Cardinal Roger Mahony forced as many as a dozen priests suspected in cases of sex abuse in the Los Angeles Archdiocese to retire or to suspend their duties. While Mahony has publicly stated that it is the policy of the Archdiocese to “cooperate fully with civil reporting procedures governing sexual abuse,” the LA Times reports […]
Convicted of sexually molesting a 10 year-old boy in 1991, defrocked Boston priest John Geogan was sentenced yesterday to 9-10 years in Massachusetts state prison. At his sentencing, Judge Sandra Hamlin stated, “This man hid behind his collar,” and called Geoghan’s action “reprehensible” and “depraved.” Geoghan, who denied the charges against him, had previously been […]
A group of anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) in New York filed motions in court last week attempting to avoid disclosing their records to the New York Attorney General’s office. In January, New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer issued 34 subpoenas to CPCs in the state after receiving complaints from residents regarding misrepresentation of services […]
The Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire last week released the names of 14 priests suspected of sexually abusing children over the span of two decades to local prosecutors. Meanwhile, the Dioceses of Worcester, Massachusetts and Portland, Maine have recently announced that they would disclose the names of pedophile priests to parishioners, and the New York […]
Returning from a week-long trip to the Vatican, Cardinal Bernard Law of the Roman Catholic Boston Archdiocese announced yesterday that he has no plans to resign after knowingly allowing alleged pedophiles to remain in their posts as priests for decades. Of his refusal to resign, Law said, “I think that it would not serve the […]
During an ongoing review of church personnel records, the Boston Archdiocese identified at least 60 priests who have allegedly molested and abused children over the span of forty years. The names of these priests have been turned over to civil authorities and 38 names have been forwarded to a total of six district attorney offices. […]
As parishioners’ calls continue for the resignation of Cardinal Law, because of a massive pedophilia scandal in the Massachusetts archdiocese, a diocese in Tucson, AZ has quietly settled a civil lawsuit in which several families claim the Tucson diocese tried to cover up allegations of sexual abuse by Msgr. Robert Trupia and 3 other priests […]
Amid increasing reports of pedophilia among Boston-area priests and the revelation that high-ranking officials in the Catholic church had long-standing knowledge of such abuse, Catholic parishioners are calling for Boston’s highest ranking Catholic official, Cardinal Bernard Law, to resign. At a news conference last week, Cardinal Law, a staunch opponent of abortion and women’s rights, […]
Nurse Maria do Ceu Ribeiro was sentenced to eight years and six months in jail for providing abortions in Portugal where abortion is illegal except in cases of rape and in cases where pregnancy poses a serious risk to the woman. Seventeen women were also on trial for having abortions. While charges against one woman […]
Kevin E. Iguabita, a Roman Catholic priest, was arrested on Monday for allegedly raping a 15-year old girl twice in the rectory of the All Saints Church in Haverhill, Massachusetts where he served as parochial vicar. According to the victim, Iguabita made several sexual advances on her before assaulting her in 2000 at the church. […]
Scandalized by public outcry over widespread pedophilia and sexual abuse committed by Catholic clergy, Pope John Paul II issued a directive ordering the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith to set up guidelines for handling the problem. The Congregation determined that priests suspected of pedophilia must be tried in secret ecclesiastical courts presided over […]
A community health bill was dropped late Wednesday night after anti-choice lawmakers added language that would have allowed hospitals and health plans to adopt a “conscience clause” to opt out of providing abortion services and referrals based on religious or moral objections. After being contacted by several Catholic groups, the rider was initiated by House […]
Pope John Paul last week apologized to those who were victims of sexual abuse and rape committed by clergy members, including priests. The Pope specifically made reference to the sexual abuse of nuns in developing nations. The apology was one paragraph in a 120-page document posted on the Internet regarding a synod of bishops from […]
Feminist Majority Foundation Calls on Attorney General to Publicly Condemn Domestic Terrorist Act Washington, DC. Less than one month after more than 250 abortion providers received anthrax threats, a new round of threats were sent yesterday to some 200 reproductive health clinics and several abortion-rights advocacy organizations, including the Feminist Majority Foundation, Center for Reproductive […]
Seventeen Portugese women accused of having illegal abortions and twenty-six others accused of aiding the illegal abortions have gone to trial and are now facing jail sentences of up to three years. Pro-choice supporters in Portugal, a country heavily influenced by the Roman Catholic Church, have criticized the proceedings claiming that the law encouraged the […]
As the first anniversary of the FDA approval of mifepristone approaches, the National Abortion Federation (NAF) and Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) report widespread satisfaction from abortion providers offering mifepristone and patients seeking this non-surgical form of early abortion. Both NAF and PPFA, who collectively represent more than 1, 000 abortion facilities nationwide report […]
In a possible attempt to distance the Catholic Church from militant anti-abortion groups, New York Cardinal Edward Egan has asked Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, to step down and resume his position at the Archdiocese of New York. In the past, Pavone and Priests for Life have been linked to and […]
President George W. Bush’s choice of John Klink for head of the State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration may be in jeopardy. Klink, a Roman Catholic and longtime relief worker, is a staunch anti-abortion activist who has argued not only against abortion but against emergency contraception (also known as the “morning-after pill”) and […]
A friend in the sisters of Loretto told me after a trip to Ghana in the early 1990s that sisters there reported that priests forced them to have sex before they were allowed to receive grants from groups abroad. Many of us in the Catholic community had heard these kinds of stories before, but it […]
Despite new signs that HIV infection rates may be rising in the U.S. and continue to rise worldwide, religious leaders are denouncing efforts to stop the spread of the disease through condom education and distribution. The Catholic Church has condemned the use of condoms because, according to the Vatican, prophylactics act as contraceptives and promote […]
