ARLINGTON (VA)
USA Today
Nov. 11, 2019
By Lindsay Schnell
The Catholic Church has been under scrutiny from survivors, victims’ advocates and, in some cases, law enforcement, since early 2002, when the sex abuse crisis that involved church administration covering for thousands of priests first became public knowledge.
In the last two decades, there’s been major church reform, including the 2002 Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, which established guidelines for dealing with allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. Meanwhile, dioceses across the country have released lists of credibly accused priests, many of whom are deceased.
Most of these men have never faced criminal prosecution, often because of statute of limitation laws that advocates across the country are trying to change. And some claim they have been wrongly accused.
How many Catholic priests have been accused of sexual abuse?
There’s some debate about the total number of Catholic priests, brothers and school officials who have been accused of sexual abuse.
As of Nov. 11, Bishop Accountability, a website that tracks accusations, has named 6,433 priests, brothers and Catholic school officials accused of abuse. Additionally, 154 archdioceses and dioceses have released the names of 4,771 credibly accused clerics, according to Jeff Anderson & Associates, a Minnesota-based law firm that specializes in representing sex abuse survivors.
The church has drawn scrutiny from survivors’ groups for sometimes leaving known abusers off its credibly accused lists and for naming the same clergy members multiple times. Some archdiocese and dioceses have declined to release lists.
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