Latest news with #clergyAbuse
South China Morning Post
05-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Pope Leo signals continuity on fighting child abuse with Vatican appointee
Pope Leo XIV signalled commitment to continuing the fight against clergy sexual abuse by appointing France's Bishop Thibault Verny to head the Vatican's child protection advisory commission on Saturday. Advertisement Verny, 59, replaces American Cardinal Sean O'Malley, the retired archbishop of Boston. O'Malley was the founding president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, an advisory group Pope Francis established in 2014 to advise the church on best practices to fight abuse and protect children. As the abuse scandal spread globally during Francis' 12-year pontificate, the commission initially lost influence, while its crowning recommendation – the creation of a tribunal to judge bishops who covered up for predator priests – went nowhere. After many years of reform and new members, it has become a place where victims can go to be heard and bishops can get advice on crafting guidelines to fight abuse. Verny, who is currently the bishop of Chambery, France, has been a member of the commission since 2022 and heads the child protection council of the bishops conference in France, where the church has been rocked by revelations of decades of abuse by priests and bishops. He was among commission members who met with Leo last month. The bishop has been responsible for doing an annual audit of the French church's centres for receiving victims, an initiative that was started after a devastating 2021 report into the French scandal estimated 330,000 children in France had been sexually abused over the past 70 years by church personnel. Members of the association Mouv'Enfants during a demonstration against alleged abuse outside 'Le beau Rameau', a French Catholic secondary school and high school complex in Lestelle-Betharram, southwestern France, on February 12. Photo: AFP Cardinal O'Malley praised the appointment, saying Verny has developed in-depth experience helping victims and working with law enforcement and civil authorities to ensure accountability 'for the serious failures of the church in France.'
CTV News
05-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Pope Leo XIV signals continuity on fighting abuse with new head of child protection board
Pope Leo XIV leaves after celebrating a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Sunday, June 29, 2025, where he conferred the pallium on newly appointed metropolitan archbishops. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File) ROME — Pope Leo XIV signaled commitment to continuing the fight against clergy sexual abuse by appointing France's Bishop Thibault Verny to head the Vatican's child protection advisory commission on Saturday. Verny, 59, replaces American Cardinal Sean O'Malley, the retired archbishop of Boston. O'Malley was the founding president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, an advisory group Pope Francis established in 2014 to advise the church on best practices to fight abuse and protect children. As the abuse scandal spread globally during Francis' 12-year pontificate, the commission initially lost influence and its crowning recommendation — the creation of a tribunal to judge bishops who covered up for predator priests — went nowhere. After many years of reform and new members, it has become a place where victims can go to be heard and bishops can get advice on crafting guidelines to fight abuse. Verny, who is currently the bishop of Chambery, France, has been a member of the commission since 2022 and heads the child protection council of the bishops conference in France, where the church has been rocked by revelations of decades and abuse by priests and bishops. He was among commission members who met with Leo last month. The bishop has been responsible for doing an annual audit of the French church's centers for receiving victims, an initiative that was started after a devastating 2021 report into the French scandal estimated 330,000 children in France had been sexually abused over the past 70 years by church personnel. Cardinal O'Malley praised the appointment, saying Verny has developed in-depth experience helping victims and working with law enforcement and civil authorities to ensure accountability 'for the serious failures of the church in France.' In a statement, O'Malley also praised Leo for continuing to consider the commission a priority. 'The Holy Father's words and deeds in these early months of his pontificate assure the world that the Church will not grow complacent in her efforts to as best possible ensure the protection of children, vulnerable adults and all people in our communities,' he said. Verny, for his part, praised O'Malley's leadership as courageous and having served as 'a moral compass' for the church, a reference to O'Malley's occasional statements of outrage when even Francis bungled an abuse case. 'I am committed, together with the members and personnel, to building on that legacy,' Verny said in a statement. The American-born pope made the appointment the day before heading for a six-week vacation at the papal summer retreat south of Rome. Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press
The Guardian
18-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
New Orleans archdiocese bond investors accuse church of ‘securities fraud'
The Roman Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans is planning to default on paying a nearly $1m interest payment on more than $41m in bonds it sold in 2017, leading lawyers for the people who purchased the church's debt to allege in open court that it had engaged in 'the definition of securities fraud'. An attorney for the archdiocese countered that the allegation is 'an extreme stretch'. But whatever the case, the dispute pitting the US's second-oldest Catholic diocese against the holders of revenue bonds refinancing debt that the New Orleans church took on to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina could complicate efforts to settle a federal financial reorganization that is otherwise largely centered on more than 600 clergy abuse claimants. Lawyers for investors who purchased the church's debts on the bond market made the securities fraud accusations in front of US bankruptcy judge Meredith Grabill on Friday. Bondholder attorney Colleen Murphy said various archdiocesan representatives – including archbishop Gregory Aymond, vicar of finance Patrick Carr and church-hired bankruptcy lawyer Lisa Futrell – had said in the press and on calls with bondholders that the archdiocese would 'pay 100%' of its debts despite filing for chapter 11 protections. Murphy added that the archdiocese reassured bondholders by citing its obligation to comply with canon, or church, law to 'pay all your debts in full when they come due'. Yet on 6 June, on the official website for municipal securities data and documents, the archdiocese notified its revenue bond holders – who are investors in public securities – that the organization would not make a $930,206.25 interest payment due on 1 July. The notice mentioned a proposed bankruptcy settlement – which had not gained approval at the time of Friday's hearing – and how the archdiocese did 'not intend to seek the reinstatement of the bonds' in light of the settlement proposal. In its own notice on the same municipal securities website on Tuesday, Murphy's office told bondholders that the church would try to lower lower the value of their investment through the settlement – though how much 'remains unclear'. Murphy's colleague, Christopher Marks, on Friday told Grabill that he was worried the archdiocese might try to argue it is insolvent. Marks said that would create several issues. He didn't elaborate, but – because the archdiocese is technically a nonprofit– Grabill has previously said she can't force the group into liquidation, which would involve shutting the organization down and selling off its assets to pay back its debts. As part of required financial disclosures, the archdiocese in November estimated its liquidation value would be $315m, with $158m of that already obligated – leaving only $122m available for abuse survivors and others owed by the church. The notice from Murphy's office said her side had 'retained a law firm to advise it on potential causes of action related to possible violations of securities laws against the archdiocese and other parties'. Murphy was more blunt when speaking with Grabill, saying: 'I'm here to tell you that's the definition of securities fraud.' She suggested in other contexts it was OK to attribute a reneged promise to 'wishful thinking' that collapsed under the weight of reality – 'but you say that to the bond market, [and] it's securities fraud'. Marks echoed her in his own remarks to Grabill, saying: 'Statements … have been made throughout this case … directly to bond holders, to the public, to the market … that their claims will be paid in full. 'We're talking about securities fraud.' Murphy said many of the bond buyers who stand to be affected by the church's decision to halt the 1 July interest payment are Louisiana citizens. 'They're almost definitely … parishioners,' Murphy said. 'These are the people they've cut off.' In court, a bankruptcy attorney representing the archdiocese, Mark Mintz, accused Marks and Murphy of 'kind of randomly … spouting out accusations'. He called their claims 'an extreme stretch that really has no basis'. A statement from the archdiocese added in part that the church 'strongly disagrees with the inflammatory statements made by the [bondholders'] attorneys in court'. Sign up to Headlines US Get the most important US headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion Noel Boeke, a bankruptcy attorney based in Tampa, Florida, who is not involved in the New Orleans case, said the dispute over the bond debt may be little more than 'posturing' as the church and its creditors try to confirm a settlement to end a contentious bankruptcy that started in May 2020. 'It would not be unusual for an entity in bankruptcy to have difficulty paying its bond obligations,' Boeke said. 'These kinds of pre-confirmation skirmishes are everyday meat and potatoes stuff in bankruptcy court.' He said the biggest hurdle for the archdiocese is to get a final agreement with abuse survivors, which, if the currently proposed plan is approved by two-thirds of the claimants, would pay them $180m. The outstanding bond debt – which stood at $37.9m when the archdiocese filed for bankruptcy protection – is smaller by comparison, and Boeke said he would be surprised if that held up a final settlement deal. Another potential stumbling block: a November 2020 agreement for the church to continue paying interest to bondholders despite the bankruptcy's being unresolved does not allow the church to sell more than $20m in real estate assets – a provision meant to ensure there was enough collateral in case the archdiocese defaulted on the debt. The proposed bankruptcy settlement calls for selling a collection of apartment complexes that had previously received an offer of about $150m from a prospective buyer. The offer was not accepted at the time. New Orleans's archdiocese filed for bankruptcy protection in an attempt to limit its financial exposure in connection with the worldwide Catholic church's decades-old clergy molestation scandal. But the church doesn't only owe payments to abuse survivors once its financial reorganization is complete – it also owes other creditors like the bondholders. At the time of the church's bankruptcy filing, Louisiana – which includes New Orleans – generally prohibited molestation survivors from pursuing civil damages for long-ago abuse. Yet the state removed that prohibition with a law which took effect in August 2021 and was upheld as constitutional by Louisiana's supreme court in June 2024. Meanwhile, in a sworn statement filed in criminal court in April 2024, Louisiana state police revealed that they were investigating whether the New Orleans archdiocese ran a child sex trafficking ring responsible for the 'widespread … abuse of minors dating back decades' that was hidden from authorities for many years. A bloc of attorneys representing hundreds of clergy abuse survivors have expressed opposition to the pending settlement agreement, saying their clients deserve in the neighborhood of $300m. The settlement proposal is expected to be discussed at a hearing in Grabill's courtroom scheduled for 26 June.
Washington Post
20-05-2025
- Washington Post
Survivors of clergy sexual abuse turn up calls for reforms from new pope's American hometown
CHICAGO — Survivors of clergy sexual abuse amplified calls Tuesday for a global zero-tolerance policy from the new pope's American hometown and raised questions about Leo XIV's history of dealing with accused priests from Chicago to Australia. The cases span Robert Prevost's previous posts. They include leading a Catholic religious order , bishop and as head of the Vatican's office for bishops , where he was made cardinal.
The Independent
20-05-2025
- The Independent
Survivors of clergy sexual abuse turn up calls for reforms from new pope's American hometown
Survivors of clergy sexual abuse amplified calls Tuesday for a global zero-tolerance policy from the new pope's American hometown and raised questions about Leo XIV's history of dealing with accused priests from Chicago to Australia. The cases span Robert Prevost's previous posts. They include leading a Catholic religious order, bishop and as head of the Vatican 's office for bishops, where he was made cardinal. The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, called out alleged abuse by Chicago priests and other clergy in Peru, Colombia, Canada and Australia where it contended the new pope should have done more. Along with a worldwide zero-tolerance law for accused priests, SNAP has called for a global truth commission, survivor reparations and church transparency measures. 'It is our hope that Pope Leo does the right thing,' Shaun Dougherty, SNAP president, told reporters in Chicago. 'It is our gut, in our experience, that says that he will need the pressure.' Associated Press requests for comment to the Vatican media office Tuesday and its diplomatic representative to the United States didn't receive immediate replies. No one has accused the new pope of any act of abuse himself or knowingly keeping confirmed abusers in public ministry, which has been the biggest scandal plaguing the Catholic Church recently. Instead, victims' advocates said he should have involved authorities earlier, been vocal about accused priests and worked to strip them of their titles. SNAP has been gathering evidence of how the church has covered for abusers and provided internal communications referencing cases, including in Chicago. 'This is the underground story of Prevost, this is the side of him and his management and decisions that we're finally able to bring to light,' said Peter Isely with SNAP. Some cases span the time when Prevost was based in Chicago as the Midwest regional leader of the Order of St. Augustine, a job he took in 1999. Three years later, he became worldwide leader of the Augustinians. One priest who faced dozens of abuse allegations left the church in 1993 before landing a job as a Shedd Aquarium tour guide on a recommendation from a top Augustinian official. The priest worked at the popular tourist and school field trip destination in Chicago for nearly a decade before Shedd officials learned about the abuse claims. 'Had Shedd Aquarium received any information regarding the kind of allegations that have been brought to our attention, we would not have hired this individual,' a 2003 letter from the aquarium said. Advocates said Prevost inherited the case when he became Augustinian provincial leader and should have stepped in earlier, considering the priest's new job working directly with children. Survivors have demanded the church adopt a global policy that a priest be permanently removed from ministry for a single act of sexual abuse that is either admitted to or established according to church law. That has been the policy in the U.S. church since the height of the U.S. scandal in 2002, but the Vatican hasn't imposed it worldwide. SNAP also cited a case in the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, which then-Bishop Prevost led from 2014 to 2023. Three women came forward in 2022 to accuse two priests of sexual abuse. The diocese forwarded information about the case to a Vatican office, which closed the case without a finding. However, the diocese later reopened the investigation after Prevost left for a Vatican post. Critics said Prevost failed to investigate sufficiently. The Vatican and Prevost's successor determined Prevost acted correctly as far as church law is concerned. The Vatican noted he imposed preliminary restrictions on the accused priest pending investigation by Peruvian authorities, who concluded that the statute of limitations had expired. As a bishop in Peru and then prefect at the Vatican, Prevost was intimately involved in an investigation into an influential Catholic movement in Peru, Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, which was suppressed earlier this year by Pope Francis because of alleged abuses. As a result, Prevost made plenty of enemies in the movement who have shared the allegations against him on social media in what some in the Vatican say was a campaign to try to discredit him. SNAP also cited Prevost's role from 2023 to 2025 leading the Dicastery for Bishops. It cited cases of accused bishops from Canada, Colombia and Australia who resigned amid abuse allegations but were allowed to retain their status as bishops. While Prevost's office would have handled investigations of accused bishops, the final decisions would have been those of Leo's predecessor, Pope Francis, because the pontiff has ultimate authority over bishops. __
