By the end of 2020, Kentucky’s newly elected Gov. Andy Beshear had one goal above all others: Keep people alive. The state was battling two merciless threats. COVID-19 was killing hundreds of people each month, and deadly drug overdoses were among the highest in the nation. Calling addiction a disease that breeds in isolation, Beshear…
(RNS) — When Bill Gothard, the disgraced architect of the Institute in Basic Life Principles, first fell into a coma after suffering a heart attack in late June, Chad Harris didn’t know whether to feel relief or anger. “A lot of us are really happy that Gothard can no longer harm other people,” said…
The Delta Institute for the Developing Brain was set back off a country road in a white colonial house — such an atypical location that I first drove right by it, unsure that it was a school. I turned around, went to the door, introduced myself as a reporter and asked for a tour. I…
(RNS and NPR) — Sister Theresa Aletheia and Sister Danielle Lussier stand out at daily Mass at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Lexington, Kentucky. Their heads are covered in waist-length teal veils, and black canvas work aprons cover their gray habits. The aprons feature an embroidered image of Jesus on the cross, alive…
A Chicago priest known for his longtime social justice ministry has been placed on leave, following an abuse allegation for an incident said to have taken place some three decades ago. In a July 11 letter, Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago informed the archdiocese’s Faith Community of St. Sabina that senior pastor Fr. Michael Pfleger had been…
The Michigan Attorney General’s office released its report June 25 detailing the findings of its investigation related to clerical sexual abuse in the Diocese of Saginaw, the sixth of seven such investigations into the handling of abuse in each of Michigan’s Catholic dioceses. Over a 75-year period, the report said, allegations were made against 37 Saginaw…
Parents should not publicly post images of their children online due to the growth of AI-generated abuse imagery, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has warned. Along with the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), it said there is a growing threat of children’s images online being used to create child sexual abuse material (CSAM). More than 8,000…
In total, about 30 unique adverts appeared promoting child sexual abuse, although some of these were shared by multiple accounts. The alias account was also shown about 20 ads featuring adult pornography. The distribution of both child sexual abuse material and adult pornography are criminal offences in India, while Meta’s policy states that ads must…
For Ayesha Omar, the argument is not theoretical. The actress, who has worked in Pakistan’s film and television industry for more than 20 years, says her own images were stolen and circulated long before social media made such exposure commonplace. Photographs taken on a holiday over a decade ago in Thailand with a female friend,…
After considerable debate, the U.S. Catholic bishops voted June 11 to update their “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” including adding language that emphasizes “the right of an accused to the presumption of innocence.” During the second day of the bishops’ spring plenary in Orlando, a handful of bishops sought to delay…
