The former leader of West Virginia’s Catholic diocese spent millions of dollars on personal travel and $350,000 on gifts for young priests — including some he’s accused of sexually harassing — yet Pope Francis has decided not to defrock the bishop. The pope said he wouldn’t revoke Bishop Michael J. Bransfield’s status with the Roman … Read more
Rev. James Poole had at least 20 victims during his career with the Catholic Church. Court documents show one victim was only six years old. Another, who was impregnated by him at the age of 16, was forced to get an abortion before Poole blamed her father (who later went to prison). Yet from 2003 until … Read more
The good news is that American bishops are beginning, independent of papal direction, to publicly release lists of priests “credibly accused” of sexual abuse crimes, particularly against children. The bad news is it’s not as simple as it sounds. A Dec. 14 article in The New York Times — “Lists of Priests Accused of Sexual Abuse Are Spilling … Read more
In August, I wrote about the Pennsylvania grand jury that detailed the Catholic church’s conspiracy to cover up for pedophile clergy, going back decades and encompassing thousands of victims. There was a new development in October: yet another attempt to raise the statute of limitations failed in the state senate, but the next day, the Justice Department … Read more
As the US bishops gather in Baltimore last week, I have to admit that I’m weary of people saying that “the bishops can’t police each other. They have no authority over each other.” Of course this is true, but it completely misses the point. Why in God’s name (literally) do you need a formal canonical/juridical … Read more
More than 100,000 child porn videos and photos have been found on the computer of former Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, who is also accused of raping numerous children in the Dominican Republic and Poland. Wesolowski, currently under house arrest at the Vatican, is one of the highest-ranking church officials to be accused of sexually abusing children during … Read more