WASHINGTON (DC)
The Tablet [Market Harborough, England]
June 5, 2026
By Brian Fraga
Catholic dioceses have paid around $5 billion in abuse settlements and related costs from 2004 to June 2025 according to figures in the report, though the total to date likely exceeds $6 billion when factoring in recent settlements.
More than 1,000 allegations of child sexual abuse were reported in US dioceses during the 2025 fiscal year, according to the US bishops’ annual safeguarding report.
On 27 May, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection and its National Review Board released its 2025 annual report of “Findings and Recommendations on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People”.
The report covers the period from 1July 2024 to 30 June 30, with 194 of the nation’s 196 dioceses and eparchies taking part.
In his preface, the USCCB president Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City said that all the dioceses and eparchies “had participated in at least one on-site audit”.
The annual report “stands as evidence that the Church not only continues to prevent child sexual abuse and reconcile with past victims but also ensures that audits serve as effective tools for accountability and prevention”, Coakley wrote.
The audit process, Coakley added, helps Church leaders “to integrate the safety of our children into the daily life and work of the Church”.
“I hope and pray that, through collective efforts, we remain vigilant and committed to the work needed to prevent the evil of child sexual abuse – not only in the Church, but in society,” Coakley said.
During the report period, 973 survivors of childhood sexual abuse reported a total of 1,070 allegations. The number of allegations was a marked increase from 168 the previous year.
Of the 1,070 allegations, 24 involved individuals who were children. Of those, four allegations were substantiated, 13 were still under investigation and seven had been ruled unsubstantiated, the report said.
The report indicated that 837 clergy members were accused of sexually abusing a minor during the report period. More than half of those individuals were reported deceased as of 30 June 2025.
Based on costs included in the report, OSV News estimated that US Catholic dioceses have paid around $5 billion in abuse settlements and related costs from 2004 to June 2025. The total to date likely exceeds $6 billion when factoring in recent settlements.
The Charter for the Protection of Young People adopted by the USCCB in 2002 said dioceses and eparchies “will not enter into confidentiality agreements except for grave and substantial reasons brought forward by the victim/survivor”.
However, it emerged last week that a Tennessee diocese had included “non-disparagement” clauses in settlements in the years since, apparently in defiance of that policy.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reported that the Diocese of Knoxville included the clause in its 2019 settlement with Michael Boyd, who was abused as an altar boy, prohibiting “disparaging remarks” about it.
The late Bishop Richard Stika did not report the agreement in a subsequent safeguarding audit. He resigned in 2023 amid allegations of administrative mismanagement and the mishandling of abuse allegations.
This week the diocese issued a statement saying the current Bishop of Knoxville Mark Beckman “does not intend to seek or enforce non-disclosure or non-disparagement agreements in response to sexual abuse allegations”.
Abuse remains a gaping wound in the Church
Archdiocese of New Orleans agrees $180 million abuse settlement