It is clear that Warren Jeffs used a position of power and authority to manipulate and control people for his own ends. But for the members of his congregation, it was not that simple.
A few days before the U.S. bishops met in Baltimore for their annual fall assembly, Jefferson City Bishop W. Shawn McKnight released the names of the 33 priests and religious brothers who have been credibly accused and/or removed from ministry in the diocese.
In a decision that confirms its right to proactively reach out to victims of sexual abuse by priests, the Catholic Diocese of Bathurst, New Brunswick, has been awarded $3.4 million in a dispute with its insurance company.
Bishop George Murry of Youngstown has announced the names of 31 clergy and one religious brother who served in the diocese since its founding in 1943 who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor.
Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin warned there was "a danger of complacency or inertia or of slippage into false confidence" in the church's fight against clerical abuse.
Australian Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney used his speech at the Synod of Bishops to formally apologize to young people for all the ways the Catholic Church and its members have harmed them or let them down.
New sexual abuse policies that Canada's bishops have vowed to implement will focus on prevention but will not include a mechanism to censure a bishop who commits or covers up an offense.
California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a measure Sept. 30 that would have extended the state's statute of limitations for decades for childhood sexual abuse survivors.
The Dutch bishops' conference said it had worked to prevent further sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, but said a recent report by a leading newspaper was "old news."
