Recent News

12/31/2007
Lawsuit against bishops halted, Hudson family vows to fight on
A judge dismissed the suit seeking names of priests suspected of sex abuse. It stemmed from two killings in 2002 at a funeral home.

12/31/2007
Sex Abuse Scandal Catches Up with Religious Orders
When it comes to sexual abuse, the religious orders have flown under the radar.


12/21/2007
Hon. Eugene D. Harrington's Decision on the O'Connell Case


12/21/2007
Hon. Eugene D. Harrington's letter


12/18/2007
Church's admission of sexual abuse not enough, accuser says
A man who was an altar boy at a Southside parish 30 years ago finally heard the Archdiocese of Indianapolis publicly acknowledge Monday that his former priest was a molester.

12/18/2007
'Con man' posing as deacon accused of sexual abuse
The Archdiocese, which is named in the lawsuit filed in Ramsey County, says the man was never a clergyman.

12/17/2007
Monroe Redacted Deposition


12/17/2007
Monroe Redacted Deposition Exhibits


12/14/2007
Ex-priest admits abusing boys
In deposition, Harry Monroe describes using drugs, playing sex games while serving in Indianapolis Archdiocese

12/4/2007
Diocese in Iowa Settles With Abuse Victims for $37 Million
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, has reached a $37 million settlement to compensate victims of sexual abuse by clergy members and let the diocese emerge from bankruptcy, the two sides announced yesterday.

11/28/2007
Proposal Would Change Deadline For Sexual Abuse Lawsuits
Pair Plans To Put Forward Bill Next Month

11/28/2007
Bill would allow lawsuits in old sexual abuse cases
It also would end statutes of limitation

11/24/2007
Lawsuits alleging abuse are nearer to trial
The boys called them the party priests.

11/19/2007
More sexual abuse allegations surface against former priest
Allegations that the Rev. Aaron Cote sexually abused two young Massachusetts boys, though reported to police more than a year ago, were never mentioned in a local lawsuit against the former Montgomery County priest's religious order that was settled this summer.

11/16/2007
LA judge dismisses second suit against Mexican cardinal
A judge dismissed a lawsuit Friday that accused Mexico City Cardinal Norberto Rivera of conspiring with Roman Catholic officials in the United States to shelter an a suspected pedophile priest.

11/15/2007
McGuire: Jesuits 'can't abandon me.'
The convicted sexual abuser Rev. Donald McGuire plans to fight the Jesuits' decision to dismiss him from the order.

11/13/2007
Former priest faces sexual abuse civil suit
A former Lafayette Catholic priest is the target of a sexual abuse civil suit. Though he no longer wears the Roman collar, he still works with youth and adults in Indiana.

11/13/2007
Cardinal: Sex-abuse bill 'about money'
CATHOLIC CHURCH | Letter to victim's parents attacks proposed state law

11/10/2007
Former Lafayette priest accused of molestation continues counseling
Therapist Charles Cichanowicz of West Lafayette will keep his job at the Alpine Counseling Center in Lafayette although he is being sued in a civil court for alleged child molestation

11/8/2007
37-year-old alleges sexual abuse by priest
A 37-year-old Navajo from Shiprock this week did something no other Navajo has ever done - take a Catholic priest to tribal court on allegations of sexual abuse.

11/8/2007
Watchdog group highlights accused priest's movements
Barbara A. Blaine, president of the Chicago-based group, said, "Our concern is that (Cote) comes to this community and is walking the street, and nobody is monitoring him."

11/7/2007
Priest gets bail in abuse charges
Jesuit given home confinement over prosecutors' pleas

11/7/2007
Abbott Klassen responds to review board criticism
A St. John's Abbey priest whose role on a review board brought criticism last month hasn't served on the board since early 2007, according to a letter issued this week by the leader of St. John's Abbey in Collegeville.

11/3/2007
Convicted Priest Faces New Abuse Charge
A retired Jesuit priest convicted of molesting two boys was taken into custody Friday on a charge that he molested a boy he took on a trip to Switzerland and Austria seven years ago, prosecutors announced.

11/3/2007
Prominent Jesuit Is Target of New Federal Charges
A prominent Jesuit priest accused of sexually victimizing teenage boys who were his valets as he traveled the world leading Roman Catholic spiritual retreats was taken into federal custody yesterday in Chicago.

10/27/2007
Lawyer to Abbey: Follow settlement


10/26/2007
Accused abuser gets promoted & put on sex abuse review board
Whistleblower/victim says St. John's violates promises of 2002 agreement

Support group wants one top official to resign and another to apologize for 'recklessness'

10/24/2007
Is he 'the most dangerous priest in America'?
Priest convicted of child molestation accused of abusing 2 more boys

10/17/2007
Suit Dismissed Against Mexican Cardinal
A judge dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday against Mexico City Cardinal Norberto Rivera, who had been accused of conspiring with Roman Catholic officials in the U.S. to transfer a priest accused of sexual abuse

10/17/2007
Ruling may end abuse suit against prelates
A judge says he has no authority to decide whether Catholic cardinals conspired to protect a sex abuse suspect.


10/3/2007
Unforgiven
The diocese of New Ulm knew Father David Roney was a pedophile when it sent him to live among orphan schoolchildren in Guatemala

10/1/2007
Mahony denies warning on priest
L.A. cardinal denies knowing 'code' Mexico City cleric says was an alert

9/26/2007
Area diocese to pay its biggest settlement in an alleged priest sex abuse case
The Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph this week agreed to pay an Independence man $225,000, its biggest settlement ever in a case of alleged priest sexual abuse.

9/7/2007
Calif. diocese to settle sex cases for $198 million.
San Diego Catholics reach deal to settle 144 clergy abuse claims

9/6/2007
Judge pushes San Diego diocese to settle
When the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego filed for bankruptcy six months ago, it hoped to find shelter from potentially embarrassing and costly lawsuits from people claiming they were sexually abused by priests.

8/30/2007
Catholic Church Scandal Unpriestly acts prompt more calls for action
Documents released by the Los Angeles archdiocese this week shine more light on cover-ups by high-ranking church officials to protect priests accused of sexual abuse from prosecution.

8/24/2007
Dominicans to Pay Man $1.2 Million in Lawsuit
A group of Catholic friars has agreed to pay $1.2 million to a 20-year-old man who accused a one-time Washington area priest of sexual abuse when the man was a teenager and living in Germantown.

8/24/2007
Order Settles Md. Abuse Suit for $1.2M
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A former altar boy who accused a Roman Catholic priest of molesting him more than five years ago has reached a $1.2 million settlement with the priest's religious order, according to the man's parents and attorneys.

8/24/2007
Urbana family settles priest abuse case for $1.2 million
The parents of a local man who said a Catholic priest abused him as a teen announced Thursday that the Rev. Aaron Joseph Cote's Dominican order has agreed to a $1.2 million settlement in the case.

8/23/2007
Pictures of Brandon Rains and Cote


8/23/2007
Brandon Rains PRESS RELEASE 8/23/07


8/23/2007
Ruling bolsters fight against ex-priest


8/23/2007
Cote's Time Line


8/22/2007
Abuse suit names priest, a convicted child molester
Claims abuse at Evanston Jesuit residence

8/22/2007
New Accusations Against Priest Convicted of Sexual Abuse
A Jesuit priest convicted last year of sexually abusing two teenage boys about 40 years ago is facing new accusations of abuse.

8/21/2007
Mother Teresa's Spiritual Advisor Is Sued For Recent Child Sex Abuse
Just four years ago, one of America's highest-profile priests was living with and repeatedly molesting a teenager, according to a new civil lawsuit being filed today and discussed at a news conference.

8/21/2007
Four women ask court to amend lawsuit, allow punitive damages related to alleged abuse by Roney
Four women, who were allegedly sexually abused by the Rev. David A. Roney while they were children, are asking the court to allow them to seek punitive damages in a lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese of New Ulm, St. Francis Parish in Benson and St. Mary's Parish in Willmar.

8/21/2007
Complaint filed against The Chicago Province of The Society of Jesus a/k/a The Jesuits and Father Donald J. McGuire, S.J.


8/20/2007
Reno Diocese Paid Over 300-Thousand Dollars For Sex Abuse Case
According to a published report today, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Reno has paid 328,000 dollars to settle claims of sexual abuse made by at least seven people against local priests.

8/19/2007
Lawmaker wants to give abuse victims time to sue
In most states, including Nevada, victims of sexual abuse by priests are unable to collect large financial settlements from local Catholic dioceses because most cases date back to the 1960s and 1970s and the statute of limitations for filing civil complaints has expired.

8/15/2007
Plaintiffs' Memorandum of Law In Support of Motion to Amend Complaint to Revise Fiduciary Fraud Count and to Add Punitive Damages


8/8/2007
Mexican cardinal deposed in case filed in Los Angeles
Mexico's most prominent cardinal was deposed Wednesday in a Los Angeles lawsuit accusing him of complicity in the alleged rape of a child by a Mexican priest.

7/19/2007
Complaint filed against Archdiocese of Milwaukee

7/19/2007
First new fraud lawsuit since last week's landmark ruling will be filed Thursday against Milwaukee archdiocese
Plaintiff was raped at St. Phillip's parish after Milwaukee archdiocesan officials accepted Fr. Bruce MacArthur's transfer from South Dakota with history of victim reports and failed treatment efforts

7/17/2007
Vatican: Sex abuse not just a Catholic problem
Spokesman says church aims to be a protagonist ^TM against pedophilia

7/17/2007
Alleged abuse victims conflicted over deal
Los Angeles Archdiocese agrees to landmark $660 million settlement

7/15/2007
L.A. cardinal apologizes for sex abuse
'It should not have happened,' Mahony says

7/12/2007
Ore. court rules against church's bid to keep finances secret
The Oregon Supreme Court rejected an effort by the Mormon church to withhold financial information from the lawyers for a man who claims a "home teacher" frequently molested him about 20 years ago.

7/11/2007
Court rules plaintiffs can sue Archdiocese in clergy abuse cases
The Wisconsin Supreme Court today cracked open the doors to the courthouse for plaintiffs who say they were sexually abused as children by clergy.

6/1/2007
Collaring the Clergy
Jeffrey Anderson goes global with his pursuit of pedophiles

2/4/2007
Legal Legacy
This year marks the fifth anniversary of The Boston Globe's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of clergy sexual abuse.

1/28/2007
He Inspires Fear in the Church, Hope for Victims
Own experiences help drive a St. Paul lawyer in his high-profile quest to expose clergy abuse

1/28/2007
Abusive Priest Slipped Under Radar
For years Thomas Adamson's kindly face was a familiar sight at Oakwood Villa nursing home, assisting with activities for elderly residents and offering the caring, personal touch of a priest.

12/2/2006
Archdiocese in Los Angeles Settles Claims of Sex Abuse
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 1 - The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to a $60 million settlement of claims by 45 people against clergymen who had sexually abused them as children, the archdiocese announced Friday.

11/23/2006
Man Files Sex-abuse Suit Against Priest
A former altar boy filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Duluth accusing a retired priest of molesting him and accusing the bishop of the Superior Diocese of taking no action on several complaints about the priest.

10/23/2006
Isle Bishop Named in Suit
Honolulu Catholic Bishop Larry Silva is one of 178 American bishops named in a lawsuit that seeks disclosure of the names of 5,000 Catholic priests identified as child molesters, with the action taken against each one by their bishops.

10/21/2006
Accused Priest Flees From Law in U.S. and Mexico
TEHUACÁN, Mexico - For two decades, dozens of children have accused the Rev. Nicolás Aguilar of molesting or brutally raping them. He faces an indictment charging sexual abuse in Los Angeles and at least five formal complaints in Mexico. Yet at 65 he remains at large, still working as a priest in villages here.

10/11/2006
All Catholic Bishops Across U.S. Named in Lawsuit Filed by Wisconsin Family
MADISON, Wis. -- Bishop Robert J. Carlson, head of the Saginaw Catholic Diocese, is one of 178 bishops fighting a lawsuit the family of a Wisconsin man has filed.

10/11/2006
Survivor Tries to Break Barriers on Priest Scandal
Eric Barragan is working to lift cultural taboos among Latinos against reporting clergy abuse

10/7/2006
Film on Pedophile Priest Revives Focus on Cardinal
A documentary film featuring an extraordinarily candid interview with a former priest convicted of molesting children has heightened interest among law enforcement officials here in considering a criminal case against Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, says a prosecutor who has been investigating sexual abuse cases involving priests.

10/2/2006
Documentary: Priest and Predator
Oct. 9, 2006 issue - "Deliver Us From Evil," a gripping new documentary opening in theaters next week, profiles Father Oliver O'Grady, a convicted pedophile who spent 22 years molesting children in parishes throughout California, where he served as their priest.

9/30/2006
Mexican Bishops Calls U.S. Lawsuit Against Cardinal a "Media Scandal"
MEXICO CITY The Mexican Bishops' Conference on Friday criticized a Los Angeles-based lawsuit accusing Mexico's most prominent cardinal of covering up for a fugitive priest, saying it has generated an "unjust media scandal."

9/29/2006
Archbishop Here Served With Suit Seeking Names of Abusive Priests
Archbishop Daniel DiNardo of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston was named in a civil suit seeking the release of the names of about 5,000 abusive priests nationwide.

9/27/2006
Mexican Police Search for Accused Priest
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Police in the Mexican state of Puebla began searching Tuesday for a Roman Catholic priest accused of molesting children in Los Angeles, officials said.

9/27/2006
Fresno Bishop Named in Lawsuit
Family seeks the names of abusive priests.

9/21/2006
Suit Targets Bishops on Sex Claims
The family of a Wisconsin man murdered after he planned to confront a Roman Catholic priest about child molestation has sued 177 of the nation's Catholic bishops to force public disclosure of accused priests.

9/21/2006
Attorney Attacked at Mexican News Conference on Clergy Sex Abuse
St. Paul attorney Jeff Anderson says the problem of clergy sex abuse is much worse in Mexico than in the United States.

9/21/2006
Sex Abuse Victim Under Fire from Catholic Church
MEXICO CITY, Sep 21 (IPS) - Joaquín Aguilar has been seeking justice since 1994, when he says he was sexually abused by a Roman Catholic priest in Mexico who is accused of molesting some 60 other boys as well.

9/21/2006
Names Sought in Sex-abuse Lawsuit
Green Bay bishop asked to disclose priest IDs in case

9/20/2006
Cardinal in Mexico Accused of Cover-up
Suit says official protected priest, a convicted child molester with a history of abuse

9/19/2006
Diocese Must Pay $1.5M to Abuse Victim
A Scott County jury awarded Michl Uhde $1.5 million from the Diocese of Davenport on Monday for sexual abuse he suffered as a child, but Uhde said it's answers he wants, not cash.

9/19/2006
Man Alleging Priest Abuse Sues Cardinals
LOS ANGELES - A 25-year-old Mexican man who says he was raped by a priest filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Roman Catholic church officials in Los Angeles and Mexico, claiming they conspired to hide evidence to protect the priest.

9/19/2006
Press Release: Unprecedented Sex Abuse Lawsuit Accuses Top Catholic Prelates Of "Conspiracy"
First Time Ever That Mexican Cardinal Is Sued In The US For Abuse Cover Up

9/7/2006
Sworn Statement of Franklyn Becker, 8/7/06


9/7/2006
Privilege Log re: Fr. Franklyn Becker


8/21/2006
Suit seeking priest names faces battle. Legal experts cite privacy, church privilege as concerns.
The Roman Catholic Church has spent hundreds of millions of dollars settling lawsuits in accusations of priest sex abuse across the country.

8/21/2006
Lawyers on both sides of abuse case fight 'zealously' for their clients
TERRE HAUTE- Patrick Noaker and Jay Mercer frequently cross one another's path - albeit mostly in court files.

8/20/2006
Abuse victim quits abbey review board
ST. CLOUD, MINN. -- A sexual abuse victim resigned in protest Friday from an external review board formed by St. John's Abbey in response to the clergy sexual abuse scandal.

8/10/2006
Former Regina principal sued again
Former Regina High School principal Lawrence Soens has been sued again on claims that he allegedly sexually abused 13 former students.

6/27/2006
Diocese takes a giant step backward
In an interview almost 2 1/2 years ago, my colleague Guy Kovner asked Santa Rosa Bishop Daniel Walsh...

6/26/2006
Complaints of sex abuse by nuns begin to emerge
The pain is strong for accusers just coming to terms with what they say happened to them.

6/24/2006
Two claim abuse by youth minister
MARTINEZ: Pair of civil lawsuits forces the Oakland Diocese to confront accusations anew

6/24/2006
Group asks church to change mediation offer in abuse allegations
An advocacy group asked the Denver Archdiocese on Friday to change and expand its offer to have mediators negotiate settlements...

6/24/2006
Missouri high court allows church abuse case on repressed memory
A man who claims to have recalled childhood sexual abuse by clergy decades after it occurred...

6/14/2006
4 men claiming abuse sue ex-priest, archdiocese
The Archdiocese of Chicago ignored repeated warnings that the Rev. Robert Mayer was abusing children, moving him between parishes where he molested children for years, a new lawsuit alleges.

6/13/2006
TH man becomes latest plaintiff in suits against the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, former reverend
A Terre Haute man identified only as "John Doe WC" has become the 10th plaintiff in a growing collection of sex abuse lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and the former Rev. Harry E. Monroe.

6/9/2006
Chicago priest pleads not guilty to two more abuse charges
A priest who previously denied sexually abusing three boys pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges he abused two more children.

6/6/2006
Man sues ex-priest and archdiocese over alleged abuse
A new suit was filed Monday against former priest Harry Monroe on behalf of a 39-year-old man who alleges he was abused as a teenager in the early 1980s.

6/4/2006
Judge denies Vatican's motion in abuse case
PORTLAND, Ore.-- A federal judge ruled Wednesday that a sex abuse lawsuit against the Vatican can move forward with its claim that the Holy See bears responsibility for a priest who was transferred from city to city, including Chicago, even though he was known to be a molester.

5/25/2006
2 brothers sue Joliet Catholic diocese
Suit alleges sex abuse by priests in '70s, '80s
Two brothers filed lawsuits against the Catholic Diocese of Joliet Wednesday, alleging that two priests at a Mokena church sexually abused them in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

5/18/2006
Man sues archdiocese, says convicted priest abused him
A Wheeling man filed a $250,000 civil lawsuit Wednesday against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, alleging that a priest molested him as a child and church officials purposefully hid the abuse from police and parishioners.

5/3/2006
3 sue archdiocese, priest
Three men accused Rev. Norbert Maday of sexually abusing them more than 20 years ago at St. Bede the Venerable in Chicago and Our Lady of the Ridge in Chicago Ridge in a civil suit filed Tuesday against the priest and the Chicago Archdiocese in Cook County Circuit Court.

4/27/2006
A Family's Crusade
Thousands of Catholic priests stand accused of sexual abuse. And a Cross Plains couple believes if the church were more open about them, a family member would still be alive. They believe their case may be the most heinous in the history of the sex abuse scandal.

4/25/2006
Man Alleges Past Abuse In Local Catholic Church
(AP) St. Paul A Twins Cities man alleged in a lawsuit against two diocese of the Roman Catholic Church that he was abused by a priest at Risen Savior parish in Apple Valley, Minn., during the 1980s, when he was an altar boy.