Chrissie Foster calls for George Pell's Melbourne Response to be 'torn down'

The mother of two girls abused by a Catholic priest says the conviction of George Pell on child sex abuse charges should lead to the tearing down of the controversial compensation scheme he set up for survivors of clerical sexual abuse. Pell was last year found guilty of sexually abusing two choirboys at St Patrick's Cathedral during his time as archbishop of Melbourne in December 1996, but the verdict had been suppressed until now

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-26/george-pell-child-sex-abuse-guilty-verdict-chrissie-foster/10845500 

Pell abused two choirboys. One of them didn't live to see justice

In sentencing Cardinal George Pell, Chief Judge Peter Kidd has made clear that he is not passing sentence on the church — he is sentencing Cardinal Pell, and Cardinal Pell alone. But the conviction of Australia's most prominent Catholic for sexual offences against minors has been met with an outpouring of emotion and public comment.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-27/pell-guilty-verdict-what-will-it-mean-for-australian-catholics/10853218 

More than 500 boys abused at top German Catholic school

Physical and sexual abuse took place up to 2015 at Regensburger Domspatzen choir school, referred to by some pupils as ‘hell’ At least 547 young members of the Regensburger Domspatzen boys choir in Germany were subjected to physical and in some instances sexual abuse over a period of 60 years, a new report says. The report accuses 49 members of the Catholic Church of carrying out the abuse between 1945 and the early 1990s.

http://churchandstate.org.uk/2017/07/more-than-500-boys-abused-at-top-german-catholic-school/?fbclid=IwAR2S3SR3shVIRYd48GhK6oWHS3LWbChk2QeghbiiXA90DhCFG6OvdJnBRR4 

What George Pell's guilty verdict will mean for Australian Catholics

In sentencing Cardinal George Pell, Chief Judge Peter Kidd has made clear that he is not passing sentence on the church — he is sentencing Cardinal Pell, and Cardinal Pell alone. But the conviction of Australia's most prominent Catholic for sexual offences against minors has been met with an outpouring of emotion and public comment.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-27/pell-guilty-verdict-what-will-it-mean-for-australian-catholics/10853218 

George Pell's reaction to the 'vile and disgusting' child abuse claims put to him by police

For months, journalists sat through one of the most high-profile trials held in any court in the world, without permission to report a moment of it — until now. But you may have already heard snippets about what would have arguably been the biggest news story in Australia last year: Cardinal George Pell being found guilty of multiple child sex offences.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-26/george-pell-trial-why-cardinal-court-case-held-in-secret/10233118 

George Pell's trial for child sexual abuse was held in secret. This is why

For months, journalists sat through one of the most high-profile trials held in any court in the world, without permission to report a moment of it — until now. But you may have already heard snippets about what would have arguably been the biggest news story in Australia last year: Cardinal George Pell being found guilty of multiple child sex offences.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-26/george-pell-trial-why-cardinal-court-case-held-in-secret/10233118 

George Pell's victim responds to the cardinal's conviction for child sex abuse

The survivor of child sexual abuse committed by Cardinal George Pell says he has experienced "shame, loneliness, depression and struggle" in the years since. Today, the lifting of a suppression order has allowed media to report that Pell has been found guilty of sexually abusing two choirboys when he was archbishop of Melbourne. Pell's victim released this statement via his lawyer, Vivian Waller:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-26/george-pells-victim-responds-to-guilty-verdict/10849832 

George Pell returns to court, prosecutors push for 'immediate' jail sentence for child sex abuse

George Pell's lawyer has described his crimes as "no more than a plain vanilla sexual penetration case", but a prosecutor says they were brazen, forceful and humiliating acts, at a court hearing to consider the cardinal's sentence. In submissions to Victorian County Court Chief Judge Peter Kidd during a plea hearing, Pell's barrister Robert Richter QC said the offences were "no more than a plain vanilla sexual penetration case where the child is not volunteering or actively participating".

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-27/george-pell-returns-to-court-for-presentencing-hearing/10851152 

Jesus warned against men like Cardinal Pell. His message could save the Church

Go into any Australian church on a Sunday and you will find a seat. If you're lucky, the church will be half-full. An argument could be made that this is a reflection of a cynical and godless age. But an argument could also be made that the market just isn't buying what the church is selling because it's an unattractive message.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-27/george-pells-conviction-opportunity-australian-catholic-church/10852688

Catholic Church still abusing children in New Zealand - former victim

Dunedin man Darryl Smith is in Vatican City for the Pope's summit on the abuse of minors - and he wants a clean out of cardinals and bishops. "When I was six, I went to Marylands, and within two nights, I was raped," he says. Marylands was a Catholic School in Christchurch. It was 1971 and it ruined Mr Smith's life. "Every third day I was raped by someone. A staff member, a priest, a brother there. Or an older boy."

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/02/catholic-church-still-abusing-children-in-new-zealand-former-victim.html?fbclid=IwAR2YLu2Q43q-n1hAParXgt-hZ98HwF9YBDvWDFqY4SPtLJPfQshiuXXOoKI 

'It Is Not a Closet. It Is a Cage.' Gay Catholic Priests Speak Out

Gregory Greiten was 17 years old when the priests organized the game. It was 1982 and he was on a retreat with his classmates from St. Lawrence, a Roman Catholic seminary for teenage boys training to become priests. Leaders asked each boy to rank which he would rather be: burned over 90 percent of his body, paraplegic or gay. Each chose to be scorched or paralyzed. Not one uttered the word “gay.” They called the game the Game of Life.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/17/us/it-is-not-a-closet-it-is-a-cage-gay-catholic-priests-speak-out.html 

My Own Personal Experience with Abusive Clergy

My Own Personal Experience with Abusive Clergy Loving the Church at this time demands that we shine the bright light of truth on the experience of those intimately attacked by abusive clergy. Kevin Burke This week, the bishops of the world will gather in Rome for an international summit to address the clergy abuse scandals in the Catholic Church.

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/kburke/my-own-personal-experience-with-abusive-clergy 

Nessel warns Catholic Church: Let state investigate clergy sexual abuse

As Pope Francis holds a summit on clergy sex abuse at the Vatican, survivors are demanding accountability and transparency from church leaders and assert that the time of sex abuse cover-ups is over. Michigan AG: "If an investigator comes to your door and asks to speak with you, please ask to see their badge and not their rosary"

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/02/21/catholic-church-abuse-michigan/2936561002/ 

Catholic sex-abuse scandal sweeps Saginaw Diocese, Michigan and beyond

The Catholic Diocese of Saginaw, as well as Michigan's six other Catholic dioceses, are under investigation by the state Attorney General's office which is looking into sex-abuse claims dating to the 1950s. One Saginaw-area priest currently faces criminal sexual misconduct charges and is headed to trial in March.

https://www.mlive.com/expo/news/g66l-2019/02/16ce1fa0eb1032/catholic-sexabuse-scandal-sweeps-saginaw-diocese-michigan-and-beyond.html 

Leaders of Catholic nuns and priests admit to 'errors in judgment' over child sex abuse

Ahead of a Vatican summit on clerical sex abuse, the top leadership of Catholic nuns and priests worldwide admitted to making "errors in judgment" regarding cases of sexual abuse of children and say that more women should be involved in the process of evaluating cases. In a rare joint statement, the leaders of Major Superiors of Religious Orders and Congregations, who represent hundreds of thousands of Catholic nuns and priests around the world, said they "bow their heads in shame at the realization" the abuse of minors had taken place.

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/02/19/europe/catholic-nuns-vatican-abuse-intl/index.html 

Placards outside monastery expose abuse in Spanish Church

Tourists and worshippers visiting Catalonia's imposing mountain-side Montserrat Monastery on a sunny Sunday this month appeared to pay little heed to two men with placards demanding that the local abbot be defrocked for covering up sexual abuse. But the pair, who say they were sexually abused in their youth, are making themselves heard by society in Spain and elsewhere as they pressure the Catholic Church to come clean on such wrongdoing by clergy.

https://widerimage.reuters.com/story/placards-outside-monastery-expose-abuse-in-spanish-church 

French court okays screening of film on priest’s abuse of boy scouts

A French court Monday approved cinema screenings of an award-winning director's new film about the real-life story of a priest accused of sexually abusing boy scouts, even though the case has yet to come to trial. The 73-year-old priest, Bernard Preynat, had argued that a public release of the film, "By the Grace of God", could prejudice his case. His lawyer, Emmanuel Mercinier, said the court issued its decision Monday morning

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/434026-french-court-okays-screening-of-film-on-priest-s-abuse-of-boy-scouts 

No Christmas salary for Catholic priests as public donations drop

GOOD = All their are missing is their GOD = MONEY... Ann

========================================

The diocese of Waterford and Lismore has revealed they are being forced to use their own funds to pay Catholic priests as donations from congregations have seen a massive drop. The Catholic diocese of Waterford and Lismore has been using internal funds for priest’s salaries, rather than money collected from Mass goers three-times a year, due to a major downturn in the amounts collected from parishioners.

https://www.irishcentral.com/news/christmas-salary-catholic-priests-public-donations-drop

Secret Vatican guidelines for priests who father children revealed

Secret Vatican guidelines for priests who father children have been revealed thanks to the efforts of a campaigning son of a cleric, the New York Times reveals. Irishman Vincent Doyle was 28 when he discovered that the Roman Catholic priest he had known as his godfather was in truth his biological father. The revelation led him to set up Coping International, a support group for other children of priests, which he says has 50,000 users in 175 countries.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/secret-vatican-guidelines-for-priests-who-father-children-revealed-1.4303076 

Catholic Church 'nowhere close' to confronting global 'epidemic' of child sex abuse by priests

The Catholic Church is "nowhere close" to enacting the reforms needed to stop the "epidemic" of sex abuse by predatory priests and bishops against children, campaigners warned on Tuesday. Pope Francis is "in retreat" from any meaningful effort to bring abusers to justice, said Bishop Accountability, a leading pressure group.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/02/19/catholic-church-nowhere-close-confronting-global-epidemic-child/ 

Screening, service, reflection are Mount Angel's antidotes to clericalism

Catholic commentators, including Pope Francis, charge that a clerical culture embracing privilege, secrecy, superiority, anemic oversight and deference undergirds the clerical sex abuse crisis, its cover-up and the exploitation of church authority.But where does clericalism start? How is it nurtured? Who or what is to blame?

https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/screening-service-reflection-are-mount-angels-antidotes-clericalism 

Archdiocese: 48 Louisville priests, others credibly accused of sex abuse

If there were a compass mark for a true-north Catholic, John Carr could well be the setting. He defies the divisions within the Catholic community because he's not divided on anything when it comes to the church. You can't bait him into the culture wars because there is no war within him. For him, the seamless garment is more than metaphor. He wears it well and, in it, walks right down the middle of whatever tensions he may find himself mediating these days as moderator of endless discussions in his role as director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University.

https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2019/02/08/louisville-priest-sex-abuse-credible-accusation-list-release/2811057002/ 

For Catholics in the church's 'middle,' patience has run out

If there were a compass mark for a true-north Catholic, John Carr could well be the setting. He defies the divisions within the Catholic community because he's not divided on anything when it comes to the church. You can't bait him into the culture wars because there is no war within him. For him, the seamless garment is more than metaphor. He wears it well and, in it, walks right down the middle of whatever tensions he may find himself mediating these days as moderator of endless discussions in his role as director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University.

https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/catholics-churchs-middle-patience-has-run-out 

There was brave talk at St. Joseph’s University about clergy abuse. Will Pope Francis follow with action?

On a Jesuit campus in Lower Merion Township, inside a building named for a Delaware County man who would one day become a cardinal of the Roman Catholic church, the answers to clergy sexual abuse seemed, at least to those typically in church pews, perfectly clear.

https://www.philly.com/news/columnists/catholic-church-clergy-abuse-pope-francis-vatican-bishops-saint-josephs-university-maria-panaritis-20190208.html 

He tried speaking out about priest abuse in Catholic church. Now he's shouting about it.

The problem with Jason Jerry is he makes a lousy victim. Victims are supposed to be subdued, repressed, sorrowful. It helps if they can look up at us with sad eyes, maybe bite their lower lip a little. Obviously, we don’t want them to be beaten down or crushed, but we’re used to thinking of them as tender and vulnerable, and that’s what we need to get our caring, nurturing instincts kicked into high gear.

https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/2019/02/08/catholics-abuse-norbertines-jason-jerry-green-bay-llama-news-survivor-speaks-out/2747719002/ 

Predator Documents Child Sex Abuse—and the Lackluster Response—in Indian Communities

If there's a silver lining in Frontline: Predator on the Reservation, it's that we're apparently through the era of "I believe the children": the time in the 1980s when any accusation of child abuse, no matter how fantastic (molestation accompanied by devil worship, animal sacrifice, murder) was instantly credible because little kids were regarded as unimpeachable witnesses.

https://reason.com/archives/2019/02/08/predator-documents-child-sex-abuseand-th 

Abuse victims ask DA to investigate when Oakland Diocese reported priest

Concerned that church officials took too long to report a priest’s misconduct, abuse victims are asking the Alameda County District Attorney to investigate when the Diocese of Oakland first learned of child abuse allegations involving a priest who was placed on leave last week.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/02/08/abuse-victims-ask-da-to-investigate-when-oakland-diocese-reported-priest/ 

Archdiocese of Chicago examines sex abuse policies following Attorney General’s investigation

February 11, 2019 Prompted by abuse claims in Philadelphia in August, a December report from now former Attorney General Lisa Madigan found that the number of abusive clergy members in Illinois is higher than reported. Madigan’s preliminary investigation found that while 185 clergy were “credibly” reported for abusive behaviors toward minors, the six dioceses in Illinois did not include the names of at least 500 additional clergy.

https://depauliaonline.com/39104/news/archdiocese-of-chicago-examines-sex-abuse-policies-following-attorney-generals-investigation/

Central Pa. sisters abused by priest urge turnout at Catholic diocese listening sessions

Members of the Dauphin County family whose five daughters were abused by their Catholic priest plan to continue attending the series of listening sessions spurred by the church’s acknowledgement that such abuse was widespread. Upcoming sessions are scheduled for Tuesday night in Lancaster County and Wednesday night in Cumberland County.

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2019/02/central-pa-sisters-abused-by-priest-urge-turnout-at-catholic-diocese-listening-sessions.html

Report shows horror of church sex abuse, need for newspapers

The stunning report by the Houston Chronicle on the hundreds of cases of sexual abuse by Southern Baptist pastors and officials proves again that this pervasive crime is not limited to any one segment of our society. It is all too common, even among church leaders who hypocritically claim to uphold the highest moral standards.

https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/opinions/editorials/article/ENTERPRISE-EDITORIAL-Report-shows-horror-of-13608354.php 

In video, Bridgeport bishop calls sex abuse by clerics crime and sin

In a video posted Feb. 11 on YouTube, Bishop Frank J. Caggiano of Bridgeport, Connecticut, offered support for the "many sisters and brothers who have been wounded, violated, hurt and abused at the hands of priests and deacons" and whose sexual abuse in their youth "changed their lives forever." "The crime and sin of sexual abuse in our midst is a deep evil that has created a deep wound," said Bishop Caggiano, who has been one of the most outspoken U.S. bishops on the topic of sex abuse by clergy.

https://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2019/in-video-bridgeport-bishop-calls-sex-abuse-by-clerics-crime-and-sin.cfm 

Over 700 Victims Allegedly Abused by Southern Baptist Leaders, Volunteers: Report

Almost 400 Southern Baptist church leaders and workers over the past 20 years have faced allegations of sexual abuse from more than 700 victims—a joint investigation by two Texas newspapers revealed. Results of a six-month investigation conducted by The Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News and published on Feb. 10, found the majority of the 380 clergy accused of sexual misconduct have been convicted or taken plea deals.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/over-700-victims-abused-by-southern-baptist-leaders-report_2798674.html 

The Priest Restoring Trust in the Catholic Church — by Exposing Its Sins

As the son of a Baptist preacher in Wisconsin, it was a huge scandal in Ronald Lemmert’s family when he converted to Catholicism and later joined the priesthood. His journey had started when he was drafted during the Vietnam War and sent to West Point, where the Catholic chapel needed an organist. “I had a very powerful conversion experience,” Lemmert says, one built around his love for the Eucharist, which Catholics believe is the body of Christ.

https://www.ozy.com/rising-stars/the-priest-restoring-trust-in-the-catholic-church-by-exposing-its-sins/92208 

Why the pope’s upcoming summit needs to do a full accounting of the cover-up of sexual abuse

Pope Francis is gathering 200 bishops and heads of religious orders from around the world for a global summit in Rome to discuss the crisis facing the Catholic Church over sexual abuse scandals. The meeting begins on Feb. 21 and will last four days. It is likely to produce a new round of public apologies, expressions of concern for victims and pledges of reform.

http://theconversation.com/why-the-popes-upcoming-summit-needs-to-do-a-full-accounting-of-the-cover-up-of-sexual-abuse-111136 

Why Does the Catholic Church Keep Failing on Sexual Abuse?

A few years after Seán O’Malley took over the Archdiocese of Boston in 2003, at the peak of the clergy sexual-abuse crisis in America, he led novenas of penance at nine of the city’s most affected parishes. At each church he visited, he lay facedown on the floor before the altar, begging for forgiveness. This is how O’Malley has spent his life in ministry: cleaning up after pedophile priests and their apologists, and serving as the Catholic Church’s public face of repentance and reform.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/02/sean-omalley-pope-francis-catholic-church-sex-abuse/582658/ 

On Priest Abuse

I just finished reading the Journal's report on the Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Rosa in which Bishop Robert Vasa is partially quoted as saying "I know of no other way to bring light to this distressing moment in the church." ('Rid me of This Troublesome Priest," Feb. 7.) This moment. In chilling understatement, the bishop and even the North Coast Journal fail to follow the dots to the end.

https://www.northcoastjournal.com/humboldt/on-priest-abuse/Content?oid=13036040

Mexican bishops confirm 152 priests removed for abusing minors

The Mexican bishops’ conference has confirmed 152 priests have been removed from ministry for sexually abusing minors. In a statement released on Tuesday, the conference published the preliminary figure, while promising, “We will continue with the effort to have a complete diagnosis of cases of child sexual abuse in Mexico.”

https://www.thecatholicuniverse.com/mexican-bishops-confirm-152-priests-removed-for-abusing-minors-24059 

Belgium Report: 76% of Victims of Clergy Sex Abuse Were Males

A new report on clerical sex abuse in Belgium has revealed that 76 percent of priests’ victims were males, echoing patterns of chiefly homosexual abuse in other countries. Brussels Cardinal Jozef de Kesel presented the 400-page report on clergy sexual abuse Tuesday, which documents accusations of abuse from 1,054 alleged victims since 2010, three quarters of whom were male and 73 percent between the ages of 10 and 18 years.

https://www.breitbart.com/crime/2019/02/14/belgium-report-76-of-victims-of-clergy-sex-abuse-were-males/ 

First the Catholics and Now the Baptists

The Roman Catholic Church has been shaken by revelations of rampant sexual abuse among its clergy. Now the Southern Baptist Church is being shaken by a similar scandal. The Houston Chronicle has uncovered 380 church workers–pastors, but also youth ministers, Sunday School teachers, and other volunteers–who have been charged with sexual misconduct over the last 20 years. That list includes 250 who were charged with sex crimes, including rape, sexual assault, and child molestation.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/geneveith/2019/02/first-the-catholics-and-now-the-baptists/ 

New Jersey Priest Arrested on Child Sex Abuse Charges

A Roman Catholic priest in Northern New Jersey was arrested and charged this week with multiple counts of child sex abuse dating to the early 1990s, the state attorney general’s office said. It was the first criminal case brought by New Jersey’s Clergy Abuse Task Force, which was formed last year to investigate abuse allegations in the Catholic Church.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/18/nyregion/father-thomas-ganley-arrested.html 

Zmirak: U.S. Gov’t Should Cut Off Federal Funds to Catholic Charities After Sex Abuse Scandal

John Zmirak, senior editor at The Stream, called for the federal government to end contractual relationships with Catholic Church-affiliated nonprofits in response to revelations of senior Catholic officials’ involvement in sexual abuse and related cover-ups. He offered his remarks in a Friday interview on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Tonight with host Rebecca Mansour.

https://www.breitbart.com/radio/2019/01/20/zmirak-u-s-govt-should-cut-off-federal-funds-to-catholic-charities-after-sex-abuse-scandal/ 

Montreal priest Brian Boucher pleads guilty to sexually abusing minor

Montreal-area Catholic priest Brian Boucher, who was found guilty earlier this month of sexually assaulting a youth, pleaded guilty Monday to sexually abusing another boy in the mid-1990s. Boucher, 56, pleaded guilty to two charges at the Montreal courthouse: sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching. The acts took place between 1995 and 1999, while he worked at St-John-Brébeuf parish in LaSalle.

https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/montreal-priest-brian-boucher-pleads-guilty-to-sexually-abusing-minor 

How bishops are being bullied to drop homosexuality from the clergy abuse debate

The fact that Pope Francis put pro-gay Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich in charge of next month’s Vatican summit of bishops on sexual abuse was a clue. The fact that the Pope has refused to talk about the homosexual connection to the abuse crisis, even though over 80% of clergy sexual abuse victims worldwide are males, is another indication of how things are gearing up for February.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/how-bishops-are-being-bullied-to-drop-homosexuality-from-the-clergy-abuse-d

Ending rule by the ‘McCarrick Doctrine’

It cannot be denied that a large number of Catholic bishops and their vicars lied, covered up, and abused their positions and faith. The sexual abuse and exploitation of children and young people were not only the result of the dereliction of duty of bishops in governing but in several cases obviously enabled by their own secret sins.

https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otn.cfm?id=1323 

First criminal case filed by new state task force on clergy abuse

The New Jersey attorney general’s clergy abuse task force has filed its first criminal case against a Roman Catholic priest who allegedly sexually assaulted a teenage girl in the 1990s. AA priest from Phillipsburg has been arrested and charged with multiple criminal counts in the sexual assault of a child who was between the ages of 14 and 17 when the abuse allegedly occurred. The arrest was made by members of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office assigned to the task force.

http://planetprinceton.com/2019/01/22/first-criminal-case-filed-by-new-state-task-force-on-clergy-abuse/ 

Religion German Church official calls out bishops who covered up sex abuse

Deploring and condemning abuse must be followed by actions, says secretary-general of the episcopal conference. Father Hans Langendörfer SJ (youtube.com) A senior official of the German bishops' conference has insisted that Catholic prelates who covered up clergy sex abuse must be publicly identified for the good of the Church and its future.

https://international.la-croix.com/news/german-church-official-calls-out-bishops-who-covered-up-sex-abuse/9290# 

Priests accused of abuse formerly pastored in Boone

The Maryland Province Jesuits and Diocese of Charlotte have said that two Catholic priests who pastored Boone’s St. Elizabeth of the Hill Country in the 1990s are “credibly” accused of sexually abusing minors. H. Cornell Bradley, who now is 80, is among a list of priests named last month by the Maryland Province Jesuits. Bradley had “multiple allegations of sexual abuse” against him in Ocean City, Md., and Washington, D.C., in the 1970s and 1980s, according to the province, a Roman Catholic order of 17,000 priests and brothers.

https://www.wataugademocrat.com/news/priests-accused-of-abuse-formerly-pastored-in-boone/article_e4836e43-7f6d-5559-9a9c-4f7e9e49f101.html 

Clergy Child Abuse Reporting Laws Uneven, Leave Loopholes

Even though more than half the states require clergy to report abuse, most do not require clergy members to disclose allegations made in private, under what is called “clergy-penitent privilege.” Virginia is the latest state to consider including clergy as mandatory reporters of child abuse but there, too, legislation would exempt such private communications.

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2019/01/24/clergy-child-abuse-reporting-laws-uneven-leave-loopholes 

Accused Houston-area priest was allowed to celebrate Mass before abuse list released

A prominent Houston priest was allowed to perform Mass hours before the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston made public that he was under investigation for alleged child sexual abuse and would be removed from his post. The removal of Father John Keller at Prince of Peace Catholic Community Church in Houston came as a slew of alleged victims came forward with accusations against other priests not named in lists of "credibly accused" clergy released Thursday by 14 of the Catholic dioceses in Texas.

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Prince-of-Peace-pastor-was-allowed-to-celebrate-13581760.php