Category: News

Watch this TV news segment covering the investigation into clergy sexual abuse from our friends at Godly Response to Abuse in the Chrstian Environment (GRACE), one of the co-sponsors of our Keeping Faith program designed to train those responding to cases of spiritual abuse. Watch here

As thousands of abuse victims across the U.S. continue to search for justice and closure decades after being molested by some of the most trusted people in their lives, these men have become the priest next door. They live near schools and playgrounds, close to families and children unaware of their backgrounds or the crimes they’ve been accused of. In some cases, they’ve taken on leadership roles in new communities, becoming professors, counselors, friends and mentors to children. Their movements are unchecked by both the government and the Catholic Church in part because laws in many states make it nearly impossible for victims to pursue criminal charges decades after alleged abuse.

Two years ago, Maryland lawmakers made it easier for adults sexually abused as children to sue institutions that harbored predators. They may have also irreversibly granted some immunity to the Catholic Church. A provision tucked into a 2017 law now stands in the way of Maryland joining a nationwide effort to bring justice to victims who come to terms with childhood abuse when they reach middle age and, for decades, have had no recourse in civil courts.

“A primary reason why abuse victims are afraid of the church is because of the level of immaturity and ignorance they have experienced in how they are treated or handled by the community and leadership of a church.” – child sexual abuse survivor –Religion News Service

Victor Vieth is, unfortunately, no stranger to the countless stories of child abuse in both the United States and the rest of the world. –Daily Journal

An interfaith initiative has created international ethics guidelines for religious leaders to insure proper conduct with their congregants. –The Jewish Week