On October 13, Wednesday, the Diocese of Brooklyn fired Matthew LaBanca, the music director of the Corpus Christi Church parish in Queens, New York. A statement released by the diocese said that LaBanca did not comply with church teachings as a requirement for being a minister.
On Tuesday, October 12, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the Vatican can not be charged in European courts because of its sovereign status. The human rights court in Europe dismissed the suit submitted by a group of clergy abuse survivors, citing that the Vatican is a country with Diplomatic Immunity.
A 2,500-page report documenting more than 330 thousand cases of sexual abuse was released by a commission headed by France’s Jean-Marc Sauve on October 5, 2021. The document also counted 3 thousand priests and clergy members, including other church servants involved in the coordinated coverup. Victims and advocates believe that the report is long overdue but welcomes it warmly.
Protesters showed up during the September 26 screening of the film Benedetta at the Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, where the 59th New York Film Festival premiered the film. Armed with megaphones, banners, and placards, members of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property branded Benedetta as a “blasphemous lesbian movie.”
The Italian "pusher priest," Fr. Francesco Spagnesi, was arrested on September 14, 2021. He was charged with importing, using, and selling drugs, including the date-rape-drug GHB, which he imported from the Netherlands. Fr.
In a media pool interview, the Catholic pontiff once again issued a firm stance against same-sex marriage. Pope Frances said that “Marriage is a sacrament. The church doesn’t have the power to change sacraments.”
While the world was cringing at the legal circus unfolding in Texas, Mexico, one of the most prominent Catholic countries in the world has made an astounding comeback.
In October 2014, Lonnie Billard announced through social media that he and his longtime partner would be getting married. A couple of weeks after that post, he was told he could no longer teach at Charlotte Catholic High School. An unnamed assistant principal of the school told Billard of his termination.
On August 18, 2021, Bishop Tomé Ferreira da Silva, 60, of the Catholic diocese of São José do Rio Preto, resigned. The resignation happened days after a video leaked where he is seen playing with his genitals.
Around the same time da Silva submitted his resignation, he also acknowledged that the man in the video is him. He also believes the video was leaked by someone “living with him.” The bishop added that he would be working with his attorney and the local police to rectify the matter.
On July 27, a meteoric criminal trial took place in a makeshift courtroom inside the Vatican Museum. More than ten clergymen, and laypeople, went on trial for alleged corruption and massive fraud unfolding within the walls of the holy city. Amongst the indicted individuals is Cardinal Angelo Becciu. This trial is the first-ever in the church’s history, where a cardinal is investigated for financial crimes.
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