Sex abuse allegations against a deceased cardinal add to the German church's troubles

BERLIN (AP) — A scandal centering on sexual abuse allegations against a long-deceased cardinal has created a “very difficult situation” for the troubled Catholic Church in Germany, a top German bishop said Monday, hours after a statue of the late cleric was removed from its perch outside...

Statue of late German Cardinal Franz Hengsbach will be removed after allegations of sexual abuse

ESSEN, Germany (AP) — A statue of late German Cardinal Franz Hengsbach will be removed from outside a cathedral in western Germany after allegations of sexual abuse against him surfaced, Catholic church officials said Friday. A memorial for victims of sexual abuse will be created...

Catholic priests bless same-sex couples in defiance of a German archbishop

BERLIN (AP) — Several Catholic priests held a ceremony blessing same-sex couples outside Cologne Cathedral on Wednesday night in a protest against the city’s conservative archbishop, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki. Their protest was triggered by Cologne church officials' criticism...

In Chile, justice eludes victims of Catholic clergy sex abuse years after the crisis exploded

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Soon after she learned what happened, Helmut Kramer’s mother grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the priest out of photographs from her son’s baptism. “She kept the photos after that,” said Kramer, who was sexually abused at age 12 in a Jesuit school...

Larry Nassar survivor says Michigan State's latest mess shows it hasn't learned from past

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State missed an opportunity to provide some clarity about who was aware of sexual harassment allegations against Mel Tucker and what school leaders knew about them when its athletic director and interim president announced the football coach was being suspended...

Sweeping study finds 1,000 cases of sexual abuse in Swiss Catholic Church since mid-20th century

GENEVA (AP) — A sweeping, year-long study of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and others in Switzerland published Tuesday has turned up more than 1,000 cases since the mid-20th century, as the Swiss church becomes the latest in Europe to reckon with the abuse scandal. With few...

Suspended Michigan State coach calls harassment allegations false and outside scope of Title IX

Suspended Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker said Monday that allegations of sexual harassment against him are “completely false” and the intimate phone call he had with activist and rape survivor Brenda Tracy is outside the scope of both Title IX and school policy. In a...

Vatican orders investigation into Catholic clerics linked to abuse, Swiss Bishops' Conference says

BERLIN (AP) — The Vatican has ordered an investigation into high-ranking Catholic clerics in Switzerland in connection with sexual abuse, the Swiss Bishops' Conference said on Sunday. The group said in a statement that there were allegations against several active and retired...

The president of a Japanese boy band company resigns and apologizes for founder's sex abuse

TOKYO (AP) — Nine days after an investigation found that a powerful Japanese talent agent had abused hundreds of young performers, his niece resigned Thursday as president of his former company and made an apology punctuated by repeated, lengthy bows. Julie Keiko Fujishima...

Sex abuse charges dismissed for ex-Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, as judge rules 93-year-old is not fit for trial