I’m not passing my parents’ religion on to my kids, but I am teaching their values

My children, a 3-year-girl and a 1-year-old boy, aren’t baptized. Many people take issue with this parenting decision — especially the people I know from my days as a devout, practicing Catholic. Most of the judgment comes through passive-aggressive comments. Some folks, though, have no problem telling me to my face what a great disservice I’m doing my children.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2019/03/28/im-not-passing-my-parents-religion-my-kids-i-am-teaching-their-values/?utm_term=.d192b32d24cc

Nun accused in new sex abuse lawsuit

Two separate sex abuse lawsuits were filed in court against the island's Catholic Church and others, with one allegation against a nun. A.B.C. alleges that around 1958 or 1959 when he was around 12 or 13 years old he was sexually molested and abused by a Catholic Nun. A.B.C., who now lives in Washington state, alleges that when he was a student at Santa Barbara Catholic School, D.E. a nun with the Sisters of Mercy and a teacher would sexually abuse him.

http://www.kuam.com/story/40207987/new-dollar5m-sex-abuse-lawsuit-filed-against-church

Catholic priest who admitted to abusing a boy in Ireland won’t be prosecuted

Rev. Paul Madden was on a mission trip to Ireland when he abused a teenage boy in 1973 Catholic priest Reverend Paul Madden won’t be prosecuted after he admitted to abusing a teenage boy in 1973 while on a mission trip in Ireland. Read More: Bishop Eamon Casey raped his niece (5) and assaulted other children The Clarion Ledger reports that Rev. Madden is amongst a group of clergymen named by the Jackson Diocese in Mississippi as having been “credibly accused of abuse.”

https://www.irishcentral.com/news/catholic-priest-abusing-boy-ireland-wont-be-prosecuted 

Sister of safety: Carmelite nun in charge of efforts to prevent abuse in New Orleans archdiocese

The all-important job of ensuring children have a safe environment in the Archdiocese of New Orleans is the responsibility of a home grown religious educator whose calm demeanor seems to belie her drive to protect minors from child abuse and to show that women must play an important role in the future of the church.

https://www.nola.com/news/2019/03/sister-of-safety-carmelite-nun-in-charge-of-efforts-to-prevent-abuse-in-new-orleans-archdiocese.html 

Member of the Catholic Church, priest abuse survivor react to Pope Francis' new law

On Friday, Pope Francis issued new sex abuse legislation for Vatican personnel and Holy See diplomats that requires the immediate reporting of abuse allegations to Vatican prosecutors, a policy shift aimed at being a model for the Catholic Church worldwide. The mandatory reporting provision marks the first time the Vatican has put into law requirements for Catholic officials to report allegations of sex crimes to police or face fines and possible jail time.

https://krcgtv.com/news/local/member-of-the-catholic-church-priest-abuse-survivor-react-to-pope-francis-new-law 

Hearing Monday on extending time for child sexual assault victims to sue

People who say they were sexually assaulted by Catholic clergy and others but are prohibited from filing lawsuits due to their age are expected to testify before a General Assembly committee Monday in support of a bill that would give them a 26-month window to do so. The Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a public hearing on Senate Bill 3 at 10 a.m. in Room 2C of the Legislative Office Building.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20190328/hearing-monday-on-extending-time-for-child-sexual-assault-victims-to-sue 

Religious orders targeted in New Mexico clergy abuse case

Religious orders once associated with a now-shuttered Catholic boarding school for Native Americans are being accused of failing to protect students from sexual abuse by clergy and faculty. An Ohio-based order of Franciscan Friars and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, headquartered in Pennsylvania, are named as defendants in a lawsuit filed this week in a New Mexico court by a team of lawyers that has represented dozens of abuse survivors over the years.

https://www.sfgate.com/news/education/article/Religious-orders-targeted-in-New-Mexico-clergy-13725481.php 

Taking stock of the clergy sexual abuse crisis: Holding bishops accountable

When people were first confronted with the extent of Catholic priests’ sexual abuse of children, they were angry. But when, in the early 2000s, they learned that their bishops knew about the abuse and did little to stop it, Catholics and even the wider public were outraged. As the crisis has rolled on, the demand that the bishops be held accountable for not reporting the abuse to the police, for keeping these priests in ministry and for not protecting children has become the focus of state and church inquiries, from the Vatican to attorney general offices across the U.S.

https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/signs-times/taking-stock-clergy-sexual-abuse-crisis-holding-bishops-accountable

Idaho prides itself on personal freedoms, but one child bride explains how her parents' freedom cost her dearly

Angel Dwyer's family came to North Idaho for the beautiful log cabin home they were able to buy in the middle of nowhere, not too far from the pristine waters of Priest Lake. They came because Idaho is a place known for respecting personal freedoms. They came because they knew people wouldn't ask questions. Questions like: How old is Angel? And how old is her husband?

https://www.inlander.com/spokane/idaho-prides-itself-on-personal-freedoms-but-one-child-bride-explains-how-her-parents-freedom-cost-her-dearly/Content?oid=17087821 

28 Priests, Brothers Credibly Accused in Kansas Diocese

Allegations of clergy sexual abuse have been substantiated against 28 priests or religious brothers in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salina in central Kansas. in cases mostly stemming from the 1950s to the 1980s, according to investigations by church officials. Bishop Gerald Vincke on Friday released the names of 14 credibly accused priests after a county prosecutor, who's now a judge, audited the clergy files and a lay committee reviewed the findings. The other 14 clergy members were Capuchin brothers from two separate provinces that completed their own inquiries.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/kansas/articles/2019-03-29/kansas-diocese-ids-14-priests-credibly-accused-of-abuse 

Religious orders targeted in New Mexico clergy abuse case

Religious orders once associated with a now-shuttered Catholic boarding school for Native Americans are being accused of failing to protect students from sexual abuse by clergy and faculty. The lawsuit naming an Ohio-based order of Franciscan Friars and the Pennsylvania-based Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament was filed this week in a New Mexico court by a law firm that has represented dozens of abuse survivors over the years.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/education/article/Religious-orders-targeted-in-New-Mexico-clergy-13725481.php 

Church policy on funerals fits a long pattern of concealment

Was it sensitivity to the victims of sexual abuse or another slap in their faces? The history of the Catholic Church and the Buffalo Diocese practically shouts the latter. And if it wasn’t, then it’s at least a lesson in the price of holding terrible secrets. The question is how the local church went about acknowledging the deaths of priests credibly accused of molesting children. The 2013 policy implemented by Bishop Richard J. Malone handled those deaths differently from those of other priests, denying the use of the title “Reverend” or “Father” in death notices – though allowing it on gravestones – and prohibiting a Mass of Christian Burial in the parishes where those priests had been assigned.

https://buffalonews.com/2019/03/26/editorial-church-policy-on-funerals-fits-a-long-pattern-of-concealment/