Pedophilia

In a 6-1 decision Dec. 3, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said the identities of some clergy accused of abuse that were redacted from a grand jury report issued in mid-August must remain permanently blocked from release.

Laypeople need to help the U.S. bishops get out from under the clerical sex abuse scandal that is plaguing the church, said Bishop W. Shawn McKnight of Jefferson City in a message to Catholics of his diocese.

A Catholic archbishop publicly apologized to the victims of child abuse during a government-backed inquiry that shed light on allegations against priests over half a century.

A few days before the U.S. bishops met in Baltimore for their annual fall assembly, Jefferson City Bishop W. Shawn McKnight released the names of the 33 priests and religious brothers who have been credibly accused and/or removed from ministry in the diocese.

Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa, retired archbishop of Santiago, Chile, announced that his term as a member of Pope Francis' international Council of Cardinals has ended.

As the U.S. bishops entered the last public part of their 2018 fall general assembly, centered largely on the clergy sex abuse crisis, six clergy sex abuse survivors announced Nov. 14 a lawsuit against the prelates' main organization, the U.S. Catholic bishops Conference.

During the second day of their annual fall assembly in Baltimore, the U.S. bishops discussed, even though they weren't voting on, procedures they could use to restrict bishops removed from their position or reassigned due to sexual abuse allegations or "grave negligence in office."

Strategies implemented since 2002 are working to prevent abuse, says Thomas Plante, past member of the National Review Board, and now is the time to plug any holes in child protection policies.