The Committee of Unsecured Creditors, representing all survivors of sexual abuse who submitted claims in the Diocese of Rochester bankruptcy case, reached a settlement with the last holdout insurer, Continental Insurance Company (CNA), for $120 Million.
Victor Vieth, director of the Center for Faith and Child Protection at Zero Abuse Project, said that children who experience abuse, particularly within the church, often deal with lingering crises of faith. “The vast majority of maltreated children are spiritually wounded in some way. Survivors, like many people, turn to their spirituality to make sense out of the suffering. And yet, that’s often the part of the psyche most damaged as a result of the abuse.”
Zero Abuse Project applauds the recent decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court to allow a grand jury to investigate allegations of clergy sexual abuse. The Camden diocese had previously argued that New Jersey could not investigate the church because it is a private entity, but has since backed down and stated it would no longer object to an investigation.
A group of Roman Catholic priests in the state of Washington announced it is suing the state over a new law requiring religious clergy to report all instances of child abuse—even those mentioned during the act of confession. “There is nothing in the Bible that says confession needs to be confidential,” notes Victor Vieth, Director of Center for Faith & Child Protection.
With the New Jersey Supreme Court poised to decide whether a state grand jury can issue a presentment about sexual abuse by members of the clergy, a group of survivors alleges that the Diocese of Camden’s efforts to stop the presentment breaches protocols in its Chapter 11 reorganization aimed at protecting children.
The founder of the Texas megachurch Gateway Church who resigned as senior pastor last year after he admitted “inappropriate sexual behavior” in the 1980s has been indicted on five criminal counts involving a child, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office said. Gateway Church said in a statement that it was “grateful for the work of the justice system in holding abusers accountable for their actions.”
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals will hear a largely unknown case that has potential nationwide influence on the legal doctrine of “ecclesial abstention.” In an amicus brief signed by Zero Abuse Project, the plaintiffs argue, “Courts recognize in more meaningful ways that the First Amendment is not a shield behind which religious adherents can escape liability for social wrongs they committed.”
Jeff Taylor, a former youth minister accused of sexually abusing children, spent at least a decade working as a charitable fundraiser in Cincinnati. An independent investigation commissioned by one of his former churches reported that three men have accused Taylor, now 64, of sexually abusing them when they were boys under his supervision in the 1990s.
More than a dozen Northern Texas pastors and church leaders have been removed or stepped down due to sexual and physical abuse accusations. Abuse is about power, according to Victor Veith, director of the Center for Faith and Child Protection at the Zero Abuse Project.
An alumni group representing students from Hillcrest School in Jos, Nigeria announced that eight Christian organizations have agreed to help fund an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse. Zero Abuse Project will conduct the investigation and promised to consider allegations dating back to the school’s founding.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion, resigned Tuesday after an investigation found that he failed to tell police about serial physical and sexual abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps as soon as he became aware of it.
Zero Abuse Project announced the opening of The Center for Faith and Child Protection (CFCP), a new program designed to transform and empower faith communities to respond to cases of child abuse in a trauma-informed manner.
James Morris, son of the Gateway Church senior pastor and founder Robert Morris (pictured) who has been accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl, has resigned from his position to succeed his father. In comments, Center for Faith & Child Protection director Victor Vieth says there is no quick-fix to the problem, and that congregants are at a “significant risk to be spiritually wounded and perhaps leave the church or even abandon their faith altogether.”
After a four-year legal battle, Gateway Church agreed to settle a second lawsuit alleging child sexual assault carried out by one child on another. “The behavior thrives when we don’t shine a light on the fact that it could happen,” said Alison Feigh, Director of Jacob Wetterling Resource Center.
Louisiana’s state supreme court on Wednesday reversed its decision to strike down a law that allowed child-molestation victims to file civil lawsuits over long-ago abuse. The decision affects all alleged abusers and their enablers – but it is particularly significant for Louisiana’s Roman Catholic church, which is facing hundreds of decades-old claims of child molestation in various state and federal courts.
Eight abuse survivors spoke Monday in the Baltimore archdiocese’s bankruptcy case, contributing to a chilling picture of children being tormented by Catholic clergy. The testimony follows six survivors who spoke on April 8th detailing decades of abuse by priests and clergy members. Zero Abuse Project’s SurvivorSpace team spoke to the firm representing the Committee of survivors coming forward to learn more about the case and the looming deadline for filing claims.
San Francisco’s Roman Catholic archdiocese filed for bankruptcy Monday, saying the filing is necessary to manage more than 500 lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by church officials.
Today, a settlement was announced in the Diocese of Syracuse bankruptcy case on behalf of hundreds of survivors of child sexual abuse who courageously came forward to file claims in the Diocese’s bankruptcy case. The $100 million settlement includes contributions from the Diocese of Syracuse, the Diocese’s parishes, and other entities affiliated with the Diocese.
Five members of Jehovah’s Witnesses congregations were charged with child sexual abuse by the Pennsylvania’s attorney general on Friday, following a yearslong investigation into allegations of sexual abuse in the religious community. READ MORE
A shocking investigation by the Illinois Attorney General has found that nearly 2,000 minors were sexually abused by Catholic priests in the state over 69 years, outlining the desperate need for trainings and resources to assist those victimized by abuse within the faith community. READ MORE
States weigh child abuse reporting vs. clergy’s duty of confidentiality States weigh child abuse reporting vs. clergy’s duty of confidentiality States weigh child abuse reporting vs. clergy’s duty of confidentiality States weigh child abuse reporting vs. clergy’s duty of confidentiality Zero Abuse Project staff speaks to the necessity of mandatory reporting in the faith community in a new story centering
In a new article revealing decades of abuse often enabled by other spiritual leaders within the faith community, Zero Abuse Project‘s Victor Vieth speaks about the ways in which purity culture and religious themes may be used as a means of normalizing and justifying the grooming patterns of an abuser. READ MORE
Menlo Church leadership acknowledges abuse from decades ago A Menlo Park megachurch is apologizing for several instances of abuse from decades ago that “had not been addressed in a way that honored the survivors at the time” after information about them was unearthed in recent years and in the aftermath of a 2021 investigation by Zero Abuse Project. READ MORE
Ouachita Baptist University’s community & family services program in the Pruet School of Christian Studies and the Title IX department discusses the crucial need for hosting “Keeping Faith,” Zero Abuse Project’s signature faith-based course that empowers faith communities to recognize and respond to cases of sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect, while providing details of the impact on
Zero Abuse Project CPO Victor Vieth authors this piece in the January/February issue of the Sexual Assault Report discussing the Southern Baptist Church, including an overview of the case against the SBC, failures of the investigation, and recommendations for reforms. Now in its 26th year of publication, Sexual Assault Report is a bimonthly report letter written for professionals working to prevent and prosecute
Zero Abuse Project is a 501(c)(3) organization committed to the elimination of child sexual abuse. Our programs are designed to provide training and education to professionals and students, and to help transform institutions to effectively prevent, recognize, and respond to child sexual abuse.
