In Spirit and Truth Reading Roundup: June 2023 Edition

Welcome to my monthly collection of news and commentary about the twin crises of sexual abuse and institutional betrayal in the Catholic Church.

Note that I highlight pieces from a variety of sources and perspectives, and inclusion here does not mean that I agree with everything in a given article.

As always, if you only have time to read a few pieces this month, I recommend you start with those in bold below.

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Developments in the Rupnik Affair

• Jesuits expel prominent artist accused of abusing women

• Center in Rome loyal to artist-priest accuses Jesuits of smear campaign

• In l’Affaire Rupnik, optics matter (too)

• Knights of Columbus continue review of Rupnik art in chapels

On Accountability for Bishops (or Lack Thereof)

• Massachusetts: Expert finds McCarrick incompetent to stand trial

• Minnesota: Former bishop Piché to return to ministry in Minnesota archdiocese

• Tennessee: Bishop Richard Stika Resigns + States ‘I myself was a victim of abuse’

• Tennessee: Knoxville bishop’s resignation a relief for clergy while experts wonder what took so long (article includes comments from me!)

• Canada: New testimony of second alleged sex abuse victim of Cardinal Ouellet revealed in Canadian court

• France: Another French bishop is accused of sexual abuse

• India: Pope accepts resignation of bishop accused, and acquitted, of rape

• UK: Bishop’s errors left people at risk, says safeguarding review

Other U.S. News

• Arizona: 20 years after Bishop O’Brien’s sex abuse cover-up and deadly hit-and-run, have Catholics in Phoenix healed?

• Connecticut: Connecticut priest accused of sexual assault of adult woman

• Florida: Deacon at Catholic School Arrested, Accused of Molesting Students

• Kansas: New law helps child sex abuse survivors — but has two crucial omissions

• Louisiana: In 1999, a New Orleans priest confessed to abusing children. He returned to work and was never charged.

• Maryland: Survivors give horrific accounts of 'parade' of sexual abuse at Catholic high school (Video)

• Rhode Island: Fr. James Jackson pleads guilty to child porn charge

• USCCB meets with looming McCarrick anniversary

International News

• Australia: Survivor of paedophile priest reveals toll the abuse took on her life

• Bolivia: Events in Bolivia and Brazil may signal a turning point for the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse crisis in Latin America

• Brazil: First study of clerical abuse in Brazil calls known cases ‘tip of the iceberg’

• Canada: Priest arrested in recent sexual assault of 8-year-old girl

• France: Brothers of Saint John issue shocking report on sex abuse by founder

• Spain: Spanish bishops find evidence of 728 sexual abusers, 927 victims since 1945

• Spain: The Spanish priests accused of child abuse in the US who fell off the radar

• Vatican: Abuse survivors cast doubt on leadership of Vatican commission

• Vatican: Pope’s anti-abuse commission issues new framework and survey

• Vatican: Vatican's secretary of state: Clerical abuse not linked to homosexuality

From Awake Milwaukee

• The Power of Pets in Trauma Healing

• Moral Injury: The Unexpected Wounds of Sexual Abuse in the Church

• Survivor Story: Jim Richter

• Awake Asks Questions From Survivors About Wisconsin’s Clergy and Faith Leader Investigation

Going Deeper

• The wrong people are in charge of protecting our children from sexual abuse

• We Need to Fix It: Catholics Speak Out About Abuse Scandal (Video)

• We can have both: Due process for accused priests and justice for abuse survivors

• Exactly 30 years before Illinois AG’s devastating sexual abuse report, a plan for prevention was implemented, then scrapped

• Clergy sex abuse is the fault of the institution, not the religion.

• What the Latest Investigations Into Catholic Church Sex Abuse Mean

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I will be back with more from our Survivors’ Voices panel soon. Thank you for reading and caring.

~ Sara