The attorneys general of New York and New Jersey both announced on Sept. 6 that they have started investigations into allegations of sexual abuse by clergy in Catholic diocese in their states. New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood subpoenaed all eight Roman Catholic dioceses in the state in an effort to collect documents relating to […]

Pope Francis has offered “silence and prayer” in response to allegations that he not only covered up but promoted a Washington-based cardinal accused of having sexual relations with “generations of seminarians and priests.” “With people who lack goodwill, with people who seek only scandal, who seek only division, who seek only destruction, even within the family: [there […]

Allegations of sexual abuse have surfaced against Roman Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Lincoln in Nebraska, the latest in a series of scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church in the United States. In the past few weeks, a number of accusers have come forward alleging sexual abuse and misconduct. According to the Associated […]

SYDNEY—The Catholic church in Australia on Aug. 31 rejected laws forcing priests to report child abuse when they learn about it in the confessional, setting the stage for a showdown between the country’s biggest religion and the government. The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC), the country’s top Catholic body, said it did not accept a […]

Pope Francis on Aug. 26 said he “will not say a single word” about claims made by a former Vatican ambassador that he covered up sexual-abuse allegations against then-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of the United States. The claims, outlined in an 11-page letter by Carlo Maria Viganò, a former Vatican ambassador to the United States, describe […]

An ex-Vatican ambassador to the United States claims that Pope Francis was aware of allegations of sexual abuse against former U.S. archbishop Cardinal Theodore McCarrick for years but took no action and tried to cover it up. Former apostolic nuncio Carlo Maria Viganò, 77, wrote in a lengthy 11-page written statement dated Aug. 22 that he […]

DUBLIN—The Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, withdrew on Aug. 18 from next week’s World Meeting of Families in Dublin, the second senior cleric to pull out of the Roman Catholic event amid clerical sexual abuse scandals in the United States. The meeting, a major congress held every three years, will be closed by Pope Francis during the […]