Disgraced former Cardinal McCarrick dies at 94

Defrocked Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the once-powerful archbishop of Washington, D.C., who was removed from the priesthood amidst one of the worst sexual-abuse scandals in the history of the American Catholic Church, has died at the age of 94 in Missouri. 

His death on April 3 was confirmed by Cardinal Robert McElroy, the recently installed archbishop of Washington. The National Catholic Reporter had reported the news earlier, attributing it to two people briefed on the matter but who asked not to be named. 

Ordained in 1958, McCarrick became archbishop in Newark, New Jersey, in 1986 and then archbishop of Washington, D.C., in 2000, rising to power despite church officials’ knowledge of sexual-abuse accusations against him. 

A two-year Vatican investigation into McCarrick’s tenure found credible reports of his abusive behavior dating to 1999, including an inquiry confirming that he slept with seminarians. 

McCarrick was removed from the priesthood after a Vatican investigation found he had sexually molested adults and children. He became the highest-ranking Catholic cleric in the U.S. to face criminal charges for sexual abuse. 

In 2021, McCarrick was accused of assaulting a teenage boy at a wedding reception in Massachusetts in 1974.

“I am especially mindful of those who he harmed during the course of his priestly ministry,” McElroy said in a statement. “Through their enduring pain, may we remain steadfast in our prayers for them and for all victims of sexual abuse.”

In an explosive 2020 report that called into question the decision-making of three Catholic popes, the Vatican revealed institutional failures that led to repeated promotions for McCarrick despite rumors of his alleged sexual misconduct with young men as early as the 1990s. 

The Vatican placed the bulk of the blame on Pope John Paul II, the now Catholic saint who appointed McCarrick as archbishop of Washington in 2000 and made him a cardinal in 2001. 

The report revealed that the late John Paul II, made the McCarrick appointments despite being warned in 1999 by then-New York Cardinal John O'Connor that McCarrick had been the subject of anonymous allegations and was known to invite seminarians to sleep with him in the same bed.

In 2024, a Wisconsin judge suspended charges against McCarrick ruling that he was  incompetent for trial because of dementia. 

In the Wisconsin criminal case, McCarrick was charged with sexually assaulting an 18-year-old man, accused of fondling him in 1977 while staying at a cabin on Geneva Lake in southeastern Wisconsin. 

The alleged victim, who was not named in court records, told investigators that the former priest had repeatedly sexually assaulted him since he was 11 years old and took him to parties where other adult men abused him, according to a criminal complaint.

There were multiple unofficial reports to bishops and the Vatican about McCarrick's alleged misconduct between 1993 and 2016, but it was not until June 2018 that the world learned about allegations of abuse against him. 

That's when the Holy See removed McCarrick from public ministry, after a review board of the Archdiocese of New York determined that an allegation of sexual abuse involving a 16-year-old altar boy was "credible and substantiated."

In July 2018, The New York Times published a story exposing the pattern of sexual abuse involving adult seminarians.

The McCarrick scandal rocked the Catholic Church to the core, causing a crisis of confidence. 

It led many to flee the church, prompting financial troubles that still haunt dioceses across the nation and igniting worldwide outrage that ultimately forced action in the Vatican.

McCarrick timeline

To read The Vatican's McCarrick report: a timeline of events, our 2022 report that tracks the career of disgraced ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick, click here. 

C. Colt Anderson, professor of Christian spirituality at Fordham University, warned against minimizing McCarrick’s significance or treating his case as an anomaly. 

“With Cardinal McCarrick's death, we lose one of the great villains of Roman Catholicism in the U.S.,” Anderson said. 

Villanova theology professor and church observer Massimo Faggioli said the fall of McCarrick represented a turning point in the Catholic Church’s long-running sexual abuse crisis. 

“The McCarrick case marked the apex of the latest phase of the crisis,” he said, “because it coincided with the church’s reckoning on a truly global scale.”

Faggioli noted that the McCarrick case exploded into the public's consciousness at the same time as revelations of clergy sexual abuse in Chile, Australia and Germany. 

McCarrick's case stood apart because of his extensive service as a trusted Vatican emissary dispatched around the world and his reputation as one of the church's most admired cardinals. 

The former prelate’s proximity to the Holy See prompted the Vatican to release the unprecedented 450-page report, an extraordinary gesture in the context of the church’s often opaque internal investigations, Faggioli said.

The 2020 report suggested that John Paul II may have been blinded by his prior friendship with McCarrick in the 1970s, and by his experience in communist Poland, where authorities would sometimes level false accusations against bishops to try and damage the church's reputation.

The scandal led Pope Francis to approve new procedures to investigate bishops accused of abuse as part of an effort to finally hold Catholic leaders accountable after decades of impunity.

The impact was felt keenly in the Archdiocese of Washington. A pastoral letter written in  December to parishioners and the finance committee of a local Washington, D.C., parish reported that the archdiocese has run an annual deficit of $10 million since McCarrick's crimes came to light in 2018.

The letter, reviewed by NCR and later removed from a church bulletin board, said Cardinal Wilton Gregory took steps to close the McCarrick-linked deficit by implementing budget cuts in the archdiocese, installing a new assessment system of local parishes, and jump-starting the archdiocesan annual appeal "on better footing."

The ramifications continue to this day. Incoming McElroy, installed in March as the archbishop of Washington, has been criticized by mostly conservative detractors for allegedly not responding to a whistleblower letter regarding McCarrick when McElroy was bishop of San Diego. 

An NCR review of the facts and documents available regarding the episode show that McElroy appears to have taken every reasonable step to pursue the unsubstantiated allegations.

In February, Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey launched an investigation into whether the president of Seton Hall University, Msgr. Joseph Reilly, failed in his responsibilities regarding McCarrick.

Reilly, named president of Seton Hall a year ago, allegedly knew of sexual abuse allegations that he did not report, Politico reported last year. 

The Politico report prompted Tobin to hire an outside law firm to investigate whether Reilly “acted inappropriately.” 

Comparing today’s Catholic landscape with the world McCarrick once navigated, Villanova’s Faggioli sees clear progress in addressing abuse. 

“In terms of practice, training and institutional safeguards, many steps forward have been taken,” he said.

McCarrick himself played a role in shaping these reforms — serving at the heart of the U.S. bishops' conference during the early 2000s as it began to act more decisively on abuse. And yet, the damage done to the church’s unity has been lasting.

While the church has implemented stronger safeguards, Faggioli warned against a false sense of security in the church.

“The American Catholic Church is now entangled in broader national, political, and cultural crises,” he said. “That struggle, especially to preserve its charitable missions, risks drawing focus away from key priorities like abuse prevention.”

In recent years, McCarrick had been in the care of Vianney Renewal Center, a facility outside St. Louis, Missouri, operated by a Roman Catholic order called the Servants of the Paraclete, who care for religious men who are ill. 

Shortly before McCarrick died, he was moved to a nursing facility, also in Missouri, where he died, according to two people briefed on the matter.

Theodore Edgar McCarrick was born in New York City in 1930. 

The only child of Theodore Egan McCarrick, a ship's captain, and Margaret McLaughlin, a factory worker, McCarrick was raised in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, according to his archived biography. 

His upbringing during the Great Depression was hardscrabble. His father died of tuberculosis when he was just 3 years old, and his mother supported the family by working in a Bronx auto parts factory. 

As a boy, he served as an altar boy at his local parish and developed a strong interest in the priesthood. 

McCarrick attended Fordham Preparatory School and studied languages in Switzerland before returning to New York to enroll at Fordham University. 

He went on to St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, earning a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1954 and a master’s in history in 1958. He was ordained a priest by New York's Cardinal Francis Spellman in 1958.

McCarrick earned a master's in social science in 1960 and a doctorate in sociology in 1963 from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. 

From 1965 to 1969, he served as president of the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, significantly developing the institution. He later returned home to New York to become a close aide to Cardinal Terence Cooke.

Named auxiliary bishop of New York in 1977, McCarrick went on to lead dioceses in Metuchen and Newark before being appointed archbishop of Washington in 2001 and elevated to cardinal weeks later by Pope John Paul II. 

Before his fall from grace, McCarrick was one of the most visible and active figures in the American Catholic Church. 

A polyglot fluent in four languages and well-versed in global affairs, McCarrick spent decades crisscrossing continents on behalf of the Vatican and Catholic Relief Services, as well as the U.S. government. 

McCarrick's travels took him to the rubble of natural disasters and to the halls of power, meeting world leaders like Fidel Castro and lobbying U.S. presidents on immigration and aid. 

In public, he presented as a charismatic centrist — firm on Catholic doctrine yet committed to progressive social advocacy.

Though McCarrick was nearing the standard retirement age, John Paul II in 2000 appointed him to be archbishop of Washington, where his diplomatic finesse and political connections made him a natural fit for the capital's ecclesiastical helm. 

He quickly became a high-profile leader among the more than half a million Catholics in the archdiocese, which included large Spanish-speaking and African American communities.

McCarrick's reputation as a public churchman grew during the early 2000s. He appeared regularly in the media, raised hundreds of millions for Catholic causes, opened a seminary, and ordained scores of new priests even amid declining vocations. 

Seen as a bridge-builder, both politically and within the Church, McCarrick often positioned himself in the ideological center of an increasingly divided Catholic hierarchy. 

"If you stand in the middle, you can meet both sides," McCarrick once said, invoking the Latin phrase in medio stat virtus — virtue stands in the middle.

Ironically, he also played a central role in the church's response to the 2002 sexual abuse crisis. 

After consulting with the Vatican, McCarrick announced a "one strike and you're out" policy for new abuse cases — a message that helped shape the U.S. bishops' eventual zero-tolerance stance. 

At the time, McCarrick was seen as a trusted voice of reform.

Before his disgrace, McCarrick had become a roving elder statesman under Pope Francis, who brought him back into informal diplomatic roles after the more reserved pontificate of Benedict XVI. 

Into his 80s, McCarrick remained remarkably active. He jetted to Sri Lanka after the 2004 tsunami, flew to New Orleans in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina, and made sensitive forays into China, Iran and the Central African Republic. 

He worked behind the scenes to promote interfaith dialogue and religious freedom in conflict zones.

In interviews, McCarrick downplayed his intellect and positioned himself as a man of action. He saw himself as someone who could connect people across ideological and religious divides, often at the personal request of Pope Francis. 

For many, McCarrick's energy and idealism made his eventual downfall all the more painful. He embodied the contradiction of a man revered for his public service, while privately violating the very values he espoused.

In 2000, McCarrick was asked about an inquiry initiated by John Paul that confirmed he slept with seminarians. 

John Paul believed McCarrick's handwritten denial that said, "I have made mistakes and may have sometimes lacked in prudence, but in the seventy years of my life I have never had sexual relations with any person, male or female, young or old, cleric or lay."

In 2004, McCarrick, a frequent guest on NBC's public affairs show "Meet the Press,:" was asked about a report on the causes of the sexual-abuse scandal. 

Then-host Tim Russert read to McCarrick from the report: "The inaction of those bishops who failed to protect their people from predators was also grievously sinful. Somehow, the 'smoke of Satan' was allowed to enter the Church, and as a result, the Church itself has been deeply wounded."

Russert asked, "Do you disagree with any of that?" 

McCarrick replied: "I think basically it is a good summary of what happened in the past. Basically, it demonstrates that the church is made of saints and sinners and sometimes the sinners find their way into the clergy. And, well, since we're all sinners, we can see how that can happen."

Pope Francis Health Update

At a briefing on the Pope's health, the Press Office says Pope Francis continues to show clinical improvements as he recovers at his residence in the Casa Santa Marta, following his hospitalization for a polymicrobial infection that resulted in bilateral pneumonia.

On Sunday, the Angelus may take place in a different manner compared to previous Sundays, and an update will be provided on Saturday, the Holy See Press Office informed journalists on Friday morning.

The Holy Father was released from Rome's Gemelli Hospital with "protected discharge" on Sunday, 23 March.

Pope Francis' condition has shown further slight respiratory, mobility, and voice-related improvements, noted the Press Office.

Recent blood tests also indicate a slight improvement in his pulmonary infection.

The Holy Father has been continuing his treatment and mobility and respiratory-related physical therapy; he also requires less supplemental oxygen. 

During the day, he continues with an ordinary administration of oxygen, while, at night, he continues with high-flow oxygenation with nasal cannulas as needed.

Moreover, Pope Francis continues his work activities and is in good spirits, said the Press Office.

On Friday morning, the Holy Father followed the Lenten meditation held in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall, held by the Preacher of the Papal Household, Father Roberto Pasolini, OFM Cap, via video link.

On Wednesday, the Pope followed the Mass in St. Peter's Basilica presided over by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the death of Saint John Paul II.

The Press Office noted there have not been visits to note, adding that it is still too early to discuss the Pope's participation in Holy Week liturgies.

The next briefing on the Holy Father will be on Tuesday, 8 April.

Identity of paedophile Christian Brother revealed after court lifts reporting restrictions

A Christian brother who sexually assaulted seven boys when he was teaching at a Kilkenny primary school over 40 years ago had also sexually abused another 22 boys, it can now be reported.

Martin O'Flaherty (73), of Rosmeen Gardens, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, was convicted at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court earlier this year of 14 counts of indecent assault and one of attempted indecent assault of seven complainants on dates between 1978 and 1981.

O'Flaherty has stood trial on five previous occasions since 2022 and has 103 previous convictions for the indecent assault of 22 boys.

He is currently serving an effective sentence of eight years, two months and three weeks in relation to this offending, with an earliest release date in August 2028.

Reporting restrictions, which were in place to avoid prejudicing upcoming trials, have been lifted as no further matters are pending against O'Flaherty, the court was told on Friday by prosecuting senior counsel Bernard Condon.

Having heard the evidence, Judge Elma Sheahan imposed a global five-year sentence in respect of O'Flaherty's offending against the seven injured parties in this case from the date of his conviction last month. 

This means that O'Flaherty has now been convicted of sexual offending against 29 boys.

A member of the Christian brothers, O'Flaherty was a teacher at the CBS primary school, Stephen Street, Kilkenny, between 1976 and 1981.

Detective Sergeant James Neary told Fiona McGowan BL, prosecuting, that gardaí carried out a wide investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct at the school, with questionnaires issued to pupils who attended between 1976 and 1981.

Each of the seven victims in this case made statements of complaint, in the wake of completing these questionnaires. 

All of them were taught by O'Flaherty, four while they were in fourth class and the others while they were in sixth class.

The abuse took the form of inappropriate touching, primarily after being called to O'Flaherty's desk at the front of the classroom to correct homework.

In relation to the attempted indecent assault, O'Flaherty put his finger in the waistband of the boy's trousers but did not touch his genital area.

Five victim impact statements were read to the court by Ms McGowan. They outlined the long-lasting effects of the abuse, including feelings of shame and guilt. They also described losing interest in their schoolwork and, later, difficulties in relationships.

"Altered my life forever"

One man said it was his first time coming across a Christian Brother, and he felt anxious seeing O'Flaherty dressed in his religious outfit.

He said that was the year that “altered my life forever” and taught him how to hate himself. He said he felt guilt and shame, believing he had attracted the abuse.

He said he had lost his faith in God as he couldn't believe a “man of God could make me feel this bad”.

He said he “kept this shameful secret hidden for 40 years” but hopes speaking his truth will set him free.

He said he has found his faith again but doesn't think O'Flaherty is ready to acknowledge the truth and seek redemption.

Another victim said he tried to catch O'Flaherty's eye while giving evidence, but he looked away “luxuriating hidden in the cloak of anonymity”.

But, he said O'Flaherty would be vilified, and he takes comfort from the fact that the “sentence administered by the court of public opinion will outlast your death”.

Another victim said he “ended up living a half-life” and has had “difficulty talking about what happened due to stigma”. He said he felt like he was “robbed” of a lot of happiness and the ability to be normal.

O'Flaherty cooperated with the investigation, but denied the allegations of abuse. He provided information about the school at the time, identified his handwriting in the roll books and said he recalled teaching some of the complainants.

Det Sgt Neary agreed with Ronan Kennedy SC, defending, that his client taught at other schools, and the only complaints made against him relate to his time in Kilkenny, which he left in 1981.

It was further accepted that O'Flaherty was cooperative with the investigation and had not come to other adverse attention.

Mr Kennedy told the court his client does not intend to appeal and hopes this will bring some sense of closure and, in time, comfort.

O'Flaherty joined the Christian Brothers as a teenager. He went on to work in several other schools throughout his career and has also worked in other areas, including in Christian Brother missions abroad.

A medical report was handed to the court, along with a reference. Mr Kennedy noted a governor's report states that his client has enhanced prisoner status, is in the training unit in Mountjoy Prison where he works in the kitchen and assists other prisoners.

Mr Kennedy asked the court to take into account his client's age, health issues and the difficulties faced by older people in custody.

He noted the passage of time since these offences occurred and that it appears his client has “led an otherwise exemplary life” devoted to the service of others.

Mr Kennedy said his client is on the sex offenders' register and will have to live with the stigma of his conviction and social ostracisation for the rest of his life.

Judge Sheahan said the victim impact statements demonstrated the effect and psychological damage on the men, who have carried the “terrible consequences” with them for decades.

She said the victims were children in O'Flaherty's care, and he saw them as an opportunity “to fulfil his own perverse need,” and he took advantage of them.

The judge said the seriousness of the offending, the breach of trust, and O'Flaherty's previous convictions are aggravating. 

She also noted that the offending involved the “degradation of the boys in the presence of others” and their resulting fear.

The judge noted the mitigation and O'Flaherty's personal circumstances when imposing sentence.

She outlined individual sentences in respect of each count on the indictment, which included some consecutive elements, then having considered the principles of proportionality and totality, imposed a global sentence of five years.

Woman sues over alleged forced adoption of her child at mother and baby home in 1980

A woman says she was forced to give up her child for adoption as an unmarried mother in a mother and baby home.

She says the alleged removal of her baby in 1980 has had lifelong adverse effects on her, including leaving her with complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

The woman, now a pensioner, has brought High Court proceedings against various state parties, including the Ministers for Justice and Children, the HSE, the Child and Family Agency and the Adoption Authority of Ireland.

Her case is also against a nominee for a religious order that ran the mother and baby home and against a financial institution where she was formerly employed.

Her action is believed to be the first case of its kind to come before the High Court.

Sources have indicated there were several actions in the pipeline relating to alleged forced or alleged illegal adoption stretching as far back as the 1940s.

Full defences have been filed in the woman’s case, with all parties denying all of her claims.

Hugh O’Donnell, for the woman, asked the High Court on Thursday to adjourn the matter to early next month when he could provide an update.

In the woman’s action she says the alleged taking of her baby against her will has caused her anguish and great distress. She says she found the whole experience to be frightening and heartbreaking.

She claims the religious order that ran the mother and baby home was allowed to control and organise a system of forced adoption for unmarried mothers and there was a failure to safeguard her constitutional rights.

She alleges the financial institution had a position of dominion and control over her, given she was vulnerable and had an unplanned pregnancy while single at a time when such circumstances carried a negative stigma and when termination of pregnancy was not available within the State.

She claims a manager at the financial institution where she worked told her that her child would have to be given up for adoption. She says she had no choice in the matter.

After giving birth, she says, she did not want to surrender her baby and refused to leave the hospital. She was grievously upset and wounded by her child’s removal and was unaware of her rights, she says.

While she signed a certificate of surrender, the surrendering of her child was compelled on an involuntary basis and without true, informed consent and without her having obtained legal advice, she says.

All the claims are denied.

Alleged victim of sexual abuse by Catholic priest denies tricking priest

THE alleged victim of sexual abuse by a Catholic priest has denied tricking the priest when confronting the alleged perpetrator during a phone call.

The complainant told jurors on the third day of Piotr Antoni Glas’s trial in the Royal Court that the priest “would never admit to what he did” and would either lie or “twist the truth”.

Under cross-examination from the defence the complainant maintained that they “never had a doubt” about their allegations.

Mr Glas (61) faces eight charges of committing acts of gross indecency and two charges of indecent exposure, all of which the prosecution say were sexually motivated.

He is accused of placing the child’s feet against his face and masturbating, play-fighting until the child’s face was near his erect penis and the child’s feet in his face, and kissing the child on the mouth.

The gross indecency charges are alternative charges: this means that for each year when the alleged victim says the incidents happened, the jury will have to choose whether they took place multiple times, once or not at all.

Two alleged kisses on the mouth make up the indecent assault charges.

Advocate Simon Thomas, defending, put to the complainant on Wednesday that the incidents did not happen.

The court was played recordings of two calls that the complainant made to Mr Glas, which he made years later after the alleged offending.

The second call was made with the assistance of a friend, who near the end of the call whispered to the complainant, the court heard.

The complainant explained: “She whispered to me, because I was starting to come up with solutions for the defendant and I was following along. She said: ‘That’s not for you to decide. That’s not for you to come up with.’

“In other words, she was encouraging me to end the call.”

Advocate Thomas said: “You both tricked him. That’s what it was.”

The complainant replied: “I don’t see it that way.”

The alleged victim said that they had made the second call with a witness, in case the recording of the first call could not be used in court.

They said: “I knew that this man would never admit to what he did, he would either deny it, lie about it our twist the truth.”

Advocate Thomas asked the complainant if they had left the call feeling like they had “evidence in the bag”.

The alleged victim replied: “I wouldn’t say ‘in the bag’, that’s quite a harsh description of it. I didn’t come away from it feeling victorious.

“It was much more of a grounding conversation. I knew that I had clear evidence of him not only admitting, but apologising for his actions, because that was something I knew if he was not going to be cooperative with going to his bishop.”

They added: “I never had a doubt about my allegations. Never once.”

Advocate Thomas put to the complainant that these calls, which were recorded without Mr Glas’s knowledge, were “tricking” Mr Glas. The complainant denied this was the case.

During the proceedings, the Deputy Bailiff asked the complainant: “Did it shake your faith at all?”

The alleged victim responded: “I’d be lying if I said no. It caused me to pause. That’s something I’m definitely past at this point.”

Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae is presiding. 

The jury trial is expected to continue until the middle of next week.

Indian bishops condemn assault on Catholic pilgrims and priests at Jabalpur

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) has condemned an attack on Catholic pilgrims visiting churches near the city of Jabalpur along with the beating of senior diocesan officials there. 

Allegedly injured in the assault was the vicar general and procurator of Jabalpur, who reportedly rushed to safeguard the pilgrims in the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India.

“Reports indicate that this is not an isolated incident but part of a disturbing pattern and strategy to create communal polarization and hostility towards religious minorities,” CBCI said in an April 1 press statement.

The bishops urged the federal ministers “to intervene to ensure … stringent action” against the culprits.

The CBCI described the assault on 52 pilgrims of Mandla parish as “deeply distressing.” The pilgrims traveled over 60 miles to Jabalpur, making a jubilee pilgrimage to churches in the city, when their bus was attacked on March 31 reportedly by Hindu fundamentalists.

The entire group, including parish priest Father John Quodros, was taken to the police station by the attackers, who were alleging that the Catholics were undertaking a criminal act of religious conversion.

One social media user uploaded a video of the assault showing Vicar General Father David George being hit on the head by a leader of the Hindu group.

The CBCI statement decried the assault on the pilgrims and the senior priests as “a shocking attack on religious freedom and human dignity.”

“The trouble started in front of our Holy Trinity Church when the pilgrims were boarding the bus” after Mass, Franciscan Missionaries of Mary Congregation Sister Taurina Vaz told CNA on April 2.

“When some people started questioning them, a policeman, sensing trouble, told the Catholics to rush away. Then I saw a young man taking a photo of the bus, and it seems it was forwarded to the mob that had gathered on the way for the assault,” Sister Taurina said.

The Hindu outfit Bajrang Dal reportedly stopped the bus near the parish church at Ranjhi, six miles away, and forced off all the pilgrims — mostly women and children — and heckled them, alleging that the group had been brought to be converted. 

George in his complaint to the Jabalpur police chief pointed out that the key of the bus was snatched from the driver and the pilgrims were taken to the police station.

“As we heard the news, we rushed from the bishop’s house to the police station and tried to explain that the whole group were Catholics on pilgrimage to churches. But they were shouting ‘conversion’ and anti-Christian slogans and assaulted us. The policemen tried to shield us,” George told CNA.

Though hundreds of Christians of Jabalpur staged a protest on April 1 against the attack, police have not arrested anyone in connection with the attacks.

“I am going with [Jabalpur Bishop Valan Arasu] to meet the police chief to demand action against the culprits. They cannot just let the culprits get away,” George said.

Asked about the pilgrims and the parish priest, George said “they are safely back in Mandla.”

GREENLAND’S ONLY CATHOLIC PRIEST CALLS HIS ‘REWARDING, DEMANDING’ MISSION A ‘DREAM JOB’

Father Tomaž Majcen, a Conventual Franciscan, is the only Catholic parish priest in Greenland, working alongside two fellow Franciscan friars.

OSV News asked the Slovenian-born Father Majcen—who serves at Christ the King Church in the capital city of Nuuk—to share his experiences of ministering to the 300-500 Catholics in Greenland.

Father Majcen said most Catholics in Greenland come from the Philippines, Europe and Latin American countries, with some Danes and a “very small number” of Indigenous Inuit as well.

He described Greenland as a “place of grace and peace” even amid “isolation, harsh weather, and the challenge of serving to a tiny, widely dispersed congregation.”

Parish life is warm and vibrant, evoking the early Christian communities, he said. 

Asked if proposed plans by the current US administration to take over Greenland would affect his ministry, Father Majcen said he feared the loss of his “dream job” if the nation’s Catholic pastoral care were entrusted to an American diocese.

Still, he said, “I will let God be the center of everything. We pray as best we can for peace on earth and let God do the rest. I am more concerned about accompanying the small Catholic flocks of the island.”

Court hears how former Catholic Priest accused of child sex abuse carried out 'exorcisms'

Jersey's Royal Court heard how a former Catholic Priest, charged with ten counts of sexual abuse against a child, carried out 'exorcisms' on his alleged victim.

Piotr Antoni Glas, 61, faces eight charges of gross indecency and two counts of indecent assault for alleged incidents involving a boy aged between 13 and 15.

Witnesses took the stand today (Thursday, 3 April) to give evidence for the prosecution of Mr Glas.

The court was told how Mr Glas would 'playfight' with the complainant before committing sexually motivated acts between 2004 and 2007.

The court heard how the alleged victim would occasionally sit on his lap and "play wrestling games" with him.

A witness said she saw Glas with a black eye after the teenager had allegedly attacked him to free himself after his face had been held against the priest's groin.

As a result, the priest carried out a series of exorcisms on the victim, as Glas said he felt the victim was "possessed".

The witness said that during the spiritual practices designed to expel 'the devil', the boy got "very angry and tried to get the defendant off him."

She added that during these exorcisms, the victim would be held down by two men, with Glas talking to him in Latin, breathing over him and putting oil on him.

The witness said: "I wish I had the courage to say stop." She added that she felt "horrified" they had let it happen.

As the witness was questioned, Glas would often have his eyes closed in the dock, sometimes looking up to the ceiling and rocking back and forth, holding prayer beads in his right hand.

Earlier in the trial, the court heard how the defendant had a sexual interest involving feet - a 'foot fetish' that police say goes back many years.

Piotr Antoni Glas denies all the charges against him, and the trial continues.

Priest criticizes ‘taboo’ against reporting clerical abuse in Africa

A Catholic priest and psychotherapist who provides protection and treatment for abused children has spoken out about sexual abuse in the Church in Africa, and the silence that goes with it.

In an in-depth interview with Swiss-based justice news outlet, JusticeInfo.net, the coordinator for integrity in ministry for the Society of Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers), Father Stéphane Joulain said that fighting abuse in the Church can’t be a priority for a continent struggling with war, malnutrition, endemic and systemic poverty.

“Combating sexual violence in the Church is not a priority for most African countries,” he said, and lined up a range of factors making it hard for abuse committed by Church officials to be investigated.

“There are several powerful obstacles,” he said.

The first obstacle, according to Joulain, is the perception that the Church in Africa is “a major center of power,” and “a political counterweight in some countries.”

“In many African cultures, clerics are untouchable figures of authority. There’s pressure on victims and families from society itself not to sully the name of the institution, because it defends rights, for example. In some African countries where the Church has a political dimension, any media coverage of sexual crimes involving clerics will be seen as a political attack. As a result, many people don’t say what has happened to them, because they won’t be believed or listened to,” he explained.

“Secondly, in many countries, if a man claims to have been sexually assaulted by a priest, it is very taboo. The man would be accused of being homosexual. African sexual morality is deeply marked by heterosexuality, machismo and patriarchalism. Abusing a child doesn’t fit with this image. To put it simply: it is just not done. And, in fact, it leads to deep denial in entire societies,” the priest said.

Joulain explained further that the extended family structure prevalent in many African countries and the critical respect for elders also makes it harder for abused victims to speak out.

He highlighted the polymorphic and extended nature of the African family structure, contrasting it with the nuclear family commonly found in Europe. He said African children grow up with a strong sense of belonging to a broader family network, which acts as a safety net in times of hardship. This structure instills respect for seniority and authority, but it also suggests that this reverence can sometimes lead to a culture of silence, even in the face of mistreatment by elders.

“In other words, elders are not criticized, even when they are abusive. This adds layers of denial,” he said.

He said the African family structure extends into the realm of religion, with the Church in Africa functioning as a “family of God” which implies that authority, especially that of priests, becomes unquestioned. This reinforces an environment where obedience is prioritized over open dialogue, mirroring broader societal norms of reverence for elders.

The priest also gave geopolitical reasons to explain the culture of silence in the face of abuse in the Church in Africa.  He said one reason for the culture of silence is the emergence of “a new pan-Africanism” which he argues has been impacting religious life and the life of the Church.

“I’m thinking of Cardinal [Fridolin] Ambongo’s statements in Kinshasa, for example, to the effect that homosexuality does not exist in Africa. When this same cardinal of the Church, a very close advisor to the Pope, says publicly that he shares values with Vladimir Putin [President of the Russian Federation], we can see that there is this desire to radically sever colonial ties with Europe,” he said.

The reasons as advanced by Joulain align with the thoughts of Father Moses Aondover Iorapuu, Director of Social Communications for Makurdi Diocese in Nigeria.

The priest noted that the difficulty of tackling sexual abuse cases is not limited to the Catholic Church – the society itself is not prepared to affront the issue headlong.

“Sexual abuse cases are found in homes and society, but since Church appears more critical of itself, the majority of people view the church as the harbinger of perfection and moral justice, any stain, even of past sins and misdeeds she is held accountable,” he told Crux.

He argued that many of the cases the Church stands accused of were committed decades ago, and because the Church happens to be held to a higher standard than anyone else, those abuses are presented as “fresh” while other institutions guilty of similar abuses are considered human and therefore not held to the same standards.

“The Church, on the other hand, is seen as extraordinary and superhuman. This way, the world does not understand why she will be stained at all!” Iorapuu said.

Despite the difficulties, the ground seems to be shifting towards more accountability on the part of the Church, according to Joulain.

“I can see that the word is slowly getting out. Six months ago in Nairobi, I had 125 trainers in front of me. Those who spoke up all said ‘yes, abuses exist here.’ It’s already a big change to no longer be in denial,” he told JusticeInfo.net.

Kenya already has a legal framework that deals with abuse cases: The Sexual Offence Act and the Child Protection Act.

The two laws make it mandatory for citizens to report cases of abuse to the relevant authorities. Joulain said priests and other religious are afraid to come forward, “because  going to the police in Kenya isn’t necessarily the best solution, you risk ending up in prison yourself because you have filed a report.”

Yet, things are changing. He cited the recent case of the Bishop of Eldoret in Western Kenya who reported one of his priests to the police for allegedly abusing a 10-year-old girl.

“Criminal proceedings are underway. I can see that, little by little, prevention training is bearing fruit,” he said.

Catholic priest with ‘foot fetish’ had bag of school children’s socks in his house, court told

THE alleged victim of sexual abuse by a Catholic priest with a “foot fetish” has told the Royal Court he discovered a bag of children’s socks in the priest’s house.

Piotr Antoni Glas (61) pleaded with the complainant to let him explain himself and claimed he collected the socks from the changing rooms of a secondary school in Southampton where he worked as a priest before coming to Jersey, the court was told on Tuesday.

And the court heard the priest told the complainant if he admitted his offending, “I would be out of the priesthood the next day with a massive scandal”.

Mr Glas denies eight counts of committing acts of gross indecency and two counts of indecent assault against a child.

The complainant previously described how Mr Glas would lie with his face against the alleged victim’s feet, and the complainant would hear what sounded like a man masturbating.

The priest would freeze when the child looked at him, the court heard.

Mr Glas, known as Peter when his Polish name is Anglicised, is also accused of wrestling the child until his head was near his erect penis, and of kissing the child twice on the mouth.

Crown Advocate Carla Carvalho, prosecuting, described the alleged offences as “repeated” abuse committed by a parish priest on a child over 20 years ago, saying Mr Glas used his position to gain the complainant and their family’s trust “in order to get [the child] alone”.

The years of grooming included giving the family gifts as well as occasions where the priest and the child slept in the same bed, the court heard.

She said: “When he was alone with [the child] he would fulfil what the prosecution says is his particular sexual interest… a sexual fetish that you will hear involved feet.

“It is a sexual interest in feet that you will hear goes back years.”

Addressing jurors on Tuesday, the alleged victim said he found a bag of children’s socks at Mr Glas’s house.

The complainant said he was left “disgusted” for reasons he could not understand because he was still a child.

“Something in my gut told me that there was something untoward about it,” he said.

He described Mr Glas “pleading” with him to let him explain himself.

The complainant said: “He assured me that they were socks from his time in Southampton from a local secondary school… from the changing rooms that he had collected while he was working as a priest there.”

Advocate Carvalho asked: “Did he tell you why he collected the socks?”

The alleged victim replied: “He said he had a problem with feet and that that was something he’s struggled with for a long time.”

He explained that the priest had taken him to throw the bag of socks away, but that the child later returned to retrieve it as evidence.

“I never wanted it to be my word against his if I ever was to confront him,” the complainant said. “I knew that he would have a lot more influence than I did.”

He said he had mentioned his concerns to his parents at the time, but he was “quickly dismissed”. Meanwhile, the priest told him that he had been to confession, which he claimed had solved the issue. But the abuse continued, the court heard.

The alleged victim only came to terms with what had happened to him years later.

In court, he described a “crisis of conscience” which led him to start disclosing the abuse – first to his father, and later to authorities.

“I needed to start taking some steps towards making sure that the defendant was no longer a threat to minors,” he said.

He described how he had feared, both as a child and later on, that he would have no evidence and that the defendant would receive more support, due to his prominence as a self-proclaimed exorcist.

Advocate Carvalho said the complainant eventually confronted Mr Glas, who told him his heart was “broken” but tried to discourage him from reporting the abuse to church authorities, saying he still wanted to be buried as a priest.

Jurors listened to two calls the complainant made, in which he quizzed the priest about the bag of socks as well as the other incidents.

The priest explained that he had been beaten and kicked at the age of eight, which had provoked the foot fetish. 

But he resisted encouragements from the alleged victim to seek professional help or speak to church authorities.

The complainant told Mr Glas: “God does know. God does love you. But the same father who called you into existence, he also wants you to find healing.

“My concern is that you have never dealt with this and you have never actually talked to someone.”

During the second call, Mr Glas admitted: “I scandalised you, I hurt you, I damaged you…

“I understand how much you are suffering.”

He added: “I ruined you. That’s the worst part, I ruined you.”

The complainant told him that even though he accepted his apology and forgave him, he said he should not be a priest where he would have access to children.

“Please have mercy on me. I will step down from priesthood. I just don’t want an ordeal,” the priest said.

The complainant responded: “I just don’t want any other young person to experience what I experienced. That’s the bottom line.”

The priest said that there had been no-one else apart from the complainant and that he wanted to “be buried as a priest, not as a layperson”.

“I’m in your hands,” he added.

“If I say this, I would be out of priesthood the next day with a massive scandal,” Mr Glas said.

He said that he could stop being a priest when his term at his parish was up later that year, and that he would become “a hermit” then.

The jury trial is scheduled to continue until the middle of next week.

Deputy Bailiff, Robert MacRae, is presiding.

‘It's a slap in the face for survivors’ – Just one church body has made a serious cash offer towards mother and baby home redress scheme

The news that just one church body has made a serious cash offer towards the €800 million redress scheme for survivors of mother and baby homes has been branded a “slap in the face for survivors”.

Following two years of talks with seven Catholic bodies and the Church of Ireland, government negotiator, Sheila Nunan, has submitted her final report to Minister for Equality Norma Foley.

This report has revealed that only one out of seven Catholic Church bodies have made a serious cash offer towards the redress scheme for survivors, while the Church of Ireland has refused to contribute.

Initial government negotiations with religious orders began back in 2021, but fell flat, leading to the appointment of Ms Nunan in May 2023. 

She was tasked with securing a best and final offer from religious orders within six months.

But almost two years later and only one church body has made a serious cash offer.

Social Democrats spokesperson on children and equality and Kildare TD, Aidan Farrelly, said the religious orders must be "compelled” by the government to financially contribute to the redress scheme.

“It is astonishing to learn today that not one cent has been handed over by the religious orders complicit in the inhumane treatment and systematic abuse of innocent women and children in these institutions over the course of many decades,” said Deputy Farrelly.

“This is a further slap in the face for the tens of thousands of women and children who were incarcerated in mother and baby homes.

“On top of the suffering they endured, in recent years they have had to contend with a seriously flawed Commission of Investigation report and an inadequate redress scheme that excluded 24,000 survivors, including those who spent less than six months in a mother and baby home as a child.

“Clearly, the State’s softly-softly approach has not worked and, as always, the religious orders will need to be dragged kicking and screaming to the negotiating table."

Deputy Farrelly said that given their track record with previous redress schemes, it is clear that these religious orders "would much prefer to pay their armies of lawyers than the women and children they tortured and abused".

“We have had report after report documenting the crimes of the Church – not just in mother and baby homes, but in religious-run schools.

“When is the State finally going to flex some legal muscle when it comes to these religious orders?

“Why are these orders not being raided by Gardaí and why are their assets not being seized?,” he questioned.

Deputy Farrelly added that he believes the government are not willing to get tough with religious orders and they must go after them with “more than just a begging bowl”.

“The Taoiseach gave a disappointing response when questioned on this issue in the Dáil today by my party colleague Cian O’Callaghan. His commitment to merely review Sheila Nunan’s report does not inspire confidence that the government has any intention of getting tough on religious orders.

“Instead of being held accountable for its abuse of women and children, the Church has been running rings around successive governments for years. What will it take for the State to finally act and go after these orders with more than a begging bowl?”

Newcastle Cathedral cancels Archbishop of York's visit

Newcastle Cathedral has cancelled a visit by the Archbishop of York.

Most Rev Stephen Cottrell had been scheduled to speak there on 18th September as part of his Lord’s Prayer Tour visiting cathedrals, churches and schools across the north of England.

But following criticism of the way he has handled historic disclosures of abuse, the Cathedral’s Dean and Chapter voted unanimously to cancel his visit.

In a statement to Premier, Very Rev Lee Batson said: “As Dean of Newcastle, I am deeply proud of the Cathedral’s ongoing ministry to those who have suffered abuse in their lives. It was this that informed the unanimous decision made solely by the Dean and Chapter to inform the Archbishop that we will not be hosting him as part of his Lord’s Prayer tour. This decision was made independently by the Cathedral’s governing body and applies specifically to this event. The well-being of survivors remains our highest priority, and Newcastle Cathedral will always strive to put them first."

The Bishop of Newcastle has been an outspoken critic of Archbishop Stephen since the Makin review into the Church of England’s handling of abuse by the late Christian barrister John Smyth.

Earlier this year, Rt Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley called for Archbishop Cottrell to resign saying she believes he is the “wrong person" to be leading the church in the wake of ongoing safeguarding scandals.

The archbishop is in temporary charge until a successor to Justin Welby is appointed in the Autumn. Bishop Justin resigned in November after fallout from the Makin review.

The cancellation means that Archbishop Stephen will now visit eleven, rather than twelve cathedrals across the North of England this year. 

The tour is part of his vision for his ‘Faith in the North’ project and will see him speaking and sharing the importance and relevance of the Lord's Prayer, encouraging people to pray and live by this as part of their missionary discipleship

Derry bishop’s warning about group with Reenascreena base

THE Catholic Bishop of Derry has spoken out against the religious grouping SSPX Resistance, which has a base in West Cork.

Bishop Donal McKeown, in the parish bulletin, reminded his parishioners that SSPX Resistance, which practises the Latin mass, is not connected to the Catholic Church.

The same group has a base in Reenascreena outside Dunmanway, where it is believed a number of locals attend the Tridentine (Latin) mass in a small makeshift chapel on the site.

Bishop McKeown is the second Catholic bishop to speak out about the group, after the Archbishop of Perth in Australia made similar comments last September and pointed out the SSPXR were not connected to the church in Rome.

‘Those Catholics who choose to organise, conduct or attend such celebrations of the mass are acting in opposition to the clear and authoritative decisions of the archbishop,’ the diocese in Perth said.

Last weekend Bishop McKeown said that ‘the priests associated with SSPX Resistance Ireland are not in full communion with the Catholic Church and they do not accept the full teaching authority of the Church.’

The SSPX Resistance grew out of the original Catholic splinter group SSPX (Society of St Pius X) after Vatican II. 

The founder SSPX Resistance, excommunicated bishop Richard Williamson, felt the SSPX were too liberal for his ideologies.

He was later convicted of Holocaust denial after saying in an interview that he didn’t believe the WWII gas chambers existed.

He also denied the existence of Covid, and the Reenascreena ‘priests’ were seeing during the pandemic shopping in Dunmanway without wearing masks. 

Williamson, who died in January of this year, ordained Giacomo Ballini as a bishop in the SSPXR and Ballini set up the priory in Reenascreena, where the Latin mass is said on a daily basis.

Bishop McKeown also reminded his flock that ‘the Catholic Church has no supervision whatsoever of priests or ministers of SSPX Resistance Ireland, who have no connection with the Diocese of Derry in terms of safeguarding practices and policies and are not overseen by the Bishop of Derry.’

This comment is believed to refer to fears that a defrocked priest has recently joined the group.

In 2017, the Guardian newspaper reported that SSPXR founder Williamson was accused of harbouring clergy accused of sexual abuse in his ‘renegade’ order, then headquartered in Kent in the UK.

UK bishops’ conference president speaks out against ‘deeply flawed’ assisted suicide bill

The president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales is urging U.K. Catholics to contact their members of Parliament (MPs) and express their opposition to an assisted suicide bill making its way through the legislative process. 

“Every MP, and government, has a solemn duty to prevent such legislation reaching the statute book,” Cardinal Vincent Nichols wrote in an April 1 pastoral letter. “So I appeal to you: Even if you have written before, please make contact now with your MP and ask them to vote against this bill not only on grounds of principle but because of the failure of Parliament to approach this issue in an adequate and responsible manner.”

Members of Parliament voted in favor of advancing the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on Nov. 29, 2024, in a 330-275 vote after the bill’s five-hour second reading debate in the House of Commons. 

The last time members voted on the issue, in 2015, the bill was voted down at the second reading and progressed no further. 

The bill is set to have its third reading on April 25. 

“This will be a crucial moment and I, together with all the bishops of England and Wales, am writing to ask your support in urging your MP to vote against the bill at that time,” Nichols said.

The bishop stressed that MPs have not taken enough time to deliberate over the bill before voting and that the committee charged with its review is overwhelmingly composed of its supporters. 

The bill’s flawed process, he said, leaves numerous questions unanswered, including whether proper safeguards would be able to ward off human rights violations as well as protect conscientious objectors and the vulnerable from coercion. 

“In short, this is no way to legislate on such an important and morally complex issue,” he stated, adding that he believed it to be a “sad reflection on Parliament’s priorities that the House of Commons spent far more time debating the ban on fox hunting than it is spending debating bringing in assisted suicide.” 

Nichols concluded his letter asserting that instead of pushing for the legalization of assisted suicide, “what is needed is first-class, compassionate palliative care at the end of our lives,” a resource that is currently in “short supply and underfunded.”

“No one should be dispatched as a burden to others,” he wrote. “Instead, a good society would prioritize care for the elderly, the vulnerable, and the weak. The lives of our families are richer for cherishing their presence.”

Recent reports have said the controversial assisted suicide bill’s passage could be delayed another four years amid a growing climate of concern about the viability of the practice.

Bishop warns benefit cuts will 'only bring misery'

A bishop has warned that the government's benefits cuts will send people who are already struggling "deeper into poverty" due to the lack of investment in support measures.

The Bishop of Blackburn, the Right Reverend Philip North said he acknowledged that cuts needed to be made but called for a package of support to be put in place to help those impacted by them.

"Cut, cut, cut won't do it on its own - it's got to be cut and invest," said Bishop North.

After the cuts were announced, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said it wanted to help people into work after inheriting a social security system which was "broken".

Bishop North said he acknowledged that the benefits bill was "enormous" and called on the government to invest in ways to "get people off benefits", adding that the "best way out of poverty is good, fair work".

He said many churches across Lancashire worked daily to support people who were often struggling in a variety of ways, with benefits an important mechanism for keeping people out of poverty.

He added, however, that the cuts in the chancellor Rachel Reeves' spring statement would result in a "huge increase" in the number of people facing financial difficulties.

He told BBC Radio Lancashire: "What lies behind wanting welfare reform? Is it money saving or improving people's lives?

"If all you do is slash the budget people will be reduced to absolute misery."

Bishop North said that public debate showed there might be more of an appetite for measured tax rises to address some of the issues currently facing the country, such as future investment in the NHS and more money for defence.

'Invest in people's lives'

Bishop North said Diocesan churches would continue to support people across Lancashire through initiatives such as The Spear Programme at Preston Minster.

This project supports young people aged between 16 and 24 who are not in education, employment or training to help them get into work or education.

"It's a great example of what I've been talking about – the importance of investing in people's lives and the difference doing this can make," he said.

Cardinal Aveline elected president of French bishops’ conference

Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline has been elected president of the French bishops’ conference, succeeding Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort as the Catholic Church in France continues responding to revelations of sexual abuse.

The 66-year-old archbishop of Marseille was elected on April 2 during the bishops’ spring plenary assembly in Lourdes.

Aveline will officially assume leadership of the conference on July 1 alongside newly elected vice presidents Archbishop Vincent Jordy of Tours and Bishop Benoît Bertrand of Pontoise.

Aveline, who was born in Algeria and has served as a priest in Marseille for over 40 years, is known for his close relationship with Pope Francis.

The pope created him a cardinal in August 2022 and briefly visited Marseille in September 2023.

According to French media, Aveline is the most recognized French cardinal in Rome.

Aveline succeeds Moulins-Beaufort, who served as conference president since 2019 and led the French Church through one of its most challenging periods. 

During his tenure, the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE) released its landmark 2021 report estimating that approximately 330,000 minors had been victims of sexual abuse in Church settings since 1950.

The outgoing president guided the bishops’ response to this crisis, which included implementing numerous reforms and establishing support systems for survivors. 

In December 2022, the French bishops established a new legal structure to deal with crimes and offenses committed by clerics and laity within the Church, including sexual abuse of adults.

In an interview published in Le Pèlerin last week, Moulins-Beaufort acknowledged the ongoing work needed to address abuse.

Aveline, who has advocated for dialogue between religions and cultures and promoted welcoming migrants — key priorities of Pope Francis’ pontificate — now faces the challenge of continuing this critical work while addressing other pressing issues facing the French Church.

His term as president of the French bishops’ conference is set for three years, with the possibility of a single renewal.

Iraqi bishop rejects claim he invoked Vatican authority to corrupt court

A Kurdish-American businesswoman who has made allegations of corruption against Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil said the Vatican should suspend him and launch its own investigation.

Sara Saleem filed a civil action in a US federal court against 15 defendants besides Archbishop Warda, alleging that they conspired in her abduction and torture in 2014. 

She said the archbishop abetted her former business partners in defrauding her of millions of dollars and consorted with those responsible for her abduction. Warda has repeatedly denied the allegations.

Saleem told The Tablet this week that the Vatican should suspend Warda, a senior prelate of the Chaldean Catholic Church, and investigate his conduct. 

She alleged that he invoked Church authority when making threats and was “the centre of bribery and corruption” for criminal groups. 

With her son acting as a translator, she said the defendants were “exactly like snakes: put them in the grass and they turn green, put them in the desert and they look like sand”. 

She called Warda “the merchant of religion in the mafia” who had tried “to stamp on my neck by using his clerical authority”. 

“He scares and threatens people in the name of the Vatican,” she said. “Does the Vatican agree with Bashar Warda’s actions?”

In a statement in early March, Warda “categorically” denied Saleem’s “defamatory accusations”. 

He issued a further denial last week, saying he had been “unjustly” included on the list of defendants and that his involvement had been limited to seeking a resolution to her dispute outside the courts. Since this failed, the judiciary “has held jurisdiction over the dispute ever since”.

Responding to Saleem’s allegations that he had invoked the Vatican to influence the courts, Warda told The Tablet that the Church holds “no authority over the judiciary in any form, nor do we ever seek to exercise any influence upon it”, and that his position “does not give me the right to misuse the Church or to claim the authority of the Vatican”.

“It is both shameful and disgraceful to suggest that I am using the Vatican as a reference to influence a judicial decision,” he said.

The complaint, first filed in November last year and updated in February, seeks redress for “brutal acts of extortion, kidnapping, torture, and attempted murder” by the defendants. 

Besides Warda, they include Iraqi politicians and officials, the Iran-backed paramilitary groups Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) and Hezbollah, and Saleem’s former business partner Nizar Hanna Nasri – an Assyrian Christian – alongside his two brothers.

Saleem alleges that she was kidnapped in 2014 after refusing to pay a bribe during a major real estate project, for which she and Hanna had taken out a $100 million loan with the Trade Bank of Iraq. 

The complaint describes her abduction by AAH gunmen and torture over several weeks, and includes a dramatic account of her escape involving a gun battle between police and militia and eventual flight to the US.

It then details her return to Iraq and subsequent legal struggle to resume her real estate projects, which she says were obstructed by the defendants in her complaint. 

This culminated in a criminal case in 2022 against the Hanna brothers – whom she came to believe had conspired in her abduction – who were convicted of fraud and imprisoned in 2023.

She alleges that Warda was among those who “manipulated the underlying judicial proceedings” to bring about the Hanna brothers’ release pending a retrial, allowing them to flee the country last year. 

She specifically accuses the archbishop of “passing along a bribe” to Nechirvan Barzani, the president of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region where his diocese is located, to intercede on their behalf.

Saleem further claims Warda had “aided and abetted” her abduction through his purported links to the militia leader Rayan a-Kildani, who commands the Iran-backed Babylon Brigades.

Regarding his dealings with the Hanna brothers, Warda said it was part of the “social aspect” of the Church in Iraq. He said the history of Christian persecution “led the Church to care for the needs of its people from birth to death”. 

He cited the 13,000 Christians who fled to the Archdiocese of Erbil rather than UN refugee camps when Islamic State invaded northern Iraq in 2014 to show how “the Church is a central point of reference for the faithful in the East”.

“When believers face a social issue – even one of a legal nature – they often turn first and exclusively to the Church for counsel, not to influence judicial proceedings in any way,” he said. 

“I reiterate once again that my role was limited to offering counsel and encouraging the conflicting parties to seek peaceful reconciliation. When they decided to go to court, I withdrew from the matter.”

Warda has been Archbishop of Erbil since 2009 and has become a prominent advocate and fundraiser for Christians in Iraq, often travelling to Europe and the US to promote their cause. 

In asserting the US court’s jurisdiction over the defendants, Saleem’s filing says he “maintains commercial ties and business relationships with US-based humanitarian organisations” besides transacting business and transferring funds through the US banking system.

In September, the Chaldean Patriarch of Baghdad Cardinal Louis Raphaël I Sako reported Warda and four other bishops to the Pope for defying his authority. The Vatican has yet to issue a ruling in the case.

The biggest danger for the German Catholic Church isn’t its abuse scandals

When it comes to the Catholic Church in Germany, right now the headlines are focusing on chilling abuse scandals.

Two landmark trials, for example, have begun at Cologne District Court, with victims of sexual abuse demanding nearly €1.7 million in damages from the Catholic Church.

One woman, reportedly raped repeatedly by her priest, who then forced her to have an abortion, is claiming €850,000. 

Another woman, allegedly abused around 200 times from age six by her altar group leader, is demanding €800,000.

And instead of directly targeting the perpetrators, both cases are targeting the Cologne Archdiocese for institutional failure.

The victims’ rage is wholly justified, as is any outrage at the chilling arrogance that the Church has shown over the years, with its blatant disregard for transparency and accountability on this issue .

But devastating as these scandals are, and should be, for the Catholic Church in Germany, I think it faces a quieter, but arguably far bigger danger, if you stop and take stock of everything else that is going on in Germany.

Last week, the German Bishops’ Conference and dioceses of the Catholic Church published their 2024 figures, all of which paint an extremely glum picture.

The administration of the sacraments declined significantly between 2023 and 2024, with 15,000 fewer baptisms, 5,000 fewer weddings and just 6.6 per cent of Catholics attending Holy Mass in Germany. The number of priestly ordinations was a paltry 29.

But the bad news doesn’t end there, as figures reveal that in 2024 more than 322,000 Catholics in the Federal Republic officially also ceased to be members of the Church.

As well as being a gut punch to its public image, on a financial level this will also hit the German Catholic Church hard, as it means a sudden drop in the amount of people paying Kirchensteuer – the church tax.

As in neighbouring Austria or Switzerland, those who officially leave the Church can stop paying the otherwise obligatory church tax that comes out of their salaries.

And this is really serious stuff, as the money accounts for over 70 per cent of Church revenue in most dioceses, making it overwhelmingly their largest and most distinctive source of income to their services, staff and welfare programmes.

With fewer funds, the Church will therefore be forced to downsize in all of these areas, resulting in a further reduction of its influence.

But another problem for the German Catholic Church is the Synodal Path – Germany’s big, bold reform project.

Earlier this year, German bishops proposed creating a permanent “national synodal council” to explore a range of tough questions.

These include everything from whether women should be ordained to whether celibacy should be required, along with whether same-sex couples should be blessed and whether the Church’s power should be shared with the laity.

The Vatican’s response has been thinly veiled panic at this supposed heresy in slow motion amongst the German Catholic Church.

Meanwhile, at ground level, ordinary German Catholics are now totally caught between competing visions of the Church.

One is still clinging to clerical control and doctrinal purity, but the other progressive camp is demanding the Catholic Church gets with the times and makes peace with modern life.

Almost 28 per cent of senior roles in German dioceses are now held by women. And in some dioceses, women are even sharing executive power with bishops.

While the issue of female ordination is firmly off the table, for now, it links to another elephant that is still definitely in the room.

For many young Catholics who’ve grown up in a world of gender equality and LGBTQ+ inclusion policies, not allowing the possibility of female priests seems a failure to embrace the world we are living in. 

This February, for example, Germany marked three years since the launch of #OutInChurch – a movement of queer Catholic employees publicly coming out and demanding change. Some German dioceses have started blessing same-sex couples.

Another colossal headache for the Catholic Church in Germany is Kirchliches Arbeitsrecht (ecclesiastical employment law) – a uniquely German headache, which basically allows German churches to bypass the country’s standard and strict labour laws.

Specifically, it means the Church can deny workers the right to strike, and means it can dismiss staff for personal choices like divorce or being in a same-sex relationship, and also limit union rights.

Whereas discrimination law would make such moves totally illegal for most employers in Germany today, it has meant that the German Church has long been able to protect its extremely wide network of institutions (schools, hospitals, charities and so forth) from scrutiny, as they operate outside usual labour laws.

Right now this is being fiercely opposed by the centrist Social Democratic Party (SDP), while the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) demand that it should be kept; this is one of several issues which is currently preventing the ideologically opposed parties from forming a working coalition government.

More complicated still is that Martin Nebeling, head of the Catholic Employers’ Association, made the shock move recently of not just defending Germany’s special Church employment law, but even launched an attack on modern Germany’s standard labour laws.

Specifically, he attacked the 11-hour rest rule between workdays: he slammed it as “outdated” and bad for business, claiming instead that the rest of Germany should implement flexible working schedules.

In Germany, labour law protections are extremely strong. Dismissals are highly regulated – and after six months, workers gain protection against unfair dismissal, and employers must even justify any termination with a valid reason.

Moreover, employees in Germany have to form a works-related council at any workplace which has at least five permanent employees; notice periods are longer, and fixed-term contracts are far more tightly controlled.

Given all the robust and widespread protection standard German labour law provides to workers, I can’t see how by sounding off at this, the German Catholic Employers’ Association hopes to win back hundreds of thousands which continue to flock from the Church. 

Especially when it simultaneously refuses to address how the Church’s special labour laws deny its own workers extremely basic rights, such as the right to strike.

What is also proving a wedge between German Catholics and their Church is a growing dilemma over environmental and climate issues, something traditionally very close to German hearts.

On the one hand, the German Catholic Church pays lip-service to its theological commitment to protecting natural creation, inspired by Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’. 

On the other hand, however, it has an extremely slow and often inconsistent practical response on the same issue.

Many German bishops tend to wax lyrical about sustainability, for example, but translating this into action has proved far more tricky.

Germany’s Catholic Church is shrouded in multiple layers of institutional secrecy, and the lack of a clear national governing structure means determining the exact amount of land it owns is fiendishly hard to establish.

There is extremely limited public disclosure and the fragmented nature of the Church’s decentralised administration makes all this even worse.

However, it is at least thought that the Church owns vast estates.

And over the years the assets of certain individual dioceses and archdioceses have also come to light – and it has been shocking.

In 2013, for example, the Diocese of Limburg faced scrutiny when Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst was removed for spending a startling €31 million on a luxurious residence.

And in 2015, the Archdiocese of Cologne disclosed that its assets totalled €3.35 billion ($3.82 billion), surpassing the Vatican’s reported wealth at that time.

It also revealed that an incredible €646 million of this was held in tangible assets – primarily property.

But the problem is not necessarily that the German Catholic Church owns a massive amount of land or property – although of course it is at the very least an awkward fact given that many major cities, including the capital, Berlin, are currently experiencing a housing shortage.

The real problem is that even though the Catholic Church is one of the country’s largest landholders, there is no transparent or binding national strategy for how this land is used or managed in ecological terms.

This means that old, inefficient buildings remain carbon-heavy, thousands of hectares of forests are neither protected or re-wilded, and valuable urban land is often left underused.

Furthermore, while other German institutions face increasing pressure to divest from polluting assets and reduce emissions, the Church’s decentralised structure shields it from both scrutiny and accountability.

Unlike a company or government body, the Catholic Church in Germany isn’t a single legal entity, rather is made up of independent dioceses, each with its own legal status under German public law.

This means thousands of parishes, religious orders and affiliated charities are also completely legally distinct.

In the same way, Catholic schools, hospitals, banks and welfare organisations (like Caritas), all operate within their own structure and leadership.

And instead of having a clear sense of leadership – and which might also be challenged and held to account – the German Catholic Church ends up operating as a baffling patchwork of elements, each operating on a shoulder-shrugging, “not-me-guv”-type basis, as each of the individual elements in the puzzle can simple claim “I’m not responsible for that”.

This extremely fractured administrative structure, as opposed to a unified national body, is definitely not a new concept for German society.

Unlike in the UK, where a centralised structure and national systems are commonplace, Germany is staunchly decentralised.

Each of the country’s 16 federal states, for example, sets its own school curricula, funds its own universities, maintains a separate police force and has healthcare managed through regionally based insurance funds, unlike the UK’s centralised National Health Service.

Germans take this extremely seriously and don’t like excuses, especially when it comes to the environment.

The country derives over 50 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources, with wind and solar leading the way, and as of 2024, around 29 per cent of its electricity came from wind alone.

Meanwhile, the country has over 2 million solar power installations and more than 20,000 onshore wind turbines, while cities like Freiburg are internationally recognised for sustainable urban design.

Germany also has one of the highest recycling rates in the world, consistently above 65 per cent, and unlike in the UK, the Green Party has formed part of the government and led several key ministries, including not just Climate, but also Foreign Affairs.

Given all of this, the German Catholic Church needs to get serious and act seriously on the environment if it wishes to stay popular.

But with many many dioceses lacking transparent climate policies, still investing in fossil fuels and with their vast land holdings being held without clear sustainability goals – as things stand, things do not look promising.

Even if there was a huge push for the German Church to embrace environmental policies, with no national body in assistance, it is unclear how individual dioceses could be enforced to maintain environmental standards, or how coordinating large-scale change across the Church could be attempted given that each diocese can simply ignore or delay action.

So, given all the above – and as you can see, there is a lot – away from the cataclysmic news coverage of these horrific child abuse scandals in the German Catholic Church, there remains something equally as dangerous for its existence.

And what that is, in essence, is those hundreds of thousands of Catholic Germans who right now are not giving explosive interviews to the press, are not putting up a fight with the secretive and Kafkaesque Church administrations – in fact, its those German Catholics who are not making a fuss at all.

No, they are doing something far, far more deadly for the Church in Germany.

They are simply taking a quiet walk to the local registry office to formally end their official membership of the Catholic Church.

Those that do stay may be doing so out of faith, or out of habit, or perhaps simply out of hope that things might change.

But the harsh reality remains that the German Catholic Church is no longer just facing an abuse crisis, it is very much mired in the midst of a larger crisis.

And unless it finds a way to connect belief with reality, tradition with credibility, and hierarchy with accountability, it won’t just lose members, it may even lose relevance for German society altogether.

Judge disregarded bankruptcy trustee’s recommendation and punished New Orleans clergy abuse survivors

A federal judge used the findings of a US justice department investigation to justify expelling clergy molestation survivors from a committee trying to negotiate settlements with the bankrupt New Orleans Catholic archdiocese after their lawyer tipped off a high school that its chaplain was an admitted child molester.

But now, for the first time, having obtained a long-sealed report on the matter, the Guardian and reporting partner WWL Louisiana can reveal that the judge, Meredith Grabill, made that decision even after the justice department’s bankruptcy trustee specifically said the lawyer’s clients should not be punished – though the trustee believed the attorney had violated a confidentiality order in trying to protect children from an abuser.

The lawyer, Richard Trahant, has always denied violating the secrecy orders governing the New Orleans archdiocese’s bankruptcy, one of the most contentious of the 40 such cases filed by Catholic institutions across the US amid the worldwide church’s ongoing reckoning with its history of clergy abuse. 

He is still appealing a $400,000 fine that Grabill handed him.

Meanwhile, three years since that ruling from Grabill, a settlement in the bankruptcy hasn’t been reached, leaving unresolved a case first filed in May 2020 as the archdiocese sought to limit its liability from hundreds of claims of clergy abuse, mostly involving the victimization of children and spanning several decades. 

The archdiocese has racked up well over $40m in legal fees. 

It is selling off real estate. And it is preparing to nix its newspaper’s print edition beginning in July.

 Court records also show how a then bankruptcy judge in Houston, David Jones, spoke with Grabill about the sanctions against Trahant as well as his clients before she imposed them. 

Jones then used Trahant’s clients’ removals in New Orleans as a legal basis to expel a member of a creditors’ committee during a separate bankruptcy case in his court in Texas.

Jones has since admitted having an affair with an attorney in that case, whose client was a business competitor to the committee member ousted by Jones. Jones has resigned and is now the subject of an FBI corruption investigation.

Precisely how Grabill arrived at what is widely viewed as one of the most consequential rulings in the New Orleans archdiocese’s tortuous bankruptcy case has been among the proceeding’s most elusive secrets. 

To get the most complete glimpse yet of those circumstances, the Guardian and WWL Louisiana used a public records request to obtain the report that Grabill commissioned from the US trustee’s office – which assists in administering bankruptcy cases – before punishing Trahant and his clients.

Grabill had sealed the 41-page document, along with corresponding exhibits. Yet they all became part of the case file compiled by New Orleans state prosecutors in their aggravated rape and kidnapping case against Lawrence Hecker, a self-admitted child molester and retired local archdiocesan priest.

Hecker pleaded guilty as charged in December and died days into serving a mandatory life sentence, making archdiocesan records obtained during his prosecution available under Louisiana’s public records law.

Essentially, the report determined that Trahant violated Grabill’s secrecy order simply by making reference to the name and position of the abusive chaplain – Paul Hart – while communicating with the principal of Brother Martin high school, where the clergyman worked. 

Brother Martin’s principal, Ryan Gallagher, happened to be a cousin of Trahant.

The report also asserted that Trahant violated the secrecy order by telling a journalist – then with New Orleans’ Times-Picayune newspaper but now at the Guardian – to keep Hart on his “radar”.

But the report found it was actually the church itself that informed Brother Martin about the particulars of Hart’s abusive past after Trahant mentioned his name to both Gallagher and the journalist. 

Hart was forced to retire and leave the school, although the archdiocese publicly blamed his departure on his poor health.

The trustee’s investigation report said it could not determine exactly who may have assisted the journalist with an article he later published about how Hart’s abusive past compelled him to retire. 

Investigators came to that realization partly because the archdiocese declined to cooperate with efforts to determine everyone on the church’s side who had access to the information in the newspaper piece.

All the report could really conclude was that it wasn’t Trahant.

Trahant has maintained that he was careful only to share information about Hart that was publicly available – his name and job, for instance – because the secrecy order enabled him to do that. 

He points to a provision of the order which reads “information that is in the public domain at the time of disclosure … shall not be governed by [the] protective order”.

Nonetheless, after the attorney testified that he knew his prior work representing clergy molestation survivors meant Gallagher and the journalist would infer Hart was an abuser simply from his mentioning the priest’s name out of the blue, Grabill sanctioned Trahant and his clients, claiming she was protecting the “functioning of the committee”.

Asked to review the episode and comment on it as a knowledgable outside observer, Leslie Griffin, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas law professor, said it appeared to her as if Grabill’s handling of the matter signaled that “bankruptcy means the archdiocese can talk about whatever it wants while the survivors” or their advocates “must be silent”.

“Both Trahant and the archdiocese [acted] on the confidential information … to ensure that Paul Hart could not harm anyone else,” Griffin said. “To an outsider, it looks like Trahant and [the archdiocese] were treated differently for doing the same thing, namely using the court’s information in trying to protect minors from a known abuser.

“It looks like a system that could be more protective of the abusers than of the abused. And the reasons for that are not clear.”

Neither Grabill nor Trahant – nor his clients James Adams, Jackie Berthelot, Theodore Jackson and Eric Johnson – immediately responded to requests for comment. 

Hart has since died.

‘Completely disgusted’

The complicated legal saga in some ways centering on Hart began with the decision of the New Orleans archbishop, Gregory Aymond, to station him at Brother Martin beginning in 2017. 

Aymond made that decision even after Hart, in about 2012, had admitted to the archbishop that he kissed, groped and engaged in “dry sex” – simulated intercourse while clothed – in the early 1990s with a 17-year-old girl who belonged to a youth group run out of Hart’s church at the time.

Aymond, though, declined to substantially punish Hart because church, or canon, law in effect at the beginning of the 1990s considered 16 the age of consent. US bishops adopted a policy making 18 the age of consent in 2002 – after the abuse happened but before Hart’s admitted behavior.

In late 2021, through his work representing people whose clergy abuse claims were tied up in the New Orleans archdiocese’s bankruptcy, Trahant learned some of those facts. 

The archdiocese had never disclosed Hart’s history. 

And because of that, on New Year’s Eve 2021, Trahant sent Gallagher a text message reading: “Is Paul Hart still the chaplain at BM?”

Gallagher wrote back, “Yes.” Trahant said, “You and I need to get together soon,” prompting Gallagher to reply: “Shit.

“That’s … ominous coming from you.”

Things developed quickly in the days that followed, according to the US trustee investigation. Trahant told members of the committee to which his clients belonged that there was a “pressing situation” with respect to Hart but did not elaborate. 

Trahant did not represent the committee itself, but the lawyers that did told the archdiocese that they understood Hart to be “a danger to children based on information” in personnel files produced to the body. 

They demanded the archdiocese remove Hart as soon as possible.

In the meantime, by 5 January 2022, Aymond had gotten on the phone with the president of Brother Martin’s governing board, David Gallo, as well as the director of schools for the religious order in charge of the campus, John Devlin. 

Saying he was concerned for the person whom the priest admitted abusing, Aymond indicated “the information concerning Hart should not have been released … and sought to find out the source”, the US trustee report said, citing sealed testimony taken later from Gallo and Devlin.

Gallo subsequently recalled that Aymond “provided … specific details of the abuse allegations: that the allegations against Hart involved a ‘legal adult’ under canon law applicable at the time”, the report stated. 

As Devlin recalled, Aymond characterized Hart’s behavior as “a boundary violation”.

Hart at the time had been diagnosed with brain cancer. But he planned to be back on campus before the end of that month, as Brother Martin understood it, according to what Gallagher said during a conversation following up on his initial text exchange with Trahant.

And, despite Aymond’s assurances that nothing criminal occurred, Brother Martin officials agreed that “they would never have accepted [Hart] as chaplain” if they had previously known about any “boundary violation or inappropriate behavior” by him, according to the report. 

Devlin reportedly testified that the school “agreed to start the process to request that Hart no longer continue as chaplain”.

Hart offered in writing to remove himself as Brother Martin’s chaplain “temporarily, until the matter in question has been resolved”, just one day after the conversations Devlin and Gallo recalled having with Aymond. 

Aymond evidently waited one week – until 13 January 2022 – to answer Hart’s offer in writing, saying the priest would instead be retiring and therefore would be permanently “relieved” from his role as Brother Martin’s chaplain.

School officials at the time were insisting Aymond provide them something in writing showing the archbishop had removed Hart from Brother Martin. 

A community notice issued to Brother Martin said that the school had not learned of Hart’s removal until 13 January.

But the date on Aymond’s letter is 10 January 2022, creating the impression that Aymond had actually written it days earlier.

A survivors committee attorney, Omer “Rick” Kuebel, eventually testified that the metadata on the letter – its digital timestamp – established that the document was not created until the 13th, according to a deposition transcript obtained through a public records request pertaining to the Hecker case.

A US trustee investigator later asked Aymond, under oath, whether he wrote the letter on 10 January 2022. “Correct,” Aymond said, according to a deposition transcript. “Yes, sir.” 

The investigator did not ask Aymond about the metadata discrepancy.

The archbishop later adjusted his testimony to say the letter may have been dictated on the 10th though not sent that same day. He said the decision to remove Hart “was made already … so it would not have made any difference”.

Similarly, while still under oath, Aymond denied that either he or anyone at the archdiocese provided Brother Martin officials confidential details about Hart. 

That strongly contradicted testimony from multiple Brother Martin officials who were cited in the US trustee’s report as saying that they learned the particulars of Hart’s past from the archbishop’s side.

But Aymond was not confronted about that discrepancy during his testimony, according to the transcript of his deposition.

Asked for comment about his testimony, Aymond said in a statement recently: “Very simply, I accepted Paul Hart’s retirement while I was out of town on retreat and finalized it upon my return to the office.”

He also said: “I am a man of integrity and have dedicated my life to ministry in service to the people of God. These past years navigating the bankruptcy proceedings have been challenging and made even more difficult by constant attacks and insinuated accusations that are deliberate attempts to discredit me and undermine the archdiocese of New Orleans in our bankruptcy.

“I have instructed our team to bring the bankruptcy proceedings to a just and equitable conclusion for the good of all, especially the survivors.”

The statement did not address his and Brother Martin officials’ conflicting testimony about the archdiocese having disclosed the details of Hart’s misconduct.

Regardless of the timing of the archbishop’s letter to Hart, in early 2022 the archdiocese told the journalist who wrote of the Brother Martin chaplain’s retirement that he had stopped working to focus on his fight with cancer. 

The letter the school sent to its campus community was starkly different. It made no mention of Hart’s health and said his removal came at Brother Martin’s request after the school learned of “an issue from [his] distant past that could preclude his being able to serve as chaplain”.

Hart died at age 70 in October of that year.

Gallagher at one point texted Trahant to thank him for putting Brother Martin “in a better position … to weather this”. 

Gallagher added that the entire affair had left him “completely disgusted”.

The archdiocese was displeased, too. Its attorneys filed documents with Grabill alleging “serious breaches of the protective order from the disclosure of the Hart information”, prompting the judge to task the US trustee with investigating the matter.

‘Overly burdensome’

Beside sorting out exactly how Brother Martin learned of Hart’s past misconduct, a major focus of the investigation was to determine who may have leaked the information reported in the Times-Picayune on 18 January 2022.

Investigators determined that Trahant, Adams and other people on their side had access to the Hart information. But they all denied providing the journalist the information he reported.

The US trustee’s report acknowledged it could not defeat those denials. 

And, in fact, the report said there was evidence supporting Trahant’s denials of being the journalist’s source.

Notably, though Trahant had first received a portion of Hart’s files with minimal details more than two weeks before the article’s publication, he had not gotten the full set of documents on the priest until a few hours before the story’s release, the report said. 

After declining to comment to the journalist who wrote the article, Trahant asked a colleague to send him Hart’s entire personnel file roughly three hours before the piece was published.

The article “was clearly well advanced by this time”, the US trustee’s report said. Several hours earlier, the journalist had already asked the archdiocese for comment about Hart’s misconduct and retirement, making it “difficult to see how [Trahant] could have been the source” for that information, the report said.

Meanwhile, investigators’ efforts to identify the source of the article’s information were frustrated in part by the archdiocese’s refusal to make available every person on its side who over the years may have known about Hart. 

Attorneys and various employees at the archdiocese who had access to Hart’s information did submit denials of having provided assistance to the journalist.

But the church said it was “impractical and overly burdensome” to supply statements from members of a board that advised Aymond as he weighed what to do in response to the misconduct confessed by Hart.

A US trustee investigator questioned the journalist, who – adhering to the ethics of his profession – declined to reveal his sources or methods.

‘Disruption’

Ultimately, the US trustee concluded it “cannot determine who provided … the information” about Hart reported by the Times-Picayune.

Despite that, the office said it was confident Trahant had done enough to have “violated the terms of the protective order”. But members of the committee are “not responsible for these violations”, the US trustee’s report said.

Trahant’s “actions cannot be imputed to the committee”, the US trustee wrote in its report, issued under a court seal on Friday, 3 June 2022. 

“To the extent the court believes further relief may be appropriate under the circumstances, such relief should be considered in further proceedings in open court so that the court may hear and consider all relevant evidence.”

Grabill held no such proceeding. On the following Tuesday, the second business day after the US trustee report was issued, she ruled that Trahant deserved punishment over “disclosure of confidential information”. 

The judge later fined Trahant $400,000.

She also expelled Adams, Berthelot, Jackson and Johnson from their roles on the committee. Grabill maintained that she was “forced to impute Trahant’s actions to those of his clients” in order “to protect against disruption of the bankruptcy process”.

That morning, Adams – who had been the chairperson of the committee – and his three ousted colleagues had been prepared to read statements to Aymond about having endured clergy abuse as part of bankruptcy settlement negotiations. But that meeting was canceled because of Grabill’s ruling.

Trahant and his clients appealed.

Multiple legal commentators – among them some who insisted on speaking privately for fear of ending up in court in front of Grabill – have told the Guardian and WWL that such severe punishments for Trahant and his clients were highly unusual, especially because the end result was a self-acknowledged abuser’s ejection from a high school campus.

But federal district judges have left the sanctions in place. 

Trahant’s clients’ appeal – arguing that their removals were unlawful – was shot down by the federal fifth circuit court in May.

In that same court, Trahant’s appeal remained pending as of the publication of this article. 

Among his main arguments is that Grabill – at the suggestion of the archdiocese – had already made up her mind to heavily fine him and punish those associated with him before she had even ordered the Hart-related US trustee investigation.

Another of Trahant’s arguments: while those who conducted the investigation knew what Grabill wanted, they still would not endorse what the judge at one point described as “the nuclear option”, which was booting Trahant’s clients from the survivors’ committee.

Trahant has also noted that Grabill, along with other judges who have upheld her decisions, have repeatedly charged him with “willfully” violating her protective order. 

But, Trahant has said in court, the US trustee report does not use that adverb in describing his actions concerning Hart. 

And at one point, before fining him, Grabill told Trahant in court, “It became clear that you didn’t think that you had violated the [secrecy] order,” according to a transcript.

There has been one other prominent endorsement of the sanctions: from the resigned bankruptcy judge Jones.

At one point before the removals of Trahant’s clients, an archdiocesan attorney remarked in court that Grabill had spoken with Jones about what to do over the controversy. 

Grabill did not dispute the church lawyer’s statement.

Then, in his courtroom in March 2023, Jones brought up Grabill’s sanctions himself. He said they were “actually pretty thoughtful”. 

And then he held them up as a useful precedent to justify his granting a request from a bankrupt pharmaceutical firm, Sorrento, to remove one of the company’s competitors from participating in a creditors committee in that case.

The FBI later launched an investigation into whether Jones was fairly administering bankruptcy cases after a lawsuit revealed his sexual relationship with an attorney who had represented Sorrento in his courtroom.

Jones had not been charged as of this article’s publication. 

But he ultimately resigned in late October 2023, less than three months after he traveled to New Orleans and was the guest of honor at a continuing legal education seminar hosted by Grabill.