After years of denial, a notorious former New Orleans church leader admitted in an interview that he sexually molested or harassed several teenagers during his career. CBS affiliate WWL-TV in New Orleans was interviewing Lawrence Hecker with the British newspaper the Guardian about a statement he gave to New Orleans church leaders in 1999 when … Read more
A Baltimore judge on Tuesday ordered that redactions be lifted for all but three of the names blacked out from a report on the history of sex abuse within the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The Maryland Attorney General released the 456-page investigation that details 158 clergy, teachers, seminarians and deacons within the Archdiocese of Baltimore allegedly … Read more
A secret memo written by attorneys for victims of clergy sexual abuse says more than 300 New Orleans Catholic clerics have been accused of abuse in the archdiocese’s bankruptcy case. The number of clerics accused by 450 claimants in the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ bankruptcy case dwarfs the 77 names announced publicly by the Archdiocese … Read more
As hundreds of sexual abuse survivors keep waiting for years to see any money from a bankrupt New Orleans Archdiocese, new court filings show the church is paying $25 million to lawyers and consultants in federal bankruptcy court. That includes $13 million and counting to the church’s own bankruptcy lawyers and accountants, who have fought … Read more
Former Catholic priest Patrick Wattigny has pleaded guilty to two counts of molestation of a juvenile in court Wednesday and was sentenced to five years in prison. The judge also gave Wattigny five years of probation and said he had to register as a sex offender. In a victim statement in court, one of … Read more
Your browser does not support the video tag. A judge will review the Maryland Attorney General’s report on alleged sexual abuse by priests within the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore. Circuit Court Judge Robert Taylor will release a redacted version of the 456-page report, titled “Clergy Abuse in Maryland,” once he determines those redactions are … Read more
The Catholic Diocese of Sacramento could go bankrupt as it faces hundreds of lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of minors, a letter from Bishop Jaime Soto reads. “I am committed to resolving all claims as fairly as possible,” Soto said in the letter. “Given the number of claims that have been presented, however, resolving them may … Read more
A Roman Catholic priest accused of collecting thousands of child pornography images while serving overseas and then bringing them with him when he returned to the United States has been sentenced to more than three years in federal prison. The Rev. William McCandless, 57, of Wilmington, Delaware, was sentenced Monday in federal court in Easton … Read more
One of the oldest Catholic dioceses in the United States announced a settlement agreement Tuesday to resolve a bankruptcy case in New Mexico that resulted from a clergy sex abuse scandal. The tentative deal totals $121.5 million and would involve about 375 claimants. The proposed settlement comes as the Catholic Church continues to wrestles with … Read more
A priest at St. Mary’s Catholic Church was named in a lawsuit claiming that the priest sexually battered a parishioner in 2020 and Bishop Richard Stika allowed him to continue to work for the church after receiving the assault report from law enforcement, according to court documents obtained by WVLT News. In February of 2020, … Read more