Clearly, Cardinal Donald Wuerl was right to resign as Washington archbishop, but his fall has sent mixed signals about the Vatican’s resolve to get tough on clerical sex abuse.

WASHINGTON – The Archdiocese of Washington has voluntarily released the names of abusive priests and stated that there have been no credible claims of abuse made against archdiocesan priests in almost 20 years.

VATICAN – In an unprecedented move, Pope Francis removed from the priesthood two Chilean bishops accused of sexual abuse.

Good riddance to confidentiality clauses. If one outcome captures the spirit of the Canadian bishops’ new document on sex abuse, that might be it. No more confidentially clauses.

Hayden Straczala had just finished a fruitful year in parish internship when news broke of a Pennsylvania report that identified 1,000 victims who were sexually abused by Catholic priests. As more stories began to come out in Chile, Germany and other parts of the world, it weighed heavily on him as he returned to his academic studies in St. Augustine’s Seminary in Toronto. 

Is it possible for a Catholic bishop to not know sex with children is a crime? 

WASHINGTON – The Archdiocese of Washington announced Sept. 28 that former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, who was removed from ministry earlier this year after abuse allegations came to light, is now living in Kansas in a friary for Capuchin Franciscan friars.

VATICAN – Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the former nuncio to the United States who accused Pope Francis and church officials of failing to act on accusations of sexual abuse, urged a top Vatican official to release documents that would prove his allegations.

WASHINGTON – To be a voice for victims of clerical sexual abuse, Fr. Brendan McGuire realized he had to come to terms with the abuse he suffered at the hands of a priest when he was 18. It was a secret he had held for 35 years.

A priest in Windsor, Ont., has been removed from his duties as the Diocese of London investigates  allegations of inappropriate conduct.

CORNWALL, Ont. – The sexual abuse crisis is like a fire that should be left to burn in order to purify the Church, said the president of Canada’s bishops’ conference.

ROME – The Catholic Church is on trial and what happens next will define its place in the world to come, said one of the Vatican’s foremost experts on clergy sex abuse.

CHICAGO – The Archdiocese of Chicago has confirmed the temporary removal of the parish priest at the center of a controversy over the burning of a rainbow banner. According to the archdiocese, Fr. Paul Kalchik has “left willingly” from his Chicago parish “to receive pastoral care.”

Frustrated by the Church’s inability to defuse long-running clergy sex scandals, Pope Francis has summoned the worldwide presidents of Catholic bishops conferences to the Vatican in February to find better ways to protect children and eradicate predatory priests.

VATICAN – Pope Francis accepted the resignations of two more Chilean bishops, bringing to seven the number of bishops who have stepped down since June in response to the clerical sexual abuse scandal in their country.