In general, “902 complaints were reported by 855 victims-on-life of child sexual abuse by the clergy,” Indicates the reportcompared to 1,308 complaints by 1,254 survivors last year.
The annual report, which covers from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, is based on a survey conducted to 195 Dioceses and Catholic Eparchies of the United States, from data collected by the Research Center applied in the apostolate of the University of Georgetown, as well as an audit carried out by Stonebridge Business Partners.
Receive the main news of ACI Press by WhatsApp and Telegram
It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social networks. Subscribe to our free channels today:
The annual elaboration of this report arises from the creation in 2002, by the US bishops, of the Statute for the protection of children and young peoplewhich established a framework and protocols related to the complaints of sexual abuse of minors by the Catholic clergy.
A total of 717 clergy were accused during the most recent audit period, being most of the defendants (54%) already deceased.
Stonebridge also pointed out several cases of non -compliance by jurisdictions and entities that are in violation of the articles established in the 2018 review of the Youth Protection Statute.
For example, the Syrian-Catholic Eparquía of Our Lady of Liberation in the United States did not comply with the absence of a training program in safe environments and for not completing the background verifications of the volunteers.
For its part, the Diocese of Altoon-Johnstown, in Pennsylvania, was indicated for not having a functional review board during the audit period.
“Measuring compliance with the Statute allows each diocese/Eparquía to evaluate strengths and weaknesses and identify programmatic areas that require improvement, which is fundamental in our mission of protecting our children,” says the report.
The report reiterated the commitment of the Catholic Church “to work to guarantee the safety of vulnerable children and adults making a history of clergy, employees and volunteers, and providing training on how to identify and report signs of abuse.”
“For the Church in the United States, and as articulated in the statute for the protection of children and young people, this commitment translates into a zero tolerance policy towards abuse,” says the USCCB report.
Abuse complaints have shown a constant decrease since 2020, with an annual average of 30%, according to the data accumulated in the last five years.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in CNA.
Paris Apodaca
Paris Apodaca is a fellow of Catholic News Agency. He previously worked at College Fix and has published in various media, such as the Washington Examiner, Future View of the Wall Street Journal and Campus Reform. In his free time, he writes in replacement and reads political theory.