=== Aum Shinrikyo
1. Memorial held for sarin victims; bitterness lingers
2. Sarin gas victims press for state help
3. Group urges state to aid survivors of sarin gassing

=== Falun Gong
4. Sect ban pressure is denied by Tung

=== Falun Gong - China's Government-Controlled Media
5. Reports from China's government-controlled media
6. Religion, cult different terms

=== Scientology
7. Cruise Dogged by Scientology Split Rumors
8. Columbine Counselor's Teen Sex Abuse Prompts CCHR's New Website Tracking System of Mental Health Criminals

=== Islam
9. Call to spread Islam's message on tolerance
10. Taliban Bans New Year's Celebration

=== Catholicism
11. Report: Priests, Missionaries Sexually Abuse Nuns
12. Reports of abuse

=== Mormonism
13. Mormons' Long, Strange Trip to the Mainstream

=== Hate Groups
14. Judge Sentences Supremacist Pastor in Abduction of Grandchildren.
15. Racist church heads to court
16. Calif. Supremacist Pleads Guilty
17. Brown Students Steal Univ. Paper
18. Brown Protest Targets Ad
19. State House passes hate-crimes measure
20. Germany Won't Stop Yahoo! Auction

=== House of Prayer, Atlanta
21. Pastor, 5 followers arrested in child beatings
22. Defendants have criminal records
23. Church faces abuse probe over whipping of children

=== John and Carrie Davis
24. Jailed father found dead
25. Torture suspect 'upbeat' before his death

=== Recovered Memory Therapy
26. New trial ordered in recovered-memory case
27. Brain: Some choose to lose memory

=== Other News
28. End Near For Ex-Devil Church
29. Some in Egypt shun religious freedom panel
30. Three held for distributing Christian literature

=== Science
31. Skull may alter theory of human evolution

=== Death Penalty & Other Human Rights Violations
32. Convicted Killer is Freed After His Sister Finds DNA Evidence
33. Judge bans use of electric chair

=== Noted
34. Worshippers in Paris flock to Afro-Christian cults
35. Exorcism thriving in Australia
36. A Herd of Psychics on Larry King
37. When a body can be worth $220,000

=== Books
38. Sects, death and the spirit of the age
39. Mainstream Publishers Get Religion for Christian Audience
40. Take a Web site test on religion

=== Catholicism

11 Report: Priests, Missionaries Sexually Abuse Nuns
Reuters, Mar. 20, 2001
http://www.nytimes.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican acknowledged Tuesday a damning report that some priests and missionaries were forcing nuns to have sex with them, and were in some cases committing rape and forcing the victims to have abortions.

Some nuns were forced to take the contraceptive pill, the report cited in the Rome daily la Repubblica said.

The Vatican said the issue was restricted to a certain geographical area, but the report cited cases in 23 countries, including the United States, Brazil, the Philippines, India, Ireland and Italy.
(...)

The charges first appeared in the Kansas City-based National Catholic Reporter weekly on March 16 and in a small Italian religious news agency Adista, which also publishes a weekly.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


12. Reports of abuse
National Catholic Reporter, Mar. 16, 2001
http://www.natcath.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
Several reports written by senior members of women's religious orders and by an American priest assert that sexual abuse of nuns by priests, including rape, is a serious problem, especially in Africa and other parts of the developing world.

The reports allege that some Catholic clergy exploit their financial and spiritual authority to gain sexual favors from religious women, many of whom, in developing countries, are culturally conditioned to be subservient to men. The reports obtained by NCR -- some recent, some in circulation at least seven years -- say priests at times demand sex in exchange for favors, such as permission or certification to work in a given diocese. The reports, five in all, indicate that in Africa particularly, a continent ravaged by HIV and AIDS, young nuns are sometimes seen as safe targets of sexual activity. In a few extreme instances, according to the documentation, priests have impregnated nuns and then encouraged them to have abortions.

In some cases, according to one of the reports, nuns, through naiveté or social conditioning to obey authority figures, may readily comply with sexual demands.

Although the problem has not been aired in public, the reports have been discussed in councils of religious women and men and in the Vatican.
(...)

O'Donohue wrote that, although she was aware of incidents in some 23 countries, including the United States, on five continents, the majority happened in Africa.
(...)

McDonald cites eight factors she believes give rise to the problem:
- The fact that celibacy and/or chastity are not values in some countries.
- The inferior position of women in society and the church. In some
circumstances ''a sister $#133; has been educated to regard herself as an inferior,
to be subservient and to obey.''

''It is understandable then, that a sister finds it impossible to refuse a
cleric who asks for sexual favours. These men are seen as 'authority figures'
who must be obeyed.''

''Moreover, they are usually more highly educated and they have received a
much more advanced theological formation than the sisters. They may use false
theological arguments to justify their requests and behaviour. The sisters
are easily impressed by these arguments. One of these goes as follows:

'' 'We are both consecrated celibates. That means that we have promised not to
marry. However, we can have sex together without breaking our vows.' ''

- The AIDS pandemic, which means sisters are more likely to be seen as ''safe.''

- Financial dependence created by low stipends for sisters laboring in their
home countries or inadequate support for sisters sent abroad for studies. The
problem of sexual abuse in Africa is most common, according to many
observers, among members of diocesan religious congregations with little
money and no network of international support.

- A poor understanding of consecrated life, both by the sisters and also by
bishops, priests, and lay people.

- Recruitment of candidates by congregations that lack adequate knowledge of
the culture.

- Sisters sent abroad to Rome and other countries for studies are often ''too
young and/or immature,'' lack language skills, preparation and other kinds of
support, and ''frequently turn to seminarians and priests for help,'' creating
the potential for exploitation.

''I do not wish to imply that only priests and bishops are to blame and that
the sisters are simply their victims,'' McDonald wrote. ''No, sisters can
sometimes be only too willing and can also be naïve.''
- Silence. ''Perhaps another contributing factor is the 'conspiracy of silence'
surrounding this issue,'' McDonald wrote. ''Only if we can look at it honestly
will we be able to find solutions.''
(...)

A Vatican official told NCR that ''there are initiatives at multiple levels'' to raise awareness about the potential for sexual abuse in religious life. The official cited efforts within conferences of religious superiors, within bishops' conferences, and within particular communities and dioceses.

Most of these, the official said, were steps the Vatican is ''aware of'' and ''supporting'' rather than organizing or initiating.

The Vatican official was willing to speak anonymously about the problem with NCR.

The official noted two signs that the culture in the church is changing. In specific cases, the official said, the response from church leaders is more aggressive and swift; and in general, there is a climate within religious life that these things have to be discussed. ''Talking about it is the first step towards a solution,'' the official said.

Church officials have not always, however, been open to such exchanges.
(...)

O'Donohue's report was prepared in a similar spirit: in hope of promoting change. She wrote in her report that she had prepared it ''after much profound reflection and with a deep sense of urgency since the subjects involved touch the very core of the church's mission and ministry.''

The information on abuse of nuns by priests ''comes from missionaries (men and women); from priests, doctors and other members of our loyal ecclesial family,'' she wrote. ''I have been assured that case records exist for several of the incidents'' described in the report, she said, ''and that the information is not just based on hearsay.''

The 23 countries listed in her report are: Botswana, Burundi, Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, India, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Tonga, Uganda, United States, Zambia, Zaire, Zimbabwe.

Her hope, she wrote, is that the report ''will consequently motivate appropriate action especially on the part of those in positions of church leadership and those responsible for formation.''
(...)

Documents related to the above story will be available on the NCR Web site at www.natcath.com/NCR_Online/documents/index.htm
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


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