The French Bishops: will the compensation be sufficient, and is it the price of silence?

By Keith Porteous WOOD* The French bishops have announced, belatedly, that the Church will bear compensation for victims of clerical sexual abuse<https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/france-catholic-church-abuse-victims-b1954021.html>, and that it will be proportionate, as the French Commission CIASE recommended. It estimated that at least a third of a million minors were victims of abuse in Read more…

Ireland’s mother and baby homes scandal shows the necessity of separating church and state

by Keith Porteous Wood President of the National Secular Society (NSS) and spoke-person of the International Association of Freethought Fri, 05 Feb 2021 The misery which women and children faced for decades highlights the damage that can be done when states leave religious authority unchecked, says NSS president Keith Porteous Read more…

French Justice convicts former nuncio for multiple abuse, but penalty derisory

By Keith Porteous Wood, spokesperson of l’Association Internationale de la Libre Pensée, and president of the National Secular Society (of the United Kingdom) December 2020 Last month, the Pope’s former Ambassador to France, ex-Papal Nuncio Luigi Ventura, was tried for sexually assaulting five young men, including a Paris City Hall Read more…

Cardinal Pell’s conviction has been overturned – but there are uncomfortable moments to come

updated of the article: Declaration on the Liberation of Cardinal G Pell 2020 April 8. Australia’s top court has overturned the conviction of the Vatican’s former treasurer for sexually assaulting two boys. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s plain sailing from here for him, says Keith Porteous Wood. Cardinal George Read more…