Headline

Pope Expresses ‘Shame’ At Scale Of Clergy Abuse In France

Published

3 years ago

October 6, 2021

Pope Francis expressed “shame” for himself and the Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday for the scale of child sexual abuse within the church in France and acknowledged failures in putting the needs of victims first.

The pope spoke during his regular audience at the Vatican about a report released Tuesday that estimated some 330,000 French children were abused by clergy and other church authority figures dating back to 1950.

“There is, unfortunately, a considerable number. I would like to express to the victims my sadness and pain for the trauma that they suffered,” Francis said. “It is also my shame, our shame, my shame, for the incapacity of the church for too long to put them at the center of its concerns.”

He called on all bishops and religious superiors to take all actions necessary “so similar dramas are not repeated.”

The pope also expressed his “closeness and paternal support” to French priests in the face of a “difficult test,” and called on French Catholics to “ensure that the church remains a safe house for all.”

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday sent his “thoughts” to the victims. “Behind the figures and terrible situations that are described, there are broken lives,” he said, speaking on the sidelines of a European meeting in Slovenia.

“There is a need for truth and compensation,” Macron said, adding work remains to be done to apply changes the report recommended and better protect children.

The report said an estimated 3,000 priests and an unknown number of other people associated with the Catholic Church sexually abused children, providing France’s first accounting of the global phenomenon. The French church, like in other countries, has had to face up to shameful secrets that were long covered up.

The president of the independent commission that issued the findings, Jean-Marc Sauvé , underlined Tuesday that Catholic authorities had covered up the abuse spanning 70 years in a “systematic manner.”

Victims welcomed the 2,500-page document as long overdue, and the head of the French Catholic bishops’ conference asked for their forgiveness.

The report said the tally of 330,000 victims includes an estimated 216,000 people abused by priests and other clerics, and the rest by church figures such as Scout leaders and camp counselors. The estimates were based on a broader research by France’s National Institute of Health and Medical Research into sexual abuse of children in the country.

The commission urged the church to take strong action, denouncing its “faults” and “silence.” It also called on the Catholic Church to help compensate the victims, particularly in cases that are too old to prosecute in French courts.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Tuesday that Pope Francis learned about the report’s findings “with sorrow.”

“His thoughts go in first place to the victims, with a profound sadness for their wounds and gratitude for their courage to speak out,” Bruni said.

Francis issued a groundbreaking church law in May 2019 that requires all Catholic priests and nuns to report clergy sex abuse and cover-ups involving their superiors to church authorities. He said in June that every bishop must take responsibility for the “catastrophe” of the sex abuse crisis.

Headline

Meet 17-year-old Nigerian Who Won $3.5m Worth Of Scholarships From Harvard, 13 Other Foreign Universities

Published

4 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Editor

A 17-year-old Nigerian boy, Oluwafemi Ositade, has secured full scholarships to multiple Ivy League universities in the United States, Canada and Qatar.

The teenager, a member of the Class of 2023 of The Ambassadors College, Ota, won scholarships over $3.5 million.

Ositade’s astounding success stems from his exceptional performance in the SAT where he achieved a perfect score in Maths (800/800) and a near-perfect score of 760 out of 800 in reading and writing and his CGPA of 4.04/4.0 from college.

Nigerian boy Femi Ositade wins $3.5 million worth of scholarships from Harvard and 13 foreign universities

Ositade received 14 scholarships from renowned institutions nine of which are full ride scholarships (covering tuition, accommodation, allowance and all other student’s expenses).

The universities that have given scholarship offers to Ositade are Harvard University, Brown University, Duke University, University of Toronto Lester B Pearson Scholarship, Wesleyan University, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, University of Miami, Howard University, Stetson University, Fisk University, University of Toronto, Mississauga Campus, University of Toronto St. George Campus, University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus and Drexel University.

In the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), he got a score of 358, and was ranked as the second best in Nigeria for the year 2023.

Also, in the 2023 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), Ositade got eight A’s and one B2.

He wants to pursue a degree in Computational Physics, due to his passion for Quantum Computing and Mathematics.

Headline

Drama As Women Fight Dirty, Breasts Fall Out During Spring Break Outing In US [PHOTOS/VIDEO]

Published

5 hours ago

April 23, 2024

Editor

Shocking videos captured during Spring Break shows topless women fighting on a popular US beach.

The Orange Crush is a college spring break party on Tybee Island in Savannah, Georgia.

The party has been hosted annually in April for almost 30 years since Savannah State University opened.

This year’s event was chaotic. Videos have been shared on social media showing the carnage unfolding.

One video showed several bikini-clad women fighting on the beach’s boardwalk. They were filmed punching and scratching each other so violently that some of their tops flew off.

During the two-and-half minutes of chaotic footage, several women experienced their tops being forcibly lowered or displaced.

Some stopped fighting momentarily to adjust their clothing, while one individual, clad in a green swimsuit, persisted in the altercation even after her breasts were exposed.

Watch videos from the scene below.

No Peace at Savannah’s Orange Crush as Women Brawl Breakout Over The Weekend At Spring Break Event pic.twitter.com/cmfIZS7KQC
— SHO’NUFF (@IAMSHO_NUFF) April 22, 2024

Headline

Video Of Girl Being Bullied, Slapped At Lead British School Sparks Outrage Online [PHOTOS/VIDEO]

Published

5 hours ago

April 23, 2024

Editor

Videos of female students bullying a lone female student at Lead British School, Abuja, has sparked outrage online.

In videos shared online, female students, dressed in school uniform, are seen slapping one female student identified as Namtira.

“What’s the boy’s name?” they asked as they confronted her and slapped her across both cheeks.

Heartbreaking video shows girl being bullied and slapped by other students at Lead British School (videos)

Another video shows one of the bullies, identified as Maryam, asking, “Who broke my heart?” repeatedly as she slapped Namtira.

She then warned “don’t touch my hand” as Namtira tried to protect herself from the slaps.

Afterwards, Namtira stopped trying to prevent the slaps and calmly took them.

Students in the background are heard claiming Namtira “snatched” someone as they confronted her.

Namtira Bwala, said to be the daughter of author Daniel Bwala, did not retaliate as they hit her.

Heartbreaking video shows girl being bullied and slapped by other students at Lead British School (videos)

The video has sparked outrage and led to the hashtag #JusticeForNamtira.

This video is very triggering and painful to watch.
Apparently the bullied student at Lead British School Abuja is Namtira Bwala not Maryam.#JusticeForNamtira #LeadBritishSchool pic.twitter.com/RD63uTS3kz
— IHUOMA (@officialIhuoma) April 23, 2024