Joan Vennochi

6 days ago | bostonglobe.com | Joan Vennochi

An American pope was considered a longshot to be selected as a successor to Pope Francis. But now that it has happened, Pope Leo XIV could be the best hope survivors and their advocates have when it comes to getting the Catholic Church to finally address the long-running clergy sexual abuse scandal in a meaningful way. It may be a slender hope.

1 week ago | bostonglobe.com | Joan Vennochi

When he accepted the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award on Sunday for certifying the presidential election results on Jan. 6, 2021, after the attack on the US Capitol, former vice president Mike Pence said the Constitution is “the common ground on which we stand. It’s what binds us together across time and across generations.” Those are lofty words. But is the Constitution still common ground?

1 week ago | bostonglobe.com | Joan Vennochi

The priests were protected, not the children. Is the Catholic Church any different today than it was 20-plus years ago, when the scandal of clergy sexual abuse first engulfed the Archdiocese of Boston and then spread across the country and the world? When it comes to the church policing itself and disclosing its findings, it’s not different enough, according to survivors and their advocates.

2 weeks ago | bostonglobe.com | Joan Vennochi

Contributions from a law firm that caved to President Trump, after his father helped set up a White House meeting that led to a deal; a plane bearing the logo of the New England Patriots traveling near Guantanamo Bay, raising questions about the purpose of the flight. Just what Boston mayoral candidate Josh Kraft doesn’t need — news that ties him to his father, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and through that, to Donald Trump, a highly unpopular figure in Boston.

2 weeks ago | bostonglobe.com | Joan Vennochi

For judges, these are perilous times. Last Friday, Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested, handcuffed, and brought before a federal judge on charges that she broke the law by helping a Mexican immigrant evade arrest by federal agents. On X, FBI Director Kash Patel posted a photo of the judge being escorted to a vehicle by officials, with the caption, “No one is above the law.”Put aside the irony of anyone in the Trump administration making that claim.