In 2021, Pope Francis conceded that the church had failed to put the needs of victims first in what was considered to be one of his strongest condemnations of child sexual abuse in the Catholic church to date.

"There is, unfortunately, a considerable number," he said during his weekly audience at the Vatican. "I would like to express to the victims my sadness and pain for the trauma they suffered. It is also my shame, our shame, for the incapacity of the church for too long to put them at the center of its concerns."

An independent inquiry, France's first major reckoning with clerical child sexual abuse, found that an estimated 216,000 children were victims. In wake of the damning findings, Hans Zollner, a German priest and close advisor to Pope Francis, urged Italian bishops to "find the courage to investigate" clerical child abuse.

The issue has been mostly buried in Italy, and at an episcopal conference, the speech by Pope Francis was criticized by abuse victims for failing to strike the tone of taking strong action against pedophile priests. In January 2019, a UN commission condemned Italy for being complicit in protecting pedophile priests from criminal charges.

"We want an inquiry here too, but the pope has never asked for one," said Francesco Zanardi, who set up Rete l'Abuso, Italy's only network of clerical abuse victims. "The numbers in France are frightening but here we could have up to 1 million victims. Simply hearing 'I'm sorry' is laughable."

In 2021, the first clergy sexual abuse trial to be heard by the pope's criminal court took place, where the Vatican tribunal absolved Reverend Gabriele Martinelli. In 2017 former altar boys went public with allegations of misconduct by Martinelli and a cover-up by the seminary superiors. The priest was acquitted by the three-judge panel of some charges and ruled others could not be punished. The former rector of the seminary, Reverend Enrico Radice, was similarly absolved.

Word of the day: Parochial

adjective

1. relating to a Church parish.

2. having a limited or narrow outlook or scope; as limited as a priest who advises on the morality of who can marry who and who can sex who immediately before abusing adolescent boys.

churches and clergymen dont deserve to be protected just because theyre churches and clergymen.

CCAR & URJ Misconduct - Follow up to Articles Previously Posted

In 2021 CCAR, the URJ, and HUC were all implicated in independent investigations for mistreating victims and covering up rabbinic abuse. All three made promises to change, but recent developments have clearly demonstrated ongoing patterns of misconduct by both CCAR and the URJ.  Victims have recently called on The Ohio and New York Attorney General’s offices to investigate both agencies, and more and more people are coming forward. If you would like to report rabbinic abuse by a rabbi or a synagogue, or if you would like to report CCAR or the URJ’s knowledge of misconduct and refusal to intervene, or if you felt mistreated by any of these agencies, please submit a report. You can do so anonymously.  All information submitted will be used to aid the Attorney General in making decisions about this investigation and may be submitted to other agencies with legal jurisdiction.

There are three reporting options below:  

Anonymous Reporting form: https://forms.wix.com/r/7181683918167343705

Proton Email: [email protected]

Directions for filing directly with the Attorney General are here.

Two Articles on the Times of Israel Blogs

Victims appeal to the Ohio Attorney General to Investigate CCAR and The URJ

Open Letter to Rick Jacobs on the URJ’s Failed Ethics Reforms

[WARNING: Sensitive Material]

A new day for victims of child sex abuse in Maryland

The Child Victims Act of 2023 has been passed in Maryland, allowing survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file retroactive lawsuits, even if the existing statue of limitations on the claim has expired. The Child Victims Act of 2023 will also remove the statute of limitations for all future lawsuits based on childhood sexual abuse claims. This Act was passed on the heels of the report released by…

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Don’t be ashamed to report abuse, Pope urges religious

Don’t be ashamed to report abuse, Pope urges religious

Pope Francis has stated that religious orders must never tolerate the abuse of children or vulnerable persons, they should not be ashamed to report abuse, and they must end the practice of moving alleged abusers to other countries. The pope departed from a prepared speech during a meeting with the Order of the Mother of God, the Basilian Order of St Josaphat and the Congregation of the…

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A Pastoral Horror Story

A Pastoral Horror Story

I heard a horror story yesterday. A large mega-church “hired” ten interns. One day before they were to finish their internships, they were all fired and none were given good recommendations. None. I said, “hired” in quotes because they were paid “slave wages” and worked long hours. At another church, apparently a mega-church with a “high-energy” atmosphere, the youth pastor was also under what…

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Abuse Survivors Call for Boycott of Episcopal Diocese of Virginia

Abuse Survivors Call for Boycott of Episcopal Diocese of Virginia

Alexandria, VA (Law Firm Newswire) June 03, 2022 – The Episcopal Survivors Network (ESN), a group of victims of abuse in the Episcopal Church, is calling for a boycott of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia over the diocese’s ongoing refusal to address clergy abuse in the church. The announcement comes just days before representatives of the diocese meet in Alexandria on June 4 to elect a new…

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I was 4 years old and my parents were entertaining 4 young priests. As my mother made the gravy and my father carved the roast in the kitchen I was violently grabbed by the guests sitting on the couch in the livingroom and thrust on to the laps of the pedophiles. My underpants were pulled to the side leaving my naked bottom prey. They fought over me and I was yanked by them bounced on to their laps. I broke free and ran to my room as I fixed my panties I thought to myself that I was so happy that my father and grandfather did not have those hard sticks in their pants. I was sixty three years old when I remembered this happening. I had lost 2 sons in one year and had a lot of time to think about the tragedies of my life. My one remaining son asked me about the priest who was my mothers lover, so was still in my families life and I started remembering all the abuse he subjected me to over the years. My father traveled a lot so my mother had the pedophile priest in her bed and in our lives. I was gaslit and groomed by them. I always accepted this behavior and I was set up to accept bad behavior in my adult life. I think about that priest and his cohorts all the time and wonder how they could have been so perverted? How could my mom let me be molested? She always portrayed herself to be such a good upstanding Catholic.

Letter to Union for Reform Judaism

I'm sure for a lot of people who have been abused in the Catholic Church, seeing and hearing all this fuss over Benedict's death and funeral is probably deeply triggering and a slap in the face. The trauma you have and the pain you feel is valid and real, and no amount of covering up and excusing abuse by the Church, laity and clergy alike will ever completely destroy the truth.

Guidance informing priests accused of abuse criticised

Guidance informing priests accused of abuse criticised

A group representing U.S. Catholic priests has developed guidance informing priests of their canonical rights when they are accused of misconduct, including sexual abuse. Survivor advocates are critical of the move, saying providing guidance could help cast accused priests in an overly sympathetic light. The Association of U.S. Catholic Priests (AUSCP) say the guidance is necessary. It notes over…

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It is absolutely infuriating that the list of priests found to be guilty of sexually abusing kids for the last eighty years in the Baltimore Archdiocese has some of the names redacted to protect the identities of the priests. If literally anyone else is guilty of CSA they get put on a publicly viewable sex offender registry, why should clergy be exempt from that?

Nothing sacred to the CIA