Catholic Church Sex Abuse Cases In The United States
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Catholic Church Sex Abuse Cases In The United States
There have been many lawsuits, criminal prosecutions, and scandals over sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy in the United States of America. The issue of child sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests was first publicized in 1985 when a Louisiana priest pleaded guilty to 11 counts of molestation of boys. It was again brought to national attention when a number of books on the topic were published in the 1990s, and again in 2002 following a series of publications by ''The Boston Globe''. As it became clear that there was truth to many of the allegations and that there was a pattern of cover-ups in a number of large dioceses across the United States, the issue became a nationwide scandal, creating a crisis for the Catholic Church in the United States. Though the sex abuse cases are not unique in comparison to other countries, the sex abuse crisis in the United States is more conspicuous due to the behavior and reaction (or lack thereof) from the clergy and the Vatican.Alexander, R ...
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Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Cases
There have been many cases of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests, nuns, Popes and other members of religious life. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the cases have involved many allegations, investigations, trials, convictions, acknowledgement and apologies by Church authorities, and revelations about decades of instances of abuse and attempts by Church officials to cover them up. The abused include mostly boys but also girls, some as young as three years old, with the majority between the ages of 11 and 14. Criminal cases for the most part do not cover sexual harassment of adults. The accusations of abuse and cover-ups began to receive public attention during the late 1980s. Many of these cases allege decades of abuse, frequently made by adults or older youths years after the abuse occurred. Cases have also been brought against members of the Catholic hierarchy who covered up sex abuse allegations and moved abusive priests to other parishes, where abuse continued. ...
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Roman Catholic Archdiocese Of Portland In Oregon
The Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon (''Archidioecesis Portlandensis in Oregonia'') is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It encompasses the western part of the state of Oregon, from the summit of the Cascades to the Pacific Ocean. The Archbishop of Portland serves as the Ordinary of the archdiocese and Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Portland whose suffragan dioceses cover the entire three states of Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. The dioceses of the province include Baker (eastern Oregon), Boise (Idaho), Helena (western Montana), and Great Falls-Billings (eastern Montana). As published in the 2013 "Oregon Catholic Directory," this archdiocese serves 412,725 Catholics (out of more than 3.3 million people). There are 150 diocesan priests, 144 religious priests, 79 permanent deacons, 388 women religious, and 78 religious brothers. The archdiocese has 124 parishes, 22 missions, 1 seminary, 40 elementary school ...
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Sexual Abuse Scandal In The Catholic Archdiocese Of Chicago
The sexual abuse scandal in the Chicago archdiocese in the late 20th and early 21st century is a major chapter in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in the United States and Ireland. Role of Joseph Bernardin Archbishop Joseph Bernardin (1928–1996) was among the first U.S. cardinals or bishops to confront the issue of sexual abuse by clergy. He adopted a strong stance on sexual abuse cases within the clergy by implementing the strongest, most comprehensive policy concerning priests accused of sexual misconduct with minors. Bernardin's reforms concerning this issue soon served as a model for other dioceses across the nation. In 1992 the archdiocese started one of the first programs in the country for victims' assistance. Bernardin was personally accused of sexual misconduct, but his accuser later recanted his testimony. Former seminarian Stephen Cook claimed to have been abused by Bernardin and another priest in the 1970s. But Cook subsequently dropped Bernardin from his la ...
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Roman Catholic Archdiocese Of Philadelphia
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well as Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. The diocese was erected by Pope Pius VII on April 8, 1808, from territories of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Originally the diocese included all of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and seven counties and parts of three counties in New Jersey. The diocese was raised to the dignity of a metropolitan archdiocese on February 12, 1875. The seat of the archbishop is the Cathedral-Basilica of Ss. Peter & Paul. The Most Reverend Nelson J. Perez was appointed as Archbishop of Philadelphia in January 2020. It is also the Metropolitan See of the Ecclesiastical Province of Philadelphia, which includes the suffragan episcopal sees of Allentown, Altoona-Johnstown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsb ...
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Star Tribune
The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolidated, with the ''Tribune'' published in the morning and the ''Star'' in the evening. They merged in 1982, creating the ''Star and Tribune'', and it was renamed to ''Star Tribune'' in 1987. After a tumultuous period in which the newspaper was sold and re-sold and filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009, it was purchased by local businessman Glen Taylor in 2014. The ''Star Tribune'' serves Minneapolis and is distributed throughout the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the state of Minnesota and the Upper Midwest. It typically contains a mixture of national, international and local news, sports, business and lifestyle content. Journalists from the ''Star Tribune'' and its predecessor newspapers have won seven Pulitzer Prizes. Histor ...
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Roman Catholic Archdiocese Of Saint Paul And Minneapolis
The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis ( la, Archidiœcesis Paulopolitana et Minneapolitana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. It is led by an archbishop who administers the archdiocese from the cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The archbishop has both a cathedral and co-cathedral: the mother church, the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Saint Paul, and the co-cathedral, the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis. The archdiocese has 188 parish churches in twelve counties of Minnesota. It counts in its membership an approximate total of 750,000 people. It has two seminaries, the Saint Paul Seminary and Saint John Vianney College Seminary. Its official newspaper is ''The Catholic Spirit''. History In 1680, a waterfall on the Upper Mississippi River was noted observed in a journal by Father Louis Hennepin, a Belgian Franciscan Recollect and explorer. Hennepin named them the ''Chutes de Saint-Antoine'' o ...
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Settlements And Bankruptcies In Catholic Sex Abuse Cases
Settlements and bankruptcies in Catholic sex abuse cases have affected several American dioceses, whose compensation payments have totaled in the billions of dollars. Estimates by Donald Cozzens According to Donald Cozzens, "by the end of the mid 1990s, it was estimated that... more than half a billion dollars had been paid in jury awards, settlements and legal fees." This figure grew to about one billion dollars by 2002. Roman Catholics spent $615 million on sex abuse cases in 2007. Payments to victims Bankruptcies Portland Citing monetary concerns arising from impending trials on sex abuse claims, the Archdiocese of Portland (Oregon) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 6, 2004, hours before two abuse trials were set to begin, becoming the first Roman Catholic diocese to file for bankruptcy. If granted, bankruptcy would mean pending and future lawsuits would be settled in federal bankruptcy court. The archdiocese had settled more than a hundred previous claims for a su ...
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Sexual Abuse Scandal In The Catholic Diocese Of Davenport
The sexual abuse scandal in Davenport diocese is one of a number of Catholic sex abuse cases in the United States and Ireland. Allegations against Bishop Soens The decision was driven by many claims which focused on Bishop Lawrence Soens, who was accused of fondling as many as 15 students during his tenure as priest and principal at Regina Catholic High School in Iowa City during the 1960s. Soens denies the allegations. Diocesan investigation In February 2006, the Diocese of Davenport investigative panel found behavior that may have been inappropriate, but it did not appear to be sexual in nature. Legal settlements One claim was settled for $20K in 2004. Two more suits were pending in May 2006. Seven more suits were filed in May 2006. One new suit with 13 plaintiffs was filed in August 2006 alleging abuse from 1959 to 1967. A judge discharged one suit in October 2006. Recently, Bishop Soens was the first United States Roman Catholic Bishop to be named as being the object of 'cre ...
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Roman Catholic Archdiocese Of Denver
The Archdiocese of Denver ( la, Archidiœcesis Denveriensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church that encompasses northern Colorado. It is part of the XIII Conference Region and includes 113 parishes, 307 priests, and an estimated 550,000 lay Catholics. The seat of the archdiocese is the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception at 401 East Colfax Avenue. The current Archbishop of Denver is Samuel Aquila. The Archdiocese of Denver is the metropolitan archdiocese of its ecclesiastical province, which also includes three suffragan diocese: the Dioceses of Cheyenne, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo. Area The archdiocese covers an area of which includes the city and county of Denver, and the Colorado counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Jefferson, Larimer, Logan, and Weld. Between the archdiocese's creation and the erection of the Diocese of Pueblo in 1941, the Archdiocese of Denver was the sole Latin Church jurisdict ...
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Sexual Abuse Scandal In San Diego Diocese
The sexual abuse scandal in San Diego diocese is a significant episode in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in the United States and Ireland. Abuse cases occurring before 1990 Diocesan officials acknowledged that these cases, except for a few, were legitimate and mostly occurred before 1990. The few that were not considered legitimate were placed in the global settlement and, due to the settlement, will not be challenged. Attempt to file for bankruptcy On February 27, 2007, the Diocese of San Diego filed for Chapter 11 protection, hours before the first of about 150 lawsuits was due to be heard. San Diego became the largest diocese to file for bankruptcy. 198 million dollar settlement On September 7, 2007, The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego agreed to pay $198.1 million to settle 144 claims of sexual abuse by clergy, the 2nd-largest payment by a diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jur ...
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Roman Catholic Diocese Of San Diego
The Diocese of San Diego is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Southern California, United States. Its ecclesiastical territory includes all of San Diego and Imperial Counties in Southern California, with a Catholic population of approximately 1.4 million. The diocese is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Leadership and religious institutes On January 4, 2012, Bishop Cirilo Flores was appointed as coadjutor bishop with immediate right of succession to Bishop Robert Henry Brom, then already 75, who had served since January 1990. Bishop Brom had submitted his resignation when he turned 75, as all Roman Catholic bishops must, and Pope Francis accepted it on September 18, 2013, making Coadjutor Bishop Flores the Bishop of San Diego. Bishop Flores died on September 6, 2014 after a stroke and a battle with cancer. In March 2015, Pope Francis appointed Robert McElroy as the b ...
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Sexual Abuse Scandal In The Catholic Archdiocese Of Los Angeles
The sexual abuse scandal in Los Angeles archdiocese covered events that were documented beginning in the 1930s, but most publicity was related to events of the 1970s through 1990s. Priests accused of molesting children or adults in the parish were typically reassigned, without informing new parishes of charges against them, as the church protected its staff. Changes in policy took place, a dozen priests were dismissed in 2002, the church issued an apology and detailed report in 2004, and in 2007, the Archdiocese reached a settlement with 508 victims of $660 million, a recordbreaking amount. More lawsuits are expected when the California statute of limitations will be temporarily lifted on January 1, 2020. Challenging aspects of investigations of sexual abuse Although Cardinal Roger Mahony released a detailed report in 2004 on numerous cases of abuse in the archdiocese, he resisted releasing records on additional priests for which documentation had not been collected during investiga ...
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