Bishop Vasa announced Dec. 2, 2022, that the Diocese of Santa Rosa expects to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after Dec. 31 and Before March 1, 2023, as it faces more than 130 claims of sex abuse dating from 1962.
Vasa: Chapter 11 will allow for evaluating claims ‘as fairly as possible’
Chicago’s Father Pfleger is removed from ministry over abuse allegation
The Chicago Archdiocese said it received an allegation that the priest had sexually abused a minor more than 30 years ago.
Zero tolerance for priests guilty of abuse, pope says in interview
During the lengthy interview, the pope called sexual abuse “diabolical” and a “monstrosity” and said there is “zero tolerance” for those in the church who are guilty of abuse.
Portugal abuse commission urges victims to come forward during home visits
The commission asked public figures to submit messages encouraging victims to “give voice to their silence” and said it counted on Portuguese media to publicize its work.
Australia’s Plenary Council assembly passes motions on Indigenous, abuse
The assembly apologized to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for “the part played by the church in the harms they have suffered” and committed to working toward “recognition, reconciliation and justice.”
Bishops in Japan set March 18 as day of prayer for victims of sexual abuse
Catholic bishops in Japan are dedicating the second Friday of Lent as a Day of Prayer and Penance for Victims and Survivors of Sexual Abuse.
In priest’s abuse trial, German archbishop says he mishandled situation
In the first testimony by a German bishop in an abuse trial, Archbishop Hesse admitted he made mistakes in his handling of a priest accused of abuse.
Church’s inability to put victims first is ‘moment of shame,’ pope says
This deep sense of shame, “our shame, my shame,” he said, was for “the too lengthy inability of the church to put (victims) at the center of its concerns.”