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Pennsylvania authorities on Tuesday announced charges against a Roman Catholic priest who allegedly had “inappropriate sexual contact” with a teenage girl. Kevin Lonergan, 30, was charged with one count each of corruption of minors and indecent assault, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin announced. The charges filed against Lonergan are not related to a grand jury’s report released last week, in which several hundred Roman Catholic priests in the state were accused of sexually abusing more than a thousand children. BREAKING: Roman Catholic Priest Kevin Lonergan, 30, is charged with indecent assault after Lehigh County prosecutors say he had inappropriate...

Pope Francis has allowed U.S. prelate Theodore McCarrick to step down as a cardinal following allegations of sexual abuse, including one involving an 11-year-old boy. The Vatican announced on Saturday that Francis ordered McCarrick to conduct a "life of prayer and penance" even before a church trial is held. McCarrick was previously one of the highest, most well-known Catholic church officials in the U.S. and was heavily involved the in church's response there to allegations of priestly abuse. The pope has ordered McCarrick's "suspension from the exercise of any public ministry, together with the obligation to remain in a house...

SPRINGFIELD – The elusive Bishop Thomas L. Dupre, former top prelate for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, has backed his former flock into a purgatory of sorts.

A former champion surfer, Mary Setterholm suffered sexual abuse and turned to prostitution before finding a new path. Next month, she’ll begin the master’s of divinity program at Columbia University’s Union Theological Seminary. Real life stories of redemption and healing don't get much better than this. How long until Lifetime turns it into a movie? From the Los Angeles Times: It's another beautiful day in paradise and I'm out on the ocean, riding waves with a former national surfing champion and onetime prostitute who's about to join a seminary. Go ahead, try to name one other state where I could...

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay over $600 million to settle claims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests in that diocese. This is the latest in a string of multi-million dollar payouts by Catholic diocese throughout the country. Perhaps it is time to take another look at the most comprehensive study of Catholic priest sexual abuse ever conducted. In 2002, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops commissioned a national study of sexual abuse by Catholic priests. The study, conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, found that nationwide, approximately 4400 Catholic priests were credibly...

Shocking developments concerning a man who claimed he was sexually assaulted by a catholic priest. Tom Monroe, 53, organized a news conference more than a year ago to announce with his attorney a lawsuit against the Pueblo Catholic Diocese. Monroe claimed he was sexually assaulted by Marianist Brother William Mueller while attending the former Roncalli Catholic High School. But Monroe's attorney has now announced that Monroe's been dropped him from the lawsuit. News First obtained several hours of home video that Monroe made, and on one tape he appears to be talking on the phone and admits he's not a...

COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington agreed Friday to set up a $120 million fund to compensate victims of child-molesting priests and other employees. It would be the nation's biggest settlement in the scandal that has staggered the church. The settlement in the class-action case is subject to court approval. The lawsuit - brought on behalf of more than 100 alleged victims - accuses the diocese of a 50-year cover-up of sexual abuse by priests and other workers. In a statement, the diocese and plaintiffs' attorneys said that $40 million of the settlement fund would come...

Hi. I know many FReepers are often better informed about these matters than the general public, so I was hoping some of you could give me some insight into whether or not there is any substance to the charges that Fr. Maciel, founder of the Legionnaries of Christ, has abused seminarians in the past. Thanks!

Youngsters sexually abused by priests can "sometimes slide right over it with no perceived effects,'' a psychologist hired by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco testified Wednesday.

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Missionary Priest Is Charged With Sex Abuse of Queens Boy By THOMAS J. LUECK A priest visiting a Roman Catholic parish in Queens was arrested last night and charged with the sexual abuse of a 12-year-boy during a Father's Day excursion to Rockaway Beach. The authorities said the priest, the Rev. Peter Kiare, 41, a native of Kenya who is a member of a missionary order in Ireland, would be arraigned today in Queens County Criminal Court on charges of sex abuse, forcible touching and endangering the welfare of a child. He was arrested at 5:30 p.m. yesterday by detectives...

 Montcalm (Michigan) priest resigns after admitting abuse 25 years ago Monday, April 22, 2002By Charles Honey and Melissa SlagerThe Grand Rapids Press EDMORE -- Parishioners at two Montcalm County Catholic churches are reeling after their well-liked priest resigned over the weekend after admitting to sexually abusing a young male about 25 years ago in another state. The Rev. Vincent Bryce told members of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque Catholic Church in Edmore and St. Bernadette of Lourdes in Stanton he is leaving the rural parishes he has served since 1995. Bryce's forced departure comes after the Diocese of Grand Rapids learned late...