Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, chief adviser to Pope Francis on protecting children from sexual abuse, called a meeting with top papal aides in 2017, concerned the Vatican wasn’t living up to its promise of “zero tolerance.” An appeals panel set up by the pope had reduced the punishments of a number of Catholic priests … Read more
Pope Francis tried to play down next month’s Vatican summit on sex abuse, describing the meeting’s purpose as primarily educational even amid widespread calls for bishops to face greater accountability for the scandal that has shaken the Catholic church. The pope made the comments Sunday evening to reporters accompanying him on his flight back from … Read more
The Vatican plans to try Archbishop Theodore McCarrick as early as this coming week , in order to make a final decision on his fate before next month’s Vatican summit on sex abuse, according to people familiar with the matter. Vatican officials understand that Pope Francis wants them to act swiftly in the matter, to … Read more
A little-known Vatican appeals panel established by Pope Francis has sharply reduced penalties meted out to priests convicted of sexual abuse under church law in more than a third of the cases that have come before it, drawing criticism from some bishops who favor a harder line. The pontiff has promised a policy of zero … Read more
Theodore McCarrick isn’t the first prince of the Catholic church to have lived a private life scandalously at odds with the red hat he wore. Nor is he the first to have been booted from the College of Cardinals, as he was this past Saturday after disturbing allegations—that as a priest he had molested an … Read more
The great second wave of church scandals appears this week to be settling down. In the Vatican they’re likely thinking “the worst is over” and “we’ve weathered the storm.” Is that good? Not to this Catholic. The more relaxed the institution, the less likely it will reform. Let’s look at the first wave. Eight years … Read more