The alleged victim has asked the Diocese of Yakima to remove Father's remains from the priests’ circle. The episcopal vicar for the diocese, said his request has been considered and will be denied. “It has been our practice to celebrate with a minimum of ceremony the funeral Masses of priests accused of abuse. However, burying the dead is one of the corporal works of mercy. These works are central to our response to the gift of the faith, and in our carrying out the mission of the Church.

The term “boundary violation” does not have a clear definition or universal meaning. There is no legal definition, in civil or canon law, of what a boundary violation could be. Because “boundary violation” is an ambiguous term, it could be used for something quite serious, or it could be meant to signify something akin to excessive swearing at someone — that could be a boundary violation. It’s not necessarily clear that all boundary violations are inherently physical, or that they are inherently sexual, either. They are not a category of crime.

“Prayer and penance” is the permanent removal from priestly ministry whereby the offender is not permitted to celebrate Mass publicly or to administer the Sacraments. He may not wear clerical attire or present himself publicly as a priest. The cleric is placed under the supervision of the Diocese.

Father consistently denied the allegations and cooperated with the investigations, the diocese said. The Bureau of Investigation investigated and the County District Attorney announced this week that he would not file charges. The archdiocese also investigated the allegations and determined Father is able to return to ministry.

Pope Francis said: “I would like you to propose better methods to enable the Church to protect minors and vulnerable persons and to assist the healing of survivors, in the recognition that justice and prevention are complementary. Indeed, your service provides a proactive and prospective vision of the best practices and procedures that can be implemented in the entire Church.” The commission will have a structural input in the administration of justice.

Pope Francis has asked the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors to produce an annual report on what the Catholic Church is doing around the world to prevent the abuse of minors and vulnerable adults. “This report will be a factor of transparency and accountability and – I hope – will provide a clear audit of our progress in this effort. Without that progress, the faithful will continue to lose trust in their pastors, and preaching and witnessing to the Gospel will become increasingly difficult.” Pope Francis said.

"A diplomatic mission of the Apostolic Nunciature (Embassy of the Holy See) [is] established . . . and its archives enjoy inviolability". What plaintiffs attorneys want includes correspondence between the seminary, the abbey, the Archdiocese and the papal nuncio; speaking notes from meetings attended by the nuncio where sexual misconduct has been addressed; investigation records arising from a 1987 anonymous letter to the nuncio from seminarians.

The new text of canon 695 §1 says: “A religious must be dismissed from the institute for the delicts mentioned in can. 1395, 1397, and 1398, unless in the delicts mentioned in can. 1395, §2-3 and 1398 §1, the superior decides that dismissal is not completely necessary and that correction of the religious, restitution of justice, and reparation of scandal can be resolved sufficiently in another way.”

The Diocese's effort to keep secret the psychological treatment records of accused priests was rejected Thursday by a state appellate court in a ruling that could affect thousands of Child Victims Act cases in New York. The appellate panel also upheld the state Supreme Court decision ordering the diocese to turn over the personnel records of at least 48 priests whom the church determined had been credibly accused of child sexual abuse. It also ordered the diocese to turn over the reports and other notes from investigators hired by the diocese — some of them retired FBI agents — who had investigated sexual abuse allegations against priests.

The priest’s lawsuit claims he was not aware of the details of the allegations against him until after his suspension and a settlement request. He then sued denying the man’s claims and argued that if the diocese were involved in a settlement involving him, he would be uninsurable and his reputation would be tarnished. He said the man’s allegations could cause “irreparable harm” that would prevent him from participating in parish ministry and doing his job.

"It is important to establish a process for dealing with these kinds of cases, and then to follow it well. If a priest is accused, for example, he goes before a review board with a set of lay experts, who do an investigation, and if he is found to be innocent, he can be put back into ministry. But it is important that the process is credible and trusted."

Childhood sexual abuse carries its own particular kind of trauma and wounding, but Jesus experiencing the crucifixion offers me consolation that he does indeed deeply understand the experience of trauma and suffering. That Jesus, after resurrection, would still bear the physical wounds of crucifixion tells me that this experience of trauma is something essential.

Cardinal O'Malley is the president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. In his homily, he explained the work of the Office of Pastoral Support and Child Protection. The office receives initial reports of abuse in the Church, which are immediately passed on to civil authorities. They also work with survivors of abuse to help them get psychological and pastoral support. The archdiocese's Office of Background Screening conducts annual background checks for all clergy and candidates for the priesthood and diaconate.

Church leaders are getting ready. The report “will likely bring to light some very troubling information,” said a letter circulated last fall to members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops from two colleagues who chaired committees related to the issue. The letter urged bishops to build relationships with local Indigenous communities and engage “in a real and honest dialogue about reactions to the report and what steps are needed to go forward together.”

The Congolese bishops emphasize “the incompatibility of the office of father with the ministry and the priestly life in the Roman Catholic system” and insist on the need for these priests to adopt “responsible behavior towards children born to a woman and a priest”. They invite them to “deal with it completely and to do so seek dispensation from priestly obligations from the Holy Father”. In the event that the priest in question is not ready to give up the cassock, the document asks the bishop to “present the case to the Holy See for the maximum penalty of dismissal from the clerical state”.

During the investigation, additional information was received by the Archdiocese and shared with law enforcement. In accordance with the Archdiocese’s policies for the protection of children and youth, the Archdiocesan Office of Child and Youth Protection, assisted by an investigative team including a former FBI agent, conducted a thorough and comprehensive investigation into all available information, including interviews with nearly 50 individuals. The investigation concluded that the evidence does not substantiate that Father engaged in child sexual abuse.

The bishop testified he didn’t report the allegations to law enforcement because he didn’t feel he was required by law to do so, and instead kept the allegations secret out of concern for “scandal and the respect of the priesthood.” He also testified that the diocese kept records documenting sexual abuse allegations in secret files in a locked room that only he and other top church officials could access.

It is staggering to think that the living God, who gives the moral law to us and teaches us how to live, will readily welcome murderers, thieves, and prostitutes to his table, but he will not invite the self-righteous and those who refuse mercy to be with him. The disciples of the Lord Jesus are defined by mercy. We have received mercy and we are called to give it. There are no conditions and no exceptions. We are a people of the Prodigal Son. We are called to be a people of mercy.

Confession is the “sacrament of joy,” Pope Francis said. “The Lord enters our home, as he did that of Mary in Nazareth, and brings us unexpected amazement and joy.” The Pope also urged priests to always express God’s forgiveness in Confession, and never project an air of rigidity or harshness. “If a priest doesn’t possess this attitude with the proper sentiments in his heart,” he said, “then it would be better he not act as a confessor.”

"Welcoming is the measure of pastoral charity, which matures in the course of a priest’s formation, bearing rich fruits both for the penitent and for the confessor himself, who lives his fatherhood, like the father of the prodigal son, full of joy at the return of his son. If, while the penitent is speaking, you are already thinking about what to say, what to answer, then you are not listening to him or her, but to yourself. Listening is a form of love that makes the other person feel truly loved," said Pope Francis.