The Diocese of Buffalo is shutting down its credit cards, effective Friday afternoon. Although some have interpreted the move as a step towards bankruptcy, officials said the decision was unrelated to recent scandals and lawsuits affecting the diocese. According to reports from local news station WGRZ, diocesan credit cards will reportedly be shut down as … Read more
Erie County District Attorney John Flynn has begun a criminal investigation into claims of sexual harassment raised by a former seminarian against a local priest. Former seminarian Matthew Bojanowski says he was sexually harassed by Fr. Jeffrey Nowak of Our Lady of Help Christians Church in Cheektowaga, New York. Nowak was placed on administrative leave … Read more
The 7 Eyewitness News I-Team has obtained a secret document that is raising questions about whether the Diocese of Buffalo is hiding or diverting money in anticipation of abuse lawsuits and bankruptcy. The document — presented at a recent Catholic Charities meeting — is a plan for the organization’s 2020 Appeal, which would be conducted … Read more
Sex abuse victims advocate Robert Hoatson has been calling for Bishop Richard Malone’s resignation for more than a year-and-a-half. On Wednesday morning, he held yet another press conference outside the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, but he appears ready to take up a new strategy, as his previous attempts of demanding Malone to resign have so … Read more
More Child Victims Act lawsuits have been filed against the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo than against any other defendant in New York State, The Buffalo News has determined. From Aug. 14 through Sept. 16, 138 lawsuits were filed against the Buffalo Diocese, alleging it negligently allowed priests or other employees to sexually abuse children. The … Read more
Contrary to What He Says, Vast Majority of Buffalo Catholics Want Bishop Malone To Resign An overwhelming majority of area Catholics or lapsed Catholics want Bishop Richard J. Malone to resign as leader of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, a recent poll by The Buffalo News has found. Nearly 86% of the 473 Erie and … Read more
US Church authorities seem hesitant to test the new Vatican law Interesting times got more interesting this week, when the Archdiocese of St Paul-Minneapolis confirmed to the Catholic News Agency that the Congregation for Bishops has authorised an investigation into the conduct of a sitting bishop, Michael Hoeppner of Crookston, Minnesota, under the procedures outlined in Pope … Read more
Things aren’t looking great for Bishop of Buffalo Richard Malone. A federal grand jury is investigating his diocese’s handling of clerical sexual abuse cases. That on top of the ongoing, state-wide investigation of New York’s eight Catholic dioceses being conducted by the state’s attorney general. And then there are the scores of civil suits filed recently under the … Read more
It was disturbing enough that WKBW-TV investigative reporter Charlie Specht was excluded from Bishop Richard J. Malone’s press conference last week. Now comes word that Specht and his family also have had difficulties gaining entrance to the church they had hoped to attend after a recent move to a new community. A practicing Catholic, Specht … Read more
The Catholic Herald has learned that the Archdiocese of New York is closely monitoring the crisis in the Diocese of Buffalo, and that broad consultations are ongoing, with a view to possible action. The embattled Bishop of Buffalo, Richard J. Malone, faced several new calls for his resignation last week and over the weekend, including … Read more