NFL’s Saints Accused of Helping Shape Clergy Sex Abuse List

JIM MUSTIAN / The Associated Press Jan 30, 2020 Attorneys for about a dozen claimants allege hundreds of confidential emails show the New Orleans team was involved far more than it admits. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Pope Removes Shroud of Secrecy From Clergy Sex Abuse Cases

NICOLE WINFIELD / The Associated Press Dec 17, 2019 He abolishes rule criticized as leading to the protection of pedophiles. “The carnival of obscurity is over,” says a survivor and advocate. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Pope in Ireland Vows to End Cover-Up of Clergy Sex Abuse

NICOLE WINFIELD and MARIA GRAZIA MURRU / The Associated Press Aug 25, 2018 The Roman Catholic Church leader says he shares the outrage over the church's role in concealing the "repugnant crimes" and commits to end the "scourge." Victims say his words need to be backed by action. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Report Says Church Brushed Off Complaints of Oral Sex, Rape

MARC LEVY and MARK SCOLFORO / The Associated Press Aug 15, 2018 Roughly 300 Roman Catholic priests in Pennsylvania molested more than 1,000 children—and possibly many more—since the 1940s, according to a sweeping state grand jury report. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Pope Punishes Cardinal in Sexual Abuse Case

MICHAEL R. SISAK / The Associated Press Jun 20, 2018 Theodore McCarrick, 87, the retired archbishop of Washington, D.C., has been removed from public ministry and faces further punishment over allegations he sexually abused a teenager more than 40 years ago. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

We All Could Learn Some Valuable Lessons From Pope Francis

E.J. Dionne Jr. / Truthdig Apr 17, 2018 Perhaps the pontiff can inspire some self-examination among our graceless leaders and provoke a rebellion by the decent people, or humble day-to-day saints. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Pope Begs Chileans’ Forgiveness for Priests’ Sex Abuse

PETER PRENGAMAN and NICOLE WINFIELD / The Associated Press Jan 16, 2018 The pontiff acknowledges the "irreparable harm" that clergy members have caused to children in a scandal and a cover-up that have damaged the church's credibility. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Pope Francis Abandons Proposal to Prosecute Bishops for Covering Up Abuse

Staff / Truthdig Jun 5, 2016 Although the pontiff initially proposed a tribunal that would hold bishops accountable for protecting pedophile priests, he announced Saturday that he will instead clarify existing legal procedures. Although the pontiff initially proposed a tribunal that would hold bishops accountable for protecting pedophile priests, he announced Saturday that he will instead clarify existing legal procedures. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Remembering the Rev. Daniel Berrigan, Jesuit Priest and Peace Activist

Staff / Truthdig May 2, 2016 He was a man of the cloth and a man of letters, but most of all, Berrigan was a man of peace. He was also, as it happened, the man whom Kurt Vonnegut went so far as to call "Jesus as a poet." Dig deeper ( 8 Min. Read )

South America Has Become a Safe Haven for U.S. and European Priests Accused of Sexual Abuse

Roisin Davis / Truthdig Sep 18, 2015 Even as Pope Francis has sought to reform the Vatican’s safeguards against child abuse, a yearlong investigation reveals how the Catholic Church has allowed allegedly abusive priests to slip off to escape to parts of the world where they would face less scrutiny from prosecutors and the media. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

In Defending Dennis Hastert, Washington Forgets Sex Abuse Victims

The Rev. Madison Shockley / Truthdig Jun 4, 2015 Members of the American political elite feel they are protecting the establishment by giving the former House speaker the benefit of the doubt, just as the Vatican has done for accused priests for decades. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Pope Francis’ Synod: Change Is in the Air, but Not Yet on the Books

Kasia Anderson / Truthdig Oct 20, 2014 On Sunday, Pope Francis wrapped up the synod, or bishops meeting, he presided over for the last two weeks with a beatification service at the Vatican for Pope Paul VI but without significant progress made on hot-button topics such as homosexuality, divorce and contraception. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )