Tag Archives: organized crime

Reuters reports: Pope Francis, in his first public comment after the release of an explosive report on the Vatican’s mishandling of the case of ex-U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, on Wednesday again vowed to put an end to sexual abuse in the Church. “Yesterday, the report about the painful case of ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was published. I renew my closeness to …

Via press release from Cardinal Raymond Burke: First of all, the context and the occasion of such declarations make them devoid of any magisterial weight. They are rightly interpreted as simple private opinions of the person who made them. These declarations do not bind, in any manner, the consciences of the faithful who are rather obliged to adhere with religious …

“The Holy Father’s apparent support for the recognition of civil unions for same-sex couples needs to be clarified. “The Pope’s statement clearly contradicts what has been the long-standing teaching of the Church about same-sex unions. “The Church cannot support the acceptance of objectively immoral relationships. Individuals with same-sex attraction are beloved children of God and must have their personal human …

From San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone: In our bishops region’s audience with Pope Francis last January during our ad limina visit (the visit diocesan bishops make every five years to the Vatican), the topic of civil unions came up in conversation. The Holy Father clearly differentiated between a civil arrangement which accords mutual benefits to two people, and marriage. The …

The Associated Press reports: A Roman Catholic diocese in New York City’s suburbs has become the largest in the U.S. to declare bankruptcy to protect itself from a wave of lawsuits filed over past sexual abuse by clergy members. The Diocese of Rockville Centre filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday. It is the eighth largest diocese or archdiocese …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis is giving his blessing to a new Vatican think tank that is seeking to prevent the Mafia and organized crime groups from exploiting the image of the Virgin Mary for their own illicit ends. The Vatican’s Pontifical Marian Academy launched the think tank Friday at a conference titled “Liberating Mary from the Mafia.” It …

Reuters reports: An American bishop-elect has resigned just weeks before he was due to start the job, following an allegation that he had sexually abused a minor, Catholic Church officials said on Monday. Father Michel Mulloy, 66, was appointed by Pope Francis on June 19 to be bishop of Duluth, Minnesota and was due to be formally installed in a …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis said Sunday that gossiping is a “plague worse than COVID” that is seeking to divide the Catholic Church. Francis strayed from his prepared text to double down on his frequent complaint about gossiping within church communities and even within the Vatican bureaucracy. Francis went on at some length to say the devil is the …

Toledo’s ABC News affiliate reports: The pastor of a Catholic church in Findlay was arrested and is being federally charged with numerous crimes related to sexual conduct with minors. Michael Zacharias, 53, is charged with coercion and enticement, sex trafficking of a minor, and sex trafficking of an adult by force, fraud, or coercion. Investigators are aware Zacharias has engaged …

The New York Daily News reports: The pastor of a Queens church was accused Wednesday of vile sexts with a 15-year-old boy in Westchester. St. Pancras Church Pastor Francis Hughes, 65, swapped nauseating messages with the boy about masturbation and other unholy topics. Hughes lied and told the teen he was a part-time college professor and counselor, prosecutors said. The …

The New York Daily News reports: Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick ran a depraved sex ring of underage boys at a beach house on the Jersey Shore, a disturbing new lawsuit claims. The suit, filed by a man using the pseudonym Doe 14, claims that in 1982 and 1983, when he was as young as 14 years old, he and other …

As those of us on the Trump campaign’s email list know, their money begs have increasingly threatening over the last few weeks. And there’s now a backlash: President Donald Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign is coming under fire over campaign fundraising emails which some supporters are calling “gross” and “scary.” Most of the emails — which typically claimed to be from …

Fox News reports: A Catholic archbishop said the “deep state” is “fiercely waging war against” President Trump amid the coronavirus pandemic and riots following the death of George Floyd. Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano of Rome urged Trump on Sunday to fight against the so-called “deep state,” mainstream media, and the “deep church” in an open letter. “In recent months we …

The New York Daily News reports: The 93-year-old ex-pope has an authorized biography out in Germany this week, which ends with an interview between Benedict and the journalist Peter Seewald. In the exchange, Benedict sharply attacked gay marriage, abortion and scientific methods of conception. “Modern society is in the middle of formulating an anti-Christian creed,” he said. “The fear of …

From the Archdiocese of New Orleans: In order to continue effectively ministering to the needs of the church community and victims and survivors of clergy abuse, the Administrative Offices of the Archdiocese of New Orleans announced today that it has filed for Chapter 11 reorganization under the U.S. Federal Bankruptcy Code. The move was necessitated by the growing financial strain …

Law & Crime reports: President Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump and the Trump Organization just suffered a major defeat in federal court–losing a battle to have a years-old so-called “racketeering enterprising” lawsuit against them decided via secret arbitration. Those claims are now all but certain to be litigated publicly. The class action plaintiffs originally filed suit …

Reuters reports: Australia’s highest court acquitted former Vatican treasurer George Pell on Tuesday of sexually assaulting two teenaged choirboys in the 1990s, freeing the 78-year-old cardinal after 404 days in jail. The High Court ordered Pell’s convictions be quashed and verdicts of acquittal be entered in their place, ending the most high profile case of alleged historical sex abuse to …

The New York Times reports: All over the country, businesses large and small are seeking breathing room from their lenders, landlords and business partners as they face the financial fallout from the coronavirus crisis. President Trump’s family company is among those looking for help. With some of its golf courses and hotels closed amid the economic lockdown, the Trump Organization …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis on Friday accepted the resignation of a French cardinal who was convicted and then acquitted of covering up for a pedophile priest in a case that fueled a reckoning over clergy sexual abuse in France. Lyon Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, 69, had offered to resign when the Lyon court in March 2019 first convicted him …

The Buffalo News reports: The Buffalo Diocese, awash with lawsuits alleging child sex abuse by priests, nuns and others, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday, marking another chapter in a scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church in Western New York since early 2018. The Buffalo Diocese already is named as a defendant in 260 cases, more than …