Former cardinal Theodore McCarrick now faces a fifth civil sex abuse lawsuit in New Jersey, after he was criminally charged in a Massachusetts district court this week for sexually assaulting a teenage boy. On Thursday, a lawsuit was filed in a New Jersey court accusing
Yesterday Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill resigned from his position at the USCCB as a general secretary with responsibility for overseeing sex abuse cases. What caused the resignation of the highest-ranking non-bishop Church official in the country? He was caught regularly using apps that connect men who want
Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill, former general secretary of the U.S. bishops’ conference, announced his resignation Tuesday, after The Pillar found evidence the priest engaged in serial sexual misconduct, while he held a critical oversight role in the Catholic Church’s response to the recent spate of sexual abuse and
Diocesan-wide fundraising appeals have declined in recent years, a study conducted by The Pillar concludes. But the decline is not consistent across dioceses, and some local Churches have seen appeals grow in recent years, even with the Church in the U.S. battered over the last three years
A new lawsuit alleges that the late archbishop of Newark groomed and molested a five year-old girl during his tenure as archbishop. The lawsuit, which was first reported on May 10 by NorthJersey.com, was filed by a woman identified as “Clara Doe.” Doe claimed that
Bishops in the news this week point to a question important but unaddressed by the Apostolic See and U.S. Catholic leaders: What should happen next for bishops forced to leave office after failures in administrative leadership and governance? Should they be formally deposed? Are they
A Franciscan priest who once worked in campus ministry at Franciscan University of Steubenville has been indicted in Ohio for the alleged rape of a female patient who was mentally or physically impaired. On April 7, Father David Morrier, was indicted in Ohio by the
More than 18 months after the first U.S. investigation of a bishop under norms approved by Pope Francis, Bishop Michael Hoeppner of Crookston, Minnesota resigned his office April 13 at the request of Pope Francis. The man who says Hoeppner coerced him into recanting an
On Monday, the scandal-plagued Legionaries of Christ religious order published its latest report detailing what they have done and what they still need to do to repair the damage done and guarantee safe spaces for minors, from third-party investigations to mandatory formation seminars and revealing
According to the movie Love Story, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” Typical Hollywood fluff, you might say. Yet the best answer to that asininity was given by a Hollywood all-star, the late, great Charlton Heston. Asked the secret of what would eventually become
