In Spirit and Truth Reading Roundup: May 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. Thank you for reading and staying informed!

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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Illinois Attorney General Report and Response

• Catholic church in Illinois vastly underreported clergy sex abuse, Raoul finds

• Complete AG Report

• Illinois bishops welcome, but also wary of, AG’s abuse report

• After Illinois: What does the AG report recommend, and can it work?

Other U.S. News

• California: New 'Garden of Healing' offers silent space for those hurt by abuse

• California: Diocese of Oakland files for bankruptcy to facilitate abuse settlements

• Illinois: False sex abuse claims against priests — while rare — can hurt real victims and innocent clergy, experts say

• Iowa: Former Dubuque Priest Faces Second Allegation of Abuse

• Maryland: Baltimore archbishop pushes back against Maryland sex abuse report

• Maryland: Clergy abuse survivors call for suspensions, release of names

• Maryland: Survivors express anger, hope following release of AG report

• Ohio: Priest convicted of abusing 3 victims as minors and adults, 1999 to 2020

• Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Archdiocese accused of transferring known abuser to Catholic college

• Rhode Island: Priest Removed From 3 Assignments Now Saying Parish Mass

• Tennessee: Lingering Vatican investigation of Stika leaves diocese demoralized

• Tennessee: Vatican to ask Bishop Stika for resignation

International News

• Bolivia: Diary of a pedophile priest

• Bolivia: Church abuse case sparks wave of complaints, investigation

• Bolivia: Priest accused of abusing seminary students

• Italy: Abuse scandal in Italy raises issues of lay supervision, disclosure

• Poland: Journalistic Investigation Shows Polish Church Under Communism Was Plagued By Clerical Sexual Abuse

• Poland: Poles divided over John Paul II abuse cover-up claims

• Poland: Poland Catholic church launches campaign on how to report sex abuse

• Vatican: Pope's abuse commission meets amid turmoil, facing calls for greater transparency

• Vatican: Pope tells safeguarding body not to be discouraged amid setbacks

From Awake Milwaukee

• Courageous Conversation Follow-Up: Fr. Hans Zollner Addresses More Questions

• Survivor Story: Emily Ransom

• Courageous Conversation Explores How Other Faith Traditions Address Abuse

Going Deeper

• Luis Torres' naive faith inspired him to help fellow abuse survivors

• Episcopal accountability and the 'spirituality of reparation'

• Church Abuse Failures Put All Ages At Risk

• What More Can You Do in the Face of the Church’s Sexual Abuse Crisis?

• Abuse Crisis Commentary: Assassins of the Soul

• Mitchell Garabedian: The Lawyer Who Helped Expose the Boston Priest Scandal

• Audio: Survivor of abuse by a Catholic priest in Chicago shares his experience

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

~ Sara