Catholic sex abuse cases

Bishops welcomed it. Clergy abuse survivors said it didn't go far enough. Other Catholics saw it as a necessary, but not final, step. Those were prevailing initial reactions to new norms issued Thursday by Pope Francis for addressing clergy sexual abuse. 

The Australian Catholic Church is looking for more collegial models of governance in Catholic schools, hospitals and charities as it conducts an unprecedented review of existing clerical and hierarchical models that have failed.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has opened an investigation into how the state's 12 Catholic dioceses have addressed allegations of sexual abuse of minors by priests, lay church employees and volunteers.

Catholic theology affirms that confession is good for the soul, so it's a bit of paradox that the last thing the American Roman Catholic bishops or the Vatican want to do is publicly confess everything they know about clergy sex abuse.

A top Polish Catholic leader, named the first bishops' conference delegate for child protection, welcomed a church report on sexual abuse by clergy in his country and vowed efforts to combat it.

Bishop John Quinn of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, said the diocese planned to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following the recommendation of several consultative groups.

Distinctly Catholic: I think this is the question the pope wants them to ask: Whence your credibility as a bishop? While there will always be some ministers who are clueless, how could a culture form that such patterns of evil behavior covering up the crimes of the perpetrators were so widespread?

A proposed new system for reporting allegations of misconduct by U.S. Catholic bishops was met with wide criticism on the floor of the prelates' annual assembly, with clerics across the ideological spectrum raising a diverse set of concerns.