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As I pointed out in my blog, the John Jay study released earlier this week is nothing more than another misleading effort by U.S. Bishops and the Vatican to promote its self-image. The report, which is at most a review as opposed to a study, is a shameless attempt to quiet the tireless survivors and advocates who continue to demand a change in practices that imperil children.

Artist Tony Auth’s depiction that was published in this morning’s Philadelphia Inquirer captures the true meaning behind the John Jay report.

The Vatican today released what it is calling a “study” on the causes and context of sex abuse of minors by Catholic priests.  This “study” is in fact a self-serving report using information fed to the investigators by the Bishops in the U.S.  The investigators interviewed none of the survivors of abuse with whom we have worked for so many years, nor did they interview anyone outside of those working with the Bishops.   The Bishops certainly gave limited information to the investigators, as they did not give access to their secret files, which reflect the internal cover up …

The Vatican today released what it is calling a “study” on the causes and context of sex abuse of minors by Catholic priests.  This “study” is in fact a self-serving report using information fed to the investigators by the Bishops in the U.S.  The investigators interviewed none of the survivors of abuse with whom we have worked for so many years, nor did they interview anyone outside of those working with the Bishops.

The new “guidelines” issued today by the Vatican that aim to make changes within the church regarding the handling of child sex abuse cases are misleading, toothless and timid.   They are misleading because they are labeled as “changes” but in reality, as even Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi concedes, the guidelines are merely a disingenuous attempt to reinforce the current protocols, rather than make any fundamental changes to the norm.  They are toothless because they give no new rules that require any meaningful change or any real action by church officials…

Today, Amnesty International issued its annual global report on the state of human rights and named the Vatican in its list of countries with human rights violations. In its report, Amnesty International specifically cited the Vatican for its failure to remove priests accused of sexual abuse from ministry, not co-operating  with authorities, and not giving victims the proper relief, saying “The Holy See did not sufficiently comply with its international obligations relating to the protection of children.”

Today, Amnesty International issued its annual global report on the state of human rights and named the Vatican in its list of countries with human rights violations.
In its report, Amnesty International specifically cited the Vatican for its failure to remove priests accused of sexual abuse from ministry, not co-operating  with authorities, and not giving victims the proper relief, saying “The Holy See did not sufficiently comply with its international obligations relating to the protection of children.” 
We are encouraged to see an internationally-known organization like Amnest…

On Wednesday our law firm filed a lawsuit in Chicago against the Vatican. The lawsuit is an attempt to hold Vatican officials accountable for their direct role in covering up the sexual abuse of children perpetrated by Fr. Daniel McCormack. Some wonder why we filed this suit. After all, didn’t the Archdiocese of Chicago settle with this survivor?

Yesterday the Creditors’ Committee in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Bankruptcy
proceedings asked the Court to hire a forensic accounting firm to scrutinize the
Archdiocese and Archbishop Timothy Dolan’s transfer of millions of dollars in
the years leading up to the bankruptcy. The forensic accountants the
Creditor’s Committee is recommending are experts in reviewing financial affairs
of organizations, including transfers of money by the organization.

In spite of the fact that the Philadelphia Archdiocese secretly continued to allow three dozen credibly acused offenders to remain…

At a conference in Milwaukee this week, Diarmuid Martin, the Archbishop
of Dublin, Ireland, provided a powerful message to those in attendance
when he said, “Only the truth sets us free.” And, that the church must
be “willing to tell the truth and take ownership of the truth, even when
the truth is unpleasant.”