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Clergy abuse

The flag of Vatican City. / Andreas Duren/CNA.

Pope Francis Laicizes Toledo Priest after Life Sentence for Sexual Abuse of Minors

Mar 19, 2024

Pope Francis has laicized an Ohio priest, Michael Zacharias, who was convicted on five counts of sex trafficking by a federal jury in Ohio last May. 

Pope Francis joines the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in prayer at the Vatican on March 7, 2024. | Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis to Clergy Abuse Commission: "Our commitment must not wane"

Mar 7, 2024

“I encourage you to move forward so that the Church will be, always and everywhere, a place where everyone can feel at home,” Pope Francis said. 

Sculpture of St. Peter outside of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. | Credit: Unsplash

Vatican Appeals Court Sentences Priest to Prison for Sexual Abuse of Teen

Jan 24, 2024

Father Gabriele Martinelli was accused of forcing the former altar server, identified as L.G., to have sexual relations with him between 2007 and 2012.

Father Hans Zollner. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez / ACI Prensa

Celibacy is not a Direct Cause of Sexual Abuse, Jesuit Expert Says

Sep 29, 2023

The psychologist said that “celibacy is not a direct cause of abuse; what can become a risk factor is a ministry poorly lived and not fully accepted.” 

Prior to a private meeting with survivors later in the day, Pope Francis addressed the clergy sex abuse scandal in his address during a vespers service in Lisbon, Portugal, on Aug. 2, 2023. | Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Pope Meets with Clerical Abuse Survivors, Urges Church to Hear Victims’ "anguished cry"

Aug 3, 2023

Pope Francis met with 13 survivors of clerical sex abuse on his first day in Portugal and urged the Church to listen to “the anguished cry of the victims.”

Pope Francis invited young people from Portugal to join him in the window of the Apostolic Palace for the World Youth Day announcement in October 2022. | Vatican Media

Pope Francis Expected to Meet with Abuse Victims at World Youth Day in Portugal

Jul 21, 2023

Pope Francis is set to meet with victims of sexual abuse when he travels to Portugal for World Youth Day next month.

Pope Francis speaks at the general audience in Vatican City's Paul VI Hall on Feb. 22, 2023. | Vatican Media

Pope Francis Extends Norms to Prevent, Counter Sexual Abuse to Cover Lay Leaders

Mar 25, 2023

Pope Francis permanently decreed Saturday an updated version of Vos estis lux mundi, his landmark legislation to counter sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. 

Theodore McCarrick. U.S. Institute of Peace / CC BY NC 2.0

Former American Cardinal Faces Fifth Civil Sex Abuse Lawsuit

Jul 31, 2021

Former cardinal Theodore McCarrick now faces a fifth civil sex abuse lawsuit in New Jersey, after he was criminally charged in a Massachusetts district court this week for sexually assaulting a teenage boy.

Theodore McCarrick before his laicization. Copyright Mazur_catholicchurch.org.uk

Former American Cardinal Criminally Charged with Sexual Assault of Teenage Boy

Jul 29, 2021

Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has reportedly been charged with sexual assault of a teenage boy, a crime alleged to have occurred in the 1970s.