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Sexual Assault Tag

A shocking 11-page letter by a former apostolic nuncio (a papal diplomat) to the United States has rocked the Catholic world after it was widely released last week. The testimony offered by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, 77, who served as apostolic nuncio in Washington D.C. from 2011 to 2016, accuses several senior church officials of complicity in covering up allegations of sexual abuse of minors and young men by former Archbishop of Washington D.C., Theodore McCarrick. Viganò also claims that Pope Francis knew about sanctions imposed on then-Cardinal McCarrick by Pope Benedict XVI, chose to ignore those sanctions, and allowed McCaarrick to become a power-player in determining church appointments in this country.

On Sunday, the #MeToo movement received a shock when a report dropped that claimed Asia Argento, one its prominent members, allegedly sexually abused a 17-year-old male and paid him off. Argento not only denies the assault, but she has thrown her former boyfriend Anthony Bourdain under the bus and insists he paid off the accuser. Yeah, the same Bourdain that took his own life this year and is not here to defend himself.

About six days after a report dropped that detailed the child sexual abuse by more than 300 priests in Pennsylvania, Pope Francis has released a statement tearing apart those involved in the abuse and cover-up. From The Washington Examiner:
"'If one member suffers, all suffer together with it' (1 Cor 12:26)," the pope wrote in his statement. "These words of Saint Paul forcefully echo in my heart as I acknowledge once more the suffering endured by many minors due to sexual abuse, the abuse of power and the abuse of conscience perpetrated by a significant number of clerics and consecrated persons."

The New York Times dropped a bombshell on Monday that revealed actress and director Asia Argento, one of the first females to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, paid off a man who accused her of sexual abuse. From the Times:
But in the months that followed her revelations about Mr. Weinstein last October, Ms. Argento quietly arranged to pay $380,000 to her own accuser: Jimmy Bennett, a young actor and rock musician who said she had sexually assaulted him in a California hotel room years earlier, when he was only two months past his 17th birthday. She was 37. The age of consent in California is 18.

Karen Monahan, the woman accusing Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) of abuse, sat down with CBS News to describe the incidents for the first time on camera:
"He looked at me, goes 'Hey you f***ing hear me … and then he looked at me, he goes 'Bitch, get the f*** out of my house,' and he started to try to drag me off the bed," Monahan said. "That's when I put my camera on to video him."

It's kind of weird this story is coming out now when Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan's name has become prominent in talks of who should be the next Speaker of the House. Jordan worked as an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University from 1987 to 1995. Now former wrestlers during that time claim Jordan ignored sexual abuse allegations against the team's physician Dr. Richard Strauss.

UPDATE 10:30 PM: Schneiderman has resigned:
"It’s been my great honor and privilege to serve as Attorney General for the people of the State of New York," Schneiderman said in a statement. "In the last several hours, serious allegations, which I strongly contest, have been made against me. While these allegations are unrelated to my professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will effectively prevent me from leading the office’s work at this critical time. I therefore resign my office, effective at the close of business on [Tuesday]."

A former employee has come forward with a new sexual misconduct allegation against California Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, who gained fame for speaking out against sexual harassment and became a face of the #MeToo movement. David John Kernick claims that Garcia fired him because he refused to play "spin the bottle" and questioned why she would make staffers play the game.

I genuinely feel for the single crowd out there trying to date through the #MeToo madness. Because is a date with someone who may misinterpret your flirtatiousness as rape culture worth potentially tanking your career and reputation? This brave new world where day after regret is conflated with sexual misconduct, rape, and harassment, singles are increasingly confused about where the line of acceptable behavior begins. And with good reason.

Here's a hint: If you're going to help lead a movement against sexual harassment, don't sexually harass anyone. California Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia gained fame after she led the #MeToo movement at the California Capitol. Time magazine even featured her in its the "Silence Breakers" issue at the end of 2017. Now a former staffer has accused her of sexual misconduct when he participated at a legislative softball game with her.