Catholic church sex abuse scandal
Pope expresses 'shame' at French sex abuse scandal
An independent commission on Tuesday revealed that French Catholic clergy sexually abused around 216,000 minors over seven decades since 1950, a 'massive...
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Thousands of paedophiles in French Catholic Church since 1950: commission
The head of an independent commission says thousands of paedophiles have operated inside the French Catholic Church since 1950.
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Pope updates canon law to address paedophilia by priests
Revision of the penal sanctions within the Code of Canon Law followed a lengthy process involving input from canonist and criminal law experts and came after repeated complaints by victims of sexual abuse and others that the code's previous wording was outdated and intransparent.
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German Church to pay abuse victims up to €50,000
A study commissioned by the German Bishops' Conference and released in 2018 showed that 1,670 clergymen had committed some form of sexual attack against 3,677 minors, mostly boys, between 1946 and 2014.
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Mexican Catholic group says late leader Maciel abused at least 60 minors
Maciel was punished by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 when he ordered Maciel to retire to a life of prayer and penitence after years of allegations that he had sexually abused boys and young men.
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Pope accepts resignation of New York bishop after abuse claims
New York's Bishop John Jenik was suspended in 2018 pending a Church investigation into the alleged sexual assault in the 1980s.
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Vatican says laws cannot force priests to break seal of confession
In Australia, an inquiry into child abuse recommended that the country introduce a law forcing religious leaders to report child abuse, including priests told of it during confession.
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Ex-pope Benedict blames Church sex abuse crisis on '68
Pope emeritus Benedict XVI, who was the first pontiff to resign in almost 600 years, said the direct consequence was the 'collapse of the next generation of priests.'
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Vatican working on guidelines to report bishops in abuse cases
The document, still in its early stages, would be the second official pronouncement by Pope Francis on the global sexual abuse crisis since he presided at a summit of senior bishops at the Vatican in February.
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Pope says church should admit history of abuse of women, male domination
The pope is grappling with criticism over the Church’s response to a decades-long clerical sexual abuse crisis that has gravely damaged its standing around the globe.
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We are 'our worst enemy', bishop says as abuse conference wraps up
The Catholic Church has become its “own worst enemy” for concealing clergy sexual abuse and not listening enough to victims, a leading archbishop said.
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World bishops head to Vatican for sex abuse summit
The conference aims to be an opportunity to improve awareness of the global phenomenon of sexual abuse of minors within the Church.
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Vatican defrocks former US cardinal for sex abuse of minor
The announcement marks a spectacular fall from grace for the previously influential cardinal.
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Catholic Church child sex abuse scandals
Factfile on major sex abuse allegations relating to the Catholic Church.
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US bishops release names of 300 Texas clergy accused of abuse
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) applauded the move but urged law enforcement to conduct independent investigations.
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Pope vows justice for victims of 'vile' sex abuse
A litany of child sexual abuse scandals has rocked the Catholic church, which has 1.3 billion followers around the world.
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Church will 'never again' ignore abuse accusations: pope
'The Church will never seek to hush up or not take seriously any case,' the pope said in his annual address to the Roman Curia at the Vatican.
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Spanish Catholic Church wants to 'eradicate' sexual abuse
Spain's Catholic hierarchy is under pressure from local scandals and cases elsewhere that have seen critics accusing it of dragging its feet in responding to abuse allegations.
