News & Events

Jan 20, 2011: Old Vatican Letter Stirs Pedophile Priest Cover-Up Allegations

MINNEAPOLIS – An old letter from the Vatican has surfaced that many say is the smoking gun, the strongest indication yet the Church tried to cover up the crimes of pedophile priests.As an altar boy, Bob Swiderski was repeatedly sexually abused by a priest in Hector, Minnesota in the early 1960s. Now, he believes there’s proof the Catholic Church tried to cover up the crimes of pedophile priests.”What I’ve been saying for 20-plus years is that they’re not telling the truth,” Swiderski said. “They are creating hurdles and this just comes back and proves what my thoughts and my voice has been say…

Jan 20, 2011: Diocese Abuser List Long Awaited

In the fall of 2002, the year the clergy sexual abuse crisis exploded in Boston, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore released a list of priests who had been credibly accused of sexual abuse over the previous five decades. Following a scathing 2005 grand jury report on sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia that listed the names of clergy abusers, that archdiocese established an online gallery, complete with photographs and assignment records of credibly accused priests, as well as a separate list of pending cases. And the Archdiocese of Chicago has kept an updated list of …

Jan 18, 2011: Disclosure of Vatican Letter to Irish Bishops lends additional credibility to lawsuit in U.S. Federal District Court against the Holy See

logo.jpg Press ReleaseFor Immediate ReleaseJanuary 18, 2011Disclosure of Vatican Letter to Irish Bishops lends additional credibility to lawsuit in U.S. Federal District Courtagainst the Holy See.Jeff Anderson says Oregon case, John V. Doe v. Holy See, will seek additional secret Vatican documentsStatement of Counsel in John V. Doe v. Holy See:Jeff Anderson:  “The recent discovery of a 1997 letter sent from a Vatican official to Irish bishops warning them not to report child abuse cases to police is an important development that severely undermines claims of Church hierarchy that official…

Jan 11, 2011: Jeff Anderson Joins New Legal Practice in UK Dedicated to Rooting Out Clerical Sexual Abuse

A leading US litigator who has spent more than 20 years suing US-based paedophile priests and the church officials who moved them from parish to parish is joining a new legal practice dedicated to rooting out clerical sexual abuse in the UK. Jeff Anderson has filed more than 1,500 lawsuits against the Catholic church in the US and thousands more against individuals and organisations, including those belonging to other Christian denominations. His Minnesota firm says it is “aggressively committed” to child protection through civil litigation and he believes there is significant scope to…

Jan 04, 2011: Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee filing for bankruptcy

The Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee, which is facing more than a dozen lawsuits over its handling of clergy sex abuse cases, is expected to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this afternoon, the archdiocese said Tuesday.Archbishop Jerome Listecki said the move was necessary to fairly compensate victims and continue the “essential ministries” of the church, and urged the faithful not to blame the victims.”For those of you who may feel anger and resentment that we have come to this moment, STOP,” Listecki said in a letter to church members on Tuesday. “We are here because of one reason:…

Dec 15, 2010: Pastor at San Pedro Y Pablo Lutheran sued again

A 25 year-old California man identified only as “John Doe” filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court last week alleging he was sexually abused in the Mid 1990’s by his pastor at Iglesia Lutheran San Pedro Y Pablo Church in Bell Gardens, California.   The Lawsuit alleges church officials received complaints…