All the headlines from our Church Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Jul 16 2007 // The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles will settle its clergy abuse cases for at least $600 million, by far the largest payout in the church’s sexual abuse scandal, the Associated Press learned...
Jul 13 2007 // The ink is barely dry on a new Delaware law aimed at protecting the legal rights of victims of child sexual abuse, but it’s already being tested.Gov. Ruth Ann Minner signed a law Tuesday that abolishes...
Jul 10 2007 // Arson is unlikely in a northwest Georgia church fire that broke out early on July 6 – Georgia’s third church fire in less than two weeks, investigators said.Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John...
Jul 10 2007 // Trouble with fire hydrants in Freeport, Fla., hampered efforts to save a burning church, firefighters said.Firefighters used water from a nearby retention pond to fight the June 6 fire at New Beginnings Church in Freeport...
Jul 2 2007 // The Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport is seeking to review its insurance policies dating back more than a half century.The diocese filed a joint motion with a creditor’s committee asking a bankruptcy court to...
Jul 2 2007 // $440,000The amount Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Michael Joyce received in insurance money in 2002 for injuries he said he suffered in a car accident. The FBI and IRS are reportedly looking into the extent of...
Jul 2 2007 // 27The number arrested by Florida officials in an ongoing investigation dubbed “Operation TGIF” because the group perpetrated staged accidents on Fridays. The staged accident ring billed auto insurers more than...
Jun 29 2007 // Lisa Schlueter was sleeping soundly Wednesday morning when she was roused by Toots, her rat terrier, barking in the living room.When she flipped on a light, she quickly saw what had gotten Toots so agitated: Flood water...
Jun 28 2007 // A mistrial was declared this week in the case of a Virginia man who accused the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, Vermont of negligence for the alleged actions of one of its priests.Chittenden County Superior Court...
Jun 21 2007 // Fire officials have ruled a fire that damaged a Logan County, W. Va., church as arson.There are no suspects at this time in the fire at the Kistler Freewill Baptist Church, Kim O’Brien, spokeswoman for the state Fire...
Jun 19 2007 // After years of legal wrangling, the nation’s largest Roman Catholic archdiocese may finally move to settle hundreds of clergy sex abuse claims against it following several legal setbacks and the prospect of jury...
Jun 13 2007 // A judge sentenced a homeless man to 15 years in prison this week for burning down the city’s historic Catholic church, saying the mentally ill man was a danger to the public.Dane County Judge Steven Ebert sentenced...
May 31 2007 // The Archdiocese of St. Louis is suing a law firm that handles clergy sex abuse cases, claiming it is improperly circulating confidential documents related to eight current or former priests.At a news conference earlier...
May 23 2007 // Several civil lawsuits have arisen from allegations of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic church, but few have gone to trial. Most were settled out of court.In what victims’ lawyers called a powerful message to the...
May 15 2007 // A jury recently awarded about $315,000 to a woman whose fall during a service led to a falling-out with her former church and pastor.Judith Dadd, 52, of Lansing, accused Mount Hope Church of negligence and its pastor,...
Apr 17 2007 // The United States’ sixth-largest Roman Catholic diocese is headed to trial this week in a $150 million lawsuit accusing church officials of recklessness for employing a youth minister who raped and sodomized...
Apr 13 2007 // Vermont’s Catholic Diocese has met most of the standards set by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to prevent sexual abuse by priests, but came up short in training volunteers, an audit has found.Vermont and the...
Apr 12 2007 // An independent audit has determined that the Boston Archdiocese has met the child protection safety standards adopted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the archdiocese announced.An audit by the Gavin Group found...
Apr 10 2007 // The Delaware Senate this week unanimously approved a bill allowing victims of child sexual abuse more time to file civil lawsuits against their alleged abusers.Senators approved the bill on a 19-0 vote after 31/2 hours of...
Apr 3 2007 // A Delaware jury has awarded $41 million to a Navy officer who said a Roman Catholic priest sexually abused him hundreds of times as a teen.Jurors awarded Cmdr. Kenneth Whitwell $6 million in compensatory damages and $35...