More than 400 people packed into the National Press Club ballroom today for the 2002 Ms Women of the Year event – the first ever to be held in Washington, DC. Hosted by Gloria Steinem, Ms. magazine co-founder; Eleanor Smeal, Feminist Majority Foundation president; and Peg Yorkin, FMF board chair, the event marked the union […]
Argentina’s Congress passed a law recently providing free birth control and advice nationwide. This new law was passed to prevent teen pregnancy, illegal and dangerous abortions, breast and reproductive system cancer, and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), reports the Inter Press Service News Agency (IPS). While the law was passed by the lower […]
Following a Superior Court order issued last week, the Boston Archdiocese on Tuesday publicly released over 2,000 of 11,000 internal documents detailing an undeniable, chronic problem with priest pedophilia over the last three decades. The files reveal a disturbing pattern of prioritizing the church’s reputation over the protection and safety of those vulnerable to priest […]
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston is preparing to file for bankruptcy in a move that could suspend action in pending lawsuits and block new lawsuits by victims of priest sexual abuse. The archdiocese is currently facing suits from up to 450 alleged victims, and lawyers for both sides estimate that settlements could total more […]
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops passed by a wide margin earlier this week its revised sex abuse policy, first passed by the US Bishops last June in Dallas. Criticized by victims groups, the Vatican revisions to the policy remained in the final version, which is expected to receive Vatican approval later this year. The […]
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops meets this week to discuss revisions to its sex abuse policy completed last week by a Vatican-appointed committee. Victims’ support groups argue that the Vatican weakened the US bishops’ policy, removing language supporting immediate removal of priests accused of sexual abuse of minors and the requirement to report all […]
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) later today is expected to announce its selection of Kathleen McChesney the FBI’s highest-ranking woman as Director of its Office of Child and Youth Protection. McChesney, who has served the FBI since 1978 and is currently the Executive Assistant Director for Law Enforcement Services, recently received the National […]
Revisions that weaken a policy on dealing with sexual abuse by priests were released yesterday. Adopted by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in Dallas in June and rejected by the Vatican last month, the new policy was drafted by a Vatican-appointed commission of Church leaders, according to the New York Times. The revised policy […]
Bishop Thomas Daily admitted in testimony made public yesterday to promoting Paul Shanley two decades ago to head a Boston parish, despite knowing that Shanley had openly expressed his approval of sexual relations between men and boys, according to the Boston Globe. Daily is currently the bishop of New York’s Brooklyn Diocese today. Shanley, now […]
After rejecting the US Bishop’s sex abuse policy last week, the Vatican yesterday named eight individuals to the US-Vatican commission, tasked with revising the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.” The American commissioners include Cardinal Francis E. Geroge of Chicago, Archbishop William J. Levada of San Francisco, Bishop Thomas G. Doran of […]
Native American woman activist Charyn Asetoyer met with a group of abortion rights advocates on Capitol Hill today to talk about the dismal state of reproductive healthcare on Indian reservations in the US. As outlined in the Hyde Amendment, the Indian Health Service (IHS) is required by law to provide abortion services to Native American […]
In a formal response issued today, the VaticanÑalluding to ambiguities and conflicts with canon lawÑrejected the sex abuse policy passed last June at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. While details remain undisclosed, various circulating reports indicate that recognitio, or Vatican approval to mandate adoption of the policy, was withheld because of concern that priests […]
In continued efforts to quell the sex-abuse controversy, the Archdiocese of Boston now prohibits new chapters of the Catholic lay group Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) from meeting on church property. In a letter made public on Saturday, Cardinal Bernard Law deemed meetings of the group, founded after the sex-abuse scandal erupted, “inappropriateÉuntil I had […]
The Vatican is currently circulating a draft of a proposal to prevent homosexuals from becoming priests, according to the Washington Post. The document reportedly takes the position that as the Church considers homosexuality as “objectively disordered,” gay men should not be allowed to become priests, according to the Catholic News Service. This would be a […]
John Geoghan, a defrocked Boston priest already accused of sexually abusing 86 young boys, has been named in 17 new lawsuits filed against the Catholic Church for allegedly sexually abusing 17 boysÑages 8 to 15Ñ between 1964 and 1996. The lawsuits also name 20 other clergy members who worked with Geoghan or supervised him including […]
The US House of Representatives passed a bill yesterday that will allow health care providers, including hospitals and health plans, to refuse to perform abortions, offer abortion training, cover abortions or provide medically accurate information about abortions and still receive federal funding. HR 4691, also known as the “Abortion Nondiscrimination Act,” which was partly drafted […]
The victims support group SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) has vowed to fight a subpoena that they argue is meant to intimidate and harass victims of sexual abuse by priests, according to the Boston Globe. Lawyers for the Catholic Diocese of Worcester in Massachusetts have subpoenaed the leaders of SNAP, seeking information […]
The US House of Representatives is scheduled to vote tomorrow on an anti-abortion bill drafted by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops that would permit health care entities to not only prohibit women access to abortion services but also deny women counseling, referral to another provider, and medically appropriate information. HR 4691, also known as […]
In a move aimed to counter the Bush administration’s efforts to hamper stem cell research, Governor Gray Davis plans to sign a bill that will promote stem cell research in the state of California. Davis plans to send a letter to more than 10,000 scientists inviting them to submit research proposals to the state and […]
As the United States continues to experience one of the highest rates of unintended pregnancy in the developed world, support for emergency contraception (EC) is increasing, backed by several studies and prominent doctors. EC prevents pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex. Groups such as the Feminist Majority Foundation are campaigning to win […]
