Church Sex Abuse Scandal

A man who says he was repeatedly sexually abused as a teen by his Catholic priest more than two decades ago is suing the now-defrocked priest and the Archdiocese of Denver. Scott Verti's lawsuit, filed Thursday, takes advantage of a recently passed law that allows victims in Colorado to sue even if the statute of limitations has passed. It’s part of a nationwide effort to make it easier for those who were victimized to try to find justice later in life after they have had time to come to terms with what happened to them. The archdiocese said it had not seen the lawsuit yet but doesn't comment on pending litigation.

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In 1960, an Irish priest sexually abused Marie Collins. Now Pope Francis has named her to a Vatican panel on the church pedophilia crisis.

Pope Francis ordered his staff to promote measures that protect minors above all. A leading victim advocacy group dismissed the pope's call, saying, "actions speak louder than words."

The new pontiff has no real record of speaking out about sexual abuse cases, though one prominent priest under his leadership was convicted in 2009 in Buenos Aires.

The settlement stems from what Cardinal Roger Mahony, who is in Rome helping elect the next pope, called "the most troubling case of his tenure."

Alleging that the cardinals either ignored or covered up cases of sexual abuse involving priests, the groups are pushing to keep those cardinals from being part of the deliberations. The cardinals have either not commented or denied wrongdoing.

During sentencing the judge said William Lynn had enabled "monsters in clerical garb" to abuse children.

Msgr. William J. Lynn was found guilty of endangerment but acquitted of conspiracy. Lynn was the first Catholic official in the country to face trial in the aftermath of the abuse scandal.

In a Philadelphia courtroom Thursday, jurors will hear closing arguments in a historic case involving the Catholic sex abuse scandal. William Lynn, a monsignor in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, is the first high-level church official to be tried for his involvement in covering up child abuse.