Free Republic

Fr. Hermann Backhaus works as a psychologist in a counseling center of the diocese of Münster that provides psychological support for people employed by the Church. (LifeSiteNews) — The official news website of the Catholic Church in Germany published an interview with a priest-psychologist who suggested that there are benefits to pornography and masturbation for celibate clergy. The psychologist Hermann Backhaus, who is also a Catholic priest, told katholisch.de that “[w]ith regard to celibate people, the consumption of explicit sexual depictions can have a relieving effect – this cannot be denied.” Backhaus works as a psychologist in a counseling center...

The Diocese of Arlington’s former director for the Office of Child Protection, Father Terry Specht, was indicted last week on two charges of sexual abuse. A grand jury in Virginia indicted Specht Dec. 20 on one count of aggravated sexual battery of a child under the age of 13 and one count of sexual abuse of a child over whom a custodial or supervisory relationship existed. Michael Kelly, Chief of Staff for the office of Virginia’s attorney general, Mark Herring, told CNA that the maximum penalty for the first count is 20 years in prison, and five for the second....