We believe the Pell ruling will cause victims to lose their faith in the criminal justice system and also sends the message that survivors should stay hidden and silent rather than come forward and seek justice. But right now, we want victims to persevere. There is hope.
Tag: Catholic Church
Survivors Sue Child Sex Abusers in Droves Under New NY Law
The New York State Assembly passed the Child Victims Act, extending the time survivors have to file civil suits against perpetrators until they turn 55 years old. The law opens up a one-year “lookback window,” allowing survivors to file civil actions against perpetrators no matter how long ago the abuse occurred.
How Catholic Hospitals Put Women of Color at Risk
For women of color, political battles for access to comprehensive reproductive health care are as personal as ever.
In the Wake of #NunsToo, It’s Time for Repentance and Conversion
The sexual abuse of nuns is not the problem. It’s the symptom. The problem is patriarchy—and the church’s participation in, benefit from and maintenance of sexist structures of power.
Our Leaders Can—and Must—Ask Tough Questions About Religious Freedom
The Knights of Columbus want you to believe any questions about their agenda are an attack against Catholicism. But the truth is that they are diverting tax-free resources to advance an agenda—under the guise of religious freedom—that is completely out of touch with the majority of Catholics.
Called to Account: Inside the Feminist Fight to End Clergy Sex Abuse
In 2018, revelations about the Catholic hierarchy’s cover-up of clergy sex abuse came too fast and too often for church leaders to contain. To fully understand this crisis, it is crucial to recognize that it is taking place in a church where women remain locked out of the governing structure, without voice, vote or power.
Family Court and the Catholic Church: Shattering the Last Taboos for Institutions That Fail our Children
One in 10 children will be sexually abused before their eighteenth birthday; survivors can attest to the pain and trauma that lasts them a lifetime. The health cost to our society is in the billions of dollars annually. Yet the most egregious injustices against child sex abuse survivors happen each day in family courts.
This Week in Women: Calling Out Sex Abuse in the Church and the Classroom
It’s hard to believe that sexual asceticism and celibacy rules have nothing to do with what’s going on in the Church—along with a perverted male toxicity whose outlet isn’t in machismo, but rather shame, deviance and exploitation.
Humanae Vitae and a Half-Century of Harm to Women Around the World
Next week, the Vatican will open the World Meeting of Families in Dublin, Ireland—just one month after the ominous anniversary of Humanae Vitae, the Vatican policy banning birth control. While the hierarchy “celebrates” 50 years of Humanae Vitae, a ban that has caused half a century of harm to the world’s poorest communities, and as we […]
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Let the Secrets be Damned, Not the Women
It’s Oscars time in the era of #MeToo and #TimesUp—and fittingly, many of the Best Picture nominees are films whose plot lines expose secrets.