Category: Vatican

Class action against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth

by John McKiggan

McKiggan Hebert Lawyers in Halifax and Koskie Minsky LLP in Toronto have filed a class action against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth on behalf of persons who allege they were sexually abused by priests from the Archdiocese from 1960 to date.

August 2, 2018 – Halifax, NS B3J 1H6

The class action claims that the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of Halifax-Yarmouth, more commonly known as the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth, had a decades long policy of secrecy of any allegations of sexual abuse against a priest.

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Posted in: Clergy Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Vatican

How Will Pope Francis Respond to the Catholic Sexual Abuse Crisis?

by John McKiggan

Newly ordained Pope Francis has certainly started his papacy by making the headlines. He turned down the luxurious Papal housing in the Apostolic Palace in favour of a simple hotel room, he travelled to a juvenile detention centre to wash the feet of the inmates, and he has issued what is seen as a strong statement against sex abusers in the clergy.

Pope Francis, the head of 1.2 billion followers of the Roman Catholic faith, called on the Church to act against clergy sex abuse. He demanded that the Bishops’ conferences around the world need to step up to disciplining the priests and assisting the victims. USA Today reports, :

“This could be an indication that he will move from a strongly centralized government of the church of 1.2 billion people to one that places increased authority locally.”

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Posted in: Child Abuse, Clergy Abuse, Priest Abuse, Priest Sexual Abuse, Uncategorized, Vatican

Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops Updating Guidelines on Priest Sexual Abuse

by John McKiggan

Canadian Catholic Bishops are attending their annual Conference this week. The Conference (the CCCB) runs from Sept. 24-28th and is expected to include approximately 90 Bishops from across Canada.

New Rules?

One of the important items on their agenda is the updating of their guidelines for the prevention of clerical sexual abuse. On their approach to the new guidelines the CCCB president, Archbishop Richard Smith told The Catholic Register:

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Posted in: Class Actions, Clergy Abuse, Priest Abuse, Priest Sexual Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Uncategorized, Vatican

Vatican Denies Responsibility for Sexually Abusive Priests

by John McKiggan

Readers may be interested in my recent post to my Atlantic Canada Personal Injury Lawyer blog.

Vatican Denies Responsibility for Sexually Abusive Priests examines some recent American litigation against the Vatican and compares it to the situation here in Canada.

The post has been getting some interesting comments. Feel free to comment and share your thoughts.

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Posted in: Canon Law, Clergy Abuse, Priest Abuse, Priest Sexual Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Uncategorized, Vatican

The Catholic Church and Sexual Abuse

by John McKiggan

Is the church’s response real action - or window dressing?

Sexual abuse compensation claims have been filed against the Catholic Church in almost every province in Canada - and similar lawsuits are being filed in other countries around the world. But has the Catholic Church, as an institution, taken reasonable steps to address the problem of sexual abuse by priests?

Background

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Posted in: Canon Law, Child Abuse, Clergy Abuse, Priest Abuse, Priest Sexual Abuse, Uncategorized, Vatican

Vatican’s Abuse Guidelines: Action or Window Dressing?

by John McKiggan

The Vatican’s Guidelines to Bishops for dealing with claims of priest sexual abuse has now been released.

Cardinal William Joseph Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, also released a brief letter accompanying the Guidelines.

Levada says that the Guidelines were drafted to “…facilitate the correct application” of the Pope’s previous instructions.

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Posted in: Canon Law, Clergy Abuse, Priest Abuse, Priest Sexual Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Uncategorized, Vatican

Amnesty International Names Vatican for Failing to Protect Children

by John McKiggan

Today Amnesty International published it’s annual report Amnesty International Report 2011: The State of the World’s Human Rights, which examines human rights offences in various countries throughout the world.

The report concludes:

“…the Holy See did not sufficiently comply with its international obligations relating to the protection of children”.

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Posted in: Clergy Abuse, Priest Abuse, Priest Sexual Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Uncategorized, Vatican
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