When Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the longtime leader of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, introduced the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program to the public in Oct. 2016, he expressed his hope that offering financial settlements to the victims of sexual abuse by clergy would both “promote healing” and “bring closure” after more than a … Read more
Chicago police are looking for the person who vandalized a church on the city’s South Side. The damage was spotted outside Saint Mary’s Catholic Church just before 11 a.m. in the 1000-block of West 32nd Street in the Bridgeport neighborhood. Parishioners said it was vandalized overnight. The exterior walls of the church were tagged … Read more
Scranton police are looking for the vandal who damaged a statue at the rectory of a Catholic church. Investigators said one person pulled down the statue of Mary outside the rectory of St. Peter and Paul in the 1300 block of West Locust Street before 4 a.m. on Wednesday. The vandal was caught on … Read more
A Virgin Mary statue was found vandalized outside of a church in Brooklyn. The incident happened at Resurrection Roman Catholic Church on Gerritsen Ave in Marine Park. According to Father William With, the statue was discovered Monday by a parishioner that approached the Virgin Mary for a prayer. Authorities say the left hand of the … Read more
Two priests are going on trial in the Vatican’s criminal tribunal this week, one accused of sexually abusing an altar boy who served at papal Masses in St. Peter’s Basilica, and the other accused of covering it up. The trial, confirmed Monday by the Holy See press office, marks the first known time that the … Read more
A man armed with a baseball bat damaged five glass doors and an outdoor crucifix Thursday night at the San Antonio Archdiocese Assumption Seminary, officials said. According to a news release, the man was seen around 10 p.m. walking up to a dormitory building in the 2600 block of West Woodlawn Avenue and repeatedly striking … Read more
The Marianist Province of the United States on Wednesday published a list of 43 priests and brothers found to have sexually abused minors in the U.S. since 1950. The list includes 16 people who were assigned to Cincinnati-area high schools. Of that group, 15 are dead. The list also includes two Marianist brothers who were … Read more
After three days of testimony across two counties involving five victims, a former priest under the Catholic Diocese of Marquette in the Upper Peninsula is now headed to trial for 11 criminal sexual conduct charges that he reportedly committed in the 1980s. Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Thursday, May 21 that Gary Allen Jacobs was … Read more
The San Antonio Archdiocese has removed the pastor of a Catholic church in Helotes after two people accused him of sexual misconduct. According to a letter dated April 30 from the archdiocese that was sent to parishioners, Monsignor Carlos Davalos sent two sexually inappropriate text messages to an adult parishioner earlier this year. Five days … Read more
The Catholic Diocese of Buffalo declared bankruptcy as it looks to settle over 250 lawsuits filed under the state’s modified Child Victims Act law “We have no more urgent work than to bring about justice and healing for those harmed by the scourge of sexual abuse,” said Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger, the apostolic administrator of … Read more