According to the Riverside Press Enterprise, two victims of convicted priest Alejandro “Alex” Castillo settled their sex abuse and cover-up lawsuits against the Diocese of San Bernardino for $3.8 million. In a statement, the diocese called Castillo’s acts “sinful and unlawful.” They also added this: The diocese acknowledges and deeply regrets the sinful and unlawful…Continue reading Castillo victims settle with Diocese of San Bernardino
There have been a number of things about the recent UN committee report on (and the global response to) the Vatican’s role in clergy sex abuse that have given me pause. The first issue has been the one to which Vatican and global Catholic officials have clung : The report’s inclusion of language about the church’s…Continue reading The Battle of the Scandals, pt 1: The Nation-State
No matter your take on the recent UN committee report on the problem of sex abuse in the Catholic Church and no matter how you feel about the recent public argument involving Woody Allen and his daughter Dylan Farrow, two things are clear: The more we talk about sex abuse as a crime, the more…Continue reading If nothing else …
Every once in a while, I catch myself wondering why the child sex abuse awareness movement (especially in the Catholic Church) has never elicited support from Hollywood A-listers. Yesterday, Dylan Farrow gave us a painful and personal reminder. Her immensely brave open letter in the New York Times is raw. She openly accuses Woody Allen…Continue reading You read Dylan Farrow’s letter. Now what?
I have spent all morning going through the documents recently released by the Archdiocese of Chicago (before you applaud any proposed Archdiocese “transparency,” remember that the documents were only released because the court ordered Cardinal George to turn them over). Cardinal George has spent a lot of time during the past week trying to minimize…Continue reading Cardinal George and abusive priests – a cozy relationship