News & Events

Mar 29, 2011: Germany opens door for more civil cases of sexual abuse

Adults who were victims of sexual abuse as children will soon have
considerably longer to sue for damages in German court. Germany’s cabinet
approved legislation on Wednesday that extends the statute of limitations to
take legal action in civil cases from three to 30 years after a victim’s 21st
birthday.

Mar 28, 2011: Suit Says Jesuits Ignored Warnings About Priest

Jesuit leaders in Chicago largely ignored or kept secret numerous reports, spanning four decades, that a prominent priest was sexually abusing teenage boys, lawyers for victims charged on Monday in a motion for punitive damages in a Chicago court. Included in the motion were more than 65 recently obtained church documents and depositions that, the lawyers said, demonstrated “a reckless disregard for the safety of others in the face of repeated reports of sexual misconduct” on the part of Chicago Jesuit leaders.

Mar 18, 2011: New York Archbishop: Sex Scandal Needs to Haunt Church

Calling the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal “hideous” and “nauseating,” New York’s Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan says the scandal “needs to haunt” the church for some time to come.In the wide-ranging interview, Dolan also discusses his past role as the archbishop of Milwaukee, his current mission and the state of the church in America with “60 Minutes” correspondent Morley Safer.

Mar 18, 2011: Timothy Dolan on the priest sex abuse scandal: “This needs to haunt us.”

(CBS News) Calling the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal “hideous” and “nauseating,” New York’s Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan says the scandal “needs to haunt” the church for some time to come.In the wide-ranging interview, Dolan also discusses his past role as the archbishop of Milwaukee, his current mission and the state of the church in America with “60 Minutes” correspondent Morley Safer. The profile of the leader of New York City’s two-million-plus Roman Catholics will be broadcast Sunday, March 20 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.Asked if he feared the impact of the scandal would go on forever, Dolan repli…

Mar 16, 2011: Avenging Altar Boy

The district attorney is burning a eucalyptus-spearmint candle on his desk. “I think the press looks down upon the D.A. drinking Jack Daniels during the day,” R. Seth Williams says with a broad smile, “so I light my little stress-relief candle.” It’s understandable if the former altar boy at St. Carthage in West Philly needs to light a votive. The 44-year-old Catholic, who still attends Mass with his family at the same church, now called St. Cyprian, is the first U.S. prosecutor to charge a church official for a sickeningly commonplace sin: Endangering children whom the Roman Catholic…

Mar 15, 2011: Delco man plans priest-sex lawsuit

One week after officials in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced that 21
priests were being suspended while allegations that they sexually abused minors
are reviewed, a Delaware County man is planning to file a lawsuit against the
archdiocese in connection with abuse he says he suffered at the hands of a
priest.

Mar 14, 2011: Lawyer states case for clergy sex abuse victims

mjs-anderson.jpgSt. Paul, Minn — . – Jeff Anderson has heard it all.
He’s been called a scourge. A parasite. A media-monger hellbent on bringing
down the Catholic Church.
But the Minnesota lawyer who’s made a career of suing the most powerful
religious institution in the world over its handling of clergy sex abuse cases
pays no mind.
“I don’t care what people think, and I don’t try to control it,” said
Anderson, the lead attorney in civil fraud cases pending against the Archdiocese
of Milwaukee who is now representing those victims in the archdiocese’s
bankruptcy.

Mar 10, 2011: Diocese Fraud Suit Moves Ahead

A fraud lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of La Crosse that claims child sexual abuse four decades ago moved forward today.La Crosse County Circuit Judge Scott Horne denied the diocese’s motion to dismiss the complaint, in which a Plover, Wis., woman contends diocese officials knew a priest had a history of molesting children before he abused her in 1971.

Mar 07, 2011: Philadelphia archdiocese to face new claims in child sex abuse allegations

New York (CNN) — Attorneys said they will announce a new lawsuit Monday against the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, which has been the subject of a two-year grand jury investigation into claims officials ignored and covered up sex crimes against children.”The Lawsuit will allege that Archdiocese officials conspired to endanger the safety of the Plaintiff when they actively concealed their knowledge of (a) priest’s previous offenses, lied to parishioners, and created a sham sexual abuse victim assistance program for the Archdiocese,” according to a news release announcing the lawsuit. The lawsuit…

Mar 04, 2011: Sex Abuse Lawyers Plan Ad Campaign

Lawyers representing victims of clergy abuse in the Milwaukee Catholic
Archdiocese announced Thursday that they are launching a monthlong media
campaign to encourage others who have been sexually abused in the archdiocese to
come forward.
At a news conference at the Pfister Hotel, lawyer Jeff Anderson said that
because the archdiocese had filed for bankruptcy protection, there will be a
short time frame for survivors of abuse by priests to come forward and make
their claims.
Therefore, he said, he and other lawyers representing survivors are mounting
an unusual outreach…

Mar 03, 2011: Lawyer: Ex-Wis. archbishop’s letter ‘smoking gun’

MILWAUKEE — A 2003 letter from then-Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan shows he was more concerned about the church’s reputation than the actions of an abusive priest, an attorney for nearly two dozen alleged Wisconsin sex abuse victims claimed Tuesday. But the archdiocese that Dolan now heads said the letter does just the opposite and shows Dolan was deeply concerned and wanted the priest, Franklyn Becker, dismissed. St. Paul-Minn.-based attorney Jeff Anderson obtained the letter, which he released Tuesday, as part of cases he handled in California involving Becker. Anderson has filed 14…