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ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC)-- On Thursday afternoon, an Olmsted County District Court judge denied a request to seal the depositions of three Catholic priests. These priests potentially had knowledge of a former Rochester Boy Scout Leader sexually abusing children. This all relates to a lawsuit brought by attorney Jeff Anderson on behalf of two former scouts. Anderson is seeking the depositions of three priests who served at St. Pius Church during the 1970s.

Archbishop Blase Cupich has removed a retired Spokane Catholic priest from ministry following accusations that he sexually abused a child decades ago. It is the second time in 12 years that the Rev. Dan Wetzler has fallen under scrutiny and been removed. The decision last month by Cupich was published by the Inland Register, the newspaper of the Spokane Catholic Diocese. Wetzler last served at St. Paschal Parish in Spokane from 1992 to 2002.

CINCINNATI —It was a poignant moment Tuesday as a victim of abuse at the hands of a Catholic priest stood across from St. Peter-in-Chains Cathedral and spoke about the Vatican's decision to permanently remove three Tri-State priests. "Too little, too late," was how Dan Frondorf phrased it.

An Italian Catholic priest apparently committed suicide after being accused of sexual abuse. Father Maks Suard reportedly admitted his guilt after being accused of molesting a 13-year-old girl; the incident occurred 17 years ago. The accused priest asked Bishop Giampaolo Crepaldi of Trieste for time to compose a letter of apology, the Messaggero Veneto reported. He then hanged himself.

PITTSBURGH Eighty-eight former students who were sexually molested by a Franciscan friar who worked as an athletic trainer at a Catholic high school have settled their legal claims for $8 million, according to two attorneys who represent more than half the victims.

A former Christian Brother at a Merseyside school was today again jailed for abusing a young boy. Paul Davey, who served as head of music at the De La Salle school in Croxteth, between 1983 and 1989, was jailed for 16 months for sexually assaulting a former pupil. Liverpool Crown Court heard that the 58-year-old was jailed for two and a half years in 1996 of abusing four boys from the school in the late 80s.

The senior investigator looking into claims of physical and sexual abuse at a former Catholic orphanage says a new suspect has been identified. *snip* Mr Ross said 80 "potential victims" had been identified and 35 statements taken in a worldwide investigation.

We’ve seen some shameful and misleading ads this election cycle, but has the pro-abortion organization NARAL crossed the line?In an ad buy that cost over five figures, the group’s new video in North Carolina criticizes the pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List for endorsing Republican Thom Tillis and his anti-abortion agenda. That’s the predictable part. What is shocking, however, is an image the NARAL ad uses at the end of the video for comparison: a man sexually molesting a woman. Watch the ad if you don’t believe me: naral12By including this disturbing picture (right) in the ad, NARAL is shamefully...

Unsettling new Foxtel drama makes for tough watching as it unflinchingly faces child sex abuse within the Catholic church. You’ve read reports about how the Catholic church covered up evidence involving paedophile priests. You’ve followed the hearings of the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, established by Julia Gillard in 2012 following the shocking allegations of a cover-up in NSW. But nothing can prepare you for watching the grooming and abuse of an innocent 12-year-old boy by a respected school chaplain as it plays out dramatically in front of you.

From the former North Catholic High School in Pittsburgh's Troy Hill to Australia, 157 victims have accused 31 members of the Marianist order of sexual abuse, records show. Watchdog groups, victims and their attorneys say officials with the religious order failed to stop the abuse or to adequately supervise those accused. Experts say such abuse went on for decades in part because of a culture that granted members of religious groups more credibility than children. A spokeswoman for the St. Louis-based Marianist Province of the United States did not respond to questions about how many members have been accused of...

Dublin (AFP) - Cardinal Sean Brady, who was criticised over his handling of abuse scandals, stepped down as leader of the Irish Catholic Church on Monday with an emotional plea for forgiveness. "I too need to say sorry and to ask forgiveness and I do so again today," Brady told the faithful at a mass in Armagh in Northern Ireland. Brady, who played a key role in the peace process after being appointed in 1996, had tendered his resignation to the Vatican last month after turning 75, the normal retirement age for senior clergy

Five years ago, Pope Benedict arrived in London to erupting controversy. Around 10,000 people took to the capital's streets for a rally against the Holy Father's "intolerance," and as the Guardian reported, against "the child abuse scandal for which so many hold the pontiff personally responsible, for both accelerating it and then covering it up." The abuse in question centered for the most part on incidents that were 40 years old or more. Nevertheless, CBS reporter Mark Phillips described the trip as "A test of whether Pope Benedict can get his message across over the background noise of the Church's...

This contradiction was laid bare recently when the Holy See, acting in secret, threw the protective cloak of diplomatic immunity over Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski — the papal nuncio in the Dominican Republic and an alleged serial abuser of minors. In a show of toughness, church officials defrocked Wesolowski and promised to try him according to the laws of Vatican City. In effect, though, church officials once again shielded a predator priest from civil jurisdiction.

THE Catholic Church paid more than $40,000 in rent for a convicted paedophile priest who molested at least eight young boys and was set to stand trial on a string of new charges before he died earlier this year. Wilfred Baker’s crimes against children were so horrific he was placed on administrative leave in 1997 and never again worked as a priest, and was officially laicised in September 2012. But the Herald Sun can reveal the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne paid Baker’s rent for at least four years until his death in February, despite his sickening record of abuse on...

JOHANNESBURG - A German Catholic priest accused of sexual abuse of children in his native country and in South Africa has been extradited to Germany, police said Wednesday. Georg Kerkhoff, who is in his 50s, was put on a plane to Germany on Tuesday night, South African police spokesman Lungelo Dlamini told AFP. "We took him to the airport and handed him over to the German police. He will face trial in Germany," he said.

The Roman Catholic archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis says he won’t resign despite criticism over the archdiocese’s handling of sexual abuse claims involving priests. Archbishop John Nienstedt made his comments in in a column that will appear in Thursday’s archdiocese newspaper, The Catholic Spirit. He says he’s bound to stay in office as long as Pope Francis wants. …

A canon lawyer alleging a widespread cover-up of clergy sex misconduct in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has made her most detailed claims yet, accusing archbishops and their top staff of lying to the public and of ignoring the U.S. bishops' pledge to have no tolerance of priests who abuse.

AT long last there could be hope for those historically abused at a former Catholic boys home. The Government, under pressure itself, is setting up an inquiry into historic abuse. And the current Pope has also promised to listen and act on allegations of abuse by Catholic priests. St Francis Home, in Shefford, took boys from across the county and wider, where, instead of being cared for, they were systematically abused, both physically and sexually.

The conviction of Rolf Harris is a reminder that child abuse is an abuse of power. The crime persists because perpetrators are not challenged and dealt with speedily by the criminal justice system. Children are still abused in Ireland every day.

True reconciliation only begins with an apology. It takes more than saying one is sorry to heal the wounds that come from hurting others. That takes justice — a commitment to make things right, to change whatever actions have caused harm, and to hold those responsible for that harm accountable for their actions. Pope Francis on Monday met with a group of Roman Catholics who had suffered sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic clergy, and he offered a sweeping apology to them for the wrongs done against them when they were children.