Latest Religious scandals News
Judge acquits Legion priests in abuse-linked extortion case
ROME (AP) — A judge in Milan on Monday acquitted five members of the Legion of Christ religious order and their lawyers of attempted extortion in a case in which they were accused of offering to pay the family of a sexual abuse victim to lie to prosecutors. Four of the five were...
Portugal abuse cases mount amid questions over Nobel bishop
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Clergy sexual abuse cases are casting a pall over the Catholic Church in Portugal, ensnaring senior officials even as authorities scramble to explain why shelter was given to a Nobel Peace Prize-winning bishop at the center of sexual misconduct allegations. ...
Amid crises, rural roots anchor Southern Baptists’ president
FARMERSVILLE, Texas (AP) — On the first Saturday of fall, a sweating Bart Barber trekked across a weedy pasture in search of Bully Graham, the would-be patriarch of the rural Baptist pastor’s fledgling cattle herd. With the afternoon temperature in the mid-90s, the 52-year-old...
Amid crises, rural roots anchor Southern Baptists’ president
FARMERSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A sweating Bart Barber trekked across a pasture in search of Bully Graham, the would-be patriarch of the rural pastor’s fledgling cattle herd. With the temperature in the mid-90s, the 52-year-old Texan found the bull — whose nickname reflects his...
UN, abuse survivor groups seek Vatican investigation of Belo
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The United Nations and advocacy groups for survivors of clergy sexual abuse are urging Pope Francis to authorize a full investigation of Catholic Church archives on three continents to ascertain who knew what and when about sexual abuse by Nobel Peace Prize-winning Bishop...
Mormon leader calls abuse 'abomination' amid policy scrutiny
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Russell M. Nelson, the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, told members of the faith on Saturday that abuse was “a grievous sin” that shouldn't be tolerated and would bring down the wrath of God on perpetrators. Though the leader...
East Timor's Catholics rally behind accused Nobel bishop
DILI, East Timor (AP) — East Timor’s Catholics reacted with shock but also expressions of support Friday for revered independence icon and Nobel Peace Prize winner Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo following allegations he sexually abused boys decades ago in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation. ...
French Catholic Church starts compensating sex abuse victims
PARIS (AP) — France’s Catholic Church has paid financial compensation to 23 victims of child sexual abuse by priests or other church representatives under a recently launched reparation process, the body in charge of compensation decisions said Friday. Representatives of the...
Vatican sanctions Nobel laureate after Timor accusations
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Catholic Church's decades-long sex abuse scandal caught up with a Nobel Peace Prize winner Thursday, with the Vatican confirming that it had sanctioned the East Timor independence hero, Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, following allegations that he sexually abused boys there...
Advocates list 100s of allegedly abusive California priests
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Advocates for victims of clergy sexual abuse delivered a list of more than 300 publicly accused abusers to the Roman Catholic archbishop of San Francisco on Thursday as they urged him to release his “secret” files on credibly accused priests. The Survivors...
