The law firm DeMoura Smith considered “the totality of the evidence gathered,” assessed the credibility of witnesses “and applied a preponderance of the evidence standard to its work.” The firm said in its “professional opinion and judgment,” Grimes’ claims “are not only not credible but are also false.”

I believe insurance companies, and the lawyers who work for them, depend on failed claims for their business model. In other words, their legal defence strategy is inherently adversarial and positional, and aims to minimise or deny loss. In the last 15 years, some insurers have recognised another important strategy – settling cases is less costly than fighting them all the way to court.

"We do not recognize repressed memory," Father's attorney said. "We should not recognize repressed memory. Of course child sex abuse cannot be condoned. There is no question that it is an evil. But the courts have also been clear that false accusations can destroy families."

In 2019, Rhode Island passed “Annie’s Law,” which extended the statute of limitations in child sex abuse cases up to 35 years after the survivor’s 18th birthday. The law also allowed for adults to sue up to seven years after they re-discovered childhood sexual abuse, such as through therapy sessions.

An effort to eliminate clergy privilege and force religious leaders to report child abuse to legal authorities was unable to get enough votes to make it out of committee Tuesday after days of backroom drama. Currently, only Guam, New Hampshire and West Virginia consider clergy mandated reporters and clergy-penitent privilege is waived in cases of suspected child abuse or neglect in those states.

“I know that I cannot emotionally or spiritually continue to remain isolated in an apartment waiting for this board to do its job,” the pastor, wrote. “While I hope and pray that the Review Board will work a little harder and more promptly to conclude their investigation, I will no longer wait in silence."

Now that Gov. Cuomo has been accused of being a serial predator, he is insisting that his due process rights be respected. Yet when it came to allegations against priests—for offenses alleged to have happened decades earlier—Cuomo showed no respect for their due process rights. Most of the allegations took place a very long time ago, making it difficult to determine innocence or guilt. We know that memories fade and witnesses die, which is why we have statutes of limitations in the first place.

The diocese is required under bankruptcy rules to have expenses such as the hiring of lawyers approved by a court. The diocese had argued that it was obligated under its bylaws to pay the bishops’ legal fees, but the judge disagreed. The bankruptcy judge did allow the diocese itself to hire Jones Day, a large law firm, as its own special counsel against the lawsuit.

There are many days that I am still devastated by the actions of trusted role models. I see why some Catholics have abandoned the pews with disgust. I encourage them to find the way home, even to sit and pray for those who cannot come back just yet. Along the way I was taught to be generous of spirit, forgive, to not judge. There are many days that this becomes difficult. And yet I remain committed to my own healing journey, to those who still suffer and to the hope of better tomorrows for survivors and the church.

"In its continued effort to get the Archdiocese of Chicago to swiftly conclude its investigation into the allegations against Fr. Pfleger, that it has made the decision to withhold the monthly assessments of the church and school to the Archdiocese starting in March,” read a statement from St. Sabina officials.

The suit does not seek monetary compensation, but a declaratory judgment that Lacroix did not engage in any misconduct. “My client has been viciously slandered, and his entire life and career have been put on hold, all without any measure of due process,” Lacroix’s attorney, Philip Beauregard said.

"The law is [that] all are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The practical situation, though, is that when someone brings forward an allegation and they appear credible, the effective presumption changes to, 'Why would the person lie?' So the priest is almost in a situation in which he has to prove his innocence, which is difficult." Flummerfelt said.

There must be a willingness to exclude anyone who does not fulfill objective criteria of maturity, self-possession, self-control, self-discipline and goodwill toward all others; A "pastoral heart" full of good intentions is not enough; there must be a demonstrated capacity to behave in every circumstance as a good pastor and to function as a mature, psychosexually healthy person.

Most of the sexual abuse took place between the mid-1960s and the mid-1980s. Media reports, however, continue to poison the public mind, having the public believe it is still ongoing. What they are reporting, in almost every instance, are past cases of abuse.

A Catholic archbishop has seemingly proposed laicizing priests whose guilt has not been decisively established. The archbishop may be motivated by economic interests. Priests who have been removed from ministry remain, canonically, the responsibility of their dioceses. Every priest already knows he can be removed from ministry on the basis of a mere phone call claiming that some incident occurred decades ago.

The diocese’s decision to add him to the credibly accused list was based on a flawed process that invited fraud as former St. Michael’s boys filed claims of abuse with the [diocesan] compensation program, Kelly said. “I was not given the opportunity to defend myself, and no adequate investigation of these claims was made." The only claims against him, he said, have come from former court-assigned boys who were committed to St. Michael’s.

“Despite inconsistencies and lack of investigation, the (diocese) claimed that the witness’s statements were credible,” according to the suit. The suit, filed by attorney Elizabeth Bernard, alleges the statements were published “with reckless disregard of whether they were false or not.”

Never settle any case out of court for a variety of reasons, not least that while a pastoral plea demands a pastoral response, a legal challenge demands a legal response. Moreover, when a financial settlement is made, that more than suggests guilt, thus damaging irreparably an innocent priest’s reputation. Regrettably, most bishops listened, instead, to diocesan attorneys and insurance companies.

The legislature of the Australian state of Queensland on Tuesday passed a law requiring priests to violate the seal of confession to report known or suspected child sex abuse. Failure to do so will be punished with three years in prison.

“When the archdiocese placed his name on a list of priests who were credibly accused of sexual criminal misconduct, they in effect convicted him without the benefit of a trial, without the benefit of him being able to present evidence, without him being able to confront and cross-examine witnesses against him, and in effect, he’s been convicted without a trial,” Father's lawyer said.