Posts Tagged Winona Diocese
Settlement in lawsuit over priest abuse is revealed / The New York Times
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on October 14, 2014
Roman Catholic leaders in Minnesota pledged on Monday (Oct. 13) to enact new procedures to help protect children from sexual abuse by the clergy as they revealed some terms of the settlement for a lawsuit brought last year by a man who had been abused by a priest when he was a teenage altar boy.
“Church officials and lawyers for the victim, known only as John Doe 1, described the settlement as a major step forward in how the church handles and investigates reports of sexual abuse. According to the settlement, if the archdiocese receives a claim of sexual abuse, it must alert law enforcement officials and wait until their investigation is complete before beginning its own.”
By Julie Bosman, The New York Times — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Files on Winona Diocese clergy who abused children are made public / Star Tribune
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on October 8, 2014
Long-sealed records of 14 Catholic priests who worked in four high schools and 45 parishes across southern Minnesota were opened to public scrutiny Tuesday (Oct. 7), revealing hundreds of documents indicating that the Diocese of Winona did not report claims of child sex abuse to law enforcement, did not remove offenders from ministry, and continued to financially support the priests even as the patterns of abuse became clear.”
By Jean Hopfensperger, Star Tribune — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Sad Conjunction: Christmas & Child Abuse Reports
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on December 16, 2013
Statement from Voice of the Faithful® national office:
BOSTON, Mass., Dec. 16, 2013 – As Christians look forward to celebrating the birth of Jesus, recent events underscore again the sad story of clergy sex abuse in the Catholic Church:
- The Minnesota Diocese of Winona today released the names of 14 priests credibly accused of child abuse. The priests had been known to the diocese for a decade.
- The Archdiocese of Philadelphia yesterday placed Fr. John Paul on administrative leave pending an investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse. The archdiocese had uncovered additional evidence of abuse since last month, when Fr. Paul resigned after police had investigated him for allegedly abusing minors when he was a seminarian.
- The Archdiocese of Philadelphia also permanently removed five priests from ministry yesterday who had been among 26 priests suspended following the February 2011 grand jury report of its investigation into clergy sexual abuse.
- Archbishop John Nienstedt of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., apologized yesterday for failing to respond promptly to allegations of clergy sexual abuse in his archdiocese, saying in part that he was told seven years ago this whole issue of clerical sex abuse had been “taken care of.”
Like Archbishop Nienstedt, many believe that clergy sex abuse is “in the past.” Vigilance should never be slackened where children are concerned. Nor should bishops and parishioners assume that revelations today all refer to past offenses. They do not. Checks against the actions of pedophiles and ongoing priority for child protection remain essential in the Church as elsewhere.
Voice of the Faithful®: Voice of the Faithful® is a worldwide movement of faithful Roman Catholics working to support survivors of clergy sexual abuse, support priests of integrity and increase the laity’s role in governance and guidance of the Church. More information is at www.votf.org.
Voice of the Faithful
A lay movement for governance reform in the Roman Catholic Church, responding to the clergy sexual abuse scandal and supporting survivors.
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