Catholic Church abuse crisis (worldwide)
Government inquiries, prosecutions and Vatican reforms in Ireland, Australia, Chile, Germany, France and beyond.
100 developments, 1989–2026, oldest first.
1989
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Clergy sex abuse scandal shakes Newfoundland
Reports of sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Newfoundland set off a provincial scandal that soon widened to the Christian Brothers' Mount Cashel orphanage.
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Mount Cashel revelations bring charges of a police and justice cover-up
Testimony and reporting on abuse at the Mount Cashel orphanage raised claims that police and justice officials shelved a 1970s investigation, prompting the Hughes royal commission.
1996
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Newfoundland government makes settlement offers to Mount Cashel claimants
The provincial government offered compensation settlements to former Mount Cashel residents who had sued over abuse suffered in the orphanage.
2005
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Ferns Report finds more than 100 abuse allegations in Irish diocese
The state-appointed Ferns Inquiry found over 100 allegations against 21 priests in the Diocese of Ferns since 1962 and faulted bishops and police for failing to act.
2009
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Ryan Report finds abuse endemic in Irish church-run institutions
A nine-year state inquiry concluded that sexual and physical abuse was endemic in industrial schools and reformatories run by Catholic religious orders, and that officials knew.
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Religious orders refuse to reopen Irish abuse compensation deal
After the Ryan Report, the 18 religious congregations rejected government calls to renegotiate a 2002 indemnity deal that capped their redress contributions.
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Nova Scotia bishop Raymond Lahey wanted on child pornography charges
Police issued a warrant for Bishop Raymond Lahey of Antigonish on charges of possessing and importing child sexual abuse images, days after he resigned.
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Murphy Report finds Dublin archdiocese and police covered up child abuse
The Murphy Commission found that successive Dublin archbishops put the church's reputation ahead of children and that police colluded in covering up abuse from 1975 to 2004.
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Second Irish bishop resigns over Murphy Report findings
Another Irish bishop who had served in Dublin announced his resignation after being criticized in the Murphy Report.
2010
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Jesuit school abuse scandal spreads across Germany
Admissions of past abuse at Berlin's Canisius College opened a wave of revelations at Catholic schools throughout Germany.
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Cardinal Brady attended 1975 meetings that swore abuse victims to secrecy
Ireland's primate Cardinal Seán Brady acknowledged he was present as a priest at church inquiries into Fr. Brendan Smyth at which children signed secrecy oaths, but said he would not resign.
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German priest in abuse case tied to Ratzinger's Munich tenure is suspended
The Munich archdiocese suspended a priest convicted of abuse in 1986 after it emerged he had been returned to pastoral work, a case dating to when the future Benedict XVI led the diocese.
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Pope Benedict XVI apologizes to Irish abuse victims in pastoral letter
In a letter to Irish Catholics, Benedict XVI expressed shame and remorse to survivors and rebuked Irish bishops for grave errors, while critics said it did not address Vatican responsibility.
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Bishop of Bruges resigns after admitting abuse
Bishop Roger Vangheluwe resigned after admitting he had sexually abused a boy years earlier.
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Vatican indignant over Belgian police raids on church offices
Belgian police seized files from church offices and a cardinal's home in an abuse inquiry, prompting a protest from the Holy See.
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Belgian court rules church abuse raids illegal
A Brussels court found the June raids unlawful and ordered seized material returned, hampering the investigation.
2011
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Vatican rejects Karadima appeal and upholds sanctions
The Vatican denied Fernando Karadima's appeal, maintaining its finding that he abused minors and ordering him to a life of prayer and penance.
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Cloyne Report finds diocese ignored child protection guidelines
The Cloyne inquiry found the diocese failed to report most complaints to police between 1996 and 2009 and said a 1997 Vatican letter had undermined Irish church guidelines.
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Taoiseach Enda Kenny condemns Vatican over Cloyne findings
In an unprecedented Dáil speech, Kenny accused the Vatican of obstructing an inquiry into abuse and of prioritizing its own reputation.
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Holy See rejects claim it obstructed Irish abuse investigations
In a formal response to the Irish government, the Vatican denied it had interfered with child protection in Cloyne while acknowledging failures.
2012
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Reports say Dutch Catholic institutions castrated boys in the 1950s
Dutch media reported that at least 10 boys in Catholic care were castrated, raising questions about why the 2011 Deetman abuse inquiry omitted the cases.
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422 sex abuse claims filed against the Christian Brothers
Hundreds of abuse claims, many tied to Mount Cashel and other Christian Brothers institutions, were lodged in the order's insolvency proceedings.
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Survivors welcome national royal commission into institutional child abuse
Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced a royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, a move survivors called a bittersweet victory.
2013
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Supreme Court judge named to head abuse royal commission
The government released terms of reference and named Justice Peter McClellan to chair the six-member royal commission.
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McAleese report finds significant state role in Magdalene laundries
A government committee found the Irish state was directly involved in sending women and girls to the Catholic-run Magdalene laundries.
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Taoiseach issues state apology to Magdalene laundry women
Enda Kenny apologized unreservedly in the Dáil to women held in the laundries and announced a redress scheme.
2014
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UN committee demands Vatican remove abusers and open files
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child sharply criticized the Holy See's handling of clergy abuse and called for abusers to be reported to civil authorities.
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Pope names Cardinal O'Malley and survivors to new anti-abuse commission
Francis appointed the first members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, including Irish survivor Marie Collins.
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Almost 800 infants found buried in unmarked graves at Tuam home
Research by a local historian indicated nearly 800 children who died at a Bon Secours-run mother and baby home in Tuam were buried without markers.
2015
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Ireland publishes terms of mother and baby homes inquiry
The Irish government set the terms of a commission to investigate 14 mother and baby homes and four county homes, prompted by the Tuam revelations.
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Spanish judge charges 10 priests in Granada abuse case
A Granada judge charged priests and a layman after a former altar boy wrote to Pope Francis, who encouraged him to go to authorities.
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Protests erupt over installation of Bishop Juan Barros in Osorno
Protesters disrupted the installation of Barros, a Karadima protégé whom survivors accused of witnessing and covering up abuse, which he denied.
2016
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Abuse allegations follow Sodalitium founder Figari to Rome
Former members accused Luis Fernando Figari, founder of the Peru-based Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, of sexual and psychological abuse; he denied wrongdoing.
2017
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Royal commission data shows Australian church paid $276m to abuse victims
Hearings revealed thousands of claims against Catholic institutions and that about 7% of priests between 1950 and 2010 were alleged perpetrators.
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Survivor Marie Collins quits Vatican abuse commission citing resistance
Collins resigned, saying Vatican offices resisted the commission's recommendations.
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Significant quantities of infant remains found at former Tuam home
The state commission confirmed test excavations found significant human remains in underground chambers at the former Tuam mother and baby home.
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Cardinal George Pell charged with historical sexual offences
Victoria Police charged Pell, the Vatican's finance chief, with historical sexual offences; he denied the allegations and took leave to fight them.
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Royal commission final report; church leaders reject key recommendations
The royal commission's final report made hundreds of recommendations, including on the confessional seal and celibacy, which Catholic leaders rejected.
2018
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Pope's defense of Bishop Barros causes outrage
Francis said accusations against Barros were slander absent proof, angering survivors; he later apologized for the remark.
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Pope sends Archbishop Scicluna to investigate Chile abuse claims
The Vatican dispatched its top abuse investigator to gather testimony about Barros and the Karadima circle.
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Pope admits grave errors in handling Chile abuse crisis
After reading Scicluna's report, Francis wrote to Chile's bishops acknowledging serious mistakes caused by a lack of truthful information and summoned them to Rome.
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All of Chile's bishops offer their resignations
Following meetings with the pope in Rome, all 34 active Chilean bishops tendered their resignations over abuse and cover-up.
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Archbishop Philip Wilson found guilty of concealing child sexual abuse
Adelaide's archbishop became the most senior Catholic cleric convicted of concealing abuse, over a priest's crimes in the 1970s in New South Wales.
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Pope accepts resignations of Barros and two other Chilean bishops
Francis accepted the first three resignations, including that of Bishop Barros of Osorno.
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IICSA report damns culture of acceptance of abuse at Ampleforth and Downside
The inquiry found the Benedictine schools prioritized monks and reputation over pupils, allowing abusers to continue for decades.
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Pope Francis visits Ireland amid anger over clergy abuse
Francis traveled to Ireland for the World Meeting of Families as survivors and politicians pressed him on decades of abuse and cover-up.
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Pope summons world's bishops to summit on clerical abuse
Francis called the presidents of all bishops' conferences to Rome for a February 2019 meeting on protecting minors.
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German bishops' MHG study documents thousands of abuse cases
A church-commissioned study found 3,677 children were abused by 1,670 clergy between 1946 and 2014 and that records had been destroyed or manipulated.
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Vatican defrocks Chilean priest Fernando Karadima
Pope Francis expelled Karadima from the priesthood, years after a church tribunal found he had abused minors.
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Pope defrocks two retired Chilean bishops over abuse
Francis laicized two retired Chilean bishops accused of abusing minors, a rare sanction against bishops.
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Ireland decides to exhume remains at Tuam mass grave
The Irish government approved a forensic excavation of the Tuam site so children's remains could be identified and reburied.
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Cardinal Pell found guilty of historical sexual offences
A Melbourne jury convicted Pell of offences against two choirboys in the 1990s; the verdict was suppressed from publication in Australia until February 2019.
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Pope removes Pell and another cardinal from his advisory council
Pope Francis dropped two cardinals linked to abuse cases, including Pell, from his Council of Cardinals.
2019
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Vatican abuse summit ends with pledge to confront abuse
The four-day Meeting on the Protection of Minors closed with Francis promising decisive action, though survivors said concrete measures were lacking.
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French Cardinal Barbarin convicted of failing to report abuse
A Lyon court gave Cardinal Philippe Barbarin a six-month suspended sentence for not reporting abuse by priest Bernard Preynat; he appealed.
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George Pell sentenced to six years in prison
A Victorian judge sentenced Pell to six years in prison for his child sexual abuse convictions.
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Polish church study reports hundreds of abusive clergy
The Polish bishops released data showing 382 clergy were accused of abusing 625 minors between 1990 and 2018, figures critics said were incomplete.
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Pope accepts resignation of Santiago Cardinal Ezzati amid cover-up probe
Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati stepped down as archbishop of Santiago while under investigation by Chilean prosecutors for alleged cover-up, which he denied.
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Pope issues Vos estis lux mundi requiring abuse reporting
The motu proprio obliged clergy and religious worldwide to report abuse and cover-up and set procedures for investigating bishops.
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Documentary 'Tell No One' on clergy abuse shakes Poland
A crowdfunded film confronting priests with survivors drew millions of views and intensified pressure on the Polish church.
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Poland proposes tougher penalties for child sex abuse amid church crisis
The ruling party moved to raise penalties for child sexual abuse after the documentary's release.
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Independent commission on French church abuse opens
The Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE), led by Jean-Marc Sauvé and commissioned by French bishops, opened a call for testimony.
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Victorian appeals court upholds Pell's convictions
The Court of Appeal dismissed Pell's appeal in a 2-1 decision, keeping him in prison.
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Pope abolishes pontifical secret in abuse cases
Francis lifted pontifical secrecy over abuse cases, allowing church documents to be shared with civil authorities.
2020
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French priest Bernard Preynat jailed for abusing Scouts
A Lyon court sentenced the defrocked priest to five years in prison for sexually assaulting boy scouts decades earlier.
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High Court of Australia overturns Pell's convictions
The High Court unanimously quashed Pell's convictions, finding the jury should have had reasonable doubt, and he was released.
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Unredacted royal commission findings say Pell knew of abuse
Previously redacted sections found Pell was aware of child abuse by clergy in Ballarat in the 1970s and failed to act; Pell disputed the findings.
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Pope moves against Polish bishop accused of shielding abusers
The Vatican sidelined Bishop Edward Janiak of Kalisz under the Vos estis procedures over alleged failures to act on abuse.
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N.L. Court of Appeal rules Archdiocese of St. John's liable for Mount Cashel abuse
The province's appeal court unanimously reversed a 2018 ruling and found the Roman Catholic archdiocese vicariously liable for abuse of boys at Mount Cashel in the 1950s and 1960s.
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Monks to leave Downside Abbey after abuse scandal
The Benedictine community decided to leave Downside Abbey and separate from the school following the abuse findings.
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Queensland law requires priests to report abuse disclosed in confession
Following a royal commission recommendation, Queensland passed a law making clergy who fail to report child abuse learned in confession liable to jail.
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IICSA finds Catholic Church in England and Wales swept abuse under the carpet
The inquiry's report on the Catholic Church said it put its reputation ahead of victims and criticized Cardinal Vincent Nichols's leadership.
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Ampleforth College barred from admitting new pupils over safeguarding
The Department for Education ordered the Catholic boarding school to stop taking new pupils after inspectors found safeguarding failings.
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Paris court convicts former Vatican envoy of sexual assault
Former papal nuncio to France Luigi Ventura received a suspended sentence for sexually assaulting men in Paris.
2021
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Mother and baby homes report finds 9,000 children died
The commission's final report found about 9,000 children died in the 18 institutions examined, many of them run by Catholic orders, and described a deeply misogynistic culture.
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Irish state and church apologize over mother and baby homes
Taoiseach Micheál Martin delivered a state apology and Catholic leaders also apologized after the commission's findings.
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Supreme Court of Canada declines archdiocese's Mount Cashel appeal
The Supreme Court refused to hear the archdiocese's appeal, leaving it liable for abuse at Mount Cashel and ending a two-decade legal fight.
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France's top court confirms Cardinal Barbarin's acquittal
The Court of Cassation upheld an appeals ruling that cleared Barbarin of failing to report abuse.
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Catholic Church sells assets to pay Mount Cashel survivors
The Archdiocese of St. John's began selling churches and property to compensate Mount Cashel survivors, though their lawyer warned proceeds would fall short.
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Sauvé report estimates 330,000 children abused in French church since 1950
The CIASE found roughly 216,000 minors were abused by clergy, rising to about 330,000 including lay church workers, and described a systemic failure.
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Pope Francis expresses shame over French church abuse findings
Francis voiced shame at the church's long failure to put victims first after the Sauvé report.
2022
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Munich report finds Benedict XVI failed to act on abuse cases
A law firm report commissioned by the Munich archdiocese said then-Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger mishandled four abuse cases in the 1970s and 1980s.
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Benedict XVI acknowledges faulty testimony to Munich abuse inquiry
The retired pope corrected his statement and acknowledged attending a 1980 meeting about an abusive priest, attributing the error to an editing mistake.
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Pope Francis apologizes in Canada for abuses at church-run residential schools
Speaking at Maskwacis, Alberta, Pope Francis apologized for the role of Catholics in Canada's residential school system, where Indigenous children suffered abuse including sexual abuse.
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IICSA publishes final report on child sexual abuse in England and Wales
The seven-year inquiry, which included investigations of the Catholic Church and Benedictine schools, issued its final recommendations including mandatory reporting.
2023
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Portuguese inquiry finds nearly 5,000 children abused by clergy since 1950
An independent commission commissioned by Portugal's bishops validated 512 testimonies and estimated at least 4,815 victims.
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B.C. judge certifies class action over Christian Brothers abuse at Vancouver schools
A Vancouver judge allowed a class action to proceed against two Catholic schools over alleged abuse by Christian Brothers, including men previously linked to Mount Cashel.
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Pope makes revised Vos estis abuse law permanent
An updated version of the 2019 law took permanent effect and extended accountability to lay leaders of church associations.
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Vatican investigators begin audit of Peru's Sodalitium
Archbishop Charles Scicluna and Msgr. Jordi Bertomeu opened a Vatican inquiry into abuse and financial allegations in Lima.
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Former Mount Cashel Christian Brother Edward English arrested in Vancouver
Vancouver police arrested Edward English, previously convicted over Mount Cashel abuse, on new allegations stemming from his time at a Vancouver school.
2024
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$104 million awarded to Mount Cashel survivors and victims of N.L. priests
About $104 million from the Archdiocese of St. John's insolvency process was allocated to people abused at Mount Cashel and by Newfoundland priests.
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Vatican expels Sodalitium founder Figari
Following the investigation, the Vatican expelled Figari from the movement over abuses including sexual abuse.
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Pope expels a bishop and nine others from Sodalitium over abuses
Francis expelled ten members, including a retired archbishop, citing physical and sadistic abuse and abuse of power.
2025
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Pope Francis dissolves Peru's Sodalitium movement
The Vatican moved to suppress the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae after the investigation documented widespread abuses.
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Redress scheme compensates two men over abuse attributed to Pell
Australia's National Redress Scheme, created after the royal commission, granted compensation to two men who said Pell abused them in Ballarat in the 1970s; the scheme is not a court finding.
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Allegations resurface that new Pope Leo XIV mishandled abuse cases
After Robert Prevost's election, survivor groups revived claims he failed to act on abuse reports in Chicago and Peru, which his former diocese denied.
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Excavation begins at Tuam mother and baby home site
A full forensic excavation began at the former Tuam home, where remains of about 800 children are believed to be buried.
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Survivors allege Pope Leo XIV covered up abuse reports in Peru
Survivors from the Chiclayo diocese said their complaints were not properly handled while Prevost was bishop; the diocese and Vatican have said the case was processed correctly.
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Pope Leo XIV meets survivors' advocacy group at Vatican
Leo held his first meeting with leaders of Ending Clergy Abuse, who pressed for a global zero-tolerance law.
2026
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Irish abuse survivor describes apology from Pope Leo after private audience
An Irish survivor said Leo listened and apologized during a private meeting at the Vatican.