedral of La Plata in Argentina is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception.

Archbishop Fernández didn’t side with alleged sex abuser, archdiocese says

Jul 3, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

Pope Francis' choice to head the Vatican's doctrinal office has been criticized for his handling of a clergy sex abuse... Read more

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Former New Mexico priest indicted on child sex abuse charges

Jun 30, 2023

By Tyler Arnold

Daniel Balizan, who had served in at least eight New Mexico parishes, could face 10 or more years in prison... Read more

Former cardinal Theodore McCarrick arrives at Massachusetts' Dedham District Courthouse for his arraignment, Sept. 3, 2021.

State health examiner agrees that McCarrick is unfit to stand trial

Jun 29, 2023

By Joe Bukuras

The update in the case could lead to the dismissal of the only criminal charges that McCarrick, 92, has ever... Read more

Father Frederick Lenczycki (left) admitted to abusing more than 30 children in three states; Bishop Joseph Imesch of the Diocese of Joliet had recommended him for a transfer without disclosing allegations against the priest.

Illinois clergy sex abuse report: How bishops protected accused priests

May 26, 2023

By Tyler Arnold

The report showed examples of bishops transferring accused child abusers to other parishes or dioceses while failing to make the... Read more

Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Lawsuit alleges Boston’s Cardinal O’Malley failed to prevent abuse at Catholic high school

May 25, 2023

By Kevin J. Jones

Three former students at a Massachusetts Catholic high school have filed a lawsuit against Boston’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley and other... Read more

Vatican's top abuse investigator Maltese archbishop Charles Scicluna (right) and fellow papal envoy Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu give a press conference at the Apostolic Nunciature in Santiago, Chile, on June 19, 2018.

Vatican expert to go to Bolivia to examine the progress being made in sex abuse prevention

May 23, 2023

By Abel Camasca

Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith previously investigated sexual abuse in the Church... Read more