Archdiocese of Boston

8 Stories

US Cardinal Disgraced by Sex Abuse Scandal Dies
Cardinal Seen as Villain
in Abuse Scandal Is Dead
OBITUARY
Dec 20, 2017 4:30 AM CST

Cardinal Seen as Villain in Abuse Scandal Is Dead

Cardinal Bernard Law protected priests while in Boston

(Newser) - He was considered a voice for immigrants, youth, and the poor, but that was before a widespread child sex abuse scandal tarnished his reputation. Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned as archbishop of the Boston Archdiocese in 2002, died early Wednesday at age 86 from complications of diabetes, liver failure, and...

Freed Pedophile Priest Moves Across From Kids' Dance Studio

Mass. town is upset as Paul Shanley moves in after controversial release from prison

(Newser) - A defrocked priest at the heart of Boston's Catholic clergy sex abuse scandal was released from prison Friday and settled into an apartment across the street from a children's dance studio. Paul Shanley, who was convicted of raping a boy in the 1980s, moved to the town of...

'Monster' Pedophile Priest Shanley Set to Go Free

'We fear for the safety of children,' says SNAP

(Newser) - A pedophile priest is scheduled to be released from prison in Massachusetts within days, drawing outrage from the families of his alleged victims who say he's a threat to children. Paul Shanley, 86, was sentenced in 2005 to 12 to 15 years in prison for the rape of a...

Boston Archdiocese Lists Accused Priests

159 clerics on list; 91 others omitted

(Newser) - Nearly a decade after a sexual abuse scandal erupted in the Archdiocese of Boston, Cardinal Sean O'Malley has released a list of 159 clerics accused of abusing children. The list was compiled using files that go back as far as 70 years, but the archdiocese has come under fire...

Mass. Catholic School Boots Lesbians' Son

Parents 'going against' church teachings

(Newser) - A Massachusetts Catholic school has rescinded acceptance of an 8-year-old boy, saying his lesbian parents' relationship is in "discord" with the religion's teachings, according to the boy's mom. "I'm accustomed to discrimination as a gay woman," the mother said. "But I didn't expect it against my...

Conan's Stalker Priest Suspended by Archdiocese

Ajemian cut off by Catholic church after leaving psychiatric treatment facility

(Newser) - Conan O’Brien’s “stalker priest” has been suspended by the Boston Archdiocese, the Globe reports. The Rev. David Ajemian was instructed by his bishop to remain indefinitely at a residential psychiatric facility after he harassed the NBC late-night host, but he has apparently absconded. For disobeying the treatment...

Boston Diocese Boots 'Women Priests'

Church excommunicates 4 women ordained in unsanctioned ritual

(Newser) - A group campaigning for women to be admitted to the Roman Catholic priesthood held a ceremony in a Protestant church in Boston yesterday in which three women were declared Catholic priests and a fourth a deacon. The Archdiocese of Boston immediately denounced the action and declared that the women had...

Conan's Stalker Priest Pleads Guilty

Disorderly conduct conviction for Ajemian in harassing TV host

(Newser) - A Roman Catholic priest who stalked Conan O'Brien pleaded guilty today to disorderly conduct and apologized for his actions, WBZ-TV reports. Rev. David Ajemian, 46, sent the late-night talk-show host threatening letters on parish letterhead—referring to himself as "your stalker priest"—contacted O'Brien's parents, and got caught...

8 Stories
Most Read on Newser