Spanish cathedral holds mass for survivors of clerical sex abuse

Bilbao, Spain Reuters Bilbao Cathedral in northern Spain held a mass on Friday to recognise and apologise to survivors of sexual abuse by the Roman Catholic Church in the diocese, in one of the first services of its kind in Spain. Spain has been confronting cases of sexual abuse since El Pais newspaper reported in […]
France: About 200 church sex abuse victims get compensation

Paris, France AP About 190 victims of child sexual abuse by priests or other church representatives have been promised financial compensation so far from France’s Catholic Church under a sweeping reparations program, the independent body in charge of the process said Thursday. A report from the Independent National Authority for Recognition and Reparation, or INIRR, said […]
Southern Baptists: After years of delay, a change of direction on sexual abuse

BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, reports from Anaheim in California where more than 10,000 Southern Baptists gathered this week to address sexual abuse…
Probe of Southern Baptist sex abuse response moves forward

Nashville, Tennessee, US AP Rev Marshall Blalock feels the weight of his new responsibility. The South Carolina pastor serves as vice chair of a recently formed Southern Baptist Convention taskforce charged with overseeing an investigation into how a top denominational committee handled sex abuse allegations, a review that comes years into the SBC’s public reckoning […]
Encrypted app aims to boost sex crime reporting in India

Chennai, India Thomson Reuters Foundation Women in India will be able to anonymously report sexual abuse, seek medical or legal aid and create private journals on a mobile app to be launched next week to make reporting of the crime less traumatic for survivors. The Smashboard app uses blockchain to create an encrypted space where […]
“Spiritual handbook” for survivors of sexual abuse wins Australian Christian Book of the Year for 2016
A “spiritual handbook” for survivors of sexual abuse has won the Australian Christian Book of the Year for 2016. Written by Jane N Dowling, Child, Arise! The Courage to Stand: A Spiritual Handbook for Survivors of Sexual Abuse is described as a “courageous and historic book”. Other books among the 10 shortlisted for the award had […]