It was recently announced that a sex abuse lawsuit filed against the diocese of Albany was settled for $750,000. This was just one of hundreds of such lawsuits against the Albany diocese. By way of comparison, the diocese of Buffalo has twice the number of Catholics as the nearby diocese of Albany (594,315 vs. 300,000). It’s … Read more
The following is an open letter to Bill Donahue of the Catholic League was penned by Gene Thomas Gomulka in response to Donohue’s recent claim that the U.S. sexual abuse crisis ‘is over.’ Dear Mr. Donohue, Between 1975 and 1980 when I was serving as an associate pastor at Our Lay of Victory parish in … Read more
How many of today’s U.S. Bishops would have had the courage to condemn the evils of Adoph Hitler if they lived in Germany during his rise to power? In pre-World War II Germany, most Protestant and Catholic Church leaders remained silent and failed to speak out against the truly non-Christian policies implemented by Adolf Hitler … Read more
People often associate the term “sex trafficking” with women or minors being transported across international borders to be used as sex slaves for high-paying clients. What many do not realize is that Catholic seminarians are also being trafficked for sexual purposes by priests or bishops. Foreign-born young men have come to the United States to study for the … Read more
A statement by the Pontifical North American College (NAC) confirmed that the Rector, Father Peter Harman, will be stepping down after facing bombshell allegations in a major lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court. The lawsuit alleges that Harman used his position as NAC rector to retaliate against seminarians and to cover up reports … Read more
As a sex abuse victims’ advocate and a former Catholic seminary instructor and formator, I am led to question the validity of arguments put forward by Rev. James Martin, SJ, Steven P. Millies, and others in defense of Msgr. Jeffrey Burrill. For example, in response to Burrill’s resignation as the now-former General Secretary of the United States Conference of Catholic … Read more
Catholic ministers of Holy Communion are trained not to say, “This is the Body of Christ” or “Receive the Body of Christ” because the Eucharist is more than just the consecrated bread and wine. There is a reason eucharistic ministers are taught to say, “The Body of Christ.” When the communicant responds, “Amen,” to the minister’s prompting, he is acknowledging more … Read more
With dioceses across the country falling under avalanches of sex abuse cases, victims have been told to consider bringing their accusations to diocesan-run abuse-reporting programs rather than to civil courts. Promised the hope of avoiding lengthy proceedings and armies of diocesan attorneys financed at rates up to $1,000 per hour, many victims think these programs could … Read more
For decades, scores of victims brought forward complaints of clerical sexual abuse, only to find themselves revictimized by Church leaders. Victims, who had the courage to confront those who enabled their abuse as minors, found their voices hushed by threats of what might happen to them should they reveal their plights or even think of suing … Read more
Vatican report must address many names in light of Viganò, Sipe revelations In October 2018, just months after Abp. Carlo Maria Viganò accused Pope Francis of covering up for ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the Vatican reported that the pope commissioned a study of the Vatican archival files on McCarrick “in order to ascertain all the relevant … Read more