New York archdiocese finalizing $800m settlement with clergy sex abuse survivors

Agreement with more than 1,300 victims of clergy members and lay leaders would resolve long legal fight…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/24/new-york-archdiocese-800m-settlement-sexual-abuse

 

Catholic clergy sexually abused nearly 1,000 Massachusetts children over decades, report finds

“The evidence gathered during this investigation also shows that, for decades, and especially before 2002, church officials in all three dioceses knew about the sexual abuse of children yet did not take effective action to prevent it or to examine the institutional failures of leadership that led to scores of children being victimized at the hands of abusive priests,” the report stated…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/30/catholic-clergy-massachusetts-sexual-abuse-report

 

Clergy abuse survivors frustrated by New Orleans archdiocese’s protracted bankruptcy

"The more you delve into the financial crimes, the sex crimes, priests breaking their vows," Adams told the National Catholic Reporter, "it's caused me to question if I'm in the right church. My son's baptismal certificate was signed by two priests; both are now in prison for sex crimes. 

"If I genuinely believe that the true presence of Christ is in the Eucharist and the sacraments given to us by Jesus, there's no place else to go. That doesn't make going into church any easier. My great-grandmother was a daily communicant. I think her words would be 'Put your faith in Christ and in the Eucharist, and not church leaders who have normalized deception and abuse.' I remain hopeful that my love for God and his church is greater than the pain and anger caused by his priests and bishops."

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/28/new-orleans-archdiocese-bankruptcy-abuse-settlement

 

Trump Justice Department files lawsuit to help Catholic priests protect criminals’ secrets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFKPk7BucPU

 

More Americans are ditching religion, citing anti-LGBTQ bigotry and clergy sex abuse

Religiously unaffiliated Americans are the fastest growing “religious” group in America, now comprising 26% of the population. 

Their reasons for leaving organized religion include anti-LGBTQ bigotry, clergy sex abuse scandals, and the toll it takes on their mental health.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD7hKTByk4w

Dismay as lookback law for child sexual abuse victims struck down

Some supporters of Catholic clergy abuse victims expressed concern that the Louisiana supreme court would ultimately rule against them after its justices prayed with New Orleans archbishop Gregory Aymond at a service in October at St Louis Cathedral…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/22/louisiana-lookback-law-child-sexual-abuse-victims

Mike Bickle, founder of international prayer movement, confesses to past misconduct - The Washington Post

In late October, former leaders of the Kansas City-based International House of Prayer publicly accused Bickle of clergy sexual misconduct, based on allegations from several women about misconduct that allegedly went on for decades...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2023/12/14/mike-bickle-ihop-confess-misconduct/

Sex and religion (Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freethought Radio podcast)

We talk about religion and abortion rights, the IRS and church electioneering, the Texas Ten Commandments bill and clergy sexual abuse. After Annie Laurie describes the bible's role in asking rape victims "Why didn't you scream?", FFRF contributing author Barbara Alvarez tells us about her new book (published by the American Library Association): The Library’s Guide to Sexual and Reproductive Health Information.

Interview: 

https://ffrf.org/news/radio/show-items/item/42242-freethought-radio-may-11-2023

Manufacturing the clerical predator

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjc_aNJn3fA

Portugal: Catholic clergy abused nearly 5,000 children since 1950, inquiry finds | Catholicism | The Guardian

Independent commission reaches conclusion after hearing evidence from over 500 survivors last year…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/13/portugal-catholic-clergy-abuse-nearly-5000-children-since-1950-inquiry-finds

Baltimore archdiocese funds attorneys trying to seal clergy abuse report - The Washington Post

In 2018, he led a team picked by Lori to investigate Michael J. Bransfield, a former West Virginia bishop who used his position to engage in sexual and financial abuses. The investigation found that Bransfield gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to fellow clergymen, among them Lori, and the West Virginia diocese reimbursed him to cover the gifts. 

Bernstein's team removed Lori's name from the report at his request. The archbishop said he would return the money Bransfield gave him and, he asked that it be donated to Catholic Charities. 

Earlier this month, Lori was elected by his fellow bishops to be vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for the next three years...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2022/11/29/baltimore-archdiocese-abuse-report/

Md. probe of Baltimore Archdiocese finds more than 600 clergy sexual abuse victims - The Washington Post

"The investigation also revealed that the Archdiocese failed to report many allegations of sexual abuse, conduct adequate investigations of alleged abuse, remove the abusers from the ministry or restrict their access to children. Instead, it went to great lengths to keep the abuse secret," the filing says...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2022/11/17/maryland-catholic-sexual-abuse-report/

Florida clergy say abortion law violates religious freedom, seek temporary injunction - The Washington Post

The request to the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit of Miami comes a month after the same clerics sued Florida, saying the law that went into effect July 1 violates their freedom of speech, religious liberty and the Constitution's establishment clause, "because it codifies a singular and exclusive religious belief with no plausible secular justification," the lawsuit charged...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2022/09/01/florida-pastor-rabbi-abortion-lawsuit/

For some clergy in the past, facilitating abortions was faith in action - The Washington Post

Beginning in 1967, more than 2,500 clergy — Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Church of Christ, Catholic and Jewish — of the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion (CCS) provided counseling and information on abortion to women facing an unwanted pregnancy. This nonprofit, voluntary organization represented faith in action. Religious leaders sought to prevent the suffering and shame women with unwanted pregnancies faced as well as the potentially deadly effects of illegal abortions. Their work is a reminder that religious views on abortion are, and have always been, varied. Religious beliefs can uphold a woman's dignity and humanity over that of a fetus...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2022/08/03/some-clergy-past-facilitating-abortions-was-faith-action/

‘It’s being abused by an entire belief system’: a haunting film on sexual abuse by Catholic clergy

Coming to Netflix Friday, November 12: 

…He adds: "The thing to know about this abuse is not just being sexually abused in such a tender age, it's being abused by an entire belief system. The Catholic church indoctrinates believers into a worldview which is demonstrated by these rituals and symbols and so it's a level of abuse that is just very difficult to comprehend. There's no fixing that. There's no giving back to these guys what was taken from them. All we could hope to do is move forward."

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/nov/09/catholic-sexual-abuse-procession-documentary-netflix

Catholic Leaders Promised Transparency About Child Abuse. They Haven’t Delivered. — ProPublica

After decades of shielding the identities of accused child abusers from the public, many Catholic leaders are now releasing lists of their names. But the lists are inconsistent, incomplete and omit key details.....
https://www.propublica.org/article/catholic-leaders-promised-transparency-about-child-abuse-they-havent-delivered

Clergy Abused an Entire Generation in This Village. With New Traumas, Justice Remains Elusive - ProPublica

Long before city officials said they had no choice but to hire criminals as cops, justice evaded the Norton Sound village of Stebbins and neighboring St. Michael.
https://www.propublica.org/article/stebbins-st-michael-alaska-clergy-abused-an-entire-generation-with-new-traumas-justice-remains-elusive

Interfaith Clergy Gather To Bless Texas Abortion Clinic And Its Staff - HuffPost

About a dozen Christian, Jewish and other religious clergy gathered at an abortion care center in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday to bless the clinic and the work that takes place inside it. The blessing ceremony at Whole Woman's Health of Austin was for patients as well as for the clinic's staff, according to Rev. Amelia Fulbright, a campusminister in Austin.....
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/austin-abortion-clinic-blessing_n_5d24efe8e4b07e698c42007e

‘We’re Coming for Them’: Survivors Demand Release of 884-Page Pennsylvania Clergy Sex Abuse Report

A court just muzzled the ‘damaging’ findings on decades of Catholic clerical abuse. But it’s not over. ‘We are coming for them,’ says a state rep who was raped by a priest at 13.....

https://www.thedailybeast.com/were-coming-for-them-survivors-demand-release-of-884-page-pennsylvania-clergy-sex-abuse-report