This timeline of the Catholic clergy abuse crisis runs from the late 19th century to the present, and it focuses on the United States. We do include some events from Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia, because global synergies are more and more evident among survivor movements, scholarship, journalism, and of course the Catholic church’s response. 

Phil Saviano in St Peter’s Square during the sexual abuse summit in late February 2019; he holds a photograph of himself at age 12, when he was being assaulted by Fr David Holley; photographer unknown.
Phil Saviano in St Peter’s Square during the sexual abuse summit in late February 2019; he holds a photograph of himself at age 12, when he was being assaulted by Fr David Holley; photographer unknown.

This timeline is a work in progress, and we hope you will suggest events to add. Timelines and histories emphasize the wrongdoers – the abusers and the corrupt managers – but it’s the courage of individual survivors that has made the history happen. The photographs in this timeline emphasize the survivors’ contribution. We hope the timeline will be useful both as a very pared-down history and as a collection of helpful links to important documents and accounts. We’ll be building timelines for other countries and at various scales, including many timelines of individual priests. One of our earlier timelines focused on diverse opinions about the abuse crisis; we’ll be exploring that approach as well. Your advice is always welcome.

Before 1950

More than 1,360 US priests and religious ordained and vowed before 1950 are known to be accused of abusing children, including: Bishop Carroll T Dozier; Abbot John Eidenschink OSB; Fr George S Endal SJ; Sister Norma Giannini RSM; Fr Louis Toma PSSC.

1885-09-27 Fr. Louis Taelman SJ enters Jesuits; worked in Native communities and is accused of abuse

1903-08-04 Pope Pius X elected

1905-12-20 Decree of Pope Pius X on “frequent and daily confession”

1910-08-08 Decree of Pope Pius X on confession at “about the seventh year” before communion

1914-09-03 Pope Benedict XV elected

1918-05-19 Pio-Benedictine or 1917 Code of Canon Law takes effect

1922-02-06 Pope Pius XI elected

1922-06-09 Vatican issues its first instruction about soliciting sex in confession

1939-03-02 Pope Pius XII elected

1947 Servants of the Paraclete is founded by Fr Gerald Fitzgerald in Jemez Springs NM

1950s

More than 1,300 US priests and religious ordained and vowed in the 1950s are known to be accused of abusing children, including Fr Thomas Adamson.

1958-10-28 Pope John XXIII elected

1960s

More than 1,370 US priests and religious ordained and vowed in the 1960s are known to be accused of abusing children, including Fr John J Geoghan

1960-04-16 Fr John Feit rapes and murders Irene Garza at Holy Saturday confession in McAllen TX

1962-03-16 Vatican issues second instruction about solicitation in confession and sexual abuse

1963-06-21 Pope Paul VI elected

1966-03-25 Fr Andrew Ronan is an early laicization by Congregation for Religious for sexual abuse

1967-02-13 Servants of the Paraclete and Santa Fe archdiocese send accused priests into parishes

1969-11-07 Sr. Catherine Anne Cesnik SSND disappears; found murdered 1970-01-03

1970s

More than 1,100 US priests and religious ordained and vowed in the 1970s are known to be accused of abusing children, including

1971 Conrad Baars writes The Crisis in the Priesthood

1974-03-11 Survivors of Fr Lawrence Murphy leaflet Chrism Mass in Milwaukee WI

1978-08-26 Pope John Paul I elected

1978-10-16 Pope John Paul II elected

Scott Gastal, 40, testified when he was 11 that he had been abused by the Rev. Gilbert Gauthe, his family's parish priest. William Widmer / For MPR News
Scott Gastal, 40, testified when he was 11 that he had been abused by the Rev. Gilbert Gauthe, his family’s parish priest. William Widmer / For MPR News

1980s

More than 500 US priests and religious ordained and vowed in the 1980s are known to be accused of abusing children, including

1981-03-10 Fr Donald Roemer of Los Angeles indicted; pleads no contest to abusing boys on retreats

1983-11-27 New Code of Canon Law takes effect; see can. 1395

1984-09-04 Minos Simon gets seal lifted on 6/27/84 Gastal lawsuit accusing Fr Gilbert Gauthe

1984 12-12 Jeff Anderson files suit in St Paul about abuse by Fr Thomas Adamson

1985-11-15 Fr Robert Friese of Chicago is convicted of abusing a boy

1985-12-09 Manual by Tom Doyle and Ray Mouton is sent by Fr Michael Peterson to every U.S. bishop

1987-04-12 Fr Michael Peterson RIP led St Luke Institute

1988-02-09 U.S. Catholic Conference issues Mark Chopko’s statement on clergy abuse

1988-05-22 Archbishop Hunthausen of Seattle reveals Fr McGreal after Jeanne Miller appears on TV

1988-11-14 Survivors appear on Geraldo Rivera show with Tom Doyle and Jason Berry

Jeanne Miller with speakers at the first VOCAL / Linkup Conference in Arlington Heights IL on October 16-18, 1992. Left to right: Tom Doyle, Jeff Anderson, Jeanne Miller, Richard Sipe, Fr. Andrew Greeley, and Jason Berry.
Jeanne Miller, the mother of a survivor of abuse by Fr Robert Mayer, with speakers at the first VOCAL / Linkup Conference in Arlington Heights IL on October 16-18, 1992. Left to right: Tom Doyle, Jeff Anderson, Jeanne Miller, Richard Sipe, Fr. Andrew Greeley, and Jason Berry.

1990s

More than 240 US priests and religious ordained and vowed in the 1990s are known to be accused of abusing children.

1990-07-18 Winter Report (1, 2, 3) on Mount Cashel abuse forces Archbishop Penney to resign

1992-05-07-Frank Fitzpatrick accuses his abuser Fr James Porter, playing tape; also on Larry King

1992-07-24 About 50 survivors gather in Boston for SNAP conference organized by Barbara Blaine

1992-09-01 Jason Berry publishes Lead Us Not into Temptation about Tom Doyle and early activism

1992-10-16 VOCAL/Linkup’s conference outside Chicago organized by Jeanne Miller draws 300

1993-03-19 Archbishop Robert Sanchez of Santa Fe resigns before accusers appear on 60 Minutes

1993-03-25 Phil Donahue Show (1, 2) on clergy abuse with Barbara Blaine, Jason Berry, David Clohessy

1993-06-11 Pope John Paul II writes a letter to the US bishops about scandal and the “sins of clerics”

1993-06-15 Adobe releases Acrobat to store and share files in Portable Document Format (PDF)

1993-11-13 Stephen Rubino files suit for Stephen Cook, alleging abuse by then-Archbishop Bernardin

1993-11-17 US bishops ask Vatican to change canon law to make it easier to remove offending priests

1994-02       Sr. Maura O’Donohue MMM reports to Vatican on AIDS/nun abuse; made public in 2001

1994-02-28 Judge Spiegel grants Cook’s motion to drop Cardinal Bernardin from his case

1994-10-31 Stephen Rubino files RICO suit alleging abuse of 34 children by 30 Camden NJ priests

1994-11-14 National Conference of Catholic Bishops releases Restoring Trust, Volume I

1995-02-21 Sr. Maura O’Donohue MMM writes follow-up memo to her 1995 report on nun abuse

1995-11-13 National Conference of Catholic Bishops releases Restoring Trust, Volume II

1996-07-09 Mitchell Garabedian files first lawsuit alleging abuse by Fr John Geoghan of three boys

1997-02-23 Allegations against Fr Marcial Maciel made public by Gerald Renner and Jason Berry

1997-07-25 Jury in Dallas awards survivors $119 million in Fr Rudy Kos case, as detailed in final judgment

1998-06-02 Bishop Keith Symons of Palm Beach diocese admits abuse and resigns

1998-11-20 Sr Marie McDonald MSOLA reports on abuse of nuns in Africa and Rome

1998-12       Chibnall et al publish survey on the sexual trauma of Catholic nuns

1999-10-29 Survivor Eric Patterson RIP

At the USCCB General Assembly in Dallas in June 2002, SNAP President Barbara Blaine meets the press with Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua of Philadelphia and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington.
At the USCCB General Assembly in Dallas in June 2002, SNAP President Barbara Blaine meets the press with Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua of Philadelphia and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington.

2000s

More than 60 US priests and religious ordained and vowed in the 2000s are known to be accused of abusing children, including

2001-04-30 Abuse cases consolidated at the CDF by Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela

2002-01-06 Boston Globe article on Fr John Geoghan begins Spotlight series (1/6/02)

2002-03-15 Poynter Institute begins Clergy Abuse Tracker

2002-03-23 Linkup President Tom Economus RIP

2002-06-12 Dallas Morning News findstwo-thirds of bishops let accused priests work”

2002-06-13 Survivors meet with cardinals and speak at USCCB General Assembly 1, 2, 3, 4

2002-06-14 USCCB General Assembly in Dallas approves Charter and Norms

David Clohessy (2nd L), Mark Serrano (2nd R), and Paul Baier following the announcement that bishops had agreed to bar pedophile priests from acting as clerics at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Dallas, June 14th, 2002.  Paul Buck / AFP
David Clohessy (2nd L), Mark Serrano (2nd R), and Paul Baier following the announcement that bishops had agreed to bar pedophile priests from acting as clerics at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Dallas, June 14th, 2002. Paul Buck / AFP

2002-06-21 Tucson diocese releases first church list of accused

2003-01-01 SOL window of one year opens in California; bishops complain; about 800 file claims

2003-02-10 Suffolk County Grand Jury releases report on Rockville Centre diocese

2003-03-03 New Hampshire Attorney General releases report on Manchester diocese

2003-07-23 Massachusetts Attorney General releases report on Boston archdiocese

2004-07-06 Bankruptcy filing, a first, by Portland OR archdiocese; $75M settlement in 2007

2004-09-20 Bankruptcy filing by Tucson diocese; $22M settlement in 2005

2005-04-19 Pope Benedict XVI elected

2005-09-15 Grand Jury releases report on Philadelphia archdiocese

2006-10-10 Bankruptcy filing by Davenport diocese; $37M settlement with 156 in 2007

2007-01-16 Hand of God film about Birmingham survivor Paul Cultrera airs on Frontline

2007-02-27 Bankruptcy filing by San Diego diocese; $198M settlement with 144 in 2007

2007-06-04 Milwaukee’s Dolan asks Rome’s permission to shelter $57M; Vatican approves

2007-07-14 Los Angeles archdiocese settles with 508 survivors for $660M

2008-03-01 Bankruptcy filing by Fairbanks diocese; $9.8M settlement with 258 in 2010

2008-04-17 Pope Benedict meets with survivors during his visit to the US

2009-02-17 Bankruptcy filing by Oregon Jesuits; $166M settlement with 480 in 2011

2009-05-20 Ryan Report on the Irish industrial schools is released

2009-06-10 Survivors of institutional abuse and Dublin supporters march in solidarity

2009-10-18 Bankruptcy filing by Wilmington diocese; $77M settlement with 150 in 2011

2009-11-26 Murphy Report on the Archdiocese of Dublin is released

Survivors of Institutional Abuse in Ireland march on Dáil with thousands of supporters on June 10, 2009. Indymedia / Richard Whelan.
Survivors of Institutional Abuse in Ireland march on Dáil with thousands of supporters on June 10, 2009. Indymedia / Richard Whelan.

2010s

More than 30 US priests and religious ordained and vowed in the 1960s are already known to be accused of abusing children, including

2010-01-19 Canisius College rector’s letter prompts German abuse reckoning and Raue report

2011-01-04 Bankruptcy filing by Milwaukee archdiocese; $21M settlement with 330 of 570 in 2015

2011-01-21 Grand Jury releases report on Philadelphia archdiocese

2011-04-28 Bankruptcy filing by Christian Brothers; $16.5M settlement with 400 in 2013

2011-07-20 Ireland’s Taoiseach Enda Kenny speaks before Dáil Éireann about the Cloyne report

2012-03-26 Trial of Msgr William Lynn begins in Philadelphia; convicted; vacated on appeal in 2013

2012-04 SOL window of two years opens in Hawaii

2012-12  Catherine Corless describes the Tuam Mother and Baby Home; story breaks; podcast

2013-03-13 Pope Francis elected

2013-11-12 Bankruptcy filing by Gallup diocese; $21M settlement with 57 in 2016

2014-01-15 Bankruptcy filing by Stockton diocese; $15M settlement with 34 in 2017

2014-01-31 Bankruptcy filing by Helena diocese; $20M settlement in 2015 with 360 many Native victims

2015-01-16 Bankruptcy filing by Twin Cities archdiocese; $210M settlement with 450 in 2018

2015-10-28 Spotlight film about the Boston Globe investigation premieres in Boston

2015-12-07 Bankruptcy filing by Duluth diocese; $40M settlement with 125 in 2019

2016-03-01 Grand Jury releases report on Altoona-Johnstown PA diocese

2016-09-23 SOL permanent window Bill B326-33 for Guam signed into law

2017-03-03 Bankruptcy filing by New Ulm diocese; $34M settlement with 100 in 2020

2017-03-13 Catherine Corlesslist of Tuam deceased is published; another version

2017-03-31 Bankruptcy filing by Great Falls-Billings; $20M settlement with 86 in 2018

2017-05-19 The Keepers documentary about Sr. Cathy Cesnik premieres on Netflix

2017-06-01 Bankruptcy filing by Crozier order and pre-negotiated $25.5M settlement with 43

2017-09-24 SNAP President Barbara Blaine RIP

2017-10-28 Dan Barry’s Lost Children of Tuam is published; technical report issued

2017-12-15 Australian Royal Commission’s Final Report is released

2018-04 SOL window of two years opens in Hawaii

2018-06-24 Journalist and Abuse Tracker Editor Kathy Shaw RIP; video tribute

2018-08-08 Scholar A.W. Richard Sipe RIP; see his website

2018-08-14 Pennsylvania Grand Jury report with responses  1, 2; other AGs begin investigations

2018-09-24 Zach Hiner succeeds David Clohessy and Barbara Dorris as SNAP’s executive director

2018-12-02 Doris Reisinger speaks at Voices of Faith; then CDF’s Fr Hermann Geissler FSO resigns

2018-12-28 James Grein testifies in Vatican investigation that McCarrick abused him in confession

2019-01-25 Peter Steinfels’ “Vehemently Misleading” about PA Grand Jury is published; a response

2019-02-16 Cardinal McCarrick is laicized

2019-02-21 Vatican summit on clergy abuse

2019-04-04 Survivor and Linkup President Gary Hayes RIP

2019-05-11 Polish documentary Tell No One by Sekielski brothers premieres; reckoning begins

2019-08-14 SOL window of one year for New York begins; Bill S2440 extended one year by S7082

2019-08-27 Michael Rezendes’ article on abuse of Black children in Greenwood MS is published

2019-09-12 Bankruptcy filing by Rochester NY diocese

2019-09-17 Thesis on dark networks in Victoria, Australia submitted by Sally Muytjens

Voices of Faith press conference in Rome on February 19, 2019 before the abuse summit, with Zuzanna Flisowska, Barbara Dorris, Virginia Saldanha, Regina Franken-Wendelstorf, and Doris Wagner.  Photographer unknown.
Voices of Faith press conference in Rome on February 19, 2019 before the abuse summit, with Zuzanna Flisowska, Barbara Dorris, Virginia Saldanha, Regina Franken-Wendelstorf, and Doris Wagner. Photographer unknown.

2020s

2020-01-01 SOL window of three years is opened in California by AB-218

2020-01-30 France’s Cardinal Barbarin’s conviction was overturned in case of convicted priest

2020-02-19 Bankruptcy filing by Harrisburg PA diocese

2020-02-22 L’Arche report on Jean Vanier and Fr Thomas Philippe is released 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

2020-02-28 Bankruptcy filing by Buffalo NY diocese

2020-05-01 Bankruptcy filing by New Orleans archdiocese

2020-05-16 Polish documentary Hide and Seek by Sekielski brothers prompts Vos Estis filing

2020-06-15 Bankruptcy filing by St Cloud diocese, after $22.5M settlement with 70

2020-06-19 Bankruptcy filing by Syracuse NY diocese

2020-10-01 Bankruptcy filing by Rockville Centre NY diocese

2020-10-01 Bankruptcy filing by Camden NJ diocese

2020-10-14 Vatican trial begins of 2 priests for abuse and cover-up at Pius X youth seminary

2020-11-10 Vatican’s McCarrick report analyzes some mismanagement but skirts child abuse

2020-11-23 NY AG Letitia James sues the Buffalo diocese, with memorandum on naming

2021-01-25 Bishop Joseph Hart rebuked” and cleared by CDF, despite 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

2021-02-25 Denise Lajimodiere, Kathleen Holscher & Jack Downey’s forum on Native abuse

2021-01-30 Study of three accused religious priests and the NY Child Victims Act

2021-03-01 Irish Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation publishes report

2021-03-18 Report on Cologne archdiocese released; resignations follow

2021-05-24 Fr Michael Pfleger reinstated after Chicago archdiocese found 3 claims insufficient

2022-10-27 Michigan AG Nessel releases her Marquette diocese report

2023

2023-07-17 Diocese of Ogdensburg NY files for bankruptcy protection

2023-07-26 Sinéad O’Connor dies

2023-08-21 San Francisco archdiocese files for bankruptcy protection

2023-08-25 Report commissioned by the Jesuits on abuse by Fr. Joseph Marmion SJ is released

2023-08-30 Theodore McCarrick deemed unfit to stand trial in Massachusetts

2023-08-30 New York Times reports on the Native American boarding school system

2023-09-07 Indictment of Lawrence Hecker reported by WWL’s David Hammer

2023-09-27 Before synod, Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA) demands global zero tolerance after pilgrimage

2023-09-29 Baltimore archdiocese files for bankruptcy protection

2023-11-01 Report on Catholic clergy abuse in Switzerland is released

2023-11-29 Tiffany Stanley and Lea Skene of AP report for the AP on Black survivors

2023-11-29 Jason Berry and Ramon Antonio Vargas report on the New Orleans bankruptcy; part 2; part 3

2024

2024-01-08 Michigan AG Nessel releases report on Gaylord diocese

2024-01-10 Theodore McCarrick found unfit and charges in Wisconsin suspended

2024-01-20 Sugarcane documentary about St. Joseph’s Mission in British Columbia premieres at Sundance

2024-01-22 Michael Geilenfeld is indicted, vindicating Paul Kendrick; see text of indictment

2024-02-21 Rupnik victims Gloria Branciani and Mirjam Kovac come forward in Rome

2024-03-16 Tiffany Stanley of AP reports on victims of abuse by nuns

2024-05-09 Washington State AG Bob Ferguson announces investigation of Catholic dioceses; see petition

2024-05-22 Michigan AG Nessel releases report on Kalamazoo diocese

2024-05-29 Washington Post reports on Native boarding schools, with historical background

2024-07-04 Jay Sefton‘s play Unreconciled premieres at the Chester Theatre Company in Massachusetts