(OPINION) In fact, my strong hunch is that these “under the radar” Christian boarding or reform schools will prove to be the next chapter in the ever-present, still burgeoning clergy abuse crisis. And those of us who’ve long supported such survivors will be called upon again to offer sympathy, consolation and guidance to hundreds of mostly invisible victims who have been violated in circumstances even more extreme than the ones in which we were abused.
Read MoreStatistics compiled by Amnesty International show that there is a culture of stigmatization and victim-blaming towards rape survivors in Nigeria. The result is a large percentage of rape and sexual assaults going unreported. One man is trying to change all that by helping others after experiencing abuse himself as a child.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The public legacy of Pope Francis is secured by elite journalists who shape much of what appears in the mainstream news media. Catholics, however, may have a different view — if they read coverage in alternative news sources — given earlier scandals of the Francis era and now the Rupnik case.
Read MoreA special Monday edition of Weekend Plug-in highlights Sunday’s big news: the release of a 288-page investigative report on sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The focus the past few weeks has been on Germany and the involvement of Benedict XVI in the handling of some abuse cases, decades before he became a key church official in Rome and, eventually, pope. This was also long before the church adopted stricter policies on how to handle cases of clergy sexual abuse.
Read More(OPINION) Jan. 6 means different things to people. This year, the date became a polarizing remembrance of the U.S. Capitol insurrection, riots or whatever else one calls it. For Clemente, this Jan. 6 marked a special anniversary — the 20th anniversary of the groundbreaking Boston Globe “Spotlight” team’s investigation into predator priests.
Read More(REVIEW) A new PBS documentary on the life of Pope Francis that premiered on June 20 presents an hour long overview from his childhood to his papacy. It paints Francis as a reformer of the Catholic Church and a pope who cares greatly for other people.
Read MoreNearly a dozen pastors and church workers in Florida and elsewhere have been charged with possessing child pornography and/or other sex crimes against children in recent months.
Read More(OPINION) A week after the Vatican released its much-anticipated investigation of former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, there remain many unanswered questions. Whether journalists will delve deeply into these unanswered questions remains to be seen.
Read More(OPINION) It’s been 17 years since The Boston Globe published its groundbreaking series on clergy sex abuse. Some two decades later, a political shift in state legislative bodies and fallout from the #MeToo movement have all collided to bring what many warn is a financial reckoning that could cripple the Catholic church in America.
Read MoreWhat next for the church? A few days clearly isn’t enough to heal the deep wound that decades of abuse and inaction have caused. To recap the very busy events of the past few days, here’s a look at five questions to emerge from the Vatican’s summit and how the church hopes to handle cases of clergy sex abuse going forward.
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