World
Abuse survivors demand next pope enact zero-tolerance policy, identify cardinals with poor records
VATICAN CITY (AP) — A coalition of survivors of clergy sexual abuse demanded Wednesday that cardinals entering the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis pick a pope who will adopt a universal zero-tolerance policy for abuse and himself has a clean record handling cases.
The group End Clergy Abuse issued an open letter to the cardinals who are meeting informally this week before the start of the May 7 conclave. SNAP, the main U.S.-based survivor group, also identified cardinals who themselves have problematic records in a new database, highlighting a new level of scrutiny of all possible contenders for the papacy.
The developments come amid real questions about how prominent the abuse scandal is featuring in the discussions about finding a new pope. After two decades of unrelenting revelations about abuse and cover-up that have discredited the Catholic hierarchy, many church leaders would like to think the issue is in the past, the survivors said.
“The sexual abuse crisis is not a matter of the past. It is present. And nowhere is its devastation more visible than in the Global South,” the survivors said in the open letter.
ECA and SNAP have called for the Catholic Church to adopt a zero-tolerance policy that a priest will be permanently removed from church ministry based on even a single act of sexual abuse that is either admitted to or established according to church law. That is the policy in the U.S. church, adopted at the height of the U.S. scandal in 2002, but it is by no means embraced elsewhere.
The issue is playing out in real time in Rome as the cardinals gather: Peruvian Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, 81, has been seen in full cardinal garb entering and exiting Vatican City, despite being under Vatican sanction for allegedly abusing a minor. Cipriani is not allowed in the conclave itself because he is over 80, but he has been participating in the pre-conclave meetings this week.
The Vatican in January confirmed that disciplinary sanctions were in effect against Cipriani, the first-ever cardinal from Opus Dei, following accusations of sexual abuse. The sanctions included requiring him to leave Peru and included restrictions on his public activity and use of insignia. The Vatican said he was allowed to deviate from them on some occasions.
Asked why Cipriani was presenting himself as a cardinal and participating, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the Vatican regulations concerning the pre-conclave meetings are clear. The rules, he said, all cardinals must participate unless they have “legitimate impediments,” which involve “personal or physical questions.”
Cipriani, who lives in Madrid and Rome, has called the allegations “completely false.”
Bruni said the issue of abuse was discussed this week by cardinals in the pre-conclave discussions, among other challenges facing the church.
SNAP earlier this year launched an online initiative, Conclave Watch, to provide information about individual cardinals and their records. The group says since the launch, survivors from Fiji, Tonga, Belgium, France, South Africa, Malawi, France, Italy, Canada and the U.S. have gotten in touch with additional information.
The initiative vets cardinals who are considered contenders for the papacy on their records handling sexual abuse cases, including whether they were involved in covering up cases, as well as their acceptance of a zero-tolerance law that SNAP and ECA have proposed.
“Abuse survivors do not want to see another conclave that elects a pope who has shielded and covered up for clergy offenders,” said Sarah Pearson, a SNAP spokesperson.
—-
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
World
Man charged with attempted murder, released after allegedly forcing toddler into crocodile enclosure at zoo
Man FORCES child into crocodile enclosure
A British man has been arrested after allegedly forcing a 3-year-old boy into a crocodile enclosure at a zoo. The child suffered critical injuries, and authorities say the suspect did not know the boy as the investigation continues.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A man was released from custody on Friday after he was charged with attempted murder for allegedly forcing a 3-year-old boy into a crocodile enclosure at a zoo.
Cambridgeshire police said that the man, who remains unidentified, wasn’t fit to be interviewed.
The boy suffered critical injuries in the incident at Johnsons of Old Hurst, a farm and zoo in Huntingdon, England, north of London.
The 30-year-old man will remain on bail until Sept. 30, pending further inquiries.
GEORGIA MOM’S WALMART TRIP DEVOLVES INTO ‘TUG-OF-WARRING’ IN DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO SAVE HER SON
A crocodile rests inside an enclosure at Johnsons of Old Hurst, a farm and zoo in Old Hurst, Cambridgeshire, Britain, on April 14, 2026. (Dorota Dee Trajdos/Reuters)
“The man, who is not known to the victim, was assessed as not being fit for interview,” police said in a statement.
The boy is in stable condition, after reportedly suffering a broken arm and pelvis.
He was saved from the crocodile by Tracey Johnson, the wife of the zoo’s owner.
MOTHER JUMPS INTO WATER TO SAVE 4-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER WHO FELL BETWEEN CRUISE SHIP AND DOCK
“I know Tracey very well and she’s a lovely lady and it’s nothing more than I’d expect from her,” a local told BBC News. “She’d always put her own life at risk to save someone else. She’s an extraordinary lady and very brave.
The villager added that Johnson put herself in “immense danger” during the rescue.
The owners said their tropical house would remain closed until further notice.
Crocodiles rest inside an enclosure at Johnsons of Old Hurst farm and zoo in Old Hurst, Cambridgeshire, Britain, on April 14, 2026. (Dorota Dee Trajdos/Reuters)
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family following the incident that occurred today,” the owners wrote on social media.
Johnsons of Old Hurst is a farm and zoo north of London in Huntingdon, England. (Google Maps)
Huntingdonshire district councillor Charlotte Lowe said she couldn’t “fathom how it’s happened because they’ve got all the right protection and safety equipment, for want of a better word, in there,” The Guardian reported.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Cambridgeshire Constabulary for comment.
Published on
US President Donald Trump has doubled down on his comments on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, saying she asked him “over and over” for a photo when the pair met at the G7 summit in France earlier this week.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Following the summit, Trump told an Italian journalist that he “felt sorry for Meloni” after she “begged me to take a picture with her”.
Meloni hit back in a video posted to social media, branding Trump’s claims as “completely made up” and insisting that neither she nor Italy begs anyone for anything.
The once close pair’s relationship has grown increasingly fractious in recent months, particularly since Rome refused to provide the US support for its operations in Iran and after Meloni defended Pope Leo XIV, who was criticised by the Trump administration over his remarks on the war and the US’s immigration policies.
“Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account on Saturday. “She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America, a Country that truly loves and protects Italy, when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a Nuclear Weapon”.
“Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her “numbers up.” No thanks!!!” Trump added.
World
‘X-Men’ Star Famke Janssen Says Marvel ‘Made a Mistake’ By Not Asking Her to Return as Jean Grey in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’
Famke Janssen said during a recent conversation with Nerdtropolis at Spacecon 2026 that Marvel “made a mistake” by not bringing her back as Jean Grey for December’s “Avengers: Doomsday.”
“I am so bad at keeping secrets that I always say to everyone I’m the worst actor in the world. It’s all on my face. You right away will read it,” Janssen said. “I think they made a mistake, but hey, who am I? I’m just a little me who thinks that.”
Janssen first appeared as the telepath Jean Grey, aka Phoenix, in 2000’s “X-Men,” and then reprised the role for 2003’s “X2: X-Men United” and 2006’s “X-Men: The Last Stand.” She also briefly appeared as Grey in 2013’s “The Wolverine” and 2014’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past.”
Janssen’s absence from “Doomsday” is notable, considering Marvel is bringing back many of her “X-Men” co-stars for the film. Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier), Ian McKellen (Magneto), James Marsden (Cyclops), Kelsey Grammer (Beast), Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler) and Rebecca Romijn (Mystique) are all set to return.
In an October 2025 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Janssen said in every interview she does, she’s asked about the future of Jean Grey in the MCU.
“It’s interesting,” Janssen said. “I didn’t realize that was such a big part. Every interview I do, that will come up, and of everything I say, that is going to be the only thing that’s gonna be printed.”
“I should be flattered, I suppose, that this character has resonated with people,” she added. “It’s been so long, but it’s nice that people are still talking about her. I’m sure every single time there’s a new movie that they’re doing, like [is it] ‘Doomsday?’ … it’ll come up again.”
-
Education12 seconds agoRuth Bader Ginsburg, Booker T. Washington and 6 Other Americans Who Shaped U.S. History
-
Technology5 minutes agoMoves of the Diamond Hand is an unfinished, irresistibly weird dice-based RPG
-
World12 minutes agoMan charged with attempted murder, released after allegedly forcing toddler into crocodile enclosure at zoo
-
Politics14 minutes agoTrump says Iran missiles ‘aren’t the problem’ after White House made them central to war rationale
-
Health20 minutes agoPopular weight-loss drugs linked to unexpected male fertility benefit
-
Sports27 minutes agoCubs look to build on offensive breakout against struggling Blue Jays starter Patrick Corbin
-
Technology30 minutes agoShould you change your phone number after a hack?
-
Business35 minutes agoFord sues L.A. lemon law firm alleging ‘utter fabrications’ inflated fees by 7,000%
