Roman Catholic sex abuse cases by country
Encyclopedia
This page documents notable Alleged Roman Catholic sex abuse
cases by country.
In 2010 a young woman alleged that a Catholic priest had undertaken inappropriate sexual activity against her will, but the police & Church authorities had failed to follow up the allegations.
The 2011 Raidió Teilifís Éireann
(RTE) documentary "A Mission To Prey" brought to notice Kenya's clerical abuse cases, which should have been handled with more transparency. It has subsequently emerged that this program made false allegations against a priest, Fr. Kevin Reynolds
, which resulted in the priest being removed from his home and his parish ministry. RTE has subsequently apologised for this programme and has stated that Fr. Reynolds was innocent of the charges stated. RTE has nevertheless left access to this programme even though upwards of 32 Slander & Libel cases are pending.
In 2011 a Dutch bishop was reported to be under probe over alleged sex abuse, The Bishop was alleged to have abused a minor when he served as a priest in Ngong diocese some 18 years prior to the report.
A prominent United Kingdom member of the order, Fr Kit Cunningham together with three other priests were exposed after Cunningham's death as paedophiles
While at Soni, Cunningham perpetrated sexual abuse that made the school, according to one pupil, "a loveless, violent and sad hellhole". Other pupils recall being photographed naked, hauled out of bed at night to have their genitals fondled and other sexual abuse.Although known about by the Rosminians
before Cunningham's death in 2010, the abuse was only publicly revealed by the media in 2011
In 1995 Hans Hermann Cardinal Groer stepped down as head of the Catholic Church in Austria following accusations of sexual misconduct
. In 1998 he left the country. He remained a Cardinal.
Diocese of Antwerp
Former parish priest Bruno Vos of Nieuwmoer parish in Kalmthout
was officially charged with rape of a minor by the Belgian judiciary. There are also allegations of possession of child pornography included in the charge.
Archdiocese of Rijeka
Several priests who abused children in the United States were Irish Nationals, notably Patrick Colleary
, Anthony O'Connell
and Oliver O'Grady
.
Diocese of Ferns
The Ferns Inquiry 2005 - On 22 October 2005 a government-commissioned report compiled by a former Irish Supreme Court judge delivered an indictment of the handling of clerical sex abuse in the Irish diocese of Ferns
.
can since 1995 be notified to a central church institution, called Secretariaat Rooms-Katholiek Kerkgenootschap (SRRK).
In 1993, Father H.H.M. Jansen is denounced for sexual abuse during his activities as military pastor and as a faculty member of the seminary of Rolduc.
On 14 May 1998 damages of € 56.800 were paid by the diocese of Rotterdam to the victim of sexual abuse by a diocesan priest in order to avoid civil prosecution.
Father J. Ceelen, pastor
of the parish
es of Lieshout
and of Mariahout
(municipality of Laarbeek
) quits his post after allegations of sexual abuse on 1 September 2005.
In February 2010 Salesians were accused of sexual abuse in their juvenate Don Rua in 's-Heerenberg
. Salesian bishop of Rotterdam van Luyn
pleaded for a thorough investigation.
In March 2002 the Archbishop of Poznań
, Juliusz Paetz, stepped down following accusations, which he denied, of sexually molesting young priests.
Diocese of Płock
In early 2007 allegations surfaced that former Bishop Stanislaw Wielgus
(later very briefly Archbishop of Warsaw) was aware that several priests in his former diocese of Płock were sexually abusing minors.
One child was sexually abused by a priest several years in the late 1950s. When the child raised the issue at the time, the priest was protected and the abuse was kept quiet by the church. The victim finally reported the abuse to the Stockholm diocese in December 2005. The victim demanded a public apology from the church. In June 2007 Sweden's Catholic church made a public apology in two newspapers.
Passionist Congregation
Benedictine Order
In 2007 two former monks from Buckfast Abbey
were sentenced for sexually abusing boys.
In 2009 a monk of Ealing Abbey
and former headmaster of the junior department of its associated school, St Benedict's
, was sentenced to eight years in prison for sexually abusing boys.
In 2004 former priest John Kinsey of Belmont Abbey, Herefordshire
, was sentenced at Worcester Crown Court for 5 years for sexual assaults on schoolboys in the mid 1980s.
In the 1990s, criminal proceedings began against members of the Christian Brothers
in Newfoundland
.
(1920–2008) founded the Legion of Christ
, a Catholic order of priests originating in Mexico
. Nine former seminarians of his order accused Maciel of molestation. One retracted his accusation, saying that it was a plot intended to discredit the Legion. Maciel maintained his innocence of the accusations.
In 2007, the Society of Jesus
made a $50 million payout to over 100 Inuit
s who alleged that they had been sexually abused. The settlement did not require them to admit molesting Inuit children, but accusations involved 13 or 14 priests who allegedly molested these children for 30 years.
In 2008, the Diocese of Fairbanks
, a co-defendant in the case, filed for Chapter 11
bankruptcy
, claiming inability to pay the 140 plaintiffs filing claims against the diocese for alleged sexual abuse by priests or church workers during this period.
Archdiocese of Boston
Allegations of sexual misconduct by priests of the Archdiocese of Boston
, and following revelations of a cover-up by the Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, became known in 2004, causing Roman Catholics in other dioceses of the United States to investigate similar situations. Cardinal Law's actions prompted public scrutiny of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
and the steps taken in response to past and current allegations of sexual misconduct by priests. The events in the Archdiocese of Boston became a national scandal.
Archdiocese of Chicago
Daniel McCormack, a self-confessed sexually abusive priest was sentenced to five years in prison for abusing five boys (8–12 years) in 2001.
Diocese of Crookston
Rev. Joseph Palanivel Jeyapaul was charged with molesting two teenage girls at a Catholic church in Greenbush, Minnesota
, a small rural town near the Canadian border. The abuse occurred in 2004, and charges were filed in 2006 and amended in 2007. Without facing legal punishment, Jevapaul returned to his home diocese in Ootacamund, India, where today he works in the church’s diocesan office. A Roseau County, Minnesota
attorney is seeking to extradite the priest from India in a criminal case involving one of the girls.
The Archbishop of Madras, India (Madras is now called “Chennai
”) has asked Jeyapaul to return to the US to face the charges. Jevapaul has said that he will not fight extradition if the US seeks it.
Diocese of Davenport
On October 10, 2006, the Diocese of Davenport
filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection.
Archdiocese of Denver
In July 2008 the Archdiocese of Denver
paid a settlement of $5.5 million dollars to 18 claims of alleged sexual abuse perpetrated by two clerics between the years of 1954 and 1981.
Archdiocese of Dubuque
In 2006 the Archdiocese settled a number of claims of sexual abuse, and the Archbishop offered a personal apology.
Diocese of Fall River
Father James Porter was a Roman Catholic priest
who was convicted of molesting 28 children; He admitted sexually abusing at least 100 of both sexes over a period of 30 years, starting in the 1960s. Bishop Sean O'Malley settled 101 abuse claims and initiated a zero-tolerance policy against sexual abuse. He also instituted one of the first comprehensive sexual abuse policies in the Roman Catholic Church.
Diocese of Honolulu
Reverend Joseph Bukoski, III, SS.CC., Honolulu, Hawaii
, a member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
was canonically removed in 2003 as the pastor of Maria Lanakila Catholic Church
in Lahaina by Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo
for allegations relating to sexual improprieties some 30 years earlier. Fr. Bukoski issued a written public apology to his victim on November 12, 2005.
Reverend Mr. James "Ron" Gonsalves, Wailuku, Hawaii
, Gonsalves the administrator of Saint Ann Roman Catholic Church in Waihee, Maui, pleaded guilty on May 17, 2006 to several counts of sexual assault on a 12-year-old male. Bishop Clarence Richard Silva
has permanently withdrawn his faculties and has initiated laicization proceedings against Deacon Gonsalves with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
.
Archdiocese of Los Angeles
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles
agreed to pay out 60 million dollars to settle 45 lawsuits it still faces over 450 other pending cases. According to the Associated Press
, 22 priests were involved in the settlement with cases going back as far as the 1930s. 20 million dollars of this was paid by the insurers of the archdiocese. The main administrative office of the archdiocese is due to be sold to cover the cost of these and future law suits. The archdiocese will settle about 500 cases for about $600 million.
Diocese of Memphis
The Diocese of Memphis
reached a $2 million settlement with a man who was abused as a boy by Father Juan Carlos Duran, a priest with a history of sexual misconduct with juveniles in St. Louis, Panama
, and Bolivia
.
Archdiocese of Miami
Since 1966, the Archdiocese of Miami
Insurance Programs have paid $26.1 million in settlement, legal, and counseling costs associated with sexual misconduct allegations made by minors involving priests, laity and religious brothers and sisters.
Archdiocese of Milwaukee
A 2003 report on the sexual abuse of minors by clergy in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee revealed that allegations of sexually assaulting minors had been made against 58 ordained men. By early 2009, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee had spent approximately $26.5 million in attorney fees
and settlements. Under Archbishop Timothy Dolan
the archdiocese was able to avoid bankruptcy
from lawsuits.
A Wisconsin priest, the Rev. Lawrence C Murphy, who taught at the former St. John School for the Deaf in the Milwaukee suburb of St. Francis, Wisconsin
from 1950 to 1974, allegedly molested more than 200 deaf boys. Several U.S. bishops warned the Vatican that failure to act on the matter could embarrass the church. Murphy was moved by then Milwaukee Archbishop
William E Cousins to Superior, Wisconsin
, a small city near Lake Superior, where he spent his final 24 years working with children in parishes, schools and a juvenile detention center. He died in 1998. As of March 2010, there were four outstanding lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in the case.
Diocese of Oakland
In 1981, the former Rev. Stephen Kiesle was convicted for tying up and molesting two boys in a California church rectory. From 1981 to 1985, Bishop John Stephen Cummins
, who oversaw Kiesle, contacted the Vatican
about defrocking him. Then-cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI
, responded by letter that the case needed more time, as it was "necessary to consider the good of the Universal Church" and "the detriment that granting the dispensation" could provoke among the faithful. In 1987, the Vatican defrocked Kiesle. The letter was widely regarded as evidence of Ratzinger's role in blocking the removal of pedophile priests. Vatican officials responded that that interpretation rested on a misreading of the letter, in which the issue was not whether Kiesle should be defrocked but whether he should be granted the dispensation
he had requested from the obligation of chastity
. By refusing to grant such a dispensation right away in the Kiesle case, Ratzinger was actually being tough with an abuser, not lax.
Archdiocese of Omaha
During his tenure as the Bishop of Helena, Montana, Archbishop Elden Francis Curtiss chose to reassign a priest who had been accused of pedophilia in 1959, later admitting that he had not properly examined the church's personnel file on the individual concerned. Curtiss faced similar criticism in 2001 in regard to a priest accused of accessing child pornography. Curtiss, it was alleged, had failed to bring the case to the attention of the authorities, and had chosen to send the priest for counseling and to reassign the priest, removing him from his high-school teaching position but reassigning him to a middle-school.
Diocese of Orange, California
On January 3, 2005 Bishop
Tod Brown of the Diocese of Orange
apologized to 87 alleged victims of sexual abuse and announced a settlement of $100 million following two years of mediation.
Diocese of Palm Beach
Joseph Keith Symons resigned as ordinary in 1998 after admitting he molested five boys while he was a pastor
.
Diocese of Peoria
Coadjutor Bishop
John J. Myers
of Peoria was among the two-thirds of sitting bishops and acting diocese administrators that the Dallas Morning News found had allowed priests accused of sexual abuse to continue working.
In 2005, Rev. Francis Engels pleaded guilty to molesting a Peoria altar boy on trips to Milwaukee in the early 1980s.
Archdiocese of Philadelphia
According to a 2005 investigation, while serving as assistant vicar for administration in 1996, Bishop Cistone was involved with silencing a nun who tried to alert parishioners at St. Gabriel parish about abuse by a priest. According to the report, there were several other instances of priest sexual abuse that Cistone was complicit in covering up. In February 2011, Monsignor William Lynn, former secretary of the clergy for the Philadelphia Archdiocese, was charged with child endangerment, marking the first time that a high-ranking official has been charged since the eruption of sex abuse scandals nearly ten years prior. Lynn was found by a grand jury to have placed pedophiles in posts involving contact with children, which led directly to the sexual assault of two boys. Three priests and one teacher face rape charges.
Diocese of Phoenix
On November 21, 2005, Monsignor Dale Fushek
of the Diocese of Phoenix
was arrested and charged with 10 criminal misdemeanor counts related to alleged inappropriate sexual contact with teens and young adults.
Archdiocese of Portland
The Archdiocese of Portland
filed for Chapter 11 reorganization
on July 6, 2004, hours before two abuse trials were set to begin. Portland became the first Catholic diocese to file for bankruptcy. An open letter to the archdiocese's parishioners explained the archbishop's motivation.
Archdiocese of San Antonio
John Salazar was sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting a 18-year-old parishioner.
Diocese of San Diego
On February 27, 2007, the Diocese of San Diego
filed for Chapter 11 protection, hours before the first of about 150 lawsuits was due to be heard.
Diocese of Savannah
In October, 2009, the diocese of Savannah paid $4.24 million to settle a lawsuit which alleged that Lessard allowed a priest named Wayland Brown to work in the diocese when Lessard knew that Brown was a serial child molester who posed a danger to children.
Diocese of Spokane
Under Bishop William S. Skylstad
the Diocese of Spokane
declared bankruptcy in December 2004. As part of its bankruptcy, the diocese has agreed to pay at least $48 million as compensation. This payout has to be agreed to by the victims and a judge before it will be made. According to federal bankruptcy judge, Gregg W. Zive, money for the settlement would come from insurance companies, the sale of church property, contributions from Catholic groups and from the diocese's parishes.
Diocese of Stockton
Fr. Oliver O'Grady
molested multiple children in Stockton. The 2006 documentary
Deliver Us From Evil
is based on accusations that Bishop Roger Mahony knew that Oliver O'Grady
was an active pedophile.
Diocese of Tucson
The Diocese of Tucson
filed for bankruptcy in September, 2004. It reached an agreement with plaintiffs, which the bankruptcy judge approved on June 11, 2005, specifying terms that included allowing the diocese reorganization to continue in return for a $22.2 million settlement.
Archdiocese of Melbourne
There were several cases of sexual abuse in the Melbourne Archdiocese.
Archdiocese of Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz
Allegations of sexual abuse on 47 young seminarists
surfaced in 1994.
Archdiocese of Penedo
Diocese of Valparaíso
Diocese of Rancagua
Diocese of Punta Arenas
figures in exchange for photos of his intimate parts. When Murguía Ward was caught, he had paid the boy 20 soles ($7 USD) for his services in the hostel. The police have reported that pictures of two other boys were also found on Murguía Ward's camera and that the boy has claimed he received oral sex from Murguía Ward. These charges have been denied by the accused. Murguía Ward has since been removed from the SCV for his alleged misconduct.
Abuse
Abuse is the improper usage or treatment for a bad purpose, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, sexual assault, violation, rape, unjust practices; wrongful practice or custom; offense; crime, or otherwise...
cases by country.
Kenya
In 2009 several people came forward with accusations of sexual molestation against an Italian priest working in the country. The Church gave assurances of an investigation, but this has not taken place. However Kenyan police say they found no evidence and believe Sesana is innocent.In 2010 a young woman alleged that a Catholic priest had undertaken inappropriate sexual activity against her will, but the police & Church authorities had failed to follow up the allegations.
The 2011 Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
(RTE) documentary "A Mission To Prey" brought to notice Kenya's clerical abuse cases, which should have been handled with more transparency. It has subsequently emerged that this program made false allegations against a priest, Fr. Kevin Reynolds
Fr. Kevin Reynolds
Fr. Kevin Reynolds is an Irish Catholic priest, falsely alleged by Raidió Teilifís Éireann in its Prime Time programme, to have raped and impregnated a minor Kenyan woman named Veneraanda and fathering a child called Sheila, during his time as a missionary...
, which resulted in the priest being removed from his home and his parish ministry. RTE has subsequently apologised for this programme and has stated that Fr. Reynolds was innocent of the charges stated. RTE has nevertheless left access to this programme even though upwards of 32 Slander & Libel cases are pending.
In 2011 a Dutch bishop was reported to be under probe over alleged sex abuse, The Bishop was alleged to have abused a minor when he served as a priest in Ngong diocese some 18 years prior to the report.
Tanzania
St Michael's Catholic Boarding School, Soni, TanzaniaA prominent United Kingdom member of the order, Fr Kit Cunningham together with three other priests were exposed after Cunningham's death as paedophiles
While at Soni, Cunningham perpetrated sexual abuse that made the school, according to one pupil, "a loveless, violent and sad hellhole". Other pupils recall being photographed naked, hauled out of bed at night to have their genitals fondled and other sexual abuse.Although known about by the Rosminians
Rosminians
The Rosminians, officially the Institute of Charity or Societas a charitate nuncupata, are a Roman Catholic religious congregation founded by Antonio Rosmini and first organised in 1828....
before Cunningham's death in 2010, the abuse was only publicly revealed by the media in 2011
Philippines
- In 2002 the Catholic Church apologized for sexual abuses, including adultery, homosexuality and child abuse by two hundred priests over the previous 20 years.
- In 2003 at least 34 priests were suspended in a sex abuse scandal involving sexual harassment of women. 20 were from a single diocese.
- In 2011, a priest accused of sexually abusing a 17-year old female minor is sheltered by his Bishop, despite calls for his surrender to civil authorities.
Austria
Archdiocese of ViennaIn 1995 Hans Hermann Cardinal Groer stepped down as head of the Catholic Church in Austria following accusations of sexual misconduct
Sexual misconduct
Sexual misconduct is misconduct of a sexual nature. The term may be used to condemn an act, but in some jurisdictions it has also a legal meaning....
. In 1998 he left the country. He remained a Cardinal.
Belgium
There have been several abuse cases in Belgium.Diocese of Antwerp
Former parish priest Bruno Vos of Nieuwmoer parish in Kalmthout
Kalmthout
Kalmthout is a municipality in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the village of Kalmthout. On January 1, 2007 Kalmthout had a population of 17,508. The total area is...
was officially charged with rape of a minor by the Belgian judiciary. There are also allegations of possession of child pornography included in the charge.
Croatia
Archdiocese of Zagreb- Ivan Čuček convicted in 2000 for sexual abuse of 37 young girls, sentenced to three years in prison, which was later reduced by Supreme Courtto to one and a half years.
Archdiocese of Rijeka
- Drago Ljubičić convicted in 2007 was Catholic priest on the isle of RabRabRab is an island in Croatia and a town of the same name located just off the northern Croatian coast in the Adriatic Sea.The island is long, has an area of and 9,480 inhabitants . The highest peak is Kamenjak at 408 meters...
sentenced to three years in prison for molesting five teenage boys. He will be the first Catholic priest to serve prison time for sexual abuseSexual abuseSexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
in Croatia. When asked by Catholic press agency Glas Koncila (prior to scandal) why children avoid going to church he blamed 'strong influence of communism on island Rab'.
France
Seine et marne- Henri Lebras sentenced to ten years for the rape of a twelve-year-old boy between 1995 and 1998.
Germany
In February 2010 Der Spiegel reported that more than 94 clerics and laymen have been suspected of sexual abuse since 1995, but only 30 of those suspects had actually been prosecuted because of legal time constraints on pursuing cases.Ireland
Archdiocese of DublinSeveral priests who abused children in the United States were Irish Nationals, notably Patrick Colleary
Patrick Colleary
Patrick Colleary is an Irish Roman Catholic priest accused of molesting a person under the age of 15 while a priest at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Tempe, Arizona....
, Anthony O'Connell
Anthony O'Connell
Anthony J. O'Connell is a Roman Catholic clergyman who was the first Bishop of Knoxville in Tennessee, followed by service as the third Bishop of Palm Beach in Florida.-Early life:...
and Oliver O'Grady
Oliver O'Grady
Oliver O'Grady is an Irish former Roman Catholic priest who raped, molested and abused many children in California from 1973 onwards. He wrote a letter of confession to parents in 1976 and a copy was given to the Bishop of Stockton at that time....
.
Diocese of Ferns
The Ferns Inquiry 2005 - On 22 October 2005 a government-commissioned report compiled by a former Irish Supreme Court judge delivered an indictment of the handling of clerical sex abuse in the Irish diocese of Ferns
Diocese of Ferns
Diocese of Ferns can refer to:*The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns*The Church of Ireland diocese of Ferns within the united Diocese of Cashel, Waterford, Lismore, Ossory, Ferns & Leighlin...
.
Italy
- It is difficult to ascertain the actual statistics for clerical sexual abuse in Italy because the Italian Government has a treaty with the Vatican that guarantees areas of immunity to Vatican officials, including bishops and priests.
- Three former students have claimed abuse and 65 former students signed statements saying that they or other students were abused by Catholic priests when attending the Antonio Provolo Institute for the Deaf, a Catholic school for deaf children in Verona, Italy. The abuse is alleged to have occurred from the 1950s to 1980s, and was reportedly conducted by 24 priests including the late bishop of Verona.
Malta
- 84 allegations had been made as of April 2010 and Lawrence Grech, one of many alleged victims complains that he was abused in an orphanage. Mr Grech complained in 2010 that the Church had been investigating cases for seven years without doing enough that is effective. The pope spoke to Mr Grech and approved his courage in coming forward. -A Maltese court found that Fr Charles Pulis and Fr Godwin Scerri sexually abused children and sentenced the two men to six years and five years in prison respectively. The church regretted delays before there were proper investigations into the abuse and promised to defrock Fr Pulis.
- Fr. Anthony Mercieca, who was accused by former FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
Congressman Mark FoleyMark FoleyMark Adam Foley is a former member of the United States House of Representatives. He served from 1995 until 2006, representing the 16th District of Florida as a member of the Republican Party....
of molesting him as a teenager and has admitted "inappropriate encounters", now lives in Malta.
Netherlands
Cases of sexual abuse by religious members of the Roman Catholic Church in the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
can since 1995 be notified to a central church institution, called Secretariaat Rooms-Katholiek Kerkgenootschap (SRRK).
In 1993, Father H.H.M. Jansen is denounced for sexual abuse during his activities as military pastor and as a faculty member of the seminary of Rolduc.
On 14 May 1998 damages of € 56.800 were paid by the diocese of Rotterdam to the victim of sexual abuse by a diocesan priest in order to avoid civil prosecution.
Father J. Ceelen, pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
of the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
es of Lieshout
Lieshout
Lieshout is a small village in the southern Netherlands, lying about 15 kilometres northeast of Eindhoven. There are 4,300 inhabitants, and the village is famous for its beer brewery called 'Bavaria'....
and of Mariahout
Mariahout
Mariahout is a small village in the southern Netherlands, lying about 20 kilometres north of Eindhoven. It was founded in 1933, and now has a population of about 1,700. Mariahout is home to a military storage complex as well as a test track for DAF Trucks. Mariahout is the smallest village of the...
(municipality of Laarbeek
Laarbeek
Laarbeek is a municipality in the southern Netherlands. It was formed in 1997 by the former municipalities Beek en Donk, Aarle-Rixtel and Lieshout . Laarbeek is part of the city region 'Samenwerkingsverband Regio Eindhoven', centered around the city of Eindhoven...
) quits his post after allegations of sexual abuse on 1 September 2005.
In February 2010 Salesians were accused of sexual abuse in their juvenate Don Rua in 's-Heerenberg
's-Heerenberg
s-Heerenberg is a city on the Dutch-German border, in the Province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It is located about 5 km north of the German Emmerich, and about 12 km south of Doetinchem. It received city rights in 1379....
. Salesian bishop of Rotterdam van Luyn
Ad van Luyn
Adrianus Herman van Luyn, SDB, is a Dutch Roman Catholic bishop.-Early life and ordination:Van Luyn attended the seminary of the Salesians in Ugchelen. He made his religious vows in 1954. He studied theology at the Salesian Pontifical University in Turin...
pleaded for a thorough investigation.
Norway
Georg Müller, a former Catholic Bishop in Trondheim, Norway, has admitted to sexually abusing an altar boy in the 1980s when he served as a priest there. Müller, who retired as bishop in 2009, said there were no other victims.Poland
Archdiocese of PoznańIn March 2002 the Archbishop of Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
, Juliusz Paetz, stepped down following accusations, which he denied, of sexually molesting young priests.
Diocese of Płock
In early 2007 allegations surfaced that former Bishop Stanislaw Wielgus
Stanislaw Wielgus
Stanisław Wojciech Wielgus is a former Roman Catholic archbishop of Warsaw. After his appointment to the position of archbishop by Pope Benedict XVI on 6 December 2006, he assumed the office in a private installation ceremony on 5 January 2007, only to resign two days later, less than an hour...
(later very briefly Archbishop of Warsaw) was aware that several priests in his former diocese of Płock were sexually abusing minors.
Slovenia
Archdiocese of Ljubljana- Franc Frantar - detained in 2006 for sexual abuse of up to 16 minors. He was later sentenced to five years in prison. He initially escaped prosecution by escaping to MalawiMalawiThe Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
to work there as a missionary, but returned to Slovenia after InterpolInterpolInterpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
warrant was issued.
Sweden
Diocese of StockholmOne child was sexually abused by a priest several years in the late 1950s. When the child raised the issue at the time, the priest was protected and the abuse was kept quiet by the church. The victim finally reported the abuse to the Stockholm diocese in December 2005. The victim demanded a public apology from the church. In June 2007 Sweden's Catholic church made a public apology in two newspapers.
Great Britain
There have been several cases of sex abuse in the United Kingdom including:Passionist Congregation
- In the 1990s, abuse by a Father Eugene Kennan (baptismal name John Joseph), a priest of the Passionist Congregation, originally from Liverpool, came to light. An extremely powerful man who had held high positions in the order, he had given retreats and counselled vulnerable girls over many decades, including those in care and approved schools in the 1960s. A man of great charisma, he was able to abuse girls in whom he inspired devotion. It was, however, the sexual abuse of a former novice nun that first brought the abuse to light, after which many women came forward with their own testimonies of his sexual abuse. One story he would tell the girls was that he had trained as a gynaecologist, which led to intimate physical examinations. In the late 1990s Father Eugene was relieved of his official duties and was investigated by the police, however his age and failing health saved him from prison. He died in 2002. The scandal was largely covered up by the superior of the Passionist Order, Father Nicholas Postlethwaite, who managed to keep it out of the English newspapers, though it was mentioned in the Irish press.
Benedictine Order
- Buckfast Abbey School
In 2007 two former monks from Buckfast Abbey
Buckfast Abbey
Buckfast Abbey forms part of an active Benedictine monastery at Buckfast, near Buckfastleigh, Devon, England. Dedicated to Saint Mary, it was founded in 1018 and run by the Cistercian order from 1147 until it was destroyed under the Dissolution of the Monasteries...
were sentenced for sexually abusing boys.
- Ealing Abbey / St Benedict's School
In 2009 a monk of Ealing Abbey
Ealing Abbey
Ealing Abbey is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastic foundation in West London, England, and part of the English Benedictine Congregation.-History:...
and former headmaster of the junior department of its associated school, St Benedict's
St Benedict's School
St Benedict's School is a co-educational independent Roman Catholic school situated in Ealing, West London. The school is part of Ealing Abbey and is governed by the Abbot and monks of Ealing. As the only day school of the English Houses of the English Benedictine Congregation, the school does not...
, was sentenced to eight years in prison for sexually abusing boys.
- Belmont Abbey / Belmont Abbey School
In 2004 former priest John Kinsey of Belmont Abbey, Herefordshire
Belmont Abbey, Herefordshire
Belmont Abbey, in Herefordshire, England is a Catholic Benedictine monastery that forms part of the English Benedictine Congregation. It stands on a small hill overlooking the city of Hereford to the east, with views across to the Black Mountains, Wales to the west...
, was sentenced at Worcester Crown Court for 5 years for sexual assaults on schoolboys in the mid 1980s.
Canada
Archdiocese of St. John'sIn the 1990s, criminal proceedings began against members of the Christian Brothers
Congregation of Christian Brothers
The Congregation of Christian Brothers is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. The Christian Brothers, as they are commonly known, chiefly work for the evangelisation and education of youth, but are involved in many ministries, especially with...
in Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
.
Mexico
Fr. Marcial MacielMarcial Maciel
Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado was a Mexican-born Roman Catholic priest who founded the Legion of Christ and the Regnum Christi movement. He was accused of pedophilia early in his life and having fathered at least one child...
(1920–2008) founded the Legion of Christ
Legion of Christ
The Legion of Christ is a Roman Catholic congregation of pontifical right, made up of priests and seminarians studying for the priesthood. It was founded in Mexico in 1941, by Fr. Marcial Maciel, who directed the congregation as its General Superior until January 2005...
, a Catholic order of priests originating in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Nine former seminarians of his order accused Maciel of molestation. One retracted his accusation, saying that it was a plot intended to discredit the Legion. Maciel maintained his innocence of the accusations.
United States
Archdiocese of AnchorageIn 2007, the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
made a $50 million payout to over 100 Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
s who alleged that they had been sexually abused. The settlement did not require them to admit molesting Inuit children, but accusations involved 13 or 14 priests who allegedly molested these children for 30 years.
In 2008, the Diocese of Fairbanks
Roman Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the northwestern United States, comprising the northern regions of the state of Alaska. It is led by a prelate bishop which serves as pastor of the mother church, Cathedral of the...
, a co-defendant in the case, filed for Chapter 11
Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code
Chapter 11 is a chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code, which permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Chapter 11 bankruptcy is available to every business, whether organized as a corporation or sole proprietorship, and to individuals, although it is most...
bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
, claiming inability to pay the 140 plaintiffs filing claims against the diocese for alleged sexual abuse by priests or church workers during this period.
Archdiocese of Boston
Allegations of sexual misconduct by priests of the Archdiocese of Boston
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States. It comprises several counties of the state of Massachusetts...
, and following revelations of a cover-up by the Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, became known in 2004, causing Roman Catholics in other dioceses of the United States to investigate similar situations. Cardinal Law's actions prompted public scrutiny of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops and United States Catholic Conference, it is composed of all active and retired members of the Catholic...
and the steps taken in response to past and current allegations of sexual misconduct by priests. The events in the Archdiocese of Boston became a national scandal.
Archdiocese of Chicago
Daniel McCormack, a self-confessed sexually abusive priest was sentenced to five years in prison for abusing five boys (8–12 years) in 2001.
Diocese of Crookston
Rev. Joseph Palanivel Jeyapaul was charged with molesting two teenage girls at a Catholic church in Greenbush, Minnesota
Greenbush, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 784 people, 317 households, and 194 families residing in the city. The population density was 534.6 people per square mile . There were 348 housing units at an average density of 237.3 per square mile...
, a small rural town near the Canadian border. The abuse occurred in 2004, and charges were filed in 2006 and amended in 2007. Without facing legal punishment, Jevapaul returned to his home diocese in Ootacamund, India, where today he works in the church’s diocesan office. A Roseau County, Minnesota
Roseau County, Minnesota
Roseau County is a county located in the state of Minnesota, United States. As of 2010, the population was 15,629. Its county seat is Roseau.-Geography:...
attorney is seeking to extradite the priest from India in a criminal case involving one of the girls.
The Archbishop of Madras, India (Madras is now called “Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
”) has asked Jeyapaul to return to the US to face the charges. Jevapaul has said that he will not fight extradition if the US seeks it.
Diocese of Davenport
On October 10, 2006, the Diocese of Davenport
Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport is a diocese of the Catholic Church for the southeastern quarter of the state of Iowa. There are within the diocese...
filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
protection.
Archdiocese of Denver
In July 2008 the Archdiocese of Denver
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver
The Archdiocese of Denver is the Roman Catholic Archdiocese for Denver, Colorado and the Colorado counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Jefferson, Larimer, Logan and Weld in the northern part of the state. The Archdiocese's home is at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate...
paid a settlement of $5.5 million dollars to 18 claims of alleged sexual abuse perpetrated by two clerics between the years of 1954 and 1981.
Archdiocese of Dubuque
In 2006 the Archdiocese settled a number of claims of sexual abuse, and the Archbishop offered a personal apology.
Diocese of Fall River
Father James Porter was a Roman Catholic priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
who was convicted of molesting 28 children; He admitted sexually abusing at least 100 of both sexes over a period of 30 years, starting in the 1960s. Bishop Sean O'Malley settled 101 abuse claims and initiated a zero-tolerance policy against sexual abuse. He also instituted one of the first comprehensive sexual abuse policies in the Roman Catholic Church.
Diocese of Honolulu
Reverend Joseph Bukoski, III, SS.CC., Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
, a member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and of the Perpetual Adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar is a Roman Catholic religious order of brothers, priests, and nuns...
was canonically removed in 2003 as the pastor of Maria Lanakila Catholic Church
Maria Lanakila Catholic Church
Maria Lanakila Catholic Church is a parish of the Roman Catholic Church of Hawaii in the United States. Located in Lahaina on the island of Maui, the church falls under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Honolulu and its bishop. The parish has a mission in Kapalua under the title of the Sacred...
in Lahaina by Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo
Francis X. DiLorenzo
Francis Xavier DiLorenzo is a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Honolulu in Hawaii, and is currently the twelfth bishop of the Diocese of Richmond in Virginia.-Early life and career:...
for allegations relating to sexual improprieties some 30 years earlier. Fr. Bukoski issued a written public apology to his victim on November 12, 2005.
Reverend Mr. James "Ron" Gonsalves, Wailuku, Hawaii
Wailuku, Hawaii
Wailuku is a census-designated place in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 12,296 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Maui County.Wailuku is located just west of Kahului, at the mouth of the Īao Valley...
, Gonsalves the administrator of Saint Ann Roman Catholic Church in Waihee, Maui, pleaded guilty on May 17, 2006 to several counts of sexual assault on a 12-year-old male. Bishop Clarence Richard Silva
Clarence Richard Silva
Clarence Richard Silva, popularly known as Larry Silva , is a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the fifth Bishop of Honolulu, appointed by Pope Benedict XVI on May 17, 2005, to oversee the Diocese of Honolulu. Previous to his appointment to the epicopacy, he served as a diocesan priest...
has permanently withdrawn his faculties and has initiated laicization proceedings against Deacon Gonsalves with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition , and after 1904 called the Supreme...
.
Archdiocese of Los Angeles
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the archdiocese comprises the California counties of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura. The diocesan cathedral is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the...
agreed to pay out 60 million dollars to settle 45 lawsuits it still faces over 450 other pending cases. According to the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, 22 priests were involved in the settlement with cases going back as far as the 1930s. 20 million dollars of this was paid by the insurers of the archdiocese. The main administrative office of the archdiocese is due to be sold to cover the cost of these and future law suits. The archdiocese will settle about 500 cases for about $600 million.
Diocese of Memphis
The Diocese of Memphis
Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis is a Roman Catholic diocese in Tennessee. It was founded on June 20, 1970, when Pope Paul VI removed the counties in the state west of the Tennessee River from the Diocese of Nashville, which, prior to that time, encompassed the entire state.The diocese is...
reached a $2 million settlement with a man who was abused as a boy by Father Juan Carlos Duran, a priest with a history of sexual misconduct with juveniles in St. Louis, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, and Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
.
Archdiocese of Miami
Since 1966, the Archdiocese of Miami
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami
The Archdiocese of Miami is a particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States of America. Its ecclesiastic territory includes Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties in the U.S. state of Florida. The archdiocese is the metropolitan see for the Ecclesiastical Province of Miami,...
Insurance Programs have paid $26.1 million in settlement, legal, and counseling costs associated with sexual misconduct allegations made by minors involving priests, laity and religious brothers and sisters.
Archdiocese of Milwaukee
A 2003 report on the sexual abuse of minors by clergy in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee revealed that allegations of sexually assaulting minors had been made against 58 ordained men. By early 2009, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee had spent approximately $26.5 million in attorney fees
Attorney's fee
Attorney's fee is a chiefly United States term for compensation for legal services performed by an attorney for a client, in or out of court. It may be an hourly, flat-rate or contingent fee. Attorney fees are separate from fines, compensatory and punitive damages, and from court costs in a...
and settlements. Under Archbishop Timothy Dolan
Timothy Dolan
Timothy Michael Dolan is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He is the tenth and current Archbishop of New York, having previously served as Archbishop of Milwaukee and Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis ....
the archdiocese was able to avoid bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
from lawsuits.
A Wisconsin priest, the Rev. Lawrence C Murphy, who taught at the former St. John School for the Deaf in the Milwaukee suburb of St. Francis, Wisconsin
St. Francis, Wisconsin
St. Francis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2000 census, its population was 8,662. It is the smallest incorporated city in Milwaukee County.-Geography:St. Francis is located at ....
from 1950 to 1974, allegedly molested more than 200 deaf boys. Several U.S. bishops warned the Vatican that failure to act on the matter could embarrass the church. Murphy was moved by then Milwaukee Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
William E Cousins to Superior, Wisconsin
Superior, Wisconsin
Superior is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 26,960 at the 2010 census. Located at the junction of U.S. Highways 2 and 53, it is north of and adjacent to both the Village of Superior and the Town of Superior.Superior is at the western...
, a small city near Lake Superior, where he spent his final 24 years working with children in parishes, schools and a juvenile detention center. He died in 1998. As of March 2010, there were four outstanding lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in the case.
Diocese of Oakland
In 1981, the former Rev. Stephen Kiesle was convicted for tying up and molesting two boys in a California church rectory. From 1981 to 1985, Bishop John Stephen Cummins
John Stephen Cummins
John Stephen Cummins is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Oakland from 1977 to 2003.-Early life and education:...
, who oversaw Kiesle, contacted the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
about defrocking him. Then-cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
, responded by letter that the case needed more time, as it was "necessary to consider the good of the Universal Church" and "the detriment that granting the dispensation" could provoke among the faithful. In 1987, the Vatican defrocked Kiesle. The letter was widely regarded as evidence of Ratzinger's role in blocking the removal of pedophile priests. Vatican officials responded that that interpretation rested on a misreading of the letter, in which the issue was not whether Kiesle should be defrocked but whether he should be granted the dispensation
Dispensation (Catholic Church)
In the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church, a dispensation is the suspension by competent authority of general rules of law in particular cases...
he had requested from the obligation of chastity
Chastity
Chastity refers to the sexual behavior of a man or woman acceptable to the moral standards and guidelines of a culture, civilization, or religion....
. By refusing to grant such a dispensation right away in the Kiesle case, Ratzinger was actually being tough with an abuser, not lax.
Archdiocese of Omaha
During his tenure as the Bishop of Helena, Montana, Archbishop Elden Francis Curtiss chose to reassign a priest who had been accused of pedophilia in 1959, later admitting that he had not properly examined the church's personnel file on the individual concerned. Curtiss faced similar criticism in 2001 in regard to a priest accused of accessing child pornography. Curtiss, it was alleged, had failed to bring the case to the attention of the authorities, and had chosen to send the priest for counseling and to reassign the priest, removing him from his high-school teaching position but reassigning him to a middle-school.
Diocese of Orange, California
On January 3, 2005 Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
Tod Brown of the Diocese of Orange
Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange is a particular church of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church whose territory comprises the whole of Orange County, California, in the United States...
apologized to 87 alleged victims of sexual abuse and announced a settlement of $100 million following two years of mediation.
Diocese of Palm Beach
Joseph Keith Symons resigned as ordinary in 1998 after admitting he molested five boys while he was a pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
.
Diocese of Peoria
Coadjutor Bishop
Coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop is a bishop in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches who is designated to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese, almost as co-bishop of the diocese...
John J. Myers
John J. Myers
-References:...
of Peoria was among the two-thirds of sitting bishops and acting diocese administrators that the Dallas Morning News found had allowed priests accused of sexual abuse to continue working.
In 2005, Rev. Francis Engels pleaded guilty to molesting a Peoria altar boy on trips to Milwaukee in the early 1980s.
Archdiocese of Philadelphia
According to a 2005 investigation, while serving as assistant vicar for administration in 1996, Bishop Cistone was involved with silencing a nun who tried to alert parishioners at St. Gabriel parish about abuse by a priest. According to the report, there were several other instances of priest sexual abuse that Cistone was complicit in covering up. In February 2011, Monsignor William Lynn, former secretary of the clergy for the Philadelphia Archdiocese, was charged with child endangerment, marking the first time that a high-ranking official has been charged since the eruption of sex abuse scandals nearly ten years prior. Lynn was found by a grand jury to have placed pedophiles in posts involving contact with children, which led directly to the sexual assault of two boys. Three priests and one teacher face rape charges.
Diocese of Phoenix
On November 21, 2005, Monsignor Dale Fushek
Dale Fushek
Dale Fushek is the leader of the Praise and Worship Center in Chandler, Arizona and the former Vicar General of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix. In 2005 he was charged with 10 criminal misdemeanor counts related to alleged sexual contact with teens and young adults...
of the Diocese of Phoenix
Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix
-History:The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix in Arizona is a particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. It was established on December 2, 1969 when it was split off of the Diocese of Tucson...
was arrested and charged with 10 criminal misdemeanor counts related to alleged inappropriate sexual contact with teens and young adults.
Archdiocese of Portland
The Archdiocese of Portland
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland
The Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon is an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It encompasses the western part of the state of Oregon, from the summit of the Cascades to the Pacific Ocean...
filed for Chapter 11 reorganization
Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code
Chapter 11 is a chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code, which permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Chapter 11 bankruptcy is available to every business, whether organized as a corporation or sole proprietorship, and to individuals, although it is most...
on July 6, 2004, hours before two abuse trials were set to begin. Portland became the first Catholic diocese to file for bankruptcy. An open letter to the archdiocese's parishioners explained the archbishop's motivation.
Archdiocese of San Antonio
John Salazar was sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting a 18-year-old parishioner.
Diocese of San Diego
On February 27, 2007, the Diocese of San Diego
Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego
The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego is a particular church of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the western region of the United States. Its ecclesiastic territory includes all of San Diego and Imperial Counties in Southern California, with a Catholic population of 1,981,057...
filed for Chapter 11 protection, hours before the first of about 150 lawsuits was due to be heard.
Diocese of Savannah
In October, 2009, the diocese of Savannah paid $4.24 million to settle a lawsuit which alleged that Lessard allowed a priest named Wayland Brown to work in the diocese when Lessard knew that Brown was a serial child molester who posed a danger to children.
Diocese of Spokane
Under Bishop William S. Skylstad
William S. Skylstad
William Stephen Skylstad is an American Roman Catholic Bishop. He is Bishop Emeritus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane in Washington retiring June 30, 2010...
the Diocese of Spokane
Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane
The Diocese of Spokane is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the U.S. state of Washington. Headquartered in Spokane, the diocese encompasses Okanogan, Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Lincoln, Spokane, Adams, Whitman, Franklin, Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin Counties...
declared bankruptcy in December 2004. As part of its bankruptcy, the diocese has agreed to pay at least $48 million as compensation. This payout has to be agreed to by the victims and a judge before it will be made. According to federal bankruptcy judge, Gregg W. Zive, money for the settlement would come from insurance companies, the sale of church property, contributions from Catholic groups and from the diocese's parishes.
Diocese of Stockton
Fr. Oliver O'Grady
Oliver O'Grady
Oliver O'Grady is an Irish former Roman Catholic priest who raped, molested and abused many children in California from 1973 onwards. He wrote a letter of confession to parents in 1976 and a copy was given to the Bishop of Stockton at that time....
molested multiple children in Stockton. The 2006 documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
Deliver Us From Evil
Deliver Us from Evil (2006 film)
Deliver Us from Evil is a documentary film directed by Amy J. Berg which tells the true story of Catholic priest Oliver O'Grady, who admitted to having molested and raped approximately 25 children in Northern California between the late 1970s and early 1990s...
is based on accusations that Bishop Roger Mahony knew that Oliver O'Grady
Oliver O'Grady
Oliver O'Grady is an Irish former Roman Catholic priest who raped, molested and abused many children in California from 1973 onwards. He wrote a letter of confession to parents in 1976 and a copy was given to the Bishop of Stockton at that time....
was an active pedophile.
Diocese of Tucson
The Diocese of Tucson
Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the southwestern region of the United States. It comprises nine counties of the state of Arizona, making it the fifth largest diocese in the continental United States in terms of area...
filed for bankruptcy in September, 2004. It reached an agreement with plaintiffs, which the bankruptcy judge approved on June 11, 2005, specifying terms that included allowing the diocese reorganization to continue in return for a $22.2 million settlement.
Australia
Archdiocese of Sydney- Ross Murrin: Catholic brother pleaded guilty to sexually abusing eight male students.
Archdiocese of Melbourne
There were several cases of sexual abuse in the Melbourne Archdiocese.
- Michael Charles GlennonMichael Charles GlennonMichael Charles Glennon is a convicted Australian child molester and former Roman Catholic priest, one of the most notorious clergy sex abuse cases in that country. Glennon ran a youth camp in Lancefield, Victoria, where most of the abuse took place...
: former diocesan priest, sentenced to at least 15 years in jail for sexually abusing four Aboriginal boys between 1984 and 1991.
- Gerry Francis RidsdaleGerry Francis RidsdaleGerald Francis Ridsdale is a convicted child molester who abused children while working as a Catholic priest.-Early life:Gerald Francis Ridsdale was born at St Arnaud, Victoria, in western Victoria, the eldest of eight children...
: convicted in 1994, he pled guilty on 46 sexual offenses.
- Wilfred James Baker: sentenced to four years in prison (parole after 2 years) for crimes involving eight boys.
- David Daniel: sentenced to six years jail, with parole after 4.5 years, for molesting four boys, a girl and an adult male.
- Rex Elmer: sentenced in 1998 to five years jail (with parole after 3 years 4 months) for molesting 12 boys at St Vincent's orphanage in South Melbourne.
- Paul Pavlou: convicted on 29 June 2009 of committing an indecent act with a child under 16 and of being knowingly in possession of child pornography. He was sentenced to an 18 month jail sentence suspended for 24 months and to a two-year community based order. He was registered on the Sex Offenders Register for 15 years. These offences occurred in 2005-2006 while he was the priest at Healesville in the Archdiocese of Melbourne.
- John Ayres SDB: The Salesian Order is alleged to have had an Australian victim sign a secrecy agreement and paid him compensation in 2000 in regard to allegations about Ayer's actions.
- Francis Klep SDB: convicted of indecent assault in 1994, and charged with an additional five counts. He moved to Samoa, but in 2004 the Samoan government made moves to deport him from the country after becoming aware of the previous conviction and charges.
New Zealand
The abuse scandal at the Marylands School is an important chapter in the clerical abuse affairs in New Zealand.Argentina
- Julio Grassi was found guilty (by a three-judge panel of the Criminal Court Oral 1 Morón) of one count of sexual abuse and one count of corrupting a minor in the “Happy Children’s Foundation”.
Archdiocese of Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz
Allegations of sexual abuse on 47 young seminarists
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
surfaced in 1994.
Brazil
Diocese of AnápolisAnápolis
Anápolis is the third largest city in the State of Goiás in Brazil. It lies in the center of a rich agricultural region and has become a leader in food processing and pharmaceutical plants.-Location and population:...
- Fr. Tarcísio Tadeu Spricigo was arrested after his checklist for choosing victims was found and given to police. He had molested children in at least five parishes. The case was one of those featured in an episode of the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Panorama documentary series titled Sex Crimes and the Vatican and became an example of the Vatican's policies regarding pedophile priests. In November 2005 he was sentenced to a prison term of over 14 years. - Fr. Felix Barbosa Carreiro was arrested and charged with child sexual abuse in the northeastern state of Maranhão after police seized him in a hotel room with four teenage boys.
Archdiocese of Penedo
- In 2010 Authorities in Brazil began an investigation into three priests after a video allegedly showing a priest sexually abusing an altar boy was broadcast on the SBT television station.
Chile
Archdiocese of Santiago- José Andrés Aguirre Ovalle, aka "Cura Tato", was found guilty of nine sexual abuse charges by the highest court of this country. In 2004 Aguirre was sentenced to 12 years in jail. At the beginning of this trial, the Catholic Church was sentenced to pay 50 million in damages to the victims, but then this sentence was revoked by the supreme court.
- Ricardo Muñoz Quinteros, priest of MelipillaMelipillaMelipilla is a Chilean commune and capital city of the province of the same name, located in the Santiago Metropolitan Region southwest of the nation's capital...
, was charged in 2010 with eight cases of sexually abusing minors, including his own daughter. Also, is investigated for producing pronografic material involving children.
- In 2010, the Catholic Church began an investigation into sexual abuse allegedly committed by Fr. Fernando Karadima, after four people came forward with allegations of abuse. He was found guilty and convicted by the Vatican in February 18, 2011. He was sentenced to a life of prayer and penitence, banned from any contact with his ex parishioners and forbidden to perform any priestly ministry in public or private except for mass by himself. He is currently living in a home for seniors where the Archbishop of Santiago put him under the care of some nuns. Karadima still does not acknowledge any wrongdoing after several testimonies helped convict him.
Diocese of Valparaíso
- Eduardo Olivares Martínez, was found guilty of a five sexual abuse against underprivileged minors. In 2006 was sentenced to 3 years in jail and to pay 15 million pesos in damages.
- In 2010, Juan Henríquez Zapata was indicted for using minors for sex services.
Diocese of Rancagua
- Jorge Galaz Espinoza, former Director of El Pequeño Cottolengo, was found guilty of repeated violations against two mentally disabled minors. In 2005 Galaz was sentenced to 15 years in jail.
Diocese of Punta Arenas
- Jaime Low Cabezas, was found guilty of a sexual abuse against a 15 year-old minor. In 2009 Low was sentenced to 3 years in jail.
- Víctor Hugo Carrera, was found guilty of a sexual abuse against one underprivileged minor. In 2005 Carrera was sentenced to 541 days in jail and to pay 2 million pesos in damages to the family of the victim. The case involved the bishopBishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the diocese, who was accused of protecting Carrera and facilitating his escape to Bolivia, where he lived for two years.
Peru
In 2007, Daniel Bernardo Beltrán Murguía Ward, a 42 year-old SCV consecrated layman was found by the National Police in a hostel in Cercado de Lima with a 12 year-old boy, of whom he was taking sexually explicit pictures. The boy was initially lured by Murguía Ward in Miraflores, where he was given PokémonPokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
figures in exchange for photos of his intimate parts. When Murguía Ward was caught, he had paid the boy 20 soles ($7 USD) for his services in the hostel. The police have reported that pictures of two other boys were also found on Murguía Ward's camera and that the boy has claimed he received oral sex from Murguía Ward. These charges have been denied by the accused. Murguía Ward has since been removed from the SCV for his alleged misconduct.