This article by Owen Bowcott, legal affairs correspondent appeared on the Guardian website here Sympathy with victims of sexual abuse should not be grounds for courts to extend the law on compensation “infinitely” and impose extra liabilities on employers, the court of appeal has been told. In a test case that could alter relationships between many [...]
Sexual abuse compensation case to test legal limits of church’s liability
May 20, 2012 from Leave a Comment
Irish broadcaster discontinues program that falsely accused priest
April 6, 2012 from Leave a Comment
From: Catholic News Agency (CNA) Dublin, Ireland, Apr 4, 2012 Irish broadcaster RTE has ended its current affairs series “Prime Time Investigates” after a news report last year falsely claimed a missionary priest raped and impregnated a minor in Kenya. The move is part of a “full restructuring” to help program makers at all levels accept [...]
Book Review: Catholic Priests Falsely Accused: The Facts, The Fraud, The Stories. David F. Pierre. CreateSpace Publishers. 2011. 190 pages.
December 20, 2011 from Leave a Comment
Catholic Priests Falsely Accused: The Facts, The Fraud, The Stories. David F. Pierre. CreateSpace Publishers. 2011. 190 pages. David F. Pierre’s newest book, Catholic Priests Falsely Accused: The Facts, The Fraud, The Stories (The Media Report, 2011). The book documents the stories of seven priests who have suffered under the millstone of false witness over the last decade of scandal in [...]
Irish Broadcaster apologises to falsely accused missionary
November 19, 2011 from Leave a Comment
This items appears on the Independent Catholic News website (here) Irish broadcasters RTE have apologised without reservation for false accusing a missionary in Kenya of raping a woman.In a statement, the Irish Missionary Union has welcomed the fact that RTE “has settled the defamation against it and has apologised unreservedly for the defamation inflicted on [...]
Priestly Vulnerability
September 6, 2011 from Leave a Comment
The following article by Dr. Jeff Mirus appears on the Catholic Culture website. The recent news story out of Canada about a man who extorted money from a priest under the threat of a false allegation of sexual abuse reminds me of how vulnerable priests have become in today’s culture. This seems to be true [...]
High profile priest decides to leave priesthood over handling of allegations against him [USA]
June 30, 2011 from Leave a Comment
The Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity said it was “saddened” that Father John Corapi, one of the most visible members of its order, has decided to leave the order and the priesthood. Father Corapi, 64, declared June 17 in a YouTube video and a blog posting on one of his websites, [...]
We should pray for all those clergy falsely accused of sexual abuse
April 11, 2011 from Leave a Comment
There is an interesting article in the Catholic Times (here) written on Thursday, 24 March 2011 by William Oddie concerning abuse allegations made against Priests. Mr Oddie not only draws attention to claims which are are both truthful and claims which are fraudulent but concludes that more clergy than we realise are falsely accused but [...]
Claimants appeal dismissed in Catholic sex abuse case
November 1, 2010 from Leave a Comment
This case in the Court of Appeal Civil Division concerns some 150 or more claimants, who were previously resident at Catholic Children’s homes in the North East, proceeding by way of a group litigation order. There were at least 35 defendants. The issue considered by the Court of Appeal was to what extent were the [...]
Vicar cleared of molesting children over 30 years ago
October 1, 2010 from Leave a Comment
A vicar and former teacher accused of molesting pupils more than 30 years ago has been acquitted by a jury on all counts. The Rev James Wilson was found not guilty by a jury of 16 counts of indecently assaulting children under the age of 13 which he had faced. Canon Wilson, the Rector and [...]
Priest who has been cleared of charges of sexual abuse is taking aim at his bishop – and others – in court.
September 9, 2010 from 2 Comments
From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: A priest at St. Vincent College filed a libel suit Friday in Westmoreland County against officials of the Greensburg Catholic Diocese and St. Vincent College, alleging they falsely accused him of being a pedophile even though he was exonerated by state police. The Rev. Mark Gruber, who is a tenured professor, [...]
Falsely accused Dublin Priest commended for his handling of the case
November 28, 2009 from Leave a Comment
A Dublin priest who was falsely accused of abuse has been commended for the manner in which he handled the case. Of the 46 cases of sexual abuse examined, only one priest was found to be falsely accused. In two other cases there were suspicions or concerns, but no actual complaint of child sexual abuse. [...]
The Commission of Investigation into abuse with Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin publish their report
November 27, 2009 from Leave a Comment
The Report by Commission of Investigation into the handling by Church and State authorities of allegations and suspicions of child abuse against clerics of the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin is published today. The Commission came about because of the RTÉ Prime Time programme Cardinal Secrets, broadcast in October 2002. Produced by Mary Raftery, with Mick Peelo [...]
Religious orders defy call to pay more into child abuse compensation scheme
May 27, 2009 from Leave a Comment
There is a very interesting article in the Times (26th May 2009) by David Sharrock, Ireland Correspondent regarding the Catholic Church in Ireland’s refusal to increase the amount they are agreed to contribute towards the cost of compensating victims of alleged child abuse. The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland has clashed with the religious orders [...]
L.O.V.E. respond to Ryan Report findings
May 23, 2009 from Leave a Comment
Following publication of the Ryan Report L.O.V.E. (Let Our Voices Emerge) have published the following statement. The charity ‘Let Our Voices Emerge’ held an AGM last night. While we have always voiced our support for the Religious Congregations through the years, on foot of what we see are unpreceedented revelations of records that the Catholic [...]
Ryan Commission publish their report
May 20, 2009 from Leave a Comment
The Ryan Commission have published their report into alleged historical abuse at religious institutions in Ireland. It makes grim reading with very little coverage of the extent to which any of the claims made were false. The full report can be downloaded here. View the Executive Summary in accessible HTML format. View the Commission Report in accessible HTML format. [...]
USA clergy pay out billions in compensation
March 14, 2009 from Leave a Comment
The following report on Clergy abuse in the USA appears on the AP website. It shows an increasing trend in awarding compensation and highlights the fact that some churches are not able to meet these claim and are filing for bankruptcy. Catholic dioceses still paying for clergy misdeeds By RACHEL ZOLL – 2 days ago NEW YORK [...]
Catholic Church appoints Lord Nolan to review procedures
September 13, 2000 from Leave a Comment
The Catholic Church in England and Wales yesterday attempted to head off mounting allegations of child sex abuse by priests by calling in Lord Nolan, the former judge who investigated standards in public life for Parliament, to conduct a review of its procedures for dealing with accusations. Guardian