In Spirit and Truth Reading Roundup: October Edition

Hello friends! This month’s news roundup is long, as always, so I’m going to continue my new practice of putting a few links in bold, to draw your attention to some of the pieces I found most important or thought-provoking. If you don’t have a lot of time, you may want to start with those.

Reminder: This is a collection of reading about the twin crises of sexual abuse and institutional betrayal in the Catholic Church, particularly in the United States. I only share pieces that I find thoughtful and worth reading, but that doesn’t mean I agree with every word contained in these articles. If you care about these issues, I think it’s worth reading from a broad variety of sources and perspectives. I hope you do too.

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On Accountability for Bishops

• Vatican’s mishandling of high-profile abuse cases extends its foremost crisis

• UN, abuse survivor groups seek Vatican investigation of Bishop Belo + Vatican urges Timorese Catholics to accept decision on Belo

• Diocese confirms French bishop disciplined by Vatican for sexual abuse + New claims against French bishop reported to Vatican

• Vatican's quiet reprimand of US bishop raises concerns about pope's abuse law

• Time for more transparency in Vatican handling of sex abuse

US News

• Illinois: Archdiocese of Chicago adds dozens of new names to accused clergy list

• Illinois: St. Sabina Church stands by Rev. Pfleger amid new sex abuse accusation

• Illinois: Lawyer says Benedictine monk sexually abused him as a teen

• Kansas: Priest investigated for illegal 'internet activity' while awaiting trial

• Michigan: Faculties removed for priest after report of underage Grindr encounter

• Michigan: Priest convicted of 2004 sexual assault on boy in Michigan church

• Minnesota: Survivor wants to know what will happen to an abusive St. Cloud priest once he's freed from prison

• Missouri: Sex abuse victims outraged over priest’s return to Kansas City

• New Mexico: Santa Fe Archdiocese files $121 million settlement plan

• New York: Diocese of Buffalo agrees to secular oversight of abuse allegations

• Wisconsin: Wausau priest resigns after allegations of historical sexual misconduct with a minor

International News

• France: Catholic Church starts compensating sex abuse victims

• Lebanon: Paedophile priest Mansour Labaki defrocked by Vatican

• New Zealand: Catholic church admits 14% of clergy have been accused of abuse

• Portugal: Abuse cases mount amid questions over Nobel bishop

• Portugal: Historic church sex abuse ‘truly endemic’ at times

• United Kingdom: UK inquiry calls for mandatory reporting of child abuse, with no exceptions for sacramental confession

• Vatican: Vatican body, Italian bishops strike deal for safeguarding in global south

From Awake Milwaukee

• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article about Awake: These Catholics are trying to work within the church to change how sexual abuse is addressed

• Questions and Answers About Awake’s Next Step Recommendations

• Survivor Story: Deborah Rodriguez

• What Does Forgiveness Look Like for Survivors of Sexual Abuse in the Church?

Going Deeper

• Opinion: Why has Vos estis been a neglected tool?

• ‘Desolate Country’: Abusive priests clustered at Indian mission schools

• Survey shows many priests don’t trust bishops to support them + Highlights from the National Study of Catholic Priests

• Seminar panelists: Clergy abuse has scarred minority Catholic communities

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Thank you for reading and for caring. See you next time!

Peace,
Sara