Religion

The Biloxi Sun-Herald reports: A retired software developer and former media minister at an Ocean Springs church pleaded guilty Monday to a federal charge of possessing child pornography. Cameron “Cam” Cotrill, 66, of Vancleave, entered the plea Monday in federal court in Gulfport. In exchange for the plea, federal prosecutors dismissed a second charge of distribution of child pornography. U.S. …

Charlotte’s CBS affiliate reports: Cornelius Police stated that on Aug. 2, 2023, they began investigating the alleged inappropriate relationship between a student and teacher at Southlake Christian Academy. Officials state that after the investigation, they were able to obtain warrants on Tyler Melton, 26, for felony sex acts with a student and indecent liberties with a student. Melton turned himself …

The Guardian reports: As he reached the end of his 41-year life, Kevin Portier had endured child rape at the hands of a southern Louisiana Catholic priest for whom he had served as an altar boy; a highly publicized trial that sent the clergyman to prison for the rest of his days; and the trauma associated with those experiences. But …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it. The document from the Vatican’s doctrine office, released Monday, elaborates on a letter Francis …

Portland’s Fox affiliate reports: A 46-year-old former pastor at a church in Aurora was indicted Wednesday on 16 counts of sexual assault, and at least some of the victims were children, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday. According to deputies, Seferino Tosie’s victims attended Missionary Memorial Church in Aurora where he worked as a pastor. Following his indictment, another …

The Yakima Herald-Republic reports: A new memorial stone in Yakima’s Calvary Catholic Cemetery is meant to prompt “quiet reflection and prayer” for clergy sex abuse victims. It also has generated criticism from statewide victims’ advocates and a demand to update the list of diocesan sex offenders. Yakima Bishop Joseph Tyson [photo] dedicated the monument. The granite memorial, on the south …

The Washington Post reports: Inside the high walls of the Holy See, Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu — former head of the office of “miracles” that minted saints — was considered papabile, a possible next pope. Then his career collided with church prosecutors, who charged the 75-year-old Italian and nine other officials with corruption, setting up the Vatican’s trial of the …

Dallas’s ABC affiliate reports: A former North Texas youth pastor has been arrested for possessing child porn, and police are asking for possible victims to come forward in the case. The Frisco Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit says it received a cyber tip that 36-year-old Kyle Timothy Poff was possibly in possession of child pornography. During the investigation, …

Dallas’s Audacy affiliate reports: The former chaplain at Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth has just received a life prison term for the sexual exploitation of children. Because Michael Dale Downs is 71 years old, the 60-year prison term imposed by a federal judge is effectively a life prison term. Federal sentences don’t carry early parole. Investigators say Downs’ wife …

The Rome News-Tribune reports: A former youth minister of a Floyd County church was sentenced Thursday to serve 15 years in prison on child molestation and possession of child pornography charges, alongside another 25 years on probation. When Austin Wray Perkins was arrested on March 9, 2022, as part of a sting targeting child pornography, police discovered he was also …

Via press release from the Church Of England: A selection of readings and prayers of thanksgiving, dedication and asking for God’s blessing for same-sex couples can be used in Church of England services for the first time from Sunday, December 17, following approval by the House of Bishops. The final texts of Prayers of Love and Faith, commended for use …

The Providence Journal reports: Calling his crimes egregious and an enormous violation of the trust to the parishioners he once served, a federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a former Roman Catholic priest to serve six years in prison. “I’m strongly inclined to give you more than that,” U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith said in sentencing Rev. James Ward …

Religion News Service reports: The pastor of Philadelphia’s Tenth Presbyterian Church — an influential Presbyterian Church in America congregation — resigned after a past arrest for improper conduct along with another church leader was made public. Liam Goligher, who had been pastor of Tenth since 2011, resigned on Dec. 1, according to a statement from the church. His resignation was …

The Associated Press reports: A far-right lawmaker in the Polish parliament used a fire extinguisher on Tuesday and put out candles on a menorah that was lit for the Jewish holiday Hanukkah. All major political forces quickly denounced the incident carried out by Grzegorz Braun, and said there would be no tolerance for antisemitic and xenophobic behavior in the Polish …

From the Justice Department: A federal jury today convicted a Lame Deer pastor of sexually abusing three children while they were staying at his home, on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said. After a six-day trial that began on Dec. 4, the jury found Dean Alan Smith, 67, guilty of aggravated sexual abuse, abusive sexual contact …

CBS News reports: The Diocese of Sacramento will seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after more than 250 lawsuits claiming sexual abuse by clergy and other staff, Bishop Jaime Soto said on Saturday. “There are many victim-survivors awaiting compensation for the reprehensible sins committed against them,” Soto said in a statement to his parishioners. “It is the sickening sin of sexual …

Kansas City’s ABC affiliate reports: An Independence pastor is facing child molestation charges. Court documents state that multiple people under the age of 18 accused Virgil Marsh of sexually assaulting them between 2011 and 2018. Marsh, 71, is now in the Jackson County jail. He was charged with two counts of first-degree of child molestation and first-degree statutory sodomy. A …

Pittsburgh’s ABC affiliate reports: A Butler County pastor is in jail Wednesday evening after engaging in what state police are calling inappropriate sexual contact with two minors. Herman Clarence Rushing, Jr., 67, of Portersville Borough, is facing charges of corruption of minors, endangering the welfare of children and indecent assault. Rushing is in the Butler County Prison as of Wednesday …

Fort Wayne’s ABC affiliate reports: A 25-year-old man is facing charges after court documents say he had inappropriate contact with a minor while he was serving as a pastor at a Markle church. Court records show Zachary Luke Petree was charged with child seduction while having a professional relationship with the child, dissemination of matter harmful to minors, and sexual …

The CBC reports: A Roman Catholic priest on P.E.I. has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to four counts of sexual exploitation of a teenage boy in the 1990s. Maurice Joseph Praught, 70, entered the plea in a Charlottetown courtroom Tuesday morning. He was arrested in 2022 following a joint investigation by Summerside police and the …