July 10: Accused priest seeks defrocking
The Rev. Louis J. Holtz, 73, a Northern Kentucky priest under suspension for allegedly abusing a minor in the early 1970s, has asked to be defrocked, Diocese of Covington officials said.
July 9: Special grand jury created
Hamilton County prosecutors has convened a special grand jury to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct by Catholic priests.
June 30: Lawsuit against priest dismissed
A man's lawsuit alleging sexual abuse by a priest at Cathedral of Christ the King has been dismissed in Fayette County Circuit Court.
June 24: Ex-diocese employees claim abuse
A 44-year-old Burlington man claims in a lawsuit that he was abused while he was an altar boy at Mary Queen of Heaven Church in Erlanger in 1971-72 by the Rev. Paul Ciangetti, who died in 1995.
June 23: Accusers must name names, judge rules
Plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Catholic dioceses of Lexington and Covington must reveal their identities and those of their alleged sexual abusers as well as give specifics of their allegations, a judge has ruled.
June 18: 5 more claim ex-Elder principal had sexual contact
Five more Elder High School alumni have alleged that the Rev. Lawrence Strittmatter had inappropriate physical contact with them during or after racquetball games at a private club, attorney Konrad Kircher said.
June 15: Deal made, but priest still not defrocked
Bernard “Bernie” Gerhardstein says he promised to keep quiet about being abused as a boy by Rev. Louis J. Holtz in rural Campbell County because the priest agreed to be defrocked, or kicked out of the clergy. He hasn't. And now Gerhardstein is breaking his silence, alleging that the Covington diocese and the priest have not kept their word.
June 15: Archbishop: policy is tough
Cincinnati Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk says the Catholic church's new policy on sexual misconduct is tough and uncompromising when applied to abusive priests.
June 14: Bishops vote to separate - not oust - abusive priests
American bishops adopted a policy today that will bar sexually abusive clergy from face-to-face contact with parishioners but keep them in the priesthood. Victims reacted with outrage.
June 14: Bishop's words restore faith
The leader of America's Catholic bishops declared Thursday that sexual abuse scandals have created “a rupture in our relationship with the faithful.” Catholics in Cincinnati say it's about time the bishops noticed.
June 13: Priest's accuser tells his story
Bob Fricke says the Rev. Lawrence Strittmatter, then principal of Elder High School, had inappropriate physical contact with him while he was a senior there in 1979-80.
June 12: Some in parish stand by Strittmatter
Diane Kolleck, who grew up in Western Hills, can't stop loving the Rev. Larry Strittmatter — no matter what he may have done wrong.
June 11: Priests' names still secret
Catholic church officials say they will continue to keep secret the names and assignments of four Greater Cincinnati priests who have a history of sexual misconduct.
June 10: Another ex-Elder principal put on leave
The Rev. Lawrence Strittmatter, Elder High School principal from 1970 to 1982, was placed on administrative leave from St. Albert the Great parish in Kettering after a former Elder student complained that he was sexually abused in the late 1970s.
June 10: Parishioners learn of allegations
Parishioners at St. Albert the Great were not told before this weekend of Rev. Larry Strittmatter's past, said the Rev. James Manning, the parish pastor.
June 9: Ky. dioceses lead in lawsuits
More than 120 lawsuits have been filed against Roman Catholic dioceses in Kentucky, the most in any state.
June 9: Priest target of 48 suits
The Rev. Louis E. Miller, who served four decades in the Archdiocese of Louisville, is accused of sexually abusing minors in 48 lawsuits since mid-April.
June 7: Accused priest served in N.Ky.
The Rev. Bill Fedders, accused in a sexual abuse lawsuit, served for 15 years in Northern Kentucky and taught at three Catholic schools in the area.
June 7: Peter Bronson Column: Seminary denies gay subculture
Does a great moral evil lurk in the sunlit halls and gardens behind massive stone walls at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Cincinnati?
June 5: Reaction mixed on abuse proposal
Lifelong Catholic Teresa Steinmetz says a proposal by a U.S. bishops panel Tuesday to defrock priests who have sexually abused multiple children should have been made policy long ago.
May 31: Peter Bronson column: A story of 'evil' in the church
The media won't touch it. The Catholic Church won't admit it. But thanks to Cincinnati author Michael S. Rose, dozens of priests and former seminary students are telling the truth about sexual abuse by priests.
May 26: Church in dark about probe
Three days after computers were removed by sheriff's deputies from St. Henry Catholic Parish, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati still did not know what the investigation is about.
May 25: Ex-Elder principal relieved of duties
The Rev. Thomas Kuhn, a former principal of Elder High School, has been placed on administrative leave and relieved of his duties at St. Henry's Church in Dayton for undisclosed reasons.
May 20: 'After pastor' helps parish heal
When a sexual abuse scandal forced out an area pastor, Catholic officials needed a new pastor who could work with stunned and angry parishioners. They called the Rev. William Schwartz.
May 20: March shows Catholic pride
Determined not to let pedophile priest scandals shake their faith, about 400 Butler County Catholics joined in a Catholic Unity March.
May 18: Dioceses paid $5.7M to settle cases
Greater Cincinnati's two major Roman Catholic dioceses have paid out nearly $6 million to settle claims over alleged sexual abuse by priests over the last two decades.
May 18: Four committed to priesthood
The Roman Catholic church is in a crisis of trust from the priest sex abuse scandal, but it has strengthened the commitment of four area men to the priesthood.
May 15: Archbishop expresses distress
In his first public comments to the more than 500,000 Roman Catholics under his care, Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk talks about the pain and suffering from the priest sex abuse scandal in a public letter.
May 9: Church inquiry widens
A new and expanded grand jury subpoena demands that the Archdiocese of Cincinnati turn over virtually every scrap of paper in its archives related to child abuse in Hamilton County.
May 6: Many Catholics want disclosure
Catholics in two communities are asking the same question about priests recently accused of sexual misconduct: Why didn't church officials disclose earlier accusations against them?
May 4: Principal didn't know about teacher's abuse case
Elder High School's principal says he didn't find out until Friday that the Archdiocese of Cincinnati had settled a complaint of sexual misconduct against the Rev. James G. Kiffmeyer in 1997.
May 2: Abuse victims find empathetic response
Across the country and in the Tristate, increasing numbers of people are coming forward to report abuse by priests and even nuns.
May 2: Priest impossible to prosecute
Prosecutors in two Ohio counties say they will not be able to pursue criminal charges against the Rev. Thomas Hopp, who is accused of sexually abusing a child.
May 1: Teacher at Elder denies misconduct
The Rev. James G. Kiffmeyer, 45, an Elder High School teacher, has taken personal leave for the rest of the school year following allegations of sexual misconduct, the Enquirer has learned.
May 1: Priest told to leave parish
A week after he was forced out of one parish, Father Thomas Hopp was asked to leave another.
April 30: Fr. Hopp out of ministry
The Rev. Thomas Hopp, the Dayton priest accused of sexually abusing a child, will never work in a public ministry again, church officials say.
April 30: Parishioners meet to discuss abuse allegation
At least 100 people, some with children, attended a meeting at Queen of Martyrs Church to get more information and talk about allegations against their former pastor.
April 29: Tristate priest admits abuse
The Rev. Thomas Hopp, a 61-year-old Price Hill native who served Cincinnati area parishes and schools for a decade, has been placed on administrative leave after admitting to sexually abusing a boy at an Ohio parish years ago.
April 29: Peter Bronson Column: Thou shalt not molest children
My nomination for Most Painfully Obvious Statement of The Year: “Pope says child molesters should not be priests.”
April 26: Church meeting results disappoint some in area
Guy Guckenberger Jr. ,who was molested by a priest at age 10, and other area residents criticized the outcome of a special meeting of the American Catholic cardinals with the pope at the Vatican.
April 24: Catholics cheer pope's statement
Tristate Catholics applauded Pope John Paul II for his strong message to American cardinals that sex abuse by priests is a crime and abusers have no place in religious life.
April 24: Dayton grand jury seeks priest records
A grand jury in Dayton, Ohio, demanded Archdiocese of Cincinnati church records Tuesday about sexual abuse allegations against priests.
April 21: Church, county may go to court
A judge may soon be forced to put an end to the intensifying battle between prosecutors and Catholic church officials in Cincinnati.
April 21: Laura Pulfer Column: Are priests' victims getting any help?
I wonder where they are now, all those boys molested by priests over the years. In Boston? In Pittsburgh? In Palm Beach? In Cleveland? In Cincinnati?
April 15: Sex no longer a taboo topic in seminaries
Like thousands before them, would-be priests at the Tristate's only Roman Catholic seminary study the Bible, classic philosophy and church theology. But unlike many who have gone before them, they also spend hours talking about sex.
April 15: Seminary entry requirements
Would-be Roman Catholic priests face rigid requirements to enter seminaries. This is what's required at the Athenaeum of Ohio-Mount Saint Mary's Seminary in Cincinnati:
April 15: Homosexuals not necessarily excluded
Straight or gay? It's one of the questions facing potential entrants into the nation's Roman Catholic seminaries, and for the church itself.
April 15: TV ads pulled
TV ads that extolled the virtues of becoming a Roman Catholic priest disappeared suddenly in Greater Cincinnati amid new revelations in the widening, national church sex scandal.
April 14: How the church hid Cooley's sin
Father Cooley's bosses at the Archdiocese of Cincinnati knew of his keen interest in young people, especially boys. They also knew that where the priest went, allegations of sexual misconduct followed.
April 14: Cooley regrets turning victims 'against God'
In his first media interview, George Cooley told The Enquirer last week that he regrets sexually abusing boys in a Catholic camp and at the parish he served in the early 1980s, Guardian Angels in Mount Washington.
April 14: Abuse robbed family of faith
Two decades after a Catholic priest molested the two youngest Dasenbrock boys, the family doesn't attend any church. Faith in God still plays an important role, but they're soured on organized religion.
April 14: Priest scandals expand nationwide
Revelations of sexual abuse by Catholic priests have swept the country since early January. Here's how the scandal has evolved nationwide:
April 12: Church in crisis leaves Catholic mother with sad questions
Matters of religion have moved up the list as a topic of discussion at my house in recent weeks. As the instigator of most of those talks, however, I am torn about how honest to be with my children just now.
March 28: Laura Pulfer Column: Suffer the little children
Forgive me, Father, but I am having unkind thoughts. Why did it take a court order for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati to cooperate with authorities?
March 27: Pilarczyk: Good work overlooked
Cincinnati Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk assured his priests that not all of them will be tarnished by the few who have abused children.
March 23: Church faces historic inquiry
Prosecutors will begin an unprecedented investigation next week into allegations of sexual abuse by priests in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.
March 22: Lawyers view church records
Prosecutors learned Thursday that alleged sexual misconduct involving three still-active Roman Catholic priests took place in Campbell County before 1994.
March 22: Pope's comments welcomed locally
Local Catholics applauded the pope's willingness to publicly address the widespread accusations of sexual misconduct, even though some said the statement came a little late.
March 21: Time hurts sex-abuse cases
Prosecutors in Ohio and Kentucky are waiting today for details about decades-old sexual abuse allegations against Catholic priests.
March 21: Laura Pulfer Column: Entire families victimized
Her son was molested by a priest. His life, she says, will never be the same.
March 20: Priest cases upset faithful
Northern Kentucky Catholics contacted this week are upset that their church allowed religious leaders accused of sexual misconduct with minors to stay on the job.
March 16: Prosecutors ask what church hid
Hamilton County prosecutors want to know why authorities were not told about allegations of sexual misconduct involving several Catholic priests.
March 16: Catholics have little sympathy for abuse
It's a conflict. They want to know that abuses won't be swept under the rug, but it pains them to see their church under attack.
March 16: Pamphlet sets rules for prevention, response
The Archdiocese of Cincinnati published a pamphlet titled “Decree on Child Protection” four years ago. The 47-page pamphlet deals with prevention and details how the archdiocese is to respond to any allegations of sex abuse.
March 16: Covington diocese has written guidelines
The Diocese of Covington relies on a 22-page document to clearly define what is sexual misconduct and what should happen to its priests who are accused of abuse.
March 16: Sex abuse cases not new locally
In one of the most notable cases, the Rev. Earl Bierman, a Northern Kentucky priest, received a 20-year prison sentence in 1993 after pleading guilty to 25 molestation charges.
March 15: Accused priests still serve
As many as five priests in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati who have been accused of sexual misconduct with teens are still serving in priestly roles.
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