Overview: Catholic Church Sex Abuse

The sexual abuse of children and other vulnerable individuals by Catholic clergymen first came to light in the mid-1980s.

In 2002, it was discovered through reporting by The Boston Globe that there was a widespread cover-up of sex abuse by a Boston area priest by church officials.

In the wake of these scandals, the Catholic church has established policies and procedures it is supposed to follow in the event that a sexual assault is reported to make sure the accused priest is immediately removed from ministry while the allegations are investigated by church officials.

However, critics are doubtful that these policies are actually enforced.

A Pennsylvania grand jury released a report in August 2018 detailing the abuse and coverups that took place at all six of the dioceses that it investigated. While many of the allegations were old, there are a handful from the last decade.

The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University says that the grand jury report included a lot more detail than previous reports.

“The authors report on a ‘playbook’ that church leaders allegedly used to handle allegations of clergy sex abuse in the state prior to 2002,” CARA explained.

CARA and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice have both gathered data of allegations of sexual abuse by American priests since 1950. While allegations since 2000 have dropped significantly compared to previous decades, there have been more than 300 sexual abuse allegations between 2000 and 2017, according to CARA.

In light of the Pennsylvania grand jury report, resignations of top church officials for the role they played in covering up sex abuse allegations, and a new study out of Germany revealing the extent of the sexual abuse there, Pope Francis recently announced that he has summoned Catholic bishops from around the world for an unprecedented meeting in the Vatican in February 2019 to discuss the topic of “prevention of abuse of minors and vulnerable adults.”

If you or a loved one was the victim of sex abuse by a Catholic priest or other church leader, legal help is available. 

Fill out the form on this page for more information. 

How Many Catholic Priests Have Been Accused of Abuse?

Catholic priests have been accused of abuse for centuries, but it has been only in the last 20 years or so that the issue has come to widespread public attention. Tragically, most of them have never been prosecuted or even held accountable, even though sexual abuse by clergy has been documented since the 4th Century of the Common Era.

In recent decades, this lack of accountability has been due to statutes of limitations, an issue that has been changing in a growing number of jurisdictions. In other cases, perpetrators are long deceased. However, the Church has also been known to sweep these accusations under the rug, transferring accused clergy to other parishes or quietly offering them “retirement.”

Today, victims and their advocates are speaking out, demanding that when Catholic priests have been accused, they face those charges – and if proven guilty, punished accordingly.

Why Has Clergy Abuse Been Allowed For So Long?

According to Rev. Thomas Doyle, the earliest victims of sexual abuse turned to Church authorities, expecting that their abusers would be held accountable under Canon Law. Instead, these authorities routinely bullied accusers into silence. Victims were “…manipulated, stonewalled, deceived and threatened.” This is why, starting in the 1980s, victims began turning to secular law enforcement for justice.

Over the centuries, the Church had made some attempts to rein in the sexual behavior of clergy, even though celibacy was not mandated until 1139. Individuals within the Church attempted to speak out; the most prominent example is that of St. Peter Damian (1007-1072), who in the 11th Century wrote the Liber Gomorrhianus (Book of Gomorrah) , a scathing indictment of “unclean acts.” Damian was particularly condemning of pedophiles among the clergy. He concluded his treatise by appealing to the current Pope, Leo IX, to take action.

Why Was Nothing Done?

Although Leo IX had praised the work and verified Damian’s accusations, his response was lukewarm at best – setting a pattern for the next thousand years.

Sexual abuse and assault became an issue during the Reformation of the 16th Century when Martin Luther accused Leo X of vetoing a proposed canonical law that would have “limited” the number of boys cardinals kept “for their pleasure.” At the time, Luther wrote that “…otherwise, it would have been spread throughout the world how openly and shamelessly the Pope and the Cardinals practice sodomy.”

How Many Catholic Priests Have Been Accused in Modern Times?

An exact figure is difficult to determine, due to the international scope of the scandal and the length of time involved. However, a database maintained by BishopAccountability.org names 6,433 members of Catholic clergy who have faced “credible accusations” (neither withdrawn nor disproven) in the U.S. Dioceses across the country have released an additional 4,771 names.

While most cases of sexual abuse have been reported in the U.S., a significant number of Catholic priests have been accused in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, Canada, the European Union, Chile and several African and Asian countries.

California Catholic Church Abuse 

Thousands of California residents are expected to file lawsuits under California’s updated sexual assault statute of limitations laws. While many of these victims may file Catholic sex abuse lawsuits, lawsuits are also expected to be filed against the Boy Scouts of America, youth sports and athletic organizations, local school districts, foster care agencies, and hospitals.

In addition to the victims of Catholic sex abuse coming forward, other victims are also sharing their stories and pursuing justice. One man who was molested by his assistant Boy Scout leader is now 55, and is preparing to file his lawsuit under the updated laws. “I’ll always remember him,” the man told the Los Angeles Times. Speaking about his decision to file a sexual abuse lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America, he said, “They just haven’t followed proper procedures to protect people, and it sounds like they tried to bury this.”

Read more: First California Catholic Church Molestation Case Settled

California Updated Sex Abuse Laws

California’s new sex abuse laws allow victims of childhood sexual abuse to file lawsuits until the age of 40, or for five years after they discover that psychological injuries have been caused by this abuse. The state’s previous laws allowed victims to file suits until the age of 26, or for three years after realizing they were harmed by the abuse.

The new law also institutes a three-year look back window, during which victims whose cases have expired under the previous laws will be able to file lawsuits regardless of how long ago the abuse was perpetrated.

The law went into effect on January 1, 2020.

In addition to California, New York and New Jersey both passed similar laws this year updating the statute of limitations for victims of childhood sexual abuse.

A previous one-year look back window opened in California in 2003 resulted in state Catholic dioceses paying out approximately $1.2 billion in settlements to victims. While opponents of the bill claim that expanding the statutes of limitations for abuse cases opens schools, churches, and organizations up to financial jeopardy and bankruptcy, victims and victim advocates believe that these updates are long overdue.

For years, the Catholic Church has opposed updates to sexual abuse laws, claiming that expanding the statutes of limitations would lead to widespread diocese bankruptcy.

In what may be an effort to reduce financial risk for dioceses, six Catholic dioceses in California have opened Victims Compensation Funds to provide victims of Catholic sex abuse another option besides filing a lawsuit. These programs allow victims to apply for compensation through the fund, with the caveat that the victim will be unable to sue the church if they accept a settlement offer through the fund.

Read more: Survivors of Sexual Abuse Given More Time to File Lawsuits in California

If you or a loved one suffered from sexual abuse from a California Catholic church, you may qualify to join a this California sexual assault lawsuit investigation. Learn more by filling out the form on this page or the California Catholic Church investigation page for a free case evaluation by a sexual assault lawyer.

New York Catholic Church Abuse 

Hundreds of Catholic sex abuse cases have gone to court under a recent New York law extending the statute of limitations for sexual abuse cases.

As of Jan. 1, more than 1,300 sex abuse cases have already been filed under the Child Victims Act, a new law that allows survivors of child sexual abuse to take legal action against their abusers years and sometimes decades after the abuse took place. Hundreds of these cases involve allegations of Catholic sexual abuse, as well as abuse perpetrated by workers or volunteers with the Boy Scouts of America or other organizations.

The act was signed into law after more than a decade of being stalled by the Catholic Church. According to the Catholic Church, the passage of a bill extending the statute of limitations for childhood Catholic sexual abuse would open the church up to the possibility of lawsuits and eventual bankruptcy.

However, after being fought for over ten years, the bill was finally passed in early 2019. Since the passage of the bill, at least one Catholic diocese has filed for bankruptcy due to the amount of claims filed against the church and individual clergy members.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester filed for bankruptcy in September 2019. According to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester, the diocese assets are valued at between $50 million and $100 million, while the potential financial liabilities associated with the lawsuits against the diocese were as high as $500 million. The diocese is the 20th in the nation to file for bankruptcy due to sexual abuse statutes of limitations extensions.

Child Victims Act Expands Protections for Victims of Catholic Sexual Abuse

The Child Victims Act was signed into law in February 2019 by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in order to extend the time frame for victims of childhood sexual abuse to file lawsuits against their abusers. The act expanded the statute of limitations in these cases from 23 until 55 for civil cases, and until 28 for criminal prosecution.

Additionally, the Child Victims Act also instituted a one-year look back window for cases that had already expired under the previous laws. During this one-year look back window, victims whose cases have expired are allowed to open lawsuits regardless of how long ago the crimes against them occurred.

The look back window opened on Aug. 14, 2019. Hundreds of lawsuits were filed on the first day of the look back window. By Jan. 1, 2020, more than 1,300 cases had already been filed under the new law.

New York victims of Catholic sexual abuse may be eligible to file lawsuits under the newly extended statute of limitations. Victims may be able to file lawsuits against individual clergy members or Catholic Church dioceses. With the help of a qualified attorney, victims may be able to recover compensation for pain and suffering, medical expenses, and other damages.

Read more: After New York Legal Reform, More Lawsuits Over Sexual Abuse in Catholic Church Expected

If you or a loved one suffered from New York Catholic church abuse, you may qualify to join a New York sexual assault lawsuit investigation. Learn more by filling out the form on the this page or going to the New York Catholic Church investigation page for a free case evaluation by a sexual assault lawyer.

New Jersey Catholic Church Abuse 

The Catholic dioceses of New Jersey have extended the deadline for survivors of child sex abuse to file claims from a compensation fund.

In New Jersey, 76 claimants have received compensation from the compensation fund set up by New Jersey’s Roman Catholic diocese. Over $9 million in compensation has been paid out. Though a deadline to file claims had been previously set at Dec. 31, the church extended the deadline to Feb. 15 in an effort to offer compensation to as many survivors as possible, reports North Jersey.

Church officials note that there are some limitations to who is eligible for compensation. Reportedly, abuse committed by priests not ordained by the diocese is not covered by the compensation fund. This includes religious order priests such as Jesuits who may serve in schools in the Catholic dioceses of New Jersey.

Similar funds have been set up in other states. The Philadelphia archdiocese’s compensation fund has paid out an amount comparable to that of New Jersey — 85 claimants received a total of $7 million in compensation, as of early 2019, reports NJ.com.

New York’s fund paid out significantly more in compensation. Over 1,100 claimants received compensation, and they were from five of New York’s eight dioceses. North Jersey says that the New York compensation totaled $210 million.

In recent years, allegations of sexual assault within Catholic dioceses have come to light in New Jersey and around the country, in which individuals are accusing clergy of abusing young parishoners and students of Catholic schools. Critics argue that the church has systematically tried to cover up these allegations of abuse.

Read more: List of Priests Accused of Abuse in New Jersey Released

Litigation Continues to Target Catholic Dioceses of New Jersey

Now, survivors of abuse are taking the Church to task in the form of lawsuits, challenging the Church’s handling of abuse allegations. In an attempt to stave off some of these claims, dioceses around the country have created compensation funds for survivors of abuse. These funds will provide an avenue for survivors with valid claims to receive compensation for their suffering.

The downside is that in most cases, victims who receive compensation for the funds will not be eligible to seek any other legal remedy against the Church. Nonetheless, many survivors see these compensation funds as a beneficial avenue, and are taking the church up on their offer of an out-of-court settlement.

As the Catholic dioceses of New Jersey have turned to compensation funds to grapple with the vast number of claims coming forward, state lawmakers have also attempted to give more survivors of sexual assault an opportunity to seek justice. In New Jersey, a new law gives survivors of childhood sexual assault more time to file a civil lawsuits against their alleged abusers. The new law will increase the statutory limitations period for civil claims, giving survivors until they turn 55 to file a claim, or seven years after they discover that they suffered abuse, whichever is later.

The new law went into effect on Dec. 1, 2019, notes NJ.com. In addition to extending the statute of limitations, New Jersey’s new law offers a two-year look-back window for anyone to file a civil sexual assault lawsuit, no matter how old they are or when they discovered that they were abused. This means that for the next two years, the statute of limitations for sexual assault does not apply.

Read more: NJ Child Sexual Abuse Survivor Law Goes into Effect

If you or a loved one suffered from New Jersey Catholic church abuse, you may qualify to join a New Jersey sexual assault lawsuit investigation. Learn more by filling out the form on this page or going to the New Jersey Catholic Church investigation page for a free case evaluation by a sexual assault lawyer.

Catholic Abuse in Pennsylvania 

For the past few years the Pennsylvania legislature were working on laws to extend the time limits for victims of Catholic sexual abuse.

In a historic move made in November 2019, Pennsylvania overhauled its previous child sexual abuse laws, giving future victims of sexual abuse more time to file lawsuits and removing time restrictions for police to file criminal charges.

The amendments were made in response to a grand jury report that revealed decades of child abuse and cover ups in six of the eight Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania.

Read more: Pennsylvania Archdiocese Reportedly Paid $19.6M to Catholic Sex Abuse Victims

Catholic Sexual Abuse Focus in Pennsylvania

In the summer of 2018, a Pennsylvania grand jury report stated that more than 1,000 people were victims of Catholic sexual abuse that was committed by either a priest or church leader in the state. The grand jury determined that the church basically had its own system devised to cover up the alleged abuses. Victims included boys and girls who were either teenagers or prepubescent children

The grand jury investigated records of priests who were accused over the past 70 years of committing sexual abuse. When the details were exposed, most of the statutes of limitations had expired, leaving the perpetrators free to live without facing repercussions for their heinous crimes.

Their findings prompted the state’s legislature to change the laws to allow victims a longer period of time to file their complaints.

The grand jury also found evidence of sexual assaults against children within the last 10 years, and as a result, issued presentments against a priest in the Greensburg diocese and a priest in the Erie diocese.

Regarding the cover up, the grand jury report said, “While each church district had its idiosyncrasies, the pattern was pretty much the same. The main thing was not to help children, but to avoid ‘scandal.’”

The Catholic sex abuse cover up allegedly consisted of six specific steps:

• The word “rape” was never to be used. Only words such as “inappropriate contact” or “boundary issues” were allowed.
• True investigations with properly trained personnel were discouraged.
• Accused priests were sent to church-run psychiatric treatment centers for “evaluation” to determine whether or not a priest was a pedophile. The determinations were based mostly on the priest’s own “self-reports” with no regard to whether or not the priest had sexually abused a child.
• When a priest is removed from an assigned church, no one is to explain why. Parishioners were to be told nothing, or if pressed, the church would say the priest was on sick leave or suffering from exhaustion.
• Despite knowledge that a priest is raping children, the church was to continue to provide the priest with his housing and living expenses, even though the church-provided housing could be used for him to commit further sexual assaults.
• A predatory priest was usually transferred to another parish where his status as a pedophile was unknown, allowing him to prey upon new victims without detection.

Pennsylvania Catholic Church Abuse Settlements

According to CNN, in one recent Catholic priest sexual abuse case, a victim was awarded a $2 million settlement after being abused from 2002 to 2010 by Father David Poulson, who was also sentenced to 14 years in prison. He pleaded guilty to criminal charges of corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children. His victims were eight and 15 years old at the time.

If you or a loved one was the victim of sex abuse by a Catholic priest or church leader in Pennsylvania, legal help is available. You may qualify to file a Catholic Church sex abuse lawsuit.

Learn more by filling out the form on this page or going to the Pennsylvania Catholic Church investigation page for a free case evaluation by a sexual assault lawyer.

What Potential Damages Can You Claim?

According a report by CNN, the US Catholic Church spent more than $30 million on clergy sexual abuse costs and settlements between June 2017 and June 2018.

If you have been a victim of sexual abuse by the Catholic church in the United States you could be eligible to claim significant damages, with the exact cost varying depending on the details of your case.

How to File a Catholic Abuse Lawsuit

If you have been a victim of sexual abuse in California, New York, New Jersey or Pennsylvania you can fill out the forms this page to receive a free case evaluation by a sexual abuse lawyer.

ATTORNEY ADVERTISING

The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertisements.