null / Credit: Minerva Studio/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Jul 2, 2025 / 11:17 am (CNA).The Diocese of Fresno in California filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 1, seeking to address more than 150 abuse claims filed there in what Bishop Joseph Brennan said was part of a "journey of conversion through contrition."Brennan announced the filing via a video message on Tuesday. The bishop's message comes more than a year after he announced, in May 2024, that the diocese would seek the bankruptcy filing.The prelate said the filing was "the only path that will allow us to handle claims of sexual abuse with compassion that is fair and equitable while simultaneously ensuring the continuation of ministry within our diocese."As with other dioceses in California and the U.S., the Fresno Diocese is facing a large number of allegations of clergy abuse. Brennan said last year that plaintiffs had lodged 154 sex abuse complaints against the Church there.Those filings were made under a California la...
null / Credit: Minerva Studio/Shutterstock
CNA Staff, Jul 2, 2025 / 11:17 am (CNA).
The Diocese of Fresno in California filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 1, seeking to address more than 150 abuse claims filed there in what Bishop Joseph Brennan said was part of a "journey of conversion through contrition."
The prelate said the filing was "the only path that will allow us to handle claims of sexual abuse with compassion that is fair and equitable while simultaneously ensuring the continuation of ministry within our diocese."
As with other dioceses in California and the U.S., the Fresno Diocese is facing a large number of allegations of clergy abuse. Brennan said last year that plaintiffs had lodged 154 sex abuse complaints against the Church there.
Those filings were made under a California law that temporarily relaxed the statute of limitations on sex abuse claims, allowing alleged victims a three-year window from 2019 to 2022 to file the complaints.
Brennan said the Fresno bankruptcy process will include allocating diocesan assets to "satisfy the claims against the diocese." He added that a fund will also be established to pay abuse claims.
"Our Church must address the suffering that victims of clergy sexual abuse have endured," he said.
"We know the sin. It will always be before us," he continued. "Now that we have entered a journey of conversion through contrition and acknowledgement of the victims' suffering, we must enter a path of reconciliation, which includes resolving the victims' claims."
The bishop urged the faithful to pray for abuse victims during the bankruptcy process.
Sacred Heart Cathedral in Da Nang, Vietnam. / Credit: Andreas Bossard via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 3, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).The Catholic Church in Vietnam welcomed with great joy and hope the ordination of 40 new priests during June, the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.According to the Vatican news agency Fides, the Diocese of Da Nang welcomed six new priests, "consecrated to be each an 'alter Christus' ['another Christ'], to become pastors of the people of God, not to live for themselves but to be all things to all people," said Archbishop Joseph Dang Duc Ngan, archbishop of Hu? and apostolic administrator of Da Nang, in his homily at the ordination Mass on June 24 in the local cathedral before numerous faithful."A priest does not become perfect from the day of his ordination. The priesthood is a journey of daily growth in Christ and constant strengthening in the Holy Spirit to fulfill the mission of God and the Church with joy and true love," the prela...
The childhood home of Pope Leo XIV in Dolton, Illinois. / Credit: "EWTN News in Depth"/ScreenshotCNA Staff, Jul 2, 2025 / 17:17 pm (CNA).In a unanimous vote at a special board meeting held on July 1, the village council of Dolton, Illinois, voted to purchase the childhood home of the first U.S.-born pope, Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV.Newly-elected Dolton Mayor Jason House called for the vote, which was unanimous, after hearing from the trustees and allowing for comment from members of the public, several of whom opposed the home purchase by the cash-strapped village.Amid the pushback from Dolton residents who complained about the dilapidated state of local roads and the village's high debt, House said the purchase would eventually "pay for itself," calling it a "historical opportunity."In Dolton, the per capita income is $29,776 and 20% of the residents live in poverty, according to census data.Trustee Edward Steave referred to the "busloads of people" in and out of...
Pope Leo XIV greets Sviatoslav Shevchuk, primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, on July 2, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Jul 2, 2025 / 17:47 pm (CNA).Following last week's meeting with pilgrims from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday received in audience the bishops who are members of the Ukrainian church's synod.Noting that the encounter is taking place in the context of the jubilee year, in the July 2 meeting Leo recalled the words of Pope Francis, who said that "hope does not disappoint, because it is founded on the love of God in Christ Jesus, Our Lord."In the context of the bloody war in Ukraine, the Holy Father acknowledged that "it is not easy to talk about hope to you." "It is not easy to find words of consolation for the families who have lost their loved ones in this senseless war," he said.Addressing the Ukrainian bishops, he noted that they are "in contact every day with pe...
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