New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan has been formally questioned about clergy sex abuse in his former Archdiocese of Milwaukee, just days ahead of his departure for Rome and the conclave that will elect the next pope.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, after years of legal battles, has released files of priests accused of molesting children and removed a top clergyman who had been linked to efforts to conceal the abuse.

PAEDOPHILE former Irish priest Oliver O’Grady is to receive almost $800 (€660) a month for the next 10 years from the very US diocese where he molested a number of children.

“Any society, any nation, is judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members – the last, the least, the littlest” – Cardinal Roger Mahony, in a 1998 letter, Creating a Culture of Life

A JUDGE yesterday approved a landmark $660 million (€479m) settlement between the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and more than 500 alleged victims of clergy abuse.

VICTIMS of clerical sex abuse in the United States have claimed that a€478 million settlement by the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles will not make the pain end for victims.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles will settle its clergy abuse cases for at least €440m, by far the largest payout in the church’s sexual abuse scandal, it is reported.

America’s largest Roman Catholic archdiocese is to pay out $60m to settle 45 sex abuse cases.

THE Dublin Film Festival is to screen a controversial documentary featuring an Irish paedophile former priest and details of the 20 years of abuse he inflicted on children.

Rachel Zoll, Vatican City

THE worldwide outpouring of affection for Pope John Paul II may have convinced the cardinals choosing his successor that today’s Roman Catholic Church has no room for a so-called “transitional” leader.

Finally at rest after years of debilitating disease, Pope John Paul II’s body lay in state today in the frescoed Apostolic Palace as the world mourned his passing and the Vatican prepared for the ritual-filled funeral and conclave that will elect his successor.

THE Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles — America’s largest — released a detailed study yesterday on child sex abuse by its clergy since 1930, reporting the highest number of claims against a US diocese to date.

SUPERSTARS Michael Jackson, Harrison Ford and Lauren Bacall were among 3,000 friends, family and fans who bade an emotional farewell to Hollywood legend Gregory Peck.

A FORMER US governor yesterday refused to withdraw his remarks likening Roman Catholic bishops to the Mafia.

US Catholic bishops meeting in Dallas to address the sexual abuse of children by priests were poised today to adopt a tough national policy that would expel any cleric who ever molested a child.

The pope today defended the Vatican’s practice of consulting with bishops as cardinals ended an extraordinary meeting with some calls for more power-sharing and a frank debate among top officials.