Free Republic

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) -- Pope Francis acknowledged Saturday that the Vatican has a 2,000-case backlog in processing clerical sex abuse cases and says criticism of the slow pace was justified. But he says more staff are being added and insists the Vatican is "on the right path." Francis was making his first comments about the criticism leveled at the Vatican's handling of sex abuse cases by Marie Collins, an Irish abuse survivor who resigned from Francis' sex abuse advisory commission in March. Collins quit because of what she said was the "unacceptable" level of resistance within the Vatican...

February 23, 2010 Anglican Bishops Back End To Ban On Gay Civil Partnerships In Church Gay couples could soon be allowed to “marry” in church after a decision by Anglican bishops and other clergy to support a relaxation of the ban. Senior bishops in the Lords have told The Times that they will support an amendment to the Equality Bill next month that will lift the ban on civil partnership ceremonies in religious premises. The amendment would remove the legislative prohibition on blessings of homosexual couples and open the door to the registration of civil partnerships in churches, synagogues, mosques...

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) _ A Long Island priest who admitted sodomizing a teenage boy was sentenced to two years in jail on Tuesday, as part of a deal with prosecutors in two counties where the abuse took place. Suffolk County Court Judge Stephen Braslow gave the Rev. Michael Hands two consecutive one-year sentences after the priest pleaded guilty last month to the pair of sodomy charges stemming from sexual relations he had with the boy while he was assigned to St. Philip Neri Church in Northport. The case against Hands stretched for more than 20 months through courts in both...