Catholic Church sex scandals

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Philadelphia Archbishop Retires Amid Scandal

Pope accepts Cardinal Justin Rigali's resignation

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Philadelphia archbishop Cardinal Justin Rigali today, sending him into retirement as the archdiocese faces accusations that it covered up a long-running priest sex abuse scandal. The pope named conservative Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput to succeed him. The brief Vatican announcement said the resignation...

Vatican Back in the Black
 Vatican Back in the Black 
Jul 2, 2011 7:28 AM CDT

Vatican Back in the Black

Church pulls in $14.3M, makes profit for first time in three years

(Newser) - Good news: The Vatican returned to the black last year, after three straight years in the red. The Catholic Church pulled in $14.3 million, it said in its annual financial report today, while the Vatican city state made $30.6 million, fueled largely by ticket sales at the Vatican...

Church-Backed Study Blames '60s for Sex Abuse

Priests were ill-equipped to deal with social change, study finds

(Newser) - The Catholic Church's requirement for all priests to be celibate is not to blame for the church's sex abuse scandals, according to a study commissioned by and partially funded by America's Catholic bishops. The study concludes that most sex abuse cases involved priests trained in the '...

Vatican to Bishops: You Should Report Abusive Priests

...but we won't make you do so

(Newser) - In a letter to bishops around the world, the Vatican today stated the importance of cooperating with police in reporting sexually abusive priests—but it does not make such reporting mandatory. The AP calls the suggestions "vague" and "nonbinding," and notes that they fall short of US...

Pope John Paul II Beatification: He's No Saint, Says Maureen Dowd
 John Paul 
 Is No Saint 
Maureen Dowd
Apr 24, 2011 3:28 PM CDT

John Paul Is No Saint

Remember that whole pedophilia scandal he ignored?

(Newser) - On this Easter, Maureen Dowd turns to another resurrection of sorts next Sunday: The beatification of Pope John Paul II, or "PR boost" that Pope Benedict hopes to get from the "swiftest ascension toward sainthood on record." And while there was much to love about the "...

Jesuits Settle Sex-Abuse Suit for $166M

Staggering case involves 470 victims in Pacific Northwest

(Newser) - A Catholic order will pay $166 million to some 470 survivors of sexual abuse and "spiritual incest" in a case of staggering scale that dates back to the 1940s at Jesuit-run schools in the Pacific Northwest. The victims were almost all Native Americans and Native Alaskans, notes the Seattle ...

Philly Archdiocese Suspends 21 Priests on Sex Charges

Move follows grand jury findings last month

(Newser) - The Catholic Church in Philadelphia has put 21 priests accused of molesting minors on administrative leave, reports the Inquirer . The archdiocese removed them from ministry after a damning grand jury report last month alleged that abuse remained rampant among local priests—and that the diocese seemed more concerned about covering...

Alleged Philly Pedophile Priests Still Active

Church hasn't removed most of the 37 mentioned in grand jury report

(Newser) - Dozens of priests accused of sexual abuse are still preaching in Philadelphia, even after a scathing grand jury brought their presence to light. A grand jury last month lambasted the Philadelphia Archdiocese for keeping at least 37 priests credibly accused of improper behavior towards minors in positions that would bring...

Secret Vatican Edict: Don't Report Abusive Priests

At a later meeting, bishops told to remember they were 'not policemen'

(Newser) - The Vatican is scrambling to explain a secret 1997 edict rejecting an Irish Catholic Church proposal to report pedophile priests to the local authorities. The “strictly confidential” document, obtained by Ireland’s RTE television for a new documentary, said that reporting priests might give them grounds to appeal to...

Archdiocese of Milwaukee Files for Bankruptcy

Hit stalemate over transparency in sex abuse lawsuits

(Newser) - Overwhelmed by 23 sex abuse lawsuits, the Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee filed for bankruptcy yesterday. In so doing, Milwaukee followed seven other dioceses also forced into bankruptcy by the costs of litigating and settling claims against their priests for sexual abuse. The bankruptcy filing followed a failed mediation effort that...

Pope: Sex Abuse at a Level 'We Could Not Have Imagined'

Pontiff issues mea culpa in annual speech

(Newser) - Pope Benedict issued a sobering Christmas speech today, admitting that sexual abuse in the church has reached "an unimaginable dimension,” and calling for major reflection. “We must ask ourselves what we can do to repair as much as possible,” the pontiff proclaimed, according to the New ...

Netherlands Finds 1,975 Cases of Catholic Sex Abuse

Report concludes that church hasn't done enough to help victims

(Newser) - Almost 2,000 Netherlanders have come forward as victims of sex abuse at the hands of Catholic priests, an independent commission's report revealed today. That makes the Netherlands the second-biggest victim of Catholic sexual abuse, behind only Ireland, according to Reuters . The report also concluded that the Church had not...

Sex-Case Court Orders Friars' Psych Files Bared

Records expected to reveal how much Catholic chiefs knew about abuse

(Newser) - A California court has ruled that the psychiatric and personnel files of six Franciscan friars accused of sexual abuse must be made public. The documents are expected to reveal how much the Catholic Franciscan administration knew about their employees' behavior and when they knew it. The decision could lead to...

Pope Meets Abuse Victims, Expresses 'Deep Sorrow'

Benedict apologizes again for the scandal

(Newser) - Pope Benedict met today with five people who were molested by priests as children and apologized to them, even as abuse survivors and thousands of people opposed to his visit marched in central London in the biggest protest of his five-year papacy. Benedict met for about 40 minutes with the...

Taylor Momsen: I Did a Priest
 Taylor Momsen: I Did a Priest 
Aug 9, 2010 4:32 AM CDT

Taylor Momsen: I Did a Priest

Just joking, says the oh-so-bad Gossip Girl

(Newser) - Taylor Momsen is trying so very hard to be the badass of Gossip Girl, but this time she seems to have picked an easy target: a Catholic priest. "I screwed a priest," Momsen, 17, boasted to a New Zealand radio station, though not exactly in those words. But...

Vatican Raises Hell Over Short Skirts

Tourists aghast at 'hypocritical' action

(Newser) - The Vatican's Swiss Guards' strenuous crackdown on "immodest" dress in the wake of a host of shocking pedophile scandals against Catholic clerics has left tourists aghast. The flamboyantly clothed guards, in puffy gold-and-blue-striped uniforms and plumed head coverings, are pulling aside women in sleeveless tops or short skirts and...

'Misogynistic' Church Would Let Polanski Stay a Priest

Maureen Dowd unimpressed by new edict on sexual abuse

(Newser) - If Pope Benedict was trying to do penance for the sex abuse scandal this week, he'd better say a few billion more Hail Marys, because equating the ordination of women as priests with the rape of young children wasn't quite the way to do it, writes Maureen Dowd in the...

Cops: Priest Used Stolen $1.3M for Male Escorts

Conn. priest lived the high life

(Newser) - A Connecticut Catholic priest spent $1.3 million in stolen church funds on male escorts, Armani suits, and stays at the Waldorf-Astoria, according to law enforcement authorities. Rev. Kevin Gray, until recently a parish priest in Waterbury, also paid the college tuition and rent of two of the young men...

Vatican Seeks to Win Back the West

New council to 're-evangelize' wealthy countries

(Newser) - Never had a Catholic missionary knocking on your door? That could soon change. Pope Benedict XVI, lamenting "the eclipse of a sense of God" in Europe and North America, has launched plans to "re-evangelize" the West, the Telegraph reports. The newly created Pontifical Council for New Evangelization will...

Court Refuses to Halt Sex Abuse Case Against Vatican

Supreme Court rejects Vatican bid for immunity

(Newser) - The US Supreme Court has rejected a Vatican appeal for immunity from prosecution in an Oregon sex abuse case. The lawsuit—filed by a man who charges that a priest abused him in the 60s—will now go to trial in the state, where a judge will decide if priests...

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